Science Fiction 101

Time for a new podcast episode! Steven Spielberg's classic UFO movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind could have been very different. In today's episode of the podcast we dig into the rejected early script for the film, which was written by Paul Schrader (famed screenwriter of Raging Bull and Taxi Driver). As well as reviewing this film-that-never-was, we have a sci-fi quiz, plus our usual run through of recommendations of past/present/future science fiction.   We hope you enjoy the episode!   Items discussed include:   Kingdom Come , the original draft script by Paul Schrader for the Close Encounters project (click here for PDF download) The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast The forthcoming new edition of Ray Bradbury's Dark Carnival   Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities The new edition of Nigel ( Quatermass ) Kneale's long out-of-print Tomato Cain Updates to the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction School Library Journal on updating sch...

Colin and Phil return, buoyed by the news that Science Fiction 101 has risen to number 6 in Feedspot 's league table of Best UK Sci-Fi Podcasts ! Our main discussion topic the contentious issue of the "canon" of science fiction, triggered by a blog post by Dr Shaun Duke. We also have a movie quiz, and the usual round-up of past/present/future SF. Here are links to the items we discuss: Shaun Duke's blog post on the SF canon, and why it doesn't exist Duke's follow-up post, including a draft SF canon from 1961 ! The full sci-fi movie quiz, from Triviawell Stephen King's Firestarter , basis of a new (and old) movie Short film based on Arthur C. Clarke's " The Nine Billion Names of God " The LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize-winning short story collection Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho A new Doctor Who ! The new Emeka Walter Dinjos Memorial Award honours writers with disabilities and writers who depict disability in SF.   We hope you enjoy the episode:    ...