This is Post 5 of 5 today, and will close our virtual MonSFFA meeting. If you’re just now joining us, scroll back to today’s Post 1 of 5 to enjoy the whole meeting, start to finish.

13) Yet Another Coronavirus Song Parody

This one’s from England, referencing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who just recently recovered from COVID-19, and his government’s prescription to stay at home in order to help protect the National Health Service (NHS).

Robert T Leonard (www.facebook.com/roberttleonardentertainer) is the vocalist, channeling Agent Meddler’s favourite singer:

14) Answers to Sci-Fi Cinema Audio Quiz

Did you give our Sci-Fi Cinema Audio Quiz a try (if you missed it, scroll back to today’s Post 1 of 4)?

We prepared for you an audio quiz to test your knowledge of SF/F film and the marketing of same, and we asked you to identify, in the correct sequence presented, all three films represented in each of our mixes.

How many films do you believe you correctly identified? Remember, you must correctly name, in order, all three films featured in a clip to count a point; 19 points is a perfect score! Check your results now; here are the answers:

Clip 01: These opening three are classic space-faring adventures from the 1950s!

In order, the three films we’re looking for, here, are: This Island Earth (1955); Forbidden Planet (1956); Conquest of Space (1955). Sci-fi filmmakers of the mid-20th century imagined a bold tomorrow characterized by brilliant scientists and square-jawed astronauts adventuring through outer space aboard their sleek and shiny spaceships of the future, facing all dangers and overcoming all obstacles to win the day, and the girl! These particular films were big-budget productions featuring exemplary production design and special effects.

Clip 02: This is blockbuster sci-fi from the late-1970s!

These three films are: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979); Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); Star Wars (1977). Among the first of the burgeoning “blockbusters” that dominated the box office in their day, these movies spawned many sequels or imitators in subsequent years and remain popular decades after their initial release.

Clip 03: These movies are based on stories penned by the celebrated “grandfathers” of science fiction!

The films: Mysterious Island (1961); The Time Machine (1960); 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). These were supremely entertaining screen adaptations of classic tales by foundational science fiction writers Jules Verne and H. G. Wells.

Clip 04: From the vaults of early cinematic horror come these universally beloved masterworks!

Frankenstein (1931); Dracula (1931); The Mummy (1932). These were among the best of Universal Pictures’ string of gothic horror movies, collectively referred to as the “Universal Classic Monsters” series.

Clip 05: These selections feature large wildlife; monstrously large wildlife!

Night of the Lepus (1972); Tarantula (1955); Lake Placid (1999). The concept of science or nature going awry somehow and resulting in ordinary wildlife growing to immense, populace-terrorizing size dates back to the earliest days of sci-fi cinema with giant-ape films like King Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949). The 1950s were notable for numerous big-bug flicks, of which Tarantula was one, as well as movies featuring giant critters from leeches to shrews to crabs to Gila monsters! In the 1960s, Japanese Kaiju contributed such behemoths as Mothra and Gamera, a supersized moth and turtle, respectively. Night of the Lepus featured giant rabbits, Lake Placid a gargantuan crocodile.

Clip 06: These cosmic visitors came to an early-1950s Earth!

Invaders From Mars (1953); The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951); It Came From Outer Space (1953). A staple of sci-fi cinema is the story of space aliens coming to Earth, whether as friend or foe, and these three films are centerpieces of the genre. The Day the Earth Stood Still, in particular, is considered by many critics to be one of the finest SF films of not only the 1950s, but of all time. 

Clip 07: Life, but not as we know it!

The Blob (1958); The Thing From Another World (1951); Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). These well-made pictures spotlight strange alien life forms and deliver above-average thrills and chills. We have, here, a gelatinous blob that absorbs its hapless victims, growing ever larger in the process until a young Steve McQueen and his co-stars devise a way to halt its assault on the local citizenry. Revived inadvertently after eons frozen in remote Arctic ice, the titular Thing is an advanced form of plant life—an “intelligent carrot”—that feeds on the blood of a top-notch ensemble cast. Lastly, the weird body-snatching invaders bent on surreptitiously taking over our world are birthed from large seed pods and soon grow to replace the people of a small town as perfect replicas, minus the baggage of emotion.

Clip 08: Epic fantasy adventures of legend crafted by an admired Olympian of special effects! 

Clash of the Titans (1981); The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958); Jason and the Argonauts (1963). A trio of terrific fantasy adventures replete with the unparalleled stop-motion creatures of myth and fable brought to life by the late, great “dimensional animation” master Ray Harryhausen! Mr. Harryhausen’s cinematic legacy inspired such modern genre filmmakers as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, James Cameron, John Landis, Joe Dante, and J. J. Abrams.

Clip 09: Diabolus ex machina! 

The Terminator (1984); Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970); Westworld (1973). While it refers to a literary trope in the modern context, “Diabolus ex machina” translates from the Latin as “Devil from the machine,” and these films do, most assuredly, let loose devilish machines that threaten man, whether individually or in the wider sense.

Clip 10: Films set in post-apocalyptic wastelands!

Mad Max (1979); Damnation Alley (1977); Zardoz (1974). These 1970s sci-fi actioners vary in narrative quality and are all set in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The first two showcase souped-up vehicles, the third a ride that’s a head above the others!

Clip 11: The creatures in these features are quite animated!

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953); 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957); It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955). The best part of these black-and-white ’50s giant-monster movies is the stop-motion magic of, again, Ray Harryhausen, who achieved his astounding visual tricks working largely on his own. The consummate cinematic craftsman, Harryhausen not only animated the creatures that starred in his features, but designed the productions and special effects sequences from the ground up, and almost always on a tight budget!

Clip 12: One might say that the directors of these three films had a great pal as producer!
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When Worlds Collide (1951); Destination Moon (1950); The War of the Worlds (1953). These pictures were all produced by George Pal, a top name in sci-fi film at the time, and sported marvellous Oscar-winning special effects in vivid Technicolor.

Clip 13: These films may well have inspired John Hammond!

The Valley of Gwangi (1969); The Land That Time Forgot (1975); When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970). Dinosaur fans will recognize John Hammond as the Walt-Disneyesque builder of Jurassic Park in the Michael Crichton books about the ill-fated zoological park, and subsequent film adaptations. These three dinosaur movies are a must for any prehistoric enthusiast, not for any reasons of paleontological erudition, but simply for the opportunity to see awesome Mesozoic monsters striding across our screens!

Clip 14: The game is afoot!

The Running Man (1987); Rollerball (1975); Quintet (1979). This trio of films involves the players and the playing of futuristic, and deadly, games.

Clip 15: Early-70s sci-fi with a dystopian vibe!

The Omega Man (1971); Silent Running (1972); The Stepford Wives (1975). Here we have contemplative ’70s sci-fi of a decidedly dystopian feel, from the tale of the last man on the planet to that of the caretaker of Earth’s only surviving trees and plants, preserved in spaceship greenhouses but now slated for destruction in the name of profit, to a satirical horror story that unfortunately remains relevant today.

Clip 16: A devastating plague isn’t the only way to end the world!

Meteor (1979); Armageddon (1998); 2012 (2009). Enough with the globe-spanning apocalyptic diseases! If we must destroy the world, let’s blast things to smithereens!

Clip 17: More movies based on the works of the grandfathers of SF! Often rather loosely based!

Empire of the Ants (1977); Master of the World (1961); The First Men in the Moon (1963). Here we have three more screen adaptations of stories by Verne and Wells.

Clip 18: U.K. SF!

Village of the Damned (1960); Quatermass and the Pit, or U.S. title, Five Million Years to Earth (1967); Island of Terror (1966). This is quality SF from the British Isles, well worth a screening. U.K. casts, for the most part, exude a certain tone that brings gravitas to the outlandish proceedings customary in a science fiction film. Well done, chaps!

Clip 19: Timely prescience!

And to bring our quiz to a close, the final films are: Outbreak (1995); Rabid (1977); 12 Monkeys (1995). We end on these three movies, all about deadly contagions of one kind or another, because we haven’t had enough of that, lately! Rabid, by the way, was an early film by Canadian director David Cronenberg filmed and set in and around Montreal.

15) A Sixth Song Parody

New Jersey’s Charles Only (charlesonlymusic.bandcamp.com) repurposes Montreal icon Leonard Cohen’s oft-covered classic for these infectious times:

16) More Signs of the Times

Earlier today, in Post 1 of 4, we presented a selection of photos focusing on humorous signs related to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Before we wrap up this afternoon’s online meeting, here are a few more worthy examples, all put up by churches:

Praise the Lord and pass the hand sanitizer!

“I never thought of God as humorous,” said Father Stone coldly.

“The creator of the platypus, the camel, the ostrich, and Man? Oh, come now!” Father Peregrine laughed.

—“The Fire Balloons” by Ray Bradbury

17) Thank You!

We hope you have enjoyed your time with us this afternoon, and we ask all of you to check in here at www.MonSFFA.ca regularly for additional content during this continuing period of quarantine, and for any news as to when the club expects to return to face-to-face gatherings. Thanks for your interest and attention.

We’d also like to thank Keith Braithwaite, Sylvain St-Pierre, and Cathy Palmer-Lister for putting this May 2020 DIY Virtual MonSFFA Meeting together.

Until we meet again, farewell, wash your hands often, and keep safe.

18) Closing Parody Song

 We’ll sign off with this final parody song for today, the last line of which we’re certain speaks for many of us. It’s by Team Balmert (www.facebook.com/TeamBalmert):