Author Topic: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre  (Read 419786 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

geronl

  • Guest
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #75 on: May 06, 2016, 12:15:17 am »
Here's a promotional video for Independence Day: Resurgence, due out this summer.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IKUNzGn2cc

I heard it's a campaign ad for Hillary.

Offline Free Vulcan

  • Technical
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,683
  • Gender: Male
  • Ah, the air is so much fresher here...
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #76 on: May 07, 2016, 05:10:53 am »
I'll watch it. For a season, at least.

Couldn't get into Enterprise at all though. Neat concept, pretty well written, but was missing a spark somewhere.

I loved it, but they took it down the wrong story arc and it kinda stopped being legit. The Temporal Wars was a neat concept, but not right for the show. I wish they would have done something more with the Great Rift concept, maybe an interdimensional enemy.
The Republic is lost.

Offline kevindavis007

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,380
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #77 on: May 07, 2016, 12:14:59 pm »
I loved it, but they took it down the wrong story arc and it kinda stopped being legit. The Temporal Wars was a neat concept, but not right for the show. I wish they would have done something more with the Great Rift concept, maybe an interdimensional enemy.


I also think they should have focused on the founding of the Federation like they did in Season 4.
Join The Reagan Caucus: https://reagancaucus.org/

geronl

  • Guest
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #78 on: May 07, 2016, 09:45:01 pm »
**furiously rewriting novella**

Needs more power, Captain!!

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #79 on: May 07, 2016, 09:47:51 pm »

I also think they should have focused on the founding of the Federation like they did in Season 4.

Babylon 5 was good for that.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline gorush

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 17
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #80 on: May 07, 2016, 10:07:50 pm »
For the discussion of all that is the Sci-Fi genre.
"Macroscope" by Piers Anthony remains my favorite. Just read it again  after 45 years or so...still great.

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #81 on: May 07, 2016, 10:13:46 pm »
Did you ever read his "Of Man and Manta" trilogy: Ox, Omnivore, Orn?

That still leaves me confused even now.

I can heartily recommend Poul Anderson's Tau Zero as a solid read.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline Ghost Bear

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,409
  • Gender: Male
  • Not an actual picture of me
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #82 on: May 08, 2016, 03:30:46 am »
Did you ever read his "Of Man and Manta" trilogy: Ox, Omnivore, Orn?

That still leaves me confused even now.

I can heartily recommend Poul Anderson's Tau Zero as a solid read.

I read "Ox", the middle book of the trilogy, when I was a kid and enjoyed it, but I was never able to find the other two books back then. I'm not interested enough in them now to read them again.

"Tau Zero" is a good one, I second the recommendation.
Let it burn.

Offline Ghost Bear

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,409
  • Gender: Male
  • Not an actual picture of me
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #83 on: May 08, 2016, 03:58:00 am »
OK, I saw Captain America 3: Civil War tonight, and I have to say it may be the best Marvel movie yet, in my opinion.

I won't give any spoilers, except to say that they got just about everything right. If you've liked the previous Marvel movies then I definitely recommend this one!
Let it burn.

Offline kevindavis007

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,380
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #84 on: May 09, 2016, 12:50:35 am »
Babylon 5 was good for that.


It was, plus it seemed they where trying to rewrite "Star Trek" history..
Join The Reagan Caucus: https://reagancaucus.org/

Offline jmyrlefuller

  • J. Myrle Fuller
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 22,326
  • Gender: Male
  • Realistic nihilist
    • Fullervision
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #85 on: May 09, 2016, 02:12:31 am »

Well I liked Enterprise, but here is what I think what happened...
Trek Fatigue... For about 20 years, Trek was on TV and I think people was getting tired of it..
Well, that, and it was buried on UPN, which at the time was the poor man's BET. It was a totally bad fit for both show and network.
New profile picture in honor of Public Domain Day 2024

geronl

  • Guest
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #86 on: May 09, 2016, 02:42:32 am »
Well, that, and it was buried on UPN, which at the time was the poor man's BET. It was a totally bad fit for both show and network.

Really, I thought UPN had died by then. lol

geronl

  • Guest
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #87 on: May 09, 2016, 11:08:52 pm »
New Blog Story:

Escape from the Free Republic, chapter one


http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2016/05/escape-from-free-republic-chapter-one.html

geronl

  • Guest
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #88 on: May 10, 2016, 03:57:53 am »
STAR WARS: THE WEBTOON

Now complete at 40 chapters.

http://www.webtoons.com/en/sf/starwars/list?title_no=544

Offline kevindavis007

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,380
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #89 on: May 11, 2016, 12:56:38 am »

Check this out and if you can support this project.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18fIdRSwUaA
Join The Reagan Caucus: https://reagancaucus.org/

Offline Free Vulcan

  • Technical
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,683
  • Gender: Male
  • Ah, the air is so much fresher here...
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #90 on: May 11, 2016, 06:34:45 am »

I also think they should have focused on the founding of the Federation like they did in Season 4.

I can agree to that. So many more interesting paths they could have chosen.
The Republic is lost.

Offline Smokin Joe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,397
  • I was a "conspiracy theorist". Now I'm just right.
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #91 on: May 11, 2016, 06:39:23 am »
Have to admit my all-time favorite now is Babylon 5.
YES!
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline Free Vulcan

  • Technical
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,683
  • Gender: Male
  • Ah, the air is so much fresher here...
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #92 on: May 11, 2016, 07:00:43 am »
YES!

I don't know what it was, but there was something magical about that series. For example some of the episodes mentioned above.

One that stuck with me was the episode Gropos from season 2 I believe, where a landing force sent to fight an alien enemy stages at the station, and the B5 crew forms some friendships and even some romance. They get shipped off and end up being all killed, and their dead bodies shown on their version of CNN. One day they are alive, the next gone. One of the most heart stopping, sobering scenes I've ever watched.

The other was when Kosh took Sheridan to some out of the way part of the station and makes him sit down to listen to some monks sing Gregorian chant. Then Kosh starts swaying to the music. To see the contrast of an almost god-like creature enjoying the pure simple pleasure of singing like that was one of best creative and profound moments in the whole series IMO.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2016, 07:10:40 am by Free Vulcan »
The Republic is lost.

Offline Smokin Joe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,397
  • I was a "conspiracy theorist". Now I'm just right.
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #93 on: May 11, 2016, 08:24:27 am »
I don't know what it was, but there was something magical about that series. For example some of the episodes mentioned above.

One that stuck with me was the episode Gropos from season 2 I believe, where a landing force sent to fight an alien enemy stages at the station, and the B5 crew forms some friendships and even some romance. They get shipped off and end up being all killed, and their dead bodies shown on their version of CNN. One day they are alive, the next gone. One of the most heart stopping, sobering scenes I've ever watched.

The other was when Kosh took Sheridan to some out of the way part of the station and makes him sit down to listen to some monks sing Gregorian chant. Then Kosh starts swaying to the music. To see the contrast of an almost god-like creature enjoying the pure simple pleasure of singing like that was one of best creative and profound moments in the whole series IMO.
There were many great moments in the series, but what I liked about it was that it was finite within the infinite. Unlike so many shows which seem to lose headway and aimlessly dabble in the plot stream, B5 had a beginning, a middle, and an end. The story was there, and they told it, instrad of aimlessly looking for a way to well the next season's soap.
The one thing I found most unfortunate was that the station we had showing the story seemed to manage to garble it, repeated episodes in the first half of the season, and generally made a mess of showing it. Still, the series was good enough that I managed to get past that and watched it.

Now the full series with the 5 movies can be had at Walmart for about $120.  I might pick one up when I heal up and get back to work...
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline EC

  • Shanghaied Editor
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 23,804
  • Gender: Male
  • Cats rule. Dogs drool.
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #94 on: May 11, 2016, 08:36:15 am »
One of the things I liked about it was some of the alien races were just that - alien. Instead of doing the "what human subculture can we parody" thing, the writers and actors made aliens who had their own internal logic and values. Harder than it sounds.
The universe doesn't hate you. Unless your name is Tsutomu Yamaguchi

Avatar courtesy of Oceander

I've got a website now: Smoke and Ink

Offline kevindavis007

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,380
  • Gender: Male
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #95 on: May 11, 2016, 04:45:49 pm »
I don't know what it was, but there was something magical about that series. For example some of the episodes mentioned above.

One that stuck with me was the episode Gropos from season 2 I believe, where a landing force sent to fight an alien enemy stages at the station, and the B5 crew forms some friendships and even some romance. They get shipped off and end up being all killed, and their dead bodies shown on their version of CNN. One day they are alive, the next gone. One of the most heart stopping, sobering scenes I've ever watched.

The other was when Kosh took Sheridan to some out of the way part of the station and makes him sit down to listen to some monks sing Gregorian chant. Then Kosh starts swaying to the music. To see the contrast of an almost god-like creature enjoying the pure simple pleasure of singing like that was one of best creative and profound moments in the whole series IMO.

To be fair, I didn't like Babylon 5. To if it wasn't Trek I'm not watching it.  But I did watch it and it slowly grew on me. The episode that got me hooked on B5 is The Coming of The Shadows.
Join The Reagan Caucus: https://reagancaucus.org/

Offline Ghost Bear

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3,409
  • Gender: Male
  • Not an actual picture of me
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #96 on: May 11, 2016, 05:12:35 pm »
Babylon 5 was my favorite SF series, if not of all time at least my favorite to come out of the 90s. My wife and I watched the first broadcast of the pilot movie, "The Gathering", and thought that it had a lot of potential. By the end of the first season, we were hooked, and watched it obsessively.  We went to our first big fan convention, Chicago ComiCon in June 1995, because series creator J. Michael Straczynski was going to do a presentation about the show, including promo clips of the "Final 4" Season 2 episodes (which didn't air until October of that year). There were something like 2500-3000 people at that presentation alone (when most Cons are glad to see that many attendees for an entire weekend.)

Aside from the content and format of the show itself being innovative, the B5 fandom was innovative as well, being one of the first to really grow on the Internet of the time. The Usenet group rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated had JMS himself participating, and the Lurker's Guide to Bablyon 5 website was famous for doing in-depth reviews of every episode, including speculation based on what JMS said in the Usenet group. It was all great fun.  ^-^
Let it burn.

geronl

  • Guest
Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #97 on: May 11, 2016, 06:33:35 pm »
Prisoner of Stone
chapter one

http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-prisoner-of-stone-chapter-one.html

A demonic dragon is released from its long imprisonment

Offline Machiavelli

  • Curmudgeon
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,222
  • Gender: Male
  • Realist