Doctor Who's latest season comes to a close, and why sci-fi is wrong (and that's wrong, too)
I have to say that while the method the Doctor uses to escape yet again and live to fight more Daleks another day was reminiscent of what a lot of fans disliked in "The Sound of Drums/The Last Time Lord" from the David Tennant era, this one... worked better, somehow. There didn't appear to be any indication of what the Christmas special might be, at least, not in the same tantalizing manner as has happened before. The Doctor may have outlined something that could be a plot, but it didn't sound terribly intriguing. But my favorite thing, I think, is a payoff to all of those statements that Matt Smith's Doctor has been making regarding the coolness of bow ties.
It did leave open some questions, though as with anything in regards to Doctor Who continuity, the best answer is probably "timey-wimey." In short, I'm curious to know if everything is back to normal, or if whole swaths of events were un-done. Ah, well, I suppose it'll depend on what the next script needs to say happened. :)
Which brings us to science fiction and the age-old argument of what sci-fi gets wrong and why what you thought was wrong was wrong, too. I'm reminded of a quote from Isaac Asimov: "Predicting the future is a hopeless, thankless task, with ridicule to begin with and, all too often, scorn to end with." What does he know, anyway? His stories never predicted video games or mp3 players (I keed, I keed). And he's right, though that's not what I've loved about science fiction. Very often, the stuff that's pointed to as "wrong" isn't the point; the writer is hopefully trying to tell a story that uses some fantastical or near-future idea as a way to say something we'd either ignore or scoff at even more were it set in "real life." It's how shows about racism, gender relations, and a lot of other social commentary got in under the radar when such topics were taboo elsewhere. I can still enjoy many older stories, even though the pinnacles of technology sometimes involve vacuum tubes and spools of magnetic tape.
But sci-fi lends itself to media spectacle, and there's really no getting around that. Science fiction allowed things like Michael Bay's "Transformers" movies to happen, because while nerds have been preaching to everyone that sci-fi is cool, a lot of people stopped paying attention when the robots, explosions, and pleasure domes were trotted out. Occasionally you can get kerblooie, sex, and a decent science fiction tale in a film (I'm thinking of stuff like "Robocop"), though it's hard to pull off effectively (and we get "Starship Troopers").
Then there's the realms of theoretical science that allow for just about anything if you work at it hard enough, to the point where you can have "magic" in a show and it's still presented as science, like H.P. Lovecraft's non-Euclidian geometries and Doctor Who's words as magic/science. As we start to find out that the universe is a pretty weird place, I wonder if future generations will view Douglas Adams' work as some kind of prophetic treatise rather than humor?
But the whole hard vs. soft science thing is probably more academic. I've read both kinds of stories and I've liked and hated them in equal measure. One can dislike it when a "serious" story starts pulling out more (tvtropes.org link warning) black box devices than the whole of "Star Trek" and its spinoffs, but I can say it's equally hard to slog through an author who is giving me a chapter detailing oribital mechanics when "the ship left Earth for Mongo" would have sufficed.
And as I approach my own projects, I just strive to not break my own rules. If Element X always produces green-skinned mutants, I'm going to kick myself if I make it create a purple one down the road. I don't ever want a "Nitpicker's Guide to junk what Aaron made," though if there was, it would mean I had a bit larger impact than I'd planned. :)
Turning to my own projects, I'm having a ball with ps238 #46, because I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have Zodon and Victor Von Fogg verbally sparring while trying to keep their evil schemes from being discovered and undone. A friend of mine thinks a Zodon-oriented TV show would be hilarious (still keeping the other hero kids around to get in his way), and I have to say I'm finding it hard to disagree. In this issue, Zodon's also getting to be a master manipulator of his fellow students, managing to get several of them to actually help him take on Victor's latest master plan. He's just so Machiavellian that I'm starting to wonder if, were it not for wanting a career involving word balloons and punchlines, there's a part of me that wouldn't now be building a giant ray gun and demanding early copies of "Portal 2" or something or the moon gets vaporized?
Speaking of vaporization, where'd the last hour go? Ah, here:
- Catalog Living is a tumblr site featuring photos from catalogs and captions below them cluing us in to just how silly they are.
- I think this is a cynical attempt by George Lucas to redeem Episode III... and I like it better, now.
- And speaking of "Star Wars," the guy who made the "Iron Baby" clip has made AT-AT Day Afternoon. Now I want a pet Imperial death machine...
- I have to admit I was intrigued: Can you detect brainwaves in lime Jell-O? If so, can it be used to quell a zombie uprising?
- Another game sequel, but it's pretty challenging Perfect Balance 3. Not only do you win for balancing all of the shapes in each level, sometimes you get bonuses for pulling off challenging placements.
- Now a new generation will be introduced to Mr. Las Vegas, as Wayne Newton will be in Fallout: New Vegas, complete with his own radio station. The article is kind of harsh about his photo but... well... kind of...
- You kids think your movies are all that and a bag of chips with your special effects and your green screens. Back in our day, we had to hand stitch our entertainment, and we liked it that way!
- Stephanie Meyers says burned out on vampires. I'm guessing that vampires might have something similar to say, but that's just a guess on my part.
- A fan-made "King's Quest" game has been given the go-ahead by Activision and will be released in episodes for free starting July 10.
- We'll close with a pair of flash games: If you like nigh-impossible pixel-platformers, here's 60 Seconds to Save the Queen. If you want a relaxing point-n-click adventure, here's Easy Joe.