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mega-sentients
eradicating camp
Ever since the first cheesy monster or goofy robot leered out from the cover of a pulpy magazine, science fiction has struggled to shake off a certain tinge of campiness. No matter how hard creators may try to tell cool stories, that slightly ironic silliness is always lurking just outside the frame. And there will always be science fiction which takes those little hints of camp and amplifies them a million-fold. A little campiness may be fun to get stoned and giggle at, but it also stands in the way of telling amazing tales about the impact of technology on humans. Here's a rulebook for rooting out the campiness from science fiction.
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21 Ways To Eradicate Campiness From Science Fiction
Ever since the first cheesy monster or goofy robot leered out from the cover of a pulpy magazine, science fiction has struggled to shake off a certain tinge of campiness. No matter how hard creators may try to tell cool stories, that slightly ironic silliness is always lurking just outside the frame. And there will always be science fiction which takes those little hints of camp and amplifies them a million-fold. A little campiness may be fun to get stoned and giggle at, but it also stands in the way of telling amazing tales about the impact of technology on humans. Here's a rulebook for rooting out the campiness from science fiction.
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star trek
Captain Wesley Crusher, Starfleet Investigative Services
The Star Trek franchise has always been about "big picture" stories, but the next Trek series should take the opposite approach, narrow the scope and focus on a few well-developed characters - primarily Wesley Crusher. Yes, the much maligned ensign should be brought back as the captain of a Starfleet science vessel that warps around the Alpha Quadrant solving mysteries for the Federation. Think of it as CSI . . . in space! Here's how it would work.More »
star trek
Trek Music Reinterpreted By New Power Generation
When music nerds and SF nerds collide, the result may be a little something like this. Yes, that's really various Star Trek theme music - Apparently the themes from The Wrath of Khan, The Undiscovered Country and the Kirk/Spock fight music from "Amok Time" — played by a band that really goes by the name of Ontario Power Generation at a Canadian Trek gathering. And if you think that it doesn't get any better than that, there's a pleasant surprise for you under the jump. More »
galaxy quest
Galaxy Quest Returns, Goes Global
For fans of both Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver's cleavage, there's only one movie that manages to hit all particular pleasure buttons: 1999 Star Trek parody Galaxy Quest. And now, as if to prove that there's no audience too niche for indie comic publisher IDW, comes the news that a brand new Galaxy Quest sequel in comic format is on its way. More »
international space station
On the International Space Station, You Can Watch Star Wars But Not Star Trek
In a stroke of weird genius, the people at GovernmentAttic.org issued a FOIA (freedom of information act) request to the US government to reveal the contents of the multimedia library on the International Space Station. Probably happy that they weren't being asked about the Patriot Act, the government happily complied, supplying us with a 13-page document containing the titles of every book, movie, and TV show in the ISS library. Not surprisingly there's a lot of science fiction in the mix, plus (of course) The Right Stuff. But there are some shocking choices in terms of what got put in — and what got left out. More »
morning spoilers
Surprising Twists On BSG, Smallville And Doctor Who
This morning's spoiler roundup lets you know how the new Star Trek movie ends, just in case you were wondering. Our spoiler-bash also includes even more hints about the inevitable Iron Man sequel, plus some clues about the slightly less inevitable Superman Returns sequel and the Wolverine prequel. And there are new clues for Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Smallville, and the Amazing Spider-Man comic. All this, plus two new clips from tomorrow night's Lost episode. It's spoiler season! More »
scifi vacation
See The Nation As James T. Kirk Would Want You To
It's getting near summer, and while that means travel and exploring new places, think of all the shows you'll miss on TV! And the comics/DVDs/books/whateverelse you won't be able to buy because you won't be at home! How will you stay as in touch with pop culture while on the road? Thankfully, your best friend the internet has come up with a way to take vacation and do so in such a way as to keep your nerd flag flying: Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to "How To Plan A Star Trek Cross-Country Road Trip." More »
spock
A Weirdly Mesmerizing Gallery of Bad Spock Drawings
A person known as Caveman Robot is the curator of a blog called "Bad Spock Drawings," which boasts the fittingly ungrammatical subtitle "Artist Are Asked to Make a Bad Spock Drawing!" And yes, the drawings submitted by "artist" are quite bad. For some reason, Spock seems to be at his worst when strumming an instrument, though there are also an inordinate number of pictures where Spock's face seems covered in boogers or pimples. You won't be able to look away from this collection, especially when there are such clearly-stated criteria for submitting your own drawing. More »
unrealistic countdowns
The Slowest, Stretchiest Countdowns In Science Fiction History
When life and death for everyone hangs on a ten-second countdown, those ten seconds can feel endless because of your adrenaline rush and your super-focused attention. Or maybe those seconds actually are endless. (Like this awesome moment from Time Chasers via MST3K — thanks t3knomanser!) Science fiction TV shows (and some movies) have a long and honorable tradition of cheating on final countdowns, where seconds last ridiculously long. It's like ten, nine, eight and a half, eight and a quarter.... Here are some of the most unreal countdowns from science fiction. More »
triviagasm
Forget Warp Speed, Try One Of These Alternative FTL Ideas
In Star Wars and Star Trek, the main way to get around the galaxy is to use warp speed or flip on your hyperdrive, which is a bit like hitting the gas pedal as hard as you can so you'll get there a bit quicker. There's more science to it than that, involving subspace fields and hyperspace and all that jazz, but the end result is that you're traveling very quickly. But besides speed, what other faster than light alternatives are there? Check out our list of other ways to get there in scifi. More »
research
Did Star Trek or Doctor Who Mold Your Brain?
I am a devoted Doctor Who fan in a family of Trekkies — and I'm also the only creative writer in a family of electrical engineers. Are those two facts related? What kinds of minds do science fiction shows attract — and, more importantly, what kinds of minds do they create? My first independent research project as an io9 intern will attempt to answer those questions. And it all starts with you. More »
deus ex machinas
The awesome thing about science fiction is that anything can happen — including the occasional incredibly convenient miracle. Sometimes circumstances become so desperate and dire in a science fiction tale that even the "reset button" can't fix them — and that's when the "deus ex machina" shows up. The term, meaning "God from a machine," comes from classical theater, where a wheel-and-pulley deity would literally show up to sort everything out. And in science fiction, god literally can come out of a machine. Bow your head before our taxonomy of the most unlikely miracles in scifi history.
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The 5 Types Of Scifi Deus Ex Machinas
The awesome thing about science fiction is that anything can happen — including the occasional incredibly convenient miracle. Sometimes circumstances become so desperate and dire in a science fiction tale that even the "reset button" can't fix them — and that's when the "deus ex machina" shows up. The term, meaning "God from a machine," comes from classical theater, where a wheel-and-pulley deity would literally show up to sort everything out. And in science fiction, god literally can come out of a machine. Bow your head before our taxonomy of the most unlikely miracles in scifi history.
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triviagasm
The Most Badass Robot Army Dream Team
We've talked about the toughest scifi soldiers, but those were made out of blood, muscle and bone. What about their robotic counterparts? It's goes without saying that if the Bot Army met the Meat Popsicle Army, the robots would clean house. If you had access to unlimited funds and a lot of time-traveling doohickeys, then you'd want to put together a lineup like our dream team robot army. We've assembled them below for your pleasure. More »
ask a biogeek
Where Is My Medical Tricorder?
Reader Juan asks:If not the medical tricorder from Star Trek, when could we possibly see diagnostic equipment capable of scanning for infections, viruses or impending heart attacks, attached to wrist watches or other portable devices?Nothing against the phaser, but for many of us the most coveted piece of away team equipment is the tricorder, the medical version of which can perform a complex examination in a single whistling pass over a patient. If you've ever tried to lie perfectly still in a thumping MRI machine or sat in a doctor's office waiting for lab results, you've longed for faster, more portable diagnostic devices. More »
9:00 AM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By Terry Johnson
1,572 views,
18 comments
Latest by the_wiggle: @Gyrus: want! also, self cleaning clothes & home; plus flying car ;) more »
atlantis rising
Are You Ready For War With High-Tech Undersea Aliens?
Writers Alan Kurtzman and Roberto Orci managed to transform the old Transformers franchise into a hit movie, and everyone's hoping they'll do the same for Star Trek. But will they be able to work similar magic with a graphic novel that almost nobody has read, that hasn't even finished publishing in comic-book form? They just signed on to adapt Atlantis Rising, a comic book about underwater aliens who want us to stop polluting the oceans. (But at least the aliens look like porn stars.) More »
morning spoilers
Upcoming Events In Lost And Battlestar Are Guaranteed To Piss You Off
Sigourney Weaver's character in James Cameron's new movie Avatar is based on the most unlikely source possible. And that's not the only movie that has some surprises in store: the Greatest American Hero remake will take some weird liberties with the source material. And Dragonball may commit the ultimate sacrilege. Meanwhile, there are rumors of some developments on Lost and Battlestar Galactica that are guaranteed to upset the fans. All this, plus some hints for Doctor Who, Love Story 2050, Smallville and Star Trek. Your spoiler space begins and ends right here. More »
virtuality
