Last summer, we reviewed the series premiere of the SyFy show Alphas; this summer, the show is back for a second season, with the season premiere coming on Monday, July 23 at 10 pm EST.  This season introduces several new regulars, including Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Rudy), C. Thomas Howell (Southland), Lauren Holly (NCIS), Steve Byers (Immortals, Total Recall), Kandyse McClure (Battlestar Galactica) and Noah Reid (Rookie Blue). Summer Glau, who has appeared in both Dollhouse and Firefly, will guest star in several episodes.

Here's a description of what we can expect from this season of Alphas:

The new season picks up eight months after last year’s stunning season finale with the stage set for an explosive turn of events at the Binghamton facility (the Guantanamo of the Alpha world) that could have devastating, far-reaching consequences.  Dr. Lee Rosen, having exposed the existence of Alphas to the unsuspecting public, finds himself discredited and imprisoned by a government desperate to cover up his stunning revelation. Some of the team have disbanded and without Dr. Rosen’s care and guidance, have regressed to their old, destructive ways. They must now battle their individual demons, reunite and try to save their own.

And here's a promo clip for the series as well:

With the new cast members being added to the show, it looks like it could be a very interesting season!

Here are some other fun things we found for you this week:

• A Star Wars version of Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe." (YouTube)

• The Doctor and the Ponds singing "Bohemian Rhapsody." (The Mary Sue)

• The 2011 Shirley Jackson Award winners.  Congratulations to all! (Locus)

• Super-cute pictures of cosplaying kids from Comic Con. (BuzzFeed)

• In 1992, William Gibson wrote a poem entitled "Agrippa" that was part of a larger work of art that all was designed to disappear when it was read.  Recently, there was a contest to figure out how the poem, which was published on a computer disk, was made to disappear--and it seems that Robert Xiao has successfully cracked the algorithm. (William Gibson Books/ Huffington Post/ Cracking Agrippa)

• And finally, the artist Olek has created a magical work of art in Sao Paulo, Brazil by encasing a playground in a crocheted cover so that it looks like an alligator. (Colossal)

Happy weekend, everyone!  And stay cool.