My favorite thing about the Diablo as a series is they keep updating it(like a MMO). The latest D3 update is adding items changing skills and adding new leveling systems as well so its just getting better.

I’m geeked out that you liked my post of your wicked cool podcast and my honoring (?) you with Podcast of the Month for the month of May. I think your podcast deserves as many props as it can get.

I understand how you feel about “broadcasting in a vacuum” – or in my case on Guardians of the Genre writing in a vacuum – so if my meager praise of your podcast helps fill that vacuum even a miniscule amount, that is makes me feel like my work on my blog is worth it.

I haven’t been as excited by your mention of Guardians of the Genre on your podcast, since Commander USA showed one of my drawings on his show and mentioned my (mundane) name on TV; how’s that for an obscure genre reference for you?

I appreciate your regular weekly podcast schedule more than you can imagine.

Fritz “Doc” Freakenstein
Unofficial Moderator and President of Guardians of the Genre!

I wanted to let you know that I have been listening to your show on and off for the last year. I wanted to say that I am impressed how the quality of the show has improved. The sound has gotten better and the conversations have gotten deeper and more poignant. I recently started listening to the show again starting with the Comic Archive Project and I was taken aback with the clarity of the sound. I have always liked the show and the ideas portrayed but now I enjoy LISTENING to the show.

If I could offer one small critique: Kriana’s levels are still a bit too high. She is boisterous and enjoyable but her levels peak with every other word. If her levels were brought down by 20% then she would match everyone else on the show.

Keep going with this brilliant show. The improvements have been great and I can’t wait to see where the show goes from here.

D0C

Looks like the Kickstarter project for the film “Edgar’s Comics” failed to reach its goal. However, our guest David Johnson does thank us below for our support!

Illustrator X

Dear Each and Every Backer,

I wanted to extend to each of you my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for your generous support during this Kickstarter campaign. It is both inspiring and humbling to know, first-hand, that there are complete strangers in this great big world who empathize with another person’s creative dream, enough to contribute financially towards helping another person achieve that vision. You are a special group of people; contributors and members to the creative world. While this funding go-round was unsuccessful for Edgar’s Comics, the game is not yet over. Through this website I have been blessed with more contacts than what I started with. I will be having additional conversations over the next month or two, with industry executives (who contacted me) always with the hope of having the project land on the right desk. After this experience, I am even more committed to the project because there has been great interest in the project. So, while my pitch did not convert that interest into the funding target, I am certain that there is an audience who wants to see this story told. It is also possible that we may re-post this project to Kickstarter in a few months time.

We’d like to give a special thank you to Mark Seifert @ BleedingCool.com for his expansive article, Brian Christman @ ComicGeekSpeak.com for the interview, Richard Sheldon @ NerdHeardOnline.com for the interview and the gang at SciFiSaturdayNight.com for the interview. With that, I wish you all the very best in 2012. Should anything momentous happen with Edgar’s Comics, presumably will be able to post an update to this expired campaign.

Very Best Regards,
David Johnson

We happen to hear the podcast, we sincerely thank you and appreciate you for dedicating a show to our beloved Daughter Armitage, it truly brought tears to my eyes. To know that people will remember our daughter and the impact she had on this world, although as short as it was, means a lot to us.

In 2012 we would look forward to someday being guests again on your show, but as you can well imagine, the lost of our daughter has caused us to temporarily stop production as we rebuild our lives. We hope that in 2012 we will be starting back up again.

Once again a sincerely thank you to you and the staff of SciFi Saturday Night.

-Alexander & Joy Tambascia
MECHA Software, LLC

You’d better believe I’d get on your ass for bringing up faster than light neutrinos! You’re probably too young to remember another “experimental revelation”–cold fusion–back in 1989, but the initial results weren’t replicated. Not that I think CERN and OPERA are fudging results (as seemed to be the case in the cold fusion experiment), but you were exactly right…I’d caution patience until/if the experimental results are replicated. Can’t be giving us physicists a bad name, you know!

I actually still have this video in my collection, and remember watching it with some degree of awe the first time I saw it. Michael (the android) was certainly a frightening element, and Topeka–well, I’m sure Topeka in the 50s was NOT quite the dystopia it became in the film. Of note, I recall reading somewhere that Ellison had a falling out with the producer over the very last line of dialog in the film (“Well, I’d certainly say she had marvelous judgment, Albert, if not particularly good taste.”), which was not in his novella. Which is a shame, because I thought it was a witticism certainly worthy of Blood.

I second your recommendation to see this movie!

Just need some graphics!

Trickle etc. are because I originally misunderstood the title of the movie as being about a superhero team :p

So, what’s the deal with Trickle and the gang?

Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, not a bright future either. I understand there is a lot of other stories out there that cover the future, but so far I’ve only found most of these stories that don’t have an optimistic view of our future.

This last Saturday, I had a hellish schedule leading up to the podcast. As the time approached, I left the venue I was at and as I pulled into the Area 51 Complex, I began to feel something I hadn’t felt in a number of months; I was genuinely jazzed to speak to Ben Bova again. Little did I know just how much fun and enlightening the hour would be. Dr. Bova was the gentleman I remembered him as being from my earlier interviews. He was genuinely engaging, ribald, funny, enlightening and (dare I say) inspiring. If you didn’t hear the interview, play it from our website, download it on iTunes, whatever.

Dr. Bova gave me the answer I have been unknowingly searching for these past months. His searing sense of humor and elegant sensibilities smacked me in the face.

We have an amazing Cast and Crew here. The TalkCast Crew, X, The Dead Red Head, Kriana, Zombrarian, Java and Dru all have a unique and quirky sensibility they bring to you all as well as a cross generational perspective that few other organizations can. Add to that the wonderful writers we have added, Amandatron3000, Winter Is Coming, SamanthaB and RDaneelOlivaw each have a distinctive perspective they bring to us and to you. We are an amazingly large, beautifully dysfunctional family with individual perceptions into what makes science fiction important to us and I hope to you.

Dr. Bova inspires us; he inspired me. He got me to remember why I do this, why we all do it. No matter what sub context of the genre, Science fiction matters, it causes you to think, it causes things to happen. It is relevant even in its most ridiculous form (think Smallville). We do this because we care. We care about the human condition we care about the future, we care about….us. Regardless of whatever else may happen, we will keep writing and ‘Casting because somebody cares, and Dr. Bova reminded me that if we don’t, who the hell will.
Thanks, Ben.

you can send to toni.lotempio@itt.com

Loved Dune, didn’t read the book, but you’ll find people that loved it, and people who really, really hate it.

One reason why I love listening to the Talkcast is that everyone has different views, and friendly arguments ensue. It’s all good fun.

The Crow graphic novel by James O’Barr, adapted to the screen in 1995 starring Brandon Lee. It’s a good action movie, and has a very simplified story structure, but lacks all of the sadness and heartbreak of the graphic novel. I understand, when it comes to movie adaptations, they need to change certain aspects of a story to make it ‘marketable’, even though I think that hurts them to some degree. It certainly does in the case of The Crow. I have my own reasons for loving this movie, but when you compare the two, the movie is kind of empty.

Watchmen: I disagreed with a movie adaptation on this since the beginning. It’s too complicated of a story to fit as a movie without making it 8 hours long. What we got was an abbreviated version of the original. I got into an argument with someone over the changes made in the movie, and in the end I was convinced that…the changes worked, to a degree.

I’ll agree with Mr. Dave in that the movie adaptation can be entirely different from its source material and still have merit. However, I feel each adaptation be it graphic novel, novel, short story, comic, should be treated as a separate case. What worked for DC and the contemporary Batman, isn’t working for the contemporary Marvel titles.

But I understand where you are coming from and I really try hard not to be that “but the book was better!” person. I think I was successful with my all time favorite sci-fi epic, Dune. LOVE that book. I still read it like once a year. But I also really like (even with all its dumb flaws) the movie. I feel like Lynch really captured some of the spirit of the book, and it’s obvious he was trying really hard. Even though that movie was a flop, I can still appreciate the effort he put into it.

If it is because science fiction “grew up” around serials, comics, TV shows, and other ongoing media and so makes us invest emotionally in the extension of the story through books, comics, toys, and sequels I don’t know.

It might also be that Science Fiction world-building implies a larger world beyond what we have seen and we, as curious creatures, want to explore that world. I know I don’t have any curiosity about the world of Bridget Jones in film because I can go there myself rather than see it on the screen.

It could also be linked to the fact that others hold the ultimate fate of the continuation of these properties and not us. We can love Firefly as much as any human being can…but that doesn’t make it come back from the void. Perhaps if we clap loudly enough Tinker-Wash will live!

Whatever the reason, the worlds of our imagination engender in us a proprietary feeling. And when others disparage them we get bristly and defensive. And that’s normal. But we are big enough that the stuff you like doesn’t have to bleed into the stuff I like unless I allow it.

Don’t treat the book as the touchstone of what is good or not. Treat it as a broader, perhaps more nuanced treatment of the same story. Or in the case of some books (The Road, I’m talking to you here) as a boring slog through the minds of your protagonists.

A movie adaptation can be entirely different from its source material and still have merit. Nobody is going to praise Ridley Scott’s BladeRunner as an accurate portrayal of “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”. But I, for one, am glad I know both the book and the movie. Each brings something to the table.

So the next time someone says “But the book was better!” slap them. Then offer them an alternative view of how the world doesn’t have to be a binary of book-good/movie=bad.

You are more than entitled to have enjoyed The Postman, although god knows why you would have. Have you read the book? I have used this as a guidepost to most Sci Fi Movies. If I may pontificate…..

I remember sitting through a particularly useless film called Enemy/Mine. I was impressed by the book, because it was a very interesting examination of cross-cultural and inter-species understanding. I remember saying to the geek I was sitting with, OK…now here it where it really gets good…and the credits came up.

I suffered the same issues with Postman. What made the book so very special was conspicuously missing from the film, in order to allow the main character to flex and grimace for the camera. My displeasure from the film does not emanate from your enjoyment, but instead from the total evisceration of the book.
Welcome to the Club.

I agree on G’Kar and his coat. He was a spectacular actor all around.

and my master actually watched them when they were on actual TV..so she’s OLD!!!!!! (ha ha meow, I better watch it, blogging priviliges will be revoked again!)

I wonder how he would feel about this PBS special on ‘Social Robots’ that aired last month:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/social-robots.html

Judging from your article (and what I read in the link on the Frankenstein complex), I think he’d be pleased.

ROCCO

Nice first post! Imagine what a thesis topic that map could make! Tracing the various paths and identifying the connections and the key elements in the works at the branch points would be a tremendous amount of work…but lots of fun for a sci-fi aficionado. And even though I’ve been accused of writing a thesis paper or two on here myself, that’s NOT a task I’m going to take on…at least now. Welcome to the ranks!

As for the discussion of wanting Firefly back, for all of the hardcore Firefly fans I hope you get what you want, but I would rather have Carnivàle back.

Thanks for visiting us here at SFSN!

Twilight, hah. Only saw the first film. I won’t comment, because I want to be kind, but I can understand your uproar over the change. Especially when you’ve been attached to something for SO LONG.

Case in point: Every Star Trek fan knows the reason Klingons don’t have ridges in the original series is because of budget restraints. On Deep Space Nine, when the crew went back to the past and encountered the earlier versions of the Klingons, Worf simply stated “We do not discuss it with outsiders.” As a Star Trek fan, I liked that myth. I was attached to it.

Star Trek: Enterprise squashed that by using it as a very lame plot device late in the series.

So, yeah. I hear you. The U.S. version of Being Human might be a win, but it seems to me that for every one win, there are a bunch of epic fails.

Hope to see you in the chat tonight!

Lately, I’ve had a serious disdain for Syfy (Sifee, as I like to refer to it) and while this show may be as likable as you say it is, I can’t bring myself to give it a chance.

I’ll agree with Mr. Washy to an extent. Being a 33 year old (who’s VCRs were always at the correct time, because I was geek-like-that) I love technology and how it’s changed communication.

However, I also can’t help but consider how technology has changed things such as the workplace, both in communication and workflow. I couldn’t do my job without the use of e-mail. At the same time, I couldn’t speak ill of my co-workers or my job on a public forum without some sort of consequence.

Take a look at the teacher from eastern PA who was suspended for writing a blog post that berated her students. She might lose her job over actions, even though she didn’t name the school or students in her post.

I’m not turning this into a free speech debate (although some discussion on this would be nice, I know it’s not scifi, but still). My point is because this technology was available to her, she decided to use it to write a post she knew was going to appear in public. Common sense tells you NOT to do that (I have a very strict no blogging/Facebooking/Tweeting about work policy.) Now she may lose her job, or alter her chances at future employment, because the technology allowed it.

Link to a news article about the woman in question here:

http://doylestown.patch.com/articles/cb-east-teacher-removed-after-blogging-about-students

I have to agree with X and Olivaw. I wish they would stop recycling things. Especially Tim Burton. Before we know it, he’s going to remake Beetlejuice starring Shai LaBeouf as the title lead.

It’s really silly, but does fit into the TV series continuity.

The lingo is SUPER clunky, and don’t even get me started on the “alternate universe” pop-culture references! “Gary Blotter”??? Puh-lease.

It’s not that tech is making the kids dumber or less able to communicate. In point of fact it has been shown that texting helps reading ability (http://goo.gl/zZGDX). Just because *you* can’t read it doesn’t mean that it lacks meaning. I’m not saying that to be insulting but as a fact.

What I hear from many people over the age of 30 (you know, those that grew up with a VCR that was probably flashing 12:00) is that they ‘don’t get’ new technology. They are slow to adopt it and use it infrequently when they do. That is like someone who doesn’t follow football giving commentary on the Super Bowl.

Technology can, and frequently does, impact live positively. Have a glance at Egypt. The ability to communicate with a lot of people, easily and succinctly, was an asset. The revolution was not televised. It was tweeted, facebooked, and youtubed. Even when Egypt had shut down their connections, it was still possible to get messages out and in. (“Can’t stop the signal, Mal”) By that point it was too far gone and the movement was in full swing: the protests, the voices, the images, even the news. You’re looking at the overthrow of a 30 year dictatorship by people who grabbed their phones and texted.

Technology doesn’t limit communication it expands it. This post is a perfect example. Is language changing? Yep. Is that bad? Nope. It happens all the time.

As for kids being unknowing, like who the Nazi’s were, or how to write a complete sentence, those are things that it falls to parents and schools to take care of. Yes, as a science teacher I will correct spelling and grammar. You get a paper written like a text message? Hand it back while saying, “redo this”. Kids are not dumber for using technology, maybe we just need to communicate with them better, using their own tools.

Technology does not mean that we need to lower expectations. In fact it means we can raise them. But that is a long ass post for another day…

I agree that there have been, and probably always will be, neo-Luddites who inappropriately rail against any technological advance simply because it is an advance. However, I can’t agree with the proposition that category includes those who insist that people should know how to do things they can just look up on the computer. Up until the last two decades or so technological advances have, for the most part, made living life easier or more enjoyable–they haven’t sought to or had the potential to replace or subvert the human race’s innate curiosity and drive to master his environment. We’re now reaching a point where that has become a possibility. As Dome pointed out in the podcast, Asimov foresaw a society where all interactions were done via computer (Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun), with significant consequences if humans were actually forced to be near one another. A second element that Asimov introduced in those societies (Aurora in particular, which was the most robot-centric of the spacer worlds) was that behavior in the cyber-presence of another that would be appalling or unacceptable (either socially or legally) in person was considered okay. Without going into a long drawn out discussion (I’ll save that for my second point), I believe it’s fair to be concerned that potentially dangerous implications for real life interactions will arise should people socially develop primarily in cyberspace. As those who interact with others primarily in cyberspace learn coping skills and “societal norms” based on cyber-societies–where squelching a chatter whose viewpoints you don’t agree with in a chatroom is acceptable but could lead to the unacceptably more physical shutting up of someone in person, or at the extreme where deleting a tormentor in a cyber-community (acceptable)leads to actual murder in person (not acceptable to most!)–the ability to recognize the difference in acceptable norms will diminish. Acting out is a much more condoned behavior pattern in much of cyberspace–the transference of that condoned cyber-behavior to “real” society is a cause for concern.

My deeper concern is when a dependence on computers and/or artificial intelligence (AI) eliminates the ability of humans to create, whether it be something physical, or more importantly, something more conceptual (new ideas). Your guest touched on this point when he said he felt the inability to read and do basic mathematics impaired the development of cognitive skills. Even the impressive win by Watson on Jeopardy this week was merely the result of some humans developing algorithms that allowed Watson to more closely mimic the thought processes of people in dealing with existing information and data. The ability to question, to create new frameworks to explain some aspect of the universe, still remains firmly in the province of Man. I firmly believe that the ability to think creatively, to understand why an answer is what it is rather than thinking it must be right because a computer told you so, is essential to the cognitive development needed to formulate ideas. Otherwise the human race will stagnate, perhaps becoming the two-edged Wellsian society of gentle Elois and predatory Morlocks, both lacking curiosity (or, to take something said on the podcast one step further, gentle Elois living at the behest of a predatory computer or AI Morlock “society”). Or it may simply enable an Orwellian society ala 1984 (also a stagnant society, in my opinion), where it’s even easier to control what people believe because they see the computer as the font of all knowledge–he who controls the computer controls the facts (and don’t we already see some of that today, where anyone can put up a blog or website and have it endowed with instant credibility simply because it’s on the net?). At best we perhaps become the society Asimov postulated in his short story “The Evitable Conflict”, where the Machines become benign (or perhaps not so benign in the eyes of some) overseers of humanity, providing data that keeps humanity “in line”–sometimes at the cost of harming individuals. (As an aside, I just realized that this short story was probably the first instance of the “Zeroth Law of Robotics, later explicitly stated by R Daneel himself–cool!) And even then–if there are no “creators” to advance the Machines (or computers, or AI)–there’s a stagnation point. As such I can’t accept that it’s okay for students to depend on the computer to do their thinking for them; knowledge without understanding is not self-sustaining.

So, am I advocating a neo-Luddite position after all? No! As your guest Christian Rubiano said, it’s a matter of balance. Let technology be a tool, one that we understand the basis for–not a replacement for the human mind. Don’t let people lose basic skills; ensure that cognitive abilities are developed. To draw on Asimov again, from his short story “Profession”, “somewhere there has to be an end. Somewhere there must be men and women with capacity for original thought.”

I’m still thinkin’ ..a qualified yeah, but that’s just me. Thanx for playin the game tho.

Just my two cents worth!

I’m setting up a new author special right now; hope to have news on that in the next few weeks. Glad to hear that you’re enjoying them as much as we are!

— X

Just wanted to thank you all for the work you do. The talkcasts sound like a lot of fun, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed them.

As an aspiring writer, the authors retrospectives have been “fucking awesome”. I was familiar with the works if Heinlein and PKD, but those talkcasts really made me understand their significance. Also, I would not have known about Frtiz Leiber (got the Selected Stories for Xmas).

So, here’s to a happy new year! (and the end of Smallville)

I’ve had Angry Birds for months and I’m still not even close to getting perfect on everything. I burnt through ever level of Attraxxion in less than 4hrs.

1. Hartnell Himself: I don’t care about William Hartnell. I know that sounds callus, but regardless of Hartnell’s illness or personal issues his poor performance as the doctor cannot be explained away so easily. Of course he isn’t the only one to blame as the producers saw fit to leave in the mixed up lines and confusion over what he was supposed to be doing. When that happens the world of the story is broken. That is just plain not acceptable in television where scenes can be reshot and edited, and often were.

2. Hartnell’s Doctor: I truly think that your perspective on this is skewed. You are thinking about it from a perspective which takes into account all of the stories that came after, which changes the story as you see it. The funny thing is that these episodes were not about the Doctor. They were not about who he is, how he changes. They were about the journey. Which is fine, but the focus is not on the Doctor. You mentioned Ian as the voice of conscience, which I think is a stretch. I re-watched the scene just to be sure, and I am certain that what is happening there is not good acting. It might be confusion about what he is supposed to be doing, but it is not good acting. An actor is defined by their performance and Hartnell’s performance was poor.

3. Popular For Children: I don’t care. Whether the show is popular or not has no impact on its worth as far as I am concerned. Most people enjoy the big name shows on television, whether they are Man Men or America’s Next Top Model. In evaluating the show, and the Doctor portrayed by Hartnell, the feelings of the people who originally watched the show don’t affect my opinion.

4. The Daleks: I understand that many heros in fiction of all sorts are responsible for the force that opposes them. That is not what I take issue with. The problem I was illustrating was that this first Doctor come across as an imbecile most of the time. You are right, he is a selfish, scared, cantankerous, and childish character. That is why it took so long for me to get through his shows. I don’t like him, and what is worse, I don’t care about him. He isn’t interesting, he isn’t compelling, he isn’t a character I care to see stories about.

5. Special Effects: Don’t matter to me. What I look for in any science fiction is a good story. I am sorry but while there are interesting seeds planted in this set of episodes, this is not good storytelling. During this time period there was so much good science fiction being written! Burroughs, Ellison, Herbert, Bester, Lieber! With so much to work from I expected more from this series.

Here is what it comes down to I think. Everything we humans create seems to follow a life cycle. Science fiction is the same, and while this series was created during the enthusiasm of the adolescence of sci-fi, its potential was not met at that point. It is like a young person who decides to learn guitar, but really sucks for a while. This television really sucked. I haven’t gotten far into Troughton, but the suck isn’t quite gone from the episodes I have seen so far.

Thanks again for your comments! Because we aren’t recording this week I needed a chance to stretch my podcast muscle. Look for a Walking Dead post from me next week!

See ya next week!

I wonder if they ever did make it to Chicago? Certainly a Christmas tale told in Klingon would be a unique experience!

I think they’d have to do an adaptation of “A Kidnapped Santa Claus” by L. Frank Baum in order to pull the Duras Sisters into it; I think they’d make excellent Daemons!

I also liked the Warehouse 13 special. The “outside the Warehouse” story definitely got a bit maudlin at the end, but the interaction of the Warehouse 13 crew at Christmas time did show other aspects of the characters. Claudia certainly has become a “mother hen” of sorts for the crew! And that was certainly some powerful artifact mistletoe.

One more must-see Christmas special for me, and that’s Dr Who. It will be interesting to see Dumbledore not as Dumbledore!

Mr. Hartnell may not have been a stellar actor but I found his performance especially in the beginning to be amazing. I did not see a mention of watching the original pilot of the show (this may have just eluded me as I was reading your argument) In this I saw a very mysterious and at times sinister alien which was toned down and re-shot. (which in itself is pretty amazing for a show at that time)
Mr. Hartnell was able to take the role and make the character less scary just by bringing a different approach to the lines. You get to go along with a fantastic journey of seeing a selfish, scared, cantankerous, and often childish character learn to be a hero. Granted at times, Hartnell flubbed lines and got confused but could this have simply been due to his illness. Much of what I have read regarding that time period children adored the Doctor (Hartnell) precisely because of his faults and knowing that he would solve things more or less. There is a scene towards the end of The Tribe of Gum where one of the caveman is hurt and the Doctor is kneeling beside him. You are not sure of his action will he pick up to harm the injured man or will he help, then with the voice of conscience (Ian Chesterton) solidifies the Doctor’s path by confronting what his choice would be. I just recently re-watched this episode and saw the subtleties of just a quick expression.
As to you mentioning the Daleks and the Doctor, 1. it is a great way to one insure that you could have these creatures be in further stories if you wanted by not leaving them planet bound; 2. It is a tool much used in fiction to have the hero be responsible in some way for his greatest adversary. 3. And as a fan it set the Doctor on his course to take an active stance against evil.
In the “Time Meddler” you get to see an almost impish Doctor who does know what’s going on and is able to save the day in his own way. I love when Hartnell enters the Monk’s TARDIS and steals the dimensional control! What fun, you get to be on the joke with the Doctor.
As to your feelings on the last episode of his reign “The Tenth Planet”, a little knowledge the shows production history can be a good thing, Hartnell was being replaced due to his increasing health problems and the show was still very successful. It would have been great to see how a healthy Hartnell might have performed in this episode. It at times is jumbled but overall is a neat episode. A terrifying race introduced the threat of the Earth being destroyed (only thing missing was a Gene Roddennbery or Irwin Allen need for the ship to be in danger).
So do not resent Mr. Hartnell because without him there would have been no Doctor Who and nor revival with cool special effects because they can be computer generated. I can appreciate you not liking his episodes but to resent him and consider these pioneer seasons as pitiful is harsh.
And mostly remember that this was a kids show, and the concern for things like continuity and great sets and admittedly great scripts were not always the main concern.
As to your mention of Fringe (personally I do not find it remotely interesting party due to how many times alternate/parallel universe stories are used in Sci-Fi, but I do not resent it nor think it pitiful and rejoice at the fact the genre that we love still has a place) Thanks for reading.

Thanks for the thoughts, and for the ALF comment, too.

And Dome–I’m with you on ALF! No problem!

Second, I don’t know if Tracy will see this, but i just wanted to say that he and Margaret Weis have had a great impact on my life. I started reading the Chronicles in seventh grade and eleven years later they still rank #1 on my list of favorite books. They have helped shape the way I see the world and made me want to be a writer.

I look forward to reading Eventide, and listening to next week’s Sci Fi Saturday.

My bottom line: While the first two Doctors thematically set the basics of the Time Lord universe (in a way), the seeds of the Doctor as we know him today didn’t really start to germinate until the Jon Pertwee Doctor Who.

p.s. you guys are really insane! LOL!

are you already following @mindseyeseries?
http://twitter.com/#!/mindseyeseries

PS: Been listening since I first discovered the Harlan Ellison interview in July, and have listened to many older episodes during my long days at work. I know I’m very late with this but… bazinga! I’m bringing it back.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station

It’s pretty clear that they’re some kind of coded message system.

I’m excited for this anthology, too.

The burden of providing actual, VERIFIABLE evidence does not lie with the person who does not accept a fringe opinion, but rather with the person making the assertion. If you really look at Mr. Freidman’s evidence, it is weak at best, consisting mainly of asserting that something unknown or weird means this, and don’t question my conclusion (much like religious folks start off with a conclusion before even looking at the data).

And you are absolutely correct about what the U really stands. Too bad most of the population are unable to identify even simple everyday objects in the sky.

Just because something isn’t readily apparent as to what it is, is no reason to assume it’s some extraterrestrial craft inhabited by non-human intelligent beings. Even as a USAF pilot with a Top Secret Yankee White, and Cogint Figure clearance, I have still mistakenly identified objects in the sky. No one is immune from the frailties of the human mind. Some are just more frail and susceptible than others apparently….

One thing that came up in your show was that doctor that figured out having bloody aprons was a bad idea. If the hospital had a clue they would have done experiments and tested the guys hypothesis. I bet you anything to that there’s more to the story. I’m sure that he had his allies, but that it was a business/political reason that the guy was forced out and not a scientific one and you yourself even made this point. It’s not the science that failed, it’s the politics that caused the change to fail.

More than a few people have pointed this out to me with Dawkins and his upcoming children’s book. He’s so locked in to what he thinks that he’s not consulting child psychologists. This is a failure of Dawkins and not science or the scientific method, the fact that scientists are pointing out his flaw is science working the way it should.

Finally, the other problem is false balance. It’s amazing that Stanton gets this when it comes to vaccines, but not when it comes to global warming. How can the fringe 1% of doctors that believe vaccines are not worth it be thrown out, but the fringe 1% of scientists that think global warming isn’t happening be listened to and are right?

It’s not just experts, but the combination of expertise and consensus. See “Project Steve” for an example of this – http://ncse.com/taking-action/project-steve

On what do you base you “loon” assessment?

I shoulda got a job writing for Hallmark cards….

P.S. If H.P. had gotten laid before finding the groove in his writing style, I do not think he would have been dark and dreary enough to keep writing horror stories. Who knows? He might have been writing articles for the local paper. Then where would we be?

Next, Julie Taymor. This has been the #1 defense of this broadway monstrosity. Now, I admit that I loved The Lion King as much as the next guy — I was blown away and cried my eyes out at the sheer majesty of it all. Hell, one of my friends was actually created by her dad. No, not like that, you perv — her dad pioneered test tube baby technology and my buddy is around to borrow my Prisoner DVDs for 2 years at a time as a result. But I digress… Anyway, Julie Taymor also did “Titus”. For those of you who don’t watch IFC, “Titus” is a piss-poor version of “Last House On The Left” — chick gets raped and mutilated, and family goes after the assailants. However, this piece of Z-movie drek was written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, so untold generations have revered this piece of crap as pure gold. Well, it’s not. And I’m sorry, but directing a bad Shakespeare play does not make you a good director. It means that you have a poor choice in source material. Julie, I’m really impressed with the job you did directing a Disney cartoon featuring Elton John and Blackadder, but stay the hell away from Spider-Man. Why? BECAUSE IT’S SPIDER-MAN, GODDAMNIT!!! IT’S NOT SOMETHING I WANT TO WATCH YOU DESTROY FOR TWO GODDAMN HOURS!!! I already suffered that kind of heartbreak with “Superman Returns”, and God knows I don’t need to see Spider-Man sing about how Aunt May needs an operation and how Mary Jane just doesn’t understand his need to put on a full body-stocking in public. I leave the web-fluid to your tawdry imagination.

If you didn’t have to re-add all your contacts and have a separate googlewave address it might have been more widely adopted.

I was at the Spooktacular show in Keene last week and my daughter was the little girl down front imitating the giant mantises in “Son of Godzilla” who was mentioned in the recap on the show. It was great to hear her mentioned in a podcast!

Keep up the great work!

New enhancements on the way!

The relaunch or Doctor Who in 2005 was miraculous in the
first place. It seemed like modern day television and
science fiction wouldn’t allow a concept as wacky as
Doctor Who; not to mention that the show had been aired
for 26 series and had already failed at an attempt to be
relaunch….. regenerated (tee hee). It was a general
acceptance that Doctor Who was done.

However, with an excellent crew, an experienced
and enthusiastic Russle T. Davies, and a few good people
at the BBC, there was one last chance to once again give
Doctor Who new life. With the casting of Christopher
Eccleston as the Doctor and Billie Piper as the companion,
the show got the publicity it needed for the public to
tune in.

The result was a brand new and absolutely amazing new
Doctor Who; with excellent directing, sharp writing,
wonderfully well placed musical scores, a fun and
sexy new companion in Rose Tyler, and, most importantly,
a Fantastic 9th Doctor. All of this lead to compelling and
entertaining stories, emotional moments and an absolutely
mind blowing series finale; which of course gave us a new
Doctor in David Tennant.

The trend continued to run with the 10th Doctor. More
incredible stories, more amazing new companions and
more incredible finales. The David Tennant Doctor became
so Brilliant and so popular that he became only the second
actor to become the iconic image for the Doctor.
The show was up and running stronger than ever before as
the world rejoiced in the new Golden Age of Doctor Who;
without a doubt the best show on television.

Now we have an entirely new-new age of Doctor Who. An
entirely new crew has been assigned, a new head writer in
Stephen Moffat, a new main companion with Amy Pond
and a brand new Doctor in Matt Smith. The feel and
direction has changed and it is difficult to become
accustomed. The new team seems a bit rusty and
inexperienced, and i have not quite felt the same about it
as I have in the Davies era.

However, it is still good in it’s own right. Is it as good as it
was? No. Will it be? Of course not! The Davies era was
absolutely was as close to perfect story-telling as it gets.
Unique circumstances lead to an absolute dream team of
writers, actors, directors, producers and stage crew that
is rarely seen in this day and age and can never be
reproduced. So to even try to compare this new series to
previous is unfair. Stephen Moffat and Matt Smith have had
giant shoes to fill. Coming off of the End of Time and right
into their ownera was an amazingly difficult task. There
were bound to bumps and bruises along the way and we
should expect such.

Is Stephen Moffat revolutionary? No. Does the show
still pack the awe inspiring punch? No. Is Matt Smith’s
Doctor absolutely Fantastic or Brilliant? No.
But you know what? That’s OK. Stephen Moffat is clever
and imaginative. The show is still unique, intelligent and
fun. And the 11th Doctor is quirky, hilarious and…… cool.
Yes, I too say Bravo Mr. Moffat. You’ve managed to keep
the ball rolling despite extenuating circumstances. It will
never be as good as it was, but when you compare it too
everything else, it is still the best damn show on television.

On top of that, the episodes that had me the most worried this season turned out to be my favorites! Time of Angels and Flesh and Stone had me biting my nails that The Moff was planning to bring back both River Song AND the Weeping Angels, not only so soon, but in the same episode. Outcome? LOVED. IT. I immediately declared it to be the first episode since the reboot in 2005 that felt like an episode of Old Who. But my favorite episode of the season? The Lodger. Hands down. They took what should have been a ridiculous concept, and infused it with wit, insight, humor, horror, and romance, and solidified in my mind that it is in the small, intimate moments, that Matt Smith truly shines.

And then. AND THEN. As if all that weren’t enough. Most episodes of previous seasons I have a limited capacity for. There are very few that I enjoy watching multiple times in short succession. But this season, I have watched every single episode (except for VoV, because it makes my teeth ache) at least 3 times, some of them more, and not only enjoyed them just as much on re-watching, but for the most part, enjoyed them MORE.

So I say bravo, Mr. Moffat. The show is in good hands. The kinks have been worked out, the rough edges smoothed, and I anticipate great things for Season 6.

She was “WitchBlade” (a.k.a Det. Sara “Pez” Pezzini)
on TNT network.

Great show, too bad it only went two seasons.

This post was mentioned on Twitter by upwithgravity: Please RT! Fundraising auction for Jeanne Robinson http://www.scifisaturdaynight.com/?p=972#more-972…

Okay, I could even accept our protagonist’s gusto in switching teams — but then there’s all the people who knew the woman who the female body belonged to, being perfectly okay with this change. Several of them end up having a physical relationship with this new person AND EVERYONE’S OKAY WITH THIS!!! If a spouse or ex-lover of yours died, and their body was then used as a vessel for a brand-new personality of the opposite sex, would you really be so accepting of the new situation? Wouldn’t you have any reservations about sleeping with this new amalgamation?

Having said that, I still heartily recommend this book. It’s even more controversial than Stranger In A Strange Land and a great novel to debate with friends over a bottle or two.

I really liked the part where Bruce Dern was
playing poker with bots.

Great Show. The girls were the coolist thing.

“Do we really need another Return of the Swamp Thing”? — Neil Gaiman

His daughter Lori starred in DAY OF THE DEAD!

Whoever took up the task of giving him his own comic in the has an incredible cover artist. I cant wait to read the stories to see what this Hero? is all about.

I think Fox is able to recognize potential, but they lack the patience (and time slots) for a good show to make it big. Dollhouse is one of three shows I currently watch regularly (the other two being Fringe and the Big Bang Theory), and although I think it’s one of the few shows that actually has a viable plot I also recognize how it wouldnt have a high popularity to the family scene.

We’re talking about possibly unwilling prostitutes being sold to the highest bidder. Not kid-friendly, which is part of its appeal to me.

But, with luck NBC will pick it up. They already run Law & Order SVU and Jay Leno, which makes Dollhouse look more like Full House..

“The Sun has a spectral class of G2V, with the G2 meaning that its color is yellow and its spectrum contains spectral lines of ionized and neutral metals as well as very weak hydrogen lines, and the V signifying that it, like most stars, is a “dwarf” star on the main sequence.” – http://www.solarnavigator.net/the_sun.htm

In any case, there is a very specific radiation spectrum involved that’s dependent upon the size of the star, the stars composition, and the stage of the star. I think of vampires being burned by sunlight in the same way that I view a microwave burning a marshmallow.

An adjustment in the radiation may still cause problems, but in a far different way.. though I dont know how susceptible the undead are to tumors or other cancerous growths..

Overall, what an incredible concept, though if you can throw in pirates and robots I think you’ll have an epic show on your hand.

Created by Len Wein and Carmine Infantino about a bodyguard/private detective.

Looks interesting, I’ll be reviewing the comics if I’m able to find them.

Serenity NOW!!!!! Never giveup, never surrender.

Fox genuinely doesn’t care about story. (Whedon does a nice bit on Fox and why Firefly was canceled in the special features of the Firefly DVD’s) They want eyes on the screen fast and don’t really care about story arcs that take half a season. Fox is the fast food of tv and news networks.

It’s not like the viewer can’t handle them. It’s that Fox doesn’t want to give us a chance.

Oh yeah, and I loved Futurama. And the Simpsons needs to go. It needed to go about five
years ago.

Big Bang Theory FTW!

We’d love to do an interview, thanks for the shout out!

you can hit us up at info@l-o-gcast.com or email me directly
claynferno@gmail.com

Best,

Clay S. Fernald

HI CHRIS AND QUINCY (and Brett!)

Illustrator X

That said, let’s hear it for the novels of British author John Christopher! He’s the best writer EVER!!