Science Fiction Rating System

This week we get deep into conspiracy theories: Did man go to the moon? Did the makers of this film forget to write an ending? Why is Telly Savalas in everything? And, most imporantly, is Capricorn One Poppins masquerading as sci-fi? It's the episode that might not count, only it might, only it might not. Tune in to find out! Next week things take a turn for the extremely '90s as we watch Dennis H...

Part two of our listener picks and it's Alex's turn to host with Saturn 3 . A science fiction film starring Kirk Douglas, written by Martin Amis and with Harvey Keitel's face but not his voice, needless to say this is a pretty weird one. Join us as we try and find a motivation for any of the film's characters, wonder at how the film's antagonist cost so much to build, and battle our own gremlins a...

This week we watch the first of a trilogy of listener-picked films, one for each of us. First up is Redline , chosen for Sam because he's the most in to moaning on about Japanese animated stuff. Join us as we discuss this futuristic Wacky Races , get used to talking again after spending the week in lockdown and hear Alex's pitch for a remake which may be the best idea anyone has ever had on this p...

Another little bonus pod as Chris and Sam convene on a strange Thursday morning to come to terms with the immediate future through the medium of film. Join us as we definitively rank a bunch of apocalypses and reassure ourselves that our particular apocalypse could be a lot, lot, lot worse. Oh, we also talk about Star Trek because as much things may change some things will always be the same. Film...

SFRS is sticking up a couple of bonus episodes over the next few days. First up we present the uncut interview with special effects legend Valerie Charlton that featured in last week's Brazil episode. As well as a bit more Brazil talk we also discuss Valerie's other work on Monty Python and the Holy Grail , Life of Brian , The Dark Crystal , Jabberwocky and much more. GIVE US 5 STARS ON ITUNES! Ge...

In a very special episode we review Terry Gilliam's Brazil and are joined by Valerie Charlton who worked on the visual effects for the film for a fascinating interview on how some of the iconic shots were put together. Also, Sam is an idiot and deleted his own audio and Chris has gone AWOL, so listen as Alex and Sam try to recreate a podcast by picking through the remnants of a digital Chris. It's...

This week it's time for another listener request, and as usual it seems our fans may have questionable taste. Bicentennial Man is a film in which Robin Williams plays an android with odd obsessions. But don't worry about that, what has this all got to do with hummus? How do you become a clock billionaire? Is Chris in talks to produce Bicentennial Man 2 ? All these questions and more answered in th...

This week Chris dies and goes to heaven as Denise Richards rides an animatronic T-Rex through small town America. Tammy and the T-Rex has all the hallmarks of going straight to the bottom of the list..but is it actually quite good? We discuss what makes a bad film good (or bad), what can you achieve in two weeks, the beauty of T-Rex arms and the wide world of Paul Walker vinyl decals. Also, anothe...

Long time listeners know to be scared when the words Star and Trek appear in the title. Yes, it's a long one, almost an hour and half of talk about the seventh Trek film with a bonus bit about Star Trek: Picard tacked on the start. We discuss the plight of Dr. Beverly Crusher, the walking plothole Data, the contents of Chris' nexus and, as always, enough discussion about the layout of the Enterpri...

This week we're watching THX 1138 , George Lucas' pre- Star Wars serious business indie sci-fi flick. Join us for the usual plot breakdown, lots of cooing about nice set design and smart editing, and plenty of bafflement at how we got from here to Dex's Diner . Next week we continue our chronological trip through all the Star Trek films with Generations (and probably talk a lot about Star Trek: Pi...

Chris is back from an unscheduled winter break in LA with tales of splashing celebrities and not telling anyone about the podcast. Lucky for him he returned in time to discuss The Visit , the last of our 2015 choices. A film quite unlike everything we've watched before, it's a documentary but it's also a film about an alien visitation and it's also barely anything and- well, just listen. Is there...

This week it's Chris' choice of 2015 film to start the new decade, and predictably he's gone for Jurassic World . Alex has plans for a very different sort of JP film, Sam can't get over Quattro and Chris is just happy as long as there's dinosaurs. Next week it's Sam's pick for 2015, which was Michael Madsen's (not that one) The Visit (not that one, either) GIVE US 5 STARS ON ITUNES! Get in touch!...

It's 2020 which means the strict and important rules of SFRS now allow us to watch films from 2015. So, obviously our first choice is Hot Tub Time Machine 2. Listen as Sam's soul tries to escape his body, everyone pitches dark TV shows, Alex brings several quizzes and we find out definitively when films stopped being funny. Next week Chris takes us back to Jurassic Park only this time it's bigger...

The year has ended, 2020 is here and we are starting the new decade remaining on brand by delivering our 2019 wrap up late! Join us as we discuss our highlights of the year just gone, find out who won the prediction game and look ahead to what's coming up next year. Also Sam has a Serious Moment, we find out what films we'll be watching throughout January and we discuss Star Wars. Again. Sorry. US...

Continuing our Star Wars christmas we finally get round to finishing the original trilogy with Return of the Jedi . What do ewoks get up to behind the scenes? Why are ewoks 'the death of innocence'? Can we resist moaning about Rise of the Skywalker ? No, no we can't. No spoilers, though. Next week it's the CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR 2019!! The year in review, predictions revealed and lots of chat about...

On the night before the night before the night before Christmas SFRS broke into your house, ate your mince pies, drank your brandy and left a little treat for you in your podcast feed. Yes, it's another spoilercast and this time it's a big one! Alex and Sam report back from the 'final' Star Wars film and let Chris know what to expect from JJ Abrams' end to the Skywalker saga. Is it good? Does it m...

This week we're watching Doom , the 2005 adaptation of the game of the same name in which a young Rock goes to Mars and no-one turns the lights on or has much fun. But don't let that put you off, there's all sorts of other stuff going on this week: Listener feedback! The world premiere of Rock, Pepper, Schwimmer, the new game show sensation! An impromptu deep dive into the insanity that is chromos...

Finally, finally we are pretty much back on schedule and just in time to get to Chris' birthday pick before Christmas! Hurrah! Wait, Independence Day: Resurgence ? Really? Oh well. Chris misunderstands the parameters for his birthday pick, we get wildly off topic with Bing searches, Julia Bradbury (safesearch on) and hope and pray this is the last time we have to look at anything Indepence Day rel...

For the first of our new format birthday picks we watch Sam's choice, Dune . With Denis Villenueve currently deep into post-production on a big budget remake we return to the 1984 Lynch original to try and make sense of the plot, confront our childhood PTSD from that scene with the hand, and get into some pretty heavy Dune book spoilers towards the end of the pod. You have been warned. Next week w...

Almost a year after we watched The Matrix we bite the bullet (time) and finish the trilogy with Revolutions . Is this film as bad as we all remember? Does it make any more sense than it did at the time? I mean I think you already know the answer, but let us tell you why! Next week it's time for Sam's birthday pick, Dune ! GIVE US 5 STARS ON ITUNES! Get in touch! Visit the Website! See the list so...

Arnie said he'd be back, we just didn't realise how often. As the 32nd Terminator film, Terminatrix VII: The Terminating hits cinemas we finally watch the original film, where James Cameron's involvement was more than sitting in on a couple of story meetings and doing a bunch of press. Yes, before he left for his undersea base to concurrently make 17 Avatar films he actually directed stuff! Anyway...

(It's been a few weeks, we got lost in time. Bear with us, more regular pods are coming soon) This week we take a look at Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys in which Bruce Willis goes a bit mad whilst trying to stop the future from existing. Or he has no hands? It's unclear. We also find time to discuss the latest trailer for Star Trek: Picard , the career of pop pinniped Seal, have a crisis over how...

Missed us? After our annual unexpected hiatus we're back with Logan's Run , an unashamedly old-fashioned slice of '70s sci-fi in which the plot is nebulous, the skirts are short, and the robots are absolutely awful. Next week (hopefully) to celebrate the release of Ad Astra we take a look at Brad Pitt's only other sci-fi credit, Twelve Monkeys . GIVE US 5 STARS ON ITUNES! Get in touch! Visit the W...

There was a time 2019 felt like the future and not the horribly crushing present, and that time was 2005, when Michael Bay had a go at 'proper' science fiction with The Island . We watch as Ewan McGregor and Scarlet Johansson do their best with Bay's typical brand of complete awfulness, lose count of how many inappropriate product placement deals were signed, and only have to use the censor beep o...

This week we watch David Cronenberg's head scrambling virtual reality film eXistenZ ! Join us as we pause the game long enough to try and work out what exactly is going on, decide on which computer game we'd like to live in, and even have time to mention that weird double lightsaber. It's all happening. Next week it turns out we've gone so long without a Michael Bay film we've got to done again. I...