Four Inducted Into SF Hall of Fame

maxentius writes "There are four new members of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame: Chesley Bonestell, Philip K. Dick, Ray Harryhausen, and Steven Spielberg. The Hall, once located in Lawrence, Kansas, is now a part of the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. This brings to 40 the number of inductees; the newest members will be officially welcomed May 6. According to the SF Museum site, "The event will include a cocktail hour, seated dinner, induction ceremony, and after-party." The ceremony will occur in the middle of the Eaton Conference, a three-day presentation co-sponsored by the museum and the University of California Riverside's Eaton Collection. This year's topic is "Inventing the 21st Century: Many Worlds, Many Histories.""

Comments

Philip K. Dick

[FunWithHeadlines]

Philip K. Dick would, of course, find something darkly paranoid about this honor and would have accepted with suspicion. :)

Re:Philip K. Dick

[ackthpt]

Philip K. Dick would, of course, find something darkly paranoid about this honor and would have accepted with suspicion. :)

Maybe he'd work it into a book which Speilberg could make a movie out of.

Re:Philip K. Dick

[AndroidCat]

Spielberg would make a dog's dinner out of it and call it a movie. (Not so much a knock at Spielberg as at most attempts to capture PKD on the screen: much the same as the way a killing jar captures butterflies.)

Re:Philip K. Dick

[ackthpt]

Spielberg would make a dog's dinner out of it and call it a movie. (Not so much a knock at Spielberg as at most attempts to capture PKD on the screen: much the same as the way a killing jar captures butterflies.)

Really. Rather see Ridley Scott up there for Alien and Blade Runner, further he's bringing back Andromeda Strain.

Re:Philip K. Dick

[unitron]

"...further he's bringing back Andromeda Strain."

If by bringing it back you mean doing a remake, why? There's nothing wrong with the original and a remake can only be worse.

Re:Philip K. Dick

[robbot]

Philip K. Dick really opened my eyes to a whole new world...and he did make Gnosticism cool. A parnanoid science fiction writer introduces us lost souls to God.

Re:Philip K. Dick

[tibike77]

You mean "Agnosticism", right ?
Steven Spielberg. Heh. What a joke. "New inductee" ??? MAYBE if this was about the SciFi HoF 10 or 15 years ago, sure... but now ? Does the "life-long work" deplete in value as crappy outputs are produced, or only the "max" is considered ???

P.S. I have to admit, the other 2 names are completely foreign to me.

Re:Philip K. Dick

[timotten]

He wouldn't have to search for long. Just look at the headline: "Four Indicted Into SF Hall of Fame."

Re:Philip K. Dick

[aled]

He meant gnosticism. Have a link about PKD and gnosticism or look at wikipedia.

Steven Spielberg?

[ackthpt]

Man... The guy will have his version of War of The Worlds come out shortly afterwards. Why would this be? I don't especially associated him with Sci-Fi. Is this a ploy of some sort?

Lord knows there's a heck of a lot of authors who have done more for Sci-Fi than his films.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[thundercatslair]

I think you are right, he is a huge celebrity and if they include him the award might get more attention. He really has only written Close Encounters of the Third Kind was an executive producer in some sci-fi movies.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[NetNifty]

Well he did do the mini-series Taken, but that's about the only thing that springs to mind at the moment.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[AuMatar]

E.T.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[raitchison]

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/

E.T, Jurassic Park Series, Back to the Future Series, Batteries Not Included, Men In Black just to name a few.

All of those are classics or wee massively popular, some are both (not going to categorize here)

Not the greatest contributor ot SciFi of all time but definitely certianly a candidate for the hall of fame.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Anonymous Coward]

ET, Close Encounters, Minority Report, AI, and so on...

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[ackthpt]

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/

Pop stuff, mostly. JP series was horrible compared to the books. I'd give him a nod for close encounters, but that's about it.

What about the Michael Crichton, the guy who wrote the JP books?

Closer to the hearts of /.ers, what about Gene Roddenberry?

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[liangzai]

He is a great popularizer of science fiction, and therefore eligible.

You can compare this to scientists like Carl Sagan, whose direct contributions to science weren't tremendous, but whose popularization of science has meant a great deal.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Bradee-oh!]

Enough said

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[NetNifty]

Ok now I'm wondering how the hell I forgot about them...

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Anonymous Coward]

The bigger question to me is why they're honoring someone whos films are derivative of old school scifi, and ignoring (so far) the icons of new wave scifi of the 60s and 70s.

Chosing someone like Spielberg, involved only peripherally in scifi, as opposed to Harlan Ellison and Roger Zelaszny, who managed to help scifi stay fresh, interesting and relevant in a post-modern world really makes me wonder.

And where the hell is William Gibson? Anyone who says that E.T. had anywhere near the impact of Neuromancer needs to have their head examined.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[snuf23]

And indeed it was. An SGI Irix system running 3D File System Navigator.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Neph]

I was about to say: Ironic they're simultaneously inducting the rapist and the victim

And don't anyone start whining about how a movie can never be exactly the same as the novel it's based on -- first of all it was a short story, and second the entire premise of the movie was changed from a logic play on Hofstadterish self-reference to a run-of-the-mill "I was framed!" whodunit.

And don't even get me started on the product placement.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Seumas]

E.T, Jurassic Park Series, Back to the Future Series, Batteries Not Included, Men In Black

Surely you don't consider Batteries Not Included, Men In Black, Back to the Future and E.T. as science fiction?! And Jurassic Park really doesn't count either. There's no science to it. I mean, you have to have a tiny bit of science to it to make it science fiction (otherwise it would just be fantasy). And the only science to that movie is "we found some DNA, made some dinosaurs" and then the characters run away from them for two hours (and then two more movies).

And what, if any, of those did he actually write? I really don't see the point in a directory getting a Science Fiction award unless he has truly contributed in some remarkable way (Kubrick, for example).

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Sanga]

Are you claiming SS wrote all this (/created all of this from scratch?). If rehashing pre-told SCIFI was fair game you can include AI and Minority Report.

That way, Kubrick has more of a claim to make it there -- he set the tone for many scifi (/fantasy) flicks to follow.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Babbster]

Closer to the hearts of /.ers, what about Gene Roddenberry?

Having looked at the member list, I can only conclude that they're not giving TV scifi any respect. I would certainly expect Gene to enter a scifi hall of fame before Spielberg, if for no other reason than Star Trek came out and had an impact long before Spielberg's stuff. It's certainly had more impact on the scifi culture over four decades.

A similar oversight in my view is Irwin Allen. He's created, produced and/or directed quite a bit of popular scifi material, most notably Lost in Space.

Bottom line is that the people are probably folks who are uppity and don't consider TV high enough art (yes, there have been ST movies but the TV was and is homebase for ST).

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Ohreally_factor]

Does the fact that they're finally inducting PKD tell you nothing?

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[1u3hr]

Does the fact that they're finally inducting PKD tell you nothing?

It tells me it's a sop to literary SF, to cover up their sell out to Hollywood sci-fi's version, where directors of movies based on SF writer's books are honoured. And Ray Harryhousen?? For God's sake, he was a great special effects guy, but what the hell has that to do with SF? And most moves he worked on I can reall were straigh-out fantasy, animated skeletons, etc.P> If they are going to hounour contributors to movie SF they should have started with the Lumiere Brothers.

Anyway, this marks the end of any credibility of this so-called "Hall of Fame" in my eyes, call me a snob if you will.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Scott7477]

Somebody please mod parent a troll...Spielberg is the premier science fiction film maker of the last 30 years. Science fiction does not have to be based on currently accepted theories. Besides, parent's summary of Jurassic Park is absurd. The actual plot of JP was take not that far out ideas about genetic manipulation and cloning, find dinosaur dna, take said dinosaur dna and mod it so that dinosaurs can't reproduce, mathematician says you can't control nature, nature proves mathematician right by dinosaurs reproducing and running amok. The core thesis of JP involved chaos theory and the law of unintended consequences.
Spielberg was able to produce an entertaing thriller that IMO was faithful to the spirit and thesis of the book, while using groundbreaking special effects to tell said story. Give me a break....

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[AJWM]

Science fiction does not have to be based on currently accepted theories

True, but it ought to at least handwave an explanation for doing something counter to known science, and must be internally consistent.

If ET could fly at the end of the movie, why didn't he do that at the beginning of the movie to escape?

Spielberg's movies in that vein aren't so much about SF as they are about SFX. Entertaining, sure, but hardly in the same vein as Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) or Stanley Kubrik (2001, A Clockwork Orange).

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Ohreally_factor]

Hey, you big fat elitist snob.

I couldn't have put it better myself.

Signed,

Another big fat elitist snob

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[1u3hr]

Actually, on reflection, the reason they honoured PK Dick was more likely because Spielberg made a movie out of his story Minority Report recently. That's another media-friendly hook.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[pipingguy]

Awards shows/ceremonies are designed to generate income and attract attention. Roddenberry is not a good choice because he's not as rich, influential or alive as Spielberg.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[drsquare]

Somebody please mod parent a troll.

Is this the standard reaction for posts you disagree with? I thought the moderation system was for promoting interesting posts and discouraging 'first posts' and the like, not as a censorship system for disagreeable views.

Jurassic Park may well have had a science-fiction premise, but the rest of the film was just a generic action film but with dinosaurs. Even had the obligatory dull car chase (note to budding film-makers: car chases are ALWAYS boring, it's been done a million times and will never be entertaining). Although it had some entertaining bits, most notably with the broken cars and the big dinosaur in the dark/rain, and the brontosauruses at the beginning. The film was at its best when it concentrated on the premise, i.e. the novelty of dinosaurs alive today, and worst when it concentrated on fitting the dinosaurs into standard action-film cliches. But you can't expect much better from Spielberg.

Re:Steven Spielberg?

[Nutria]

Is Alien really Science Fiction, or is it just a stupendously well-done horror, set in a space ship, rather than a college sorority house?

No Olaf Stapledon?

[rokzy]

I'm no expert and don't recognise most of the names, but thought Olaf would be there?

Re:No Olaf Stapledon?

[gobbo]

You're right, he should be right up there among the giants. Usually only experts recognise Olaf... and even fewer realize that about 40% of the common SF themes that we still see rehashed owe a great deal to Stapledon. That apparent debt includes writers like Clarke (e.g. Childhood's End).

Too bad the guy wasn't a better writer. His epic books are mostly compressed collections of myriad plots and themes on a cosmic scale. What an imagination!

No Frank Herbert?

[downward dog]

Besides Asimov and Bradbury, I would have thought for sure that he'd be there. The Dune series (and not just the first book!) is a serious contender for greatest work of SF/Fantasy ever written.

Someone correct me and tell me that I just missed him!

Re:No Frank Herbert?

[mustbepatient]

You're not the only one who thinks that highly of Dune - it's ranked #1 on the Locus list: http://www.locusmag.com/SFAwards/Db/LocusAT1975.ht ml#allnvl Given that, he should be in soon...

Re:No Frank Herbert?

[ackthpt]

Besides Asimov and Bradbury, I would have thought for sure that he'd be there. The Dune series (and not just the first book!) is a serious contender for greatest work of SF/Fantasy ever written. Someone correct me and tell me that I just missed him!

Tell me about it. I used to work in a library and had to look after the sci-fi section for months. What about Clifford Simak? Ben Bova? Alice Sheldon (aka James Tipree)?

at least not L. Ron Hubbard

Re:No Frank Herbert?

[NitroWolf]

Besides Asimov and Bradbury, I would have thought for sure that he'd be there. The Dune series (and not just the first book!) is a serious contender for greatest work of SF/Fantasy ever written.

I'm not arguing with you that he shouldn't be there. I believe he has a place, for sure...

But it could be that your quote itself explains why he's not there. It's the "Science Fiction" hall of fame, not the Fantasy hall of fame.

Science Fiction != to Fantasy, and there are a lot of fantasy elements in Dune. I'd still probably slip it into the Science Fiction genre, but I could see the argument against it being included as such. But then again, there are a lot of books that are borderline as well.

So once again, I'm not disagreeing with you, but giving you a possible explanation for the lack of his inclusion.

Re: No Frank Herbert?

[Black Parrot]

> Besides Asimov and Bradbury, I would have thought for sure that he'd be there. The Dune series (and not just the first book!) is a serious contender for greatest work of SF/Fantasy ever written.

I enjoyed Dune, but the other books I read in the series were in the yawner genre.

IMO. YMMV.

Re:No Frank Herbert?

[Seumas]

I would not classify Dune as science fiction. Fantasy, yes.

Re:No Frank Herbert?

[unitron]

"But it could be that your quote itself explains why he's not there. It's the "Science Fiction" hall of fame, not the Fantasy hall of fame."

The presence of the recently deceased Andre Norton on the winners' list rather argues against that explanation. I suspect that since they've only been at it since 1996 they have a lot of catching up to do, and the self-imposed "2 living, 2 dead" rule probably complicates things as well.

Re: No Frank Herbert?

[downward dog]

That was my experience the first few times I tried reading the series. The first book was great (war, intrigue, villians, you name it) - but books 2-5 seemed boring to me. I first read the series at the age of 15. Maybe I wasn't ready for it.

Then at the age of 25 I picked it up again, and WOW! The rest of the series is every bit as good as the first. Maybe better.

Books 1-3 are basically the story of Paul, and 2-3 are my least favorite in the series (though they are still good). Book 4 happens thousands of years later, and is basically a story in itself (and a stunning story at that). Books 5-6 happen about 1500 years after book 4, and are the third story in the series. 5 and 6 (Heretics and Chapterhouse) may be the best thing Herbert ever wrote. The primary question of the entire series - can humanity survive? - is beautifully worked out in these last two books.

I understand where you're coming from, because I was there. But if you're a fan of literature and good sci fi, I encourage you to give the series another shot.

Re:No Frank Herbert?

[1u3hr]

But it could be that your quote itself explains why [Herbert]'s not there. It's the "Science Fiction" hall of fame, not the Fantasy hall of fame.

Right. And what science fiction has Ray Harryhausen ever done? And looking at earlier literary inductees, before they went Hollywood, we have Michael Moorcock, who is far over in the fantasy side. Fritz Leiber and Jack Vance have certainly done some SF, but are both better known for fantasy. Since it's authors, not works, being honoured, Herbert has quite a few that qualify as SF under most criteria; regardless, I'd classify Dune as SF myself. He uses chemically enhanced mental powers rather than magic to explain things like FTL, and there is a very thorough working out of the way Arrakis's climate and ecology works, (how realistic to a real scientist in the field I don't know, but he made the effort rather than just waving his hands).

Re:No Frank Herbert?

[Lars T.]

How about John Brunner?

Spielberg? O_o

[codergeek42]

What the heck has he done for Sci-Fi?

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[Seumas]

I agree. Maybe I'm suffering a brain-freeze here, but I can't think of any real Sci-Fi he's done. I certainly wouldn't consider Close Encounters, ET or AI (which was Kubrick's anyway) as "science fiction". Anyway, I don't believe a director should be given a sci-fi award. Maybe the person who WROTE THE STORY...

Seems like Neal Stephenson would be deserving of the ward about now, if he hasn't already been considered...

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[blackmonday]

E.T.
Close Encounters Of The 3rd Kind
Minority Report
Back To The Future (Producer)
Innerspace (Producer)
Pinky And The Brain (Producer)
Jurassic Park
A.I.
Men In Black (Producer)

Sure, these aren't "hardcore" SF offerings, but its hard to imagine another guy, other than Lucas, who consistently churns out enjoyable Scifi fare.

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[codergeek42]

Ummm .. Jurassic Park was written by Michael Chrichton. Get your fact straight before you make claims like this please

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[snuf23]

That would be Michael Crichton. And Minority Report was based on a story by Phillip K. Dick. I don't think they inducted Spielberg for his writing, I'm sure it's for his work bringing Sci-Fi to the movies.
I don't agree with it. Spielberg always strikes me a director who likes to use cheap appeals to emotion to manipulate his audience. A little heavy handed for me.

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[GnarlyNome]

I've seen Jurassic Park but is Jurassic fucking Park the p0rn version?

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[Fallingcow]

His best movie's still "Empire of the Sun" (not sci-fi).

Most of his other stuff is just better-than-average, but not by that much, and these days "average" in Hollywood is 100% crap, so take that as you will.

IMHO, of course :)

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[SlashThat]

Bottom line, Spielberg has done more PR for Science Fiction than anybody else. And that's what this hall of fame is about. PR for Science Fiction.

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[AussieVamp2]

if you like things that put you to sleep, that was a n overblown, overrated shocker

Re:Spielberg? O_o

[Fallingcow]

Shocker? How so?

A Tribute to Ray Harryhausen

[sheetsda]

For anyone with a taste for the bizarre (like me), I recommend checking out A Tribute to Ray Harryhausen. (Macromedia Flash required)

Adams

[schnits0r]

What? No Douglas Adams? He was my favourite

Re:Adams

[Lisandro]

I love Douglas Adams writing as well, but i picture him more as a satirist/comedian than a Sci-fi writter. That might have something to do with it.

Phillp Dick, OTOH, was long overdue.

Re:Adams

[SlashThat]

He should definitely be on the list. It's hard for people to appreciate in year 2005, but Adams' understanding of where the computing world was heading, back in 1978, amazes me.

My favorite part of H2G2 is when Adams tells about the robots with "genuine people personalities". I.e. Marvin (the paranoid android), the doors that go "thank you" when you go through them and Eddie, the ship computer. What is amazing is that Adams not only visioned that computers will be user friendly (in 1978!), but also how annoying this will be!

Wait a minute...

[42Penguins]

Why isn't DNA in the Hall of Fame? ...or are they waiting for the End Of The Universe?

Re:Wait a minute...

[yimmy]

there going to induct him in the resturaunt after desert and before the prophet zarquon arives

Spielberg: Happy Ending Man

[handy_vandal]

What the heck has [Spielberg] done for Sci-Fi?

Given it happy endings.

-kgj

Re:Spielberg: Happy Ending Man

[handy_vandal]

But were AI & minority report movies with happy endings?

Yes.

AI: David, the Boy-Robot, spends one perfect day with his mother.

Minority Report: The precogs retire to a quiet island in the Pacific Northwest.

-kgj

Re:Wait a minute!

[ackthpt]

What about George Lucas?

An excellent point, further, because of his success a smattering of other authors, such as Michael Stackpole (who languished at FASA for a while, doing some pretty damn good BattleTech novels) got some real exposure.

Love or hate Star Wars, he's had a great impact.

Slight typo

[GuyMannDude]

Sure, these aren't "hardcore" SF offerings, but its hard to imagine another guy, other than Lucas, who consistently churns out enjoyable Scifi fare.

I hate to nitpick but your sentence seems to be implying that Lucas makes enjoyable SciFi fare.

GMD

Re:Slight typo

[Quantum Fizz]

I hate to nitpick but your sentence seems to be implying that Lucas makes enjoyable SciFi fare.

You should be more specific. Lucas 1.0 did produce enjoyable SciFi fare, your comment seems to be aimed at Lucas 2.0 (which appears to still be in beta development).

Feel free to substitute as appropriate. For example, Lucas-Cola Classic vs. New Luke, Lucas 6.22 vs Lucas 95, Luke Mini vs. Lucas IIGS, etc etc.

I was sad...

[spyder913]

...but then I realized Frederik Pohl was already in =)

Re:Spielberg?

[GnarlyNome]

Eric Flint for starting Open Source Science Fiction Library http://www.baen.com/library/
And dDavid Baen for sponsoring it

Re:Appaling

[Anonymous Coward]

When the hell did Jack Valenti start frequenting slashdot?

Re:I hope that...

[WIAKywbfatw]

Please, let it go already. Bitch and moan all you like but, when it comes down to it, you couldn't have fallen asleep as a kid fantasising that you were Han Solo or Luke Skywalker about to save the galaxy without him.

Harryhausen and Spielberg...

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

...are excellent film makers but they've brought shame on science fiction by making "science fiction movie" synonymous with "action movie with dinosaurs and aliens 'n' stuff". Maybe someone should reserve some spaces in the Hall of Fame for film makers who actually make their audiences think as much as a well written science fiction novel or short story.

(Note: I love Harryhausen's movies (I have the 3 DVD Sinbad set for a start) and one or two of Spielberg's. My gripe is only with which Hall of Fame they're being placed in.)

Re:Harryhausen and Spielberg...

[networkBoy]

I think you're missing an important point.
Spielberg's big gift to Sci-Fi is that he's gotten more people into it than anyone else. Even if he bastardises the novel for the sake of the big screen, he exposes countless people to Sci-Fi who would never ever pick up a book (without at lease some inspiration).
Thus, he belongs in the hall of fame.
-nB

Re:Harryhausen and Spielberg...

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

I wonder if what you say is true. I've never heard anyone say "I read science fiction because I saw [insert favorite Spielberg movie]" although I know many people who have seen Spielberg movies because they were already readers of science fiction.

Re:Harryhausen and Spielberg...

[datafr0g]

Funnily enough, I got into reading Philip K Dick after seeing Minority Report, so yes, it does happen.

Re:Harryhausen and Spielberg...

[May Kasahara]

...and as for Harryhausen, his successful works inspired people like Spielberg and Lucas to make their own films.

Re:Harryhausen and Spielberg...

[Ohreally_factor]

Maybe Spielberg should be inducted into the Suicide Hall of Fame, because I had a strong urge to kill myself while watching AI.

Re:Harryhausen and Spielberg...

[1u3hr]

Spielberg's big gift to Sci-Fi is that he's gotten more people into it than anyone else. Even if he bastardises the novel for the sake of the big screen, he exposes countless people to Sci-Fi who would never ever pick up a book (without at lease some inspiration). Thus, he belongs in the hall of fame.

NO HE DOES NOT. A "Hall of Fame" is for people who CREATE, not PUBLICISE. Is this the triumph of marketing over creativity? Otherwise, there are many publishers and editors who did much more to create and nourish the field who deserve recognition than Hollywood names who are guaranteed to get good press.

Close encounters of the third kind

[Anonymous Coward]

Are people too young to have seen this? One of the best of the genre. I'm am not a UFO believer, but this had me going. The encoounter with the mothership at devils tower was to die for and sets the standard in first contact scenarios. Totally realistic and fully realized on an epic scale. Required no suspension of disbelief in this hardened cynic.

Re:I hope that...

[Anonymous Coward]

You are a moron. It doesn't matter what the "fans" want or don't want. Lucas could release a 2-hour movie of himself taking a shit, call it "Star Wars Episode 3", and you would happily wait in line for 3 days for tickets. So STFU.

Robert Sheckley

[AmicoToni]

I am absolutely shocked to see that Robert Sheckley is not in the list!

The author of the AAA Ace Agency series, Mindswap, the priceless Dimension of Miracles, and countless others...!
How can it be??

For further info: http://www.sheckley.com/

Re:Appaling

[GnarlyNome]

Chill dude it's not that bad

I am now eagerly anticipating

[Timesprout]

The slashdot explosion of rage when George Lucas gets inducted.

After H2G2 Movie perhaps?

[ackthpt]

I love Douglas Adams writing as well, but i picture him more as a satirist/comedian than a Sci-fi writter. That might have something to do with it.

Maybe he'll get enough exposure, with the H2G2 Movie out there in front of people, for next year.

Re:Wait a minute!

[liangzai]

Well, Lucas may have told us a fantastic galactic space story, but Star Wars isn't really *science* fiction like Star Trek.

Re:Wait a minute!

[kubrick]

without Star Wars, there wouldn't be sufficient public interest in science fiction to get Hollywood studios willing to fund Spielberg sci-fi flicks or blockbusters based on Philip K. Dick stories!

You say this like it's a bad thing.

Re:Appaling

[snuf23]

Kiddies. Please don't feed the troll, mmmm kay?

The first person to ask...

[uhlume]

what this headline has to do with San Francisco gets dumped in the Bay. That is all.

Re:The first person to ask...

[Moofie]

What does this headline have to do with San Francisco?

And which Bay?

Re:The first person to ask...

[Sanga]

Isn't the hall of fame in Ohio? It has nothing to do with San Francisco. :-)

Re:The first person to ask...

[uhlume]

Absolutely nothing.

Re:I hope that...

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, I spent my time fantasizing I was Princess Leia. My parents were SO disappointed...

Isaac Asimov

[Winckle]

His book of short stories entitled I, robot is simply fantastic. I have it in pdf format if you PM me. It's nothing like the hollywood garbage of the same name, before i accidently start a flamewar!

Re:Isaac Asimov

[Anonymous Coward]

I have it in pdf format if you PM me.

So Slashdot is a forum for actively soliciting piracy now, instead of just advocating it?

Re:Isaac Asimov

[Lisandro]

"I, robot" (the movie) was as related to the book as "Starship troopers" was. Both Asimov and Heinlein are spinning in their graves so fast that they're time travelling.

PS: Both books ("I, Robot" & "S.T.") are excellent, i agree.

Re:Isaac Asimov

[Winckle]

Both Asimov and Heinlein are spinning in their graves so fast that they're time travelling. There's a sci-fi story in that idea somewhere, you should probably patent the idea.

Never really was in Kansas

[L-Train8]

The Hall, once located in Lawrence, Kansas, is now a part of the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle.

The Hall was originally run be a group in Lawrence, Kansas, but there was no actual physical place. They would hold meetings to induct members, then send plaques to the new inductees. It wasn't until the Science Fiction Museum worked out a deal to house the place that it became a physical reality, some place that you could go visit.

Also, the Kansas group was the Sci Fi/Fantasy Hall of Fame, but the Seattle Sci-Fi Museum didn't want to include fantasy. Fortunately, all the members with a background in fantasy also had at least some sci-fi in their ouevre.

Re:Never really was in Kansas

[AndroidCat]

Fannish politics can be tricky

Re:I hope that...

[eclectro]

It doesn't matter what the "fans" want or don't want. Lucas could release a 2-hour movie of himself taking a shit, call it "Star Wars Episode 3", and you would happily wait in line for 3 days for tickets. So STFU.

I wouldn't go that far. He'll wear a black cape.

Re:I hope that...

[CrackedButter]

Lucas taking a 2 hour shit would be science fact not fiction. Remember some people hate him and want him to be full of shit.

Hall of What?

[Ranger]

There are four new members of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame:

Well that's better than being conducted into the Fantasy Hall of Shame: which includes such industrious hacks as Robert Jordan, Stephen R. Donaldson, E. Gary Gygax, and L Ron Hubbard.

What About . . .

[White Roses]

Charles Dikkens?

That's Dikkens with two k's, the well known Dutch author.

Seriously, though, what about Python animator and accomplished director Terry Gilliam? 12 Monkeys? Time Bandits? Brazil? Cripes, that one scene in Life of Brian?!? Now, that's science fiction. If we're nominating directors now, Gilliam is high on my list.

No Shelley until 2004?

[stonedonkey]

It's sad that it took until last year to get the grandmother of sci-fi inducted. You'd think they would have jumped at the opportunity to be gender-friendly in a genre that is historically dominated by men. Tiptree, LeGuin, and Vonda McIntyre would have been high on my priority list as well.

Re:No Shelley until 2004?

[Kiryat Malachi]

They've been at it since 1996, and induct 4 per year (2 living, 2 dead). So she was inducted after a grand total of 16 other people. Which other people?

Isaac Asimov. Alfred Bester. James Blish. Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Campbell, Jr. Hal Clement. Hugo Gernsback. Heinlein. Damon Knight. Fritz Leiber. Abraham Merritt. C.L. Moore (a woman). Eric Russell. Theodore Sturgeon. A.E. Van Vogt. Jules Verne. H.G. Wells. Donald Wollheim.

And if you look at the competition, Shelley was up against some tough competition. Was Frankenstein historically important to the development of sci-fi? Absolutely. But was Shelley more important than people like Asimov, Heinlein, Campbell? I'd even argue that inducting her before PKD was doing a huge disservice to the genre. Gender-friendliness is nice, but when you're talking about the best of the best, there's no shame in acknowledging that *due to historical and cultural reasons*, the majority of those are men. Going out of your way to induct a woman just because she's a woman makes a mockery of both the idea of an award, and of the body of work of the individual so "honored".

(Oh, yeah. LeGuin was inducted in 2001, Andre Norton in 1997, and CL Moore in 98. FOAD with your accusations of gender bias, please.)

Re:No Shelley until 2004?

[shadowbearer]

I wish I had mod points left.

^

SB

Something to Look Forward To

[ackthpt]

No Olaf Stapledon? I'm no expert and don't recognise most of the names, but thought Olaf would be there?

What about all the junk science the current administration is accepting as fact? Whoever's behind all that should be up for a 'Science Fiction' award.

like 10 to 20 in Allenwood

Re:Spielberg?

[Lehk228]

the baen free (beer) library was the first place i went after i picked up an REB 1100 ebook reader. loads of good stuff and it's available in .rb (also in a bunch of other formats) format so i didn't have to dick around with converters.

Inductees will be officially welcomed

[Tired and Emotional]

And I am sure they will enjoy the ceremony immensley! I am looking forward to seeing Phillip K there with a G&T in his hand.

Who was it who said giving somebody an award after they are dead does them no good and advertises your stupidity for being slow on the uptake.

Re:Inductees will be officially welcomed

[gl4ss]

the award isn't mainly for boosting the inductees self esteem.

the REAL thing that these awards do is that they introduce new people to reading these authors.

Re:Inductees will be officially welcomed

[1u3hr]

he REAL thing that these awards do is that they introduce new people to reading these authors.

Right. Can you recommend some of Ray Harryhausen and Steven Spilebrg's books so I can get started -- In the last 40 years of reading SF I somehow managed to miss their no-doubt estimable contributions.

Re:Inductees will be officially welcomed

[aled]

But then the REAL thing is not the REAL thing!

He'll be the 42nd inductee ;-)

[codergeek42]

Just you wait and see :-)

Re:Spielberg?

[GnarlyNome]

Yeh Great isn't it :-)

Zeladbury

[Doc Ruby]

The SF Hall of Fame won't be complete until it inducts writers not yet born. I nominate the hybrid clone of Bradbury and Zelazny.

Re:Zeladbury

[Doc Ruby]

I would unleash Nivison at Clarkebury. In the aftermath, Egcard would build a new reality beyond description.

Admission is open to the public

[WillAffleckUW]

But my guess is people will be lined up to get into EMP for a certain free rock CD release instead, so make sure you get in the correct line.

[based on a full page ad in The Stranger this week, but I don't think there's a URL for the ad yet]

Re:My Favorite Name is Not On The List

[BorgHunter]

The amazing thing is, my great-grandfather (Wilson Tucker) beat such notable people as Herbert, Roddenberry, etc...and I haven't met a single person outside of my family who's even heard of the poor guy. Of course, he wrote in the fifties and sixties, but still...

Re:SF in Kansas? That's just wrong...

[liangzai]

No, it is the BEST place to host scientific and science related (including SF) conferences and activities, since this will make the locals more knowledgable about scientific matters.

Buckle your seat belt Peter, 'cause Kansas is goin' bye bye...

Philip K Dick

[__aamkky7574]

Am I the only surprised he isn't already in it? I mean, he's up there in the top 10, I would imagine.

P.

Re:Philip K Dick

[MSBob]

True enough. I was also surprised he wasn't there. To me the guy made sci-fi into a respectable genre. Before him it was mostly flying saucers and men in sliver suits firing guns with light bulbs.

That said, I find his work a mixed bag. From absolute total brilliance (Ubik, Three stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Martian Timeslip) to some pretty lame crap (Clans of the alphane Moon, We can build you). He was a very prolific writer but he also has his share of crap.

On average though he's probably #1 in Sci-Fi in my opinion. Oh, and his short stories are totally mind blowing.

Re:Philip K Dick

[Jonny_eh]

...some pretty lame crap (Clans of the alphane Moon, We can build you).

Arrgghh, I'm reading "We Can Build You" Right Now, I'm only 30 pages in, should I drop it? It's a library book, so I wouldn't be out any change.

Also, wouldn't the namesake for the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction award automatically be inducted?

Re:Philip K Dick

[MSBob]

I thought "We can build you" was weak. But you should read it anyway because one man's trash is another man's treasure. However, if you haven't read things like "Ubik" or "Three Stigmata" or "Martian Time slip" return the book and pick up "Ubik". It's PKD at it's finest.

Re:Philip K Dick

[sparkhead]

He never received the respect he deserved in life, why would you expect any different in death?

He's the first person I thought of when I saw this headline, with the feeling that he probably was overlooked. Nice they're finally getting him in there, but it is way overdue.

I also knew the overrated Ursula K. Le Guin would be in there. Hate everything she's written.

Re:Philip K Dick

[DavidHopwood]

The Three Stigmata..., Martian Time-Slip, Do Androids Dream..., Ubik, and A Scanner Darkly are published in a single volume for under a tenner (UK): ISBN 0575075813.

If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[__aaasvk1266]

because of a high fan-boy index, shame on you.

He has no business getting in ahead of (in alphabetical order):

J.G. Ballard: Not all of his is writing is SF. But his Vermilion Sands type work certainly qualifies.

William Gibson: Only created Cyberpunk.

Frank Herbert: As others have mentioned, should have a ballot for Dune.

Stanislaw Lem: Not seeing him in the HoF is a fucking embarassment, and shows how shallow the average American SF reader is. He has far better material than Solaris.

Larry Niven: Big Iron stuff like Ringworld earns him a slot, along with his humor (Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex).

G. Harry Stine: If you don't know who he is, shame on you again. Go back to school. He's as important as Shelley.

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[MSBob]

Thanks for pointing out Lem. He's one of my favourites as well as my fellow countryman. Besides his writing he is also credited with bringing to focus the works of Philip K Dick who was a relatively obscure writer in Europe until Lem started to pimp him in all respected Sci-Fi magazines.

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[__aaasvk1266]

I got turned on to him when I was in High School. The owner of the local bookstore gave me an uncorrected proof of Return From The Stars and told me, "This will be coming out soon, read it and let me know if I should order any."

(This was when it was coming out in English back in 1980)

It blew me away. I hadn't read anything SF that literate, probing, or thought provoking. Lem is (for me) simply the best, with PKD a not too distant second. Back to the bookstore(y)...

A few days later, I come into the store. She asks me about it. As I'm handing her the proof back, I tell her, "I thought it was absolutely brilliant. I think you could sell a couple."

She asks a bit more about the story and writing, and thanks me for the recommendation. She then tells me I can keep the proof. It is one of the prized books of my collection.

Thanks for the +1.

Cheers,

Mike

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[shieldforyoureyes]

If you like Lem, check out the Strugatsky Brothers, especially "Roadside Picnic".

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[__aaasvk1266]

Thanks for the suggestion.

Mike

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[AJWM]

G. Harry Stine: If you don't know who he is, shame on you again. Go back to school. He's as important as Shelley.

I knew and liked Harry Stine, I've read a lot of his stuff, both fiction and non, and had quite a few conversations with him. He's certainly made significant contributions -- they don't call him the father of model rocketry for nothing -- but comparing him to Shelley? Why? I don't think Harry would have agreed with that.

Oh, and Vernor Vinge has a better claim than Gibson to inventing cyberpunk, with True Names back in 1981. Gibson's Neuromancer, while it won an SF triple crown (Hugo, Nebula and Phil K. Dick awards), wasn't published until 1984, although its success did put cyberpunk firmly on the map. (I might also be inclined to argue that John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar and perhaps Shockwave Rider foreshadow Gibson stylisticly and thematically, but it's been too long since I've read those to be able to readily back that up.)

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[AJWM]

Oh, and speaking of Gibson's Neuromancer, just what color was the sky above the port?

When I first read "The sky [...] was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel", I imagined the mottled grey of a screenful of static -- or a ragged overcast. Some years later, owning a newer TV, I read that as the vivid blue generated by the TV when it detects no signal -- the deep, clear blue of a sky utterly free of cloud or haze.

So, what color was the sky? It changes the whole atmosphere of that opening scene.

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[un1xl0ser]

I was also VERY suprised not to see Stanislaw Lem on there as well.

I personally think that a good introduction to his work is "One Human Minute" and the other two stories that are normaly included with that one. They are short, and very good.

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[__aaasvk1266]

Having been a TV production engineer, I always assumed he meant a channel that had carrier, but no signal.

There is usually some slop to be seen in that situation. Meaning, it is not completely, true black, but usually has a little grey noise moving through it (not as "chunky" as what you may think of for the usual B&W static).

In short, your initial impression of ragged overcast is, I think, what he meant. The blue screen (heh) situation you mentioned is when there is no input to the device. That is not the same thing as a "dead channel."

Cheers,

Mike

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[__aaasvk1266]

That's funny that you mentioned Brunner & Shockwave Rider. I was thinking about him when I wrote the email. However, I left him off (for now) because, while the two books you mentioned where both important and great, there really isn't much more to recommend. Brunner should be in the HoF, but, there are others that should go ahead of him.

You are bang on about Shockwave being an important precursor to Cyberpunk. However, I thought mentioning that would get me into other areas, and wandering I would go...

I think Gibson gets the handle for inventing Cyberpunk for Burning Chrome, which is a collection of short stories that go as far back as the late 70s. Two of the short stories have been made into movies: Johhny Mnemonic and New Rose Hotel.

Cheers,

Mike

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[__aaasvk1266]

Sorry, I only finished half the e-mail.

The reason I put Mr. Stine in the same boat as Shelley is because of their influence on the field. It was his science-fact material in Destinies magazine (heh, books) that really sticks for me.

And that isn't really right to call it science-fact. He was talking about the near future, and what it could be, if we'd only move in certain technological directions.

Reading this stuff in High School while growing up three miles from JSC (mission control) I'm sure warps my perspective even more.

Mr. Stine goes in the same catagory that includes Shelley, Lem, and Dick: They made me _believe_.

And thank you for the +1,

Mike

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[__aaasvk1266]

Thanks for the pointer to One Human Minute. I haven't read it (yet).

Cheers,

Mike

Re:If you are going to let Spielberg in...

[AJWM]

I figured he probably meant ragged overcast -- the choice of the word "dead" to modify "channel" adds a somber note appropriate to a grey sky, not a blue one.

But it did occur to me that there might be a whole generation of readers who got an entirely different impression.

Chesley Bonestell's "Atomic War" paintings

[bkrog]

This wonderful, talented painter, illustrator and architect did a stunning series of paintings -- many reproduced in an article in Collier's Magazine in 1948 -- graphically depicting nuclear attacks on New York and Moscow (both the detonations themselves and their aftermath). Prints of these have never been made available to the public, although several are reproduced in the book "The Art of Chesley Bonestell". After Bonestell's death, they were left/given to the New York Historical Society. They are not currently on display, but interested parties can contact the Collections Manager at the Society, and can make an appointment for a viewing.
http://www.nyhistory.org/

Re:Chesley Bonestell's "Atomic War" paintings

[GnarlyNome]

Next to Boris one of my favorite illustrators Remember those fantastic covers he did for Analog magazine in the mid 60s? BTW why is John W. Campbell on the list without him most of the people on the list would have never been published

Re:Chesley who?

[GnarlyNome]

Go to a used bookstore and see if you can find a mid 60s issue of Analog look at the over
if it knocks your socks off ..it's probably him

Stanislaw Lem?

[kaalamaadan]

Hello, is there something I am missing here? Is it an All-American affair?

Re:Stanislaw Lem?

[1u3hr]

Is it an All-American affair?

Not quite. There's Mary Shelly, Brian Aldiss, Arthur C Clarke, Jules Verne, Eric Frank Russell and Michael Moorcok, for instance. But now they're indicting movie directors and stop-motion animators don't hold your breath for many names not known to the presenters of "Entertainment Tonight".

Re:Wait a minute!

[Scott7477]

Anyone interested in Star Wars novels should read any by Aaron Allston(Wraith Squadron, etc). He wrote several in the Rogue Squadron series. In my opinion he is the best author in the SW series. Second to him would be the guy who did the Thrawn series, Kevin Anderson? somebody or other, his name escapes me right now.

Induct all deserving candidates now

[Scott7477]

What needs to happen is that all past deserving scifi creators need to be included in this hall of fame now and then add new ones as they appear. As many previous posts have suggested there are plenty of deserving candidates not in this hall as of now.
Perhaps some wealthy individual could be persuaded to ante up the funds to build a building to house the expanded group. Is Scott McNealy a scifi guy? He could build a big building like Paul Allen's EMP, but plop it down in Redmond somewhere and make it tall enough that it is visible from Microsoft HQ.
Anyhow, I'm glad the this is in Seattle; I'd gladly make a trip up there to see it and all the other things Seattle has to offer but you couldn't get me anywhere near Kansas.

Chris Carter

[Scott7477]

belongs in the scifi hall of fame now! "The X-Files" has been to TV scifi what "Amazing Stories" was to magazine scifi. The exploration of the conflict between skepticism and faith, demonstrating the use of science to solve crimes, in general consistently excellent storytelling, development of complex characters, high quality musical scoring, mixing individual stories with a lengthy unifying background plot, a healthy willingness to not take the characters and the story too seriously, are all attributes of this series that contributed to it being one of the all time greatest television series. IMO, "X-Files" is far superior to Star Trek.

Re:Chris Carter

[elemental23]

While there is a bit of thematic overlap between industrial music and science fiction, and while I personally love his work, I don't think Chris Carter is an appropriate nomination for the SF hall of fame.

Was I the only one...

[HexDoll]

... who thought of SourceForge when seeing SF?

Come on Science fiction already has SciFi. Do we really need to shorten it further?

Re:Was I the only one...

[Foadiedoadie]

Only mundanes refer to science fiction as "sci-fi" (or SciFi) as the case may be.

capturing PKD on film

[gad_zuki!]

I think the grandparent is quite correct. It is difficult capturing PKD on film. First off, his stories are usually very dense and character driven. That means a long film and being able to do character development.

For instance, Blade Runner has only the setting of the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the most basic plot elements. Its missing Deckerd's marital problems, Mercerism, the little existential crisis, lots of important scenes and ideas, etc. Scott pretty much took the story and turned it into an action movie, albiet a moody and gorgeous sci-fi action movie.

This review has an interesting quote: The film version, on the other hand, was shaped along the lines of a mean-streets detective novel by Raymond Chandler. In it the pervasive confusion is a puzzle to be solved, not an exercise in mind-bending.

I just saw Blade Runner again at a late night viewing and am blown away by how well made of a film it is and how it captures the vision of a near-future dystopia, but it has very little in common with the book.

The other PKD stories turned movies have been mostly short-stories, as a short story is pretty much the size and scope of a typical movie. But even Minority Report was trimmed down and the politics from the story were removed and replaced with more action sequences.

Re:Wait a minute!

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

Well, Star Trek isn't really *science* fiction like 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Re:Wait a minute!

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

I do feel my sci-fi life would be seriously degraded without Blade Runner in it.

Sorry. You must be on the wrong web site. You would probably be more interested in SurvivorTheTVShow.com.

Re:Wait a minute!

[kubrick]

Blade Runner could easily have been made without Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep as a source text, and the film was hardly a 'blockbuster' in the mode of Total Recall or Minority Report. I can't say my life is materially improved by the presence of those two films in the world. Also, I could really have done without Spielberg pissing all over A.I.

Re:Wait a minute!

[toriver]

I do feel my sci-fi life would be seriously degraded without Blade Runner in it.

Blade Runner does NOT share much with Lucas' samurai movie wannabe. It has far more in common with Film Noir as a genre, and the socially heavy sci-fi movies like Soylent Green, Westworld, Logan's Run etc. that predated Star Wars.

Still waiting for ...

[elronxenu]

Cyril M Kornbluth,
Algis Budrys,
Frank Herbert
and Harlan Ellison.

They can add Harlan once he's dead; we don't need him to have a bigger ego.

Harryhausen?

[AtariAmarok]

Are you talking about the guy who creates special effects???

I agree that "Dune" (first book only) belongs on a "greatest" list on its science fiction merits alone. The survival technology and lifestyle of the Fremen, the alien life cycle of the Sandworm, the concept of the Butlerian Jihad, and lots of other things overwhelm any mysticism and fantasy.

Other authors..

[RM6f9]

Lensman series? Venus Equilateral? (Anybody remember the "Science" part of "Science Fiction" for that last?)
Is it time to resurrect "OMNI" yet?