I'm into sci-fi UFO

Went to a rather good science fiction exhibition at the British Library with my Dad last Bank Holiday weekend. We both really enjoyed it. I'd urge you to do the same if you're in the vicinity of Kings Cross/St Pancras, or even just contemplating a London visit. It's free and there's lots of literary works by sci-fi authors on display plus various exhibits etc...for instance, you can draw your own alien and listen to clips of Marvin the Paranoid android * and HG Wells.

Talking of sci-fi you'll have no doubt observed that I have written/posted precisely nothing re: the brand new series of Doctor Who. I'm behind again, yes, I know. Work busyness and all has precluded it...story of my life. Anyway once this Saturday's final-cliffhanging-episode-until-the-show-comes-back-in-the-Autumn is over, I shall endeavour to write something. What I can admit to already though is an overarching feeling of disappointment with the series so far. The fact is, I'm becoming more and more hard to please, but the quality of the stories seems to be declining. Or is just my old age? (I actually whacked on my DVD of "The Hand of Fear" recently, partly to commemorate Lis Sladen's passing but it also to fulfil my yearning for old style "Who"...and I preferred it!) However I do have fairly high hopes about tomorrow's episode - apparently there's a mega-revelation in store regarding River Song's identity and we also get to find out about Amy's "baby". And the Cybermen are back. And the Silurians. And the "eye-patch" lady, aka Francis Barber, gets a starring role. Mmmm not too much to fit into one episode is it? Let's pray those hopes aren't dashed to dust...

Meanwhile to keep you going through the hiatus, I present you with this gem from .... Sir Clifford of Richard....yes his ode to Sci-fi...listen to the lyrics, they're actually rather witty/good! ** Just forgive the fact that the video seems to bear absolutely no relation to the song, but then it was the only clip on You Tube I could find....

Trust y'all are doing well....

OC xxx






* First prize to the first blogger who can explain who he is.
** Well, in my befuddled mind, any road.

Only a few hours to go ...

... until the return of a certain sci-fi television programme ... Yay! Yay! And yaaaay again!!

I still can't quite believe it.


But I've bought my Radio Times Dr Who special with it's preview of the new series and lots of other good stuff.

And for anyone who fancies a birrova preview, here's what we've got to look forward to ... SPOILER ALERT!! - don't read any further if you want to be kept entirely in the dark!

Episode 1 - The Eleventh Hour by Steve Moffat. In which the new Dr meets new Earth companion Amy Pond by crash-landing in her back garden. She's got a crack (say nothing) in her bedroom wall which is far more dangerous than she could ever realise ... Amy also sports a rather fetching policewoman's uniform in this episode, but the shortness of her skirt has led to speculation that it's a fancy dress outfit rather than the uniform of her true profession i.e. she works as a kissogram. Mmm a bit trivial and daft for an assistant, anyone?

Episode 2 - The Beast Below by Steven Moffat. The Dr takes Amy to the far future - where British people are adrift among the stars on board a giant spaceship, Starship UK (sounds like a 1970s style dance troupe - will Sarah Brightman be there??). Features some new creatures called the Smilers whose image belies their true intentions ... Moffat likes coming up with seemingly innocuous but nasty aliens - remember the clockwork dolls in "The Girl in the Fireplace"?

Episode 3 - Victory of the Daleks by Mark Gattis. I've got to say, I wish they'd knock the Daleks on the head once and for all - it's been serious overkill as far as the evil pepper pots are concerned, with them springing up in every single season of the nu-Who so far. Give it a rest, dudes! However the fact that Mark Gattis has penned this episode bodes well - he wrote what were for me two of the best episodes from previous seasons - "The Unquiet Dead" (Charles Dickens in Cardiff and body-possessing gaseous aliens) and "The Idiot's Lantern" (Maureen Lipman as a 1950s upper crust television continuity announcer, in reality an alien that sucks the life force of human beings through the telly) so I hope this provides more of the same. Set in World War 2 Britain (the obligatory historical story then) and featuring none other than Sir Winston Churchill. Apparently it gives a new slant to the Daleks by having them as "goodies"! Patriotic pepper pots, then?

Episodes 4 and 5 - The Time of Angels / Flesh and Stone by Steven Moffat. Featuring the return of those nastily effective stone monsters from "Blink", the Weeping Angels - except this time, there's only one of their number left, but it's still wreaking havoc. Expect more "Don't blink" stuff on the card then, plus, the return of .... Professor River Song, played by the gorgeous Alex Kingston and first seen in last season's "Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead". This should make for very interesting stuff indeed, not least the Dr-River reunion. In the previous story, the Dr met River for the very first time, whereas she already knew him, having encountered him in his future! Oh, and apparently they also got married. So it looks as though the up-and-coming episodes are going to feature this first meeting ... and romance?? ... Can't wait.

Episode 6 - Vampires in Venice by Toby Whithouse. Featuring some young girlies who are also blood-sucking vampires. Why is it that Venice is always the setting for nasty stuff? (See films like "Don't Look Now", etc) "School Reunion", the Sarah-Jane and K9 return story of Season 3, and one of my personal faves, was also penned by Whithouse, so with a decent writer at the helm, this one looks promising.

Episode 7 - Amy's Choice by Simon's Nye. Is that anything like "Sophie's Choice" then? In this one, it's five years on from when Amy travelled with the Doc, and she's now preggers. Apparently she is faced with "a heartbreaking choice that will change her life forever". Mmm, I wonder what that could be?

Episodes 8 and 9 - As yet untitled - by Chris Chibnall. Mr Chibnal was actually responsible for what I thought were some of the worst episodes of "Torchwood", so I hope he fares better here. Set on Earth of 2015, not very far into our future then ... and an ambitious drilling project is under way. Dr Nasreen Chaudry (played by Meera Syall) and her team have reached 21 kilometres into the Earth's crust - but something is stirring far below. Could it be the Silurians?? Or even the Sea Devils?? Yes rumour strongly has it that these creatures of yore are back, and if you watch one of the new season trailers, there's a glimpse of some monsters in there that look remarkably similar ...

Episode 10 - As yet untitled - by Richard Curtis. Yes, the writer of "Blackadder" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" contributes an episode. Featuring none other than oddball Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and set in Provence! The obligatory "Dr meets famous historical figure from the past" story - in addition to Winston C's appearance in Episode 3, of course. Will Vincent cut off his ear to save the human race?

Episode 11 - Untitled again! - by Gareth Roberts.
Featuring man of the moment, James Corden. Erm, this one is about a flat share - I kid you not. Apparently people on Aickman Road are vanishing and there's a staircase that people walk up but never down! Sounds a bit silly, but let's wait and see ... could this be the "Dr Lite episode" we usually get once a season?

Episodes 12 and 13 - Untitled again - by Steven Moffat. Just as Russell T Davies used to do, the Moffster has penned the season finale. The Radio Times blurb reads: "A message on the oldest cliff face in the universe, a puzzle box opening from the inside and a love that lasts thousands of years. The fates are drawing close around the Tardis - is this the day the Doctor falls?" Mmm, quite intriguing sounding. Not sure who the villains will be in this one, but I can reveal it includes Stonehenge and also that River Song pops up again!

And that's it ... all very exciting stuff!

Erm, a few other fings to mention:

- The Dr gets a new TARDIS this season, owing to the fact that the old one is well and truly wrecked (remember it blowing up in "The End of Time"?) This includes a brand new console room complete with walkway, console, etc.

- Looks like the Cybermen are back too, owing to some glimpses we got of the metal men in another trailer.

Finally, after all previous moans about RTD, it's going to be very interesting indeed to see the new direction Who takes under Steven Moffat. We're very shortly going to find out ... !!

Have you ever had it blue?

Well, you probably ARE blue, if you come from the planet Pandora.

Last night I went to see Avatar. Yes, it's only taken me about two months to get round to seeing it (as someone has already said to me) but then I find it hard getting the time to do these kind of things sometimes ...

I didn't see the 3D version but it was still pretty impressive in its "flatscreen" version I think ...

The good stuff:

1. Totally lush and mesmerising visuals, particularly the amazing phosphorescent flora and fauna on the planet. I loved all of the alien creatures too - the rhino-like things, the eagle-like birds - some nice, some scarey. The whole look and culture of the planet was very well done - the mark of a good sci-fi movie (it's been several decades since the polysterene rocks of Star Trek).
2. The alien race, the Na'vi, looked amazing too, even if they were obviously digital creations, though having said that, did you know that the facial expressions of the original actors were moulded onto the animations? That was probably why they actually looked very realistic ... and human. I loved their big emotional eyes and there were some wonderful nuances in their facial moements/expressions. The culture of the Na'vi was also very well presented, with their own language (created from a vocabulary of about 1,000 words apparently) and spiritual way of life.
3. The lead guy, Jake Skully (I liked the way the aliens pronounced his name) was convincing and sympathetic, even though I don't really know who Sam Worthington is. I liked the spiritual journey he underwent throughout the movie - by the end he was (literally) a different being.
4. Great to see old sci-fi stalwart Sigourney Weaver back on the scene (well, James Cameron directed her in Aliens) ... and considering it's been 31 years since the original Alien, she still looks pretty good.
5. The allegorical stuff worked well on the whole and wasn't dealt with in too heavy-handed a fashion, considering this was still a Hollywood movie (one race wanting to wipe out another race in the name of gaining something valuable; understanding and learning from other cultures; the destruction of the environment, etc etc). The scene when the Earth security torpedo and destroy Hometree (the home of one of the Na'vi clan) was gripping and horrible to watch - the poor, helpless Na'vi having their dwelling place destroyed and trying to fight back against technology and firepower with mere bows and arrows, and the brutality of the attack, made for very disturbing viewing. It made me think about all other instances of war, when we never consider that the "enemy" we are obliged to destroy are actually living beings. What gives us the right to take away others' lives? Gosh, I'm getting all heavy now.

The not so good stuff:
1. It was very long, clocking in at nearly 3 hours. I didn't realise this until I'd bought the ticket. James Cameron seems to go in for long epics (e.g. Titanic). Fortunately this seemed like quite a well-paced 3 hours, so it could have worse, even if my bum was rather numb by the end.
2. There was some predictable Hollywood stuff - the main villain, Colonel Quaritch, was a real stereotypical meanie, though I did like the face-off between him and Scully at the end, with Quaritch in his giant "robot" body suit (very similar to the one Ripley wore in "Aliens" though and probably loads of other sci-fi stuff that's been on in the interim).
3. During some of the fight/action sequences, the camera moved around too quickly for me, so much so that you couldn't always see what was going on - too blurry and fast to follow!

On balance then, this was imaginative, thought-provoking, visually stunning, well-acted and moving. Maybe not a total masterpiece but very good sci-fi. 4 out of 5.