#scottsfab50. A 50 day exercise in thankfulness. Day 42. 42. The answer to the ultimate question of Life, The Universe & Everything. If you think Ive gone completely around the bend, then youve obviously never read/listened to/seen The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Adams creation is one of the high water marks of not only comedy, but of science fiction & fantasy. And thats what Im thankful for today: the authors, filmmakers, and other creators who take us somewhere else through the magic of SciFi & Fantasy. Geek note: yes, I know there are specific genre distinctions that can be made, but for the sake of not bogging down in hair-splitting, I will use the all-encompassing label: SF. Can stand for many genres and sub-genres. Im using it as shorthand for the literature of the fantastic. My love of all things SF goes wayyyy back.I was one of the only kids to know that OZ came from books! I devoured the writings of Ray Bradbury. Delved into HG Wells. Was fortunate enough to be introduced to the War of the Worlds radio broadcast at a young age. I remember watching reruns of the 1960s Irwin Allen productions: Time Tunnel, Land of the Giants, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and of course, Lost in Space. Of course, that was also when the miracle of reruns introduced me to Star Trek. I was hooked. I have great memories of watching Science Fiction Theater with Dad Piehler. Hes also responsible for my love of monster movies. I grew up with The Six Million Dollar Man, Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, even Bill Bixbys Incredible Hulk. Dr. Who is all the rage now. When I was in high school, PBS picked up the BBC import. I got to know The 4th Doctor, the irrepressible Tom Baker. Loved every minute of it. Every so often, Television goes through an SF phase. Were in one now, with a little more emphasis on fantasy than science. Once Upon A Time. Arrow. Flash. Gotham. Constantine. And the show thats raised the fantasy bar higher than ever: Game of Thrones. A few years back, The X-Files was the centerpiece of a SF revival. It comes and goes. But with the geek apparently inheriting the Earth, it seems to be staying. Dr. Who is hip. Reading comics is accepted. SF rules the box office. Our sitcoms celebrate geek culture: Big Bang Theory anyone? And we have reality shows that celebrate the wizards behind the magic, like Face Off. I think my love affair with SF stems from my love of the questions What if? Why not? and Wouldnt it be cool if? Always looking for a way to make things better. SF predicts the future, and often quite well. Of course, in 1977, everything exploded. Star Wars changed the game. What was a niche genre was now front-and-center. I was in heaven. But there is a downside: too many people think its all about special effects and gee-whiz action. The best of SF is so much more. Sometimes, when we wrap a story in the fabric of A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, we can more comfortably examine touchy subjects. Star Trek has always been brilliant at that. The episode Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, with Frank Gorshin as as a half-black, half white alien, locked in mortal combat with his half-white, half black adversary may be the best take ever on the insanity of racism. The recent reboot of Battlestar Galactica was an incredible examination of the post-9/11 reality we live in. Person of Interest is startling in its accurate prediction of 24/7 surveillance. Even a supposed kids entertainment: Wall-E. Yeah, it was cute. But underneath the Disney/Pixar veneer lies a savage indictment of American consumer culture. The all-time champ for using fantasy to examine our foibles? For my money: Twilight Zone. In my opinion, still the best written show in the history of television. And such a masterful exploration of the human condition. Folks have sometimes asked What does Tamar think of all this? I dont know, youll have to ask her. Shes right next to me, devouring the same shows and movies. In fact, on Friday, March 31, 1995 we were on the couch. Tamar was very pregnant. She turned to me and said Its time. I said Shall we go to the hospital? She said Lets wait until The X-Files is over. Im a lucky guy. Amanda has the family taste for fantasy. She is one of J.K. Rowlings children, growing up alongside Mr. Potter and his classmates. She has a taste for dystopian novels like The Hunger Games. And the whole family has been trying to figure out how to visit Pandora, the setting of the movie Avatar. So, Im thankful to be living in an era dominated by SF. I imagine it will contract soon. The signal to noise ratio is getting a bit out-of-whack these days. But, there are always great stories to be told. And SF will be there to tell them.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 01:44:45 +0000
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