Strangers and Aliens: Science Fiction & Fantasy from a Christian Perspective
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TERRA NOVA Is Dead! Long Live TERRA NOVA!
Terra Nova has been cancelled by Fox. No surprise there. It’s an ambitious, high concept sci-fi show about time travel and dinosaurs. It was a big budget version of Land of the Lost, or a family friendly hybrid of Jurassic Park and Lost in Space. And Fox is legendary among geeks for greenlighting interesting sci-fi…
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Zombies as Walking Blasphemies
Zombies (both classic and modern, and if you don’t know the difference, please listen to our show) can be seen as types of blasphemies. Think about it for a second: the one thing God made in His image* becoming soulless and dead, but animated as if they were alive, in direct mockery of His creation.…
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My Mount Rushmore of Sci-fi TV
My Mount Rushmore of Sci-fi TV celebrates the man himself, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, The Twilight Zone, X-Files,and the often overlooked Farscape. MY RUSHMORE FOUR: Star Trek:The Next Generation- Picard rocks my face off! The Borg is scary as all get out. Data kicks tail. Worf makes me laugh. And the Holodeck makes my imagination go into fits…
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Episode 11 — “Zombies!!!”
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSSWe’re back for a new episode! This time: zombies. The sci-fi guys examine The Walking Dead and the zombie phenomenon. Do zombie stories have something to say about modern life? Or are they just gory thrills? Or both? The conversation goes from the beginnings of the zombie genre…
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REVIEW: Awake pilot episode
Tonight, NBC premiere’s a new police procedural with a sci-fi/fantasy twist. And it’s awesome. The premise: a man is in a car accident with his wife and son and finds himself straddling two worlds. In one, his son lived. In the other, his wife lived. Whenever he falls asleep in one world, he wakes up…
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RANKINGS: Top 10 Time Travel Movies of All Time (#1)
Muppets’ Christmas Carol (1992) Kermit and the gang play the ensemble cast to the famous story of Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine). This is one of the most famous stories ever written and this version is the best in my opinion. Before Back to the Future was even conceived this classic story had Scrooge visiting his…
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Episode 10 — “Strangers and Alienation: Interview with Jon S. Lewis”
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSSThis episode is a very special episode, as author Jon S. Lewis joins Ben and Steve for a discussion about his C.H.A.O.S. series of novels (especially the most recent book Alienation), his comic book work, and what he geeks out about. Find out what geeky toy he and…
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NEW POLL: Star Trek Captains
It’s an age-old question. Well, maybe not “age-old”. But it’s been a question since at least 1987, when Star Trek spawned a sequel TV series. Who is the best Star Trek captain? Usually, the question centers around the first two: who is better, Kirk or Picard? Dr. Jayce and Ben haven’t come to blows about…
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THOUGHT CLOUDS: Dark Matter (Comic Review)
DARK MATTER Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, writers; Garry Brown, artist As you may probably know if you are familiar with the podcast, I write comic books. I also read them. If you’ve listened to the podcast, you also know I am a fan of the Stargate franchise. All of the series. So, by proxy, that…
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SCI-FI/FANTASY FOR KIDS: The Secret World of Arrietty
My kids and I are huge fans of Studio Ghibli. I love almost everything that I have seen from them, and my kids adore My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio. I would compare the studio to PIXAR, perhaps, and the primary force behind their output over the past decades…
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RANKINGS: Top 10 Time Travel Movies of All Time (#2)
Back to the Future (1985) Marty Mcfly (Michael J. Fox), Travels back in time and accidentally alters the natural timeline that directly impacts him and his family. He must right his wrongs, before he ceases to exist. When: 1955 & 1985 Best part: Mcfly and his rock and roll moments were worth the entire price…
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Nerdy Twitter spat
Okay, I’ll admit it here…I’m a grammar nerd. And I found this hilarious: The Nerdiest Lovers’ Spat Twitter Has Ever Seen
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Episode 9 — “Sci-Fi TV: Cancelled Too Soon”
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS “Take my love, take my land Take me where I cannot stand I don’t care, I’m still free You can’t take the sky from me . . .” But you CAN take away my favorite TV show! It happens to every fan of fantasy or sci-fi. The…
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NEWS: Terry Brooks’ Landover Coming to the Big Screen!
According to Variety, Terry Brooks’ non-Shanarra fantasy series is in development for the big screen. I liked the Shanarra series, but after reading Lord of the Rings Shanarra was a world I never wanted to go back to, even with the implications that while Middle-Earth is from pre-history, Shannarra might be . . . not.…
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RANKINGS: Top 10 Time Travel Movies of All Time (#3)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996) Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise must travel back in time to defeat their arch nemesis (The Borg), from wreaking havoc on Earth in the past. When: 24th Century & 2063 Best part: Picard going all James “Tommy Gun” Cagney on the Borg. Worst part: That it had…
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Episode 8 — “Big Mike vs. the Podcast”
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSS For this episode of the podcast, Strangers and Aliens is proud to present an interview with a special guest: Mark Christopher Lawrence. Known for playing Big Mike on Chuck, Mr. Lawrence took some time to talk with Ben and Dr. Jayce, giving us a revelation about Chuck’s…
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VIDEO: Superbowl Sci-Fi commercials!
The Superbowl is IN Indiana. But I honestly couldn’t care less than I actually do. I have no dog in this pony show. But. It’s a big event for commercials. All types of commercials. Especially for big budget movies. When you spend hundreds of millions of dollars to make a movie, you need eyeballs to…
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RANKINGS: Top 10 Time Travel Movies of All Time (#4)
Groundhog Day (1993) Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is an egomaniac who just happens to also be a weather man from Pittsburgh. He ends up in a small town covering a story he loathes-the annual Groundhog Day event. Connors is a self-focused jerk who wants to get out of small town, USA ASAP, but he finds…
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Episode 7 — “Sci-Fi Vs. Fantasy”
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadSubscribe: RSSThe sci-fi guys are back. In this, the seventh episode of the podcast, they dive into the differences and similarities of the science fiction and fantasy as genres. Is it as simple as “swords” instead of “lasers”? What kinds of stories work better in one genre, rather than…
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RANKINGS: Top 10 Time Travel Movies of All Time (#5
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Arnold returns in the 2nd (and best) installment of the Terminator franchise, but rather than being the baddy, Arnold is the protector of John Conner. When: 2029 & 1991 Best part: Robert Patrick is perfect as the T-1000. He is creepy, cold, and seemingly unstoppable. Worst part: T3 See…
Got any book recommendations?