Space oddities: why the Futurama reboot went from sci-fi to sci-why

The show was axed and remade, moving to Comedy Central and leaving its comedic legacy behindMatt Groening could do no wrong in 1999. The Simpsons was still both witty and money-spinning, and he could get any project he wanted greenlit – even a sci-fi comedy cartoon called Futurama. The show began with New Year’s Eve 1999, when disillusioned pizza delivery boy Philip J Fry fell into a cryogenic vat, only to awaken 1,000 years later in “the world of tomorrow!”. His excitement at his new life was tempered by finding out everyone in the future has a career assigned by the government, and his job was to be a delivery boy for Planet Express – motto: “Our crew is replaceable, your package isn’t!”On board the Planet Express spaceship with the immature and slovenly Fry were cyclops orphan Leela, drunken robot Bender, clumsy intern Amy and incompetent alien medical lobster Dr Zoidberg: a crew of misfits seemingly designed to connect directly to the types of misfits who watch cartoon science fiction. Every mission was an adventure, whether it be discovering a parallel universe in a cardboard box or battling parasites in Fry’s bowels. Present-day celebrities made cameos as preserved heads in jars, which was a lot more satisfying than how The Simpsons handled them. Everyone from Stephen Hawking (“That physicist who invented gravity”) to Al Gore (“Inventor of the internet”) was willing to be decapitated to appear on the funniest show on TV. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2019-06-10 12:00:09 UTC ]
News tagged with: #connect directly #stephen hawking

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‘Astronauts check our scripts!’: inside the new age of sumptuous sci-fi TV

With clone emperors in haute couture and exotic wolf-lizards poised to attack, Foundation and For All Mankind herald a new era of ravishing spectaculars. Can they do for sci-fi what Game of Thrones did for fantasy?Dynastic infighting, the decline and fall of a mighty empire, tyrannical rulers... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-09-23 15:57:15 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lee pace #isaac asimov #science fiction


Bo-Young Kim on Finding Unlikely Sci-Fi Influences

Western works of science fiction were not easily accessible in translation in South Korea until recent years. The country was ruled by a succession of military dictatorships until around 1992, and before that time, South Korean culture had been surveilled through a state censorship system that... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2021-05-27 08:50:01 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #easily accessible #south korea #science fiction


Sci-Fi Writer or Prophet? The Hyperreal Life of Chen Qiufan

As China’s science fiction authors are elevated to the status of oracles, Qiufan’s career—and his genre’s place in society—have gone through the looking glass. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2021-03-09 12:00:00 UTC ]
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The Best Funny Sci-Fi Books

Do you love your science fiction with a heaping side of humor? You’ve come to the right place! Pick up these funny sci-fi books, including Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-01-28 11:38:00 UTC ]
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A New Way to Trace the History of Sci-Fi’s Made-Up Words

The Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction turns a century of neologisms (and neosemes!) into a redefintion of the genre. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2021-01-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Tracking the Vocabulary of Sci-Fi, from Aerocar to Zero-Gravity

The new online Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction probes the speculative corners of the lexicographic universe. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2021-01-26 12:01:06 UTC ]
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A Guide to Conquering Your Demons With 5 Mathematical Sci-Fi Books

These mathematical science fiction books use mathematics in world-building to advance the plot and build characters. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-10-28 10:37:00 UTC ]
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The Butch Lesbian Sci-Fi Aesthetic: A Conversation With Tamsyn Muir

TAMSYN MUIR’S DEBUT NOVEL, Gideon the Ninth, the first in her Locked Tomb trilogy, exploded into the world to universal critical acclaim last year. The series doesn’t fit nearly into the castles-versus-spaceships division that characterizes much of mainstream science fiction and fantasy. It has... Continue reading at Los Angeles Review of Books

[ Los Angeles Review of Books | 2020-10-21 17:00:28 UTC ]
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6 Books Celebrating Women’s Early Contributions to Fantasy and Sci Fi

If you thought the landscape of classic SFF was exclusively male, peep these science fiction and fantasy stories by women, including Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements edited by Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-10-14 10:37:00 UTC ]
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Derek B Miller’s first sci-fi novel goes to Jo Fletcher Books

Jo Fletcher Books, Quercus’ fantasy and science fiction imprint, will publish Derek B Miller’s first sci-fi novel, Radio Life. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-10-01 03:42:44 UTC ]
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Game of Thrones creators to bring Liu Cixin’s sci-fi trilogy to Netflix

David Benioff and DB Weiss to adapt The Three-Body Problem and two sequels with Alexander WooGame of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and DB Weiss are to adapt a series of hit science fiction novels by Chinese author Liu Cixin for Netflix. Together with Alexander Woo, who has worked on... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-09-01 14:29:32 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #three-body problem #alexander woo #streaming giant #ve read #science fiction


Gollancz lands Cameron sci-fi debut

Gollancz has landed a sci-fi debut by fantasy novelist Miles Cameron, who also writes historical fiction as Christian Cameron. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-08-26 17:11:19 UTC ]
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11 Black Sci-Fi Authors To Read Right Now

Get to know the work of these Black science fiction authors, from the established and prolific to debut authors shaking up the genre like Cinderella is Dead author Kalynn Bayron. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-08-13 10:37:00 UTC ]
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HBO Max Expands Originals With Ridley Scott Sci-Fi Series, Selena Gomez Cooking Show

NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock has an original science fiction series, Brave New World. Netflix is prepping Away, an upcoming sci-fi drama following a group of astronauts on a journey to Mars. Now, HBO Max has announced the premiere date of its own ambitious sci-fi show. Raised by... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-08-05 21:37:25 UTC ]
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Film4 options Lynda Clark's debut sci-fi

Film4 has acquired TV and film rights to Lynda Clark's sci-fi novel, Beyond Kidding, published by Fairlight Books.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 14:42:54 UTC ]
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“The greatest sci-fi work of all time,” Foundation, finally has a YouTube trailer.

Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy has long been one of the great unadaptable science fiction works (read more on that here, along with a catalogue of Asimov’s awful serial harassment of women), but after 50 years, it has finally made it to screens. Starring noted tall man, Lee Pace (along with... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-23 14:28:10 UTC ]
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What to Make of Isaac Asimov, Sci-Fi Giant and Dirty Old Man?

The Sensuous Dirty Old Man (1971) is credited to “Dr. A”… but “the secret is out,” admits a paperback edition, naming the author as Isaac Asimov, “undoubtedly the best writer in America” per the Mensa Bulletin. A response to a then-popular book called The Sensuous Woman, Asimov’s book instructs... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-14 08:48:40 UTC ]
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5 Urban Sci-Fi and Fantasy Novels to Add to Your 2020 TBR

Don't miss exploring the magical cities of these fantastic urban science fiction and fantasy books hitting the shelves this year. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-03-26 10:41:17 UTC ]
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Coronavirus feels like something out of a sci-fi novel. Here’s how writers have imagined similar scenarios.

“The Stand” and “The Andromeda Strain” are just a few of the books that envision mass infection Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-28 15:00:00 UTC ]
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