This is Post 6 of 7.

8) “WHAT ARE YOU READING/WATCHING?” 

On ZOOM at this moment, we’re asking “What are You Reading, or Watching?” Give us your quick book report, or your brief review of a film or TV show you’ve recently enjoyed!

For those not participating in our ZOOM chat, today, you may still contribute by submitting your concise book reports or movie and television-series reviews via this post’s “Leave a Comment” option. We welcome your input.

 

9) TV AND MOVIE REVIEWS

Or, read on for club vice-president Keith Braithwaite’s thoughts on movies and television series he has recently watched! Have you seen any of these, and do you share his opinions of them? Leave a comment!

Prey

This latest installment of the Predator franchise is distinguished by being the first film released both in English and the Comanche language. Prey could well be interpreted as a metaphor for the violent “settling” of North America by European explorers, but otherwise, it’s pretty much a standard Predator movie with nothing truly fresh to offer the franchise, science fictionally speaking. That said, it is a well-made sci-fi/actioner with a compelling cast of Native American actors led by Amber Midthunder.

Set in 1719 on Comanche territory, the story follows Naru, a young medicine woman who longs to prove herself as a great hunter, like her older brother, Taabe. While tracking a deer one day in the forest, she witnesses the arrival of a “Thunderbird”—in fact, a spaceship transporting a Predator to these hunting grounds—which she takes as a sign of her readiness to join the young men of her tribe on a hunt. Taabe agrees to take her along in pursuit of the mountain lion believed behind a tribe member having gone missing, setting the stage for the hunters’ eventual encounter with the lurking Predator.

Naru’s tracking skills have told her that there is something else out there in addition to the mountain lion, and the build-up to the revelation of the Predator’s presence in the forest is slow, tantalizing, and finally culminates in an explosive and deadly confrontation between the Natives and the lethal creature.

The arrival of a band of French trappers, chasing the Predator, complicates things for Naru and Taabe, who in the end, are the only ones left alive to face the alien threat. There’s a funny moment that sees the Frenchmen, after unloading a volley at the shielded Predator to no effect, pause, wasting valuable seconds in the middle of the fight, in an attempt to reload their flintlocks!

An entertaining couple of hours.

The Umbrella Academy (Season 3)

The diverse characters at the center of this one are the best thing about Netflix’s well-received, time-twisting, apocalyptic superhero series, which just completed its third season. The show is imbued with a wildly eccentric sensibility and sports a terrific ensemble cast. It can be a tad difficult to follow at times, in particular this most recent season, which is chock-full of a lot more than were the previous two. But time-and-space jumping Five, “the Boy”, a favourite character of mine, is usually there to explain it all.

A stand-out this year is hopelessly drug-addled, hedonistic Klaus, who both character and audience learn is immortal. He delivers some of the season’s best lines. Kudos to actor Robert Sheehan, who plays the role with wonderfully gonzo, comic panache.

Knife-wielding Diego and love interest Lila—David Castañeda and Ritu Arya—also have their moments, and favourite Hargreeves son Luther, played by Tom Hopper, gets to fall in love and marry, amid the Kugelblitz’s impending apocalypse. Sloane, his bride, is a member of the Sparrow Academy, a version of the Umbrellas existing in the alternate timeline to which our heroes have travelled.

Yep, there’s a lot to digest, but if you like your bickering, dysfunctional superhero families dark, cynical, and droll, this is the series for you!

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Now this is the kind of superior writing that could have greatly benefitted the final Star Wars trilogy of a few years ago!

While we are in familiar territory, here, we’ve only ever known the broad strokes of this chapter of the Skywalker saga. With Obi-Wan Kenobi, we are made privy to the details of Obi-Wan’s time on Tatooine (and elsewhere) between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

There is very little that I did not enjoy about this Disney+ mini-series. The reunification of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christiansen in their iconic roles takes us right back to the best elements of Star Wars, with top-flight performances by all cast members, and a special nod bestowed upon the marvellous Vivien Lyra Blair as young Leia. Though a nuanced character—which is a good thing, of course—Third Sister is the best new villain the franchise has introduced, probably, since Boba Fett. She and her fellow Inquisitors rock!

Star Wars had, frankly, become rather tired and lacklustre with the final trilogy films, but has since experienced renewed force as a result of recent streamed content like The Mandolarian, The Book of Boba Fett, and now, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Shark Bait

You can’t beat Jaws when it comes to shark movies, and what is beach season without a shark movie? My summer tradition is too watch at least one film involving sharks that I haven’t yet seen, augmented by the documentaries offered on TV during “Shark Week!” This year, my choice of film was the 2022 horror/thriller Shark Bait, starring Holly Earl, Catherine Hannay, Thomas Flynn, Jack Trueman, and Malachi Pullar-Latchman.

While it tries really hard, the quality just isn’t there and in the end, this film bites!

The morning after their last night of partying in Mexico on Spring Break, a group of young friends pilfer a couple of jet-skis and race them out to sea, where their reckless hot-dogging results in a collision that leaves both watercraft damaged, one sinking, and one of the friends injured and bleeding with a broken leg. They all gather together on and around the remaining, inoperative jet-ski, tending to their friend’s injured leg.

There’s blood in the water!

You can easily guess where this is going.

Slowly drifting further out to sea, they must find a way to signal for help, or somehow steer back towards shore. Toss in some relationship drama to help pass the time while bobbing about on the ocean until the requisite man-eating shark arrives to begin picking them off, one by one, and that’s the movie! Utterly, completely predictable. The script offers not a hint of originality—no surprise twist, no clever solution to their predicament, not even any smartly ironic dialogue, nothing that would distinguish this film from the countless others just like it.

The shark attacks are fairly well executed, but the acting, direction, and cinematography not particular noteworthy.

2016’s The Shallows is a better choice if you’re looking for this kind of stranded-offshore-facing-a-killer-shark scenario.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

(This review was first published in Warp, issue 112 (Summer 2022)

Doctor Strange was never a favourite comic book character of mine, but in the hands of Benedict Cumberbatch, the MCU’s Strange is certainly entertaining enough, though perhaps more as a supporting player, or part of an ensemble, as in Infinity War and Endgame.

Anyway, there are now two Doctor Strange films, and this second of the pair centers on a teenaged girl, America Chavez, who is able to travel from dimension to dimension while drawing upon storylines originating in the first Strange movie, and particularly in the WandaVision mini-series. Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch is as engaging, here, as ever.

The film packs in a lot of fan service, too, with the multiverse providing opportunity to cameo alternate-Earth versions of popular MCU characters Peggy Carter, Charles Xavier, Maria Rambeau, and even Black Bolt, he of the short-lived ABC/Marvel series Inhumans. Hayley Atwell, Patrick Stewart, Lashana Lynch, and Anson Mount all appear as these alternate versions of their MCU characters, along with John Krasinski as Reed Richards in a portent, perhaps, of what is to come. Often a collaborator with Multiverse of Madness director Sam Raimi, none other than genre favourite Bruce Campbell puts in an appearance, as well!

With all this stunt casting, then, the film is a bit gimmicky and probably not for any but die-hard Marvel fans.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

(This review was first published in Warp, issue 112 (Summer 2022)

Every Star Trek sequel (or prequel) series has promised to emulate the original 1966-1969 show, but few if any have successfully done so—some most definitely have not! But it’s fair to say that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is as close to the spirit, at least, of the original as is possible in our contemporary television environment. Among the snazzier sets and special effects of this modern take on the old, familiar concept, there are enough call-backs, and in general, welcome similarities to the original to elicit a smile from an old Trekker.

Strange New Worlds, first of all, is, essentially, episodic, eschewing the grand, season-long, often tedious story arcs of many of the other Trek shows. That, alone, hews closer to the original than we’ve seen in a long time.

Further, there are no puerile Neelix- or Quark-like plotlines, or any such silliness, and fans are able to enjoy the expanded stories of compelling characters like Number One and Nurse Chapel, who never really got the chance to step forward much in the original show. I like the interplay between Spock and Chapel, here, with a playful Chapel’s subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, longing for something more with Spock, despite her understanding that such a relationship is, at best, unlikely. T’Pring, too, gets to shine a lot more than she did during her brief foray in the original’s “Amok Time.” And, there are interesting new characters aboard ship for us to get to know, and a couple of unexpected turns along the way.

I also like what the writers are doing with the Gorn, even though a little derivative of Alien, and, without giving anything away, this premiere season’s closing episode is among Trek’s best ever, revisiting and expanding upon an original-series classic!

Strange New Worlds isn’t perfect, but it’s the best Star Trek we’ve seen since Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon!

This is the afternoon’s Post 5 of 7.

7) SCI-FI “BALDERDASH” GAME

Working only from an actual SF/F story title, do you think yourself able to concoct a fake, two-sentence story synopsis convincing enough to fool your fellow competitors into believing it the genuine article? Further, can you pinpoint from among the fakes the one, true synopsis?

Those ZOOMing with us this afternoon are invited to step up and try their hand at this exuberant, entertaining, enjoyable, and challenging game we’ve taken to calling Sci-Fi “Balderdash!”

This is Post 3 of 7.

5) SHOW-AND-TELL

For those participating on ZOOM, today, we open the floor to any club members who have “fancraft” undertakings to showcase—sci-fi scale models, sculpture, SF/F woodworking or needlecraft, whatever genre-themed, hands-on project it may be that you are working on at present, or have recently completed. Tell us all about your endeavour, and share any photos you may have snapped of your work-in-progress, or of the finished piece. 

Those not able to join our ZOOM chat for the show-and-tell may contribute nonetheless by using this post’s “Leave a Comment” feature to type in a quick description of any such project of theirs.

Also, we welcome your comments on, in particular, any really cool SF/F-related museums, special exhibits, events, or locales you may have visited of late while on summer vacation, along with, perhaps, a few accompanying images.

Welcome to Post 2 of 7 this afternoon!

4) SUMMER MEGA-QUIZ 2022!

The summer sun is shining, the days stretch seemingly to infinity, and again do we enjoy backyard barbecues, farmer’s markets, an afternoon poolside, or boating on the lake. We relish the vibrant street festivals, outdoor concerts, a cold one quaffed with friends on a downtown terrace, or a weekend away in the country. We catch the summer’s blockbuster sci-fi movies, in some rural communities, perhaps at an old-fashioned drive-in theatre on a warm evening! We delight in a day at the beach, and dive eagerly into a good beach read! Yes, summertime…and the livin’ is easy…

With that vibe in mind, we offer on this fine afternoon a little light fun in the form of a trivia challenge, our Summer Mega-Quiz 2022! Can you answer all 50 of the following SF/F-related questions? Good luck, and, of course, play fair; no resorting to Google or another search engine for the answers! You can ask a friend for help, however, as long as your friend’s name isn’t Siri or Alexa!

1) Fill in the blank! These SF/F titles are missing a single word: Infinity ______; Dinosaur ______; Blood ______; and Steel ______. What is that missing word?

2) Star Wars (1977) famously opens with this text: A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Identify the post-apocalyptic film that opens with these words appearing on screen:

What you are about to see may never happen…

But to this anxious age in which we live, it presents a fearsome warning…

Our story begins with… The End!

3) A landing party from the U.S.S. Enterprise is about to beam down to this very spot! Upon which planet will they be setting foot?

4) In what city was the first Worldcon held?

5) Who painted this iconic War of the Worlds scene for the cover of Amazing Stories’ August 1929 issue?

6) Rocketship X-M (1950), Zombies of Mora Tau (1957), Invaders from Mars (1953), and How to Make a Monster (1958)—with regards to casting, what do these SF/F films share in common?

7) In which U. S. state is set the giant-crocodile horror/comedy film Lake Placid?

8) Cressie, Ponik, Old Ned, Ol’ Slavey, and Mussie are the names of what?

9) What was the first novel written by “King of Horror” Stephen King?

10) Kirk and Spock are about to materialize on this very spot! Upon which planet will they be setting foot?

11) Pertaining to science fiction, what do rock stars Mick Fleetwood, Iggy Pop, and Tom Morello have in common?

12) Appearing in “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” and providing the voice of both the Gorn captain in “Arena,” and the puppet presented as the menacing face of cherubic commander Balok in “The Corbomite Maneuver,” name this original-series Star Trek guest star.

13) In Star Trek, what is the name of the planet Ardana’s city-in-the-clouds?

14) In The Andromeda Strain, both novel (1969) and film (1971), what is the code-name given to the special, secret underground laboratory set up to contain and study dangerous microorganisms?

15) In season three of Netflix’s time-bending superhero series, The Umbrella Academy, principal protagonists Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, and Vanya (soon to become Viktor) find themselves in an altered timeline, one in which, rather than The Umbrella Academy, another superhero team came to be created by their adoptive father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves. What is the name of this team?

16) Who were “Ace” Morgan, “Red” Ryan, “Rocky” Davis, and “Prof” Haley?

17) Who was the 1943 Worldcon’s Guest of Honour?

18) Name the seasoned character actor who played Lieutenant-General Edward Considine in The Giant Claw (1957).

19) A Captain Kirk-led landing party from the Enterprise is about to beam down to this very spot! Upon which planet will they be setting foot?

20) Identify the actress in the black dress, here playing a bit-part in a classic Star Trek episode.

21) Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, dressed in local attire so as not to attract undue attention, are about to beam down to this very spot! Upon which planet will they be setting foot?

22) Earth’s president, Kier Gray, seeks to exterminate a race of much-hated superbeings in which classic science fiction novel originally serialized in Astounding Science-Fiction, September through October, 1940?

23) Red or blue, which colour pill does Neo choose to take in The Matrix (1999)?

24) Name the seasoned character actor who played Dr. Albert Stern in Kronos (1957).

25) In what town does Dr. Miles Bennell practice medicine?

26) The colonization vessel Leonora Christine, crewed by 25 men and 25 women, her destination the nearby star Beta Virginis, is featured in which hard science fiction novel?

27) First presented in 1973 to Jerry Pournelle, The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer is no longer called the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer! 2019 Campbell Award-winner Jeannette Ng described Campbell as “a fascist” during her acceptance speech at the 77th WorldCon, adding “pulling down memorials to dead racists is not the erasing of history, it is how we make history.” Her words prompted discussion and debate within the science fiction community, and in response, the award was shortly thereafter renamed. What is it now called?

28) In what city was the 6th Worldcon held?

29) Name the co-creators of the popular role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.

30) An Enterprise landing party is about to materialize on this very spot, within an area having an Earth-like environment on an otherwise inhospitable world! Upon which planet will they be setting foot?

31) Name the seasoned character actor who played Dr. Thurgood Elson in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953).

32) In what city was the 31st Worldcon held?

33) Identify the fantasy/adventure film that opens with this epigram:

And the prophet said:

“And lo, the beast looked upon the face of beauty. And it stayed its hand from killing.

And from that day, it was as one dead.”—Old Arabian Proverb

34) Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, on an emergency medical mission, are about to materialize on this very spot! Upon which planet will they be setting foot?

35) Charlie Jane Anders’ debut novel, All the Birds in the Sky (2016), is described as a love story and mélange of science fiction and fantasy. Who are the tale’s protagonists, one a witch, the other an engineering whiz and gadgeteer?

36) Name the four Federation starships that engage the M-5 computer-equipped Enterprise in simulated war games that quickly become all too real in the classic Star Trek episode “The Ultimate Computer.”

37) This Star Trek guest star is, perhaps, best known among cult-film aficionados, at least, for which genre role?

38) Identify the film that opens with the following axiom:

“Revenge is a dish best served cold.”—Old Klingon Proverb

39) In what city was the 67th Worldcon held?

40) When the lunar dust-cruiser Selene becomes trapped beneath the fine powder of the moon’s Sea of Thirst, a rescue mission is mounted to save her passengers and crew. This story is told in which Hugo-nominated hard science fiction novel?

41) Which was the first science fiction novel selected to become a Reader’s Digest Condensed Novel?

42) Human-angel hybrid Aaron Corbett, Starfleet’s Captain James T. Kirk, vampire Stephan Salvatore, and werewolf Lucas “Luke” Cates—what do these genre characters have in common?

43) In which city is based author Laurel K. Hamilton’s vampire hunter, Anita Blake?

44) Name the seasoned character actor who played Brigadier General John Hanley in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956).

45) Tarnsman of Gor (1966), Avengers of Gor (2021), Quarry of Gor (2019), Marauders of Gor (1975)—as regards point of view, which of these titles does not belong?

46) What coastal town is haunted by the murderous ghosts of the clipper ship Elizabeth Dane’s crew 100 years after the vessel was deliberately and deviously lured onto the rocks by the town’s founders, and wrecked with all hands lost?

47) Released as Monster in Europe and Japan, this 1980 American sci-fi/horror movie starring Doug McClure is about slimy sea-creatures that hunt the women of a seaside town for the purposes of mating! The film is better known domestically by its North American title. What is that title?

48) How many novels currently comprise author John Norman’s Chronicles of Counter-Earth?

49) She Who Became the Sun; Light From Uncommon Stars; The Galaxy, and the Ground Within; Project Hail Mary; A Master of Djinn; and A Desolation Called Peace—what do these novels have in common?

50) “Achronos,” Old, “Tideline,” and The Sand—what do these SF/F titles have in common?

This is the first of seven posts, collectively encompassing this afternoon’s club e-meeting.

1) INTRODUCTION

Welcome to MonSFFA’s August 2022 e-Meeting!

Sit down in your most comfortable chair, a bowl of your favourite tasty snacks at hand, pour yourself a cool, refreshing drink, and join us for an afternoon of sci-fi fun and conversation. Our theme today is “games,” and thus have we lined up two for you, the first a trivia challenge, the second our sci-fi version of the parlour game Balderdash!

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We would be remise, however, were we not to first note the recent passing of Star Trek actress Nichelle “Lieutenant Uhura” Nichols. A beloved member of the vast Star Trek family, she died at age 89 of natural causes on Saturday, July 30, in Silver City, New Mexico.

In her final years, Nichols suffered from advanced dementia and her son, with whom she had been living, wrote of his dear departed mother, “Her light…like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration. Hers was a life well lived and as such a model for us all.”

Nichols was eulogized, too, by former cast mates, Hollywood friends, and many others as an actress who, in playing the part of the Enterprise’s highly skilled communications officer, broke down stereotypes and opened doors for women of colour in the entertainment industry. No more would actresses of colour be relegated to marginal roles as maids and the like.

She counted among her many fans during the early days of Star Trek no less than American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. When she considered leaving the show after its first season, it was King who urged her to remain with the series, highlighting the importance of demonstrating to America that a black woman belonged on the bridge of the Enterprise as much as anyone else. Her presence there, one of and respected among a crew of accomplished officers offered a positive vision of our future, and served as inspiration for African-Americans throughout not just the television industry, but the nation.

She and co-star William Shatner helped further demolish racial barriers with their then-controversial interracial kiss on national television in the episode “Plato’s Stepchildren.”

Post-Star Trek, Nichols was tapped by NASA to help recruit some of the first women and members of minority communities to become astronauts, one of which was Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space. In 1992, as a crewmember on STS-47, Jemison initiated communications aboard the space shuttle Endeavour with “Hailing frequencies open,” quoting Uhura’s oft-spoken line from Star Trek.

We are saddened at the news of Nichelle Nichols’ passing, and we celebrate her legacy.

 

We also mourn one of our own, recently passed.

MonSFFA was informed of a planned online (ZOOM) memorial service for Marc, and club members will have received by e-mail details concerning this service, scheduled for next Sunday, August 21, at 11:00AM.

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Note that with the seventh wave now upon us and COVID numbers climbing locally and elsewhere, we opted, last month, to postpone our in-person club Barbecue-in-the-Park until Sunday, August 28. We are told by authorities that by then, the seventh wave should have dissipated. But if we’ve learned anything during this pandemic, it’s that the virus does not often behave as expected. Nevertheless, fingers crossed! The 28th is but two weeks off, and we’ll take a moment this afternoon to briefly square away any last-minute details with respect to this event.

And, we’ll touch base with all of you as regards your summer, so far—genre projects on which you may be working; cool, SF/F-related vacation destinations you may have visited; good books you’ve been reading; and screen entertainment you’ve been watching of late.

So, join us on ZOOM for all the fun, and let’s get started!

2) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON’S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!

To join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours, simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA e-Meeting on ZOOM

If you’re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also join in by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. If you’re from out of town, find your ZOOM call-in number here: Call-In Numbers

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:

Meeting ID: 878 6326 8110
Passcode: 326574

3) MEETING AGENDA

Here is the agenda for this afternoon’s online get-together:

As always, all scheduled programming is subject to change.

To join our ZOOM video-chat, which begins at 1:00PM and will run throughout the e-meeting, simply click here and follow the prompts: This Afternoon’s MonSFFA e-Meeting on ZOOM

If you’re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also join in by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is: 1-438-809-7799. If you’re from out of town, find your ZOOM call-in number here: Call-In Numbers

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to enter it:

Meeting ID: 878 6326 8110
Passcode: 326574

Do join us tomorrow for an afternoon of sci-fi fun! We’ve got a couple of cool, entertaining, and challenging games lined up, plus more…!

Just visit this Web site at noon tomorrow to receive the posted information you’ll need to join our ZOOM video-chat, scheduled to begin at 1:00PM!

We hope to see you tomorrow afternoon!

Do join us for an afternoon of sci-fi fun! We’ve got a couple of cool, entertaining, and challenging games lined up, plus more…!

Just visit this Web site Saturday at noon to receive the posted information you’ll need to join our ZOOM video-chat, scheduled to begin at 1:00PM!

We hope to see you Saturday afternoon!

We have yet to receive word that our anticipated physical meeting venue has begun taking bookings, and so, the club’s next meeting will be an online get-together!