DISCUSSIONS FROM THE OTHERHOOD

In the past several years we have been exposed to the fact that the presumptively open literary worlds of science fiction and fantasy have been occluded with race and ethnic bias. Many people of color were surprised to discover that these biases even existed among those who could write convincingly of aliens, elves and all manner of mythological species without batting an eye. With this in mind, g...

In October 2019 many in the U.S. and the world were stunned by the explosively violent spectacle of the 1921 Tulsa massacre depicted in Damon Lindelof's turn on Alan Moore's The Watchmen. The violence carried out against the black community in Tulsa by their white neighbors, led many to the discover that this and other equally egregious massacres carried out against people of Africans descent. spa...

With the current global upheavals facing us from police brutality to COVID-19 and the environmental crises, are people needing the escapism provided by speculative entertainment or has speculative entertainment lulled and served to distract us from our world's mounting problems? Join us to talk it out.

Whether it's hope catharsis, or affirmation; which Twilight Zone or other spec fic anthology episode helps to get you through these trying times? Remember "The Obsolete Man", "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street", "Four O'Clock", "I am the Night - Color Me Black" "To See the Invisible Man" and more recently "Replay" and "Wunderkind" which of these and which others get you through these days of un...

A while back we posited which Horror movie best described our then circumstances. Amazingly since then things have become even more complex. With Covid-19, rampant unemployment in the U.S. and shortages looming... What film do we find ourselves in, now. And are we at the end of the beginning... or the beginning of the end?

We all had that show or that film that kept us up at night with the lights on. What show was it that gave you a fright? Do you laugh it off now? Or does it still give you the chills? Join us see if your list matches ours!

Alright I am 100% committed to social distancing and sheltering in place, but I do miss the theater, the theater in "the neighborhood." There is nothing like the shared experience of horror or comedy in a neighborhood theater. Have you ever had the experience? What is the most notable and what are you doing now during our period of social distancing to replicate that feeling?! Join us tonight and...

What book, movie, television show, comic, performer, could you not get enough of in your formative years, but then one day you looked at it and sadly lamented, "I'll never get that time back..." Commiserate with us!

As we scrounge for content over our periods of quarantine and/or sheltering in place what are those shows that were phenomenal, mind-blowing and earth shattering that you have seen in the past and wish that you had saved them for a situation like this? Join us tonight and let's share our lists!

Last week James Goodridge threw down the gauntlet and double dog dared us to take a look at the iconic puppet-based show, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Scoot over to Youtube and judge for yourself. Is it a yea or a nay? Also, Otto has lamented that during our sheltering in place he envies everyone who hasn't seen all of the great shows that we have already seen. What great shows do you wish y...

From Chucky, to Talky Tina to Trilogy of Terror's Zuni doll; the Puppeteer horror films and Goosebumps' Slappy which category of these give you the heebee-jeebees and why? Which of these pint-sized terrors would you least want to come upon in a dark alley? Join us tonight to reveal which of these stalks your nightmares!

In the time of the Corona virus we could use a hero. With travelers being held on ships at the dock, to ships outfitted for use as emergency wards not being used, to shortages of medical equipment we need someone or someones to make things right. We need a hero! What hero/heroes (DC, Marvel, Image, Milestone, etc. --- your choice) do you think would be best equipped to deal with the multifaceted i...

We've discussed it before. We knew we would be ready for the zombie apocalypse, but when something even close to paralleling those apocalyptic visions came along we were stunned that our bullets and body armor would be worth far less than hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Who knew?! Referencing our vast horror film studies and their preparedness lists from the Last Man on Earth to the Walking Dead,...

During this, the first week of our corona virus self semi-quarantine we amused ourselves watching the pilot episode of Star Trek. The intrepid crew headed by Captain Christopher Pike set the stage for what is now a classic Sci-Fi franchise. But what happened to that crew? What happened to those actors in "Real Life"? Let's take a look back at the ones that started it all and what occurred after th...

In a recent New York Times article when discussing the structure of his upcoming miniseries, The Plot Against America, David Simon averred that "You can count on two hands the number of good voice-over films.” We're taking a look at voice over films in scifi, fantasy, horror and beyond. What makes a good voice over film? Also there have been a plethora of alternative history tales in spec fic from...

The Superhero trope is metamorphosing. Batman is probably the most well-known superhero with no super powers. Now we have Hunters, The Watchmen, The Boys, Stranger Things. All these groupings who largely rely upon hypersensitivities, wit and grit have elevated expertise and focus to superhero status. Join us to discuss this evolution and how it will affect how we view the heroic trope in the next...

Cranston Umchained redo

We all have at least one... that TV show, that Film that we swore we would never watch... for whatever reason. So what show, film etc. did you swear you'd never view but ultimately did and enjoyed? What changed your mind? Join us tonight to share your list.

Almost every reader/viewer of sci-fi, fantasy, horror... any type of spec fic you can imagine has a favorite world or character. Tonight we'll discuss the worlds, alternate realities and fantastical people and places that drew us to spec fic and has kept us coming back!

The 2020 Oscars have no major award nominations for sci-fi and horror. Join us as we look at the list of eligible films to find out why.

Have you been watching the new offerings for 2020; The Witcher, October Faction, Avenue 5 and Picard. How do they rate with regard to diversity? Do they entertain? Are they worth viewing?

Whether it was the Nth time the villain almost got away if not for those meddling kids meddling or the first time David and Maddie kissed, our favorite shows; how did our favorite shows reward us or diss us for our loyalty? What movies, TV shows, books, game, etc. either gave us, their loyal fans, a pat on the head or a middle finger?

The weekend leading up to the Martin Luther King holiday we are dogged by statements made by writer Stephen King with regard to diversity as it related to the Oscars. https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/thousands-twitter-replies-challenge-stephen-kings-tweet-diversity/story?id=68326302 What is it about Stephen King's statement that has drawn ire? How can he be so off-base and why almost 57 years...

In the groundbreaking 1959 television show a variety of societal issues were raised and treated via the mechanism of science fiction. Two socio-political issues though connected were dealt with quite disparately. Let's take a look at the Twilight Zone and its condemnation of the Nazis versus its attempts to humanize of the Confederacy.

Remember those shows you loved 10 years ago, twenty? Have you ever gone back to give them a second look? In this world of more complex storytelling and sophisticated tastes do our favorites still hold up? Join us to discuss your favorites and ours.