Posted on 02/19/2008 11:03:14 AM PST by rjp2005
Where have all the sci-fi films gone?
Those simple, thought-provoking speculative tales about how people respond to something new, what kind of moral choices they make, keeping traditions in the face of technological change. Essentially, the kind of films that were thought provoking and story/character driven - Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of Apes, 12 Monkeys, Minority Report (more action though but good), etc.
The "Superhero and Fantasy Genre Craze" since Spiderman and LOTR has really eaten up a lot of support for original sci-fi works to film...
For 2008, we have two horror/slasher types "I Am Legend" (Omega Man remake) and "Death Race" (revisiting the 70's version), another superhero film in "Jumper", "Iron Man", which could be a treat, and maybe the only true sci-fi attempt, "Babylon A.D.". There was also "Sunshine", a late 90's disaster film leftover, possibly funded by Global Warming-mongers ;)
They are technologically far superior to earth, but they are not as intelligent as the lop-tails (earthlings). It is written like two novels ... one about the conquest of Earth, another about the can of worms they found themselves in after conquering the planet. The lop-tails run circles around them, and wreak havok on the empire in their desire to be helpful.
It's a whole freaking series. "The Homecoming Saga" (the novels The Memory of Earth, The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth, Earthfall, and Earthborn).
Blecch.
David Weber and John Ringo are both excellent.
Although Ringo has a tendency to veer off into SF/porn.
I prefer my genres unmixed.
“John Brunner”
“Stand on Zanzibar,” and “The Sheep Look Up.” I enjoyed both of them, but I think algore has taken them to heart!
Sirs, consider for a moment just what it would be like for these works which we love to be just ruined by the casting of, say Keanu Reeves in the lead?
An actor who has the dramatic range of your average teacup and couldn’t spell ‘cat’ if spotted the ‘c’ and ‘a.’
Sigh.
Hollywood will screw it up. Possibly beyond comprehension.
Jerry Pournelle has written a great number of books worth reading, in addition to his work with Mr. Niven. Good stuff, all.
Larry Niven has a new book out (in hardback) dealing with the early Puppeteer Migration titled ‘Fleet of Worlds.’ It is a good read.
I strongly recommend author Dan Simmons:
Read that and ‘Fall of Hyperion.’ Excellent stuff!
And they have gotten much worse since NBC bought it.
My other favorite book description is for Harry Potter. "It appeals to all ages, ten through pedophile."
They meet the aliens, everyone thinks they are cute, although a little weird looking; then realize that they only really know the NEGOTIATOR Moties, who are designed to make you like them by acting like YOU. Then they discover the shadows against the sun of the first “crazy Eddie probe” and see that they jettisoned the crew to hide the evidence of what the space ship was, and among the jettisoned crew were Warrior Moties, who the Moties tried to pass off as fictional “demon spirits”.
Very good Science Fiction, as well as an excellent story with good characters and some GREAT dialog.
The scene when the Arab trader sees the spacesuit that is following him on the evacuation from the infested ship (MacArthur)is being operated by Watchmaker Moties would be INTENSE. On the other hand, the moties might look too strange to get the same feel from the Negotiator Moties mimicking the human they imprinted upon. But on the gripping hand, it would make a very good movie.
For anyone who hasn’t seen Plan 9 from Outer Space, I highly recommend it. The cheesy special effects, the God-awful dialog and multitude of goofs and errors make it an absolute must-see.
Yeah, but you only get Michael Moore films, and “An Inconvenient Truth.” It’s the shits.
Looks like the same saucer was used in some twilight Zone episodes .
I thought it reeked of liberalism back in, when was it, 1966?
The soapy stuff WAS pretty heavy in the middle of season 3. I was fortunate in that I never saw seasons 1-3 on TV. I rented them from Netflix and saw them back to back without any schedule disruptions. I thought the show was dying in the middle of season 3, but it improved drastically at the end of the season.
Season 4 is shaping up to be the best yet. In the first three shows of the season we've seen: Time delays/dilation. Characters going insane. Dead people coming back to life. Phony airplanes planted at the bottom of the ocean. Assassinations. Ghosts.
Its awesome. Its as good as the X-Files...and if they can tie all of this together, it'll be better than the X-Files
Go to ABC.com if you want to catch up...they have all the old shows on the internet.
Another good one. Also Ringworld.
Didn’t know there was a sequel! Time to drop some cash at the bookstore. I’ve been meaning to buy “Gravities Rainbow” for a friend. Now I don’t need an excuse to not go to Borders.
I still LOL at the Incredibles. It is great when a film can be enjoyed by the kiddies and the adults at the same time, each laughing at different parts.
Fritzie was pretty far ahead of his time!
I agree that lots of the Niven/Pournelle stuff would make great movies.
The Moties are fascinating because they aren’t your standard boring “good aliens” or “bad aliens.” They’re so different they don’t really fit either category.
Although you sure wouldn’t want them moving in next door. You think we have an illegal alien problem now!
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