Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates, You Never Know What You're Gonna Get (Unless You Utilize The Key On The Inside Of The Box Of Chocolates)

... In which case you may know exactly what you're gonna get.

What's So Fun About Fun Size?

I really don't get the FUN SIZE candy treats?

I love candy and if all you offer is about 12-15 pieces of and then you're OUT, that's not fun to me at all. Where is the fun in that?



Heck, a giant-sized box of candies is a hell of a lot more fun, and when that's empty it's not so much fun.

If you're going to earn the tagline of FUN SIZE you better damn well be fun and as you can see by the pictures, there's just nothing fun about these little teasers.

These little packages should be called the NOT-SO-FUN SIZE! That seems a lot more reasonable.

Roger Ebert: Life Itself

"My blog became my voice, my outlet...

in a way I couldn't have dreamed of."

-Roger Ebert, Life Itself-

And Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic is of course my voice as your blog may be yours.

Ebert's first blog entry was April 2008. "Most people choose to write a blog I needed to," he noted. This blog is likely a bit of both for me.

I paid tribute to writer/critic Roger Ebert (1942-2013) when he passed here. Only recently did I take the opportunity to finally see Life Itself (2014), a film adaptation of his 2011 memoir that paints a beautiful portrait of various points in this man's wonderful journey.



As a young adult I would seek out Siskel and Ebert's elusive show. As an aspiring writer of pop culture myself I hung on every analytical and critical word shared between these two men, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, with each and every review. Honestly, I think if they compiled a DVD Box set of that series today from start to finish I would likely watch it and enjoy it and enjoy the evolution of these two very different critics.

If only people could argue and disagree as these two writers once did as a tormenting bloodsport. That discourse is either missing or has evolved from the balcony that sat these two giants graced into something much worse thanks to social media. In fact maybe these two obstinate critics represented the seeds of what the political discourse in America would become today. They were a sign of things to come and we loved it.



Life Itself reminded me how much I missed these two men and how they filled such a special part of my developing years.

Life Itself is also a reminder of our humanity. That we are thinkers. And we are writers. We are lovers of life itself. But we are flawed and that makes us beautiful.

Life Itself made me consider life itself too, our mortality. Like actor Tom Baker, Roger Ebert inevitably came to terms with such a reality and that is touched upon in the film.

I wonder if I too will one day accept my fate or fear it?



I remember in my thirties feeling an everso slight pain in my foot when I got up from bed one morning. I pulled the blankets back, swept my feet out onto the floor. I stood. I felt pain penetrate the invincibility of my youth.

I always remember that moment as the beginning. It seems every year of my life since there is some aching physical aspect of my gradual breakdown there to remind me of my mortality.



Do we get to the point where the culmination of these pains is so great we begin to accept the relief of passing into the loving arms of the after life?

I have this window in my home and there is always something beautiful to notice when I look out that window. The way the sun hits a tree. The moisture set against the light. The reflection of the moon. The falling rain. Leaves floating into the yard. There is always something to appreciate.

So until that day comes I will treasure this gift of life itself until my last breath and I'm grateful for every day of it just like Roger.

Ghost In The Shell Film: A Major Motoko Kusanagi Controversy (Part IV)

You do realize this is how it's going to go with this film.

Every little thing about the anime classic, Ghost In The Shell (1995) originally directed by Mamoru Oshii, will be under the microscope by fans.

The live action interpretation is set for March 2017. Boy, it's going to be a long road. I hope it's worth it.

The latest revelation is that scriptwriter Jonathan Herman has been called aboard for script rewrites. Herman is known for co-writing the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton (2015).

Opinions are very divided, perhaps split down the middle (not a scientific poll), about this Hollywood adaptation. I'm not sure Herman's credentials suit Ghost In The Shell, but he may be the biggest fan of the property and completely understand and grasp the material. Certainly time will tell. He's also likely not to be the last.

It is interesting how people are willing to destroy something that has yet to see the light of day. The knives for all involved are completely out.

Shouldn't the material be judged on its own merits before conclusions are made? Innocent before proven guilty. You know, that reasonable sort of thing.

Ghost In The Shell Film: A Major Motoko Kusunagi Controversy (Part III)

Sigh.

Politics, race and pop culture. All eyes to political correctness continue and DreamWorks caves into the pressure in sending a conciliatory message to the masses or to its few noise makers.

Has anyone actually seen the films of Scarlett Johansson and her ability to transform a role? She's a genuine talent. She is capable of heavy lifting both drama and action in large heaps (Lucy, Her, Lost In Translation, etc.). Johansson is an inspired choice for the role of Major Matoko Kusanagi and with the right make-up and production design will fill the shoes of that character with stunning aplomb. A live action version of Ghost In The Shell could be exceptional. I actually have a good bit of confidence in that decision as far as casting goes for an American version of a Japanese property, a property with a percentage financed by Americans. But really who cares?



I thought we were supposed to be color blind, ethnicity blind as we were expected to be for Fantastic Four (2015). I thought we were striving for a world where race and identity didn't matter, but that's the narrative we're supposed to believe until its convenient to forget.

In October, DreamWorks succumbed to political pressure and cries of whitewashing following the casting of Johansson in a Japanese role and have submitted casting calls for multi-ethnic extras for the upcoming film. Great. That's fine. Some groups continue to be incensed. Apparently that's not enough. I suspect race will cloud this film into the ground. God help the person selected to portray the hulking blond Batou.

The media love this stuff too and these tantrums amount to nothing more than empty cries of racism. It places companies, directors, etc. on the defensive and in a no-win situation despite their efforts.



Otaku USA actually attempted a whitewashing comparison utilizing the Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai (2003), a solid film.

By the way, the comparison is apples to oranges with The Last Samurai centered on a very Japanese cultural and historical backdrop. The film is fictional and romanticizes story events of a very specific period in Japanese history. Ghost In The Shell is a fictional story set in the future wide open to science fiction possibilities and interpretation. It's also animated with a character that even appears Caucasian in some iterations of the franchise. Interpretations vary there too. The whitewashing label is simply not a clean apply when making the contrast.



Otaku USA would further compare Edge Of Tomorrow (2014) to a literary property, but single-handledly takes the position of declaring that film "racism-free" (well that opinion is valid then) and takes pleasure in noting the repeated death of Tom Cruise as something to take comfort in. I guess that's funny. I love these websites that determine what is racist and what isn't like self-righteous, almighty Greek gods from atop Mt. Olympus.

The bottom line is the application of race and cries of racism will continue. The nonsense has an audience. It's not likely to be quelled in my lifetime.

You'd think those same people would be over the moon that the live action Attack On Titan (2015) featured an all-Japanese cast, yet despite high production values people have even expressed their dissatisfaction with the adaptation of this anime.



Like the unhappiness directed toward Attack On Titan, race really should have nothing to do with any of these properties. White, black, Asian or other Ghost In The Shell will be judged, not on race, but on the film's merits, its content and execution. Race will have little to do with it nor should it.

How will we as a people find harmony when some and the media stoke tensions and prop up cries of racism at every turn even when none exists. They live through the eyes of race and identity politics. Did you know there is a war on women? Sadly, all of this has infiltrated every aspect of our culture. That is the reality. And the reality is it will likely worsen without courage to counter it.



My mother firmly believed the color of your skin should not matter and her world view was forcefully imprinted on me as a child. She very much lived by the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. without actually referring to his wisdom. She believed we should "live in a nation" where people would not be "judged by the color of their skin, but the content of their character." I believe in those words too. Sadly, that messaging seems lost today and a misappropriation and mutilation of something else has culminated in something radically different. I can only speak for myself on this issue. Everyone certainly has a unique experience that shapes their world view and their core beliefs. I can't discount one's experiences, but the words my mother imparted informed me accordingly. These were righteous words of kindness and they came from a good place and a good heart. Today, the constant refrains of racism go too far, because I understand what the term actually means. Whitewashing too. I'm not saying these things don't happen, but are we taking things a bit too far?

These problems are far too complex for this mere humble blog post, but on this small issue, a film, a microcosm of a much larger issue, I will be in the minority looking forward to Ghost In The Shell without the prism of race as a filter for where things take this project. I don't really care and I know this silly piece of pop culture conflict has people torn as much as politics and race stir trouble at almost every turn today.

But when it comes to Ghost In The Shell, if it was a Japanese film with an all-Japanese cast that would be sure to delight. As it stands it will not be and I'm just fine with it.

 

Yes, Scarlett I'm fine with you.

The (Sci-Fi) Fanatic Blog: Electronic Fanzine?

"The term 'fan' derives from fanatic, and fanatics are by nature territorial."

-James McLean, Back To Frank Black: A Return To Chris Carter's Millennium (p.435).

 

"Quality ranges from very good to poor.

This is not surprising: each fan fiction writer is just that: a fan.

They're not professional writers, and they rarely have someone else read their stories to find errors."

-Flint Mitchell on fan writers, The Lost In Space Encyclopedia II (p.440)-

 

"There will be no difference between fanzines and professional magazines, except for enthusiasm."

-Flint Mitchell-

 

"A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon."

-Wikipedia-

Being a fan of science fiction is both a curse and a blessing. If we aren't involved directly with the industry in film or television, how does one get his voice heard? The blog, Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic, certainly became my personal outlet, but it didn't begin there. It takes years of hard work, commitment and generally staying at something you love. I've written about music and film since as far back as high school. It's just something you do and as a result you inevitably get better at it, no matter what it is. At least that's the hope.

In his book, The Lost In Space Encyclopedia, Flint Mitchell spoke of a personal friend's fanaticism and just how far fans are willing to go to get their fanzines printed. In his friend's case, there was a decision to be made either to pay a bill or get his fanzine printed. Guess which one took priority?



I completely relate to this behavior because once upon a time I created an upstart fanzine in my younger days called, Strange Behaviour (with the intentional British spelling) and I would go to great length to run off at least 500-1,000 copies of this creative writing/ music/ cartoons fanzine just to fulfill my creative outlet and achieve international stardom. This was long before You Tube and selfies and other forms of self-promotion. And I really had to work hard for it, but it was mostly fun.  It cost me, personally, a small fortune, but, in my mind, every penny well spent. I had a good group of people on board to create it with me apart from writing and assembling the bulk of it myself. I've provided images of some of those very fanzines for your entertainment purposes.

I would frequent the local printer. They had a heck of a nice little operation. I can't remember the name of the place, but the owner's name was Ken. He always smiled when he saw me come in the store. It was one of those, oh-here-comes-that-crazy-college-kid-but-I-like-and-envy-his-efforts kind of smile. He was a super good guy and he made efforts to help me as much as he could on making it a cool fanzine. Granted, because of cost, it was always printed in one color. I simply couldn't afford more than one color. And, I think Ken simply got a kick out of doing this wee small little publication.



When the prints were ready, I would run around to certain areas in my state, mostly colleges and book stores and throw down a few piles. I think I had an e-mail address on it. I received a few responses, but mostly I think it was a failure. Personally, it wasn't and I had a load of fun doing it---kind of like this blog. I think I managed about fifteen (15) issues.

But yes ultimately it failed to go anywhere substantial, but it was a bundle of fun back when paper was the way to get your ideas out there. It also made me better at writing for what it's worth.

Gosh before that I wrote for a college newspaper, music and film mostly. Some of my college professors would touch base with me on my articles. I had this great history professor who went on to teach at Marquette University who always loved reading my reviews of Eurythmics and so on. He would allude to them in class from time to time which was both humbling and thrilling at once. I was honored if embarrassed. His name was Professor Phil Naylor---a terrific professor! I met with him one day about some other school business at his office and he pointed out his Rolling Stones Emotional Rescue (1980) poster on his office wall. I loved that album. He asked me to name the image as a test. I nailed it of course. He nodded with cool approval impressed and he gave me a history book to enjoy for my next semester. He was a heck of a good guy. He always inspired learning.



Eventually, I had a few letters printed in Spider-Man (the comic book; Todd McFarlane's run---#6 I think), Time Magazine (it was a letter regarding The Matrix sequels and they selected it as the headliner), Details Magazine, and a few others. I don't know why I chose to write these publications. I think I just did that as a challenge to see if I could get printed because it was so damn hard to do so and when I did I was pretty psyched. Seeing my letter to Time Magazine on The Matrix printed in BIG BOLD type was a nice little moment. Someone came up to me at work about it because they were pretty much like no way. Writing is such a personal thing for me. I'm relatively private about it as you can see by my handle.

The next creative hurdle to stumble upon was writing for a music publication called The Lexicon which was put out by an editor named David Richards. David was a superb fellow with a tremendous dedication to music of the 1980s and beyond. That magazine did reasonably well and landed on bookstore shelves at the now defunct Borders. We wrote interviews and reviews aplenty. I travelled to New York City with my brother and we interviewed Duran Duran in 2000 at the Mercer Hotel after watching them perform live at CBS.

 

First, my brother and I first spoke with former Missing Persons and Frank Zappa guitarist turned then Duran member Warren Cuccurullo in the CBS dressing room. He was cool and about half way through my interview I recall realizing I had left a notepad on top of the recording microphone. Doh! Everything was muffled. Argh---rookie. The dressing room was adorned with autographed CD sleeves and fresh fruit. I think my brother grabbed a few of each.

Later at the Mercer Hotel, I met with Keyboardist Nick Rhodes. Rhodes was just a pure gentleman. He was seemingly the brains behind the operation. I can't say enough about his willingness to allow me time to ask him questions about producers he had worked with and various recording sessions. The article was a huge success and ended up being printed in two parts. Richards noted it was one of the most successful moments for The Lexicon as far as sales. I even assembled the cover for one of the issues. It was an idea I had and it worked exactly as I had envisioned. I've included that here in the post. Singer Simon Le Bon meanwhile was slightly aloof or intoxicated, but nice enough.



I did a few interviews by e-mail. Those interviews included one with singer Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet, one with vocalist/songwriter Richard Darbyshire of Living In A Box acclaim and one with Kurt Maloo of Double. The Swiss act Double was known for The Captain Of Her Heart. Felix Haug, one of the duo has sadly since passed away in 2004.

I did a few interviews by phone. One interview was with Pete Byrne of Naked Eyes, then living in California. His once partner in that band, Rob Fisher (also with Simon Climie for Climie Fisher), passed away a short time after our conversation in 1999. Finally, a very expensive call to Iva Davies (Icehouse) to the land down under. Davies was also another gentleman and a scholar as they say.

The Lexicon was doing well but also doing well was the Internet. It was getting smarter, more sophisticated, easier to access and as a result gems like The Lexicon inevitably folded and became an on-line only mechanism. For whatever reason my involvement sort of just ended there.



Later, I did some on-line anime reviews for Robert's Anime Corner Store also a good bit of fun.

All of this writing sort of came to a halt and I had no outlet of expression. I was resistant to Facebook and technology because I tend to be a bit pessimistic about its benefits on how people are treated.

Finally one day, I took a look at this blog thing. The rest is history as they say as Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic is now into its eight year as of this writing. Captain James T. Kirk's five-year mission eat your heart out.

So a number of publications along the way have discussed fandom or fanzines and the like and it really spoke to me. Writing about that world seemed like a reasonable and natural extension of this blog for a post.



A segment read in David Gerrold's The World Of Star Trek caught my attention years ago. I marked the pages and wondered what the hell I would do with his assessment of the fan and the fanzine. At this point, I'm just putting it out there for you to read. It's a fascinating and honest reflection on what we do and of course to a degree as writers for many of us here on the blogosphere.

"Creating alternate realities and making them real enough to live in is the business of science fiction writers; they do it for a living. The science fiction fans do it for fun.

A fan---short for fanatic---collects books, collects magazines, collects cover paintings and still pictures from films, collects comic books and original artwork, collects film clips and old props and anything else even remotely related to his central interest.

And he writes.  Incessantly. Fan writes his own amateur fiction, most of it pretty bad, and inflicts it on his friends. But an SF writer has to start somewhere, and many of them start out as fans. It's when a fan becomes good at making his realities believable that others are willing to pay for the privilege of sharing them that he becomes a pro.

Other fans become critics. A fan critic is the hardest kind of all---he does it because he likes it. He'll write reviews of new movies and analyses of old ones, he'll write complex criticisms of the latest novels, and even more involved critiques of other reviewers. He'll do in-depth studies of individual writers in the field and he'll write long articles about ideas and machines and the overall shape of the universe. He'll write about anything that suggests itself to him.

And then he'll publish it. Hit Publish-ed.

A fanzine---look it up, it's in the dictionary---is an amateur magazine, generally mimeographed, sometimes dittoed, occasionally off-set-printed with full color covers, and looking better than the prozines. The fan publisher pays for it himself and generally edits it himself too; all the articles and artwork are voluntary, and generally the fan sells just enough copies to other fans to break even on the whole thing. If he generates any ego-response, then the effort was worth it and he starts planning another issue.

Fanzines are probably the most important avenue of communication between fans. Besides being ego-builders, a good fanzine garners status for its publisher. Most fanzine editors trade copies of their zine for copies of other zines, a semi-incestuous practice which results in interminable comments and reviews on each other's zines.

...the fanzine becomes a very expensive hobby. Fanzines generally are not profit-making operations.

The real interest is in writing and publishing and in being responded to by others.

All it takes to produce a fanzine is one fan and a typewriter. And some enthusiasm. Journalistic ability is no prerequisite at all, but a good mimeo is. A fanzine is judged as much by its reproduction as by its content.

The average fanzine is published at the whim of the fan.  That makes it about as regular as a spastic colon, and gives it approzimately the same life expectancy as an Italian government. Which is to say, not very and not long.

But despite all this, fanzines have one saving grace. They're fun.

In general, a fanzine is a fairly accurate reflection of what is going on in its writer's mind-whether the writer intended that or not.

Further, as an avenue of communication, a fanzine functions as a scatter-gun. And a fanzine is a time machine too---the writer's words are being preserved on paper and thus sent into the future so that other fans, months and years removed, can share the writer's feelings and reactions."  -David Gerrold, The World Of Star Trek, (p. 92-93, 115)



It's funny, but when you read those words from Gerrold the takeaway feeling is one of condescension perhaps. In some respects Gerrold's words come across with air of disdain or unworthiness. But, in truth, those words are fair. It must also be said that as fun as these exercises in publishing can be a great deal of hard work goes into their substance be it through interviews or research. Some writers work hard.

However the tone from Gerrold is intended his words are an accurate reflection of the fan writer or where writers sometimes start. And we all have to start somewhere. None of it should be taken to heart. Writers should not be oft put. And truth be told, most of us are just fine with these realities.

As our journey continues the mission of Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic is to offer something of quality covering science fiction television and film.

Defiance And Dark Matter: And Now We Wait

SyFy Friday, a now relative staple and highlight of the SyFy channel, concluded its summer run with two of its headlining original series.

Both the season finale of Defiance (2013-present) and Dark Matter (2015-present) come to a close. And now the ever-pressing and much anticipated question of renewals arrives that haunts many a television fanatic.

If I was a betting man---and I'm not really, nor a very good one---based on the channel's recent track record and renewed interest and general commitment to putting the sci-fi back in SyFy, I believe both Dark Matter and Defiance will likely return. These are two impressively built, richly detailed, handsome series which clearly have more stories to tell.



Most exciting is how visually unique and different both Defiance and Dark Matter are from one another. They are also striking and refreshingly different on the basis of their science fiction story concepts. Taken together, SyFy Friday is essentially a winning combination at the moment with room to grow.

The Season Three finale of Defiance brings back an allusion to Johnny Cash and Jackson in the final minutes. It's also a pleasure to see Defiance moving from strength to strength not only in its wildly bizarre reality but in layering those stories with more original pop songs as noted in a post on the music of Defiance here. The Season Three finale closes beautifully with some of the most original, wondrous and vivid imagery of outer space ever committed to science fiction television to date. It's going to look amazing on Blu-Ray. The closing track is a stunning beauty offering a rendition of David Bowie's Everyone Says Hi from Heathen (2002), an album which ironically includes a song called I Took A Trip On A Gemini Spaceship. You'll understand the allusion to Grant Bowler and the Omec spaceship if you watched the Defiance Season Three finale, Upon The March We Fittest Die.



Meanwhile, elsewhere and later that evening, we relish the dark delights of Dark Matter. While this is yet another interesting sci-fi project, the series space-based setting reminds me of Stargate Universe (2009-2011) minus the flawless production design. It also makes me realize how spoiled we were by the beauty and elegance of SGU.

Nevertheless, Dark Matter stands on its own as another fine entry into sci-fi genre television with even a touch of a nod to Glen Morgan and James Wong's ephemeral Space: Above And Beyond (1995-1996). Like that latter series, Dark Matter is grittier and much less precious in its production values. Though they may not be up to the SGU standard they are still mighty damn good. SGU was technically perfect in its cinematography and effects work. Dark Matter simply just isn't THAT good. It has its moments but is a much nastier, leaner, meaner beast. Though not SGU in its visual acuity and sophistication it is nevertheless quite exceptional and of clear vision in its mission for SyFy and far superior to a show like Caprica (2010) and more in step with the kind of qualities that defined the reimagined Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009) as a successful, epic space saga. But I've been truly spoiled by SGU of late. While I adore Defiance for defiantly and successfully delivering a science fiction story like no other in recent memory, Dark Matter has great potential. These are two series with winning production values and quality writing.



But why the comparisons between Dark Matter and SGU? That seems a little unfair. And you wouldn't be wrong to think that. But, the truth is the two aforementioned space yarns share the Stargate DNA if you will. The lure to both series by fans of the Stargate franchise would be only natural.

Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007) ran for ten seasons, the brain child of writers/producers Brad Wright (Seasons 1-10), Jonathan Glassner (Seasons 1-3) and Robert C. Cooper (Seasons 5-10; though he was a writer for all ten seasons). Producers/writers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie (Seasons 8-10) teamed up for the equally intelligent and strong final years of that first franchise that added Farscape (1999-2003) alum Claudia Black and Ben Browder to the mix.

Cooper and Wright created Stargate Atlantis (2004-2009) and ran concurrently at the time with Moore's Battlestar Galactica, again two noteworthy series with unique science fiction visions for their respective mythologies and worlds. Both Wright and Cooper teamed with Mullie and Mallozzi as well as Carl Binder and Martin Gero for production chores on Stargate Atlantis for its five season run.



When SGU was born as yet another brain child of Cooper and Wright, Mullie and Mallozzi were on board for the Destiny's run and penned eleven remarkable episodes of that series. Gero, Binder and others also contributed. Sadly, SGU ended prematurely after just two seasons.

So what would be next for these creative, fertile minds?

For Mullie and Mallozzi the two struck out on their own beginning with a comic book called Dark Matter (2012). Though intended for TV all along Mullie and Mallozzi penned a four issue limited series for Dark Horse Comics to lay a foundation as a selling point.

Dark Matter was ultimately picked up by SyFy for a thirteen episode Season One order, but this time Mullie and Mallozzi were the creators of their very own series instead of Cooper and Wright. Again, in some ways Mallozzi and Mullie echoed the pioneering sci-fi spirit Morgan and Wong pursued with Space: Above And Beyond following many years of writing, production and show runner work on The X-Files (1993-2002). When Space: Above And Beyond dissolved the two returned to Chris Carter's intelligent and familiar world with Millennium (996-1999).



Though Dark Matter shares many of the same faces and creative people behind the genius of the Stargate franchise this thing is very much a wholly original series. Dark Matter is something of a win-win for both fans of new science fiction and fans of the Stargate franchise. Dark Matter, while not as seemingly painstakingly detailed in execution as the seemingly flawless SGU (emphasized by the mesmerizing score of Joel Goldsmith), is still akin to something like a handsome, but dangerous little brother. Dark Matter is underscored more appropriately by the more driving style of composer Benjamin Pinkerton.

Obvious writing chores for Dark Matter fall to Mallozzi and Mullie, but there are others. Gero and Cooper both deliver scripts. And not only does Dark Matter star Jodelle Ferland who featured in an episode of Stargate SG-1 (Flesh And Blood) and then later in an adorably devilish role for Stargate Atlantis (Harmony), but even Amanda Tapping steps in behind the camera on directing chores along with Stargate mainstay Martin Wood who had a significant directorial role on both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Not sure where he was for SGU. Andy Mikita brings his massive Stargate resume (all three versions of the franchise) to the Dark Matter finale.




Meanwhile on Dark Matter there are genre-related appearances by David Hewlett (Stargate Atlantis), Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and even Torri Higginson (Stargate Atlantis) who was viciously sidelined to Replicator heaven on SGA.

While all very interesting, admittedly, for me (I'm a geek that way), known faces from previous franchises, while perhaps great geek stuff (and I would never vote against it), tends to take me out of the moment. It almost works as a distraction against a series establishing its own original atmosphere and mood. I'm living in that world I don't need to be reminded of the other franchises. While I would never want to begrudge a job to Wil Wheaton, I should think other options could be better for Dark Matter.

The appearance of Stargate veterans on SGU, while a delight and nice mind you, rarely added that much for me. I was happily lost in space with this new crew. Richard Dean Anderson---I love you like a brother---but not necessary. It's always the original casting and unfamiliar faces that serve the work best in science fiction stories. Unknowns tend to make the material more credible. It's like Alan Parker's Midnight Express (1978) and its casting of Brad Davis. Without a star you can believe the story unraveling before your eyes is authentic and real. The moment a face as familiar as Tom Cruise arrives, or in sci-fi TV like Wheaton or Hewlett, it can be jarring and genuinely remove me from the moment. At least, regardless of science fiction street cred or respect to those that have come before, a villain other than Wheaton may have been welcomed. Think the late Leonard Nimoy on Fringe (2008-2013). Still, these are minor and generally insignificant tribbles, rather quibbles.

But the cast for Dark Matter is as uniformly good and appropriately appealing for that story as the cast is for Defiance. The production qualities on both series are generally exceptional at credibly bringing to life the vision and worlds of both Mullie and Mallozzi and Kevin Murphy and Rockne S. O'Bannon respectively.



And Dark Matter's ship, the Raza, is no Destiny, but it is generally impressive with interesting jump technology and tech in general.

And now Friday nights are clear. With Dark Matter Season One over and Defiance Season Three concluded we sit, we wait and we wonder what will be.

It's easy to see where science fiction fans might like one show over the other too. They are very different, but both should be embraced for their differences and supported to endorse SyFy for its efforts in bringing quality science fiction back to the TV table. These are both special shows generated for original science fiction programming. I'm on board to support them both. Hopefully you are and hopefully SyFy will be too.

My money is on renewals. I'm kind of a glass is half full guy like that. At least, I pray that glass isn't empty when I reach into the fridge and prepare to read those forthcoming announcements. Fingers crossed that my glass-is-half-full optimism supersedes my betting credentials. At least I hope to get it right this time.



Update 8/30/2015: On 8/29 Showrunner Kevin Murphy noted uncertainty for the future of Defiance and a Season Four renewal. This isn't a good sign. Though I remain optimistic, I should think there is more optimism for Dark Matter's chances. Still, it would be a shame to see Defiance cut down at just three seasons. That would place two of the very best series, Defiance and Hannibal (2013-2015), in good but unfortunate company this year.

Meanwhile, Joseph Mallozzi is still awaiting word on Dark Matter, but has assured all interested parties that he has a very vivid five year plan for the series.

Update 9/2/2015: Good news for Dark Matter fans. On Sep 1 Dark Matter was renewed for Season Two by SyFy. Killjoys was renewed for Season Two. No word on Defiance and not exactly good news on that front. We can take solace in the fact there has been no official cancellation at this point. We wait some more.

Update 9/6/2015: Still waiting. Hoping the smart men and women are at the table hammering out a way forward. I'm preparing for the worst. Defiance (2013-present) became a great solution to the sci-fi void opened by the loss of SGU (2009-2011) for many. I expect The Expanse (2015) would very much fill that void for me in 2015 if Defiance is not given the go ahead. I am extremely enthusiastic about the Thomas Jane-helmed series. I've always been a fan of the star from The Mist (2007) and Hung (2009-2011). But, if Defiance is given a green light, can you imagine a SyFy world that included Defiance, Dark Matter and The Expanse among others. It's almost too much to take. Somebody wake me.

Update 9/21/2015: Still waiting. Not encouraged. Still hopeful. Yet I marvel at the dreck on television that is renewed.

Update 10/14/2015: SyFy cancels Dominion on this date. Is that good news or bad news for Defiance? One might think it more promising for Defiance, but again, we wait. Crickets. T-t-t-today junior!

Update 10/16/2015: Defiance is cancelled by SyFy. Schtako! It's a shame to see this wonderfully colorful universe of characters come to a close. I'm sorry to see the series go.

The Boy Wonder: On Anime

"What is happening?"

-My son-

The Boy Wonder hilariously noted just how difficult it was to make heads or tails of an anime film like RedLine when walking into the room cold with no context. Witnessing two female pilots inside two glowing bosoms will have that effect.



Without attempting to be funny, he entered the room, stood there staring at the screen for seconds and then delivered the aforementioned line deadpan in an almost Ron Swanson-like voice (the character played by Nick Offerman on Parks And Recreation). It absolutely floored me.



The things kids say. They may get older, but they still come up with some classic lines and it's all in the delivery.

He could have been talking about Harmagedon or Final Fantasy: Advent Children too. Yes, anime has that impact on the uninitiated. And of course this stuff can be really hard to explain away. And when we try, somehow fans, like myself, just look really bad.

This Is (Not) A Real Problem

She doesn't look like a problem, but looks can be very deceiving you know.

We interrupt our irregularly scheduled program to bring you this new addition.

I'm joking of course. She is not really a problem. This little girl is a treasure - a real gem to have around, but she's also a load of work at the moment because she's a puppy. Her name is Edna. She was named after my late grandmother who I wrote about here.

The irony in some respects is that my inspiration to write was genuinely lost for a time following the passing of my grandmother. I couldn't put finger to keypad. I just had real difficulty for a time as a result of losing her.

This time my mother acquired two Cavalier King Charles Spaniel pups. She was only allowed to keep one after the fact. She asked if I would take the other. Honestly, could you say no to that face?

I already had a Scottish Terrier. And getting the older Scotty to accept the newbie has been a challenge. It is getting better. But, having that puppy is like having a new child. The older child meanwhile was rather difficult. I kept reminding myself to be patient. It is working.

Lately I've been slowed tremendously as a result, but this time not for lack of inspiration or lack of trying. I want to write. I'm dying to do it. I'm excited about doing so, but this little Edna is giving me a run for my money. However folks I am working on it, but I am running into a few roadblocks here and there. Still, I will prevail.

In the meantime, she is deliciously cute though. Heck, I'm probably trying to round her up or clean up pee as we speak.

The moral of this story: Bring your life to a screeching halt with a new puppy. Okay not really but it feels like that.

1000th Post

Can you believe it?



This is the 1000th post for Musings Of A Sci-Fi Fanatic. Wow! Time flies. This blog commenced in October 2007. At this pace we should reach 2000 posts by roughly 2023. Sounds like a science fiction story to me.

So for this celebratory moment I respectfully request the purchase of one of these bikes please. That's not asking a lot now right? Combined small donations and we should be able to pull this off in short order. A boy can dream.
 


Seriously, thank you all who visit and enjoy making this one of your pit stops on an already busy day.

On with post number 1001 ...