Fight For Death: Zardoz
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Issues, Movie Reviews, Movies, Science Fiction, Underground/Cult |“The gun is good but the penis is evil.”
Whenever John Boorman’s bizarre, rambling, dystopian epic Zardoz is discussed, this is the line that is always mentioned. This line and the image of Sean Connery sporting mutton chops, a braided ponytail, red bandoliers, thigh high pirate boots, and red, diaper-like underpants.
A Sci-Fi Fairy Tale: Hanna
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Action Movies, Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Current Faves, Feminism, Issues, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction |By Lisa Anderson
One of the best movies of the year has already arrived, without much fanfare. If you’ve gone to see a movie rated PG-13 or higher in the past few months, then you’ve seen the trailer for Hanna, where the thrumming score by the Chemical Brothers provides the background for a teenage girl’s acts of derring-do. What you can’t tell from the trailer is that Hanna is one of the most innovative science fiction movies to come along in a while.
(more…)
There Is No Alfred, Only Proteus: Demon Seed
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Horror, Issues, Movie Reviews, Movies, Science and Technology, Science Fiction |Although technophobia has been around since the Industrial Revolution, the advent of computers in the 1960s and ’70s introduced a new level of fear into citizens of industrialized nations. Those under the age of 40 may scoff that anyone could possibly be afraid of a computer, but when they talk? That’s a different story.
The Color Out Of Space: The Films Of H.P. Lovecraft
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Horror, Issues, Movies, Science Fiction |By Paul Casey
Guillermo del Toro will not make At the Mountains of Madness, at least not anytime soon. Perhaps our only chance of the first great cinematic interpretation of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythology has been thwarted. Do not fear dear reader, all is not lost! I am here to tell you that while we lack that perfect vision of Cthulhu and his aquatic features, there are many adaptations of his work that should please the casual and hardcore Lovecraft fan.
H.P. Lovecraft
A Brief History Of Black Sci-Fi Music
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Issues, Music, Science Fiction |By Jemiah Jefferson
The earliest and greatest of them all was jazz bandleader Sun Ra. Best known these days for the extremely strange movie Space is the Place, released in 1974, a unique combination of concert film, parable, “blaxploitation,” and a lot of other just plain confusing stuff.
(more…)
Ground Control To Major Stardust: Ziggy’s Tale
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Issues, Music, Science Fiction |“I’m just a space cadet. He’s the commander.”
—Bowie fan, 1973
Doctor Who‘s Elisabeth Sladen: An Appreciation
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Eulogy, Feminism, Issues, Science Fiction, TV, Underground/Cult |By Cait Brennan
As Doctor Who fans prepared to celebrate the launch of its most anticipated series yet, the show lost one of its most enduring stars. Elisabeth Sladen, who portrayed Sarah Jane Smith, died April 19, leaving behind generations of fans and a legacy as one of the most popular characters in science fiction history.
(more…)
In Defense Of Lost
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Issues, Science Fiction, TV |By Paul Casey
“Do you want to know a secret?”
There has been no show with such a commitment to the mystery as Lost. For six years, the producers and writers held their secrets close and chose to reveal only that which would ensure even more questions. Some have described this aspect of the show as if it were a commonly understood negative, often adding an overstated assertion that the producers were simply “making it up as they went along.” This betrays not only a naïve understanding of the realities of network television, but a fundamental confusion as to the nature of Lost: It is and always was a mystery show.
Falling Between Stars: What About BSG‘s Starbuck?
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Feminism, Issues, Science Fiction, TV |By Magda Underdown-DuBois
What is it about Kara “Starbuck” Thrace, played by Katee Sackhoff, which excites the fans of Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009) so much? Could it be her singular passion for the thrill of flight and fight? Perhaps it is her rebellion against authority. Or maybe it is something less clear and more ambiguous—her ability to step between expectations and limits and dance between the stars.
(more…)
Hey! Someone Got Romance In My Sci Fi!
Published on May 30th, 2011 in: Action Movies, Books, Climb Onto The Nearest Star, Feminism, Issues, Science and Technology, Science Fiction |By Lisa Anderson
For me, it all started with a gift bag.
An acquaintance of mine runs a paranormal romance* book club. Last year, she gave me a goody bag she had obtained, a reusable tote containing books, bookmarks, pencils, and other gifts. One of the ad fliers included had a starry background (indicating the book’s location in outer space) and featured a sexy embrace between a tough-looking woman in a black tank top . . . and a man wearing glasses.
It took my breath away. I couldn’t recall having ever seen a hero with glasses on the cover of a romance novel before. I’d been intrigued by the concept of Sci-Fi Romance (SFR), but had been burned by my first attempt, putting the book down after the third time the hero threatened the heroine’s life. I decided to give it another try, though, and bought the book from the flier—Rebels and Lovers, by Linnea Sinclair. Now SFR is my favorite romance subgenre!
(more…)