Category Archives: science fiction

BBC’s “First Men in the Moon” Contrasted with Harryhausen’s Classic

October 14th, 2010 | Posted in Ray Harryhausen, science fiction

BBC Four will be airing their television version of H. G. Wells’ The First Men in the Moon. Although I haven’t seen it yet, for my money the best version of this story is the 1964 film of the same name produced by Charles Schneer with special effects by Ray Harryhausen. In my view it […]

Tagged in: | 0 Comments

Richard Matheson on Screen

October 12th, 2010 | Posted in horror, Richard Matheson, science fiction

Richard Matheson is one of the great writers of the fantastic who has provided countless hours of enjoyment through his writing, as well as through adaptations of his stories for television and film. Now his work is explored in a new book by Matthew Bradley titled Richard Matheson on Screen (McFarland, 2010). Richard Matheson on […]

Tagged in: , | 0 Comments

Douglas Cowan on Sacred Space at The Atlantic

September 23rd, 2010 | Posted in Douglas Cowan, science fiction

Douglas Cowan, author of Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television (Baylor University Press, 2010, has been interviewed by The Atlantic. In the interview he mentions his next book completing the trilogy on the fantastic titled Sacred Visions: Fantasy, Film, and Mythic Imagination. You can read the previous interviews with […]

Tagged in: | 1 Comment

Science Fiction in the News

September 21st, 2010 | Posted in science fiction

This week has seen a few interesting science fiction items in the news. In the first instance, the astronomer for the Pope went on record stating that if alien life exists he would gladly baptize it “no matter how many tentacles it has.” See an example of this brief news item here. In the second […]

0 Comments

The Outer Limits Anniversary

September 16th, 2010 | Posted in science fiction, The Outer Limits

Today is the anniversary of the debut of The Outer Limits in 1963. This was part of a great collection of television programs that focused on tales of the fantastic, and although The Outer Limits did not capture my imagination with the intensity that The Twilight Zone did, I still remember getting scared to death […]

Tagged in: | 0 Comments

Forthcoming Documentary: 2001: Beyond the Infinite: The Making of a Masterpiece

September 12th, 2010 | Posted in 1960s, 2001: A Space Odyssey, science fiction

Today we have the luxury of enjoying any number of big budget science fiction films. For younger fans it’s easy to take this for granted. But some of us remember when this was not the case. Along the way to our present state of science fiction and fantasy reigning at the box office, various gems […]

Tagged in: , | 1 Comment

Kevin McCarthy Passes Away at 96

September 12th, 2010 | Posted in 1950s, Obituary, science fiction

Various media outlets are reporting that Kevin McCarthy, the actor who starred in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) has passed away at the age of 96. As fans of the history of science fiction cinema know, Invasion of the Body Snatchers stands out as one of the classics of 1950s science fiction/horror. McCarthy’s work […]

Tagged in: , | 4 Comments

Science Fiction and the Parasitic Human

September 3rd, 2010 | Posted in science fiction, social commentary

Recently James Lee made national headlines when he entered the Discovery Channel building, took hostages, and threatened to kill them and blow up the building. Thankfully the situation ended with the hostages escaping unharmed and the only loss of life came with the gunman at the hands of law enforcement. In the wake of the […]

Tagged in: | 0 Comments

MONSTERS: Reverse SETI Apocalyptic

August 24th, 2010 | Posted in aliens, horror, science fiction, The Andromeda Strain

A new horror film debuts at the end of October titled Monsters. The film’s website describes the plot: Six years ago previously, a NASA probe returning to earth with samples of an alien life form, crashed over Central America. Soon after, new life forms began to appear, and half of Mexico was quarantined as an […]

Tagged in: , , | 0 Comments

Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television released Aug. 15

August 14th, 2010 | Posted in Douglas Cowan, Sacred Space, science fiction, transcendence

Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television by Douglas Cowan (Baylor University Press, 2010) goes on sale tomorrow, August 15. You can order a copy here now. Description: As humans, it is our trust in something larger than ourselves that invests our lives with meaning and value. We hope that […]

Tagged in: , , | 0 Comments
RSS for Posts RSS for Comments