SF TV Episode Reviews: Space: 1999, episode 1, ‘Breakaway’ (1975)

/ Joachim Boaz / 13 Comments

Everyone!  I’ve decided to start a new series of posts!  An episode by episode log of my reactions (including, but not limited to rants, ravings, tangential ruminations, mutterings, and indecipherable utterances) to Space: 1999 (1975-1977).  I’ve never seen the show before and don’t have very high expectations.  But with 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired visuals and some 70s flare (see the hilarious costumes of the cast image below), how bad can it be? (haha).  A general naïveté (on my part)  Continue reading →

Update: Sci-fi about the social ramifications of overpopulation, a call for suggestions

/ Joachim Boaz / 9 Comments

    

I need reading suggestions.

After reading John Brunner’s Hugo winning masterpiece Stand on Zanzibar (1968) a few years back I became entranced by science fiction exploring social themes (intelligently) extrapolated from a future Earth condition of extreme overpopulation.  In the recent months I’ve read and reviewed a glut of similarly themed works of uneven quality.  Many of these works were inspired by Paul and Anne Ehrlich’s non-fiction The Population Bomb (1968) which warned of the mass starvation of humans in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of overpopulation. Continue reading →

Book Review: Earthworks, Brian W. Aldiss (1965)

/ Joachim Boaz / 6 Comments

3.5/5 (Average)

Brian Aldiss’ Earthworks (1965) takes place in a future Earth wrecked by the effects of overpopulation and the resulting environmental repercussions of intensive, expansive, and destructive over-farming.  In this disturbed world of increasing automation and devaluation of human life, robots are worth more than people and the hungry diseased hordes of mankind have reverted to Continue reading →

Update: Recent Science Fiction Acquisitions N. III

/ Joachim Boaz / 2 Comments

1. The Complete Stories of J. G. Ballard, J. G. Ballard (2009)

My girlfriend gave me this MASSIVE (1196 pages) newly released volume of all of Ballard’s short stories  (arranged in chronological order) for my birthday.  I’m extremely excited because I enjoyed my first Ballard work, High-Rise (1975).  Does anyone have a particular story which I should start with? Continue reading →

A Film Rumination: Transatlantic Tunnel (variant title: The Tunnel), Maurice Elvey (1935)

/ Joachim Boaz / 13 Comments

6.5/10 (Average)

Maurice Elvey’s Transatlantic Tunnel (1935) inhabits the forlorn ranks of seldom seen early science fiction films.  Is it a masterpiece of the genre?  No.  Is it worth watching for fans of early sci-fi?  Definitely!  The production value is remarkable (which surprised me) and a few scenes remain to this day awe-inspiring Continue reading →

A Film Rumination: Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl, Manoel de Oliveira (2009)

/ Joachim Boaz / Leave a comment

7.5/10 (Good)

The Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira is the oldest filmaker still making films — he’s 102 at the moment!  Even more surprising is the fact that his most productive years have come since the 1990s (often two films a year).  Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl (2009) is the first of his I’ve seen and won’t be my last.  Despite the fact that Eccentricities has its fair share of flaws it is a gorgeous and timeless tale Continue reading →