I’ve often said that the first sign of old age is nostalgia. Well, it seems that I’m officially old. For some reason I was contemplating the best ever opening segments of TV shows. Weirdly, most of the best ones seem to have been produced in the 1970s, which, coincidentally (ahem) happened to be the time of my glorious childhood. Continue reading The Best TV Show Opening Segments
Well, Fringe is over. Yeah, I know, it ended a while ago. But this is my first chance to sit down and write about it. Continue reading Review: Fringe Finale!
It’s 2013. We survived the Mayan apocalypse. Or did we? (Cue spooky music). Continue reading 2012 Skiffy Year in Review
Original fiction by Amphibious1
Prendergast wasn’t greatly surprised to see the maser being used by the native. He checked his wrist screen as much from habit as a need to confirm what he already knew – this planet was rated Early Metal. It was part of his job to note the detritus of millennia of galactic expansion – where/who had what beyond their cultural level. Continue reading A Small Universe
I’m a serious fan of classic science fiction writing. For we old school types, the title of “Grandmaster” has some meaning. While it used to apply to any of the Golden Age‘s most prolific producers, in the 1970s it took on official status with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America officially honouring Robert Heinlein with the title of first Grandmaster. This list of recognized Grandmasters is quite exhaustive. But, for my money, there were only ever four true Grandmasters of SF: Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke and Ray Bradbury. And with Bradbury’s passing last week, the last surviving Golden Age Grandmaster left this mortal life.
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, a sort-of prequel to Alien, is beautiful, haunting, with stunning visuals, gorgeous long shots, an inspiring score, occasionally brilliant exposition and a handful of excellent performances. Continue reading Review: Prometheus
This past week, for reasons even I’m not sure about, I re-watched the entire Babylon 5 saga. It was quite a reflective experience, not only for re-experiencing one of the most unique televised expressions of American SF, but also for the introspective effect that B5 unwaveringly has on its watchers. The show ran for five seasons, with four full-length TV movies, one spin-off series that was cancelled mid-season (Crusade), one abysmal spin-off pilot (Legend of the Rangers) and one rather good attempt at a made-for-tv movie-length miniseries spin-off (The Lost Tales). The movies were touch-and-go, ranging from vomit-inducingly bad to timelessly inspiring. But it’s the main series, the five year tale of the “last of the Babylon stations” that I’d like to take some time to think about today. Continue reading Remembering Babylon 5
A lot of people like to add “traditional” super hero comic books to the category of science fiction. On its face, that seems reasonable, since there’s a strong speculative science aspect to much of comics heritage: Superman is an alien, Spider-man is a teen genius scientist, etc. Continue reading The Best Comic Book Villains
After a tragically brief battle with cancer, actress Elisabeth Sladen died earlier this year. Science fictions knew her as Sarah Jane Smith, the Doctor’s most capable companion in the original classic run of Dr Who. She was so popular that the BBC gave her a spin-off show in the early 80s called K-9 and Company. It was atrocious and lasted only four episodes. Continue reading Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith
If you don’t know, Terra Nova is the flashy new science fiction show created by none other than Steven Spielberg and produced by Brannon Braga (known mostly as the guy who ruined Star Trek). The show has major name backing, and even more major money behind it. In fact, each episode is rumoured to cost $20 million, making it the most expensive network TV show ever made. I’m not sure, but it might even be more expensive than HBO’s Game of Thrones. Continue reading Five Reasons That Terra Nova Sucks
