New episodes of Futurama start today

 

This caught me by surprise, but Hulu released a new episode of Futurama today (7/24/2023). 

Futurama was an innovative satirical cartoon that originally aired on Fox from 1999 - 2003. There were also a few movies after the original series was cancelled.

The cartoon is known and loved for it's hilarious send ups of common sci fi tropes as well as its satirical portrayal of politics and mass media.

Depending on which web site you look at, the new episodes may be identified as season 8 or season 11. I think this is due to confusion over whether the movies count as seasons. 

Regardless, I'm looking forward to the new episodes.

Fantastic Voyage

 Fantastic Voyage by Issac Asimov

Four men and one woman reduced to a microscopic fraction of their original size, boarding a miniaturized atomic sub and being injected into a dying man's carotid artery. Passing through the heart, entering the inner ear where even the slightest sound would destroy them, battling relentlessly into the cranium.

Their objective . . . to reach a blood clot and destroy it with the piercing rays of a laser.

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Isaac Asimov wrote the novel based on Harry Kliener's screen play. Rumor has it, that when Asimov saw the original screen play, he remarked that it was full of plot holes and scientific inaccuracies, and insisted on correcting them for the novel. 

Unfortunately, he failed to correct the basic structural and character development flaws. So instead of a 'fantastic voyage', we have a seriously flawed novel. 

The first chapter is literally four "As you know, Bob" conversations about the importance of an off-page character. The Turkey City Lexicon lists an "As you know, Bob" as when two characters tell each other what they already know to bring the reader up to speed. It's a common sci fi trope among beginners. Editors hate it, and this book exemplifies one of the reasons for that hatred. 

By having his characters discuss an off-page character, the author is telling the reader that the characters he's introducing us to on the page aren't that important. So the reader is wondering" if these characters aren't that important, why is the writer wasting my time introducing me to them? Let's get to the real story".

Granted this book was written in 1966, is based on a movie, and opening scenes like this were very common in films of the time. But I still expected better writing from a Grand Master of Science Fiction. 

A second major flaw is the dialog. Most of the dialog consists of one character telling another what they should be thinking. Often with hyperbolic emotional exaggeration that might have worked on the screen, but on the page, makes the characters look like caricatures.

It's was difficult to get into the story, and I was so disgusted with the dialog, I quit reading half way through. Can't recommend this book, not even for historical value.

Class of '09 TV show

Class of '09 is a sci fi crime drama now airing on the FX channel and streaming from Hulu. The show follows four  FBI agents in three different periods of their careers: as cadets in '09, as mid-level agents 2023, and as senior agents in 2034. 

More importantly for sci fi fans, in 2034, the FBI has replaced most of its analysts with an AI that can predict crime and stop it before it happens. 

In the pilot's first scene,  which takes place in the future, the AI sends two agents who apparently haven't seen each other for years to arrest a man without explanation. But instead of finding him, they find a recording of the FBI director (another classmate) claiming the US is now the safest nation on Earth. 

Without preparation, were suddenly thrust back to the moment they meet - their first day of training at Quantico. After a few moments seeing the characters here, then were sent back further in time to when one of them was recruited. (I almost turned off the show right there. I hate flashbacks within flashbacks.)

To write a fair review, I watched the first two episodes. But I couldn't get into the show. Time jumps happen frequently and without preparation.  One minute we're seeing them in at training, then in the middle of an under cover assignment 14 years later, then back to training, then back to 2034. This  totally destroys the rhythms of each story line, and makes it impossible to connect with any of the characters.

The events in each time period seem totally disconnected from the others. There's no mention of the AI in the 2009 or 2023 scenes. No mention of the 2023 crimes in the 2034 scenes. (At least not in the first two episodes.) And in the 2023 scenes, the agents are working totally separate cases. So you're trying to follow six different story lines.  That is way too much.

 In the future scenes, there are hints and accusations that the AI has gone rogue. But these scenes are so brief and the acting is so wooden, you don't care. Brian Tyree Henry, playing the FBI director, looks like he's stoned or sleep walking through these scenes. Kate Mara is nearly as dull. (The other two supposed leads are barely present through the first two episodes.)

 While I normally like to see TV shows try new innovations, Class of '09 simply doesn't work.

Chindi

Chindi is the third novel McDevitt's Academy series. But fortunately, you don't have to read the other books to enjoy (or hate) this one Chindi stands on it's own.   

On a routine survey mission studying a neutron star, an Academy starship discovers an alien transmission, but can't track it's origin.
 
Five years later, a satellite finally encounters the signal again, which inspires the Contact Society, a wealthy group of enthusiasts to launch an expedition to track it's origin.  Providing a starship to the Academy to be piloted by Captain Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins, the Contact Society embarks on a mission to find the source of the transmission.

The novel proceeds like a slow motion scavenger hunt across multiple star systems. And I do mean "slow" McDevitt brilliantly describes the settings, capturing the wonder and awe of alien starscapes. But totally fails with character development.

On page 335 McDevitt explicitly states the recurring theme of the book: 

There have been studies over the years supporting the proposition that groups composed entirely of women usually made intelligent decisions, that exclusively male groups usually did a bit less well, and mixed groups did the most poorly of all.  It appeared that, when women were present, testosterone got the upper hand and men took greater risks. Correspondingly, women in mixed groups tended to revert to roles, becoming more passive and going along with whatever misjudgement the males might perpetrate.

I've seen a few studies on groupthinking and I think this can be true when the women are of lower social rank, new to a group, or subordinate employees. But NOT when the woman is accomplished in her own right, achieves a rank as high as starship captain, or is the only experienced person in a group of amateurs. McDevitt misapplied the theme, and diminishes his heroine, his starship captain, to behaving like teenage schoolgirl desperately trying to fit in with the 'cool kids'. The reader wonders how she ever achieved the rank of captain.

Definitely NOT the way to write a memorable heroine, especially not in the 21st Century.

The other characters are given detailed backstories as they are introduced. (Essentially infodumps) But by the time you're way into the novel half are dead (due to stupid decisions) and rest feel interchangeable. And the frequent POV shifts do nothing to distinguish one from another. 

The conclusion was a major disappointment. The author wrote himself into a corner with the final rescue. And instead of showing how his heroine resolved it, he skipped over it to the point after she had been rescued. And the mystery of the Chindi is left unresolved.

Definitely NOT how I'd write an epic space adventure.

Six Wakes

Six Wakes is a sci fi murder mystery from Mur Lafferty. Five clones (the AI makes six) on a deep space mission wake to find that their previous incarnations have been murdered, they've lost 25 years worth of memories, and the ship's computer has been sabotaged.

Complicating the problem is the fact that all of the crew have criminal pasts. Although their previous incarnations apparently worked peacefully together for over 20 years, these clones don't know each other, and don't trust each other.

Perhaps I watch too much TV. But it seems like the author combined the idea of cloning with the premises of two recent TV shows, School Spirits (where the lead character wakes as a ghost and tries to solve her own murder), and Dark Matter (where six people wake on a space ship with no memory of their past). But the crew of Six Wakes do remember their lives before joining the crew, and flashback chapters reveal that those pasts to be more connected than even their previous incarnations knew.

 

The Writer's Perspective

Although the story rehashes familiar territory and none of the characters really stand out, Lafferty seems to have a gift for foreshadowing. She weaves hints and clues of what's to come into each character's backstory. I was impressed with how she foreshadowed the characters' prior connections without revealing too much too quickly. This helped the story unfold at a good pace and kept me interested enough to keep reading.

An Essay on Philip K. Dick’s novel, “Radio Free Albemuth”

 In 2004, I was prompted to write an essay to address the following question:  Is America's role in the world contributing to the enhancement of general human welfare?

I had just finished reading  Philip K. Dick’s novel, “Radio Free Albemuth”. So I based my essay on that reading.

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I recently read Philip K. Dick’s novel, “Radio Free Albemuth”. In this book, Dick speculated what might happen if the people accidentally elected a paranoid fascist dictator as the President of the United States. Dick died in 1982, and his estate published the book posthumously in 1985. But it’s amazing how closely his vision resembled the events of 2002-2003.

Dick’s fictional villain, Ferris F. Freemont, traveled the country speaking of threats from subversive elements out to destroy the United States. Like Hitler in the 1930s, he used patriotism and fear to rally the people behind his cause. He created the Friends of the American People (FAP). A Nazi-like organization that got people spying on each other in order to ensure their loyalty to the President.
 

Dick’s three protagonists were a novelist, a singer and a record company executive. Since recording artists often have the ability to inspire people’s passions and rally them to a cause, FAP wanted to prevent the singer from recording any music that might criticize the President. They blackmailed the writer into spying on the record executive, and the record executive into spying on the singer.
 

As I read Dick’s novel in March 2003,  I couldn’t help noticing the similarity to the Dixie Chicks controversy. President Bush was traveling the country in 2002 spreading fear about Al Qeada’s and Iraq’s potential for attacking American citizens. Bush said it was essential that we start a war with Iraq. And when a recording artist, Natalie Manes of the Dixie Chicks, criticized Bush’s position, the country jumped on her. 

Political commentators and several major news organizations blasted her. “Support your President,” they insisted. “Doesn’t he deserve your support?” they asked rhetorically. Political commentators harassed her for weeks. Bush’s supporters sent threatening letters, staged protests, and burned her CDs. They pressured her into backing down and apologizing for exercising her right to free speech.
Although Natalie Manes backed down, many other people stood their ground. Janeane Garofalo, Martin Sheen, Mike Farrell, Tim Robbins and nearly 100 other celebrities banded together and continued speaking out against the U.S. starting a war with Iraq. These people weren’t just fighting for peace, they were fighting for their Freedom of Speech. 

The founders of the United States declared that freedom of speech was a basic and inalienable right. Opinions expressed at the time reflected a belief that without the freedom of speech, there could be no true liberty.1 If the ability to pursue liberty is a measure of human welfare, then our welfare has been under a malicious attack by those claiming to cherish it. 

Like Dick’s fictional FAP, the mainstream news media can sometimes act like an oppressive watchdog organization, spewing propaganda under the guise of patriotism and unbiased reports; and doing everything possible to discredit or silence other voices. Dick’s novel shows clearly how losing the freedom of speech can create fear and mistrust among people, and how people ruled by these emotions become afraid to stand up for their rights, or the rights of others. They become afraid to openly question even the most obviously false rhetoric and propaganda.
We must never let these things happen to us.

Natalie Manes showed us that we need to stand up for our Freedom of Speech or it can be taken from us; and with it, our liberty. Tim Robbins and other celebrities show us that we can still stand up and fight for our Freedom of Speech and our liberty. But celebrities cannot do the job for us. We must all maintain the ‘eternal vigilance’ necessary to become aware of these attacks on our freedoms, our liberty and our welfare. 

The United States remains a rhetorical battlefield in which we must continually fight for the right to create a better society. We are all soldiers in this fight. Together we all must stand up for our beliefs and continuously fight to protect our Freedom of Speech.  When Americans fight to protect the Freedom of Speech, we contribute the most to general human welfare. 

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It's amazing how good science fiction can remain relevant for so many years in spite of changing culture and technology.

Fired on Mars

Fired on Mars is a new animated sci fi show on HBO Max. Unfortunately, this is a slow, boring portrait of a man who gets fired and falls into a long depression. I barely got through the pilot episode without turning off the TV and picking up a book.

The pilot episode ignored some of the most basic requirements of a good storytelling: 1. Give your character a goal to achieve and 2. build a believable world.

Jeff Cooper (voiced by Luke Wilson) is a graphic designer who gave up his life to travel to Mars. But 8 months after arriving, the company eliminates his position. This leaves him with nothing to do, and no way to return home. So he falls into a terrible depression. He tries once or twice to let people know that he's available to work, but no one cares.

The worldbuilding is absolutely terrible. The office, even though it's on Mars, looks like any typical office from the 1990s. Brightly lit, spacious, and everyone in open cubicles. It could easily be on Earth. The computers look like iMacs (which I've never seen in a real office) from the late 1990s. Close ups show them running Mac OS 5 or 6 (which were obsolete by the time iMacs were produced) and software that looks like MacDraw from the 1980s. Yet Jeff has a modern smart phone that provides instant communication between Earth and Mars. 

The banal and superficial dialogue makes all the characters sound like idiots. Worse, nothing in the dialogue contributes to the worldbuilding. Most of this dialogue could have occurred in any generic company anywhere on Earth 30 years ago.

 I don't know what HBO was thinking when they produced this show. But I will not watch a second episode.

Mind Control from Trope to Subgenre

Reading yet another book with mind-controlling villain. It's gotten me thinking about how the mind control trope evolved into an entire subgenre of erotic mind control stories (which includes erotic hypnosis).

Western literature has portrayed various forms of hypnosis and mind control ever since Homer sang of Odysseus' encounter with the sirens – mermaids whose song was so beautiful it drove men mad with desire. Early Christians wrote about demons (incubi and succubi) who visited people in their sleep and filled their dreams with lust. Medieval and Renaissance authors wrote about witches and fairies casting love spells.

In the 17th-19th Centuries, physicians began to recognize hypnosis and trance as real phenomenon, and authors such as Bram Stoker (Dracula) and George du Maurier (Trilby) began incorporating hypnosis into their fiction. Stoker's Dracula mesmerized his victims, and held them enthralled while he fed on them. While George du Maurier's Svengali kept his protégé (a beautiful young woman) entranced.

Dracula, of course, inspired hundreds of vampire films, from Nosferatu to Buffy The Vampire Slayer; many of which show vampires seductively hypnotizing and enthralling members of the opposite sex. The Hammer Studio films are particularly notable for their erotic hypnosis scenes. Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and The Brides of Dracula both portrayed the vampires hypnotizing beautiful women in their bed chambers; and the women clearly became sexually aroused as they fell under the vampires' influence.

In the 1960s and 70s, hypnosis and mind control became one of the most common tropes on television. Batman, Bewitched, Get Smart, Gilligan's Island, Scooby Doo, I Dream of Jeanie, Lost in Space, Josie and the Pussycats, Superfriends, and even Underdog all included episodes with some form of hypnosis or mind control. These shows were less overtly sexual than the Dracula films. But when the hypnotist and subject were opposite genders, the scenes often contained subtle erotic undertones. In Gilligan's Island, for example, a mad scientist invented a ring that turned the wearer into an obedient robot. When Ginger and Mary Ann put on the ring, their blank facial expressions closely resembled that of the entranced women in the vampire films. And they both replied to commands with the phrase, "Yes, Master." just like many vampires' thralls.

At the same time, DC and Marvel comics developed dozens of mind controlling villains such as Emma Frost, Jarvis Tetch, Kilgrave, Poison Ivy, and The Ring Master, each with their own style of mind control. Poison Ivy and Kilgrave, for example, used sex pheromones to compel members of the opposite gender love and obey them. Naturally, these stories inspired the readers and viewers to imagine more explicitly erotic fantasies. 

Although mind control was one of the most prevalent themes in pop culture, it remained a trope (a plot device for comedy, horror, crime, and adventure stories) until the emergence of interest-based internet communities. 

Just like the printing press and the VCR, as soon as the internet became available, people used it to share sexual material. Enthusiasts who grew up on the above pop culture quickly established bulletin boards and chat rooms to discuss erotic fantasies with various forms of mind control. Then they began writing stories.

Today the Erotic Mind Control Story Archive boasts close to 30,000 stories. While the theme of these stories is always some combination of mind control and sex, they also include many sci fi elements, such as magical spells, supernatural creatures, pheromone perfumes, cursed objects, telepathy, and brainwashing machines. This makes erotic mind control fiction a subgenre of fantasy and science fiction. 

My Dad the Bounty Hunter

My Dad the Bounty Hunter is a good, solid, children's show. It's well written, well acted and beautifully animated. But serious sci fi  fans may be disappointed.

Terry, the dad, is the toughest bounty hunter in all the galaxy. But his family has no idea. They think he's a truck driver on Earth. The first episode begins with Terry finishing an easy job and looking forward to a weekend with his kids. 

But the minute the ex wife drops off the kids at his house, he gets called for an emergency job. The kids, upset that he's leaving them again, decide to stowaway in his trunk, surprise him at work and force him to spend time with them. 

Of course they're the ones surprised when they pop out of the trunk and find themselves on Terry's spaceship. Fortunately, Terry tracks his fugitive to an amusement park planet, and the family gets to enjoy a relaxed afternoon before things get crazy.

Make no mistake, this is a kids' show. Sean and Lisa drive the action. Their presence complicates an 'easy' job. But they rise to the occasion, solving problems, rescuing their dad from prison. And when the Lisa discovers the fugitive they're hunting might be a hero, not a villain,  it's the kids who remind their father what it means to 'do the right thing'. 

For serious sci fi fans, there was nothing new or innovative about the show. I'd seen the same character types and plot twists in dozens of shows. But for children new to the genre, the quality writing, acting, and animation should make the show very enjoyable.

Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

Asimov's Caves of Steel is reported to be one of the first cross over science fiction detective stories.

The story takes place thousands of years in the future. But I'd swear I was reading a novelized episode of The Andy Griffith Show. Elijah Baily talks and acts just like Barney Fife. He's prone to wild emotional outbursts and totally irrational accusations. The robot, Daneel Olivaw responds to Baily exactly the way Sheriff Andy Taylor responded to Deputy Fife, with calm rational arguments that do nothing to persuade the irrational detective. The dialog between Baily and his wife was unbelievably ridiculous.

And we were more than 100 pages into the novel before they even started investigating the crime. 200 pages in, and I still haven't seen any empirical evidence pointing to the murderer.

If you're interested in the history of science fiction, you might find this novel interesting. But if you're looking for an entertaining story skip it. 

Against All Things Ending

Stephen Donaldson's writing as seriously deteriorated over the years. When I read the first series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant back in the early 80s, I thought the writer was brilliant. That series was a master piece of world building and character development. Even The Second Chronicles were in many ways brilliant. But in The Last Chronicles, Donaldson trips over his horribly-written female lead.

It's one thing to write a character that has a broken past and is full of self-doubt. It's another thing altogether to bludgeond the reader with constant repetition of those doubts.

Against All Things Ending, like the first two books in The Last Chronicles, is extremely, annoyingly  repetitive. That repetition and the frequent use of obscure words makes this book a chore to read.

Galaxy Blues and Spindrift by Allen Steele

I few months ago I read Allen Steele's Galaxy Blues. It was my first Allen Steele novel and I enjoyed it. Steele introduced the novel and his main character with a detailed description of a well-thought out his escape from a starship. The narration was light and straight forward, interesting and easy to follow while giving solid depiction of the main character's personality. Not only did I want to read more, I wanted to emulate that narrative style in my own writing. Steele maintained the light narrative style throughout the novel, revealing the characters through their interaction with their environment, which made the book a light, easy read.

Because I enjoyed Galaxy Blues, I was looking forward to reading more of Steele's Coyote series. So when I saw Spindrift on the library shelf, I snatched it up. For most of this book, Steele again does an excellent job of revealing his characters through their actions. However, for the frame character (prolog and epilog), the narration failed to accomplish this.

Spindrift is told in a 'frame' style. The prologue and epilogue relate events 53 years after the main story. From the description on the inside cover, you'd expect Shillinglaw to be a main character, but he only appears in the prologue and epilogue and his chapters seem to be more of an afterthought, filler to make sure the novel meets word-length requirements.

Spindrift is not a particularly thought provoking or challenging novel. There are no plot twists or surprises. There also isn't much world building. (I assume most of it is done in the earlier Coyote novels, which I haven't read.) And some of the characters are a bit one dimensional. But Steele mostly does a good job of developing distinct and engaging view point characters and of revealing characters through their actions.

Since this book chronicles first contact with alien races, it represents a total change in direction for the Coyote series. So if you're a Steele fan, you'll want to read Spindrift first in spite of it's flaws. If you're not a fan, you can skip Spindrift (though I would still recommend Galaxy Blues).