A classic piece of short SF, and a landmark story in all sorts of ways. Join Rob and Clive as they look at this dark parody of masculinity, which comes to some pretty brutal conclusions about the role and future of women on this planet.
We recommend you read the story before listening to the podcast. Check it out here.
2016’s X-ample of mutant heroics may not have got the love of First Class, and it does have problems. But allow us to X-plain why there are still X-citing moments that make the film worth your time.
Fair warning: there’s some pretty hard core X-men geekery on display. Rob and Clive have no shame. I’m not X-aggerating.
One of the classics. A gem of dystopian SF, and a great example of a sports movie to boot. A rare example of an intelligent box-office hit: a film that lets its audience make up their own minds about Jonathon E and the society that both embraces and rejects him.
Clive mentioned William Harrison’s 1973 short story “The Rollerball Murders”, the source material for the film. Read the whole thing here.
It’s been described as a mecha-suited Watership Down or The Incredible Journey on acid. But Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s We3 is a beast of a very different colour. It has its flaws, but the book is also a bold and brilliant example of proper comics storytelling.
Join Rob and Clive as they take a walk on the wild side…
There is a history under the history you think you know. A history where the space race never ended. Where Mars was explored back in the early 60s. Where the elite are preparing to evacuate a world dying in the face of catastrophic climate change.
Join Rob, Clive and Curiosity as they explore the secret conspiracy known only by the codename Alternative 3…
Those of you with appropriate secure clearance codes (level A323 and above) have access to the full briefing.
Rob and Clive explore the point where the Marvel Cinematic Universe splits in twain. Yes, it’s time to talk about the Civil War. Are we #TeamCap or #TeamIronMan? Or like everyone else, #TeamSpidey?
DO WE REALLY NEED TO MENTION THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR HERE??? WELL, DO WE???
Rob loves the beauty and artistry of Jim Henson’s fantasy epic The Dark Crystal. Clive thinks it’s staid and a little bit boring. Who’s right? can they both have a point? That’s not going to help Curiosity make up its mind, is it?
Join the crew as they pick apart the film most people call “that one that doesn’t have David Bowie and his bulging tights in it.”
Here’s a clip, to give you an idea of the flavour of the piece…
Jeff Nichol’s masterful SF road movie gets the once over from Rob and Clive. Do they embrace the mystery, or does the film maybe leave a little too much unexplained? One thing’s for sure… it’s a hell of a ride.
Clive mentions Alex Roman’s short film The Third And The Seventh as an influence on the climax of Midnight Special. Check it out below. It’s a beautiful thing.
Let’s talk about some proper SF, with a nose around Ted Chiang’s Nebula-Award winning short story Story Of Your Life. If you want discussion on the challenges of living in a deterministic universe or Fermat’s Theorem of Least Time, then do we have a treat for you!
If not, don’t worry, we’ll be back to the zap guns and little green men soon enough.
Hey, if you want to read the story in question, lucky you! Check it out here (If you like it, we do urge you to buy the collection of stories in which it’s housed for yet more head-mangling goodness).
The boys celebrate their rescue from CycloMedia’s clutches with an exploration of a truly joyful piece of cinema. You could argue that Streets Of Fire isn’t SF or fantasy. Rob and Clive would argue otherwise.
We’re back. let the revels begin. Let the fires be started.
The A To Z Of SFF 