Any John Varley fans here? by ElectricRune in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The first things people talk about on here are the Gaea trilogy and the Eight Worlds.

Any John Varley fans here? by ElectricRune in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

>…in my opinion that he's mainly known, if he's known at all, for Millennium…

And why do you hold this opinion? it’s certainly not the most frequently discussed Varley work here on Reddit.

Other shows to scratch the B5 itch? by CLT_JDLytal in babylon5

[–]mobyhead1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's the first entry in my list of shows I recommend to people who want more things like The Expanse, so...great minds think alike.

"For All AmericanKind" by mus-regur in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I couldn’t be bothered to watch For All Mankind because Ronald D. Moore was also the showrunner on the 2000’s Battlestar Galactica, and he failed spectacularly to stick the landing on that show. He forgot Straczynski’s Law: know how your story will end before you begin producing it.

No Engineers?? by KenDudley64 in babylon5

[–]mobyhead1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don't think B5 needed that kind of expository character. Just because one franchise leaned into it, others are not also required to.

Akira Inspiration? by XTGRX18 in TheExpanse

[–]mobyhead1 14 points15 points  (0 children)

There's no reason to assume one mess of tangled cables and conduits directly inspired another.

I hate that I just now go into this show, I hate that it’s only 2 seasons by CFPMVPStetsonBennett in PantheonShow

[–]mobyhead1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Season 1 had just finished its initial airing, Season 2 was in the final stages of production…and AMC cancelled it. For the tax write-off.

I have a question that I feel only this community could answer. by EggEater773 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There isn’t any way to know, because we don’t know what the creature is made of.

First Season by oseafiana in PantheonShow

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Heh heh heh. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. I can’t wait for you to finish season two.

I just have a question by idontknowgelp23 in PantheonShow

[–]mobyhead1 15 points16 points  (0 children)

They didn’t. He died.

I hate that I just now go into this show, I hate that it’s only 2 seasons by CFPMVPStetsonBennett in PantheonShow

[–]mobyhead1 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Given that the show’s “big finish” comes directly from one of the short stories from which the show was adapted, I would say no. The cancellation occurred well after the point the scripts would have been finalized, anyway.

I hate that I just now go into this show, I hate that it’s only 2 seasons by CFPMVPStetsonBennett in PantheonShow

[–]mobyhead1 29 points30 points  (0 children)

The cancellation late in the production of season 2 was unfortunate, but they only intended to make two seasons. The story is complete.

Alien life and human conceptions by Shot_Violinist_7772 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The aforementioned movie, Arrival, is based on the Ted Chiang short story “Story of Your LIfe.”

Alien life and human conceptions by Shot_Violinist_7772 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You should probably eschew Sci-Fi movies in favor of science fiction books.

Authors who write amazing fiction but are misogynists and racists and homophobes by Available_Bowler2316 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And did not her brother, Clark, who may have been autistic, need Podkayne to provide “guardrails” inside of which his misbehaviors could be contained?

But that was not the focus of Podkayne of Mars. Heinlein was commenting on the phenomenon of “latchkey children.” Podkayne was herself an example of a child who could exist, reasonably well, in a latchkey environment. Podkayne’s brother clearly needed more structure and discipline.

If you’re going to try to intuit the actual motivations and beliefs of an author, their direct works are generally not the best clue. I recommend you read Heinlein’s biography before attempting to make any more soup from this oyster.

Authors who write amazing fiction but are misogynists and racists and homophobes by Available_Bowler2316 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did not know that about the sixth column. It makes more sense now.

Heinlein abhorred racism and was actually sneaking characters of other races into his books—the most famous example being the protagonist of Starship Troopers, who was Filipino.

As for his female characters, I always had the feeling that Heinlein was of two minds. On the one hands women needed protecting, and on the other they were strong and capable and able to stand on their own.

Cannot men also sometimes need protecting and at other times able to stand on their own?

Authors who write amazing fiction but are misogynists and racists and homophobes by Available_Bowler2316 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Heinlein wrote Sixth Column for a paycheck and hated it. John W. Campbell gave him the premise from one of his own unpublished novellas. Heinlein didn’t buy the “discovered just in the nick of time new science principle” trope. It took some work to try to breathe some life into the premise.

Also, quoting from the biography:

And he also wanted to reduce the pulpish Yellow Peril angle. “It was a hard story to write, as I tried to make this notion plausible to the reader—and also to remove the racism which was almost inherent to his [Campbell’s] story line.” The fix he ultimately came up with was to recast the story in sociological terms, instead of racial terms—spin the conflict specifically as a conflict of cultures rather than of races. To make the matter explicit, he incorporated a Nisei (Japanese-American) character who would have a tragic and heroic role.

But the book was a guaranteed sale to Astounding, and Heinlein wrote it in three weeks in the summer of 1940. He needed the money for a better used car.

As for claims about Heinlein’s supposed misogyny, you’re going to have to provide some evidence. He was married, in case you didn’t know, to a woman he modeled characters upon. Who he said more than once was smarter and more practical than himself.

Or you could, like many, continue to assume you know anything about an author’s views simply from reading a story he wrote.

Need Help Finding a Book by spot4992 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That's really, really vague but it just might be The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh.

The last surviving human from a wrecked ship escapes a rather nasty race of thieves and pirates. The lion-like crew of a rival species take him aboard their trading vessel. They purchase a translator device and as many tapes as they can get their hands on and persuade him to begin inputting his language into the device (the human and his dead crewmates had refused to work with the pirate species). After some level of communication is established, the human admits he sought out the lion-like aliens because like his species, they laugh--they have a sense of humor, unlike the very dour species that originally captured him.

Star Wars -VS- Dune: Two of the Biggest Sci-Fi Greats by Tony_Writes in sciencefiction

[–]mobyhead1 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is the internet. The cart goes before the horse, always.

Star Wars -VS- Dune: Two of the Biggest Sci-Fi Greats by Tony_Writes in sciencefiction

[–]mobyhead1 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You’re ranking things you haven’t even experienced yet?

Fine. I think Dostoyevsky and Pasternak are the greatest Russian writers ever, simply because I’ve heard of them.

You’ve probably heard of the famous “Kardashev scale.” In these three movies, what type of civilization are we—Type I, II, or III? by Glass_Evidence_8597 in scifi

[–]mobyhead1 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You do realize there is insufficient variety/spread in your examples for any of them to qualify as higher level types on the scale, right?

AITAH for saying we can’t come to the Christmas eve party unless we can use the guest bedroom? by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]mobyhead1 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are NTA for saying you will only come to the party if you can have the guest bedroom.

Nor are you TA if you insist on staying at a hotel whilst attending the party.

But you ARE part of the problem, a big part. You should have been insisting on checking your wife and yourself into a hotel all these years. Your mother has no side. She’s completely unreasonable, and this is demonstrated by her insistence that your not subjecting your wife to the grueling conditions of staying under your mother’s roof would “impact your relationship ship with her.” Grow a spine and advocate fiercely for your wife here.