The Fantasy/Scifi and other associated genres discussion thread

[Tidal]

'Stalker' is an interesting Russian-made sci-fi film with english subtitles but generally disappointed me.
On paper the plot sounds great (no spoiler alert needed) -- A meteor or alien craft crashlanded in a big city-sized industrial complex area in Russia a while back (months, years?), and the authorities have cordoned off the entire area with miles of barbed wire fence and armed guards.
Three pals decide to sneak into the area and investigate.
But sadly the director/scriptwriter has put lots of meaningless inane chat and psycho-babble into the pals mouths which bores my socks off, but luckily I can fast-forward my DVD to skip through that..
The best thing about the film for me is the sombre atmospheric setting of the derelict area under a grey overcast sky, cold, wet, damp etc.

Stalker (1979 film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Maes17]

'Stalker' is an interesting Russian-made sci-fi film with english subtitles but generally disappointed me.
On paper the plot sounds great (no spoiler alert needed) -- A meteor or alien craft crashlanded in a big city-sized industrial complex area in Russia a while back (months, years?), and the authorities have cordoned off the entire area with miles of barbed wire fence and armed guards.
Three pals decide to sneak into the area and investigate.
But sadly the director/scriptwriter has put lots of meaningless inane chat and psycho-babble into the pals mouths which bores my socks off, but luckily I can fast-forward my DVD to skip through that..
The best thing about the film for me is the sombre atmospheric setting of the derelict area under a grey overcast sky, cold, wet, damp etc.

Stalker (1979 film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

@Maes17
@Awoken2
@Cintra

are you three arseholes seeing this?

 

[AmazingGrace]

(Almost) the only show that I am looking forward to each year.

Who is your favorite character?

 

[Cintra]

@Maes17
@Awoken2
@Cintra

are you three arseholes seeing this?

He is upset because he can't get a stalker...

 

[Tidal]

I very much like 'Stargate Universe' the 40-episode US/Canadian TV series which first aired in 2009.
Amazingly I'd never heard of it until a couple of years ago after I accidentally saw a few episodes on youtube and got hooked, because apparently it never aired here on Brit mainstream TV, so I've bought the boxed DVD set..
The hook for me is that the show is intelligently scripted which puts it in a class of its own, and a major "attraction" is the ongoing rivalry between the two main characters control-freak Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira) and sly devious Professor Rush (Robert Carlyle) because both like to think they're in charge.
It seems the show was too intelligent for most people (especially kids), so viewing figures later dropped off; the producers later introduced CGI space battles to try to bring the kids back but that had the effect of making adult viewers lose interest..

SPOILER ALERT- At one point Rush tries to frame Young for murder, so as a reprisal Young beats the krap out of Rush and tries to maroon him on a hostile planet, ah, they don't make leading characters like that any more..

Stargate Universe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Below: Rush (left) and Young glaring daggers at each other as usual-

 

[Cintra]

I very much like 'Stargate Universe' the 40-episode US/Canadian TV series which first aired in 2009.
Amazingly I'd never heard of it until a couple of years ago after I accidentally saw a few episodes on youtube and got hooked, because apparently it never aired here on Brit mainstream TV, so I've bought the boxed DVD set..
The hook for me is that the show is intelligently scripted which puts it in a class of its own, and a major "attraction" is the ongoing rivalry between the two main characters control-freak Colonel Young and sly devious Professor Rush because both like to think they're in charge.

SPOILER ALERT- At one point Rush tries to frame Young for murder, so as a reprisal Young maroons Rush on a hostile planet, ah, they don't make leading characters like that any more..

Stargate Universe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It was shit, and they cancelled it.

 

[amaranthine]

Yes, and incidentally I heard somewhere that the trustees of Tolkiens estate refused to allow LOTR to be filmed for many years (i don't know why), but apparently they finally relented and allowed Jackson to do it.

I am still glad that the films were made as I did enjoy them very much. But when I think of the story I don't think about the film imagery at all whereas with my favorite film adaptations of books the imagery is added to my own.

 

[amaranthine]

Yeah, they really messed up earthsea.
I loved all three, (and now the later ones too) but that map in Atuan...
It really did it for me.

Yes. There is that aspect to Kushiel.
She is a masochist priestess/prostitute type character, and she gets willingly abused a lot, with some detailed description of these events.
If that is a problem then it is better not read them, but they are beautifully written books. Very unusual, great world building.

I picked the first one up from a library, didn't know about that aspect until I started reading, and didn't know how far it would go until I finished the trilogy. But tbh, The Story of O didn't bother me, so this didn't either.
And unlike O, this isn't just a masturbatory fantasy, it is a story with interesting and well realised characters.

I always meant to read the second trilogy, but I never got round to it.
Now its been so long I can't remember enough of the first.

The maps! I can get lost in those. Used to draw them when I was a kid.

Ok that doesn't sound too bad about Kushiel. I am too intrigued by the "unusual and great world building"!

 

[amaranthine]

I agree with every thing you say here.

I got it for christmas the year it was published. I wanted to like it so much.
But in the end it was a huge slog, and is every time I read it.
And after I read it, I forget it.
It won't stick in my mind properly.
Certain images do, but the narrative feels all broken up in my mind.

But yes! As background to LotR and world building, it can't be beaten.
And it did answer a lot of my nerd questions, like who the hell was Morgoth.

I think that it is best read in fragments as it is more of a history to LOTR instead of being its own work as a whole. Some passages are beautiful.

 

[amaranthine]

I very much like 'Stargate Universe' the 40-episode US/Canadian TV series which first aired in 2009.
Amazingly I'd never heard of it until a couple of years ago after I accidentally saw a few episodes on youtube and got hooked, because apparently it never aired here on Brit mainstream TV, so I've bought the boxed DVD set..
The hook for me is that the show is intelligently scripted which puts it in a class of its own, and a major "attraction" is the ongoing rivalry between the two main characters control-freak Colonel Young (Louis Ferreira) and sly devious Professor Rush (Robert Carlyle) because both like to think they're in charge.
It seems the show was too intelligent for most people (especially kids), so viewing figures later dropped off; the producers later introduced CGI space battles to try to bring the kids back but that had the effect of making adult viewers lose interest..

SPOILER ALERT- At one point Rush tries to frame Young for murder, so as a reprisal Young beats the krap out of Rush and tries to maroon him on a hostile planet, ah, they don't make leading characters like that any more..

Stargate Universe - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Below: Rush (left) and Young glaring daggers at each other as usual-

I am a huge fan of the original Stargate series, slightly campy but in a good way, warm, family friendly fun that is very well written, has memorable characters, great humor, interesting concepts... Haven't watched Universe yet though, had a bit of an aversion to it as the marketing maked it seem as an edgier SG for the Battlestar Galactica crowd.

 

[Cintra]

The maps! I can get lost in those. Used to draw them when I was a kid.

Ok that doesn't sound too bad about Kushiel. I am too intrigued by the "unusual and great world building"!

Me too!
I am disappointed if a fantasy book doesn't have a map.

I enjoyed Kushiel.
I found it unusual and original.
If you read them, I hope you enjoy them too.

 

[Tidal]

I very much like the 'Blakes Seven' 52-episode Brit sci-fi series made around 1980, I've got the DVD boxed set and have just finished binge-watching it all (again)..

Each episode is like a proper little film in its own right with fresh new story lines and guest characters each time.
Like Stargate Universe, the main characters (Blake and Avon) both like to think they're in charge but grudgingly try to work together.
After Blake left the show, Tarrant replaced him but Avon didn't like working with him either, for examp in this scene Avon disregards Tarrants suggestion and walks off to do his own thing-

Blake's 7 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[amaranthine]

'Stalker' is an interesting Russian-made sci-fi film with english subtitles but generally disappointed me.
On paper the plot sounds great (no spoiler alert needed) -- A meteor or alien craft crashlanded in a big city-sized industrial complex area in Russia a while back (months, years?), and the authorities have cordoned off the entire area with miles of barbed wire fence and armed guards.
Three pals decide to sneak into the area and investigate.
But sadly the director/scriptwriter has put lots of meaningless inane chat and psycho-babble into the pals mouths which bores my socks off, but luckily I can fast-forward my DVD to skip through that..
The best thing about the film for me is the sombre atmospheric setting of the derelict area under a grey overcast sky, cold, wet, damp etc.

Stalker (1979 film) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Agreed. I have watched almost every Tarkovsky movie, read his essays and all, but completely agree with you. The atmosphere is wonderful, mysterious, but Tarkovsky was kinda a pretentious dude too fixated on certain ideas. Prefer Strugatsky's book it was based on as well as the Stalker games.
Slavic scifi literature is pretty nice. I am quite a fan of Stanislaw Lem's The Invincible ( a pretty unsettling story of people exploring a planet that has that subliminal spooky alien vibe to it) of "The Voyages of Ijon Tichy".

 

[Tidal]

I am a huge fan of the original Stargate series, slightly campy but in a good way, warm, family friendly fun that is very well written, has memorable characters, great humor, interesting concepts... Haven't watched Universe yet though, had a bit of an aversion to it as the marketing maked it seem as an edgier SG for the Battlestar Galactica crowd.

I liked the original SG series too, but could never really get into anything else in the franchise that was tagged with the prefix 'Stargate'; they just never clicked with me, except for SG Universe of course..

PS- a show that doesn't click with me nowadays is Doctor Who, as it seems to be aimed more at kids, although I was a big fan of it in the 1960's / 70's, exemplified by this terrifying scene-

 

[amaranthine]

Me too!
I am disappointed if a fantasy book doesn't have a map.

I enjoyed Kushiel.
I found it unusual and original.
If you read them, I hope you enjoy them too.

Indeed! I have this old serbian print of The Lord of the Rings which had the most awesome and large folded map included that was separate from the book. Plus the art design is wonderful.

 

[Cintra]

Indeed! I have this old serbian print of The Lord of the Rings which had the most awesome and large folded map included that was separate from the book. Plus the art design is wonderful.

View attachment 61018View attachment 61019View attachment 61020

Can you read Serbian?
Are you Serbian? (If that's not too personal)

 

[amaranthine]

I very much like the 'Blakes Seven' 52-episode Brit sci-fi series made around 1980, I've got the DVD boxed set and have just finished binge-watching it all (again)..

Each episode is like a proper little film in its own right with fresh new story lines and guest characters each time.
Like Stargate Universe, the main characters (Blake and Avon) both like to think they're in charge but grudgingly try to work together.
After Blake left the show, Tarrant replaced him but Avon didn't like working with him either, for examp in this scene Avon disregards Tarrants suggestion and walks off to do his own thing-

Blake's 7 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Hehe yeah my mum and dad keep talking about this show. They used to watch it with their families when they were kids. There is something really nice about the old format of a single episode stories that are like a small film. I miss that nowadays when everything has to have this grand arc from beginning to the end.

 

[amaranthine]

Can you read Serbian?
Are you Serbian? (If that's not too personal)

I am Slovenian, but Serbian is really similar so with a bit of trouble I could read it. However this is a copy that my mum and dad read, as in former Yugoslavia almost everyone spoke serbo-croatian as well. I read in english but the serbian translation is wonderful.

 

[Tidal]

Speaking of maps, this one came with the 'War of the Ring' boardgame which I owned in the 1970's.
Each character / group / army etc was represented by a small cardboard counter, and you had to try moving your band of heroes from the Shire (top left) all the way to Mordor (bott right), and there were assorted dice-throws and random cards etc to help or hinder their progress, there was even Gollum to contend with..-

 

[Maes17]

Indeed! I have this old serbian print of The Lord of the Rings which had the most awesome and large folded map included that was separate from the book. Plus the art design is wonderful.

View attachment 61018View attachment 61019View attachment 61020

That’s pretty cool