| H.G. Wells, Orson Welles : "War of the Worlds" radio play |
[Nov. 16th, 2008|12:30 am] |
On 30th October 1938 a radio play caused mass panic in the U.S. I am, of course "talking" about the famous play "War of the Worlds" by Orson Welles based on H.G. Wells' equally famous story.
Well, well, 70 years since that happened.
I have listened to the play a few times, and I find it fascinating story telling. OK - this is not a character piece, but the radio play is so well organised, as if a normal musical entertainment program is interrupted by news flashes, telling the story.
Some may ask, why the panic ? In order to understand that we must remember that at that time there was no mobile phones, no internet, no hundreds of tv (or radio channels) - even fixed telephones were not that common. What *was* available ? I should think one - maybe two radio programs. It was just not possible - like it is today - to go and check on the net, or CNN/BBC/whatever news channel you wanted. Information was just not there to find.
True, a radio play made in a similar way today simply could not have this effect. It is too easy to check news items for that. |
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| The Babylon Podcast |
[Nov. 8th, 2008|09:57 pm] |
As a fan of Babylon 5 I have also become a fan of the Babylon Podcast.
I started listening to podcasts in 2006, and due to an accident late June that year I had some more time than usual at hand, so I started to look for more particular podcasts. Imagine my delight when I found that there was indeed a podcast about my favourite show. They had, at the time, "aired" about 40 shows. I downloaded the first few and listened, found it delightful and downloaded the rest, and listened to the first 42 (!) Babylon Podcasts in about two weeks.
Episode 1, a longer introdutory episode "aired" in February 2006, with the hosts Summer and Tim telling why they were drawn to B5 and what kept them hooked, and Jeffrey telling about guests that could be expected to be featured on the podcast.
Show #2 had the first guest interview with Stephen Furst ("Vir Cotto"). He was a blast to both the hosts and to me to listen to, so the first hook was there ...
Not just the Stars (actors) were interviewed, many of the crew as well. #3 brought us Bear Burge, the Master Prop Fabricator, and the first episode discussion on "Midnight on the Firing Line" (episode 1). Later this episode discussion segment got the title "Deep Geeking", with it own "jingle".
Many people have been interviewed on the podcast, a few names worth mentioning : Patricia Tallman, Bruce Boxleitner, Wayne Alexander ("The Inquisitor", "Lorien" and a few other roles), John Iacovelli, Walter Koenig (one of my absolute favourite bad guys, the Psi Cop "Alfred Bester"), Producer John Copeland in a two part interview, the list is not endless, but quite long. Almost all of those interviews have been a joy to listen to, enriching the experience of the series.
A segment of feedback, at times *very* amusing, also brought out a "spin off" of the Babylon Podcast, called the "Three Edged Sword". It all started as an in-joke between three of the most active feedback'ers, who finally agreed to make a story line out of their contributions. More about "Three Edged Sword" in a later post.
In the latest "Deep Geeking" (ep. #135), "No Surrender, No, Retreat" was discussed how Sheridan's approach to the conflict was entirely different from the end of the Shadow War.
This week's episode (#136) had an interview with the Babylon 5 script team members "Captain" Jaclyn and Jan, telling a part of the story of publishing the scrips for every single Babylon 5 episode, and the approach to doing it. Jaclyn stressed that J. Michael Straczynski had stated "It's all about the fans!"
Of course, it is well known to many fans that the customer service of the scripts team has been legendary, more about the script books and the scripts team later
For me one of the highlights was when Jaclyn who came into this as a business - a specialist in "print-on demand" books with no interest in SciFi - telling about her experience of watching B5. In short, she was blown away by the story. She told that she was surprised how much she could be moved by 1) a piece of art, 2) a television series, and finally 3) a SciFi series. High praise indeed.
In addition to the compliments from the fans, Jaclyn had compliments to the fans and their behaviour when dealing with the scripts team.
link :
The Babylon Podcast |
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| How I entered into the world of "Babylon 5" |
[Nov. 6th, 2008|09:03 pm] |
By Internet standards I will probably be regarded as old. I remember seeing Arthur C. Clarke/Stanley Kubrick's film "2001, a Space Odyssey" when it came in the cinemas in the late 1960's, and, of course the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. I was allowed to stay up the night to see the first footsteps on the moon (some time around 2 AM local time). No internet, no NASA TV, just some blurred live black-and-white pictures on the telly.
My interest in scifi and space exploration had obviously started some time before, along with an interest in UFO's and "X-Files" like stuff.
Fast forward to 1989 (yes - the year the Berlin Wall came tumbling down) I moved from Denmark to The Netherlands to work there.
At work, in the early 90's we formed a group of "Star Trek" fans coming together watching a few episodes in an evening. We had come one evening to watch some "Deep Space 9", and after that it turned out that one from the group had brought the "Babylon 5" pilot episode "The Gathering".
I have to say that I did not like the pilot, thinking that it would not lead anywhere. How wrong I was ... but I still consider the pilot under par, compared to what followed.
When the local TV started showing B5 I took another look, and lo and behold - that I found *much* better than the pilot.some season one episodes had the quality I was expecting from Trek, but soon the thing changed ... this was not single episode stories - well. some of them were - but a longer story.
I was hooked.
I followed the 5 year arc to its end - sometimes at odd times of the day (or night), and soon found myself seeking out the VHS tapes.
After having watched the story several times I still get a thrill seeing it again. It has grown to be my all time favourite scifi story on TV - and there are many good ones out there.
I soon looked into more information about B5, on the net, books etc. - and got myself a few B5 goodies. But more about this later. Yes - I have all 15 volumes of J. Michael Straczynski's (JMS) script books for all the B5 episodes he wrote. I still need to work myself though the about 7000 pages, but in time I will come though them, and as the completist in me told me, I got the "Other Voices" 3 volumes with episodes written by other writers, as well as the "Chronology" book and the quote's book. There is enough reading for a while. |
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| Podcasts about Scifi etc that I have been listening to |
[Nov. 5th, 2008|06:18 pm] |
Babylon Podcast : (no surprise) about Babylon 5, weekly
Slice of Scifi : all about Scifi/Fantasy, mainly in media - news - interviews - (film/TV/Web etc) on the same feed they have a voice mail feedback show weekly
Dragon Page : All about Scifi/Fantasy books - reading - writing - interviews etc. weekly, most weeks two shows
Scifi Talk : Interviews with Scifi/Fantasy creators etc (no special schedule that I have seen, but often more than once a week
DWO Whocast : all Doctor Who related news - interviews etc, weekly (mostly)
Dr Who Podshock : All doctor Who related - sometimes very long, no particular schedule that I can see
The Sonic Newsdriver : Doctor Who news, several times per week if news is coming in.
In some hours the raw and unedited Babylon Podcast recording for next week's show will be 'cast on a live feed. Unfortunately, because of the time zone differences I cannot listen every week, because for me it starts at 3 AM.
But (for me) tomorrow morning I will probably be there - it's fun - and at times hilarious.
The feed can be found at :
http://stream.farpointmedia.net:8000/listen.pls (USA)
http://w2k.myftp.org:8000/FPM.m3u (Europe)
(or http://w2k.myftp.org:9000/listen.pls as an option for non-Icecast users) |
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| David Tennant leaves Doctor Who |
[Nov. 1st, 2008|08:46 pm] |
I just got the news that David Tennant is leaving Doctor Who at the end of 2009, see the news from the BBC. Unfortunately, if you are outside the UK the interview cannot be seen from the BBC website. Possibly it is out there on U-Tube, but I have not investigated.
We will still see Tennant in the Christmas Special this year and in 4 specials in 2009. Interesting enough the title of the Christmas special will be "The Next Doctor". Could this be an indication of things to come ?
2010 will see a new showrunner, Steven Moffatt, along with the 11th (or is it 12th after the "funny" regeneration last season?) Doctor.
It will be interesting to see who will be cast as the 11th Doctor. Your guess is as good as mine. The rumour mill has probably already started.
I will have to say that I really liked Tennant as The Doctor. This autumn/fall he has been playing Hamlet with Patrick Stewart in the UK. Stewart has said that he is interested in being in Doctor Who, it could be interesting to see him as a villain for a change. Could he become the 11th Doctor ? Possibly, but I doubt it. It could be interesting, though. |
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| Doctor Who and Steven Moffat score a hattrick. |
[Aug. 10th, 2008|10:08 pm] |
The winner of this years Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation, short form is the Doctor Who episode "Blink", written by Steven Moffat.
I am not aware of any show winning the Hugo award in three consecutive years, it is in any case very unusual. What is even more unusual is the fact that the writer of the winners was the same.
I know very well that the final show is a joint effort of a lot of people, and the Doctor Who team has certainly done a very good job of reviving the series. Kudos to the BBC and the team.
So we have the last three year's winners :
2006 : "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances"
2007 : "The Girl in the Fireplace"
2008 : "Blink"
All three among my favourites of the three seasons.
It will be interesting to see if Moffat's new episodes "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" will repeat the feat. The episodes were without any doubt among the best of the latest season. but I hope next year's winner will be something else.
It is interesting to note that Steven Moffat is taking over from Russell T. Davies as the showrunner for Doctor Who in the 2010 season, and has hinted that there will be fewer "old enemies" coming back, and some change in the tone of the show. I am looking forward to it in any case. |
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| Thoughts on "The 4400" TV series. |
[Jul. 24th, 2008|09:38 pm] |
I have been watching 4th and final season og "The 4400" - here are a few thoughts on the series.
The concept of the series :
Over a period of about 60 years 4400 people have mysteriously disappeared. Suddenly, all reappear brought back in a giant ball of light.
The scene does, to a certain extent, remind me of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", but "The 4400" continues where, "Close encounters" end with a lot of people coming back.
As some of the returnees show unusual abilities, fear and suspicion arises.
What I particularly like in this series is a continued story through the series, each season always ending with a completely new - and often surprising - situation.
Characters are believable, most episodes feel well written, produced and acted.
Some people seem to complain about short (in this case 13 episode) seasons, but I think a lot of series may benefit from the shorter seasons, giving writers - and the whole team - the possibility of giving their best without running out of steam. |
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| Jekyll - a BBC TV miniseries |
[May. 25th, 2008|01:17 pm] |
The miniseries - written by Steven Moffat is a modern day story based on the famous classic story "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson. Jekyll is not really an adaptation, but a rather a present day continuation of the classic story.
The brilliant research scientist Dr. Jackman, wonderfully played by James Nesbitt, has the experience of blackouts in his life, where an alternative personality totally take control, as well as some visible physiological changes take place. The resulting Mr Hyde is (not unexpectedly) a darker, more violent personality.
The story is very well told, with some rather unexpected twists and turns, the least surprising element being that the original "Jekyll/Hyde" story is not fictional at all, and the assumed fictional Dr. Jekyll was a historical person, and Dr. Jackman, abandoned by his mother as an infant, is a descendant of the original Dr Jekyll - well - really of Mr Hyde, since Dr Jekyll had no (official) descendants. Even the old photos of Dr Jekyll show a stunning resemblance with Dr Jackman.
The story features an unknown organisation, claiming to have waited for more than 100 years to find and "cultivate" a "Mr. Hyde". Also we get a revelation of what really caused Mr. Hyde to appear.
At the end of the story, when we should think the story is over, there is a wonderful revelation showing that the story never really ends.
Moffat writes a wonderfully dark story - without being totally overtaken by the darkness, this is first class drama.
This is classic style science fiction - a good continuation of the classic story. A story that has entered into our cultural heritage, these days essentially everyone knows the reference to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - it has entered as a phrase in English and many other languages. |
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| Fantasticon2008, Copenhagen, 26 - 27 April |
[Apr. 29th, 2008|10:43 pm] |
This is a small Danish convention with a few hundred people attending. Only foreign Guest was Norman Spinrad. The con was held in the "Vanloese Kulturhus" (cultural house) in nice large rooms and a terrace. Even the weather cooperated and we could sit outside chatting along between the programmed events. I arrived there after a long (12 hour) drive and a few hours of sleep.
On Saturday I went to the interview with Niels Brunse who has translated a large amount of English language books into Danish, and also written stories of his own. He was, among other subjects, talking about the difficulty of making a good translation, something I can relate to in a limited capacity, having attempted translation in both directions between Danish and English. Some elegant words or phrases in one language translate *very* poorly into the other.
Sunday had a surprise guest speaker, the Danish physicist Holger Bech Nielsen, giving a presentation of his version of the "theory of everything" : "Random Dynamics". He is a *very* lively lecturer, and it is always fun to see him, his enthusiasm for the subject is just radiating from him. This was the first time I saw him "live", the other times were just on television.
Arthur C. Clarke :
For me the best part of the programme on Sunday was the panel discussion about Arthur C. Clarke, the panel consisting of 3 Danish fans and the guest speaker Norman Spinrad. Spinrad had sopme cooperation with Clarke in the 1960's and could tell us that the final scene of the movie "2001 - A Space Odyssey" was in fact not the one we saw in the movie. Clarke had envisioned a scene with very beautiful aliens, but it was not technically possible to do to his satisfaction - meaning the scene had to be rewritten.
Clarke's relatively optimistic view of the future has by some been regarded as naive, but it most probably is an expression of his dream about the future.
Finally there was a discussion of Clarke's unusual combination of hard science fiction and the "mystical" (for lack of a better word), something very prominent in "2001", but it is in much of his other work.
Of course, you cannot mention Arthur C. Clarke without talking about his strong influence on science and technology (as well as science fiction), interesting to see how many of his early thoughts have come true already.
All in all a very enjoyable week end, I will try to attend next year as well |
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| Eastercon/Orbital2008 (day 3) |
[Mar. 23rd, 2008|09:07 pm] |
Essentially no people came to watch "The Lost Tales today , so I went to the Neil Gaiman Guest of Honour performance wtih the author reading a bit of his work , and questions firm the floor. I was slightly surprised by the reply to the question of "free circulation" of his works. He apparently has no personal objection to that as such , since it gives more people the opportunity to read his works . You could see it as free advertising. On the other hand , some of the works, like audio books are not his own property , so he can not just say :"go ahead".
A hastily panel discussion has been organised in the response to the death of Arthur C. Clarke's influence in science, space exploration and science fiction. He was one reason for me - and many of the panelists/audience - to get into science fiction, as well as igniting the interest for space travel and science.
I have always had an interest in astronomy, and I could not resist going to a video presentation playing the two editions of BBC and Patrick Moore's program "The Sky at Night".
I have always found that he possessed an enthusiasm for the subject, and a very good sense for making the complicated scientific more understandable to the general public.
Of course - lots of talks to other fans - meeting people ... very enjoyable.
Last day tomorrow will be a little shorter in the programme items. |
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| Eastercon/Orbital2008 (2) |
[Mar. 23rd, 2008|10:25 am] |
Saturday's activities :
Morning panel : "Doctor Who - Trickstergod ?"
Paul Cornell , writer of the double episode of the new Doctor Who : "Human Nature/Family of Blood"
Paul Cornell is a very lively panelist , lots of fun to see/hear. the discussion touched on a similarity with the Doctor and the Shadows from Babylon 5 - both being a sort of "Agents of Chaos" - quite a thought.
Lots of people reacting to the Ranger Pin , so had lots of B5 talks. Sunday "The Lost Tales" will be shown in the video room, I will be there and hopefully get some more good B5 talk.
Got some pictures - will come later - of Ranger Hilary in a very well made costume.
How about a B5 Ranger meeting a Klingon - good fun (got a pic of that as well.
In the afternoon a good panel discussion of "Religion in SF" , always a subject to generate a good discussion.
Had the "Day of the Dead" script signe by Neil Gaiman . Asked him about his position on a collection of non JMS B5 scripts , his reply sounded positive to me.
Sunday morning now - so writing this directly from the con.
This afternoon a programme point not foreseen : A tribute to Arthur C. Clarke - Have to be there.
Having a lot of fun - that is the main point. |
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| Eastercon/Orbital2008 (1) |
[Mar. 22nd, 2008|10:43 am] |
Arrived safe and sound at the Eastercon in London.
Friday meeting up with a lot of new people.
Having a Babylon 5 Ranger pin helps finding other B5 fans - or they spot me ...
In the morning a nice discussion about the future of the Star Trek franchise. In the end we agree that tere is indeed a future for Star Trek (no real surprise there)
Being in London, which con will be without Doctor Who in its programme? Friday had a discusion about Russel T. Davies : Fanboy let loose ?
Of course he is both a fan and the one who revived the Doctor Who as a series.
Sunday Babylon 5 is on the programme , "The Lost Tales will be on the programme - my only regret it that it is at the same time as the Neil Gaiman as Guest of Honour. difficult choice. Well , I want to meet some B5 fans here , so I guess "The LOst Tales"it will be.
Just hope to Get to have my "Day of the Dead" script book signed by Neil Gaiman.
Main point : Having a good time |
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| Eastercon/Orbital2008 |
[Mar. 20th, 2008|10:16 am] |
I am off to the Eastercon/Orbital 2008 in London this Easter.
If I get the opportunity , I will write some posts directly at the con.
The only Babylon 5 related guest I know of is Neil Gaiman , who wrote the script for the 5th season B5 episode "Day of the Dead".
If anyone reading this is coming to the con, my Nickname will be on my badge. |
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| Eastercon/Orbital2008 |
[Jan. 29th, 2008|10:15 pm] |
Recently I registered for the Eastercon/Orbital2008 in London (Heathrow) .
I have been reading Neil Gaiman's "Stardust", since he is one of the guests of honour at the con.
I like the story. For the signing I intend to bring the script book for the Babylon 5 episode "Day of the Dead" that he wrote.
In the pile of books I got just before Christmas I found China Miéville's "Perdido Street Station", since he is another guest of honour at the con. I have got through the first couple of chapters, but have not yet been caught up in the story. I have decided to work my way through the first part, and then decide if I want to continue. .... I know - I try not to judge a book by its first chapter , but I am afraid it is not really my type of story. The initial chapters are a little too much Dystopian for me. |
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| My early Christmas. |
[Dec. 22nd, 2007|02:29 pm] |
Count me lucky.I just got a really good early Christmas present.
I talked to a friend of mine on the phone the other day and mentioned my interest in scifi, and he promptly said he probably had something for me. He had collected a pile of books for an English speaking lady in Denmark, but it turned out most of it was SciFi, and she was not really interested. But they both thought that the books should find a home and not simply be dumped. So I received 4 shopping bags full of SciFi/Fantasy books, about 100 books by authors like::
Tad Williams, William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Asimov, Heinlein, Alfred Bester, Stanislaw Lem, Michael Stackpole (Fortress Draconis), Frederik Pohl, Joe Haldeman, Robert Jordan, Larry Niven, Greg Bear, David Brin, Philip K. Dick, George R.R. Martin, Kim Stanley Robinson (the full Mars Trilogy) and more ...
Most of the books I did not have already, so a very neat addition to my collection. Many of the books were even unread.
Another bag had some "normal" classic stories from Alexander Dumas and others.
Wow for an early Christmas gift! Now for finding some new shelf space.
I wonder when I find the time to read all this ...
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate, and a Happy New Year 2008. |
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| "The 4400" is over |
[Dec. 19th, 2007|08:46 pm] |
Just came across this info from Entil2001
Sad news as I have come to like "The 4400" as a solid story.
Let's hope (there is always hope) for a speedy end to the writer's conflict - and that the writers will get the recognition needed. |
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| Impressions from Eurocon 2007 (2) |
[Sep. 26th, 2007|01:15 pm] |
This was only my second Scifi convention, the first one being a Star Trek convention in Fresno,California about 15 years ago.
Thursday night :
Already on Thursday evening at the pre-registration there was convention activity. The organisers were quite happy that I offered to make some photos at the con, so they are receiving a CD with photos for every day of the con.
A nice talk with frequent convention goer - and volunteer - Wilf from the UK was already a good start for me. A quite knowledgeable fellow with a solid scientific angle as well.
Friday :
Panel with Guests of Honour. Anne McCaffrey arrived a little late and, when asked, insisted on going up the stairs to the stage (in spite of the handicap) - hats off. A few words from the guests of honour. Harry Harrison is a veteran guest of con's and has quite a few stories to tell.
Anne McCaffrey, too is very experienced in conventions and could tell of her first con's where she had good advice from (then) experienced writers, and expressed her advice to new writers : in short , if you want to write , make youself sit down and write ... every day.
Scientific lecture on Solar eruptions. This has had my interest for a long time, being a licensed radio amateur. For me the content was not new, but a condensed version of what I already knew. Only difference was - this came from a scientist's point of view.
There were lots of other presentations during the day , but these stand out for me. A lot of time went with meeting other fans and discussing science fiction, science and fantasy .
A little fun thing is a photo I made : Anne McCaffrey is also involved in the "Writers of th Future", a quarterly competition, where the winners get their stories published in collections. One moment a Star Wars Stormtrooper in full gear was "standing guard" right behind the famous author, link to the picture .
more to come ...
Jan from Denmark |
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| "The Demolished Man" by Alfred Bester |
[Sep. 17th, 2007|10:03 pm] |
Back online after a few days (travel and a visit to a friend)
On a long trip by car I listened to Alfred Bester's novel "The Demolished Man".
The story depicts a society where the police has telepathic detectives ("esper"s) solving crimes - or even act to prevent crimes.
The "Esper's Guild" divides telepaths into firsts , seconds and thirds according to the strength of the telepaths.
Ben Reich, who is very critical of the Esper's Guild, decides to eliminate a financial competitor and attempts to escape the telepathic detectives by hiring another telepath to block his thoughts.
After many twists and turns the prosecutor (a computer) dismisses tha case because of insufficient evidence.
In the end he is, after all punished by the Esper's Guild (in spite of the aquittal) , and has his mind wiped and reprogrammed - a process called "Demolition"
The story has some nice twists and turns , and a surprising "inner journey" which I like.
The story was published in 1953 and exhibits some of the predudices opf the time, eg relating to women's "place" in society , but if you can see through that´, the story works on its own premise , though seems a bit dated in our day and age. Also - Venus is depicted as a habitable world , something which is now known to be incorrect.
In any case I enjoyed the story, notwithstanding those weaknesses
Also - in the Series "Babylon 5" JMS (J.M. Straczynski) pays hommage to the story by naming his villain telepath ("Psi-Cop") Alfred Bester.
I would rate the story 7/10.
Wikipedia entry for "The Demolished Man" |
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| Second Hugo Award (2007) for Doctor Who |
[Sep. 9th, 2007|02:54 pm] |
Last year the Doctor Who series received a Hugo Award for the double episode "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances" . The award was for the best short dramatic presentation (less than 90 minutes).
The episodes were written by Steven Moffat, and are among my favorites from the new Doctor Who series.
They have done it again ...
This year's Hugo award for the best short dramatic presentation was awarded the Doctor Who episode "The Girl in the Fireplace" - also written by Steven Moffat - and also one of my personal favorites.
The same TV series receiving Hugo awards for two years in a row is quite rare - the last time I know of was when the "Babylon 5" series did that in the 90's.
It will be interesting to see if The Doctor can make it to a third consecutive award....
You can find the complete list of Hugo winners 2007 here |
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| Babylon 5 |
[Sep. 1st, 2007|04:14 pm] |
Just ordered "Babylon 5 - The Lost Tales" (region 2 version from Amazon.co.uk) looking forward to watching the eps with a friend or two.
Babylon 5 books :
I have read "The Shadow Within" and found it a good fill-in for what happened to Anna Sheridan and the "Icarus"
looking forward to
"To Dream in the City of Sorrows"
The Centauri Trilogy
The Psi-Core trilogy
The Technomage trilogy |
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