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Not hardcore enough to be ultra nerdy, but it's not that shallow, either. |
 I'm not super dedicated to science fiction. In fact, it's my escape from reality. However, even when escaping I have plenty to say on the subject. I'm not as devoted to it as some people I know. That said, it's not a shallow thing for me. I can overthink it like I overthink everything else under the sun (and moon and other planets). My ramblings will range from cerebral to silly and borrow random elements from seemingly nonsensical areas. Many have (and will) appear in my journals first. When they arrive here, there will be edits for language, typos and similar details. However, the 18+ rating will stay since sex, violence and similar topics will be addressed in this blog. After all, sci-fi includes these elements in various ways from time to time. To get an idea of my science fiction background, I recommend this primer "Preferences in a nutshell"  . Links are always relevant to my interests, and my favorites can be found in the lefthand column next to this blog. You'll also see links to my other journals if you want to browse the unedited versions of my rants and/or see who I am outside the science fiction realm. Comment as much or as little as you like. Just remember that I'm not here to take things too seriously, as that's just not how I roll in sci-fi discussions.TAG GUIDE!
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In the Science Fiction Newsletter forum, a discussion has emerged on speculative fiction and whether or not it's a viable topic for the newsletter. Given that speculative fiction is an umbrella term that includes science fiction, I'm of two minds about it. (I'm also of two minds about Brave New World being considered science fiction, but that's another entry in itself.) Stargopher  provided an intriguing YouTube video where the terms science fiction and sci-fi are discussed. The video quality is kind of crap, but that's not important. The audio is what makes all the difference.With that said...how do YOU define speculative fiction, science fiction and sci-fi? |
Yes, I actually finished my book goals for this year. I'm actually kind of surprised.  The rest has not been going so well, but I think it's because movies and TV require larger chunks of time taken all at once. (Plus, there are a ton of documentaries in my Netflix queue that are screaming for my attention, and those tend to be easier for me to watch.) Books, meanwhile, can be read during my lunch break, so I'm guaranteed a half hour or more of reading time five times a week. While I'd love to get started on Alas, Babylon (I may have a hard on for nuclear holocaust classics), there's a monster of a book called The Israel Lobby that I have put off for entirely too long. That discussion is more appropriate for my other journal, though.  While I'm here, you should check out this group if you haven't already.
Maybe next year after the wedding I'll be brave enough to volunteer as a guest editor.  Like I said, after the wedding. The above book actually gave me an idea, but it needs to percolate before I can even begin the research on it. Yeah, I'm kind of hardcore. Let's all think about how much I don't care.  |
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Oh, it's been a while since I've written in here, although I have dabbled in sci-fi stuff. I actually finished A Canticle for Leibowitz and hope to have a product review for that by the end of the month. Likewise, I did get to see Star Trek under the stars a couple weeks ago. Gotta love summer movies in the park! This entry, though, will be primarily about the following movie.
Reactions to this film are and will always be mixed. The reason is because mixing rock opera with a somewhat detailed story results in an intense production. Most musicals have fairly easy to follow (if not somewhat melodramatic) storylines. Repo! has a story which requires the viewer to pay attention in order not to get too lost. If this had been done as a straight musical and not opera, I think it would have been more effective in cinematic feature form. Keep in mind this is an adaptation of a stage work. Anyway, the concept is actually rather intriguing, even though it's not new. Nathan's double life as a doctor/repo man is the greatest development of this concept. Likewise, the setting is utterly dystopic in every way, which includes Nathan and Shiloh's antique-laden home. The aesthetic is clearly gothic, but its contrast of perpetual darkness and overly harsh light give it a much more sinister angle. On top of that, not all the costumes adhere to that particular style, as we see bits of grunge, burlesque and new millennium business suit thrown in to develop a world that is somewhat close to reality. Overall, I liked the concept, and some of the performances surprised me. I was especially taken aback by Paris Hilton as Amber Sweet. I won't give away any spoilers here, but you will only recognize her in one scene. Otherwise, everything about her from hair to voice and even posture are all Amber Sweet. I know it's cool to hate on Paris Hilton, and I don't care for her as a person. This movie made me think that given the right material and some training she actually could be a decent actress. I don't think she's Oscar material by any means, but she can disappear into a character and make us forget who she is for a while. On the other hand, I wasn't fond of the all music all the time. Never mind the fact that it was heavy metal. Even if it had been jazz, it would have been too much. I think going for individual songs and rewriting some of the scenes as straight dialogue would have been more effective. It might have also changed the tone of some of the scenes. When Shiloh sings to her dying dad (and he sings back), the whole shindig screamed incest to me. I don't know. Had there been more talking and less singing there, I'd probably feel differently. Overall, I liked it. I didn't love it, but I thought it was a pretty decent film. It's not a good mainstream film, and it's probably too horror focused to be really rich sci-fi. Still, it's worth a look. |
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| I really should know better than to expect this crowd to know who Karl is. And now we see who all is on the left. But hey, party to celebrate the filming is coming up soonish? And I heard a long while ago that Karl is definitely on board for the next movie. If there isn't more Karl, then I'll join the haters in hating on J.J. because Karl rules. End of discussion. Okay, to be fair, it sounds like Bruce Greenwood (who played Pike) will be back, and I kind of can't wait to see that. Pike was snarky and kind of fun, so that would be fun. But yeah, between not knowing who Karl is and not recognizing that fans of the original incarnation enjoyed the reboot, haters to the goddamn left! |
Hooray, product reviews! I know I owe you a long entry discussing the Star Trek DVD. In the meantime, I come bearing a product review.
The product review itself is E rated, but I'll drop off a few non-E comments here. I'm pretty sure Alan Dean Foster started trippin balls about halfway through writing this, because the book almost becomes an AU of the story. SPOILER ALERT! What in the blue hell happened to Pike's paralysis? Why did McCoy make up a condition that involved some painful disease and Kirk's genitals in order to get him on board? The final showdown with the Romulans in the book can be described in one word: asstastic. Cupcake is a way funnier insulting nickname than moonbeam. just sayin'.On the bright side, the Roumlans and Chekov made a little more sense in this book. That is strictly my opinion, though. |
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| a.k.a. an old Heroes meta I found in the archives. In here, you'll find ramblings on Sylar, the actor who portrays him and the screwed up fan base. Enjoy! (Or should that be a question mark?) Let me just say first that I think Zach makes nice eye candy and presents himself very well. Like Sendhil, he is far from being an idiot and actually strikes me as one of the more intellectual cast members (I said one, not the most; don't jump all over me for that please.). Now that I've explained my reasons for liking the actor, let me make my other disclaimer. Sylar is not that interesting to me. Don't get me wrong. Sylar is different from many typical American villians out there. He's young, American and manipulative-charismatic. On a psychological level, he's more developed than many villians in recent popular memory. However, he's still very much an archetype and a rather flat one at that. He fits the devil archetype, although to say he is charming is a bit of a stretch. His charm is unbelievably subtle, and we don't really see it in action until he joins up with Maya and Alejandro. Hate on Maya all you want (personally, I don't, but that's another meta), but her interactions with Sylar make his character easier to understand. A really good example of his charm is how he gets Maya to control her ability. If that's not a deviant way of using charm to con someone, I don't know what is. Getting back to the whole archetype thing, the use of the devil archetype is kind of flat. I suppose you could make an argument for his archetype being an outcast/devil cross, but the development of the outcast part is kind of crappy. I think if more of his outcast qualities influenced his personality and were not eclipsed by his manipulative charm, the argument for the archetype cross would be stronger. That said, this malevolent charisma appeals to people and for good reason. When properly executed, a sizable enough group of people will fall for the act. Even basic math dictates that Sylar's charm would work on about 20% or so of the fandom. Even with fans fleeing the show, it's still a sizable contingent. What makes it even worse is that this contingent just happens to be the loudest (figuratively speaking). Whatever the circumstances, Sylar has gained cult status. Now while there are Sylar fans who like to talk about the character and make the occasional "He looked hot in scene X" comment, there are fans that develop dangerous obsessions. Right now, the line is pretty clear, as many of the fans are willing to take the risk of being killed. When they make those kinds of statements, you have to wonder how many of them treat Sylar as if he's a real person. If he was a real person, there'd be a manhunt of epic proportions going on right now, and you would not seriously want to fuck someone like that. With that mini-wank out of my system, this is the conclusion I've drawn about these rabid fans. They have no lives, have personal issues that lead to unhealthy fixations, and they might even want Zach to embody that so they can fulfill their somewhat dangerous fantasies. As much as I wouldn't mind hanging out with him, I'd be put off if he propositioned me. I'm not so far gone I'm willing to sacrifice the best relationship I've ever had (4 years in July [as of the time this was written]) for one fling. Granted, some of these fanatics probably don't have sex lives, but some probably do, which makes this (and their fantasies) even more frightening. This leads to the final aspect of this meta: the blurring of the line between Zach and Sylar. I touch on it a bit in the last sentence of the previous paragraph. However, there is one thing that realy gets me. A lot of Zach related stuff seems to end up at Sylar-related communities . I admit I'm not one to talk about those places, seeing as I've only lurked at best in them. However, as far as I can tell, quite a few discussions/posts initially start off with something pertinent to Sylar but end up going waaaaaaay the fuck away from the original topic, resulting in a mess of vomit-inducing fansquealing over Zach. I never thought I'd say this, but I was relieved when I found out that he'd been cast as Spock. Finally! Another role of his for people to talk about. I admit I think he has the best chance of having the breakout performance out of all the cast (yeah, even trumping Milo). I think I'll feel better about this (and hopefully see less of the fanbase blurring the Zach/Sylar line) when he gets more roles. I'll keep my eye on actor based groups for more information on that. By the way, they're usually pretty tame. There's some fansquealing going on, but it's not at psychotic levels. It's, in fact, pretty run of the mill, as far as I've seen. Thank god. |
And I know you wanna celebrate. Check out the Karl quote here.
(Hint: That item also contains a link to its XGC evil twin.  I know I owe you a real entry. I'm working on it! I'm going to try to finish watch FlashForward (and try to get over the fact that it's cancelled; grrr!). I'm also making plans to finish A Canticle for Leibowitz and will get a product review of that done sometime this month. Plus I'm slowly chipping away at my monsterous Netflix queue. Now if only the weather wasn't so nice for photography.... |
| We'll get to all the cancellation news later. Right now, I'm more interested in throwing out an idea for the next Star Trek movie. One thing I've noticed in the fandom is that some people like to write about the rebooted characters in the "Mirror, Mirror" universe. As seen in TOS, the Terran Empire is a whole different way of life. With all that in mind, it's almost expected that some would ponder how that empire would temper the new renditions that while sometimes are close to the original characters have their own distinctions. My question is this. What would happen if one of the next movies involved the Terran Empire? For the sake of simplicity, I'll break it down into pros and cons. PROS  One of the most interesting aspects of contemporary fiction is the prominence of a blurred line between good and evil. While "Mirror, Mirror" did not explore this concept, this could be visited in a movie quite easily, and the general public is a lot more open to it than even twenty years ago. Likewise, if one blends the racial allegory that was set up in TOS with a 21st century rendition of the Mirrorverse, the murkiness of good vs. evil would be especially striking. It's a great opportunity for character development. I see this being particular beneficial for Uhura, who some viewers complain was weak in the reboot. I admit I thought she was unusually wibbly, but I was more willing to chalk it up to innocence more than anything. I think something such as trying to manuever her way through the Terran Empire society would toughen her up. In "Mirror, Mirror", Uhura was particularly sly and quick on her feet. Perhaps including this universe in a movie would allow skeptics of the new Uhura to witness her transformation into a smarter, bolder character. I would also like to see the new Bones in this situation, and not just because the films need more Karl (although they do, and that's one of the few things most viewers could agree on). We didn't really see Bones' Mirrorverse personality, and I'd like to see how he'd hold up under such circumstances. It would be especially interesting since revealing emotion can backfire, and we all know Bones is an emotionally charged character. Though not likely to happen, I'd love to see what would happen if some race from the future stumbled upon the Terran Empire. For example, what would Nero think of this turn of events? Aside from spaz attacks galore, it has the potential for some insane fight scenes. Granted, shenanigans aboard the Enterprise itself would lead to some awesome fights, but still. (And yes, I'd pay big money to watch Sulu beat the snot out of Chekov. Why do you ask?) I'd love to see what the costume department comes up with for the Terran Empire outfits. Same with makeup. Would Zach don the Fu Manchu look like Leonard did? If so, I'd probably piss myself laughing. Yes, I know it's shallow, but I would like to see how a rebooted Terran Empire would look. And I wonder if they'd make any changes to the empire's symbol.CONS I don't know how well it would work with this cast. In particular, Simon Pegg's Scotty would be a real stretch in the Mirrorverse. And I just don't see Chris Pine being all that convincing as a manipulative, violent bastard. Yeah, he gets into fights and has his share of troubles, but I think all of that has lead to him being less inclined toward the "dog eat dog" tactics of the Terran Empire. Then again, it could be another case of the whole innocence thing that I mentioned with Uhura earlier. Things could dramatically change in an encounter with the Empire. The murky good vs. evil thing might be getting tiring for the audience. Since there's a greater awareness of it in the 21st century, there's been a lot more of it, especially in 2008. The biggest movies from that year all played around with this theme, some more obviously than other. Going for a more obvious stance might be considered a breath of fresh air. However, going gungho heartless by including the Terran Empire could backfire.{e;star} From a plot development standpoint, I don't trust the writers or J.J. to be convincing with the Mirrorverse. It received very little overt development in TOS and got a little more backstory in the Enterprise series. Even so, it's a fairly rich universe that might be fully captured in a feature film. Yeah, films have more time than TV episodes, but in developing the new 'verse, there's a real danger of over/underdevelopment. I have not seen any evidence that the writing team could strike this balance. Going this route may not allow for other alien races to even make an appearance in the new movies. While many viewers might not care, those who have been following Star Trek for any decent length of time will wonder what's going on with the Cardassians, Betazeds, Klingons and others. Oh, and there is the question of what's going on with the Vulcans now that the planet is gone. The Terran Empire could show what life is like for Vulcans, but it would be a real continuity challenge between the movies. Aside from the crew of the Enterprise, the alien races have always been a major part of the greater universe (first as racial allegory and later as their own sorts of players in the cosmic game). To not at least acknowledge them is to turn one's back on what people remember from the show.So, what do you think? Mirror, mirror on the wall, will we see you after all? |
| Consider it done. On the bright side, it does free up my schedule for other sci-fi things, including catching up on my movies and finishing my books. And there's real life stuff I need to focus on as well. I will say this. The ending did leave the door open for other forms of resolution, and I will say that worked out pretty well. For all we know, the show could get a reboot ten-twenty years in the future. It would have to be by someone other than Tim Kring, though. Maybe Greg Beeman will pick that up. I always liked Greg better. I think he was the soul of the show and it lost a lot of steam without him. |
| I had to dig deep in the archives for this one. I promise, Ribit, that my next entry will be my thoughts on a possible hint for the next Trek movies. If you'd like a hint, I suggest you grab a mirror. The amount of utterly useless commentary I have on the myriad aspects of Heroes is mind numbing. Really, it is. However, I'll split it up over several entries to keep from boring you all. Beware of character/actor cross analysis, random bitching about the creative staff and/or fandom and more snark than a Lewis Black convention. Okay, that last one didn't make sense, but I like it. So it stands. That really depends on who you ask and when. Ask most people in season one, and you'd get an overwhelming "GAY!" in response. I would have been in that crowd. I watched the times with Eden, and there just wasn't spark there to me. I felt that Mohinder was more interested in her as an ally and possible source of information in matters regarding his father more than anything. Likewise, she could have persuaded Mohinder to proposition her, but she never did that. There are instances when she could have persuaded him to do other things, but that's really up for interpretation. I never saw the romantic potential for those two, and I was fine with it. To be honest, I think fandom had a say in my reasoning behind Mohinder being a flamer. How much is hard to say, but the fanfic I read early on in my Heroes fangirling days intrigued me. Likewise, I felt the scene between him and Mira was contrived. (On an unrelated note, they should have featured Mira more; she would have offered great contrast since she expressed doubt in Chandra Suresh's work, which ultimately drove the story. Anyway....) Those two elements lead me down the Road to Mohinder Gayness. Though I initially shipped him with Peter (for reasons that oddly elude me right), I once shipped him with Sylar (briefly) and a little with Matt (but not much).Still, I could see the potential of pairing him with other [male] characters. The only exception to this that I've found is Hiro. Don't get me started on that one, though. For whatever reason, Hiro has eaten my brain as of late, and that meta could last longer than the friggin strike. All the same, Mohinder could be paired with lots of males. However, I am very picky about who I put with Mohinder, and here's why. Having studied screenwriting and dabbled a little bit in the realm of acting, I know which pairings could be realistic and what pairings are really just sexual tension. There is a difference. I lean toward shipping Peter and Mohinder because the show gives telltale signs of it being more plausible than some of the other pairings I've seen. Granted, some things like the poster and the graphic novel picture could have been the artists having a joke at our collective expense. On the other hand, these things are a form of foreshadowing used in scripts and scripted products. If you've ever seen Citizen Kane, you'd know how a newspaper headline foreshadows the climax of the movie. "Collision" had a similar effect. Another thing that sold me was the way Sendhil played Mohinder in all the scenes he and Peter had together. Without the scripts in front of me, I'm inclined to say that more of the multilayered emotions, postures and vocal exercises that make Mohinder work so well with Peter is developed by Sendhil and NOT the creative staff. Looking at scriptwriting and acting, let's look at the flip side of this: Mylar. Now in episode 14 ("Distractions", I think), we do see Mohinder begin to change his mind about those with abilities when he sees Zane-Sylar in action. You have to admit this is the first time we see Mohinder smile. And yes, it is a bit weird to take someone you barely know on a road trip. However, so many things work against this. They get separate hotel rooms when they're in Montana. Then, Mohinder is fucking PISSED when he figures out who Zane really is. Given that Mohinder knew to look up Zane Taylor so soon after their arrival in New York makes me think Mohinder knew all along and had some idea as to how he was going to avenge his father's death. I mean, he just so happened to have power negating drugs around. That in itself makes me think the whole Mylar ship spawned from the angry sexual tension and the utter prettiness of the actors (and I don't crush on Sendhil because he strikes me as a long lost older sibling for me. Just saying.). Likewise, when you look at the scenes they have in season two, Mohinder clearly still loathes (and to some extent) fears him. Another factor in this equation is Sylar. Some may try to justify Mohinder as Sylar's weak spot, but if anything, Mohinder's is a stronger character who just happens to throw down a gauntlet no matter how misdirected. Sylar is sociopathic and manipulative, and while he isn't afraid of using sex to get what he wants, he doesn't do that with Mohinder. Now fanfic attempts to fill in the blanks with offscreen sex. Judging by their body postures in episode 18, I'd say they were friends at most. I could say that Zachary may have played Sylar as a bit flirtatious perhaps, but Sendhil did play Mohinder in a more standoffish manner than his MO, thus negating Zach's intentions. Chalk it up to a failed conquest that might justify one-sided Mohinder/Sylar. Anything else, and I'm just not on board. Now what about the potential hetero in Mohinder? I'm still not entirely sold on it, but if they had decided to allude to something between Mohinder and Simone...I might have bought that. They actually had some things in common, and outside of her relationship with Isaac, Simone was a strong character. I didn't like her interactions with Peter (contrived tripe if I've ever seen it), but I warmed to her when I saw her interact with the others (Isaac, Hiro, Nathan). In particular, I found her interaction with Nathan very fascinating. This to me showed that, at least on an emotional level, she and Mohinder had something in common. They both started off doubtful about these powers actually existing. Remember: Mohinder was following in his father's footsteps only to get his father's approval. I don't think he totally believed his father's theories in the beginning. Anyway, as season one progresses, Mohinder and Simone transform in very similar ways as they start to see these powers in action and how they affect people. From there, the potential for a relationship would have been slow, subtle and rooted in intellect. On a mental and emotional level, the two characters were pretty close to equal, if not already there. I think they would have butted heads at some point, but that tennds to happen even when people of equal emotional status engage in conversation. But that could have been convincingly written, and they deleted the one scene when they do meet. In that scene, they play well off of each other, and you can see that they see eye to eye (literally and otherwise). Simone has a weakness for weak men, but compared to Isaac and Peter (a la season 1), Mohinder is relatively stronger. He's foolhardy, but he's not self destructive and at least attempts to think things through before going off on some harebrained adventure. I think Simone would have appreciated those qualities in him. True, Mohinder had some dependency issues, but they weren't about to cost him his life like jumping off a building or shooting dope. It could have worked if the writers were to have gone down that route. In a way, it would have been a quiet echo of Mulder and Scully's relationship (which is probably one of the better developed ones I've seen on screen). Bottom line, I'm still in the Mohinder as gay camp (pun somewhat intended). However, if a woman who can mirror Mohinder and not dominate him came along, I'd be willing to try it on for size. If the writing team would just get their heads out of their asses (and fire J.J. Philbin), I could buy Mohinder being either/or...or maybe liking whatever he finds. ;) |
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