Today, Mars passes closer to Earth today than it has in eleven years.
And this past weekend saw a lot of SF conventions, including:
Author Archives: JD DeLuzio
The Preacher Review: “Pilot”
Preacher hit the airwaves this month. Its first episode brings with it exploding clerics, protagonists with dark pasts, and an Irish vampire.
New “Hitchhiker’s Guide” Comes to BBC Radio
Douglas Adams’ influential The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy started its long life as a radio show, before becoming a series of novels, graphic novels, a TV series, a movie, and the inspiration behind a nerdy website’s name. Now Eoin Colfer’s continuation of Adams’ series, And Another Thing will be adapted as a British radio show, bringing things full circle. Adams’ widow approves. What does everyone else think?
Orphan Black Review: “The Antisocialism of Sex”
“You came to me an orphan. That’s all you’ll ever be.”
The characters deal with the repercussions of Kendall Malone’s death, in an episode as powerful and inventive as anything this show has done.
Arrow: “Schism”
Arrow ends its current season, with an episode that fans will either applaud or roll their eyes at, depending on their inclinations. We have a global threat (the other superheroes are apparently occupied elsewhere), violence in the street, and a hefty side of cheese.
The episode ends with a smaller Team Arrow and a mayorally-inclined Ollie. Best of all, we might actually get a season without flashbacks.
The Flash Review: “The Race of His Life”
I suppose it had to come down to a race.
Novel Review: Lovecraft Country
Few writers have had the influence of H.P. Lovecraft on SF, fantasy, and horror, but the eccentric author’s racism and xenophobia—extreme even by the standards of his time— shamble through many of his stories and can make contemporary readers terribly uncomfortable. Matt Ruff is the latest writer to address Lovecraft’s other disturbing rather directly in a Lovecraft-influenced novel. Lovecraft Country unfolds against the backdrop of mid-1950s America, and focuses on characters who face both the eldritch horrors and the Jim Crow racism lurking beneath the surface of American life.
12 Monkeys Discussion: “Immortal”
We’ll return to reviews of this fine show next Week (and Preacher!) This week’s wasn’t the strongest ep, but it did hit a number of 70s trends: buddy cops, decrepit noir New York, a serial killer, a disturbed Viet Nam vet, blatant casual drug use, Tab Cola, and a really loud shirt.
We also see Jennifer’s competent side. She’s more than just a crazy face, and that makes her future ascendancy as a leader far more plausible.
What did the Bureau think?
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Apart from a Seattle Star Trek Fiftieth Anniversary Exhibit…
…this week also brings the resolution of a lawsuit over a fan film, a major medical breakthrough for AIDS treatment and the arrival at Kennedy Space Center of the craft that will head to the asteroid belt.
Alas, the internet rumors claiming….
Legends of Tomorrow Review: “Legendary”
“I can’t pretend to understand this time travel thing, but it sounds important.”
–Captain Lance, trying not to sound absurd
While Ollie and Dig sneak around a suburban dystopia in the most conspicuous manner possible over on Arrow, Captain Lance takes time to guest-star on the season finale of Legends, which has the team jumping through history and previous episodes in a desperate attempt to end Vandal Savage for all time, before he can reset time with himself as master of the world.
Feel free to discuss Arrow here, too, since we don’t have a review this week.