Warp Section

We live in something of a golden age of information. The internet has made possible an explosion of sheer, raw data. Can’t remember the title of a book you read ten years ago? Type a description into a search engine, and you’ll probably find it. Is your favorite TV show of all time something that aired for ten episodes in 1976 and was never heard from again? Chances are, someone on the internet has copies available and you can relive those happy moments all over again, or at the very least find a forum or newsgroup dedicated to your own obscure corner of fandom.

In this day and age, you know something’s really obscure when it still manages to slip through the cracks in this glut of information. Which brings me to Probe. There’s not a whole lot out there on this very short-lived series, so my description is necessarily brief.

Probe lasted for seven episodes. It’s of interest to science fiction fans because the co-creator of the show was Isaac Asimov. Parker Stevenson played Austin James, a child prodigy grown into an isolated, antagonistic genius who works for a think tank. He starts to open up a bit when he hires bubbly, cheerful secretary, Mickey Castle (played by Ashley Crow). Together, they solve crimes. Baffling, high-tech crimes requiring intelligence and application of scientific principles to solve (in the spirit of Asimov’s own science fiction mysteries such as The Caves of Steel).

I haven’t seen it since it went off the air, so my memories are fuzzy. I liked the show. I liked hanging out with Austin and Mickey. It was clever, with lots of inside jokes (I remember Austin, just before smashing to bits a murderously malfunctioning supercomputer, shouting, “Sing ‘Daisy,’ computer!”). And that probably gives us a big clue as to why it was cancelled. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long enough to develop the kind of following that generates an internet footprint, so it will probably continue in its entrenched obscurity.

Probe on Wikipedia

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The current trend in fantasy literature (actually, it’s been a trend for over a decade now) is the very long, endless epic fantasy series. It’s mostly epitomized by Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and perhaps brought to its apogee by George R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire and Ice series. They’re characterized by 1) a pseudo-medieval fantasy setting ala Tolkien and/or Dungeons and Dragons, 2) very thick books, 3) a very long wait between books, and 4) no end in sight.

I’m a tough sell on these. I’ve read the first volumes in both Jordan’s and Martin’s series. I haven’t continued on, primarily because I’m a slow reader and 800 page books daunt me. Ten 800 page books make me weep and gnash my teeth. I stick with writers like Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip who write absolute gems that manage to finish a story in under 400 pages.

So imagine my surprise upon encountering the first book in Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen series. Nothing about this attracted me except the recommendation of a friend. (Usually all it takes for me to pass a book by is some variation of the phrase “Book X in the X-ity X Decology” typed on the cover.) But I read it.

Then I immediately rushed out to the bookstore to get the second one.

What the heck? I asked myself that through both volumes. (I think the second one was even better than the first, if possible.) This is going to sound really cheesy, but the experience of reading these is like playing in the very best session of the very best D&D campaign ever.

As in any good book, this rests on the characters. They’re competent, interesting, and real. I’d stopped noticing how often the plots of books are based on characters lucking into their successes and making completely irrational decisions every step of the way until I read a book where all the characters are functional human beings. I also had a shock when I realized most of the main characters are good people. I mean good people, not in the sense of good v. evil, but good in the sense that they will save a kitten from a tree. They will postpone their own adventure to save a kitten from a tree. Sure they have faults, but that doesn’t prevent them from doing good in the world. (It also doesn’t prevent them from failing, but at least their failures are their own.) Once again, I hadn’t realized how unpleasant the characters in so many books are until I read one in which people sometimes did nice things just for the sake of doing nice things.

Which is not to say these books are not utterly, fantastically, horrifically brutal, because they are. In fact, that’s part of what flipped the first book, Gardens of the Moon, from “well, I’ll try it,” to “OMG I love it.” The other thing I really like: magic is an integral part of this world, which means Erikson doesn’t spend any more time talking about it than Buffy the Vampire Slayer spends telling us how cars work. If you’re like me and bored by descriptions of wizards wielding their mystical energy beams, then read Erikson. He doesn’t describe the magic — he describes the effects. When the spell that activates the zombie galley slaves starts, you know it by the clicking of the oars in the oar locks, and because the eyes on the pile of severed heads have snapped open. Chilling.

Now, I’m off to find a copy of Memories of Ice…

Steven Erikson’s website is here.

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Forever Geek has their picks for the upcoming geek movie season:

This summer is going to be a HUGE movie season. There are tons and tons of geek-related flicks coming out this year…in fact, it might be hard to keep track of them all…but don’t worry, Forever Geek has got you covered with Forever Geek’s Summer Movie Round-up.
Source: Geek Summer Movie Round-up - Forever Geek

Me?  Spidey, Fantastic 4, and Harry Potter.  I’ll probably take the kids to Shrek 3.  Since going to the movies in a theatre is a big deal where I’m located, it’s gotta be really good to make the trip.

So what’s on your must-see list?

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Over on Comic Book Resources, there is a post about an upcoming episode of Heroes. Heavy spoilers!

Here is a snippet of the spoilers from the article:

Then Linderman drops a bombshell, literally and figuratively: the explosion is to be the catalyst for a better future. When Nathan wonders out aloud about the cost in lives, Linderman counters, “There’s six and a half billion people on the planet, that’s less than .07%. Come on, that’s an acceptable loss by anyone’s count.”

“It is your destiny, Nathan, to be the leader who uses this event to rally a city, a nation, a world,” Linderman continues. And to drive the point home, Linderman unveils a prophetic painting of Nathan Petrelli in the Oval Office, seemingly painted by Isaac Mendez.

If you can’t help yourself and want a bit more, check out Comic Book Resources.

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This is another of those films that must be seen to be believed. It’s also another one I hesitate to say too much about, because I don’t want to rob people of the joy and horror of discovering for themselves what this film is all about. I will say this much: it’s a modern tribute to a bygone aesthetic, a black and white world where the men were men and the monsters were rubber suits. It’s science fiction based on the principle that costumes can never have too much silver lamé. And you know what? That’s an excellent aesthetic.

Dr. Paul Armstrong and his wife Betty have traveled to a remote forest in search of atmospherium, a radioactive element that can generate untold power. The trouble is, other people are in search of atmospherium. Evil people. And aliens. Aliens with monsters. And evil scientists with evil skeletons. What chaos will ensue?

To really get the full effect, rent a double feature. First, watch Queen of Outer Space, a 1958 film starring Zsa Zsa Gabor. A group of red-blooded American astronauts land on Venus — a planet ruled entirely by women! Zsa Zsa and her beloved Earthman must defeat the evil Venusian queen who wants to destroy all men!

After Queen of Outer Space, the full glory of The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra will become clear. And the quotes. Oh, the quotes you will quote. And that’s really the reason I want everyone to see this. The more people have seen it, the fewer people will look at me funny when I say, “Quickly! Fold yourself in the middle!”

I sleep now.

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Just a quick note to point you to a Sci Fi Wire interview with visual designer and concept artist Syd Mead, talking about his work on two of the greatest SF films ever, Blade Runner and 2010.

On 2010, I had a much more visceral involvement with the design of the Leonov [spaceship], the thruster, the one-man rocket cabinet, the control consoles and other interior sets.

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You all probably already know this by now, but in Captain America #25 Steve Rogers (Capt. America) is assinated.

After the shocking events of Captain America #25, Steve Rogers, better known to the world as the star-spangled Captain America, lies dead, having been assassinated on the steps of a federal courthouse. Being led to trial for violating the Superhuman Registration Act and engaging in the Civil War that pitted super hero against super hero, Rogers was senselessly taken from a world that he had helped save countless times before.
Source: Fallen Son: Death of Cap - Marvel.com news

Captain America was started by Marvel during WWII as a force to battle the Nazis.  The character has had a long history and changed over the years. There are folks who think that Cap isn’t really gone and Marvel will bring him back somehow.

Comics have “killed off” lots of characters in the past (e.g. Superman) and brought them back.  Wonder how this one will be handled?

Any guesses?

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I’m a fan of science fiction and fantasy. Obviously. But there are very few things that I go completely, you know, fannish over. Like memorizing all the episodes, joining mailing lists, collecting every scrap of news and memorabilia I can. Writing fan fiction, for God’s sake. Star Wars is one of the things I have a deep, abiding, and obsessive love for.

Captain Power is the other.

I say that so if everything else I say about it sounds adoring and gushing beyond all proportion, you’ll understand why. And if you’re thinking to yourself, “Captain Power. Wasn’t that a totally dorky live-action kids’ show with these stupid toy things that were supposed to let you shoot at the screen and wrack up points?” you’d be right. Except it was actually, you know, really good. You doubt me. I can tell. I can see your eyebrows rising in doubt. Let me explain.

The story editor on the show was a guy named J. Michael Straczynski. Yes. That J. Michael Straczynski. Lawrence diTillio was another writer. Douglas Netter was one of the producers. Is this starting to ring some bells? Like, a good chunk of the creative team that went on to produce Babylon 5? So when I tell you Captain Power had complex characters with dark and troubled pasts, complicated storylines with intelligent writing, and an ongoing plot that required you to pay attention from one episode to another, you must believe me. When I say that there are strong signs in the show that Straczynski was already playing with ideas that would later come to fruition in Babylon 5 (in fact, one of the characters, Tank, was produced by a genetic engineering program known as Babylon 5), you must believe me. In short, this was the most intelligent “kids” show ever to air. (I’d rather not talk about the toys, because frankly, the show would have been better off without them. Without the toys, the show wouldn’t have relied on the support of Mattel, and Mattel wouldn’t have been able to thoroughly pull the plug on it.)

This was my favorite show when I was 14, and a big reason for that was “token” female character Pilot (played by Jessica Steen, who many people remember as Doctor Julia Heller on Earth 2). Except that she wasn’t token. This was one of the first times I saw a woman character on a science fiction TV show who acted like and was treated like an equal. She dressed in a khaki military uniform, just like the others. A pilot and mechanic, she was a fully integrated member of the team. She rescued the guys as much as they rescued her. In a TV landscape where so many women characters, especially on half hour kids shows, were running around in pink spandex or brass bikinis, squealing in fear and not doing much else, Pilot was truly a role model to aspire to.

Which brings me to the second reason Captain Power had a huge impact on me. To put it bluntly, Captain Power was the only kids show that didn’t lie to kids about the brutality of war. While the A-Team couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with their machine guns, and exploding airplanes on GI Joe morphed into parachutes to reassure us that no one really died, people on Captain Power died. All the time. In every episode. And when my punchy rebellious teenage self was starting to notice how completely unrealistic it was for these shows to put their characters in life-threatening situations week after week without actually killing anyone, Captain Power did the unthinkable. In the final episode, Pilot died when she manually destroyed the Power Base’s reactor, blowing the base up to keep it out of the hands of the evil Lord Dread. I couldn’t believe it. I sobbed for days.

And yet. Pilot’s death made this show and this world more real than anything else I was watching at the time. I’ll say it again: Captain Power was the only kids show that didn’t lie to kids about the brutality of war. For that alone, it deserves a medal.

Twenty years later, fans are still hatching theories about how Pilot could have survived the explosion. The scripts for the second season were written, though not produced, and pirated copies and scraps of information are passed around like resistance propaganda. Say whatever you will about it, Captain Power lives on. As well it should.

Power on!

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As an obeisance to the gods of Returning–since I am already waiting for the return of Heroes in April–I write this week about all the returns that our season-ender gave us:

1. The return of some memory

Mr. Bennet cleverly told his wife before he left that he had sent Claire away for her own safety, and that if he went looking for her, she should stop him. She faithfully complied, showing a much more intelligent side than we’ve seen in then past.

But then we saw a completely different side; to wit, an impersonation of Mrs. Bennet by the newly introduced mimic character. Mr. Bennet got caught, and it looks like he’s going to be in some serious trouble.

2. The return of Simone Deveaux…

…but not really. This was the mimic at work again. Taunting poor Isaac with a double of the woman he loved, which is perhaps part of what caused…

3. The return of heroin
For Isaac once again descends into the depths of drug addiction this week as he paints the death of another hero.

4. The return of Jessica
The kinder, gentler alter-ego manages to sneak out a bit this week. She warns her husband, D.L., that something isn’t right, and she keeps control long enough to warn Nathan Petrelli that Linderman knows everything.

We finally meet Linderman this week, played by prolific actor Malcolm McDowell, who–trivia you’ll only find here–played as Roarke on a Fantasy Island (the newer series, not the old one) episode entitled none other than… “Heroes!”

5. The return of the sword

In one of the earliest episodes we see future-Hiro with a mythical sword. Now, that foreshadowing has finally come to pass. And with it, we see the return of Hiro’s powers! But he would have been hard-pressed to get his hands on the sword if not for …

6. The return of Ando!

Yes, Hiro’s friend would not abandon him, even when Hiro asked it. Instead, the wise Ando became a guard at Linderman’s casino, knowing it was only a matter of time until Hiro set off an alarm. To escape, Hiro uses his rediscovered powers and takes us Back to the Future!

7. The return of the Future

…only this time, there’s no Michael J. Fox. Instead, we see a bleak, post-bomb New York. Is it too late for Hiro and the rest to prevent this tragedy? Perhaps, for we have also seen…

8. The return of Sylar!

Much like his father, Mohinder was smart enough to suss out Sylar, but too obsessed to watch him closely enough. Sylar used some vestige of his power to turn off the curare IV drip, thereby unparalyzing himself and his powers. He then pinned Mohinder bloodily and dramatically to the ceiling, where he was able to whisper a single-word warning to Peter Petrelli as he entered the apartment.

I, like the show, will leave you hanging with the incredibly tense face-off between Sylar and Peter, with blood dripping from Peter’s head as Sylar’s psychic saw blade whirs away.

(Unlike the show, however, I will be back next week, with reviews on more of the avalanche of material they’re providing at the website with the online graphic novel and more!)

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I’m just old enough to remember the original series.  It does, believe it or not, come on in the wee hours of the morning on YTV I believe.  Ah the 60s cartoon, the theme song, ah the memories.  Regardless great news here:

Spider-Man swings back into television action in early 2008 as an animated series from Culver Entertainment to air on Kids’ WB! on The CW, it was announced by Kids’ WB! Senior Vice President and General Manager Betsy McGowen and Sony Pictures Television Co-President Zack Van Amburg.
Source: Marvel Announces New Spider-Man Cartoon! - Forever Geek

I hope this one is better than the Fantatic Four that’s out now.  Man I wanted to like it, but it just doesn’t thrill me.  I also hope that it comes to YTV since I don’t have any WB channels on my cable system.

Any of you remember all the Spidey appearances on Electric Company?  Yes, when Morgan Freeman was on the show.

Yes, I’m old.

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