Science Fiction 101

Discovery of a buried skull turns a London building site into a palaeontological dig. Until, in a geological layer that's five million years old, a bomb is found. Send for Professor Quatermass! Quatermass and the Pit (1967) - aka Five Million Years to Earth in the US (1968) - is the best and most successful of the British science-fiction horror film series, based in turn on a TV series from a decade before. Colin and Phil examine it from all angles to see what makes it tick. We also have a fiendish Q-uiz, and our usual round up of past, present and future SF recommendations. Also in this episode:  Learn about the original Quatermass TV series , a classic of early British TV Terry Brooks retires from his Shannara series, appointing a new co-author to continue the series It's 87 years since the BBC's 1938 live TV broadcast of  Karel Capek's R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots )  Apple TV's announcement of the forthcoming Murderbot TV series   Star Trek 's C...

We once claimed Tintin: Destination Moon was science fiction, because an animated white dog accompanied an animated human to the moon on a rocketship. Now we outrageously extend the concept as we explore the sci-fi worlds of another animated dog/human partnership: Wallace & Gromit ! If you've been living in another solar system these past thirty-six years, you may not be aware of these plasticine pals, but it's our job to bring you up to date as we examine the SF chops of every one of the Wallace and Gromit movies, coming bang up to date with the Oscar-nominated recent release Vengeance Most Fowl. Our thesis essentially is that (a) Wallace (the human one) is an inventor and (b) his haphazard approach to inventing has inevitable, logical consequences which are explored within each W&G film. And in any case, they're enormous fun! Also mentioned in this episode: John Green considers whether listening to an audiobook counts as reading Coming soon: Mary Robinette Kowal ...

Woo-hoo, we've reached FIFTY EPISODES! This time we have another one of our (made-up) time-honored traditions: reviewing a current science fiction magazine. We usually do this once a year, to keep on top of current SF trends - and also to compare & contrast current magazines with the SF magazines of the past. In our last episode, we went back 50 years to review ANALOG from 1974. This time, we're bang up-to-date (almost) with a very recent issue of the very same magazine. Analog is the longest-continuously-running SF magazine, having been around under various titles since the 1930s! What will we make of Analog 's longstanding reputation for "hard SF"? How does the magazine stack up against its wholly online competitors such as Clarkesworld and Uncanny ? How does it stack up against its former self? No quiz this time, but we finish off with our usual round-up of recommendations of past/present/future science fiction. Among the items mentioned in today's sho...

In time-honored tradition, for our December episode we go hurtling back in time to review a science fiction magazine from the past. Get your flares, platform shoes and ghettoblasters ready as we head back to November 1974. We're picking on Analog magazine, just because we've never reviewed it before. And it's only the longest-running SF magazine in exsitence. It started in 1930 as Astounding Stories , was renamed Analog in the 1960s, and continues under that name to this day. As we join it in 1974, it's in the early years of the editorship of Ben Bova, and is beginning to modernise. If you'd like to browse through the issue with us, you can download it as a PDF from this link . Other items mentioned in this episode include: Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man (1953) Joe Haldeman's The Forever War (1974) Cinefex magazine, now legitimately on the Internet Archive Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985) Star Wars: Skeleton Crew   Ted Chiang's essay on genera...

It occurred to us that although we have discussed many specific books on the show, we've never devoted an episode to the idea of the book - those papery, texty things that Stephen King has described as "uniquely portable magic". So in this episode, we address the various ways in which books can be enjoyed and consumed, and discuss ten (or eleven) questions on the subject of books. We also have a book-adjacent quiz, and our usual round up of recommendations of past, present and future SF. Some of the items mentioned on the show: First Contact/The Cult of Progress , a non-fiction book by historian David Olusoga Science fiction films scheduled for release in 2025 , nearly all based on pre-existing films, games, comics and books Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster The original Stargate movie is thirty years old Phil guests on the podcast Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever* , discussing Ray Bradbury's It Came From Outer Space The long-awaited, posthumously-published, Harlan...

It's fifty years since the TV series of Planet of the Apes debuted, enlivening the childhood of millions around the planet of the humans. Phil and Colin enjoyed the show as kids, but now undertake a celebratory rewatch, reviewing the adventures of Virdon (the blond one), Burke (the dark-haired one), and Galen (the hairy one). We also have a Planet of the Apes quiz, and our usual round up of recommendations of past, present and future SF. Some of the items mentioned on the show: Planet of the Apes TV series Den of Geek's Apes quiz The Star Trek set blueprint archive Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive ... ...which includes Rod Serling's unfilmed Planet of the Apes TV scripts R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) on stage in Portland, Oregon Article about Pierre Boulle , creator of Planet of the Apes The Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever * podcast *almost Here's the episode. Enjoy!     Podcast platforms carrying Science Fiction 101 include:   Amazon Music ...

August 2024 saw the World Science Fiction Convention, held in Glasgow, Scotland. Phil stayed at home, but intrepid traveller Colin crossed a continent and an ocean to experience his first Worldcon. Find out how he got on - and how Phil and Colin somehow managed not to meet, despite both being in England at the same time... Also in today's show, a special quiz from friend of the podcast Peter Kuskie (last seen in episode 11), and our usual round up of all good things science fictional. Among the items mentioned in this episode: The Interocitor - a new magazine with classic science fiction Galaxy Science Fiction - a new reincarnation of a classic SF magazine. First PDF issue free, later issues available for purchase 2024 Hugo Award Ceremony - as streamed live from the Worldcon... ...and the full list of Hugo nominees and winners Science Fiction Hall of Fame Inductees for 2024 - including the "creation" category Skynet   Find the new episode in your podcast app of choic...

The first women to appear (as "soloists") on the ballot for science fiction's Hugo Awards were Zenna Henderson and Pauline Ashwell , in 1959. (Catherine L. Moore had appeared on an earlier ballot, but for a collaboration with Henry Kuttner.) Fearing that Henderson and Ashwell might be drifting into obscurity, Colin and Phil set out to review their Hugo-nominated novelettes, both of which can be read online for free: Zenna Henderson's " Captivity " Pauline Ashwell's " Unwillingly to School " Other items mentioned on the show include: Jules Verne , covered on Emmanuel Dubois's La Fayette, We Are Here! podcast Classic of Science Fiction blog Classics of Science Fiction database of short stories etc Analysis of women and men in the Hugo Awards Shenanigans in the Hugo Award ballot , thankfully nipped in the bud! Doctor Who meets Star Trek ? If you want it, it's yours! Zenna Henderson's "People" stories are all collected i...