The Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spy, and Superhero Genre

[Cripplecreek]

I just noticed that Anamaria Marinca played Darla on Dr Who Assylum of the Daleks and Marta Kamen on the Mars series.

[Cripplecreek]

I saw "Passengers" today.

It was OKish. Nothing remotely political about it despite Jenifer Lawrence co staring. If anything the show was underdone like they had gotten a partial screenplay and left it at that. Chris Platt was typically good but the show could have used a whole lot more Laurence Fishburne.

[kevindavis007]

Well here is the Alien Covenant trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0VW6sg50Pk

[kevindavis007]

I saw "Passengers" today.

It was OKish. Nothing remotely political about it despite Jenifer Lawrence co staring. If anything the show was underdone like they had gotten a partial screenplay and left it at that. Chris Platt was typically good but the show could have used a whole lot more Laurence Fishburne.

How was the science in the movie??

[EC]

Chris Platt was typically good but the show could have used a whole lot more Laurence Fishburne.

Not exactly a fair call - name one movie that couldn't have used more Laurence Fishburne!

[Cripplecreek]

How was the science in the movie??

The science was so so aside from a serious failing in  their portrayal of producing and losing gravity.

The ship had spinning segments I assumed were to produce artificial gravity but as systems began to fail gravity failed as if a switch had been flipped off.

[kevindavis007]

The science was so so aside from a serious failing in  their portrayal of producing and losing gravity.

The ship had spinning segments I assumed were to produce artificial gravity but as systems began to fail gravity failed as if a switch had been flipped off.

So basically I should wait until it is free then??

[Cripplecreek]

So basically I should wait until it is free then??

Yeah, its like half a movie and if I were the female character, I'd be a whole lot angrier at the male lead.

As Fishburn said "Dayyyuuuummmm"

[geronl]

The ship had spinning segments I assumed were to produce artificial gravity but as systems began to fail gravity failed as if a switch had been flipped off.

Someone forgot to grease the axle

[240B]

Well guys, I no longer have cable TV. Don't need it.


I subscribed to History Channel, FNC, an others online plus HULU and it gives me everything I need.


I went from hundreds and hundreds of channels at $120 a month, to less than 10 channels which I actually watch, at less than $50 a month combined. In addition to less money, I have the ability to watch whatever show I want to watch at whatever time I want to watch it mostly with no commercials. TV schedules, TV Guide, means nothing to me anymore.


I just watched Voyager, Enterprise, SG1, and am almost finished with Atlantis. Watching every episode of every season in order, brings so much more insight into the shows. It is a new world for me.


Next, I'm not sure. DS9? SGU? I can't watch TNG because I have seen all the episodes too many times. I don't know what I will choose, but whatever it is, it will be my choice.


Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and only the best in the coming new year.

[kevindavis007]

Well guys, I no longer have cable TV. Don't need it.

Bravo..

I subscribed to History Channel, FNC, an others online plus, HULU and it gives me everything I need.


[/size]

I have Sling Tv.. It does the job.
[/font]

I went from hundreds and hundreds of channels at $120 a month, to less than 10 channels which I actually watch, at less than $50 a month combined. In addition to less money, I have the ability to watch whatever show I want to watch at whatever time I want to watch it mostly with no commercials. TV schedules, TV Guide, means nothing to me anymore.
[/size]

In the same boat.

I just watched Voyager, Enterprise, SG1, and am almost finished with Atlantis. Watching every episode of every season in order brings so much more insight into the shows. It is a new world for me.


Next, I'm not sure. DS9? SGU? I can't watch TNG because I have seen all the episodes too many times. I don't know what I will choose, but whatever it is, it will be my choice.
[/size]

I would go with SGU.. Also, if want to Battlestar Galactica (new version) is on Hulu...

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and only the best in the coming new year.

Merry Christmas and hopefully 2017 is a better year in SciFi.

[240B]

Bravo..
I have Sling Tv.. It does the job.

I know about Sling, but have not tried it yet. They seem to be all over the place. I may in the future.

Just today I was offered a free subscription to Sling for a week or a month, whatever. I wasn't really paying attention.
However, based on your recommendation, I can't see a reason not to try the 'free' period and see what's going on.

This forum is meant to share ideas, and I guess that is what we are doing. I'll give it a try.

[kevindavis007]

I know about Sling, but have not tried it yet. They seem to be all over the place. I may in the future.

Just today I was offered a free subscription to Sling for a week or a month, whatever. I wasn't really paying attention.
However, based on your recommendation, I can't see a reason not to try the 'free' period and see what's going on.

This forum is meant to share ideas, and I guess that is what we are doing. I'll give it a try.

I would go for it.. Also there is DirectTv Now  and Vue (similar to Sling) and next year Hulu, Youtube, and someone else is going to be entering the market. So there will be more choices as far as streaming tv services.

[Cripplecreek]

One irritating thing about sci fi these days is the use of ridiculous stupidity to create drama.

Its just not believable that someone centuries into the future could open a door to hard vacuum and be caught completely by surprise.

My ship would have sensors to detect the vacuum and redundant systems requiring connecting areas to be secured before allowing a door to a vacuum to be opened. However, my ship would also have a self sealing capability for small bulkhead breaches at the least.

[kevindavis007]

One irritating thing about sci fi these days is the use of ridiculous stupidity to create drama.

Its just not believable that someone centuries into the future could open a door to hard vacuum and be caught completely by surprise.

My ship would have sensors to detect the vacuum and redundant systems requiring connecting areas to be secured before allowing a door to a vacuum to be opened. However, my ship would also have a self sealing capability for small bulkhead breaches at the least.

Ditto.. Also, for my sleeper ship, I would have an AI to maintain the ship or have a rotating crew.

[Cripplecreek]

Ditto.. Also, for my sleeper ship, I would have an AI to maintain the ship or have a rotating crew.

On Passengers the crew was due to awaken 4 months before the end of their 125 year journey at 50% of light speed. At the very least I would have had AI awakening them at the first sign of trouble.

I'd go with 10 crews doing 4 years of duty.

There was some decent basic science on Passengers. The captain (Fishburn) explaining why they couldn't just turn around and go home. 30 years out at .50 light speed so it would take another 30 years to slowdown and another 30 years to return to earth. In reality its even more complicated because you have to start slowing down halfway to earth on your return trip. (Ion drive BTW)

One I liked because it wasn't explained was Pratt sending a message home and the computer saying it would take 19 years for the message to reach earth and a total of 56 years for him to receive a response. I assume they were taking into account the fact that the ship would continue accelerating away from earth for the whole time the message to and from earth was in transit.

Also kind of pointless and wasteful to have a sleeper ship with restaurants, bars, shopping, swimming pools etc. Pandorum got that one right, the Elysium was an all business sleeper ship with little wasted space.

[kevindavis007]

On Passengers the crew was due to awaken 4 months before the end of their 125 year journey at 50% of light speed. At the very least I would have had AI awakening them at the first sign of trouble.

I'd go with 10 crews doing 4 years of duty.

That is reasonable..

There was some decent basic science on Passengers. The captain (Fishburn) explaining why they couldn't just turn around and go home. 30 years out at .50 light speed so it would take another 30 years to slowdown and another 30 years to return to earth. In reality its even more complicated because you have to start slowing down halfway to earth on your return trip. (Ion drive BTW)

One I liked because it wasn't explained was Pratt sending a message home and the computer saying it would take 19 years for the message to reach earth and a total of 56 years for him to receive a response. I assume they were taking into account the fact that the ship would continue accelerating away from earth for the whole time the message to and from earth was in transit.

Also kind of pointless and wasteful to have a sleeper ship with restaurants, bars, shopping, swimming pools etc. Pandorum got that one right, the Elysium was an all business sleeper ship with little wasted space.

That sounds about right regarding sending a message. I that Pandorum got it right I say at least 90%. To prevent the captain from going crazy and releasing the passengers early a AI would be there to make sure the ship is truly in danger or the ship has arrived at the destination.  My guess for the ship in Passengers it was make sure the people who has awaken, enjoy the final trip in luxury..


I also think we just planned an ideal Interstellar Journey. 


Now all we need to find a planet that is like this (or it can be terraformed with robot terraformers), also the $$ to build the ship and the right technology..

[LateForLunch]

Some of this is why literature regards SF as an inferior genre - the eternal need to indulge in Cosmic MacGuffins and deus ex machina in telling the stories.

That's one of the things I like about the better SF writers - they use a very limited number of the above devices to tell their stories Ursula K. LeGuin, Gene Wolfe, Heinlein, Azimov, George RR. Martin, Orson Scott Card, Ben Bova, Michael Crichton all try to limit their variance from reality to the minimum and don't overuse their dramatic license. One or two excursions into the fantastic to get the reader to care about what happens to the characters then let their own classical literary production values take over.

Too many SF productions (both literary / video) violate the classic rule Samuel Clemmons (Mark Twain) often mentioned to beginning writers, "Have a story before you try to have a style".

Roddenberry and his writers couldn't avoid taking some great departures from genuine science with Star Trek OS because they were forced by the T.V. shooting schedule/budget to make each story as stylistically engaging as possible in order to be able to meet the deadline and audience expectations for novelty - so they took some pretty serious liberties by creating a world that was waaaaaaay far out into the future with suitably ready-to-use technology to further any story line they wanted to explore. But as all great fiction, the Star Trek OS story lines were all about the characters and the genius of Roddenberry et al was in making the audience relate to the cast deeply even though they lived in a distant time far removed from our own. 

[Cripplecreek]

I suppose one reason a sleeper ship may have luxury accommodations is the expectation that passengers would be expected to live on board the ship in orbit as the colony is established.

In the movie Passengers, the Pratt Character got a discount on the trip because he was an engineer which was considered a valuable necessary career.

[kevindavis007]

I suppose one reason a sleeper ship may have luxury accommodations is the expectation that passengers would be expected to live on board the ship in orbit as the colony is established.

In the movie Passengers, the Pratt Character got a discount on the trip because he was an engineer which was considered a valuable necessary career.

I think that could be the case.  It could be that the planet is not ready yet or the facilities is ready yet. Who knows.

[bigheadfred]

I suppose one reason a sleeper ship may have luxury accommodations is the expectation that passengers would be expected to live on board the ship in orbit as the colony is established.

In the movie Passengers, the Pratt Character got a discount on the trip because he was an engineer which was considered a valuable necessary career.

That doesn't really make sense to me. On a colony ship, there would be no sightseers.

[Doug Loss]

Don't make the mistake of lumping all media versions of SF together.  The best literary SF doesn't have the shortcomings you routinely see in film or TV SF.  There's an old saying in the hard SF community (which I haven't the inclination to look up at the moment):

You get one change from known science to tell your story.  Everything else has to follow the laws of physics.

[geronl]

In my story, which needs an ending, the AI awakens a human from cryo before they even exit the solar system. Just a randomly chosen guy, who manages to talk the computer into waking up a female eventually (took a while). Only because the AI determines the guy might go nuts (draws on the wall a lot). He's America and she's from Sierra Leone.

Then the bad things start to happen and they figure out they might not be alone on the ship... (miles long) and the computer tells them that a front part of the ship isn't supposed to be there.

Oh, I think I did refer to the 250,000 people in cryo as "passengers", lol.

I posted the first chapter on my blog June 10, 2015. http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2015/06/lonely-space-chapter-one.html

[Cripplecreek]

Don't make the mistake of lumping all media versions of SF together.  The best literary SF doesn't have the shortcomings you routinely see in film or TV SF.  There's an old saying in the hard SF community (which I haven't the inclination to look up at the moment):

You get one change from known science to tell your story.  Everything else has to follow the laws of physics.

Edgar Rice Burroughs was pretty sloppy with his mars series. In his early descriptions of mars in the first of the series he says that mars has no birds, insects, or flying wildlife of any kind. By the final book of the series he's fought a battle against a race of martians who ride giant birds. I thought the Venus series was better written.

[geronl]

If I ever finish the ebook, I'm going to add this to the end for no real reason...

Little Girl

Annalisa is eight years old, wearing the gray pajama-like outfit that she likes skipping up the corridor singing a song to herself. Her footsteps echo up and down the mile-long corridor. Inside of the spaceship Salutem Novis, ferrying 265,000 souls in suspended animation on a 6,000 year journey to New Eden.

Tap, tap, tap she skips a little farther and notices another corridor branching off to the left ahead of her but she continues to sing her nonsense song. “If roses are red and corpses are dead, why do the carp like to bang their head..” at the last word she jumps to look down the branching corridor “Gotcha!”

A yellowish square robot hanging from a rod that connects to a railing on the ceiling throws its two arms wide “Annalisa has found me again! You are too good at this game of hide and seek.”

The little girl laughs.

The robot follows her back to the main corridor “It is now time for your evening meal, afterwards you must recite your lesson for the main computer and then get ready for bed.”

Annalisa crossed her arms “I'm not even tired!”, then she yawned.

“I can see that your energy levels are dropping. We have had fun today Annalisa, and we will have fun again tomorrow,” the little robot said “but the rules are the rules.”

“Okay, Gopher,” she said and then smiled and took off running “Catch me if you can!”

The yellow robot followed her quickly but had no intention of winning this little race. The main job was to keep an eye on the child. After all, she wasn't supposed to be out of cryogenic stasis and her parents were still in it. The child had adamantly refused to get back into the chamber.

As Annalisa sat at the table, the little robot took off, back through its own slot in the ceiling and soon returned with the child's evening meal. As she ate the main computer spoke up.

“How long do you plan to wait before you return to the chamber?” it asked her

“No!” she answered with a frown “I don't want to. It's too scary, Papa!”

She had taken to calling the main computer “Papa” a few days after she had been revived, through some sort of error. The main computer supposed the originally stacking of the cryo-tubes had been labeled wrong. This was the first time it had happened since the trip began, so it must have only affected a few of those in stasis.

She treated Gopher like her best friend and the main computer as some kind of step-parent, she was never a badly behaved child. She only refused to re-enter her cryogenic suspension chamber so she could rejoin her parents until the end of the journey.

“You have been doing this for twenty days, Annalisa” the main computer said “Your parents will be unhappy at the end of the trip if they have missed a lot of your childhood. Do you want them to be sad and angry?”

The girl frowned.

“You have done it before. It does not hurt and you will be asleep as soon as the process starts, then when you wake up, your parents will be waiting for you,” the main computer said

“Oookay,” she surrendered “I'm going to miss Gopher very much.”

The main computer replied “You will feel no time passing, Gopher will still be here when you wake up, Gopher will be waiting for you.”

“Yes I will,” Gopher said “Because Annalisa is my friend.”

The girl smiled.

[kevindavis007]

In my story, which needs an ending, the AI awakens a human from cryo before they even exit the solar system. Just a randomly chosen guy, who manages to talk the computer into waking up a female eventually (took a while). Only because the AI determines the guy might go nuts (draws on the wall a lot). He's America and she's from Sierra Leone.

Then the bad things start to happen and they figure out they might not be alone on the ship... (miles long) and the computer tells them that a front part of the ship isn't supposed to be there.

Oh, I think I did refer to the 250,000 people in cryo as "passengers", lol.

I posted the first chapter on my blog June 10, 2015. http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2015/06/lonely-space-chapter-one.html

I did read that story sometime ago.. Much better concept than Passengers...


In reality I was looking for a sci-fi movie like Interstellar and The Martian.  This year was kinda disappointing.  We shall what 2017 brings.

[geronl]

I did read that story sometime ago.. Much better concept than Passengers...


In reality I was looking for a sci-fi movie like Interstellar and The Martian.  This year was kinda disappointing.  We shall what 2017 brings.

I only posted about half of what I have so far on the blog. Maybe I should post a few more chapters since I've neglected the blog for so long.

[kevindavis007]

Here is the list of Sci-Fi movies coming out next year: http://movieweb.com/movies/2017/sci-fi/

[Cripplecreek]

Here is the list of Sci-Fi movies coming out next year: http://movieweb.com/movies/2017/sci-fi/

Looks like lots of crap and a few possibilities.

[geronl]

Dark Tower might be good

Star Wars VIII

I'm not interested in Power Rangers for sure.

[kevindavis007]

Looks like lots of crap and a few possibilities.

That is my thinking as well.. Aside from Alien, Blade Runner, and Star Wars..  Most of them are crap. I think there are few that can be good.

[LateForLunch]

In my story, which needs an ending, the AI awakens a human from cryo before they even exit the solar system. Just a randomly chosen guy, who manages to talk the computer into waking up a female eventually (took a while). Only because the AI determines the guy might go nuts (draws on the wall a lot). He's America and she's from Sierra Leone.

Then the bad things start to happen and they figure out they might not be alone on the ship... (miles long) and the computer tells them that a front part of the ship isn't supposed to be there.

Oh, I think I did refer to the 250,000 people in cryo as "passengers", lol.

I posted the first chapter on my blog June 10, 2015. http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2015/06/lonely-space-chapter-one.html

Interesting plot. 'Sounds a little like Gene Wolfe's award-winning short story, "The Other Dead Man".

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Now all we need to find a planet that is like this (or it can be terraformed with robot terraformers), also the $$ to build the ship and the right technology..

We landed a man on the moon before I was alive and we still haven't paid for that yet.

[geronl]

Interesting plot. 'Sounds a little like Gene Wolfe's award-winning short story, "The Other Dead Man".

I'll be looking that up

[uglybiker]

The latest in weird.
But surprisingly well done.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-1RMKdWz8M

[geronl]

The latest in weird.
But surprisingly well done.

wow

[Smokin Joe]

In my story, which needs an ending, the AI awakens a human from cryo before they even exit the solar system. Just a randomly chosen guy, who manages to talk the computer into waking up a female eventually (took a while). Only because the AI determines the guy might go nuts (draws on the wall a lot). He's America and she's from Sierra Leone.

Then the bad things start to happen and they figure out they might not be alone on the ship... (miles long) and the computer tells them that a front part of the ship isn't supposed to be there.

Oh, I think I did refer to the 250,000 people in cryo as "passengers", lol.

I posted the first chapter on my blog June 10, 2015. http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2015/06/lonely-space-chapter-one.html

Thanks. I read every chapter, and am looking forward to more. A nice, pleasant read that holds my attention without tedium. That's good stuff by me. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.

[geronl]

Thanks. I read every chapter, and am looking forward to more. A nice, pleasant read that holds my attention without tedium. That's good stuff by me. I'm looking forward to reading more of your work.

I added 2 more chapters.

http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2016/12/lonely-space-chapter-eight.html

http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2016/12/lonely-space-chapter-nine.html

@kevindavis @Smokin Joe @Cripplecreek @Freya

[Smokin Joe]

I added 2 more chapters.

http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2016/12/lonely-space-chapter-eight.html

http://flscifi.blogspot.com/2016/12/lonely-space-chapter-nine.html

@kevindavis @Smokin Joe @Cripplecreek @Freya

Thanks!

[Gefn]

Thank you

[Ghost Bear]

The latest in weird.
But surprisingly well done.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-1RMKdWz8M

Hmmm... animated Leela is more attractive than live-action Leela.   

[Gefn]

Hmmm... animated Leela is more attractive than live-action Leela.   

Agreed. And hypnotoad looses something in translation too. But I did like the head of Richard Nixon.

Thank you @Ghost Bear . I'm a big fan of Futureama! I wish they would bring it back.

(I wonder if Old Fortran beer tastes like Duff beer)

[bigheadfred]

Hmmm... animated Leela is more attractive than live-action Leela.   

Is this where the rubber meets the road?

[Ghost Bear]

Agreed. And hypnotoad looses something in translation too. But I did like the head of Richard Nixon.

Thank you @Ghost Bear . I'm a big fan of Futureama! I wish they would bring it back.

(I wonder if Old Fortran beer tastes like Duff beer)

And was that Rich Little as Richard Nixon's Head?  Sure looked like him!

[geronl]

The Nixon guy was well done

[kevindavis007]

Well I finished watching the 2nd season of The Man in the High Castle.. Top Notch..

[LateForLunch]

I'll be looking that up

I tried to send this as a PM but you apparently have me blocked (possibly stemming from some contentious previous Trump-related thread before the election that I seem to recall generated some hurt feelings with many posters). I just wanted to warn you about Wolfe. He is not a normal human being so it is perilous to view his work as if he were.

I'm fairly certain that Gene Wolfe has an eidetic memory (much like the central character in his most renown work  aka the Severian Series) so those of us who don't have one cannot hope to measure up to his literary standards. Wolfe's ability to create a consistent, concise yet elaborate narrative / story no doubt benefits from his capability to recall information in great detail.

As an amateur writer without a photographic memory myself, I view Wolfe the way I imagine a person who does an occasional 5K run regards an Olympic-class marathoner. It's not that he's verbose or florid so much as that he doubles-back on his story line and does occasional back-flips and hand stands that are very effective at creating the moods, ideas and other effects he strives to manifest.

Ursula K. LeGuin (one of my all-time favorite authors of any genre) called Wolfe, "Our modern Melville"! High praise indeed from someone whose own writing skills are so superlative as to make people like me simply resign myself to the realization that I will almost certainly always remain a "hobbyist"  who writes for personal catharsis / amusement while others like Wolfe,  LeGuin and possibly yourself, rightfully claim the title of "author". 

[geronl]

I tried to send this as a PM but you apparently have me blocked (possibly stemming from some contentious previous Trump-related thread before the election that I seem to recall generated some hurt feelings with many posters). I just wanted to warn you about Wolfe. He is not a normal human being so it is perilous to view his work as if he were.

thanks for the warning.

You should have been able to PM me even if I have you on Ignore. Weird.

[geronl]

Early in my book I used a short snippet about a girl and her father on a yacht escaping the conflict and carnage of the war with the aliens, I used it to show that Nemesis (we don't have a moon anymore) caused a bulge in the ocean that moved as the Earth turned, slamming into the coast daily.

Near the end of the book I decided to bring them back, this time they aren't running away, they're rescuing survivors of the daily tsunami floating at sea.

Since the girl is about the same age as the Korean girl who is going to be a bigger deal in the next books, I've decided they'll work together in some form or fashion. The Korean girl will be the top communicator with the aliens while this girl might join the military and be assigned as a body guard when she is sent to Nemesis.

Something like that.

[Doug Loss]

I have to say, your setup sounds quite a bit like John Ringo's "Black Tide Rising" series.