Listen to Episode 99: Elevated Actors.
What’s that? Levitated actors? Well…it is the month of All Hallow’s Eve, and lots of people do like to experiment with the darker arts during this time of the year. It’s not all that difficult to imagine the Starbase crew gathering around the conference room table for a quick session of “Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board” before heading off for the…wait, what? Oh. Elevated actors. Right. Perhaps the Bajoran shouldn’t try to listen to the episode while still wearing ear plugs. It’s just…Dave does snore a bit loudly.
Anyway. As we were saying, the Starbase crew join together to summon the spirit of io9′s list of the 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Actors Who Make Everything Better. The resident Kanadian even makes a rare public appearance for this episode (we swear, he’s gone so Hollywood ever since that three-picture deal on the life and loves of Big Dawg).
First on the list, the crew spend a little time (and by a little, we really mean practically half of the episode) catching up with each other, traveling down tangential paths such as happenings at the September Toronto Meet-Up in which much is revealed, including secrets about the special guest, Jonathan Bloody Wilkinson, from The Greatest Events in Sporting History podcast and possible crimes committed on foreign soil by some from the American contingent.
(The Bajoran gives her word that she was on her best behavior while under the watchful eye of the Canadians. She cannot, however, vouch for her Beloved. But that’s a story for another podcast to tell.)
From there, Kennedy takes us on a tour of the genre movies that he’s seen recently and the one that gets his vote as best movie of the year and what gets his vote as meh movie of the year. He’s also been reading a lot of the comics from the recent DC Universe reboot. Which ones are worthy? Which ones are worthless? And which one does the Admiral want to check out without pants? (And, no, we’re not specifying which kind of pants…or who might be without them.)
The Bajoran then pulls a bit of a time-traveling trick by discussing her “recent” purchase of a book that she’s somehow already reviewed here at the Starbase blog. Rather than gushing discussing it even more, let’s simply enjoy this…random screen capture of Worf and a security detail:
Yep. Totally random. Just like this link to a random Twitter feed that we think you all should follow.
At this point, the Admiral goes all professor on listeners and actually gives a homework assignment. Of course, it’s fun homework in which he asks for horror movie recommendations (yes, we were shocked as well). The two most recommended movies will be chosen, viewed by all Starbase personnel, and then discussed for this year’s Halloween episode. So start your recommending, listeners!
Discussion switches to NASA’s announcement about how they’re going to get our asses to Mars. Maybe. By the 2030s. Possibly. If they don’t liquefy us first.
The Admiral and Kennedy then babble about some kind of Tribble-shitterific shared hallucination they’ve been having. The Bajoran missed this portion of the show due to unexpected lens flare-induced blindness. All was fine, however, by the time the conversation shifted to the Trek tease for the 2012 Bluray release of TNG in time for the imminent year-long 25th anniversary celebration.
We then launch into the heart of our topic, which the Admiral introduces in a rather…inimitable way. Who’s on the list? Who isn’t and should be? Could one of them be “a cock in a frock on a rock”? Or perhaps the sexily mustachioed man below?
You’ll just have to listen to find out.
Meanwhile, take a gander at this random and completely unrelated photo of the two Daxes trying their hardest to break the space-time continuum:
No, it really has nothing to do with this episode. This is just what happens when the Bajoran tries to write show notes at 1 in the morning. Enjoy.
Episode Log: Did Star Wars Ruin Science Fiction?
Listen to Episode 105: Did Star Wars Ruin Science Fiction?
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas ruined the science fiction genre.
At least that’s the argument put forth by Canadian science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer in a lecture he gave in February 2008 (you can listen to this lecture in its entirety here).
Hyperbolic posturing aside, does Sawyer have a point? Has Lucas weakened the foundation of our beloved science fiction genre through his hackneyed attempts at telling the same story over and over and over again? Or are there darker forces driving Sawyer’s animosity toward The Bearded One and his fractured intergalactic fairytales?
This week. the Admiral and Ro are joined by that Nerd Hurdlelicious duo, Jakob and Mandi, to tackle this Death Star-sized topic. First, however, all involved parties take a moment to praise the generosity of musical maestro Steven Cogswell, both for the listening pleasure and awesome (and sometimes strangely random) gifts he bestows upon us.
The Admiral then confronts Ro about her recent dalliance with another podcast! Seems that those smexy Starbase men simply weren’t scratching the Bajoran’s “ancient Greek mythology in leather and brass” itch…so she found a place where she was more than welcome to “battle on” in high warrior princess style. if you’re dying to hear even more of the belligerent Bajoran, head on over to Episode 14 of The Televerse. And if you’d like to listen to more delicious discourse on what’s hot and what’s not in the television world, join Kate and Simon as they take their listeners on a weekly tour of the Televerse!
Of course, as punishment for her straying from the Starbase, Ro must then listen as the Admiral goes through a litany of recently announced casting choices for the sequel to that Trek abomination from a few years ago. Oh, and hey guyz!! It’s gonna be in teh 3-Dz!!!111!!!! You know, just in case you wondered what the Cloverfield monster looked like in 3-D. Because you know it’s going to be in this movie. Somewhere. It is, after all, a movie brought to us by J.J. Abrams, MMD. Just try not to look directly at the screen through all the bajillion lens flares.
However, with names like Peter Weller and Benedict Cummerbund on the roster, Ro has envisioned a possibility that might even entice her to see this sequel…
Posted by starbase66 on January 23, 2012
http://starbase66.com/2012/01/23/episode-log-did-star-wars-ruin-science-fiction/