7 Reasons Why Scifi Book Series Outstay Their Welcomes
posted on May 15, 2008 - View this thread

Dan Dare, pilot of the future, scourge of the Venusian Mekon menace, and modernist architectural inspiration?
posted on Apr 28, 2008 - View this thread

There's been alot written about Battlestar Galactica. Here's your chance to catch up.
posted on Apr 4, 2008 - View this thread

Edinburgh author Iain M. Banks, creator of the post capitalist space faring society The Culture and it's oddly named ships, has long been the UKs top science fiction writer, but has never had more than a toehold in the US (in part through lack of availability, in part due to lack of promotion and in part due to some pretty awful covers. That could change: Matter, his latest, has been heavily promoted in the US and sports a cover nearly identical to the UK edition. This week Orbit are releasing US editions of the two earliest Culture novels, with the third following in July, which could mean a complete release of all the novels in the US in order.
posted on Mar 23, 2008 - View this thread

Sci-Fi Shakespearean standoff: Magneto vs Pickard vs that guy from Serentity.
posted on Mar 9, 2008 - View this thread

Starship Sofa is a science fiction podcast with biweekly short fiction from known authors (David Brin, Bruce Sterling) and a more regular discussion on SciFi concepts and authors. Warning. podcast contains Geordie accents and the stories contain terrible fake American accents.
posted on Feb 5, 2008 - View this thread

"In the Late December" (MP3 link), by Greg van Eekhout, is a Nebula award-nominated story about Santa Claus and the end of the universe, and is Escape Pod #138. (By the way, this is a very dark story -- there's no sex or violence but this probably isn't suitable for kids, where "kids" is defined as a stereotypical aggregate of child-like characteristics. Yours may be different.)
posted on Dec 25, 2007 - View this thread

It's easy with the excessive shopping, TV specials, nonstop music, etc. but tomorrow we honor one of mankind's most important people. A man who told parables to the masses of how the meek shall inherit the earth, how to serve man, and how to face our own personal demons. People have built monuments to him, even died in his name. I am, of course, referring to Rod Serling (born 12/25/1924). Merry Serlingmas!
posted on Dec 24, 2007 - View this thread

The winners of StarshipModeler.com's "Wrecks" challenge are a mixed bag, with some absolutely incredible destroyed sci-fi models, both kit-built & free modeled, and dioramas. And then others that are less impressive.
posted on Dec 13, 2007 - View this thread

The geekiest thing you will see this month is this fan-made comic called The Ten Doctors. Unexpectedly awesome, though!
posted on Dec 6, 2007 - View this thread

Imagine a world without lightsabers—where, instead, every big Star Wars finale consists of a 10-minute slap fight. Thank the maker we’ll never have to witness such a spectacle, because magical and impossibly high-tech weapons are staples of nearly all of our favorite entertainments! ToyFare Magazine presents the 50 Greatest Fictional Weapons of All Time.
posted on Nov 21, 2007 - View this thread

Would you like to read classic science fiction short story A Pail of Air? Or would you prefer to listen?
posted on Nov 15, 2007 - View this thread

The Two Doctors: "David Tennant's Tenth Doctor is set to meet Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor in a special scene commissioned for BBC One's Children in Need."
posted on Oct 22, 2007 - View this thread

An interview with Lebbeus Woods -- designer and illustrator of speculative futuristic landscapes and buildings. Woods just set up his own website, which has an amazing quantity of drawings, photographs, and text focusing on his lesser known projects [for those willing to deal with a frustrating flash interface and sound. It's better in IE than Firefox.]
posted on Oct 6, 2007 - View this thread

For many kids, the space age made its TV debut years before Sputnik with 1950's TV space serials.
1950 - Space Patrol - The Hidden Treasure of Mars. (Part two)
1954 - Rocky Jones' Space, Space Ranger - Rocky's Odyssey. (Chapters two, three)
1954 - Flash Gordon - Deadline at Noon and Akim the Terrible.
posted on Sep 24, 2007 - View this thread

Astrona - Space & Astronomical Art Journal : "specialising in space and astronomical art, science fiction art, visions of future worlds, design and visualization of technologies for living in space, space exploration, spaceships, starships, space colonies, etc."
posted on Aug 29, 2007 - View this thread

Vernor Vinge: Mathematician, computer scientist and science fiction visionary worthy of Arthur C Clarke's mantle, Vinge is most famous for popularising the idea of the singularity, where technology advances so quickly that humans cannot participate, but he's also credited with writing one of the first stories about cyberspace, True Names, back in 1981. More recently, he's been exploring how augmented reality and belief circles will change the way we live in his latest novel Rainbows End - which he put online, completely for free.
posted on Aug 24, 2007 - View this thread

I watch virtually no television but this NPR review for the debut episode of Masters of Science Fiction (ABC) had me intrigued. (A similar review in the NY Times). ABC is being accused of burying this show with the timing of its introduction (and time slot). As for me, I'm still thinking about the debut episode, three hours later.
posted on Aug 4, 2007 - View this thread

Claybourne was a unique and well produced radio drama set in New Zealand. It was science fiction, a thriller, a soap opera. It aired in 96 five minute episodes, but died mid-storyline when it's creative team- like so many creative teams- couldn't get it together.
posted on Jul 18, 2007 - View this thread

Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen: The Comic Book is coming to newsstands in two weeks, but you can see an entire 7-page Tek story at Entertainment Weakly Weekly's EWW EW.com. A little promotionally fluffy info. Of course, there has already been Tek Jansen fan fiction, but this is, like, authorized and pre-read by Stephen Himself.
posted on Jun 28, 2007 - View this thread

The Brain That Wouldn't Die is the best public domain movie I've seen all week. Abe Baker's spooky original jazz score is a staple in sci-fi B movies. The monster is played by Eddie Carmel, subject of Diane Arbus' A Jewish giant at home with his parents in the Bronx, N.Y. 1970, in his first screen appearance. And I can't overlook the feminist take on this postwar gorefest. See for yourself.
posted on Jun 28, 2007 - View this thread

The fourth part of a trilogy of interviews with Douglas Adams before he got all famous. "I find the difference, for me, between having no money and having quite a bit is that the bills get bigger. And that's it. The lifestyle doesn't change." Well, he certainly didn't. And for that, much thanks.
posted on Jun 1, 2007 - View this thread

Jess Nevins, obsessive cataloguer of Victorian science fantasy, early-twentieth-century pulp, and forties-era superheroes (all links Geocities) and annotator of certain reference-dense comics, weighs in with an opinionated overview of Han Empire science fiction. (Note: Enjrolasworld hosts several more comic series annotations, including the Sandman annotations previously discussed here.)
posted on May 30, 2007 - View this thread

"Lovely crinkly edges." Third and final part of an excellent series of unpublished interviews with Douglas Adams, with the first Hitchhiker's book still to be complete and script editing on Dr Who taking up much of his time.
posted on May 1, 2007 - View this thread

"Prepare to embrace your creators in the stygian haunts of hell, barbarian", gasped the first soldier.
"Only after you have kissed the fleeting stead of death, wretch!" returned Grignr.
I cannot believe that I once considered my life complete having never been exposed to SciFi convention mainstay and possibly Worst Science Fiction Story Ever Written, The Eye of Argon. Previously mentioned on Metafilter in comments, it is time for Jim Theis' magnum opus have its day in the Blue. If you can make it through the story without laughing (most can't), there's always the MST3K'd version to attempt as well! (via)
posted on Apr 13, 2007 - View this thread

"Graham Chapman and I were commissioned by Ringo Starr, of all people, to write a one-hour US TV special for him. That was SF comedy." Fantastic unpublished interview with Douglas Adams from 1979 just after the radio series of Hitchhiker's and before the books, the tv show, and everything else wonderful for which we remember him. Part 2 here.
posted on Apr 3, 2007 - View this thread

The Eldritch Dark. No, not about Mr. Lovecraft, but a sprawling site dedicated to Clark Ashton Smith, a friend and frequent correspondent. Along with Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard, Smith is an early contributor to Weird Tales whose stories stand the test of time (his work directly inspired Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison). He thought of himself primarily as a poet.
posted on Apr 2, 2007 - View this thread

Doctor Who fun and games. While you wait for Series 3 to start - and toss and turn wondering who the next Doctor will be - blow a little bit of time with K-9, the Daleks and the Slitheen.
posted on Mar 27, 2007 - View this thread

Steampunk Star Wars. An ongoing series of drawings by Eric Poulton of Star Wars characters redone in the style of Jules Verne era sci-fi. Sadly only three have been done, so far, but hopefully more to come. Via
posted on Mar 1, 2007 - View this thread

30 years of thrillpower! British weekly comic 2000ad celebrates it's 30th aniversary. Previously discussed here, current Tharg Matt Smith interviewed, special birthday Prog. Splundig vur thrigg!
posted on Feb 26, 2007 - View this thread

Flurb! Issue 2 of the Webzine of Astonishing Tales -- edited by Rudy Rucker, featuring 'demented and counter-cultural' stories from luminaries of the cyberypunkery like Charles Stross, John Shirley, Mark Laidlaw (who also wrote the story for Half Life 2), Richard Kadrey, one of MeFi's favorite snark-targets, Cory Doctorow and others besides -- is out. [found via the RU SIRIUS podcast] [Previously: Issue #1]
posted on Feb 12, 2007 - View this thread

Steam Wars is the many decades long dream project of writer/illustrator Larry Blamire. Essentially the story of three soldiers set in a Victorian era war that features giant Jules Verneseque steam-powered mechrobots, the story has kicked around in Blamire's imagination since the 1970s. In an attempt to get the story made into a movie, he's put up a site with concept sketches, full color art & even faux memorabilia from the ficticious wars.
posted on Jan 3, 2007 - View this thread

Think you get a lot done? Isaac Asimov (pronounced like "has, him, of" without the h's) , who would have turned 87 today, wrote or edited over 500 books, including science-fiction novels, introductions to organic chemistry (a field in which he held a professorship at B.U.) , indispensable anthologies of early science fiction, jokebooks, guides to Shakespeare, and collections of lively essays on science that have introduced thousands of people to the pleasures of thinking hard about the universe. He also found the time to write a few essays and write postcards to his fans. His story "Runaround" , from his 1950 collection I, Robot, is the only piece of fiction I know centered on the properties of a differential equation. His Foundation Trilogy was given a special Hugo award in 1966 as the best science fiction series of all time; a movie version, to be written by Jeff Vintar and directed by Shekhar Kapur, is currently in development. Previous AsimovFilter: here, here, here. Feel like a slacker yet? Stop reading MetaFilter and get to work!
posted on Jan 2, 2007 - View this thread

Goreans are inspired by the sci-fi works of Gor, by John Norman, whose turgid prose lays out a way of life for male masters and female slaves...but also Free Women. So why not meet one? Or at least say hello. And don't forget their humor! It sure is something. It just isn't BDSM.
posted on Dec 20, 2006 - View this thread

La Planète sauvage - based on the novel Oms en Série by Stefan Wul, and known to the English speaking world as Fantastic Planet, is a wonderfully psychadelic animated Sci-Fi film from 1973. An international production between France and Czechoslovakia, the movie has a cult following, mostly from viewers who saw it on USA's Night Flight in the 1980's. Although it has languished in obscurity for some time, Hollywood has decided it's time for a live action remake. For those who haven't seen it, or for people who haven't seen it in twenty years, some kind soul has uploaded the entire film to Youtube. You'll never look at your pets the same way again.
posted on Dec 11, 2006 - View this thread

The Hero of Burbank, The Man They Call Jayne. Just a day before it starts, the Firefly-focused "Flanvention" convention was canceled by Booster Entertainment (who took down their entire site in the process), leaving about 500 "flans" who had paid $225 for a weekend pass (some math) (and some who paid $5000 for lifetime passes to all Booster cons — although that may not have been as foolish as it might appear) and who had made nonrefundable flights and nonrefundable hotel reservations with nothing for the money they had spent on con(vention) passes or their accommodations. Now, that, in and of itself, is quite unpleasant but perhaps not MeFi-worthy — but what pushes this over the edge to being a cool story is when the Firefly actors decided to come out anyway — evidently unpaid — for their "flans." [more inside]
posted on Dec 8, 2006 - View this thread

A year-by-year archive, from 1930 to the present, of every poignant, creepy, tacky, tragic, goofy, beautiful and, yes, kinda slutty cover of the magazine that started out as Astounding Stories of Super Science and became Analog, with lots of changes in between. [via the horse's neck]
posted on Nov 11, 2006 - View this thread

On the Edge of Blade Runner [documentary, google video, 52mins]
posted on Oct 29, 2006 - View this thread

Which side are we on? We're on the side of the demons, Chief. We're evil men in the gardens of paradise, sent by the forces of death to spread devastation and destruction wherever we go. I'm surprised you didn't know that.
posted on Oct 15, 2006 - View this thread

SWFRoads is one of the coolest flash games I've seen in a while.
posted on Sep 17, 2006 - View this thread

Planning a jump to Barnard's Star? Making the Kessel Run in 11 parsecs? You'll need maps. Also available in a solid state format from Bathsheba Sculpture. (Previously)
posted on Sep 16, 2006 - View this thread

A Dozen Eccentric Westerns, Ten Neglected Science Fiction Movies, and Ten Overlooked Noirs selected by Jonathan Rosenbaum. A follow-up to an earlier post on offbeat musicals.
posted on Sep 8, 2006 - View this thread

Young Folks in the city playing kids' games with expensive toys. Or you can get budget version, for those who just prefer to whack each other. Who exactly does this sort of thing? It's getting more popular.
posted on Aug 28, 2006 - View this thread

Flurb - issue #1, from Rudy Rucker.
posted on Aug 23, 2006 - View this thread

Romance 2.0 : Jan-M. Studt's writing/directing debut. "Businesswoman Sarah Townsend looked back on a successful day when a promising, unknown man called on her 3D-holophone. Too bad the holophone technique isn't very advanced yet. And men are not what they used to be..." (German with English subtitles.)
posted on Aug 15, 2006 - View this thread

They're Made out of Meat. A short story by Terry Bisson (discussed earlier) has been adapted to the very small screen as a short film.
posted on Jun 24, 2006 - View this thread

In 2003, Paramount proposed redoing the special effects for the original "Star Trek" series and rereleasing the episodes as "Star Trek Enhanced". Two CGI firms redid the effects for the teaser, the opening credits and title, and the first two acts of The Doomsday Machine as a proof-of-concept with no changes to the acting or the story. Paramount ultimately decided not to pursue the project, but it's interesting to see how two different CGI firms handled the transporter, phasers, and starship effects.
posted on Jun 23, 2006 - View this thread

Tim Hildebrandt, half of the Brothers Hildebrandt artwork team, died yesterday due to complications from diabetes.
posted on Jun 12, 2006 - View this thread

FRANK R. PAUL: At a time when most Americans didn't even have a telephone, he was painting space stations, robots and aliens from other planets... he was the guest of honor at the first world science fiction convention, and he was the first person to ever make a living drawing spaceships. What could be cooler than that? via the one and only BLDBLOG, with an interesting take on the subject.
posted on May 17, 2006 - View this thread

A talk given by Matt Webb on fictional futures, and a whole lot besides. Just some text and some pictures, but he takes you on a most excellent brain adventure, from Italo Calvino to a map of all the biochemical reactions on Earth to Vannevar Bush’s machine, the Memex with dozens of stops in between. One of my favorite parts -- and the coolest use of RSS I've ever seen -- is a tool to subscribe to your personal lightcone. [via]
posted on May 7, 2006 - View this thread