Author Topic: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre  (Read 421457 times)

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Offline InHeavenThereIsNoBeer

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1975 on: October 26, 2018, 02:17:42 am »
Star Trek animated comedy series ordered from Rick and Morty writer

Entertainment Weekly
JAMES HIBBERD
October 25, 2018

The first-ever official Star Trek comedy series has been ordered.

CBS All Access has greenlit an animated series from Emmy-winner Mike McMahan, a writer on Adult Swim’s sensation Rick and MortyThe half-hour series is titled Star Trek: Lower Decks and will tackle the Federation from a comedic perspective, focusing “on the support crew serving on one of Starfleet’s least important ships.” 

“Mike won our hearts with his first sentence: ‘I want to do a show about the people who put the yellow cartridge in the food replicator so a banana can come out the other end,'” said executive producer Alex Kurtzman. “[McMahan’s] cat’s name is Riker. His son’s name is Sagan. The man is committed. He’s brilliantly funny and knows every inch of every Trek episode, and that’s his secret sauce: he writes with the pure, joyful heart of a true fan. As we broaden the world of Trek to fans of all ages, we’re so excited to include Mike’s extraordinary voice.”

(more)
https://ew.com/tv/2018/10/25/star-trek-animated-comedy/

Does this mean Voyager wasn't supposed to be a comedy?
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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1976 on: October 26, 2018, 02:38:44 am »
Does this mean Voyager wasn't supposed to be a comedy?

That made me chuckle. Voyager was kind of silly. I always thought of it as a cartoon with live actors. But it is not unwatchable, as long as you accept it for what it is. I thought some of the Borg episodes were actually pretty good.

The thing that struck me the most about Voyager (other than the incredible number of shuttlecraft they lose over the course of the series) is that nobody on that show obeys orders. A significant number of episodes involve some crewman or another disobeying Janeway and doing whatever the hell they feel is OK. It happened so often that Janeway's "orders" became really just suggestions. Nobody paid attention to them anyway. LOL
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
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Offline Machiavelli

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1977 on: October 26, 2018, 05:41:22 pm »
A new Kickstarter project will publish an undiscovered novel that inspired The Thing

Andrew Liptak
The Verge
October 21, 2018

Quote
John Carpenter’s The Thing is a classic science fiction horror film that has scared audiences for decades. But the film was inspired by an earlier story published in the 1930s, “Who Goes There?” by noted editor John W. Campbell Jr., and it turns out that that there’s more to that story. A researcher recently discovered an unpublished, novel-length manuscript of the story, and a small press is using Kickstarter to publish it...

Alec Nevala-Lee notes that Campbell was inspired in part by explorer Richard Byrd, and possibly H.P. Lovecraft’s classic horror story “At the Mountains of Madness.” In 1938, a novella-length story called “Who Goes There?” appeared in Astounding, which went on to become a favorite within the science fiction fan community. The story was later adapted in 1951 as The Thing from Another World, while John Carpenter’s remake The Thing arrived three decades later. A prequel to Carpenter’s film, also titled The Thing, came out in 2011...

Nevala-Lee discovered that “Who Goes There?” wasn’t the first version of the story: Campbell had written a novel-length story, which he then shortened for publication in Astounding. Nevala-Lee went through all of Campbell’s surviving letters while researching his book, and came across a reference to a box of manuscripts that he had sent to Harvard. “I hadn’t heard about this anywhere else,” Nevala-Lee told The Verge, “and it doesn’t pop up on a casual search online, but I finally tracked down an entry in the catalog at [Harvard’s] Houghton Library.” Inside, he found the original, complete manuscript of Frozen Hell...

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« Last Edit: October 26, 2018, 05:48:23 pm by Machiavelli »

Offline Machiavelli

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1978 on: October 27, 2018, 09:58:58 pm »
Average Face of Every Doctor Who Star Is a Reminder We're Very Glad Regeneration is a Complete Renewal

James Whitbrook
io9
October 26, 2018

Quote


On Doctor Who, the process of regeneration for a Time Lord is a profound, excruciating transformation. Every cell of their being explodes with celestial energy, transforming their entire being. It’s probably for the best though, considering that if every Time Lord kept a bit of their past self, they’d look like the nightmare above.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHcwbYq7Ro8
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« Last Edit: October 27, 2018, 10:01:46 pm by Machiavelli »

Offline Emjay

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Re: Answer (Fredric Brown, 1954)
« Reply #1979 on: October 28, 2018, 06:17:56 am »
Answer, by Fredric Brown, is a science fiction short story first published in 1954. Since the complete text appears on the Internet in several places, I'm assuming that it's in the public domain.



Dwan Ev ceremoniously soldered the final connection with gold. The eyes of a dozen television cameras watched him and the subether bore throughout the universe a dozen pictures of what he was doing.

He straightened and nodded to Dwar Reyn, then moved to a position beside the switch that would complete the contact when he threw it. The switch  that would connect, all at once, all of the monster computing machines of all the populated planets in the universe -- ninety-six billion   planets -- into the supercircuit that would connect them all into one supercalculator, one cybernetics machine that would combine all the knowledge of all the galaxies.

Dwar Reyn spoke briefly to the watching and listening trillions. Then after a moment's silence he said, "Now, Dwar Ev."

Dwar Ev threw the switch. There was a mighty hum, the surge of power from ninety-six billion planets. Lights flashed and quieted along the miles-long panel.

Dwar Ev stepped back and drew a deep breath. "The honor of asking the first question is yours,  Dwar Reyn."

"Thank you," said Dwar Reyn. "It shall be a question which no single cybernetics machine has been able to answer."

He turned to face the machine. "Is there a God?"

The mighty voice answered without hesitation, without the clicking of a single relay.

"Yes, now there is a God."

Sudden fear flashed on the face of Dwar Ev. He leaped to grab the switch.

A bolt of lightning from the cloudless sky struck him down and fused the switch shut.

Love Fredric Brown's proem, Imagine.

Imagine ghosts, gods and devils.
Imagine hells and heavens, cities floating in the sky and cities sunken in the sea
Unicorns and centaurs. Witches, warlocks, jinns and banshees.
Angels and harpies. Charms and incantations. Elementals, farmiliars, demons.
Easy to imagine all of those things: mankind has been imagining them for thousands of years.
Imagine spaceships and the future.
Easy to imagine; the future is really coming and there'll be spaceships in it.
Is there then anything that's really hard to imagine?
Of course there is.
Imagine a piece of matter and yourself inside it, yourself, aware, thinking and therefore knowing you exist, able to move that piece of matter that you're in," to make it sleep or wake, make love or walk uphill.
Imagine a universe-infinite or not, as you wish to picture it- with a billion, billion, billion suns in it.
Imagine a blob of mud whirling madly around one of those suns.
Imagine yourself standing on that blob of mud, whirling with it, whirling through time and space to an unknown destination.
Imagine!
Written by Fredric Brown, 1955

Against stupidity, the Gods themselves contend in vain.

Offline Snarknado

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Re: Answer (Fredric Brown, 1954)
« Reply #1980 on: October 29, 2018, 04:42:29 pm »
Aren't those the words to the song John Wayne in a Mansion?

Love Fredric Brown's proem, Imagine.

Imagine ghosts, gods and devils.
Imagine hells and heavens, cities floating in the sky and cities sunken in the sea
Unicorns and centaurs. Witches, warlocks, jinns and banshees.
Angels and harpies. Charms and incantations. Elementals, farmiliars, demons.
Easy to imagine all of those things: mankind has been imagining them for thousands of years.
Imagine spaceships and the future.
Easy to imagine; the future is really coming and there'll be spaceships in it.
Is there then anything that's really hard to imagine?
Of course there is.
Imagine a piece of matter and yourself inside it, yourself, aware, thinking and therefore knowing you exist, able to move that piece of matter that you're in," to make it sleep or wake, make love or walk uphill.
Imagine a universe-infinite or not, as you wish to picture it- with a billion, billion, billion suns in it.
Imagine a blob of mud whirling madly around one of those suns.
Imagine yourself standing on that blob of mud, whirling with it, whirling through time and space to an unknown destination.
Imagine!
Written by Fredric Brown, 1955
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Offline Machiavelli

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1981 on: November 01, 2018, 10:30:53 pm »
A Lo-Fi, DIY Sci-Fi Film That's Better Than Its Big-Budget Brethren (Prospect)

Brian Raftery
Wired
November 1, 2018

Quote
Last summer, the actor Jay Duplass found himself in the middle of a lush forest in Washington state, his body struggling under the weight of a giant space-helmet. The actor was filming scenes for the sci-fi drama Prospect, in which he plays a planet-scavenger hoping to get rich. Duplass' otherworldly get-up—like nearly all of the film's costume and props—had been designed and hand-made by a team of earthbound artists. But while his beat-up headgear looked cool, wearing it was "a g-d nightmare," the actor says. "It was heavy. Those helmets are not designed to be worn all day, or walked around in. It messed my neck up for a good six months."

Such sacrifices were a near-daily requirement on Prospect, which opens this Friday in select cities, and expands next week. It's a defiantly DIY indie, one that takes place in a richly designed sci-fi world, full of gonzo weapons, clunky spaceships, and lived-in locales—yet focuses largely on three primary characters. "The insane ambition was to try to capture the essence of huge movies like Dune, Star Wars, and Blade Runner," says co-writer and co-director Zeek Earl. "We tried to capture a slice of a world, but with a very low budget."

More

Wikipedia

IMDb


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F96wbQ698Z0
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« Last Edit: November 01, 2018, 10:32:23 pm by Machiavelli »

Offline Emjay

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1982 on: November 03, 2018, 09:55:29 pm »
Does this mean Voyager wasn't supposed to be a comedy?

I really like The Orville.  Lots of humor, much of it kinda sly, great cast and good stories.

I hope it holds up for Season 2.
Against stupidity, the Gods themselves contend in vain.

Offline Sanguine

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1983 on: November 03, 2018, 10:00:51 pm »
I really like The Orville.  Lots of humor, much of it kinda sly, great cast and good stories.

I hope it holds up for Season 2.

When is it supposed to start again?

Offline Emjay

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1984 on: November 05, 2018, 05:57:26 am »
When is it supposed to start again?

December 2018.  Don't know exact date.
Against stupidity, the Gods themselves contend in vain.

Offline verga

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1985 on: November 05, 2018, 01:09:44 pm »
decided to give "The man in the high castle" another go. So far I like it.
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�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
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Offline Sanguine

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1986 on: November 05, 2018, 02:30:55 pm »
December 2018.  Don't know exact date.

Thanks, @Emjay.

Offline Snarknado

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1987 on: November 05, 2018, 03:02:37 pm »
decided to give "The man in the high castle" another go. So far I like it.

I read the book - I could see a movie based on it, maybe even a miniseries, but I can't see how there's enough there for multiple seasons of TV?

Along the same lines, I just got around to watching S! of Counterpart from Starz. I liked the premise and the characters but any semblance of logic went out the window in the season finale...
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Offline Formerly Once-Ler

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1988 on: November 14, 2018, 04:27:34 am »

Offline InHeavenThereIsNoBeer

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1989 on: November 14, 2018, 04:35:48 am »
I deleted the "Mars: Commercial for SpaceX" episode w/o watching.

I (barely) sat through "Mars: Capitalism is Bad, M'Kay" episode.

What a waste.
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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1990 on: November 14, 2018, 06:53:54 am »
I just got through binge-watching seasons 1 and 2 of  Mars from National Geographic. Nice SF drama,not a documentary. Good acting,good writing,and no obvious "stoopids"

Now watching Salvation on Amazon Prime,and it's pretty good,too.
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Offline kevindavis007

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1991 on: November 14, 2018, 01:20:38 pm »
If you have YouTube Premium check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYiXt-Knr5QKMWm9DLFlV3Q/videos
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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1992 on: November 17, 2018, 12:23:32 am »
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists.

Offline kevindavis007

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1993 on: November 17, 2018, 05:53:32 pm »
Join The Reagan Caucus: https://reagancaucus.org/

Offline InHeavenThereIsNoBeer

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1994 on: November 21, 2018, 02:32:20 am »
I deleted the "Mars: Commercial for SpaceX" episode w/o watching.

I (barely) sat through "Mars: Capitalism is Bad, M'Kay" episode.

What a waste.

Nope, done.

An interesting approach.  Could have been great w/o the political agenda.
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Offline kevindavis007

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1995 on: November 22, 2018, 02:49:53 am »
If you have Netflix, you should check out The Last Kingdom.
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Offline Snarknado

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1996 on: November 22, 2018, 02:40:45 pm »
If you have Netflix, you should check out The Last Kingdom.

S1 was on BBCA - are S2-S3 just Netflix?
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Offline kevindavis007

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1997 on: November 22, 2018, 02:41:45 pm »
S1 was on BBCA - are S2-S3 just Netflix?


S2 - S3 is on Netlfix. There will be a S4.
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Offline Snarknado

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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1998 on: November 23, 2018, 01:23:30 am »

S2 - S3 is on Netlfix. There will be a S4.

Just found S2 & S3 DVDs at one of my libraries so hopefully I'll be able to catch up soon...
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Re: The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre
« Reply #1999 on: November 24, 2018, 08:49:34 pm »
Made a goodfaith effort to watch Mars 3 separate times. I really wanted to like it. But I couldn't take it. The excruciating slow pace, the slow droning narrations, the PBS special type presentation. I could tell there was an actual space story buried in the documentary. Didn't have the patience to slog through all the educational stuff to watch it. If they would separate the story from the documentary, that I could watch.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists.