Torchwood this week

[guest24]

As a man gets older, more women become attractive...

[Steffan]

what you started off indifferent and the appetite is growing? Speaking personally I have always had a pretty commodious appetite

Steffan

[mini-thumper]

Sorry Chaps
Big fan of Sci-Fi but, IMHO, but both Dr Who (old & new) and Torchwood are utter drivel! Juvenile in every sense of the word.

Boyd

[xbruby]

When analysed in detail most SciFi is utter drivel (with the exception of 2001 A Space Odyssey which is shear genius) but entertaining nevertheless.

Minor change of direction here - have any of you been watching Psychcoville? Hilarious and deeply disturbing all at the same time. Last night's Hitchcock tribute was deeply disturbing, laugh out loud hilarious and a showcase for the rich vein of talent that is Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. Absolutely brilliant, they even managed to get Mark Gattis to put in one of the funniest cameo's I have seen in a long time. If you haven't watched Psychoville and enjoyed (if that's the correct term!) The League of Gentlemen, then this is a must.

Andy

[guest27]

Psychoville - I sat watching this wondering if it was genius or I was having a bad nightmare.  It shows that you can take an amusing look at most subjects if done in an appropriate manner, and this edge of dark madness seems to that way.

Most SciFi being bilge - guess we need an operational definition of SciFi. 

Films: 2001, Bladerunner, Dark Star etc have all been great.

R

[xbruby]

2001 - my all time favourite film. My desk top computers are always named Hal and my laptop's are always named Dave. Good God, how sad is that 

Andy

[guest295]

I never could stand 2001: pretentious drivel pushing that nonsense that space aliens brought the spark of humanity to Earth. It compared very badly with 'Solaris', which I saw about the same time. That film left me reeling.  How did it end? I saw it twice to try to figure it out, and I think the planet got him in the end: he never went back home.

[xbruby]

Interesting: 2001 roundly regarded by the film critics as the best SciFi film of all time and Solaris roundly panned by the critics. I fail to understand however that 2001 is 'pretentious rubbish' based on it's story line yet Solaris which has a story line even more far fetched 'left you reeling'?

If we accept modern physics as pointing towards the answer for 'everything' via the big bang then clearly planet earth and all derivative life forms thereon, were indeed created from the ether of the universe, albeit without alien intervention?

Who knows, Torchwood seems to have stimualted another classic Thumper Club debate turning towards preferential ranting 

[Richard]

I did find last nights Torchwood very exciting, particularly the Cabinet debate.  Obviously the writer has been following the expenses debate keenly.

The debate justified a lottery for surrendering children, guaranteed the safety of the children of cabinet members and moved onto giving away children from failed schools.

As we are away camping this weekend I have set the machine to record the final episode.  Unmissable.  Perhaps not great science fiction, but certainly better than Star Wars.

Nothing will ever beat Metropolis.

Richard

[Andy M]

The film of 2001 to me wasn't great, but showed how Kubrick was in that he managed to cram it into a film. The books were way better.

All sci-fi ages badly, especially on film, you've only to look at Captain Kirk's mobile and mini-disc player. The best sci-fi (I'm an Isaac Asimov fan, where everything is powered by lumps of Uranium!) gets above the gadgets and effects. The current Torchwood could be about the middle European governments in the 1930's as well as a host of other settings, the sci-fi bit just frees the writer from any historical anoraks.

Bad Sci-fi to me is stuff like the Star Trek spin off's where every problem is solved by fishing some bit of kit out or getting a computer to make one.

Andy

[guest27]

If we are looking at written sci-fi then I tend to measure all things by the bench mark of Asimov.  Mind his non-fiction writing is pretty readable too.  A quote of his used to adorn my Lab book at college, and caused a falling out with my AniPhys lecturer.  Not sure how that happened

R

[KirriePete]

Nailing colours to mast time.

Asimov, Heinlein, Silverberg, Clarke, Dick, Niven, Pournelle - you get the idea?  Liking Peter F Hamilton these days - bit overblown at times, but in the spirit of the old masters.

2001/Solaris - Solaris (original & remake) is one of those films designed to make you think "What the F*** happened there?", 2001 tries to do the same, but is a bit more transparent.  Both are good in their own ways - some days I like cheese, some days I like chilli, knoworramean?

Dr Who, Torchwood et al should not really be classified as Sci-fi - they're action adventures with a 'different' science theme at the core, same as Star Trek.  If the Beeb were to produce proper science fiction .... I'll leave that as an exercise for the class.  Imagine trying to do the Foundation saga or Heinlein's "Future History" (Lazarus Long, anyone?) on a BBC budget .... *shudder*.

[guest24]

I started it, so I will chip in again!

2001 - book was good, film was not so good.
Star Wars is superb. May be a bit rose-tinted as I was 11 when I saw it and easily influenced
Blade runner only works when you watch the proper version with Dekkards (?) voice over
Dr Who was started as a science educational programme by the BBC with a twist.
Torchwood is a tight jeans and 100m relay sports programme

I read all sorts of books, but have not read stuff by all the authors listed previously. I can safely say Asimov is good.

Favourite author of sci-fi (if it falls in this category!) is Anne McCaffrey

[KirriePete]

Favourite author of sci-fi (if it falls in this category!) is Anne McCaffrey

Hell yeah - definitely sci-fi - Helva and her buddies, the Pern Chronicles, Crystal Singer, Acorna, The Tower & Hive series ..... and on and on.

[guest24]

I was referring more to Anne's Dragon Rider series of books. Technically Sci-Fi if you start at the earliest story.