// Category Archive for: Issues

Doctor Who‘s Elisabeth Sladen: An Appreciation

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

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.

(more…)

Falling Between Stars: What About BSG‘s Starbuck?

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!

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…)

The Silver Metal Lover

By Less Lee Moore

Robots have frequently played pivotal roles in science fiction. In Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, the False Maria robot is created to destroy. Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner features several replicants, or biorobotic androids, created as human soldiers and slaves. There is Pris, the “basic pleasure model” and Zhora, an assassin. Both have a predetermined lifecycle of about three years. When the end approaches, both Pris and Zhora turn deadly. There is also Rachael, an even more advanced replicant, who does not even realize she is a replicant.

And then there is Tanith Lee’s 1981 novel, The Silver Metal Lover, which intriguingly combines elements of Metropolis, Blade Runner, and even Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, to weave a spellbinding tale of the other part of the story: What happens when someone falls in love with a robot?

(more…)

Real Women and Unreal Feminists

A recent article in The Daily Mail called 20-year-old ethereally androgynous fashion model Andrej Pejic, “fashion’s ultimate insult to women.” The Daily Mail is not heralded for its “unique” approach to journalism, but ignorance—particularly with regard to gender issues—must always be exposed and called out for exactly what it is.

Writer Amanda Platell blames the fashion industry for the “defeminsation” of women, stating early on that, “[r]eal women started to love their curves long before Christina Hendricks wowed the world in Mad Men with hers. And by all accounts men love them, too.” Even a brief unpacking of such bold statements would take far too long, so I’ll hit the high notes: Who or what are “real women” exactly? And why is it so important that men love curves?
(more…)

The Mistress And The Maid: Mildred Pierce

By Less Lee Moore

When I learned of the Mildred Pierce miniseries—directed by Todd Haynes and airing on HBO—I was thrilled. I’ve been a longtime fan of the novel and film, as well as of Haynes. Then I started to second-guess my excitement.

Would another male-directed version of this story merely intensify the story’s “male gaze”? Furthermore, should I revere Mildred Pierce as a feminist text when the original novel was written by one man (James M. Cain) and first captured on screen by another (Michael Curtiz)?
(more…)

Those Boots Aren’t Made For Walking: Wonder Woman Reimagined

By AJ Wood

Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman

I remember little of my childhood, especially anything before age eight or nine, but one memory I do have from age four or five was Wonder Woman. Stripped down to my red and blue briefs and a red T-shirt tucked into them, with a lasso of kite string at my side, I felt wise as Athena, fast as Hermes, and stronger than Hercules. I had to imagine the boots, bracelets, and tiara, but the costume was close enough.
(more…)

The Women Behind The Whedonverse

By Lisa Anderson

Even casual fans of Joss Whedon know that strong female characters are important to him. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Echo from Dollhouse, and Zoe from Firefly are only a few examples. What casual fans may not realize is that women behind the scenes—Whedon’s fellow writers and producers—have also helped make his storylines beloved to so many fans. They include Jane Espenson, Marti Noxon, Maurissa Tancheroen, and Felicia Day.
(more…)

We Can Do It (Better): The Women Of The Mercury Program, The “Mercury 13”

By Emily Carney

Jerrie Cobb, test pilot, stands next to a Mercury capsule.

I was born in 1978, and it is difficult for me to believe that in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the world was still rife with prejudices based on race, ethnicity, and gender. I joined the US Navy in 1997, and was sometimes exposed to painful instances of discrimination based upon my gender and general appearance. It is very upsetting to come to the realization that people may dislike you and prevent you from doing your job based on something you can’t change.
(more…)