Science Fiction 101

  Triumph or disaster? Vintage or trainwreck? These are some of the questions we ask ourselves as we consider the year 1983 in science fiction film - prompted by a contemporary review which suggested it might have been particularly terrible. You see, on the one the one hand, there's WarGames. But on the other, there's Krull. And somewhere in between sits Brainstorm. As well as mulling over these cinematic masterpieces, we have a science fiction transport quiz courtesy of friend of the show Andy Parry, and our usual round-up of past, present and future SF. Discussed in this episode: Brainstorm The Dead Zone Krull Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone WarGames Yor:The Hunter from the Future The Hobbit   Childhood's End   Dragon Con's blood drive Phil will be presenting at Wolverhampton Literature Festival in February 2027 (schedule details still to be confirmed) The second issue of Small Planet magazine covers the prop...

  Colin and Phil consider the significance of dates in science fiction. ...1984, 1999, 2001... all years that carry heavy connotations for the SF connoisseur. And we've got plenty more. Which ones will you recognise? Also in this episode: Thanks to those who have bought us a coffee !   Why Orwell chose the year 1984 for his book  Nineteen Eighty-Four  En L'An 2000 , a famous set of French postcards  SF set in futures which are now past   Women in SF quiz Portland's Wildwood Art exhibit     Wil Wheaton at MoPOP   Space: 1999  in cinemas!   And remember, you can find the new episode via your podcast app or platform of choice (many of the platforms are listed at the bottom of this post). Or you can listen right here:             Podcast platforms carrying Science Fiction 101 include:   Amazon Music - Apple Podcasts/iTunes - Audible - Castbox - Deezer  - Fountain - Liste...

  In the midst of a long, hot summer, Colin and Phil turn their sci-fi attentions to the treatment of climate change in science fiction. Naturally, science fiction was there first: before human-caused climate change was recognised, science fiction had been considering what would happen if our planet became hotter. Or colder. To explore this topic, we discuss two films from earlier times - David Twohy's The Arrival (1996) and Val Guest's The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961). We also have a Cli-Fi Quiz, and our usual round-up of past, present and future recommendations.  Among the other items mentioned in this episode: Isabel Kim's debut novel  Sublimation C.J. Cherryh's classic Hugo-winner  Downbelow Station The Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award goes to... Suzette Haden Elgin NPR's article on " cli-fi classics " And remember, you can find the new episode via your podcast app or platform of choice (many of the platforms are listed at the bottom of this ...

This episode was intended to be a grab-bag of different topics, but we inadvertently dug up a show with a strong theme: translation! We start off with a review of the hot-off-the-presses free magazine  Small Planet , which discusses issues around translated science fiction. Even if you didn't know you were interested in languages and translating, you will be after you've heard our discussion. Next we review the classic short film " La  Jeté e ", famously the basis for the film  12 Monkeys .  And then the recent Chinese movie  Resurrection , directed by Bi Gan. We also have a quiz on SF terms, and our usual run through of recommendations of past, present and future SF.  If you'd like to support the show, don't forget you can buy us a coffee ! Here are some more links to things mentioned in today's show: Hank Green’s ranking of made-up science fiction terms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRyDhB03r2s   Brandon Sanderson's lecture on Fantasy: https://www...

  It's awards season again, so Colin and Phil hunt out this years short story Hugo nominees: the six best stories from the science fiction and fantasy field in the running for the prestigious award from the World Science Fiction Convention. The six Hugo-nominated stories  can all be read online for free - here are direct links: Samantha Mills' "Ten Visions of the Future..." -  https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/10-visions-of-the-future-or-self-care-for-the-end-of-days/ Thomas Ha's "In My Country" -  https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/ha_04_25/   Effie Seiberg's "Laser Eyes Ain't Everything" -  https://www.diabolicalplots.com/dp-fiction-123b-laser-eyes-aint-everything-by-effie-seiberg/   Tia Tashiro's "Missing Helen" -  https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/tashiro_07_25/   J.R. Dawson's "Six People To Revise You" -  https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/six-people-to-revise-you/   Isabel J. Kim's ...