Today’s song is Eve of the War, the first song on Jeff Wayne’s musical tribute to War of the Worlds.
I have loved this album since its release way back in the 1970’s and it is one of those rare things that Mrs PM and I share in terms of musical taste. A couple of years ago, Jeff Wayne toured the country with a full orchestra and lots of special effects to bring his concept album to the stage and Mrs PM came with me to see it.
The concert is to date the only one that we have both been to see and to be honest I can’t ever see this happening again.
For me, though the real triumph is the story. The book by H.G.Wells is one of my favourite novels. I first read the book at school at the tender age of thirteen. My English teacher introduced a lesson by suggesting that we all read a classic novel and write an essay about it.
Initially I was depressed because until that moment the term “classic novel” referred to an out of date boring tome by the likes of Thomas Hardy or, worse, a play by William Shakespeare. The school kept a library of suitable books and I immediately selected the book based on the title alone.
I devoured it!
I took it home and read it as voluntary homework and the essay I wrote sang its praises. I imagined I was present as the tripods marched across the English countryside systematically destroying all traces of humankind with the deadly heat ray.
The book also kick started my love of science fiction and horror novels generally. I have since read hundreds of books but few have had the impact of War of The Worlds.
I’ve also read other works by H.G.Wells, including The Invisible Man and the Time Machine. The latter book is also a classical favourite of mine and I was delighted about ten years ago when I discovered that an authorised sequel had been written by another science fiction author I enjoyed called Stephen Baxter.
The sequel was called The Time Ships and took the original premise of Well’s masterpiece and expanded it into a mind-blowing epic. If you like the original novel, you will love the sequel, although Baxter sometimes let’s his imagination run amok in a way that can be bewildering.
I also recently read an authorised sequel to The Day of The Triffids called The Night of The Triffids by a little known author called Simon Clark and it was certainly worth a read.
However, I have discovered that an authorised sequel to The War of the Worlds is about to be published, with the intriguing title The Massacre of Mankind. And even better, the author is the same guy who wrote The Time Ships, Mr Stephen Baxter.
Given the nature and style of the other books he has written, I imagine it will be phenomenal and I am really looking forward to reading it.
In fact, I would dearly love to have a go at writing a sequel myself and even though it would be totally dreadful, I would love it, mainly because it would tell the story as I think it should progress. In fact, it lends itself to more than one sequel in my view.
Maybe I’ll add that to my unending list of writing projects I am unlikely to ever start.
I love the title of today’s song but I must confess to not really understanding it. The song is by one of my most recent and favourite discoveries, a progressive rock band from Poland called Riverside, who have totally won me over in the past two years.
The song is called Lost (Why Should I Be Frightened by a Hat?).
To some people this sums up how strange progressive rock can be with weird song titles and bizarre concepts as subjects. Yet, despite the odd title, this is a beautiful song and typical of the band.
The meaning of the song is, thankfully, not weird at all. Basically, it is about somebody looking back at his younger self and picturing the innocent wonder as the boy contemplates his future life with no fear – only excitement.
I can relate to that.
I cannot remember the thoughts going through my mind as an innocent boy. Some of my friends may ask “Were you ever innocent, Dave?”, to which my answer would be “Of course!”
But as a young child, I cannot confess to ever being unafraid of the future. To be honest, I was captivated by it but also deeply scared because it was all about the unknown. My fascination with science fiction steered my imagination into a vision of the future that was as terrifying as it was amazing.
Back in 1970, most kids were looking at the year 2000 with awe. I used to love reading books and watching TV programmes about what life would be like in that amazing future. To be honest, some of it has come to pass, but equally, one or two ideas from that time are laughable.
For example, we all thought that there would be a Moonbase, like in the TV series Space 1999 and UFO, and that we would be travelling to the outer reaches of our solar system. Also, the vision of orbiting space stations crammed full of people seemed to be a distinct possibility.
Closer to home, we pictured ourselves sitting in futuristic houses, with robots as servants , We would travel around in flying cars and be able to travel to the other side of the world in aircraft that left Earth’s orbit and could, say, fly from London to Sydney in just two or three hours. Furthermore, seers predicted that we would barely have to lift a finger in our own homes, from asking the cooker to prepare dinner and switching things on and off with voice command.
Now these later items do seem possible. Certain people got it totally right, particularly with the prediction that we would be carrying or own computers with us (in the shape of a smartphone) to being able to summon our own entertainment by watching television on-demand from a vast library of movies, TV series and box sets.
I am fascinated by the future and I would love one of two things to happen. Either I somehow become immortal and can watch the development of future technology over the next few hundred years, or somebody invents a time machine that can whisk me away to the future where I can see for myself what happens.
That would be a dream if it were possible.
Of course, depending on your religion, there might be some hope that when I finally shuffle off this mortal coil, I may be born again and enjoy the future that way. Sadly I won’t be able to remember this life – unless technology permits it, of course.
Last year, I listed my top ten science fiction shows, including a couple of classic shows that in my opinion stood the test of time. While compiling that list, I discarded quite a few classic science fiction shows that I enjoyed as a kid in the late 1960’s and 1970’s.
The reason these shows were cast away was that they were actually almost embarrassing to watch as an adult all these years later. At the time, in my evolving mind, I thoroughly enjoyed them and I have to say that without them, none of the shows of today would exist.
I think they deserve praise because there were some episodes that I really enjoyed, even watching them again all of those years later.
Star Trek, Dr Who and Space 1999 made my original list, so these will not be mentioned again.
Let’s dive in shall we?
10. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea was initially a film and it spawned the series of the same name. The series was set on board a nuclear submarine called Seaview and recounted the adventures of the intrepid crew who encountered all manner of evil sea monsters and even aliens. The stories started off with espionage but gradually introduced weirder elements.
The plots were relatively straightforward and the good guys usually won in the end. Nevertheless, along the way, the submarine usually suffered, mostly due to monsters roaming around the vessel, somehow finding the control room and ripping out wires and cables, resulting the submarine hitting the bottom of the sea.
You would have thought that if the captain had stationed a couple of guards outside the control room, life would have been so much easier for the crew.
9. The Invisible Man
I loved the novel of the same name by H.G.Wells and the whole concept of invisibility fascinates me. The series of the same name from the 1970s was very entertaining, if a little simplified, and it starred David McCallum, famous from another cult 1960’s show The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
At the time, I loved the special effects. These days they look a little dated.
Sadly the series didn’t last very long, which is a shame. In my opinion, there was a lot of scope for storylines.
8. Blake’s 7
Blake’s 7 is the story of a group of galactic rebels battling against a totalitarian state, led by, as the name suggests, a man called Blake. And it was British, produced by the Terry Nation, the man who invented the Daleks.
Although the special effects are quite tacky, I liked the story and the struggle of this group of renegades against the mighty Terran Federation.
The group often cross swords with the evil Servalan, a ruthless power-hungry woman.
To be honest, I haven’t watched any repeats of the series since the late 1970’s. Perhaps I shouldn’t so that I don’t ruin my memories of it.
7. Land of the Giants
Land of the Giants was the story of the survivors of a crashed ship that was caught in a weird anomaly and whisked off to a planet inhabited by giants. The survivors were known as little people and had to deal with colossal insects, cats and, worst of all, terrible plotlines.
I thought the show was hilarious – even as a kid. Each episode had roughly the same plot, with a few minor variations;
One or more of the little people are captured by a giant with an ulterior motive. The remaining little people rescue them.
That’s basically it.
The show was perfect for a young child like I was at the time, but when I watched the show again in the 1990’s that initial innocent magic was lost. I did see one of the giant telephones when I visited Universal Studios in Los Angeles and it was very impressive. That’s why I’ve popped the show in at number 7.
And the funniest thing about the show?
It was set in 1983!!!
6. Planet of the Apes
I loved the original Planet of the Apes films. I even read the books as a small child (Conquest of the Planet of the Apes was my favourite). It’s no surprise that the TV series that followed the movies would be on the list of my favourite classic science fiction series.
The concept is wonderful. Based on the original film, two astronauts crash land on Earth 2000 years in the future, having encountered a time portal of some kind in space. In the meantime, a huge cataclysm has occurred on Earth, resulting in intelligent apes becoming the dominant species.
In the series, I loved the main bad guy, a gorilla called Urko wo pursued the astronauts and Galen, the chimp played by Roddy McDowell in their quest to find a solution to their predicament.
Sadly, the series was cancelled prematurely (do not rant, Dave!!!).
5. The Time Tunnel
Of all the science fiction concepts out there, time travel intrigues me most of all. Unfortunately, science fiction writers don’t always consider the potential paradoxes associated with travelling to the past, or indeed, the future.
The Time Tunnel, while very interesting and enjoyable, used to infuriate me because of the plot holes. Basically, the show was the story of two scientists trapped in time and unable to be returned to their own time period. Every week, they were dumped into a past period, for example in the city of Jericho before the walls came down. Miraculously, wherever they landed and in whichever country, the people always spoke English and refused to ask why they had weird clothes – the SAME clothes, I should add.
And they certainly interfered with past events with little regard for the consequences of their actions. It seemed okay though because their observers from the future, the team who were trying to retrieve them, didn’t suffer any after effects, like popping out of esixtence.
Plot holes aside, I actually thought it was a very good series, one that I would have liked to have written an episode for.
4. The Six Million Dollar Man
Whenever I ran in the local park I became the Steve Austin, the bionic man. The theme tune to the show would run through my head as I imagined chasing cars and using my bionic arm to punch holes in walls and beat up bad guys – just like the clip above where he encounters Bigfoot.
Yes – I was a huge fan of this show. It was perfect for a twelve year old geek with a huge and active imagination.
I loved the show so much that when Lee Majors turned up later as The Fall Guy I refused to watch it because I didn’t want to imagine Steve Austin as anybody else.
Looking back at the show now, it seems dated, particularly the slow motion portrayal of Steve’s super speed.
I can forgive that though. Lee Majors will always be Steve Austin – don’t believe anything else.
3. Lost in Space
Lost in Space was so bad it was brilliant. By far the best character was Dr Zachary Smith, a cowardly man who thought only about himself. To me he was the star of the show and his verbal duals with the Robot were highly amusing.
To be honest, if it wasn’t for these two characters, I wouldn’t have watched the show. They kept it fresh and interesting (the others were kind of boring really).
Again, with my imagination, I would have loved to have penned an episode or two of the show as some of the episodes weren’t that good. Nevertheless, the best episodes were brilliant and always had Dr Smith at the heart of them – hence this lofty position.
As an aside, the recent film based on the series was not very good, apart from the revamped theme by the band Apollo 440:
2. The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk is my favourite Marvel character and I am delighted that he is the star of the two recent Avengers movies. Of course, before that, he was portrayed by Lou Ferrigno in this wonderful TV series.
I have watched a few episodes recently and while a little dated, I still looked forward to the parts where David Banner, played brilliantly by Bill Bixby, would evolve into the violent green monster and smash things to pieces.
One of the best things about the show was David’s struggle to find a cure for his condition, something that was perfectly captured in the closing credits of each episode with the solitary and very sad piano music:
1. UFO
Of all the classic science fiction series, only three made it into my all-time Top 10. UFO very nearly did.
The reason it didn’t was that it was quite dated. Supposedly set in 1980, it seemed like a weird version of the 1960’s.
That’s my only criticism. UFO was an intelligent and slightly disturbing series about a secret organisation called SHADO, that protected the Earth from mysterious aliens. The function of SHADO was to keep the existence of these aliens secret while at the same time trying to work out what their hostile goals were.
The aliens were humanoid but quite scary. Their skin was green because they breathed a green liquid.
There was enough to appeal to both kids and adults. I loved the Interceptors and had a model of my own, which fired a missile and gave me hours of fun. I have seen the odd repeat as an adult and if you ignore the obvious 1960’s influence, the stories are genuinely good and menacing. Even the end credits were spooky:
This is a prime candidate for a modern reboot.
And finally …
Over to you, dear reader:
Have you seen any of these classic shows? Are there any shows that I missed that might be worth investigating?
I am a huge fan of science fiction and over the years I have watched numerous series, so many in fact that I have forgotten a lot of them. Modern science fiction series benefit from superior special effects thanks to advances in technology, but I have fond memories of some of those old series with wobbly sets and laughable monsters. As a kid, these things intrigued me, even though they are ridiculous when watched today.
I thought it would be fun to compile a list of my favourite science fiction shows – which is actually much harder than it sounds. I have based the list , of course, on shows that I have watched religiously, which sadly excludes some high-rated shows that I actually missed, shows like Stargate SG-1, which I am told was great. I just never got round to watching it so apologies to any fans of that show and others like it, that I have had to omit.
Also, I have omitted anything to do with super heroes and horror; this list is purely science fiction.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s dive in:
10. Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation goes down as the most improved series. The first couple of seasons were a major disappointment, which is why this show comes in at a lowly number ten. Some readers may find this controversial. Let me explain. My problem is that the writers seemed to want to sacrifice the ideals of the original series in favour of more diplomatic resolutions to problems. They even had a ship’s counsellor who looked as if she was about to burst into tears all the time. I wanted the Enterprise to attack first and ask questions later. Thankfully, as the show progressed, this started to happen and we were introduced to the best Star Trek bad guys ever: the Borg. The cliffhanger for series 3 which involved this fantastic enemy, is one of my favourites of any Star Trek series and here it is for your enjoyment:
9. Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek comes in at number nine simply because it is now quite dated. At the time, it was cutting edge and the idea of a space ship exploring the galaxy was fantastic. However, I found the acting also a bit dated, particularly that of William Shatner as Captain Kirk, whose eccentricities and overacting techniques sometimes left a lot to be desired. That said, I still love the series and will often watch repeats, particularly now that it has been remastered. The planets now actually look like real planets, something that was lacking originally.
My favourite episode is “The Doomsday Machine” where the Enterprise takes on a machine that can destroy planets:
8. The X Files
I loved the idea of the X Files, a tiny department of the FBI that investigated weird phenomena consisting of Agent Fox “Spooky” Mulder and Agent Dana Scully. Mulder was the one who believed in UFO’s and that the supernatural incidents were actually real, as unbelievable as they were. Scully was the sceptic who tried to use science to explain everything they saw.
At times the show was fantastic and quite scary, but my one criticism was the fact that Scully still insisted on rational explanations, despite all of the dreadful things she saw and even the weird events she experienced.
My favourite episode is “Squeeze” which features a weird human who can reshape his body so that he can break into buildings via impossibly tight openings. What made it worse was that this guy would kill a victim, eat their liver and then hibernate for thirty years. It was tense and disturbing.
7. Fringe
Like the X Files, Fringe was a series about an FBI division that investigated unnatural phenomena. However, unlike the X Files, we were also introduced to time travel, parallel universes and mad scientists. Some of the incidents they investigated were truly nasty.
One episode in particular inspired Mrs PM to suggest a trip to Boston, where the series was based. It involved a monster in the sewers under the city. I worry about Mrs PM sometimes:
6. Star Trek: Voyager
While not being popular with Trekkies, I actually thought Voyager was quite good, mainly because the Borg appeared quite a few times. The series contained my least favourite Star Trek character (yes even worse than Wesley Crusher). I am talking about Neelix, the self-appointed morale officer. I hoped every week that he would be killed off; sadly he wasn’t.
My favourite episodes are Scorpion (I and II) for introducing a bad guy even worse than the Borg (Species 8472) – and bringing Seven of Nine into the series:
5. Space 1999
At the time of its release, Space 1999 was fantastic. The moon is blown out of the earth’s orbit and the show follows the fortunes of the people living on the moon in Moonbase Alpha as they encounter aliens and monster in the galaxy.
My favourite episode is Space Brain, where the moon is threatened by a huge entity that protects itself by sending out a substance (that looks amazingly like foam) that can crush anything in its path.
4. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
I fear this is a slightly controversial choice. Of all the Star Trek series, Mrs PM rates Deep Space Nine as the weakest. I disagree. In my opinion it is the strongest, mainly because the series covered the struggle between the Dominion and the Federation with a little mysticism and extremely good villains, most notably, the evil Cardassian Gul Dukat.
It’s difficult to select a favourite episode because the whole storyline of the last couple of series makes that difficult. Instead, here is an excerpt from the very last episode, the showdown between Gul Dukat and Captain Sisko:
3. Red Dwarf
Regular readers will know that Red Dwarf appears at number three in my list of British sitcoms, but from a science fiction perspective, it deserves a similar accolade. Dave Lister is the last surviving human and a complete space bum. If the human race depends on this curry eating, lager swigging slob then we are totally doomed.
There are so many great episodes so it’s difficult to pick a favourite, so I’ll pick one of my favourite scenes.
Meet the Vindaloovians:
2. Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is space opera at its finest. Wars, politics, treason, mutiny, religion and fantastic bad guys (the Shadows) make this my favourite ever American science fiction series. At the time the special effects were also way ahead of anything else I had ever seen on TV. The battle scenes in space were terrific.
The show ran for five series and while series one was good, it really took off in the next three seasons introducing a massive story arc that I loved. There were so many great characters all of whom had flaws making them nowhere near as squeaky clean as their Star Trek equivalents.
If you haven’t seen the show, I urge you to watch it. While it may look a bit dated now, the storyline should more than make up for it.
Here is a battle scene with the evil black Shadow ships:
1.Dr Who
The winner has to be Dr Who, the story of a time travelling alien, known as a time lord, who has a ship that can travel anywhere in time and space. Thankfully, this hero who has lived for hundreds of years, has a real soft spot for Earth and although alien is quintessentially British, with all that such a curse entails. He is eccentric, resourceful funny and highly intelligent. He also has the power to regenerate when fatally wounded, which means that the character has been played by twelve different actors spanning over fifty years.
The show is the longest running science fiction series. In the past, the monsters and sets reflected the meagre budget of the BBC but since its resurrection in 2005, the special effects have improved massively and now the show is worthy of its cult status.
And finally …
Do you agree with my list? Have I missed anything? What is your favourite science fiction show?
I discovered a brand new movie meme while browsing the web. It may not be new but I haven’t seen it before – so I am going to have a go. It’s an Alphabet Meme so let’s dive in:
Anctipated Movie in 2014
If I can persuade Mrs PM to go to the cinema then it will be the sequel to one of my favourite films:
I will start working on her now.
Book Adaptation I Would Love to See
A couple immediately leap to mind. Bryan Lumley’s Necroscope would shatter all illusions about the pathetic vampires we see in movies today. A really good adaptation would terrify anybody who thinks that the dreadful Twilight Saga contains quintessential vampires.
Having just read Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons, I think that too would make a fantastic film or series of films, particularly the fearsome Shrike:
Celebrity I’d Most Love To Meet
I think that would have to be Clint Eastwood, as long as he promised not to pretend to talk to Barack Obama. If I could resurrect a dead celebrity, I would choose two: Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, circa 1940, and chat to them about their hilarious movies.
Dream Director/Actor Pairing
I would probably put somebody like Quentin Tarantino with Robert de Niro. That would be interesting.
Essential Classic Movie
Now here’s a question. What exactly is a classic movie these days? Movies made in the 1970’s are 40 years old and when I was a kid, old black and white movies from the 1930’s also fell into that category. I am going to cheat and name a proper “classic” movie – and a “modern” classic.
First, The Public Enemy, from 1931, which is a marvellous film about a ruthless gangster, perfectly portrayed by the brilliant Jimmy Cagney.
Second, and moving into a more modern era, The Godfather Part 2, which sees two of the greatest actors, Al Pacino and Robert de Niro, sharing the limelight in this magnificent sequel to another great film, the original Godfather.
I see that I have picked two gangster films – that is just a coincidence.
Favourite Film Franchise
I am a sad geek so there is only one choice; Star Trek. I love most of the films but my particular favourites are:
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Kahn
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek (The JJ Abrams Remake)
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Genre I Watch Most
You can probably tell from my answers already that I am a massive fan of science fiction. However, I would go further and add super hero films as a kind of “subset” because they are, strictly speaking, science fiction films – don’t you agree?
Hidden Gem
Long before Jurassic Park hit our screens with its fantastic marauding dinosaurs and superb special effects, there was another movie about a theme park gone wrong. That movie was, of course, Westworld, the story of a couple of guys who go on holiday to a theme park where they can immerse themselves into a wild west experience with robots playing the part of the of cowboys and gunslingers. Of course, it’s perfectly safe – that is until the robots break their programming and start killing the guests. Yul Brynner is superb as the gunslinging robot pursuing our hapless hero through the theme park with one intention only – to kill him.
Important Moment in my Film Life
I would probably say that it was the day my dad succumbed after weeks of me pleading with him to watch a horror movie. He let me stay up to watch the 1958 Hammer horror film, Dracula, starring Christopher Lee. It scared me half to death but kindled within me a deep fascination with horror and vampires in particular.
Just Right for a Rainy Day
Marvel’s Avengers Assemble (or if you are in America, just Avengers). Just switch you brain off, forget the weather outside and immerse yourself in two hours of total mayhem. It’s got everything – incredible (and flawed) super heroes, endless action sequences and an incredible villain – as well as some fantastic moments of humour.
Who can forget the moment when The Hulk takes on Loki? I laughed so much at that scene.
I truly love this film and can’t wait for the next one.
Kiddie Movie I Still Shamelessly Enjoy
Toy Story 2. My lads wanted to see the sequel and I hadn’t seen the first one. I promised to take them on a Sunday afternoon and took the opportunity to rent Toy Story on the Saturday – just so that I knew what was going on of course. I loved Toy Story but the sequel was so much better.
It’s funny and heart-warming – and I have watched it probably about six times now (as a guilty pleasure).
Location I’d Most Like To Visit
Predictably – the bridge of the Enterprise. Just give me a part as an extra on the next Star Trek – that’s all I ask.
Movie That I Know By Heart
Monty Python sketches are legendary, so much so that I can recite a lot of them. It’s sad I know. So it stands to reason that I can also recite a huge part of The Life of Brian – my favourite comedy film of all time.
“He’s not the Messiah! He’s a very naughty boy!” “And what about you? Do you find it risible when I say the name … Biggus … Dickus?” Netflix Movie I Actually Watched
I don’t have Netflix.
One Movie I Watched More Than Once
Again it was The Life of Brian. The entire movie had me crying with laughter so much that I had to pay to see it again just to see some of the other jokes I missed the first time.
Preferred Place to Watch a New Movie
There is no better place to watch a huge action movie than the big screen itself. My answer is definitely the cinema.
Quote That Inspires Me
There are lots – but I particularly like this from The Matrix:
“There’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.”
Remakes – Friend or Foe
I don’t mind remakes if the film is an improvement on the original. There are cases where they truly do work, for example the two recent Star Trek movies are pretty good. Some remakes are pointless, like rebooting Spiderman just a few years after the original trilogy was produced.
A remake needs to add something new and exciting and sadly a lot of them do not.
Snack I Enjoy Most
Don’t get me started on cinemas and snacks. There is so much wrong. In the UK, the queues for popcorn and fizzy drink are usually so huge that you simply don’t bother. Also, cinemas don’t allow you to take in your own snacks, which means that you have to buy overpriced huge buckets of fizzy drinks and colossal bags of sweets and popcorn. I once missed the start of a movie because of queuing just to keep my kids happy.
When I become World President, there will be changes! I promise!
Twist That Blows My Mind
It has to be The Usual Suspects. If you haven’t seen the movie, then I won’t spoil it for you – but it still sends a shiver down my spine when I think about it.
Unapologetic Fan Person For
I actually like almost all of the movies I have seen Tom Cruise in, to be honest. I know that as a top Hollywood movie star, he has the first choice of the best movie scripts but before he really became a huge star he appeared in some great movies, such as Born On The Fourth Of July and Rain Man. Mind you, I’m not really a fan of Top Gun, bizarrely.
Also, he is the same age as I am – although I am much better looking.
Judge for yourself:
Plastic Mancunian
Tom Cruise
OK - maybe he is better looking than me.
Very Excited For Award Season?
Not at all. Some of the movies that win awards are worthy of them but there have been lots of examples of Oscar winners that in my humble opinion simply do not deserve it. Take Lincoln for example. I watched the movie on a flight to Oman last year and it bored me to tears. Daniel Day Lewis may have done a half decent impersonation of what people think Abraham Lincoln looked like and spoke like – but nothing bloody happened. It had too much boring political dialogue and is only truly of interest to an elite group of people who know and love that particular period of American history. So no – I don’t get excited by the award season at all.
Wish I Had Never Watched
I' m sorry to mention it again but having just moaned about it, I cannot let it go. I wish I had never watched Lincoln. I had such high expectations based on the awards it won – but it was boring and tedious. I am sorry to go on about it but it was.
XXX Movie You Watched At A Young Age
The Exorcist – and it scared me to death. I had sleepless nights for weeks and weeks and I have never watched it since, such was the impact it had. At the time I was 16 years old and still half believed the preaching of the Catholic church. The Exorcist exposed a deep-seated terror within that I had no idea existed, and then attacked it with maximum prejudice. Vampires are one thing, but Satan is another prospect altogether, particularly scenes involving demonic possession of a poor innocent child.
I still shudder when I think about it.
Your Latest Movie Related Obsession
The Marvel Super Hero movies without a doubt. I love every one of them: Iron Man, The Hulk, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Captain America, Thor, X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. And the great news is that there are many more of them due.
Keep them coming I say.
ZZZ – Catcher
Dare I say The Twilight Saga again? I got a bit of stick for my negative views on the Twilight movies (read them here). They are so mind-numbingly boring that they are a great cure for insomnia and I apologise to readers who actually like them (on second thoughts, thinking about it, I don't apologise at all!).
And Finally …
As usual, please feel free to steal this – and let me know your A to Z – I will genuinely be interested.
Earlier this year I said goodbye to my current favourite fictional anti-hero:
Dexter Morgan, a blood spatter analyst who works for Miami Police and just happens to be a cold, unfeeling psychopathic serial killer who murders bad guys that have escaped justice and then hacks them to pieces, pops them in black plastic bags, takes them in his boat, aptly called “The Slice of Life” and dumps them out at sea.
Here is the trailer for season one:
Whenever I become engrossed in a major drama, I find myself worrying about whether it will survive or not. Thankfully, in the case of Dexter, the series has finished and reached some kind of conclusion.
After eight seasons, I can’t imagine Michael C. Hall wanting to play the part of Dexter for a moment longer, mainly because people will forever consider him to be that character. I can’t say that I blame him simply because of the nature of the character as well as forever being referred to as Dexter Morgan the serial killer.
There are actually people out there who truly believe that the characters actually exist and the poor actor has to suffer being chastised for daring to do the bad things he acted out on the screen. In the UK, some actors have received hate mail simply because they committed an atrocity against a much loved character in a soap opera.
It’s amazing to think that people are that gullible and stupid – but it’s true.
While some series manage to run to a logical and satisfying conclusion, there are others that don’t. This is particularly true in America, where major drama series are judged on audience ratings and axed if they do not attract the required number of dedicated viewers.
This truly annoys me.
Series like Lost managed somehow to hold on and reach a conclusion (whether it was satisfactory are not is a subject for another debate), yet other series are simply cut short in their prime leaving a cliff hanger series finale that leaves fans totally frustrated.
One of my favourite science fiction series from the 1990’s suffered with the threat of being axed but recovered. It was hugely popular in the UK but in the US, the ratings weren’t quite as high as expected and the threat of the axe loomed over the series for four out of the five seasons, leading to a truly action-packed fourth season as the producers tried to cram everything in, but leaving season five slightly disjointed.
If you haven’t seen Babylon 5 – here’s a taster – a space battle with the evil Shadows in their malevolent spider-like spaceships:
Even the first season of Star Trek was curtailed too quickly after a mere three seasons. It was only later due to fan pressure that the show was resurrected as movies, which ultimately spawned four more separate series and even more movies.
In the UK it seems that producers are less likely to wield the axe on a show. Some shows last for years and only suffer if they are truly awful.
An example of a show that has true longevity is, of course, Dr Who, which remarkably is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Dr Who is the story of a time travelling alien who seeks adventure and has as his playground the whole of time and the whole of space. All of this means that he can travel to anywhere in the universe and anywhen.
Being an alien, he lives for centuries and has the ability to survive mortal wounds by regenerating into a different person – i.e. a different actor can play the character.
From 1963 to the early 1980’s the series went from strength to strength, despite shaky special effects and crazy storylines.
However in 1989 it was finally axed as the producers thought it had run its course. Many people were upset about this and there were several campaigns to bring it back. The show was resurrected briefly in the 1990’s in a one off special before finally returning to our screens with a bigger budget and much improved storylines and special effects in 2005.
And it has gone from strength to strength since then as one of the flagship programmes of the BBC.
I can’t imagine that happening in America.
If you haven’t seen Dr Who, here’s a taster for you, with a particularly creepy alien:
And here is another clip of the Doctor standing up to his mortal enemy – the Daleks:
Thankfully, Dr Who doesn’t show any signs of going away and there are plenty of other excellent drama series out there.
But alas I must say goodbye to Dexter Morgan. If you haven’t see it, I urge you to do so if you get the chance.
You will thank me for it.
Over to you, dear reader.
What are your favourite TV programmes? Have you ever suffered because the networks have prematurely terminated one of your favourite series? Are you a Dexter fan?
Some of you may already suspect this but I am going to tell everybody anyway.
I think I am a geek.
There – I’ve said it. And do you know what? I don’t really care.
Some of you may disagree with me, based on some of the crap I’ve written in previous posts, but for you doubters out there I have compiled proof that I am indeed a geek.
I wear glasses.
With that statement I can imagine that there are rational people all over the world complaining that if you wear glasses it doesn’t necessarily mean you have crossed the nerd line into fully fledged geekdom. There may be an element of truth in what you say, particularly since wearing spectacles became cool some time in the last ten to twenty years, partly because super cool and extremely handsome celebrities started to wear them.
When wearing glasses became cool...
I didn’t start wearing them to look cool; I was forced to wear them as an 8 year old and there have been many years of pain because of them. Believe me in 1970 wearing glasses WAS NOT COOL! I had to suffer lots of abuse such as "Hello Four Eyes!".
Glasses added more to my geekness than just appearance. For instance, I love football but playing football in glasses is not only stupid but also likely to get them destroyed by a wayward ball blasted at your face from close range. Without glasses I may as well not bother because I simply cannot to see a ball hurtling towards my face until it is around two feet away, by which time it is far too late.
And this is why glasses wearing geeks are crap at sport. They simply can’t see and therefore have to pursue more cerebral pastimes.
I have abominable hair.
If left unchecked my already unmanageable hair mutates into a blonde mess that kind people would say is a white afro. Sadly most people just say “get your hair cut you bloody freak”. Combined with my glasses my long curly hair makes me look like an insane version of Einstein without the vast intellect and vast moustache.
I have played dungeons and dragons.
In my youth I succumbed to temptation and joined a bunch of sad individuals in a basement room in the student union at Liverpool University and played a stupid role playing game consisting of cards and dice whereupon I did battle with crazy imaginary creatures such as gargoyles, goblins and griffons. I found myself arguing with another sad individual about who should open an imaginary door and confront the troll we knew was lurking behind.
I am ashamed.
I have since seen the light and although it was 32 years ago, I still cringe inwardly when the memory surfaces of rolling dice to help me fight a dragon.
Maybe there’s hope for me.
I love science fiction.
I love science fiction so much that I actively spend my time surfing the internet looking for information about my favourite science fiction TV shows and sequels to my favourite geeky movies.
I have leapt on my soapbox to point out flaws in movies like Jurassic Park and Independence Day because of plot holes so vast you could steer a planet through them. I have watched all manner of garbage on the SyFy channel in the hope that it can satisfy my weird craving for wonderful monsters, aliens and space operas.
Some of my favourite authors write vast series of novels with more than a thousand pages in each book spanning millennia and universes.
I love shows like Star Trek and Dr Who and avidly watch any other strange series that come to my attention.
I draw the line at visiting conventions dressed as my favourite characters – thankfully.
I work in IT.
In the 1970’s and 1980’s software engineering (or as it was known then computer programming) was a career reserved for geeks. Over the years, the stigma of geekdom has drifted away from IT. Nevertheless, there are still people out there who associate sitting at a desk all day, trying to get computers to do as they are told, with sad nerds.
I love gadgets.
I have a collection of gadgets that I simply cannot do without, including my smartphone, Kindle, iPod, tablet and PSP. There are numerous other gadgets knocking about my house and I am always on the lookout for the next big thing.
I am quite clever.
One of my female friends once said to me: “I wanted to speak to you but I was scared of you.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you look so clever.”
I have often wondered whether that was my problem with women in the past. Either I look too clever (the stereotypical mad hair and glasses as described above) or they simply don’t like geeks.
I am quite clever but in some aspects of like I am totally thick – like dealing with and understanding the fairer sex.
I have friends who are geeks.
Not only do I have friends who are geeks, I actively join in sad conversations that only geeks understand. I also work with geeks (anybody reading this who works with me – I am not talking about you).
And finally ...
Having said all that, there are many aspects of my life that are not geeky at all. For example, I love to go out for beers and talk about football, I used to play a fair amount of sport and I haven’t been a single man since the age of 21.
Nevertheless, the geek within me surfaces fairly often and I spend far more of my life being a geek than not.
I guess I really am a geek.
How about you, dear reader. Are you a geek?
Do you have geek tendencies?
Would you confess to being a geek even if you were?
Have I made a colossal mistake admitting to a personality that exhibits elements of geekdom?
Do I care if people think I am a geek because of this post?
Probably not – because I think being a geek is OK!!
I am a bit of a geek therefore I am a huge fan of science fiction – or so those who believe in stereotypes suggest.
In this instance, however, certainly as far as I am concerned, they are right. I love science fiction novels, TV series and movies.
There are so many fabulous science fiction films that I am going to give you my top 20.
Please feel free to let me know your favourites – who knows – I may not even have seen it (but I doubt it).
Also, let me know if you disagree with me. I’d be happy to know why.
(20) Star Wars – The Empire Strikes Back
I was never really a huge fan of the Star Wars saga. I don’t really know why. Perhaps it is because the distinction between good and evil is just that little bit too obvious. Darth Vader himself had a lot of potential as an evil villain but he never quite realised it for me, I’m afraid. Sadly, I do actually like Star Wars III – The Revenge of the Sith and it was touch and go whether that made the top twenty instead of this one. In the end, I opted for The Empire Strikes Back simply because I was as shocked as everybody when it was revealed that Darth Vader was in fact Luke Skywalker’s father.
I apologise to Star Wars purists but I much prefer Star Trek to be honest (as you will see later).
(19) Galaxy Quest
Once of the reasons I love Galaxy Quest is because it is a science fiction remake of another great film, The Three Amigos. A bunch of washed up actors being mistaken for intergalactic heroes and the aliens in the film is a wonderful idea. There are so many great comedy moments in the film; nothing escapes including sci-fi conventions where goons dress up as the characters and believe it is real and Star Trek itself including the one unknown character who always gets bumped off when the crew lands on an alien planet. Tim Allen is excellent as the captain but the best character in the movie is Alan Rickman’s reluctant alien.
Never give up – never surrender.
(18) Starship Troopers
I hope you don’t think of the tacky I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper that was a crappy little single in the seventies. Starship Troopers is a very violent, very scary and very political movie that makes me shudder when I watch it. Why? Because I loathe creepy-crawlies and the monsters in this film are basically huge insects that rip men to pieces. My one criticism is that the characters are a little shallow. However, that fades into insignificance when you consider giant fire breathing beetles, monstrous insects with razor sharp claws that can slice off a man’s limbs and, worst of all, the horrific species we meet at the end that suck out human brains. Revolting yet utterly compelling.
(17) Total Recall
Unlike most of Arnie’s mindless movies, Total Recall has a fairly convoluted plot that makes it that much better than most of his action films. The story is intelligent and has lots of nice twists, particularly for Arnie’s character. I can accept the fact that he has to flex his muscles and beat the crap out of bad guys but the intricacies of the plot adds that extra portion of enjoyment.
(16) The Time Machine
H.G. Wells is my favourite classic author and I have read most of his books. The Time Machine is one of the best and I am going to take a liberty and include both the original film and the recent remake at the same time. The original movie starring Rod Taylor is a fabulous adaptation of the book and, despite being fifty years old, it is still very enjoyable today. Moreover, the 2002 remake starring Guy Pearce, although panned by some, is also very enjoyable. I particularly like the idea that you simply cannot go back in time to “fix” things. The Morlocks in the remake are also particularly nasty but both movies stimulate my imagination.
Also, if you like the H.G.Wells story, check out the “official” sequel written by Stephen Baxter called The Time Ships. It will blow your mind as you try to get your head around the complicated concepts of time travel. I have to say that if somebody dared to make a movie of that it would be an absolute blockbuster.
(15) Blade Runner
I love dark films and, as far as science fiction is concerned, you can’t get much darker than Blade Runner. I particularly like Rutger Hauer’s psychotic replicant and the ending of the movie is exciting and also a little sad. I empathised with Hauer’s character all through the film (I’m a little weird you see).
(14) Forbidden Planet
I watched Forbidden Planet as a kid and it really scared me (much to the amusement of my father). I remember asking my dad with a quivering voice “What is the Monster from the Id?” and as the characters struggled with the vast and violent invisible monster, I was clutching my dad’s arm as he chuckled at my fear. For that reason, I have always remembered this wonderful film. Of course it had a fabulous robot too and that was the icing on the cake. I saw it recently actually and was amazed that the star was Leslie Nielsen who I imagined was always a comedy actor.
(13) The Terminator
Violence, time travel and a fantastic story combine to provide the perfect Arnie film. This, believe it or not, was the first film I saw Arnie star in. I was bored one day so decided to go to the pictures and there was nothing on but The Terminator – what a fortuitous decision. I was captivated by the movie and urged everybody to go and see it, including complete strangers (I told you I was weird). You can’t beat time travel and a virtually unstoppable cyborg whose sole purpose is kill its target no matter what.
It will never stop until you are dead – that’s a scary thought.
(12) The Thing
I saw the trailer for The Thing and thought to myself, this is just another tacky horror film. A bunch of university mates persuaded me to go and see it and I am so glad they did. It is easily John Carpenter’s best film in my opinion, and has everything the discerning science fiction fan loves; horrible monsters, a great story and an ending that leaves everything to your imagination. If you haven’t seen it, don’t be put off by the title – it is a truly scary and thought-provoking film.
(11) Cloverfield
Everything JJ Abrams does at the moment is a triumph. I am a huge fan of his TV work (Lost and Fringe) and Cloverfield is no exception. Monster movies are excellent and what makes Cloverfield stand out from the rest, for me, is the mystery factor, that is, the fact that you don’t really see the monster at all and there is no explanation of what it is or where it came from. The heroes of the movie are basically clueless idiots and that makes it even more enjoyable because you know that they should just get out of there instead of hanging around waiting for a lovelorn buffoon to rescue his girlfriend. I can’t wait for the sequel.
(10) Terminator 2 – Judgement Day
I know – Arnie again – but, incredibly, the second Terminator movie is even better than the first. It has all the fascinating elements of the first film, plus the added bonus of trying to change future history. The kid was annoying but the transformation of Sarah Connor from an innocent young woman into a violent, psychotic warrior bent on changing the future and protecting her son, was a great idea. Best of all is Robert Patrick’s liquid terminator. A great sequel.
(9) Predator
Ok – this is the last Arnie film, I promise. The concept of an alien coming to Earth to hunt humans, string them up and keep bits of them as trophies is vastly appealing to me. Arnie and his elite band of mercenaries make tough opposition for the creature and that is why this first in the series is by far the best.
(8) Alien
I was too young to see Alien at the time it hit the cinemas and it wasn’t until around five years after its release that I saw it for the first time. It is tense, scary and takes the idea of a bogeyman to the extreme. The guy who dreamt up the alien, a remorseless, intelligent, violent killing machine that bleeds acid is exactly on my wavelength because that is the kind of monster I would create. A fabulous film.
(7) The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds is my favourite science fiction story by H.G. Wells and I’m going to take yet another liberty and mention the two movies in the same section. The original adaptation from 1953 is another of my favourite old style science fiction films – and although it is totally different from the book, it contains a lot of the elements that I love from the book. The recent Steven Spielberg adaptation starring Tom Cruise is absolutely magnificent though. Set in the modern day, it has the tripods from the book and for once Tom Cruise plays a hero who is simply terrified and completely helpless. And the special effects are something else.
I have to make a special mention of the musical version by Jeff Wayne which is one of my favourite concept albums of all time. The story aside, the songs, the vocalists and the narration of Richard Burton are the icing on the cake. I took Mrs PM to see a live performance at the Manchester Evening News Arena a year or two ago with Jeff Wayne, a full orchestra and Justin Hayward. The stage show was simply awesome.
My one wish is to see yet another remake that is even closer to the book, set in England in the late nineteenth century.
(6) Pitch Black
I was on a business trip to Atlanta, sitting in a hotel room on a Sunday evening, watching any old garbage on US TV when I saw a trailer that perked my interest. It showed a guy in pitch blackness who lit a flame – and when he did so, he was surrounded by hideous black monsters that shrank from the light. As soon as I got back to England I told Mrs PM, also a science fiction buff, and we went to the pictures to see Pitch Black. And we both absolutely loved it. I hadn’t heard of Vin Diesel at the time but I thought his character, Riddick, was indcredible – a truly flawed hero. The film exceeded my expectations because it had monstrous aliens, great characters and it was all set in darkness which added to the fear and tension. I loved the ending.
I have to say, I also like the sequel The Chronicles of Riddick, despite the criticisms.
(5) Star Trek
Please allow me to indulge myself – I love Star Trek, and J.J. Abrams came up with a magnificent reboot of the franchise that has incredible potential for future films. I went to see this with a little trepidation but it blew me away. The casting of Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes) as Spock was inspired. And it was a delight to see Simon Pegg playing Montgomery Scott. It was a terrific action movie and cut aside the political correctness that had crept into later versions of the series. More – I say – give us more of the same. I can’t wait for the sequel.
(4) Star Trek – First Contact
I was totally disappointed with Star Trek – Generations. To allow the next generation to take the reins in this dreadful way was frankly absurd. When I heard that the next film with Jean-Luc Picard would be a Borg film I was excited but at the same time, nervous that it would be like the series, i.e. nice and diplomatic. It wasn’t. It had everything you could hope for in a movie; time travel, evil villains, a wicked Borg queen and a normally sensible and professional captain of the Enterprise mutating into a weird version of Captain Ahab. Even Worf had a bad time. Easily the second best Star Trek movie.
(3) The Matrix
I had no clue what The Matrix was like. I just knew it was a science fiction film. And I left the theatre with a huge grin on my face, citing it as one of the best and most original movies I had seen. I particularly like Agent Smith, superbly played by Hugo Weaving. In fact, most of the characters are terrific. And the special effects are wonderful. I particularly like the scene where neo and Trinity walk into the building and march through the metal detector loaded with guns and a bomb. And the mayhem that ensues it one of my favourite action scenes of all time.
The sequels were quite disappointing, actually. The Matrix Reloaded had some great actions scenes, notably the freeway chase but I left the cinema feeling that something was missing. It was the same with The Matrix Revolutions. I think it all got a little silly really. They should have stopped after the first one.
(2) Star Trek II – The Wrath of Kahn
To this day, Star Trek II – The Wrath of Kahn is the only science fiction movie that makes me cry every time I see it. I simply cannot watch the scenes surrounding Spock’s death without blubbing like a baby. I have to watch the movie alone lest others laugh at my emotive outburst. When it appears on the TV I simply have to find time to watch it because it is easily the best Star Trek film. Ricardo Montalban was immense as the evil Kahn, driven by revenge at the expense of everything else. Even William Shatner, a man whose acting leaves a lot to be desired, excelled himself for once.
(1) Aliens
What could be better than being trapped in a space ship with the scariest and most vicious alien in the universe? I would suggest being stuck on a planet with hundreds of the buggers is far worse. Okay, so this time Ripley had a small army with her, complete with weapons that could take out on or two of the beasts, but in the end it didn’t really help. At the start of the film, I was shouting at Sigourney Weaver – “Don’t go back there!” while at the same time thinking to myself “You have to face the alien again – just for me.”
And she did – with gusto. The final scene where she is kicking the alien queen’s bottom is simply wonderful.
This film has everything I need from a science fiction movie: a brave hero, violent mercenaries, tension, blood, fear and a whole army of large evil monsters with big teeth.
The perfect science fiction film – and that’s why it is number one.
I hope you enjoyed my list and I will be happy to hear your thoughts, whether you agree with me or not and I am happy to hear your suggestions.
