Science Fiction 101

Like the Robinsons in Lost in Space , Colin and Phil get cast away. But through some lack of forward planning, instead of landing on a deserted planet they end up on just an island... That's the background to our Desert Island Books episode, based very loosely (unless the lawyers come after us, in which case we'll plead coincidence) on the BBC radio format Desert Island Discs : Our intrepid co-hosts have to choose the books they would want with them when they become marooned. Specifically, they each choose: one science fiction novel one science fiction short-story collection or anthology one book which is somehow science fiction-adjacent one book which has zero connection to science fiction Apart from the chosen books - for which you'll have to listen to the episode - the other items mentioned in this episode include: Pathfinders , an old UK TV series which paved the way for Doctor Who The Greg Jein auction catalogue from Heritage Auctions (click here for PDF download) Joh...

Phil and Colin like nothing more than a compare-and-contrast, so they return to Doctor Who to review an episode typical of the modern era. How does a Hugo Award-winning episode starring David Tennant  - "The Waters of Mars" - stack up against the William Hartnell original episode (reviewed last time)? We also have a "Doctor" quiz, and our usual past/present/future round-up. If you're in the UK, you can find "The Waters of Mars" on BBC iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00p05x8/doctor-who-the-waters-of-mars Other items discussed in the show: Dracula by Bram Stoker The Last Voyage of the Demeter (film) Bragi Schut - writer of The Last Voyage of the Demeter - guests on Colin's other podcast, Take Me To Your Reader The recent Doctor Who novelisation The Waters of Mars by original screenwriter Colin Ford Viavision's new BluRay release of The Martian Chronicles It Came From Outer Space (1953) gets a 4k BluRay release   Here's t...

This year, the long-running SF series Doctor Who is sixty years old - so Colin and Phil turn back the clock and watch the very first episode of the series, from 1963: "An Unearthly Child". (You can watch it on Daily Motion , here .) Phil's first proper Doctor was the third one, played by Jon Pertwee, although he has vague recollections of the second doctor (Patrick Troughton). On the other hand, like many Americans, Colin first knew of the show from the Tom Baker years. What will they make of the gruff, original Doctor portrayed by William Hartnell? Other items mentioned in the show: H.G. Wells' remarkable run of SF novels , from 1895/6/7/8 Asoka TV series The New Ray Bradbury Review Babylon 5: The Road Home The Doctor Who sixtieth anniversary specials Here's the pod. Let us know what you thought of Doctor Who when you first saw it. Were you a fan of the original, early versions of the show? Or did you catch up with it during the 2000s, when it returned as a mo...

In their neverending quest to understand how past and present science fiction relate, Colin and Phil explore fuzzies . Fuzzy Nation (2011) is a novel by John Scalzi which re-boots an earlier novel by H. Beam Piper, Little Fuzzy (1962). Fuzzies are cute little creatures that use tools and form extended families. They behave as if they are intelligent - so should they be legally classed as "people" or "animals"? We also have our usual run through of recommendations of past, present and future science fiction. Alas, no quiz this time, but we'll have one next episode. Among the items mentioned in this episode: The out-of-copyright book Little Fuzzy available for free at Project Gutenberg John Scalzi's reboot Fuzzy Nation at Amazon US and at Amazon UK H. Beam Piper's short story " Omnilingual ", probably his best Tor's 15th anniversary bundle of free short stories New Scientist magazine's new "what if" podcast, Dead Planets S...

Phil and Colin dig into "Star Wars Sequel", the unfilmed 1978 script by science fiction legend Leigh Brackett which became Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back . We look at what made it into the finished film and what got junked, and consider whether Star Wars creator George Lucas was keeping his screenwriter in the dark! If you've never read Brackett's script, you can find two versions of it online. There's a PDF scan of the original typescript, which shows all of her hand-corrections and notes - fascinating for its details, if you can make them out. Or there's this transcript , which is a lot easier to read but loses some of the fun. For a fascinating, in-depth discussion of how "Star Wars Sequel" developed into The Empire Strikes Back , sit back and watch this interview with screenwriter Larry Kasdan , who wrote the final draft of the film's script. Other things discussed in this episode: The New York Times urges you to read old magazines (jus...

In our last episode, we started discussing our favourite bits of science fiction TV - but feeling pushed for time, we only got halfway through our respective top tens. So this time, we continue the discussion. Will Phil's top ten go beyond the 1970s? What will be Colin's favourite SF TV show of all time? Join us and find out! Also in this episode, we have a diabolical, science fictional food quiz send in by one of our listeners. And, of course, we have our traditional run through of past, present and future science fiction. Among the items mentioned in this episode: Babylon 5 - animated movie Elizabeth Bear on influences on/within the science fiction genre 1982: The Greatest Geek Year Ever - documentary Omni magazine' s SF table of elements from May 1981 (reproduced below) Arguably the earliest fungus in the history of science fiction Introducing the virtual tour of the Starship(s) Enterprise Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center and its inspiring Mars exhibit Star...

As we enjoyed our "favourite movies" episode so much, we decided to go for a "favourite TV series" episode this time. Once again, Colin opts for a top ten, but Phil chickens out of having to come up with a ranking order, and instead opts for a chronological jaunt through his list. Which TV shows did we choose? Are there any series common to both Colin and Phil's lists? Join us, and find out! And don't forget to let us know your favourites by leaving a comment below. Among the items mentioned in today's show: Today's quiz derives from Pauls Quiz , home of "high quality quiz questions" The phrase " rapid unscheduled disassembly " enters the language, courtesy of SpaceX's Starship Brandon Sanderson's Kickstarter delivers Phil is delighted that someone cracked the problem of how to do rapid digital transfers from the obsolete MiniDisc format to PC, so he can retrieve his collection of SF radio dramas. Babylon 5 creator J. M...

In the two years(!) that Science Fiction 101 has been running, we've somehow managed not to ever list our favourite movies. Until now. But faced with an almost impossible task, we choose two different methods of revealing them: Colin goes for the top ten (or top nineteen...) countdown; while Phil opts for a chronological approach. Which films did we choose? Are there any films common to both Colin and Phil's lists? Join us, and find out - and then leave us a comment down below, or on our Facebook page . Among the items discussed in this episode: Audio interview with Leigh Brackett, and audio of a convention speech by Leigh Brackett John Varley's Red Thunder 1950s novel Children of the Atom by Wilmar H. Shiras Seattle exhibition of the work of Laika Studios Star Trek: Picard season 3 Stephen King's Fairy Tale The new Silo TV series from Apple TV, based on Hugh Howey's book Wool and its sequels           Podcast platforms carrying Science Fiction...