Slashdot Asks: What Are Some Sci-Fi Books, Movies, and TV Shows You're Looking Forward To?

Even as Hollywood studios report fewer footfalls in theaters, the last few years have arguably been impressive if you're a sci-fi admirer. Last year, we finally got to watch the Blade Runner 2049, and the The Last Jedi and Logan also found plenty of backers. In 2016, Arrival was a home run for many. Star Trek: Discovery, and Stranger Things TV shows continue to receive positive feedback from critics, and the The X-Files is also quickly winning its loyal fans back.

"Artemis" by Andy Weir and "New York 2140" by Kim Stanley have found their ways among best selling books. "Borne" by Jeff VanderMeer, and "Walkaway" by BoingBoing's Cory Doctorow have also been widely loved by the readers.

On that note, what are some movies, TV shows, and books on sci-fi that you are waiting to explore in the next two to three years?

Comments

The OA

[mknewman]

I was very pleased with season 1. It's on Netflix. Season 2 is in work. I also am looking forward to Altered Carbon.

Re:The OA

[Anonymous Coward]

Fair warning: The ending is polarizing as fuck. I'm assuming S2 will help explain some of it, but if doesn't, I'm ditching.

Re:The OA

[ivan935]

Couldn't agree more. It started out promisingly enough, but as it progressed, it turned into ever more annoying drivel.

Re: The OA

[Anonymous Coward]

I hated the last 5 Minutes of that more than anything else. I've been in car accidents I like better.

Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Anonymous Coward]

All I'm awaiting is a new sci-fi movie that isn't about 'social justice' or otherwise forcing leftist ideologies on the audience.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Anonymous Coward]

In other words something set in the future but reflecting the social and ethical atitudes of the past?

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Anonymous Coward]

'Social justice' is an amplification of the bigotry of the past. The leftists pushing 'social justice' are the ones who are fixated on classifying people into extremely fine-grained groupings based on physical traits or other attributes. They have even managed to take it to a level never seen in the past, continually introducing new ways of dividing people into smaller and smaller groups. The people who are supposedly decrying things like racism, sexism, prejudice, and intolerance often end up being the ones who engage in such behaviors the most egregiously.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

'Social justice' is an amplification of the bigotry of the past. The leftists pushing 'social justice' are the ones who are fixated on classifying people into extremely fine-grained groupings based on physical traits or other attributes. They have even managed to take it to a level never seen in the past, continually introducing new ways of dividing people into smaller and smaller groups. The people who are supposedly decrying things like racism, sexism, prejudice, and intolerance often end up being the ones who engage in such behaviors the most egregiously.

STTOS and STTNG were great at showing us a different path. A way of living where, simply, no one cared about race - at least among Earthlings. People were judged on the content of their character, not the color of their skin. To me, that's part of the appeal of good SF - it presents a world where we're just beyond that shit, and have different problems.

Contrast that with STD. The only way STD could be redeemed as Star Trek is if it were revealed the show was set in the mirror universe (at which point it would become the coolest "twist" ever).

In general I've just about had it with "Dark Version of Thing from your Childhood". Let's have something inspiring - what SF used to be!

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[rickb928]

I don't lean.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[NicknameUnavailable]

In other words something set in the future but reflecting the social and ethical atitudes of the past?

I would agree with the GP but define "social justice" as "direct or indirect commentary on the perceived ills of modern society or attempts at propaganda to influence society" - which accounts for easily 90% of modern entertainment. Entertainment is just that: entertainment. It isn't a vector for some liberal extremists who can't do anything else to try to change the world in their psychotic image of how things should be, it's not a soapbox, it's fucking entertainment. Entertainers are the modern equivalent of court jesters, not lords or trusted advisors - I expect to be fucking entertained if I have to pay a dime for it.

That doesn't mean "no plots or themes that touch on modern issues" but it does mean "everything comes out with some glorious image of the future while shitting on the past without any clue how they got from A to B." If you make the differences the central point of the plot (as most sci-fi shows have come to do over the years) it doesn't make any fucking sense that all the characters dwell on the past and the current state yet manage to completely ignore or just gloss over all the steps in between. You think you're ideas are going to lead to some fabulous utopian world, fucking great, how? If you can't outline the steps from point A to point B in detail with the pros and the cons - because all systems have them - but can manage "fun" episodes completely diverting from the plot or breaking the fourth wall or even a fucking hour of interpersonal drama and politics (oh God the fucking political commentary,) then it is not only not entertainment but it's a shit critique and low-tier propaganda to boot.

TL;DR: Fuck paid-for propaganda marketed as anything else.

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[PopeRatzo]

All I'm awaiting is a new sci-fi movie that isn't about 'social justice' or otherwise forcing leftist ideologies on the audience.

Then I'm not sure science fiction is what you're looking for.

Science fiction has always leaned toward social justice, and to a great extent, leftist ideology. There are some counter-examples, but overall, the arc of science fiction bends toward justice.

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[NEDHead]

Really? And I am looking forward to the one that explains how I ended up in a universe with Trump as President. And how I can break out and return to reality.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

Oh, troll elsewhere.

Sure, SF is often used for social commentary, because you can get away with stuff you can't point out directly. But that only works when it's not the norm. The Golden Age of SF was much more about proposing all sorts of ways man might live in the future, including many that were the author's idea of utopia, but the point was people were happy in the setting, outside of whatever the drama of the book was. Heinlein was rare in showing how silly some of these ideas were when taken to the extreme, but even then his books were never about how miserable everyone was.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Rockoon]

Cut it out with the histrionic bullshit. Segregation is still within living memory.

Such as at Evergreen State last year.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

I think the "SJW" label has passed it's relevance, but segregation is alive and well in US universities today, with social events where members of a specific race or gender are banned, calls for singe-race housing (so people will feel "safe"), all the worst echoes of the 50s. Brought to you by university progressives, of course.

Let's abandon "SJW" as a label, and just go directly to "Post-Modernists". Objectively the most evil philosophy ever created by mankind (nothing else even comes close to the body count of Stalin and Mao). Let's not hide it behind concealing labels.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[ThanatosMinor]

'Social justice' is an amplification of the bigotry of the past. The leftists pushing 'social justice' are the ones who are fixated on classifying people into extremely fine-grained groupings based on physical traits or other attributes. They have even managed to take it to a level never seen in the past, continually introducing new ways of dividing people into smaller and smaller groups.

By "dividing people into...groups" do you mean "describing different groups?" Talking about different demographics and how policies might affect them differently isn't dividing them, it's simply recognizing them. Society has always been comprised of different groups of people, some large and some small. Have you ever talked about your family vs someone else's family or families in general? You're "dividing people into groups." Almost everyone I've ever talked to who rails against this kind of practice is also likely to blame talking about racism for racism ("there wasn't all this racism before Obama"), but what that argument ignores is that society has already done these divisions and is already treating people differently based on their physical traits or other attributes. What you have issue with isn't the division, but merely talking about it. You want to ignore society's unfair treatment of some groups because they're not your groups. That's your prerogative but don't pretend you're the victim of leftist propaganda when all you have to do is not watch or read those stories and you still get to not care.

"Social justice" and activists looking at how certain populations are underserved and/or underrepresented is how we got the 19th Amendment. It's why Jim Crow laws aren't legal anymore. And in the future it'll be why nobody raises a fuss when a trans woman uses the women's bathroom (if separate bathrooms even still exist). Discrimination in sci-fi is generally not treated as a good thing, but there's an entire subgenre of dystopian sci-fi you can read to get your fix of the powerful stepping on everyone else. But I should warn you that even in most of those books your side loses.

The people who are supposedly decrying things like racism, sexism, prejudice, and intolerance often end up being the ones who engage in such behaviors the most egregiously.

Citation needed

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

Also, not everything with which you disagree is "trolling".

True, but everything PopeRatzo posts is trolling.

The novels were most certainly not about how "everyone was happy".

Nor is that what I said. These novels were mostly "here's the neat future society, then this thing happend, but the hero saved the world" or "things were rough, but then these things happened, and then people were happy in this neat society". Not all, of course, ad Dick stories were mostly "WTF did I just read", but most.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[nospam007]

" Frankenstein, was all about how small-minded members of the alt-right attacked someone who was misunderstood for looking and acting different."

But at least they used pitchforks and real torches instead of those stupid Tiki ones.

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[nospam007]

"Really? And I am looking forward to the one that explains how I ended up in a universe with Trump as President. "

It's an obvious proof, that you're living in an alternate reality.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Nikkos]

Let's have something inspiring - what SF used to be!

Science fiction started as social justice literature. The very first science fiction novel, Frankenstein, was all about how small-minded members of the alt-right attacked someone who was misunderstood for looking and acting different.

Frankenstein was a semi-religious anti-science screed set in a world contemporary to the author. This isn't the science-fiction anyone is referring to.

As for the sci-fi this discussion is actually about:
Social justice? NO.

Social equality, yes.

Golden-age and much of new-wave sci-fi showed us a world where people got over their differences, accepted different religious/social practices, and joined together as one humanity. The vast majority of it was libertarian-leaning in that self-reliance, pragmatism, hard work, and logic were the tools of success. Even new-wave's existential navel-gazing still focused on breaking down barriers and ignoring differences despite (or because of) the futility of life.

Today color-blindness is 'racism' while paying attention to color and treating people differently because of it is 'mindfulness.'
Rewarding people based on merit is either 'white privilege' or 'male privilege' depending on which group feels victimized.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[AmiMoJo]

Discovery reminds me of DS9 and Enterprise. There is a war on, everyone wants to preserve their morals and way of life as much as possible, but bad things happen to them that make it exceedingly difficult.

By Discovery's time the Federation is basically post-race and post-feminist. It's odd that a decade later by Kirk's time they seem to have regressed. Still, much of the conflict on Discovery comes from the desire of some of the crew to stick to their principals and high standards, and of others to do what is necessary to win the war. And the best of them find a way to do both.

Discovery isn't all that dark though - DS9 was darker and edgier. Season 3 of Enterprise was more desperate too, with the ship barely making it and something like 1/5th of the crew being killed IIRC.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[T.E.D.]

STTOS and STTNG were great at showing us a different path. A way of living where, simply, no one cared about race - at least among Earthlings.

You have to realize the time STTOS came out though. In 1966 there were almost NO non WASP characters on television. In 1968 a Presidential candidate was running on a "Segregation Forever" platform, winning 5 states and 46 electoral votes. Only about 50% of Americans at that time approved of women working outside the home.

Merely depicting whites, blacks, women, Asians, Russians, and even aliens in a functional work environment was a radical "social justice" message, and a direct affront to both existing society and social conservative ideology. Doing much more than that would have gotten them thrown off the air. (In fact, the pilot had a female 2nd officer. The network wouldn't allow it because the role involved her giving orders to men).

Michelle Nichols was thinking of quitting after the first season, and Martin Luther King Jr., a man who literally dedicated his life to fighting for Social Justice, personally forbade her from doing so. Told her she was fighting for the cause on TV more than anyone on the streets.

It was simply a completely different world than the America of today. Conservatives HATED the show. So its a pretty good bet that if you're a conservative today and don't like "SJW Trek", you would have never liked trek. You only like it when its so dated its no longer radical.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[spazzmo]

IKR! Lamest mob ever.

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[PopeRatzo]

It does seem to me that a great many science fiction writers of the past espoused conservative beliefs

Even the ones that personally held conservative beliefs rarely did so in their fiction.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Noishkel]

So I guess the 'Alt-Right' have been around since the 1800s then? Given that Marry Shelly wrong that novel in 1818... in England.

No, don't even bother trying to make up some line in response. You're just a fuckin' idiot that's not worth any more of anyone's time.

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[PopeRatzo]

Like 'Starship Troopers' or 'Ender's Game' or 'Hyperion' or 'Dune' or 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' or 'Cyteen' or 'Use of Weapons' or...

Oh wait, none of those are SJW inspired.

Every single one of those novels you mention had social justice themes. Every single one. You haven't read any of them, have you?

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[fieldstone]

So that rules out all of Ursula LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Isaac Asimov... need I go on, really?

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Hognoxious]

Oh, come on!

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[PopeRatzo]

So I guess the 'Alt-Right' have been around since the 1800s then? Given that Marry Shelly wrong that novel in 1818... in England.

Yes, in the early 1800s UK, the alt-right were known as "Pittites" and were a faction of the Tory party, the same way the alt-right in the US today is a faction of the Republican Party. The Pittites were opposed to the abolition of slavery and were generally racist, pro-big business and pro-religion. As one would expect.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Hognoxious]

Marry Shelly wrong that novel in 1818

Two wrongs don't make a right, but apparently one makes a write.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Hognoxious]

So I guess the 'Alt-Right' have been around since the 1800s then?

Don't be silly, it would be far too modern for them.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[david_thornley]

Actually, as a leftist, I'm in favor of people marrying who they like and using the appropriate rest rooms. Only the right wing seems interested in splitting potential newlyweds into same sex and opposite sex, or requiring people to use inappropriate rest rooms.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[david_thornley]

Whereas you lot were the most efficient mass murderers in history. Check how many people Nazi Germany managed to kill, and Japan from 1937 on. Stalin and Mao just didn't manage the same rate; they had to make it up with longevity.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

Oh, which one of his stories was about diving people into groups according to identity politics, then having those factions kill each other until tens of millions are dead? I don't remember any Post-Modernist stories, but then I've only read about half his stuff.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

Or, like I actually said, I like the show where people are color-blind, not the show inspired by progressive ideology (the Post-Modernist tenet that identity groups are the most important thing). The crew does struggle a bit with having Vulcan officer, not entirely post-species, but they are mostly OK with it.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

Sorry, I don't believe Post-Modernist and Fascist are the only options. I prefer the American ideal to either.

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[rtb61]

Fake left, reality is left = workers vs right = bosses. This has been distorted by identity politics to drive policy away from public discussion, the hugely unfair lack of balance between workers and bosses, to favour who can hack away the genitals the most. Hey, if you want to do it, I'll rent you the knives, scissors and blow torch to hack away at your genitals in what ever way you wish, I just have no desire to discuss it or deem it worthy of political discussion, when wars, climate change, economic disparity, corruption of politics and corruption of law all exist. I mean to say, which toilets or which pronouns, basically they can go fuck themselves with their new fake genitals and new fake genders. As for somehow the lie of liberal main media when it is all 100% by far right corporations, we are talking fascist far right corporations, they are the left, WTF?!?

The new strategy has opened up, associating age old left wing political ideas, as being far right, to drive the left from the left. It seems the US democrats are pushing a political party for women the fake left and a political party for men the fake right, all at the behest of fascist corporations, to ensure no voice for workers. SJW is not about social justice it is a PR fabricated marketing strategy to silence workers and prevent workers from taking over the Democrats from the corporations that currently own them.

This is why big money is being blown on shite content projects. Not to sell content to new audiences but to divide and polarise them to keep them exploitable. It is not working real well and they are losing money and just making themselves look worse and worse.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[koomba]

Except that IS what you said: "the point was people were happy in the setting", so I have top agree with the previous reply calling that a vertu pedestrian interpretation.

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[Applehu Akbar]

Really? And I am looking forward to the one that explains how I ended up in a universe with Trump as President.

And in which Nehemiah Scudder has won. Who knew that he would be an academic feminist?

Re:Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[PopeRatzo]

That is a far fucking cry from what is meant by "social justice" in this context.

You're using the 4chan definition of social justice. Alt-right jackoffs are the only ones that use that definition. That should have been made clear earlier in this discussion and we could have all saved some time.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[DNS-and-BIND]

Citation needed? The Berkeley Anti-Free Speech Riots of 2017. Shutting down people's speech with violence is not fighting fascism. It IS fascism!

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

Do you see the difference between a book where people are happy in the setting, and a book about people being happy? The former is the setting for something dramatic, the latter implies lack of any drama.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[david_thornley]

There is no significant political movement in the US that is at all comparable to Stalinism or Maoism, just as there is no significant political movement comparable to Nazi Germany or Militarist Japan. (There are proto-Fascist movements, but Mussolini doesn't show on a scale of evil that includes Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and the young Japanese officers who enforced their weird idea of what Bushido should be.)

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[lgw]

The progressive movement looks very much like the early days of communism in Russia. And not by accident either - it's the same philosophy. None of the Leninists saw Stalin coming, after all (which is why he was able to kill them all). The American Neo-Nazis are, I think, less like the early Nazis, because the early Nazis were popular for reasons other than nationalism and racism, even after Hitler killed all the actual socialists the party still had a lot of local appeal on social issues.

Re: Any that aren't about 'social justice'.

[McFortner]

Let's have something inspiring - what SF used to be!

We do. It's called The Orville.

Cloverfield 3

[Anonymous Coward]

The currently untitled Cloverfield III, only for its ARG (which is starting to pick up now)...

Re:Cloverfield 3

[mknewman]

I thought it was titled The God Particle?

Black Panther

[WillAffleckUW]

Especially the spin off where they fight with giant mech robots in space

Re:Black Panther

[Anonymous Coward]

Came here to say just this. Good choice!

Re:Black Panther

[Jason Levine]

But a guy flying in a one man armored suit, a man frozen for 60 or so years in a chunk of ice (with no physical problems), a Norse god with a magic hammer, a kid who can cling to walls, and a thief who can shrink down and talk with ants are all totally realistic, right?

Re:Black Panther

[Anonymous Coward]

They're all unrealistic - but only one of them looks like wish-fulfillment for a group as racist as African Nationalists (for example).

Re:Black Panther

[david_thornley]

One looks like wish-fulfillment for pagans, and probably a fair number of white supremacists. One looks like wish fulfillment for beautiful women who want to be taken seriously. One looks like wish-fulfillment for geeks who want to use their intellect for practical purposes. One looks like wish-fulfillment for physical weaklings. I can keep going. Plenty of wish fulfillment going on.

Wishlist

[Anonymous Coward]

I want more people to make movies like Interstellar. Interstellar wasn't perfect, but it was visually appealing and much of the Science they show was accurate. I would love to see more people explore this territory.

Re:Wishlist

[PhantomHarlock]

Interstellar had a groundbreaking soundtrack (from none other than Hans Zimmer, which is shocking) and some well thought out, beautiful visual effects.

However, I found the story incredibly nihilistic, depressing and pointless. I'm all for media that is interesting and thoughtful, but I prefer to see or read media where humans aren't universally the bad guys. It's amazing to see the difference in attitude in films over the last 30 - 40 years. We've gone from a 'can do' to 'we're doomed' outlook and it weighs heavily in popular culture. That very attitude can be a self fulfilling prophecy.

Re:Wishlist

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude, I was alive in the 70',s and I can tell you for certain that dystopian science fiction was pretty much the norm.

Re:Wishlist

[lgw]

Interstellar was ... not good IMO. Sure, the visual were nice, but that ending? Blarg. Make a SF show, or make a fantasy show where love literally conquers all, but don't mix them.

Re:Wishlist

[serviscope_minor]

I want more people to make movies like Interstellar. Interstellar wasn't perfect, but it was visually appealing and much of the Science they show was accurate. I would love to see more people explore this territory.

No fuck no nope nope NOPE NOPE.

The whole thing was full of stupid.

1. Monoculture is destroying crops. PLANT MORE MONOCULTURE
2. Why do you care if a planet has hydrocarbon fuel if there's no oxygen in the atmosphere
3. Anne Hathaway does nothing but scream and endanger the mission
4. Love transcends the fifth dimension wooooooooooooo
5. WTF solving theoretical physics problems doesn't let you do magic
6. Murph! Murph! Murph! oh yeah and my son (but fuck him) MURPH!!!!!

And so on.

It looked cool though.

Re:Wishlist

[lgw]

Fuck me I agree completely with serviscope_minor here. And he said it better than I did. The shame, the shame.

Re:Wishlist

[jebrick]

I would like to see what Amazon does with SnowCrash. Right now I am looking forward to Altered Carbon.

Re:Wishlist

[rolias]

Maybe if they took one idea out of that story and ran with it. Interstellar's plot was a jumbled mess of a dozen different ideas all thrown into one story. Poul Anderson's "Tau Zero", for example, beautifully used time dilation as the defining plot element.

Re:Wishlist

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

It's always been the case science fiction is dystopia-heavy. Warning stories about the implication of technology are its bread and butter.

A lot of the early science fiction stories, before it was even a genre, were this. War of the Worlds, The Time Machine, the Metropolis movie, 1984, dealt with threating tech, or used it to reveal future bad implications.

It's said horror stories often reflect the currently new scary thing, going back to electricity and Frankenstein, through Metropolis (studied, timed, engineered movements of workers as part of an assemy line, big at the turn of the last century), atom bombs and radiation, 1970s environmental fears of running out of oil or room for trash, 2000s global warming.

What is next? Rogue AI continues apace.

Re:Wishlist

[nospam007]

"However, I found the story incredibly nihilistic, depressing and pointless."

Read the news if you want more SF like that.

Re:Wishlist

[david_thornley]

Kip Thorne wrote "The Science of Interstellar" and he was pushed back to saying that nothing was actually contrary to known science, which struck me as a very weak statement. He's good at writing about science, so I enjoyed the book.

However, as I understand them, wormholes are in both places at the same time. Therefore, the big black hole (which had to be at least galaxy-mass, considering the lack of tidal effects at the event horizon), should have been attracting everything in the Solar System, so why launch a spacecraft to get to the other side?

Re:Wishlist

[Applehu Akbar]

Dude, I was alive in the 70',s and I can tell you for certain that dystopian science fiction was pretty much the norm.

The Seventies was when that trend started. In my lifetime, the peak year for societal optimism was 1965. W II tech had released a generation-long fountain of civilian advances. We were on our way to the Moon, and Vietnam had not yet become a corrosive social issue.

Re:Wishlist

[kellymcdonald78]

Or watch Knowing

Re:Wishlist

[serviscope_minor]

Fuck me I agree completely with serviscope_minor here. And he said it better than I did. The shame, the shame

Back to buiness as usual tomorrow?

Re:Wishlist

[sad_]

What about 'the martian'?

Re:Wishlist

[Gr8Apes]

I'll have to agree with 99% of that as well. I will note that the science (fiction) portions were cool, but the trailers cast it as more of an action film. Unfortunately, all the action occurred in the 90s trailer, the remainder was the bunch of crap listed with a couple of drama storylines thrown in. Had they just ended it with him falling into the black hole or, if they wanted the ending, maybe passing through the "portal" or whatever (yes, it was that memorable)

The Expanse

[Berkyjay]

It's both a great TV show and a great novel series that is on the same level as A Song of Ice and Fire IMO.

Re:The Expanse

[Moridineas]

Came here to say just that!

I started with the TV show--very good.

I'm now reading the books. I'm currently on book #5, and each book I'm finding myself a bit less interested, but still good enough to keep going.

Re:The Expanse

[Berkyjay]

I'm on #4 so far and I'm still enraptured with the series. I keep hoping that the show makes it this far into the novels.

Re:The Expanse

[JaredOfEuropa]

Agreed, awesome book series and very well adapted for TV. And I was pleasantly surprised by new arrival The Orville: not great but good, and fun to watch. Movie-wise it's been a run of disappointing big releases. Didn't care for the Last Jedi (though I did like Rogue One), Blade Runner 2049 was a suckfest, Logan was meh, the Arrival was decent but nothing special.

Re:The Expanse

[Moridineas]

I definitely hope that as well!

My complaint was mostly about #3--I feel that religious characters in s.f. works frequently come across as, well, just kind of weird, and I wasn't a fan of one of the main characters. I do like that each book kind of has a rotating cast!

Also, I totally cannot imagine Chrisjen as anybody EXCEPT the actress who plays her on tv now. Casting for the TV show has been superb. (Particularly love the OPA leader on Ceres and Chrisjen, Holden is good, Amos is good, Alex is GREAT, Miller is great, etc.) The only one I'm not super wild about is Naomi.

Re:The Expanse

[david_thornley]

I liked The Last Jedi, but it wasn't the same sort of movie as previous Star Wars movies. Heroes screwed up and people suffered for it, for example.

Re:The Expanse

[edi_guy]

Love the expanse. Couldn't wait for Season 2 to come out on DVD/Netflix so bought the online episodes. Only show I've ever purchased rather than wait on.

Re:The Expanse

[antdude]

When does Expanse return with its new episodes? :/

Re:The Expanse

[Applehu Akbar]

Another Expanse fan here. I'm tired of one-note dystopian futures. Society will be plural and complex, just like today but amplified by emerging technologies.

Re:The Expanse

[Berkyjay]

From the wik.....which has me really excited now!

The third season will air later in the year than season two did. It is expected to be delayed to avoid competition with the 2018 Winter Olympic Games held in South Korea and concluding February 25th.[3]

The third season will largely be based on the remaining half of Caliban's War and will center on Abaddon's Gate.

So I'm better sometime in March.

Re:The Expanse

[david_thornley]

If you watch movies with a chip on your shoulder, you'll miss things.

Poe did a lot of screwing up, but he wasn't the only one. He's in a situation where his usual fighter-pilot virtues don't apply. Rey spends a lot of time and effort trying to bring Kylo Ren back to the light, which has negative consequences. Finn and Rose recruit an independent who informs the First Order of the transport evacuation.

Rey is no more a Mary Sue than Luke was a Marty Stu in the original trilogy. Finn has knowledge of First Order ships and bases that comes in handy.

And, when you indulge in apparently misogynical fantasies, and complain because not every hero is a white man, you rather mark yourself as a sexist racist asshole. I don't have to do that for you.

Artemis

[PhantomHarlock]

I didn't think Artemis very good. It was a poor man's "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" with a lot of situations that stretched improbability in human interaction to the limit. Not as good as The Martian by a long shot.

A more recent series that I did enjoy greatly is the Torchship books by Karl Ghallager. If he writes anything new I'll be first in line.

Re:Artemis

[lgw]

No one's ever made a high-budget version of any of Heinlein's books (let's not pretend Starship Troopers shared anything but the name), even the "Big 3".

I don't think today's Hollywood could make Moon either - a working (ish) libertarian society? Never. But why not a Stranger movie. Even chopped down to fit in a couple hours, there's some good stuff there to work with. But, sadly, the book has very few explosions, and I think we're stuck with "Mostly Explosions V, This Time it's Personal" for a while now, until the studios abandon the theaters (no one goes to see movies except for action special effects these days).

Re:Artemis

[p4nther2004]

No one's ever made a high-budget version of any of Heinlein's books (let's not pretend Starship Troopers shared anything but the name), even the "Big 3".

Predestination

Re:Artemis

[Applehu Akbar]

Bryan Singer says differently: https://www.hollywoodreporter....

Re:Artemis

[Gr8Apes]

Predestination was an awesome movie - definitely on the top of my list of movies to rewatch. Primer is another. Time Lapse and Paycheck weren't bad either. Safety Not Guaranteed should be mentioned as well, just to round out the top time travel/warped movies. Although, honestly, you have to include Next in that grouping as well. I am aware I'm leaving out the HG Wells adaptations, but those are in a different class IMHO. I'd also add Continuum and Timeless (both great first seasons) and the Time Tunnel (old and corn on the level of the original Wild Wild West) to the TV side.

Re:Artemis

[lgw]

It will be garbage. There's just no way Hollywood will show a functional, reasonably happy, libertarian society, any more than Paul Verhoeven could make Starship Troopers as anything but a cartoonish fascism.

Re:Artemis

[lgw]

Star Trek is about Star Fleet, though. Are any of the actual planets we've libertarian? I mean, there must have been one someone along the years? Right?

Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[Joey Vegetables]

Everything has happened before, and everything will happen again.

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[DeBaas]

so say all of us

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[sconeu]

So say we all!

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[pr0fessor]

I really enjoyed BSG 2004 even though I was a fan of the original but was very disappointed with Caprica.

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[NicknameUnavailable]

I would like to see a version of Caprica which wasn't a shitty teen drama, or one between Caprica and Galactica (e.g. the actual robot uprising.) Humans seems to have the potential to show similar, and Westworld seemed like it the first season, until hearing they were just going to go with season-long themeparks like the books. I really prefer sci-fi stories with a "how to get from A to B" where A and B are defined as things other than character development (the fucking Hero's journey has been done so many times it's an obscenity - oh you have a guy in a zombie-robot-techno apocalypse, he did some shit with a spaceship and a cute chick, he saved some shit, he got bored, series is over? yawn.) I'd like to see the "Breaking Bad" of the zombie apocalypse or the robot uprising or interstellar space travel if you're going to go the character development route at all - do it on the scale of civilizations. Fewer main characters and more main themes (that's more or less what made GoT and Battlestar Galactica so good actually - though the latter could use more of a "how the fuck did they get from Human to space faring demi-Gods" and the former could use less "you can tell the person is evil because he's a white male without any obvious physical deformities."

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[DeBaas]

oh yeah, that was it!

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[Wulf2k]

I never did watch the final 3 episodes of the new BSG, but I've been repeatedly and emphatically told that this is for the best.

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[clovis]

Everything has happened before, and everything will happen again.

Whoa!
I thought I'd heard everything, but not that one.

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

If only you has paid attention the first time...

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[ahodgson]

This is probably true about all season 3 and 4.

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[aaronjp]

Mostly true, but if you didn't watch season 3 you didn't see Galactica jump into the atmosphere of a planet begin free-falling like a rock, deploy Vipers while falling, and then jump back into outerspace. That was one of the coolest scenes in either series!

Re:Battlestar Galactica, because . . . .

[Gr8Apes]

The first half of the first season of BG was allright. Had they ended it with the final episode at that point, it might have been great.

Windows: The Gates Project

[Anonymous Coward]

Thinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. But what the computer does with the power is unimaginable to its creators.

Re: Windows: The Gates Project

[fortfive]

I get this reference! Clap!

Re:Windows: The Gates Project

[NicknameUnavailable]

Thinking this will prevent war, the US government gives an impenetrable supercomputer total control over launching nuclear missiles. But what the computer does with the power is unimaginable to its creators.

Cures Polio and nukes everyone who gave it power?

Re:Windows: The Gates Project

[lgw]

I'd watch that movie!

The best take on this I've ever read was James Hogan's The Two Faces of Tomorrow. Before giving control over everything important to an AI, humans want to make sure they can shut it down if they have to. So the put it in a space station, give it total control over everything, deliberately make it hostile to us, then send in a special forces team to shut it down.

The book has an ending I did not see coming, and would make a great movie come to think of it.

Re:Windows: The Gates Project

[Gr8Apes]

But didn't we already see that movie, like 6 times? (Terminator movies and Wargames)

Book 3 of the The Kingkiller Chronicle.

[Anonymous Coward]

Book 3 of the The Kingkiller Chronicle.
(Sorry Pat!)

Re:Book 3 of the The Kingkiller Chronicle.

[Quantum gravity]

Apparently Sam Raimi is in negotiations for directing a film, but just for the first book.

Re:Book 3 of the The Kingkiller Chronicle.

[xxxLCxxx]

He's too much of a 'commercial wizard' for my taste. He doesn't write as an artist, but rather to fill the pages. Ask him for a 396-page novel and he'll have the lead struck down by lightning on page 395. ;-)
After I read the first two, I don't want to read the third. In fact, I don't want to read anything from him anymore.

The Falcon Heavy lunch

[wolfheart111]

Next week. With all thats going on in science and tech nowadays, fake scifi just isnt the same anymore.

Re:The Falcon Heavy lunch

[fisted]

Fake scifi? You mean, as opposed to *real* scifi light the Falcon Heavy launch?

Re:The Falcon Heavy lunch

[nospam007]

"Next week. With all thats going on in science and tech nowadays, fake scifi just isnt the same anymore."

Why? There are already electric cars on Mars.

Re:The Falcon Heavy lunch

[sheramil]

"Next week. With all thats going on in science and tech nowadays, fake scifi just isnt the same anymore."

Why? There are already electric cars on Mars.

Really? How many electric cars are there on Mars? The Mars Rover doesn't count, because it doesn't have bucket seats.

The Orville, Ready Player One

[bjdevil66]

With all the interesting sci-fi out there, I'm mostly looking forward to more of The Orville. After a really lame trailer and the first couple of episodes being kind of forgettable, it improved quickly - and by the end was actually thought-provoking at times.

And of course, Ready Player One. I hope Spielberg's adaption doesn't change too much from the book (mild spoiler alert: the method of earning the copper key looks like it has changed some, per the trailer, and I hope the Rush references get left in at least partially), but it looks really promising. And casting the bad guy from Rogue One as the CEO of IOI was a great choice, IMO. Like Alan Rickman before him, that guy seems like he was born to play aristocratic, evil antagonists.

Re:The Orville, Ready Player One

[Megane]

Ditto, except adding David Warner to your list of great bad-guy actors. End of line.

Re:The Orville, Ready Player One

[bjdevil66]

Good points about Braga, Seth being a fan, etc. It definitely feels like Trek sans teleporters and with different races.

What sets The Orville apart, IMO, is that it keeps the upbeat arc of classic Trek (vs. the gritty, negative, "real" sci-fi view of the future) AND it has imperfect characters flawed in ways that we can relate to today. That makes them more interesting and fun to watch.

We all probably know the guy from the elevator with the music playlist idea, the officer that hates clowns (especially vampire clowns), the couple that fights over one of them not spending quality time at home, the busy professional with spoiled ass children that won't put down their "phone", religious fanatics that you can empathize with but still question their sanity, wealthy snobs that look down on military service with disdain, etc.

I mean, who cares if an orc gets "blooded", or a klingon regains his honor? I do care if there are vampire clowns out there, however. Damn...

Re:The Orville, Ready Player One

[Gr8Apes]

I get that it's hollow, but it's light-hearted fun and campy in the old TOS tradition, lying somewhere between TOS and TNG. I do believe it gains traction because you can watch that one with the family while shows like Killjoys and Dark Matter are definitely in the more mature category.

Re:The Orville, Ready Player One

[ravenscar]

I was really looking forward to Ready Player One as well. I loved the book. It was an amazing tribute to 80's nerd culture. Watching the previews for the movie, however, dampened my excitement. It looks like most of the really nerdy stuff (mastering old school video games, DnD, etc.) has been pulled in favor of swashbuckling adventure scenes tailored to appeal to everyone. The previews may not be representative of the movie as a whole so I'll hold on to hope, but not excitement.

King Kong vs Godzilla

[mccalli]

Yeah - so sue me. Pointless popcorn entertainment a go-go.

Besides which, almost any film can be improved by simply adding "vs Godzilla" to the end of it.

• Bladerunner vs Godzilla
• The Last Jedi vs Godzilla
• Solo vs Godzilla
• Obi-Wan: A Godzilla Story
• Artemis vs Godzilla
• The Cursed Child vs Godzilla
• Fantastic Beasts vs Godzilla
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. vs Godzilla
• A Series of Unfortunate Events vs Godzilla
• Godzilla vs Godzilla

etc., etc., etc...

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[XXongo]

Besides which, almost any film can be improved by simply adding "vs Godzilla" to the end of it.

• Bladerunner vs Godzilla
• The Last Jedi vs Godzilla
• Solo vs Godzilla
• Obi-Wan: A Godzilla Story
• Artemis vs Godzilla
• The Cursed Child vs Godzilla
• Fantastic Beasts vs Godzilla
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. vs Godzilla
• A Series of Unfortunate Events vs Godzilla
• Godzilla vs Godzilla

etc., etc., etc...

You know, most of these I'd pay the price of a movie ticket to see!

and "African Queen versus Godzilla" I might even see twice, just for the look on Katherine Hepburn's face.

Re: King Kong vs Godzilla

[Anonymous Coward]

Google "Bambi vs Godzilla" for proof of this point.

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[Stan92057]

Godzilla fan here, last movie was a total scam he was great though. even though he the star had about 8-10 minutes of screen time and a whole 1:30 second minute EPIC final battle. I was so pissed, worst Godzilla movie even made. best Godzilla creature ever made too lol

Re: King Kong vs Godzilla

[Hal_Porter]

Peter Rabbit, Tank Killer

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[GrumpySteen]

Deepthroat vs Godzilla

I mean, yeah, rule 34 and all that, but at some point the physics just get a bit too weird to suspend disbelief

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[omfglearntoplay]

The 2014 American movie I think you mean? I enjoyed the monster parts for sure. Have you see Shin Godzilla (2016 Japanese release) yet? Pretty interesting, and fans must see!

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[Jason Levine]

Deadpool vs. Godzilla.

That would be a very interesting combination.

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[vanyel]

You forgot Bambi vs Godzilla - how could Hollywood pass up making a remake of yet another classic...

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[Oxygen99]

I can't believe you missed Kramer vs Godzilla.

A moving story of divorce starring Dustin Hoffman and the titular lizard with particular dramatic focus on the impact their relationship difficulties have on their hybrid son.

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[Stan92057]

yes the American movie They did a fantastic job on his cgi but wow very little screen time. the mutos had lot more screen time then the star. They seem to be working towards a Gcvs KK if you watched the last KK movie. OMFG i just watched the trailer for sin wow

Re:King Kong vs Godzilla

[FIlmsFamily]

Only 'Logan" is a perfect movie for enjoying

Snow Crash...

[RyanFenton]

If you haven't read it - it has some of the greatest 'moments of awesome' of any book, combined with an overarchning plot that is a hilarious take on cyberpunk (halfway mocking, halfway loving). Think the Tick, for cyberpunk, with a less purely absurd basis.

The main character is named 'Hiro Protagonist", basically one of the guys who invented the 'metaverse' virtual reality simulation of the story, who carries around katanas IRL, and delivers pizzas for the mob. Oh, and the entire world is owned by corporate nation-states, also in a clever half-parody of cyberpunk stories.

As a bonus, it illustrates how bonkers crazy early religion is in one of its sub-plots, though that may get skipped in the series, understandably. The author kind of has a thing for illustrating the crazier side of indoctrination in the middle of otherwise crazy good stories - see the Diamond Age for a sequel of most of these aspects.

But anyway - it's a superb storyline - it'll be really interesting to see how they adapt it.

Ryan Fenton

Re:Snow Crash...

[drinkypoo]

They will destroy it. Hopefully they don't also destroy Ringworld.

Re:Snow Crash...

[whoever57]

As a bonus, it illustrates how bonkers crazy early religion is in one of its sub-plots

That's your take? The whole of society in the book is organized on the basis of the Libertarian ideal, and it shows what a dystopia Libertarianism would be when fully implemented.

Re:Snow Crash...

[Gr8Apes]

I picture Ringworld the movie being on the order of 2001 or Contact if done true to the book. I'd have to reread it to see if there's enough story/action to make something else out of it.

Re:Snow Crash...

[h8sg8s]

There's enough character development and epic storyline in Ringworld to make an entire franchise. I'm not sure the current Hollywood mindset can think beyond sequels, though. I'd rather they didn't make it than make it badly.

Re:Snow Crash...

[drinkypoo]

There's enough character development and epic storyline in Ringworld to make an entire franchise. I'm not sure the current Hollywood mindset can think beyond sequels, though. I'd rather they didn't make it than make it badly.

We know that snow crash will suck because it will only be one hour long. Ringworld ought to be a series, with one book per season, and a goodly number of episodes.

Altered Carbon

[Cajun Hell]

Altered Carbon is the obvious one, simply because it's so imminent (thus should be on everyone's radar right about now). It's been a while but I remember the book as "cool."

DUNE!

[Anonymous Coward]

Denis Villeneuve's Dune. He elevated Blade Runner, which I never thought was possible, so his vision for Dune has high expectations.

Not a book/movie/tv show

[rogoshen1]

But! Definitely looking forward to cyberpunk 2077. Especially after playing a couple hundred hours of Witcher 3.

Here's to hoping that similar levels of effort and care are going into the writing, dialog, and over all story telling.

The Ringworld!

[Astrogoth13]

I can not wait! Snowcrash is a close second but still second. All Ringworld swag will be MINE! Posters, figures, soundtracks, pet Kzin. Mine!

Re:The Ringworld!

[Headw1nd]

Wait there is a Ringworld movie coming out? I was just having a conversation last week about "When will we see Larry Niven films get made?"

Re:The Ringworld!

[Snotnose]

Came here to say this. With modern CGI it shouldn't be too hard to Do It Right (tm). Be best as a miniseries, like The Expanse, but I'll settle for a movie.

AFAIK there isn't a movie or miniseries adaptation in the works. My insurance company says I have 15-20 years left until the arcturial tables decide times up, so get going Netflix!

Re:The Ringworld!

[Astrogoth13]

It and Snow Crash are on Amazon video. Series!

Re: The Ringworld!

[KlomDark]

Woohoo! Amazon's got my subscription money as soon as the Ringworld series starts! Can't wait to buy a toy Pierson's Puppeteer. ðY

Re: The Ringworld!

[KlomDark]

Oh, but there IS!! Looky here: https://www.engadget.com/2017/...

Re:The Ringworld!

[h8sg8s]

Yes to Ringworld, if done right.

lots of books

[Anonymous Coward]

Shows:

Dark matter (guilty pleasure kinda thing)
The colony

Books:

  Mark Tufo's next Demon Fallout
Anything from the Freehold series by Michael Williamson
Jim butcher's next book... if he ever writes it.
More Bobiverse from Dennis Taylor
some Kris Longknife or really anything from Mike Shepard
The next old Man's war from John Scalzi
really looking forward to a spinoff of the angel in the whirlwind series from Chrisopher nuttall
Steve McHugh's next in the helliquin chronicles
More Joe Ledger from Jonathon Maberry
More B.V. Larson.. like any of it
Also anything from Marko Kloos
the Next Omega Force from Joshua Dalzelle
The next Destroyermen in the series from Anderson Taylor

ya I read a lot.

Re:lots of books

[Altus]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it looks like Dark Matter was canceled:
https://www.cinemablend.com/te...

The colony is fantastic though. I can't wait for that to come back.

Ready Player One

[BenFenner]

The book Ready Player One is more of an MMORPG fantasy than proper Sci-Fi but I enjoyed it quite a bit. I've waiting for the movie to come out. If you've ever been sucked into an MMORPG like I have (Diablo 1, then Ultima Online, then EverQuest) then you'll likely enjoy the book. I'm hoping the movie will live up to the book. Lately Hollywood has been mostly good at bringing books to the screen (Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games, etc.).

Re:Ready Player One

[jlv]

I'm really worried about the Ready Player One movie. WTF are the race cars all those IOI employees are getting into?

Re:Ready Player One

[T.E.D.]

I don't expect the movie to be anything other than a Ready Player One-flavored movie. The trailers are chock-full of stuff that made 0 appearances in the book. But with Spielberg at the helm it could still be a really entertaining flick.

I'd still encourage reading the book too. Its a great book if you survived the 80's as a nerd, and I highly doubt either it or the movie will spoil the other much.

Re:Ready Player One

[Alypius]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who noticed that. Granted, it's been a long time since I read it, but nothing about that trailer felt familiar.

Re:Ready Player One

[T.E.D.]

I'll allow it as long as they're 80's references and look cool.

That's kinda where I am. For a flick like this, the Rule of Cool is The Rule.

However, you may have to be a bit flexible on the 80's too. At least two of the videogame references I saw in the trailer are more from the early 2000's. (DDR and a racing game I can't remember the name of where all the cars flip in unison). So yeah, let that one go too. This is gonna be Spielberg's vehicle, and the rest of us are just gonna have to climb in and try to enjoy whatever weird places he drives us.

Shameful Moderation

[Anonymous Coward]

Why was my post modded down? Is there any cogent explanation for this? I'd really like to hear it.

My post specifically addresses inaccurate and misleading statements made by msmash, who wrote this story. Therefore, it is most certainly relevant to the topic.

The comment about Star Trek: Discovery is certainly accurate. With respect to The X-Files, the ratings for seasons 10 and 11 are facts and are readily available for anyone to see. So are the criticial reviews that panned season 10 while saying that season 11 is better. Gillian Anderson's desire to leave after this season is widely reported, as is the desire of Fox to only renew the show if Anderson and David Duchovny are on board for a new season.

So, why did my post deserve to be modded down? I'd really like to know. Why bother trying to write an informative post if it's going to quickly be modded down? Slashdot is becoming truly awful.

As for the likely response that I should simply post from an account, I requested my account to be deleted in frustration with the current owner, because Slashdot has declined in quality so much. Besides, it shouldn't matter if an informative post is made anonymously or from an account. Facts are facts.

Slashdot is awful now, and the moderation is a significant part and reflection of this. The editing is just as bad, too.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[sycodon]

That would make a great movie.

Action, AI, explosions, politics. The only thing missing is sex and I bet they can write that in.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[sh00z]

That would make a great movie.

Action, AI, explosions, politics. The only thing missing is sex and I bet they can write that in.

And an opportunity to feature a differently-abled star. I am sick up to my ears with CGI "prosthetics."

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[jlv]

The funny thing was that as I read Artemis, all I kept thinking was what an awesome movie The Moon is a Harsh Mistress would make.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[mknewman]

There is no way Hollywood will make MIHM, the antagonist is a computer.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Daetrin]

...you mean the co-protagonist? And why would that be a problem anyways? As the most obvious counter-example, "Her" got a lot of buzz and made a decent profit.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[mknewman]

Her was awful. Hal9000 didn't make sense to most people. You are right, protagonist.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Anonymous Coward]

I remember when I heard they were going to make Starship Troopers into a movie. My first reaction was "Alright!". My next thought were how is Hollywood going deal with the misogyny, the glorification of and sacrifices made by armed forces, and the obvious blatant patriotism displayed throughout the story because without that the story wouldn't make any sense.

  When I saw the movie my reaction was. Why the hell did they spend the money just to buy the title of the dammed book. Oh because it got me to buy a ticket. A$$hats.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[sycodon]

That's right. I forgot. Group Marriages

Orgy Scene!

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[sycodon]

Funny...I thought of the computer as the Protagonist...the good guy.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Baron_Yam]

>The only thing missing is sex and I bet they can write that in.

The sex isn't missing, it's implied. (And didn't Manny have sex with Whyo at least once in the book???) The problem is the chain marriage and considering girls to be appropriate sex partners for men of any age as soon as they're fertile. And making fun of Americans as being intolerant racists and idiots... I bet that sells well in Hollywood's home market.

And then there's the silly libertarian nonsense Heinlein was so fond of. I mean really... criminals paying for their own judges and accepting punishment when they could more easily pay for 'friends' to help space their accusers?

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[ShanghaiBill]

There is an entire sub-plot based off of getting married and sex.

Indeed. All of Heinlein's books have a sub-plot based on sex.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[ShanghaiBill]

Her was awful.

That is your opinion, but most critics liked it, and it is at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. The script author won an Oscar.

Most importantly, it grossed $48 million with a production budget of $23 million. In Hollywood, being profitable is more important than being good.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Quirkz]

Group marriages, but no orgies. They pair up in rotation.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Quirkz]

I'd recently read John Steakley's "Armor," and had not yet read "Starship Troopers" so when I saw the previews, I thought it was going to be for Armor. Admittedly, Steakley wrote Armor specifically as an action-oriented take on Heinlein's premise, so there is a connection. I'd still like to see them do Armor - it'd make a fine movie.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[david_thornley]

I don't remember one from Rocket Ship Galileo. Also, in some of his later books, sex appeared to be the main plot, not the sub-plot.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Anonymous Coward]

Even Starship Troopers based on the book, instead of some Hollywood fucktard's impression of what the book was probably like after reading the first chapter, would have been so much better.

But yes, Armor was awesome.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[i.r.id10t]

I had the same thought when I caught a glimpse of the ST trailers... still haven't seen the movie. Have re-read Armor several times since.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Applehu Akbar]

"Harsh Mistress" is already in production, although Hollywood has already fucked up the title.

Meanwhile, Ron Howard is attempting "Seveneves." Whether this can remotely even be filmed is something we shall have to see.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[slashdot_commentator]

I don't remember one for "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel" either. And though there were females in Starman Jones, I don't remember a sex plot there either.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[CrimsonAvenger]

criminals paying for their own judges and accepting punishment when they could more easily pay for 'friends' to help space their accusers?

Which criminals were those? The characters in the book were the descendants of criminals (sort of like Australians), not the criminals themselves (remember the phrase "new chum"? Those were the criminals, to the extent anyone in Luna was a criminal).

It should also be noted that both sides in a judgement generally had friends. Comes a point when you're better off accepting an adverse ruling by a "judge" than you are starting a small-scale civil war....

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[suutar]

Spider Robinson once categorized Heinlein's books in (as I recall) three groups:
- aimed at Boy Scouts - I think most of the ones with teenaged protagonists are in this line
- edited by Kay Tarrant (who would cut sex no matter who the author was)
- rife with references to sex, if not depictions of sex

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[david_thornley]

Starman Jones has at least a small romantic subplot. Have Spacesuit, Will Travel has intimations of potential future romance. That's as close as it gets in those books. Heinlein's juveniles were pretty much sex-free, with perhaps a hint of romance.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[Sharonacles]

I listened to this as an audiobook when I had to drive 10 hours and it was amazing! My favorite Heinlein book.

Re:The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

[slashdot_commentator]

"Moon is a Harsh Mistress", "Have Spacesuit, Will Travel", or "Starman Jones"?

The next season of Black Mirror

[OzPeter]

I just binge watched the latest one and I want moar

Black mirror!

[keith_nt4]

It has kind of a twilight zone vibe to it. But really modern. Actually this most recent season has a very science fiction episode I loved. For books there's "old man's war". I loved the first one the most. I thought it was going to adapted into a show but last I read about that was years ago. Also book series is "the frontier saga". Its on book...22 I want to say. Author seems to release multiple a year. He's planning like 50 total, something crazy like that. And....I don't know if there's enough information to call "Mr robot" science fiction but...Mr robot.

Quite a few

[Baloroth]

The new season of Westworld. Altered Carbon. New season of The Expanse. Ready Player One. Annihilation. And the new Pacific Rim movie, though that's more action than sci-fi. Honestly I think we're in a golden age of sci-fi television/movies right now, which is awesome.

Re:More Shameful Moderation

[msmash]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We have fixed your modding points. Also, thanks again for pointing out errors in the story.

More Vinge, please?

[jeffb (2.718)]

He certainly doesn't crank things out quickly, but most of it is eminently worth waiting for. His last novel was a bit of a misfire, but he's talked about a couple of other things in the queue from the Zones of Thought universe, and I'd love to see something entirely new from him as well.

Re:More Vinge, please?

[jezwel]

Yes please!

Richard K. Morgan

[PopeRatzo]

Isn't there a version of Altered Carbon coming out on Netflix tomorrow? That could be good. I like Richard K. Morgan.

I don't know what part he plays, but James Purefoy is in the series, and he's really good. He plays Hap Collins in the AMC series based on the Hap & Leonard novels of the great Texas gothic author Joe R. Lansdale (Bad Chili, Mucho Mojo, etc). If you missed that series you should try to go back and watch it. And you should definitely read anything by Joe R. Lansdale.

Answer: None Until US Copyright Fixed

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't watch or read any books, TV shows, or movies newer than 14 years old, and then I pirate those. Similar situation with software, except obviously software must be relatively current. Screw the copyright cartel. Since the bargain to protect content with copyright has effectively been eliminated ("forever minus a day is 'limited time'", Public Domain starved) I feel no obligation whatsoever to play fair with copyright holders and will do everything I can to make their content available for free without restrictions regardless of the "law" and take all the money out of their pockets I can.

Forget living memory

[rsilvergun]

thanks our drug policy and uneven enforcement it's still living full stop. When you're black you learn what neighborhoods you belong in and which ones you don't. After all, the majority of Americans have smoked weed and you can be sent up the river for years for a joint and spend the rest of your life with the consequences of jail time and a conviction.

Re:Forget living memory

[Sperbels]

When you're black you learn what neighborhoods you belong in and which ones you don't.

This isn't unique to black people. Even in completely racially homogeneous areas we are divided by religion, social status, economic status, and others.

Optimistic, but experienced otherwise.

[Anonymous Coward]

ST Discovery has been a big letdown for me, but the Harcourt Mudd episodes were great.
Orville has been doing Star Trek better then Star Trek-D.
I'm looking forward to see how, and if, the Star Wars series can recover from the disaster they foisted off as the Last Jedi movie.
After an unexpectedly high-quality, series-loyal, and all around impressive few seasons, the moronic idea of a woman Dr Who threatens to tank the series for me.
We don't know when the next Safehold series book is coming out.
I think that Macross Delta could use another season.
I've never liked Game of Thrones, but I need to get caught up on the last few Wild Cards books- and there's another one coming out this year! And there's no clear word about the Wild Cards tv series, but it can't be worse then the bunch of off-X-Men shows. Please.
I'm a grown man who wants to fight the Patriarchy- of the Man-Kzin Wars! Isn't it about time for Baen to put out another Kzinti Series book?
So overall, I'm looking forward to seeing how my fave sci-fi series can survive unnecessary and unneeded shakeups.

More Godzilla

[rsilvergun]

the last movie was surprisingly good.

Re:Look at British, Canadian Sci-Fi...

[WillAffleckUW]

Humans is quite good. It's on one of the other "channels" here, I think

Battle Angel Alita (I hope they don't ruin it)

[Lonewolf666]

The trailer gives me some suspicions that it might fail to match the atmosphere and story of the manga. Or that the hint of a love story it shows might be a harbinger of teenie drama (boo!).

Guess I'll have to wait for the reviews to get an idea if this movie really is what I've been looking forward to. And if it is worth the ticket price.

How about some real SF?

[Mike Van Pelt]

Even as Hollywood studios report fewer footfalls in theaters

"Well, there's your problem right there!"

"Footfall" would make a great movie. I can think of others -- "The High Crusade" is near the top of the "I'd love to see this on the big screen, and it's a story that Hollywood might even be able to understand well enough to not botch it" list.

But no, we get endless reboots of rehashes of remakes of comic books and crappy old Hollywood skiffy, for the most part.

Re:How about some real SF?

[Nothing2Chere]

Nothing is new. Everything has been done

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt01...

Rendez-vous withRama

[OneHundredAndTen]

After all these years, I can't understand why Hollywood hasn't taken up the project. The story aside, an effective recreation of the interior of Rama, with all the counterintuitive (to us) physical effects, would in itself be worth the price of admission.

Timeline: Micheal Crichton

[kencurry]

A great book, I've read it a bunch of times. There was a movie of it some time ago that was just terrible. I would love to see a talented young director do that book justice.

Re:Timeline: Micheal Crichton

[Baron_Yam]

>There was a movie of it some time ago that was just terrible.

What? That movie was fine, I watch it every year or two.

Calm down, Quark is just the host

[Impy the Impiuos Imp]

"Quark's Holodeck Adventures" on Skinimax.

Re:Calm down, Quark is just the host

[Sperbels]

Ooo! Do they have Vulcan Love Slave Volume 3?

The Collapsing Empire

[Chillintau]

TV rights to The Collapsing Emprie have been purchased and the sequel is due to be released in October.

Interstellar was crap

[Anonymous Coward]

They need a huge booster to get off Earth, but that tiny shuttle can land and get back into orbit from planets with Earth-like gravity - no booster needed?

Really?

When will scifi pay attention to simple F = (G m1 m2)/ r^2 stuff? It isn't rocket science ... oh - actually it is, but really, really, really simple rocket science.

Perhaps the speculative science part of interstellar WASN'T all crap, but the guts of it was. The Europa Report was much more accurate, IMHO.

From the list in the question, guess I'm behind on "science fiction" stuff. I don't really like fantasy stuff - which is what Star Wars is - 100% fantasy. As soon as they drop the "gravity plating" stuff, then I'll pay attention. If you want gravity on a space ship, you need to spin it - like 12 RPM for a 10m diameter ship. Run some numbers, see for yourself.

Counterpart

[Fetko]

Since I haven't seen it mentioned, I'll throw out Counterpart on Starz. The first two episodes have aired, and they've been pretty solid. Not hard sci-fi by any means, but it has potential.

Kinda huge topic here.

[T.E.D.]

Book-wise,

I've been in a 4 year drought for Dresden Files, which looks to end with a light sprinkle this June with a short story anthology, followed hopefully by the next full installment, Peace Talks, in 2019 or 2020. Dude got divorced, met someone new, and got married in the intervening years, so I guess his personal life wasn't in a good stable place for writing books for my needy self, but still ...

Its been an even longer drought in the Heirs of Alexandria series, but the new book All the Plagues of Hell should be arriving in stores just in time for Christmas.

My favorite author Eric Flint reports being about 2/3rds done with the next (third) installment in the Joe's World series too. The second book, Forward the Mage, is one of my favorite novels ever, but many people I show it to can't stand it. Its likely unlike anything else you've ever read (for a small taste, half the book has as a conceit that it was written by a hostile narrator. And that's not even the weird part...).

Movie -wise, of course Black Panther. My current stressor is that nobody appears to be showing it in 3D IMAX (seriously, check Fandango in your area. I found a *single* 3D IMAX showing in LA on 2/17, but none in my hometown, Manhattan, Philly, or anywhere else I checked). Next most interested is Captain Marvel. Besides that we have the whole upcoming Marvel wave of movies.

Netflix, new season of Jessica Jones should drop soon along with all her friends. Hopefully next season Defenders will live up to its promise a bit better, and Iron Fist will be a bit less of a drag on the franchise.

The first Netflix Godzilla flick was really cool, although it was more like Attack on Titan with Godzilla than it was a Godzilla movie. The post-credit scene (make sure you watch that!) held out hope for it upcoming series being more interesting though.

Which brings up Attack on Titan. After a several year hiatus, its second season I believe is currently ongoing. So it should hit Netflix later this year, or early next year at the latest.

Youtube, the new season of Critical Role has just started with all new level-2 characters. Episode 4 I believe will be streaming tonight at 7 Pacific (too late for my old-timey self), and up on Youtube next Monday. At 4+ hours each, that gives you just enough time to listen to the first three eps if you start right now. :-)

The Expanse S3

[DarthVain]

Can't believe no one has mentioned this one yet. It's the science fiction show I'm most looking forward to. It's probably one of the shows I'm most looking forward to period. Unfortunately they are playing a bit sketchy as to the release date in that it is listed as "2018"...

Re: When the left use the phrase 'Social Justice'

[Anonymous Coward]

omg dad, stop posting here, youâ(TM)re embarrassing me in front of my friends : ( : (

THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM

[Dmitri_Yuriescu]

Wait... it's already out in China. Why haven't i seen it?

wish list

[clovis]

My wish list; not in order. Some are supposedly in production, some not.
"Grass" by Sherri Tepper
"Hyperion" by Dan Simmons
"Old Man's War" by John Scalzi
The oeuvre of S. Clay Wilson

Not science fiction, but should be filmed
"News of the World" by Paulette Jiles
"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

A Wrinkle in Time

[fieldstone]

Long before I read Ender's Game, this book (specifically the characters of Meg and Charles Wallace) helped me to realize that it might be okay to be smarter than most other kids I knew. It got me into SF and fantasy first, and remains one of my favorite examples of science fantasy along with Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land. The trailer looks so good, too. I can hardly wait another month for this movie.

A new film....

[bigtiny]

'Relief'
Synopsis: A large, bottomless sinkhole swallows every building that contains a gov't official along with the officials themselves.

Octavia Butler - finally on the screen

[uqbar]

It strange that no TV or film version of Butler's work has ever been made, but an adaptation, Dawn, is finally in the works: http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/o...

Years after her death, her work is only getting more relevant so this could be great if done well.

Re:Octavia Butler - finally on the screen

[Applehu Akbar]

It strange that no TV or film version of Butler's work has ever been made, but an adaptation, Dawn, is finally in the works: http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/o...

Years after her death, her work is only getting more relevant so this could be great if done well.

Nnedi Okorafor's "Who Fears Death" is in the works also.

Easy

[eclectro]

The force behind 28 Days Later and Ex-Mechina, Alex Garland, is about to release Annihilation in three weeks.

STD - Black K'lap Alert

[CRB9000]

The Crew of the STD must race against time to rescue Captain P'nn Esln a planet of spore worshipers and who holds the key to stopping the Klingons new biological weapon known by the code name: Black K'lap.

Re:STD - Black K'lap Alert

[rtb61]

You missed the bit about eating their enemies and cladding their ships in dead bodies but if you eat them, how can you clad your ship with them, have you cake and eat it to, hmm, I suppose empty coffins. To be fair, I watched only one episode by accident, I thought is was something else, so how come male crew do not have female names, are the producer discriminating against men or does Nancy boy not sell well. So why can't the male captain be called princess Tiffany, how disgustingly political incorrect of them (you could guess it will be the only episode of STD I watch, keep in mind they named it that on purpose because they thought it was funny that they would give all white male computer nerds who watch it an SJW STD, hah, hah, hah). I did not enjoy that episode and the current versions of Klingon are shite and no fun at all, a big part of why I can't watch it.

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin -- film

[Darth Technoid]

An English translation by Ken Liu was published by Tor Books in 2014. It won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel[5] and was nominated for the 2014 Nebula Award for Best Novel. --> A film is in production.

Wikipedia says "It is the first novel of the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy, but Chinese readers generally refer to the whole series by the title of this first novel. The title itself refers to the three-body problem in orbital mechanics."

Doctor Who

[cybersquid]

A new Doctor. 'nuff said.

Re:Wool...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll trade you two wool for one wood...

Annihilation

[TimHunter]

Not enough has been said so far about Alex Garland's Annihilation, due out Feb 27, based on the novel by Jeff Vandermeer. Garland is the director of Ex Machina, itself a pretty good SF movie. Vandermeer has seen an early cut and said that the ending will be talked about the way the ending of 2001: A Space Odyssey has been talked about for the last 50 years or so.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89OP78l9oF0/

To Say Nothing of the Dog, Passage, Pern

[Michael Woodhams]

My favourite book of all time: To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis, a Victorian time travel mystery and farce. I think it would work well as an anime, with Ned's internal imaginings being played out by chibi characters, and shojo sparkles when people have time-lag (which, among other things, makes people overly sentimental.)

My second favourite by Willis is Passage, which would be good as a TV series/mini-series. Our heroine is researching induced near-death experiences. (Being near death is not required.)

Although I'm not nearly as enthusiastic about it as I was as a teenager, Anne MacCaffery's Pern series has all the requirements of a high profile big budget pay TV SF/fantasy megaseries. In particular, lots of dragons. There is some flexibility on how much sex and violence is in there, down to kid-friendly at the low end, although they wouldn't stretch to GoT levels at the high end.

Galactic Odyssey by Keith Laumer

[fyngyrz]

Galactic Odyssey by Keith Laumer

That's the book I'd really, really like to see turned into a scene-by-scene, 100% follows-the-book movie. The book lives up to its title, and to this day, decades after it was written, still doesn't suffer from any serious flaws. It's a terrific adventure with great characters and really outstanding venues and circumstances, and we're finally at a point with CGI and etc. where they could actually make it.

The thing is... generally, Hollywood works pretty hard to put their own spin on things (by which I mean, they completely screw up the story... Soylent Green's ruination of Make Room, Make Room, the incredible abortion of Starship Troopers... ugh... so perhaps its best if the story is played out in the theater of my mind, where it is 100% guided by the author anyway.

So never mind. Sigh.

But if you're looking for a great SF adventure book... this has my highest recommendation.

Chtorr

[Leuf]

That fifth book in the series is sure to be out any day now.

Well. not in english.

[philmarcracken]

Since learning japanese, I'm looking forward to going back in time a bit and reading all that stuff actually. The west is in rehash and reboot mode and I'm tired of it.

Re:Well. not in english.

[Applehu Akbar]

Gambatte!

I am so fucking happy no one mentioned Covenant...

[Grog6]

...The Unbeliever.

If I ever meet the author, I want hours of my time back from that Bastard.

The Expanse - Hard Science fiction

[FeelGood314]

The thing I love about the expanse is, aside from the proto-molecule, everything is based on science we know. Also they work hard to get the physics right. Interstellar's science was beyond stupid and had the same mistakes as the pilot of The 100. Worst offence, when two objects in space separate, if one of them is not undergoing acceleration the two objects will continue moving together. Separating two space craft near a black hole doesn't cause the smaller one to fall away, throwing bodies out an orbiting space station air lock doesn't magically cause the bodies to suddenly fall to earth. The bodies will continue to orbit with you and just add to the space debris.

Re:The Expanse - Hard Science fiction

[Berkyjay]

This is exactly the same reason why I like the Expanse and hate Interstellar as well! I'm glad someone else feels the same way haha!

Outlander 9

[movdqa]

It's about three years between books these days.

The 3-body problem

[supertjx]

The 3-body problem. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

No more Iain M Banks books, but a movie?

[shanen]

Since he's passed away I'm guessing there's no more Culture books coming, so maybe a movie would be some sort of substitute? Or has it been tried and platzed?

Naw, I'd probably miss it. I miss almost all the movies.

Against a Dark Background by Iain M Banks

[Tesseractic]

The story is set in a system quite apart from most of Banks's science fiction and revolves around a strong female lead character (Sharrow) whose adversaries force her to reassemble her old war buddies for the flight/fight of their lives.

The Freeze-Frame Revolution

[Bobtree]

By Peter Watts (author of Blindsight), due out this summer. There are excerpts on his blog going back a decade, some found here by character search: http://www.rifters.com/crawl/?...

There's only one good show left

[Not-a-Neg]

Star Trek is a disgrace, Dark Matter got canceled, the only show left that's worth a damn is The Orville.

Sci-Fi ??

[rot26]

I'm looking forward to the day when morons stop referring to science fiction as "skiffy".

Anon

[Walteberger]

Watch out for "Anon" by Andrew Niccol.

Ready Player One

[eric_harris_76]

Good book. Trailers for the movie look good too. And I hear the director is pretty good.

"Artemis" movie (from the author of _The Martian_)

[eric_harris_76]

The book was good. I'm pretty sure it's been optioned for a movie. Given how "The Martian" turned out, the book may have been optioned even before completion. I have a vague memory of learning that. (IMDB says it's kinda underway: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt68... Has directors (2), anyway.)

The movie would have some action, and a few twists. Should have a kick-ass female lead. Will need someone who can act, is plausibly Middle-Eastern in appearance and play a teenager / very young adult. (I forget which.)