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SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 196 – The Devolution of Science Fiction
The SciFi Diner Podcast
A 2012 Parsec Finalist
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Tonight’s Diners: Scott, Miles, and M.
Welcome to the Diner.
Menu:
Trivia: New Trivia this week!
TV News: SciFi Has devolved into popcorn
Con News: Farpoint; Shoreleave: Richard Dean Anderson & Robert Picardo Appearing at Shore Leave
Movie News: First look at Transformers: Edge of Extinction, Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman
DVD/Blu Ray Release: Justice League: War
TWIST: Leonard Nimoy Addresses Health Concerns
SciFi 5 in 5: Top Movies that once seen, cannot be unseen.
Trivia:
Trivia this week! Who said this quote and from what TV Show?
Question: “With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.”
Prize: IDWs Star Trek Comics 15 – 18
Promos:
TV News:
Why Ron Moore thinks sci-fi has devolved into popcorn
Nathalie Caron
Do you believe that there’s a dearth of “mature” science fiction on TV right now? Ron D. Moore seems to think so.
That’s the opinion the Helix showrunner expressed in an interview with Digital Spy.
Speaking about today’s state of sci-fi on TV as well as in movies, Moore said:
“I think science-fiction for the last 15 or 20 years – on television and in movies – has devolved to just popcorn,” he says, citing Helix as one of the few examples of more “adult” TV sci-fi. “To do something in this genre, it had to be just light and fluffy and silly and adventurous.
“I think that science-fiction can be deeper, it can be meatier, it can be more adult. It can take itself a little more seriously and try to do something different. That’s certainly what we set out to do with Battlestar and I think that Helix is a good venue for that as well.”
The Battlestar Galactica showrunner also spoke about working on reboots versus offering original sci-fi series programs.
“When you do something original, it’s one set of challenges – staring at the blank page and trying to figure out what it is,” Moore explains. “But when you’re starting with a book or an existing property, it’s a different set of challenges.
“You think, how can I move these pieces around in a different way? How can I give this familiarity without it feeling stale? They’re different intellectual puzzles, but I enjoy both ways of working.
“Sometimes you can put a different spin on it, sometimes you can’t,” he says. “Battlestar Galactica was something that fell in my lap and I just had a take that worked.”
And if you’re curious as to whether we’re getting a second season of Helix, Moore said that “it’s a little too early” to tell, but that if so, “It would look very different from the first.”
While we think genre TV (and by genre we mean everything encompassing fantasy/sci-fi/horror) is alive and kicking and more popular than ever — just look at The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones,Orphan Black, Millennium, Being Human, Bitten and Revolution, just to name a few — they’re not hardcore sci-fi shows like Star Trek and Stargate were. Doctor Who itself is walking a fine line between sci-fi and fantasy.
Do you guys agree with Ron Moore’s comments on the state of today’s sci-fi on TV?
Con News:
Farpoint 21
February 14th, 15th & 16th, 2014
Crowne Plaza Baltimore North, Timonium, MD
Sat 2 PM – Big Bang Theory
Sat 4 PM – SciFi Diner Live Conversations Show
Sunday 2 PM – Dune: The Spice Still Flows
Sunday 3 PM – Arrow
Special Guests: Alan Dean Foster, Melissa McBride “Carol” from Walking Dead, Phil LaMarr – Futurama, TMNT, Young Justice
Shore Leave 36: August 1-3, 2014
Picardo and Anderson
As you can imagine, interest in Mr. Anderson’s appearance will be extremely high, and we therefore have additional details to pass along:
Mr. Anderson will be charging a fee of $75 to sign autographs. He will not be signing in the official autograph sessions. Photo ops with Mr. Anderson will be available for a cost of $85. This fee does not include an autograph.
Mr. Anderson will be speaking at Shore Leave 36 on both Saturday, August 2 and Sunday August 3. Seating for these events will be an additional $20.00 a seat, per Q&A session, sold through pre-registration. There will be no free volunteer seating during Mr. Anderson’s talks. We will assign seats based upon when payment is received. Seating for those with mobility, vision, and hearing disabilities is available until such seats are sold out. If you have a disability which requires special seating, you must indicate the specific accommodation request on the registration form or in the comments section of the PayPal form. People purchasing a ticket for an accessible seat may purchase an additional seat for one companion; seats must be paid for companions when registering for yourself.
Confirmations of these seats will be sent by your preference of email or snail mail. Tickets for the seats will be given out at pre-registration when picking up your badge.
Movie News:
First look at Transformers: Extinction
Acclaimed actor, Hunger Games co-star Phillip Seymour Hoffman passes away
Academy Award-winning actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman has passed away at the age of 46. Hoffman is likely best known to sci-fi fans for the role of game designer Plutarch Heavensbee inThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and was set to reprise his role in the next two sequels, Mockingjay Parts 1-2.
The actor has also had memorable roles in Mission Impossible III, Moneyball and The Ides of March, was nominated for a slew of awards for his starring turn in Capote, and was very active in theater. He was a legit, awesome talent, and his passing is a tragic, tragic loss.
Though he didn’t have many sci-fi roles under his belt, Hoffman was just breaking into the genre with his Hunger Games role, and it’s a shame we won’t get to see what he might’ve cooked up in the years ahead.
Though we’re still a year away from seeing the next Hunger Games sequel, Hoffman had already finished work on Mockingjay Part 1, and was seven days away from finishing Part 2. According toThe Hollywood Reporter, the scheduled release dates of Nov. 21, 2014, and Nov. 20, 2015, respectively, should not be affected.
DVD/Blu Ray News:
Justice League War
The world’s finest heroes found the Justice League in order to stop an alien invasion of Earth.
TWIST:
Leonard Nimoy Addresses Health Concerns
On Wednesday, Leonard Nimoy addressed rumors regarding his health, after being seen in a wheelchair at a New York airport, earlier this week.
In a tweet, Nimoy, now 82, said:
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary (PULL-mun-ary) disease, is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. “Progressive” means the disease gets worse over time.
COPD can cause coughing that produces large amounts of mucus (a slimy substance), wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and other symptoms.
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD. Most people who have COPD smoke or used to smoke. Long-term exposure to other lung irritants—such as air pollution, chemical fumes, or dust—also may contribute to COPD.
Since retiring from convention appearances in 2011, Nimoy appeared in an Audi commercial with Zachary Quinto, Star Trek Into Darkness, as Spock (Prime), and gave the convocation speech to BU graduates, in 2012.
We here at TrekNews.net wish Mr. Nimoy all the best. LLAP, sir.