Left Lost? Uh oh. So the producers of Lost have added an hour to each of the next two seasons, which will be the final seasons of the show. I'm glad about this. It suggests they know exactly the story they are telling. Lost can end as one of the greatest shows of all time if they stick the landing.
But in that same article, Damon Lindelof says, ""David Chase set a great example when he went off to Paris after 'The Sopranos' ending, which is great because all these people are going to be asking, 'What does it mean? What is it?' ... The fact that there's no one really around to answer that question, it forces people to come up with what they think it means. We can guarantee our show will not end with a cut to black, it will be more clear than that."
Better be. If Lost ends and I have to supply the answers, I may not watch a serialized drama ever again. Don't hold the Sopranos ending up as any kind of a positive model. Geez.
Lucius in Stride Lucius Shepard's Hugo Nominated short story, "Stars Seen Through Stone." The intrusion of other realities into troubled relationships is Shepard's meat and potatoes. I like this as a relatively upbeat alternate version of his recent short novel, "Softspoken."
Arthur C. Clarke dies. And so the last of the triumvirate of early sci-fi giants, along with Heinlein and Asimov, is gone. Phil Dick once said that every time someone used a robot that thought it was human he should get paid. For Clarke, it's every time a giant spaceship hovers over a city and people gather together to look up in awe and fear. Childhood's End is a legitimate classic. The stories stay with me more. "The Star" and "Nine Billion Names of God" are perfect, mind-blowing constructions. R.I.P.
Lost Time I've never become a part of the giant Lost community online. I don't want to know spoilers and couldn't care less who fan nation thinks is cuter. I've also been avoiding most theories since I hope the show itself will be the best prestige. Yet, I couldn't resist peeking at this theory and this similarly time-centric theory.
Yeah, probably something like that. But what about the four toes? (Links via PopCandy.)
The Sarah Conner Chronicles has been good enough to keep me watching for a few more shows, certainly helped by the fact that there's nothing else on right about now. I still think the whole thing went downhill when someone decided they should have good terminators to fight the bad terminators. And Summer Glau may be miscast. Her out of place waif who kicks ass reminds me of her Firefly character. (I know, someone who doesn't like Firefly or T2. Unleash the fanboys!)
My favorite part was a bit of unintentional comedy in the first hour when Sarah shields herself from the terminator's hail of bullets with a reclining chair! It gave off the little squib explosions and everything. They recognized how goofy this was because in the next scene there's a throwaway line - obviously added later - about Kevlar in the chair. See? It all makes sense. You think if the chair were absorbing the force of the bullets it might have, you know, rocked or something. Still I won't write it off just yet.
Heinlein's Star Fading? I keep rereading Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and some of the "juveniles" (Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Citizen of the Galaxy & Podkayne of Mars) every year or two and I still think he's miles better than Asimov or Clarke. Still, I haven't even thought of going back to Stranger in a Strange Land, Friday, To Sail Beyond the Sunset (any of the Lazarus Long novels, actually) and -- long separated from the wild libertarian to fascist swings of my teenage years -- I don't have much stomach for his "hairy-chested" prose, as this LA Times piece dubs it. (Nice synchronicity, btw, with Mark over at Cheek nominating R.A.H. for membership in the Manly Writers Corps.)
Also in the LA Times is a list of fave sci-fi novels of 2007 that'll make it's way to my library hold list.
Update: Heinlein's (manly) optimism in an essay on thisibelieve.org -- he's popping up everywhere these days as his Centenary year winds down.
Fanboy Gushing Just finished watching Doctor Who's finest hour. I thought the same thing last week, and the week before, and the week before that. But this week, oh man. Spoilers are everywhere and nearly unavoidable, but skip the next paragraph if you don't already know what made this week special.
Derek Jacobi was brilliant, absolutely perfect ... what a genius way to bring the Master back. (And the new guy looks like he'll do just fine.) The drums, the voices from the past, they really did this right. Wow. And we get the dope on Capt. Jack, and the hand in the jar (of course!), and it all ties back to the end of Season 1 and Torchwood (sort of)and the classic series, while managing to stand alone as a great episode. More wow.
HD, if you haven't seen this yet, when the Series 3 DVD comes out, I'd actually consider asking the missus if I could fly up to NYC, or fly you down to NC (yeah, I'll be down there Oct 1st) for, if nothing else, a mini-marathon of the last 4 episodes and next week's conclusion to this one.
While I'm surprised they'd go all the way back to the Fifth Doctor when McGann (8), and probably McCoy (7), wouldn't be so obviously older than when they played the Doctor, and in their cases because McGann was a one-0ff and Sly got to walk off the role, their older appearance could be explained, where with Davison we saw his Doctor from beginning to end and there's no getting around the fact that he's aged. That said, I hope the rumor is true.
I happen to be re-reading Cat's Cradle, for obvious reasons. A lot of it is coming back to me and I'm enjoying it, probably not as much as when I was nineteen, but still. Certain books should be read by young people and certain books, say Moby Dick, are probably best enjoyed when you're older. I'm coming across a lot of great quotes - even better than his "15 Best", such as:
"The highest possible form of treason," said Minton, "is to say that Americans aren't loved wherever they go, whatever they do."
KSR's Next Stan reveals in a Locus interview that he's working on another historical novel ...
I've sold a book about the birth of science called The Galileans. It will have a science fiction element, but a strongly historical narrative as well. I researched the subject when I was writing The Years of Rice and Salt, which includes an alternative scientific revolution. Having done that, I thought, 'Well, what actually happened is fascinating.' So this new book is constellated about the figure of Galileo. Because he was famously put on trial by the Pope, he's still a good way to discuss the relationship between science and religion, and how those two can be reconciled (or not).
He also recommends a historical novelist I've never heard of: Cecelia Holland. If he thinks she's one of our greatest novelists, I'm intrigued.
New Tenant in the Tardis? There are an awful lot of articles saying rumors that Tennant is leaving Doctor Who after Season 3/29 aren't true but until today I hadn't seen any mention of new casting. Rumors are what they are so I take it cum grano salis that Jason Statham (imdb) is next up as the Doctor.
Probably not worth commenting on a rumor so unlikely, Statham's film career may not have been boosted by Crank but I find it hard to believe he's looking for series tv work, yet I can't help but wonder what he'd do with the role. He was brilliant in Lock, Stock , Snatch, and proved he is a legit action star in The Transporter. But, while the Doctor is supposed to be a master of Venusian karate, action is hardly the show's calling card. I'd imagine he'd have to play the role more Turkish than Frank Martin, which wouldn't be a bad thing.
Still, I hope Tennant sticks around a few more seasons. The Doctor doesn't have enough regenerations for the role to be revolving door.
The Pluckiest Companion Sarah Jane Smith to get her own Who spin-off. Too much of a good thing, what with Torchwood and the K-9 shows also coming soon? Nah. I guess it's to Sladen's benefit the Rose spin-off didn't come together.
Death Star Funny. "I'll tell everyone what a whiney b!tch you were about Padamomay, or Panda Bear, or whatever the hell her name is." Like Palpitation, or Palomine, or whatever his name is, is one to talk!
I Wasn't the Only One Thinking Reboot I've blogged a couple times about how I feel the best thing for the Star Trek franchise would be a reboot ... unbeknownst to me, at least one pretty big name was thinking along the same lines -- J. Michael Stracyznski wanted to create a Universe B and reset the mythology.
Here's the post on Zabel's (Stracyznski's collaborator) blog with a link to the treatment. One strength of the treatment is that it has a clear vision for limited series, just as I had proposed, with a five year mission and each season being one year of that mission. My thinking was to cherry pick and remake the best episodes, which is an element in this vision, but they have the idea of the Enterprise crew seeking out advanced race that seeded the universe being the driving story arch, which I feel is too remniscent of Stargate (although there's plenty of precedent in the Star Trek universe for this already as well) and detracts from the pioneer spirt that made the original so compelling. The universe as frontier, as wild, untamed nature is so much more engaging than the universe as the garden of an advanced race, at least to my thinking.
Dread Reckoning, all about Richard Matheson's great novel I Am Legend, possibly spends too much time talking about Romero's zombie movies, but is still a decent read and might jazz you up to read or re-read the book. It also reminds you that a big-time movie is coming down the pipe starring Will Smith. Is it me, or should I Am Legend maybe not be a big budget, quip-tastic summer movie? Smith is still better than the original lead, the Governator.
