Strangers and Aliens: Science Fiction & Fantasy from a Christian Perspective

Episode 25 — “Great Pre-Star Wars Sci-Fi Movies”

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In this latest episode of the show, Ben, Dr. Jayce, and Steve discuss their favorite sci-fi and fantasy movies from before Star Wars changed science fiction and fantasy cinema forever!

What will they choose?

What movie will make Dr. Jayce completely disown you if you like it?

And will Ben or Steve be cast off into the darkness by Dr. Jayce for picking it?

Do our favorites match up with yours? Do you disagree with any we included? Did we miss any? Let us know about it! E-mail us at podcast@strangersandaliens.com or by using our contact form here.

We also open up the mailbag with some favorite movies from Facebook friends and Twitter followers!

Here is the Twilight Zone edit of Planet of the Apes: http://theforbidden-zone.com/media/tzone.shtml

Here is the link to Audible that we mentioned: http://audibletrial.com/strangers (Remember, signing up for a free one month trial, which gets you a free audio book that you can keep forever, ALSO helps Strangers and Aliens!)

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8 responses to “Episode 25 — “Great Pre-Star Wars Sci-Fi Movies””

  1. dmattingly Avatar
    dmattingly

    A few movies that I like that got left off the group’s lists:

    * Them and King Kong, although a similar monster movie was included.

    * Fantastic Voyage, although a size-related movie was included.

    * A Clockwork Orange

    * 2,000 Leagues Under the Sea

    And one of the more obscure:
    * Five Million Years to Earth (also called Quatermass and the Pit), in which we discover that Martians experiemented on early humans. I found it to be an interesting way to tie in many legends and ideas.

    Reply
  2. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    King Kong was cut from my list, along with Clockwork Orange . . . although, considering the reaction to my last pick I’m glad I didn’t bring it up!

    2,000 Leagues Under the Sea didn’t make my list, but I did consider it.

    I have to say, I have never seen Them OR Fantastic Voyage! I really want to see Fantastic Voyage, I just haven’t had the time (nor have I found it in a convenient place yet).

    Reply
  3. cleireac Avatar
    cleireac

    Incidentally, my audio review of Metropolis is in the newest Spirit Blade Underground podcast! W00t!

    Reply
    1. Ben Avatar
      Ben

      It was pretty good! I’ll link to it in the show notes here when I get a chance. Fits nicely with what we were saying about “knowing what came before”. In fact, you and Paeter say almost exactly what I was saying about 2001, about this movie.

      Reply
  4. cleireac Avatar
    cleireac

    It’s in my queue to listen to (I’m currently listening to this episode now), so it’ll be interesting to see what Paeter has to say about it.

    Reply
  5. Mike Poteet Avatar
    Mike Poteet

    You should do a whole episode sometime on how STAR WARS both saved and destroyed sf… I think I know what you mean, and I think I agree on both counts!

    I *loved* The Shrinking Man monologue! “That would preach,” as they say! No zero to God… awesome!

    Ben, I am totally in agreement with you about 2001. A film that not only must be reckoned with, but appreciated in multiple viewings over many years. I appreciate the way you nuanced your verdict of its message; I wish all Christians could approach sci-fi in that spirit – namely, we don’t have to agree with every facet of a book, movie, show, etc., in order to appreciate what it has to say, and then respond “yea” or “nay” or “yea-nay” (?!?) from a position of faith.

    Good episode, guys! And can’t wait to hear you chat DOCTOR WHO!

    Reply
    1. Ben Avatar
      Ben

      Maybe we will do that episode, Mike. There is a lot to chew on for how Star Wars changed sci-fi, for good and for ill.

      Reply
  6. Jeff Slemons Avatar
    Jeff Slemons

    I just finished listening to this podcast and once again I wished I could jump into the conversation at several junctures and set ya’ll straight. 😉 Anyhoo, presently at your local Walmart you can find some excellent 4 movie DVD collections put out by Turner Classic Movies. 2 of these are of the beloved Sci-fi genre and which showcase “Them”, “The Beast From 20K Fathoms”, “World W/o End”, “Satellite in the Sky”, “2001” ( Doc Chase’s guilty pleasure favorite), “The Time Machine”, “Forbidden Planet”, and one of my all time favs, the oh-so crunchy & delicious, “Soylent Green”. All this movie goodness for a mere $20. You can’t go wrong.

    Reply

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