gagglefrak - science fiction blog

Simon Pegg (of Shaun of the Dead and Spaced fame) has a little something to say about zombies. Okay, he has a LOT to say about zombies. In particular, why he believes “fast zombies” are a cheat, and why a certain 80s pop star is to blame. In what is ostensibly a review of the British mini-series Dead Set (which finished airing on October 31st), he talks about the history of zombies in movies, where George Romero originally got his inspiration, and how the Dead Set series measures up to what has come before. It’s a well-written and thoughtful essay/review from somebody who is clearly a diehard fan of the genre.

“If you’re careful, if you keep your wits about you, you can stave [zombies] off, even outstrip them — much as we strive to outstrip death. Drink less, cut out red meat, exercise, practice safe sex; these are our shotguns, our cricket bats, our farmhouses, our shopping malls. However, none of these things fully insulates us from the creeping dread that something so witless, so elemental may yet catch us unawares — the drunk driver, the cancer sleeping in the double helix, the legless ghoul dragging itself through the darkness towards our ankles.”

No word yet about when we here in the States will get to see Dead Set for ourselves.

via AMC’s SciFi Scanner

Best-selling author, film producer, film director, TV director, and medical doctor Michael Crichton died unexpectedly yesterday at the age of 66, after a “courageous and private battle against cancer“.

I’d have a hard time believing that any science fiction fan out there hasn’t read at least one of Crichton’s novels, or at least seen one of the films based on his novels. Besides books, he also wrote and/or directed such classic movies as Coma (1978), The Great Train Robbery (1979), Runaway (1984), and one of my all-time favorites, Westworld (1973). Not to mention the long-running TV series, ER, which is wrapping things up this season after airing Thursday nights at 10pm on NBC for the past 14 years.

A thought-provoking writer with an uncanny sense for story, as well as a devoted family man, Michael Crichton’s contributions to the sci-fi/thriller genre over the past 40 years (that is, MY ENTIRE LIFETIME) are immeasurable, and he will be sorely missed.

Whedon’s latest TV project, Dollhouse, is still slated to premier in January. Here’s the latest trailer, which I think clarifies the basic premise, for those who still aren’t sure what the show is all about …

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our Founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.” - Barack Obama

Okay, so this isn’t really a political blog, it’s a sci-fi blog. And I’m not interested in arguing issues with anybody right now. But it occurred to me last night that part of what appeals to me about science fiction is seeing realized, even if only on paper or on a movie or TV screen, amazing things that I might never hope to see in my lifetime. And that it’s silly to ever say never.

A century ago, the Wright brothers had just figured out how to get a rickety one-man plane off the ground. The notion that millions of people each year might fly across the world every day in huge metal tubes … or that an airplane might fly faster than the speed of sound … or that something like an airplane might actually leave the Earth’s atmosphere and carry a man to the surface of the moon … these were pretty much considered ludicrous — the realm of science fiction.

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Personally, I think it’s kind of ridiculous that SO many movies are getting converted to musicals these days. For every Hairspray or The Producers, you’re just as likely to end up with the next Carrie or Lestat (both of which closed within a month of opening). And I bring up those last two examples up for a reason: because it seems especially unlikely that a musical based on a genre movie/novel should work at all.

So color me pleasantly surprised that when I saw The Toxic Avenger musical at the George Street Playhouse here in New Jersey this weekend, I pretty much LAUGHED MY ASS OFF. Obnoxiously so. And for all the right reasons — because it was actually good, not because it was laughably bad (refer back to Carrie). It really was a great show, even better than the Evil Dead musical that I saw and enjoyed the hell out of back in 2006.

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