Alienating the Audience

In "Severance" employees of the Lumen corporation undergo a surgery which separates their mind into two distinct personalities--one who works inside the company, and one on the outside oblivious to it.  Brian Brushwood and Andrew Young join to discuss.

Dickie and Stone join to discuss the overwhelming camp and pulp of "Flash Gordon," a big costume budget and excellent soundtrack which also sorta has a plot.

When does science fiction get "too political"? What separates a film with a strong point of view from stale publum or Woke pulpitry? Josh Jennings joins to discuss how political messaging can derail or suffocate scifi. 

Andor is one of the best Star Wars properties ever devised; a television program explicitly for adults! Beyond excellent storytelling, Andor highlights the problems which bedevil any organization: pettiness, career aspirations, incompetency, and zealotry. David Bizarro and Brian Brushwood join to discuss.

James Moriarty is the best villain in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Or is he a villain at all? In "Elementary, My Dear Data" and "Ship in a Bottle" the holographic character gains sentience--and wants freedom.  Josh Jennings and Andrew Young rejoin the show to discuss the character. 

Patrick McGoohan's 1967 series "The Prisoner" is an avante-garde science fiction series about a secret agent abducted by nefarious forces and subject to psychological torment in an atavistic village.  Jim Swift and Ron Hayden join to discuss the deeper meaning of the series.

Josh Jennings temporarily hosts the show in order to interview Andrew Heaton about what all goes into writing science fiction, a la his new book, "Inappropriately Human: 21 Short Stories."  Get your copy at:  https://www.amazon.com/Inappropriately-Human-21-Short-Stories/dp/B09S3WYDSJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5UO16ZY0DADV&keywords=andrew+heaton+inappropriately+human&qid=1646195709&sprefix=men%27s+modal+shirt%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1

From "Inappropriately Human: 21 Short Stories" by Andrew Heaton. Now available as an audio book! Get your copy at https://www.amazon.com/Inappropriately-Human-21-Short-Stories/dp/B09S3WYDSJ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=5UO16ZY0DADV&keywords=andrew+heaton+inappropriately+human&qid=1646195709&sprefix=men%27s+modal+shirt%2Caps%2C148&sr=8-1

In "Vivarium," starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots, a young couple find themselves trapped in some kind of suburban pocket universe. Their captors leave an alien infant on with the instructions "Raise the child and you will be released."  Josh Jennings joins to discuss the various concepts the film plays with, including: autism, millennial adulting terror, fey folk, and suburban ennui. Find this film and others discussed on the show at www.mightyheaton.com/goodscifi

Stone and Dickie Lynch return to play Starfleet Draft Picks--which captains and officers do you recruit to build your own starship and crew?