scifi tv
The best science fiction television from every decade.
21/1/1967: Re-watching... The Underwater Menace – Part 2
My ongoing mission: to watch classic television fifty years after first broadcast... Back here in 1967 televisions weren’t as reliable as they would become, so despite my repeated thumping on the box I’ve been unable to get a picture since last October. And would you believe it, that coincides with all the episodes of Doctor Who which are missing from the archives in 2017! Cah, typical! So it might not come as a great surprise to you that this week my TV screen has suddenly flickered into life. And look: it’s Patrick Troughton as the new Dr Who! And now I can see Jamie too! Seeing this episode after so many audio only episodes has made me realise how much I must have missed out on, as watching Troughton is a very different experience to hearing a few lines from him. There have not really been any lengthy chunks of dialogue or great speeches from the new Doctor so it’s not easy to get a solid impression of the man. But I’m pleased to say he’s a joy to watch. I should also mention that this is genuinely the first time I’ve seen this episode.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
14/1/1967: The Underwater Menace – Part 1
My ongoing mission: to watch classic television fifty years after first broadcast... “You’re not turning me into a fish!” The problem I have with this episode is that Atlantis is presented as if it’s a legend (and indeed referred to as such) when it is in fact a fictional island from a MADE-UP STORY by Plato. The confusion arose when people started to speculate that Plato may have been inspired by a real place. But as far as I’m aware there is no evidence for this, and even if there was such inspiration, that’s all it was. There has never been any such place called Atlantis! So for Doctor Who to have a story set there, well the Doctor might as well visit the ‘legendary’ lands of Narnia or Tatooine or Oz or Pokemon.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
12/1/1967: The Squire Of Gothos
My ongoing mission: to watch classic television fifty years after first broadcast... Another week, another red miniskirted yeoman coffee waitress. I didn’t catch her name. Perhaps Kirk knows, perhaps he doesn’t care. Kirk and Sulu suddenly disappear from the Enterprise bridge after a mysterious planet is spotted. Some other crew members beam down to rescue them, and they all end up in this castle, which turns out to be a fake one created by a fake human calling himself Trelane.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
5/1/1967: The Galileo Seven
My ongoing mission: to watch classic television fifty years after first broadcast... Back in the studio this week. The Enterprise is delivering medical supplies to Markus 3. En route they discover a nearby quasar and Kirk orders a small team led by Spock to investigate. I guess scientific research comes under their remit even if it’s not strictly “new life” or “new civilisations”, but I can’t help but wonder whether interrupting a medical delivery is the appropriate time… Still, I’m sure Kirk knows what he’s doing.
By Nick Brown9 years ago in Futurism
The Philosophy of Westworld
Michael Crichton wrote and directed Westworld for the big screen in 1973. That same decade, in 1976, an adjunct professor named Julian Jaynes made the bestseller list with a surprising title: The Origins of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. You wouldn’t think that a book with a name like that would become such a popular success. Yet, there it was. In 2016, when Westworld came to the small screen in the re-imagined HBO series, you wouldn’t imagine Jaynes getting heard from again. Especially since bicameralism wasn’t even mentioned in the Michael Crichton’s original film. Yet, there he was. Early on in Westworld’s first season Dr. Ford, one of the creators of the park, explains how he and his co-founder Arnold used a “debunked” theory about the origins of consciousness to bootstrap A.I. The scientific community didn’t recognize bicameralism as an explanation for the origins of the human mind, but, as Dr. Ford suggests, it could be useful for building an artificial one. Thousands of people—perhaps more—started Googling for “bicameral mind.” Bloggers and YouTube channels capitalized on the sudden interest by writing articles and introductory videos about this weird, arguably psychedelic theory of consciousness. Suddenly everyone was interested.
By Jeremy Johnson9 years ago in Futurism
Star Trek's Finest Federation Starships
The newest incarnation of Star Trek is, apparently, about to start filming anytime now. Called Star Trek: Discovery, little is known about the show. However, a teaser trailer from the San Diego Comic-Con last year showed footage of the new starship emerging from space dock and fans were understandably outraged. The angular abomination looked amateur and unworthy of being in the greatest sci-fi franchise of all time. Based on an unused Ralph McQuarrie concept for the USS Enterprise from the unmade movie Star Trek: Planet of the Titans, it almost appears to be a marriage of Starfleet and Klingon design. Fans flocked to comment online and the general consensus was that everyone hoped this was simply a first draft and the ship would be vastly improved before the new series aired.
By Scott Snowden9 years ago in Futurism
Lessons from The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror
The social commentary and criticism found across episodes of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror invite viewers to self-reflect on their own social judgments. In particular, The Twilight Zone’s “The Eye of the Beholder” (1960) and Black Mirror’s “Men Against Fire” (2016) both raise awareness to public fears of those who are deemed different or abnormal.
By Erica McCrystal9 years ago in Futurism
Coolest 'Star Trek' Starships
Since the inception of the original show in the 1960s by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek has become a fabric of sci-fi pop culture, with millions of devoted Trekkies. Many have tuned in to the TV shows and movies that have followed to follow the Enterprise and the crew’s missions in space, the final frontier, and go where no man has gone before. The characters are memorable, the moments are unforgettable, its diehard fans speak the language of Klingon, and the technology, for how it was made 50 years ago, was groundbreaking and extremely imaginative. Then, there are the starships like the Enterprise that are fast, large, and a world within a world that grabs the attention of viewers. Various starships like the Enterprise are seen in the Star Trek universe, and many of them give us a convincing look of what it would be like in open space. Here are a few of the coolest Star Trek starships.
By Stephen Hamilton9 years ago in Futurism
Best Pets In Science Fiction
Science fiction junkies get the best of all worlds. They get to know characters from all corners of the galaxy, from the heroes and villains to the pets of science fiction. Some of these pets might be found on Earth—some are a bit more foreign. Regardless, these pets in science fiction have captured our hearts and made us want more.
By Stephen Hamilton9 years ago in Futurism
Confessions of a Conspiracy Geek
On May 19th, 2002, a finely strung bow was tightly wrapped around nine (although it is now ten) seasons of what is arguably one of the greatest science fiction shows to ever hit the television airwaves. With a cult-following spinoff, two major motion pictures, and a handful of Emmys, The X-Files became a favorite amongst believers and non-believers alike. Special Agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were introduced to many characters throughout the series, but none as memorable as the basement dwelling trio known as the Lone Gunmen. A short and stout hacker with the hots for Scully, a suit-wearing conservative with a heart of gold, and a poster child for metal bands everywhere, the Lone Gunmen quickly made a one- time appearance into something the fans just couldn’t get enough of. And for one of the gunmen, a character’s keen interest in conspiracies and the UFO phenomenon began to spill over into real life.
By Ryan Sprague9 years ago in Futurism
