Greenflame » Science Fiction

Confessions of a Space Opera Junkie

stepheng — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:00:29 +0000

I’ve always loved science fiction, but I really, really love space opera. Whether that’s on TV, in the movies, in comic books or novels or short stories, there’s nothing quite like curling up with something like that on a Sunday afternoon or on the train on the way home from work.

So I’m really enjoying Neal Asher’s Polity series with it’s space ships, artificial intelligence, cyborgs, alien invasions, political intrigue, biotech etc. etc. etc. It’s probably on the fringe of moving from space opera to more serious science fiction given some of the deeper themes in it in places, but that’s not a problem. Some of the transhuman and posthuman themes in it intersect with those of Alistair Reynolds

WarGames

stepheng — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:22:21 +0000

Ah, WarGames. I loved that movie when it came out, but can’t really believe it was 25 years ago. Probably one of the things that influenced my computer science studies a few years later. Here’s a write up on the movie as it hits its 25th anniversary. See WarGames: A Look Back at the Film That Turned Geeks and Phreaks Into Stars

Disappointed…

stepheng — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:16:16 +0000

After listening to Steve’s presentation on River as a Christ-figure in the movie Serenity, I felt inspired to walk up to Heroes for Sale and grab the last two parts of the latest Serenity mini-series “Better Days” from Dark Horse comics.

Suffice to say I was disappointed. The story seemed to drag, some of the characterisation and language seemed “off”, and it didn’t really grab me like the first mini-series “Those Left Behind” did. Plus, there’s the sense of “dead men walking” if you’ve seen the film. Still, it is Serenity (and walking up the hill to the shop did clear my head of conference ‘fug’ and stretch my legs after a day sitting listing to stuff).

I also picked up the next issue in Image Comics “Transhuman” series - which deals with venture capital funding in this issue. It’s okay, but again the previous issue was much better.

Living with Star Trek

stepheng — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:42:45 +0000

Picked up the following book from a sale pile today at a book clearance store. Hoping to find some time to flick through it at some point - perhaps on the train traveling to and from the SBL international conference in a week’s time. Must have a hunt through the conference programme book and see if there’s anything in there relating to popular culture.

“Living with Star Trek: American Culture and the Star Trek Universe” (Lincoln Geraghty)

Battlestar Galactica vs. Star Trek

stepheng — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:05:34 +0000

Great little article by Sam J. Miller over at mental_floss Blog Â» Battlestar Galactica vs. Star Trek looking at the difference in anthropologies underlying Star Trek (pretty positive) and the new Battlestar Galactica (pretty negative). Worth a quick read.

Miller argues that Galactica doesn’t hide the warts or flaws in human nature and relationships, or paint a rosy picture of some kind of trajectory towards perfection achievable through the myth of progress. He says of that,

Galactica is sci-fi without that BS. Sci-fi with all the anger and stupidity and sadness that real people experience. Sci-fi without the conviction that we will conquer our own ugliness. Sci-fi for the age of peak oil and 9/11 and natural disasters compounded by climate change to the point where they can completely destroy major cities. Galacticaâ€™s message is that unless we come to terms with our own history, we are doomed. Mankind created the Cylons to fight our wars and to do our grunt work for us. Eventually they rose up and wiped out 99.999% of us. This basic lesson is one we still havenâ€™t learned: that exploitation leads to exploitation, that if you oppress someone you sow the seeds of your own oppression. â€œYou canâ€™t play God and then wash your hands of the things youâ€™ve created,â€ says the Galacticaâ€™s commander, William Adama. â€œSooner or later, the day comes when you canâ€™t hide from the things that youâ€™ve done anymore.â€

It’s similar to the flaws in humanity that Joss Whedon brought out in Firefly or J. Michael Straczynski kept in Babylon 5.

Hat tip to Exploring Our Matrix: Around the Blogosphere (The End of the Banana Argument)

Under the Mountain (from behind the couch)

stepheng — Sun, 18 May 2008 08:53:08 +0000

As a child growing up there were certain TV shows that could only be watched from â€œbehind the couchâ€. You wanted to know what happened, but at the same time the tension (and scariness) of the episode required that some form of retreat or protection was needed. These shows included the (Tom Baker) Dr Who ‘Pyramids of Mars‘ episodes, the UK series ‘Children of the Stones‘, and the New Zealand kid’s science fiction drama ‘Under the Mountain’, based on the Maurice Gee novel of the same name.

Today, we picked up the Under the Mountain DVD of TV series (filmed back in the early 80s). I’m looking forward to moving the couch forward a bit from the wall, and sitting down to watch it with the kids. Should be fun, especially as a couple of the kids have already read the novel.

Also, on a related note - the creator of ‘Black Sheep‘ is going to produce a movie version of the book aimed at teenagers. That should be worth seeing when it happens. More details here.

Firefly Study Series

stepheng — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:17:34 +0000

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away Darren wrote in an email â€œi’ll do serenity asap…â€. That was June 2006.

Now, however, he’s started the great Firefly Study Series and you can find the first parts at:

He’s also noted the link (via Tensegrities) to a series of Firefly clips over at Cowgirl Jazz.

Serenity: Better Days

stepheng — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 10:44:20 +0000

For those of you who are suffering from needing a Serenity or Firefly fix, then Dark Horse’s Firefly/Serenity mini-series “Better Days” is now out. I picked up issue 1 the other day, and it’s a good read if you’re a fan-boy or girl. Actually, it’s a good read for a comic in general - I’ve read some not so good comics recently from the library’s trade paperback/graphic novel selection. If you can do the character’s voices in your head while reading then it really rocks.

More details over at Dark Horse Comics > Profile > Serenity: Better Days #1 (of 3).

Oh, and I see the “Star Gate: The Ark of Truth” is already out on DVD in NZ. Seeing as I’m still finishing off Season 9 of Stargate SG-1 it’ll be a while before I get there, but it’s nice to know it’s waiting for me. Just like I’ll get to “Battlestar Galactica: Razor” when I’ve knocked the last few episodes of Season 3 off. I must admit I’m struggling to be enthralled with the end of BSG season 3 maybe it’s better watched one episode per week rather than three episodes at a time. Currently, I’m trying to avoid Season 4 spoilers - which seems to be harder than it should be - people keep putting them in their blog posts without spoiler warnings!

Science Fiction and the Areopagus

stepheng — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:15:15 +0000

Over at InsideCatholic.com - Science Fiction and the Areopagus, Mark Shea contends that science fiction (and fantasy) are one of the last places left in the media to explore questions relating to philosophy and religion. And the intriguing proposition that fandom is similar to the Pauline Areopagus.

Such work is, it seems to me, vital. St. Paul did not wait around for the Athenians to come to him. He walked into a city where, as Luke marveled, “all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21), and opened his mouth on the Areopagus. It’s a perfect description of the world of fandom.

Hat tip to The Sci Fi Catholic: Mark Shea Discusses Catholicism in Sci-Fi.

Battlestar Galactica - Revisited

stepheng — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:24:59 +0000

I’ve just gotten around to starting to watch the third season of the new Battlestar Galactica. So far, so good - the planet-side setting adds a different dimension to the show for a bit, while the socio-political commentary continues.

Related to this are several links I’ve come across recently.

Firstly, FlowTV - ‘a critical forum on television and media culture published by the Department of Radio, Television, and Film at the University of Texas at Austin’ - recently had a focus on Battlestar Galactica with a selection of articles and posts about the new series. You can find it at FlowTV | “Battlestar Galactica” Issue.

Secondly, I found that link via Confessions of an Aca/Fan: Resources for Science Fiction Fans.

And lastly, Paul Walker, over at Out of the Cocoon had a post Out of the Cocoon >> Science Fiction and the emerging church. I’m not sure I’d agree with his comment that religion is toned down in the new version of BSG, rather that is has become more complex than the religious dualism - humans (religious) / cylons (secular) - present in the original series. Certainly, both human and cylon in the new series seem to have to wrestle with issues surrounding religion in interesting ways.