The Future Appears to be Behind Schedule

On January 12, at the Telvision Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, the Sci Fi Channel made two announcements that made cinerati's editor squeal with joy. Sadly, it appears that they are behind schedule on the release of one of products.

The first was the announcement of a new 22 episode series based on Flash Gordon featuring the classic character along with his dastardly foe Ming. SCI FI's representatives at the TCA described the new series stating, "Stellar adventures and heroic battles mark this inventive new take on the perennial science fiction classic." I am excited about the prospect of the series, but the "inventive new take" statement makes me reticent to run around giddily while squealing for joy, I am still squealing for joy. I hope that RHI Entertainment and producers Robert Halmi Sr. (Earthsea) and Robert Halmi Jr. (Farscape), remember to include the Plantetary Romance tone of the original concept. It was the Planetary Romance aspects, and not the SF elements, which really set Flash Gordon apart from Buck Rogers and similar SF serial.



Fans of Space Opera films should note that it was the original concept, and not some "inventive new take," which inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars and that the inclusion of Planetary Romance goddess Leigh Brackett in the screenwriting process of The Empire Strikes Back added to the tone of that film. I am hopeful, but skeptical given the dark tone of the new Battlestar Galactica, that the show will capture the wonder of the earlier narrative. Sadly, much of modern SF seems to think that "darkness" equals narrative complexity and forgets that hopeful utopian views of the future can be just as deep an analysis of today's problems. For every George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, there is an Edward Bellamy and Jules Verne.

As for the future being late, SCI FI promised to bring their deep entry into internetelevision to the internet on January 21, and I have yet to see hide or hair of the project. SCI FI already has their "shallow" entry into internetelevision, you can watch the most recent Dresden Files online and watch a good amount of Battlestar Galactica footage online (including online exclusive material), but I was anxiously awaiting their deep entry. SCI FI announced their broadband destination site (what I call internetelevision) SCI FI Drive-in at the TCAs claiming that it would launch on January 21st giving access to "cult films, serials, campy documentaries, and trailers...includ[ing] such films as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligare and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, not to mention the original Flash Gordon serial" (geeee!) Sadly, the only mention of SCI FI Drive-in I have been able to find on the SCI FI site are in the forums (booo!).

The Holy Words Will Be Obeyed!

These words are not just for the Yangs, but for the Com's as well.

You Know You Have Fallen into the Abyss of Gaming Geekdom When...

You order a movie from Netflix because, David Parlett, the author of "The Oxford History of Boardgames" was a game staging consultant for the film. I have finally stepped over that line and should be receiving Onegin from Netflix tomorrow afternoon. The Rotten Tomatoes crew, including Roger Ebert, don't think highly of the film about a bored St. Petersburg aristocrat played by Ralph Fiennes. Ebert found the film elegant, but with a dead center.

That's too bad. I have had a stream of disappointing movies in my mailbox lately. Not that this actually affects the reason I am going to watch the film. I am watching it to see what a game of Faro ought to look like when it is being played.

I am such a geek.

It's a Snap

I have now added a feature to the website which gives a preview window for any hyperlink you put the cursor over. For example, if you put the cursor over these words you will see Matt Forbeck's site. I chose that website because it was at that site where I was first introduced to the feature. You can apply this function to your website by visiting the Snap website and following a few simple steps.

Please feel free to hover over any hyperlink on this page, maybe even the following...

Unlocked Wordhoard
Rickety Contrivances
Order of the Stick
and naturally,
William Shatner or even...ShatnerVision

Doc Savage Lives!

The Man of Bronze had been out of print for fifteen long years. Those who wanted to introduce a new generation of readers to the simple pleasure of this pulp icon were forced to share prized copies of fragile paperbacks, hoping that the pages wouldn't fall out of the binding when the book was returned. It was the dilemma of the nostalgia fan. Do I recruit a new pulpster, risking the demolition of my valued tome, or do I promote the books praying that there are copies at the local used bookstore?

What to do, what to do?

Thankfully, Nostalgia Ventures has decided to make such difficult decisions moot. Starting mid-year 2006 Nostalgia Ventures has been reprinting the adventures of Doc Savage, and the Shadow, for fans new and old. So far the series of "Double Novel" reprints has four Doc Savage tales and six gripping Shadow narratives. A complete list of the books can be found at the Nostalgia Ventures website or at the Vintage Library

Some may find it confusing why I have such an affection for the pulps. They are often sexist, they are often xenophobic, and the wordsmithing of the texts often leaves something to be desired. My answer to all the objections is, "that is all beside the point." To the first two comments I would point out that the xenophobia and sexism of the pulp is a great lens through which to view the times in which the stories were written. I would also point out that the stories are often not as sexist as some covers might lend one to believe, though there are times when the stories are more sexist than the covers suggest. The stories I am most fond of tend to fall into the less sexist camp.

As for the xenophobia, I think it is important to see popular portrayals of other cultures from one's own past. How can we understand the obstacles that face us when talking to people from other cultures, who are often familiar with the ways they have been depicted in our entertainments, unless we are familiar with those representations? It should be pointed out that not all of the inaccurate portrayals of other cultures are xenophobic, sometimes they are quite the opposite (xenophilic) even when they are equally inaccurate in their portrayals.

What really matters to me about these stories is that they are so often entertaining. The word crafting might be weak, but the structures are sound and the pace exciting. If you like action, it is hard to dislike the pulps. Think of them like television, or direct to video movies, because that is the niche they filled. They were popcorn entertainment filled with the biases of the era in which they were written. Feel free to criticize those biases, but enjoy the ride as well.

A Care Package from a Dear Friend

When I arrived home from work the other day, I was greeted by a small parcel sitting in front of my screen door. I hadn't ordered any Amazon packages recently, at least not any unreceived Amazon packages, so I quickly looked at the return address. To my pleasant surprise, the box had been sent by my dear friend Jay. I hurriedly opened the package to see what treasures lay within, since Jay has a keen knowledge of many of my obsessions. The trove was better than expected. It was filled with fantastic fiction of the sort I adore, and included two extraordinary gems.

So what did Jay send?

Glad you asked.

• Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert Heinlein (1981 Ballantine edition)
• Time Enough for Love by Robert Heinlein (1974 Berkley Medallion edition)
• Farnham's Freehold by Robert Heinlein (1965 Signet edition)
• Tales from the White Hart by Arthur C. Clarke (1966 Ballantine)
• Justice, Inc. by "Kenneth Robeson" aka Paul Ernst (1972 Paperback Library)
• The Hate Master by "Kenneth Robeson" aka Paul Ernst (1973 Warner Paperback Library)
• The Fantastic Island by "Kenneth Robeson" aka W.Ryerson Johnson and Lester Dent (1966 Bantam books)
• The Sea Magician by "Kenneth Robeson" aka Lester Dent (1970 Bantam)
• The Stone Man by "Kenneth Robeson" aka Lester Dent (1976 Bantam)
• A Gent from Bear Creek by Robert E. Howard (1975 Zebra Books)
• Son of the White Wolf by Robert E. Howard (1978 Berkley Medallion)
• Pirates of Venus by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1979 Ace)
• The Mask of Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer (1966 Pyramid)
• The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer (1965 Pyramid)
• Tower of Zanid by L. Sprague deCamp (1963 Airmont)
• Day of the Giants by Lester del Rey (1964 Airmont)
• The Cactus Kid by Tom West and Kansas Guns -- Abridged by Paul Durst (1959 Ace Double Book)
• Winter Range by Al Cody and Pistol Whipper by Lee Floren (1960 Ace Double Books)
• The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1962 Crest Book)

I want to take a moment to highlight the two Sax Rohmer Fu Manchu novels, The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu and The Mask of Fu Manchu. I am a fan of this particular member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and am a proud owner of The Romance of Sorcery. Jay and I watched one of the old Fu Manchu movies, The Mask of Fu Manchu to be specific, starring Boris Karloff when we were in a film class together as undergrads. I was shocked at the film's ending when Nayland Smith throws the Sword of Genghis Khan into the ocean.
Smith's disdain for an artifact from Chinese history, admittedly one which could be used for world domination if it fell into the wrong hands, was a perfect example of British Imperialism and attitude of superiority. I wouldn't have been shocked if Smith's action was shown in a negative light, but it is shown as a good and necessary action. The boat scene, combined with my love of many Hong Kong martial arts films which show the other view of British Imperialism, has led me to swirl an idea in the back of my head. I eventually want to write a story where both Manchu and Smith are the villains.
The idea is still in a primordial state, but I think it is a pretty good one. It is admittedly high concept, and very much influenced by Marvel Comics' Master of Kung Fu, Grant Stockbridge's The Spider: Master of Men, Lester Dent's Doc Savage the Man of Bronze, and Jet Li's Wong Fei Hung (who would be anachronistic, but cool). If I can find a way to throw in Sun Wu Kung, I'll do that too. Hmm... maybe as "The Avenger," both are shapeshifters of a sort.
I have always found the Chinese nationalism of films like Once Upon a Time in China and Drunken Master II very compelling. I can only wonder what it would be like to have another culture pilfer the treasures of my nation's past to sell them as mantle placements.

As for the gems, A Gent from Bear Creek is a collection of Robert Howard's Breckinridge Elkin's stories which can be hard to find. Howard's name equals only Conan to some readers, but those people are really missing out on some good yarns. One of the joys of the Elkins stories is Howard's attempt to capture vernacular in the writing. It's not an easy thing to do without coming off as ridiculous. Manly Wade Wellman does a great job of it in his John stories, and Howard does a pretty bang up job himself, in part because it makes the "tall tale" aspect of the stories all the more convincing.

The other gem is the novel that one of my childhood favorite science fiction films is based on, The Day of the Triffids. In all honesty, I only have vague memories of the movie (similar to my Asphyx memories), but I really liked the movie as a kid. Hopefully, the novel will rekindle those memories and maybe even add some new ones.

Thanks Jay.

NCC-1701X "The White Rabbit"

I am a huge fan of the Original Series of Star Trek, but even I have to admit that many of their acting troupe moments are bafflingly hilarious. Think about the "bomb" in I,Mudd. Let that scene play around in your mind for a moment. Pretty bizarre isn't it? I won't even go into how strange it was watching William Shatner playing a woman possessing Captain Kirk's body in Turnabout Intruder. Shatner's performance in that episode is the root of all Shatner impersonations.

Don't believe me? Watch the episode.

Somebody in the interwebonetosphere decided to to a mash up of moments of bizarre behavior and drinking in Star Trek and make a music video for Jefferson Airplane's White Rabbit. The result is magical.



Thanks to both Tenser (the blogger, not the mage) and Chris Roberson for the recommendation.