TBD - To Be Determined – Details, episodes & analysis

Theme: If I had a million robots ...

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Dean Koontz. Monteleone, The Time Swept City. Fritz Lieber, “A Pail of Air.” Roger Zelazny, “For a Breath I Tarry.” Tom Godwin, “The Cold Equations.” Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains.” Cyril Kornbluth, “Marching Morons.” Harlan Ellison, “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.” Jack Williamson, “With Folded Hands.”
Films. Colossus. The Planet of the Apes film series. Finch. I, Robot. Wall-E. Star Wars.
TV episodes, series. Car Talk. Star Trek (the original series).
Ideas. Automated, smart cities. Robots. Post-apocalyptic Earth. Human devolution. What does it mean to be human?
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says … hmmm at best. Maybe we need to add Meh to the scale? Bill says yep. 

Previous episode: Roger Zelazny, “For a Breath I Tarry”
Next episode: Alexander Malec, “10:01 AM”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Theme: What does it mean to be human?

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Roger Zelanzny, Chronicles of Amber. Neil Gaiman, Sandman. The Bible. Isaac Asimov, Bicentennial Man. Jack Williamson, “With Folded Hands.”
Films. Bicentennial Man. AI. Blade Runner. I, Robot. Finch.
TV episodes, series. Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Ideas. Literary sci fi. Mythological connections. Logic is once again the defining characteristic of humankind, even in a post-human world. In that context, the story asks … what does it mean to be human? What role does emotion play in defining humanity?
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill says it is designed to be a Hmmm tale. Dan agrees.

Previous episode: Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains”
Next episode: Thomas F. Monteleone, “Chicago”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Frederic Brown, “Arena.” Flash Gordon series. Edgar Rice Burroughs, John Carter/Barsoom series. Cyril Kornbluth, “The Marching Morons.”
Films. Independence Day. Battlefield Earth. Signs. War of the Worlds.
TV episodes, series. Star Trek.
Ideas. Cultural accomplishment & envy. Militant v. peaceful values - which is greater? Barbarism in sci fi. Boxing is the celebration of brutality. Human ingenuity. Sci fi uses cultural differences to teach us something about ourselves.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan starts with hmmm, turns to whoa, and ends in WTF. Bill says hmmm to whoa. 

Previous episode: Jerome Bixby, “Old Testament”
Next episode: Dean Koontz, “Altar Boy”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. The Bible, and other spiritual texts. Olaf Stapledon, Star Maker. Erich von Daniken, Chariots of the Gods. Robin Hood stories. King Arthur stories. Jack Williamson. Robert Heinlein, “They.” Arthur C. Clarke, “The Sentinel.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Films. The Last Man on Earth. Stargate. Galaxy Quest. Lost in Space. Men in Black.
TV episodes, series. Star Trek. Twilight Zone. The Incredible Hulk. Stargate series.
Ideas. Family space exploration. Gender equality and sci fi. Nonintervention mandates in sci fi stories. Abuses of power and position. Transformative events & moral evolution. The Prime Directive, aka the Alien Noninterference Directive. Origin tales for myths & legends.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill says mostly Hmmmm. Dan presents his case for Whoa.

Previous episode: C.J. Cherryh, “Pots”
Next episode: James Causey, “Inferiority”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Isaac Asimov, Foundation series. Upton Sinclair, “I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked.” Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers’s Guide to the Galaxy series. Lewis Padgett, “Mimsy Were the Borogoves.”
Films. Star Trek: The Motion Picture. 
TV episodes, series. Foundation. 
Ideas. Grand narratives. Cultural identity. The politics of archeology. The veneration of history. Archeological evidence v. accepted narrative. Information is power. 
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill says mostly Hmmm. Dan says yep. 

Previous episode: Cyril Kornbluth, “Marching Morons”
Next episode: Jerome Bixby, “Old Testament”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Cyril Kornbluth, “Little Black Bag.” William Gibson, “Johnny Mnemonic.” Paul Erlich, The Population Bomb and The Population Explosion. Douglas Adams Hitchiker’s Guide series.
Films. Idiocracy. Water World. Mad Max.
Ideas. Social stratification based on intellect and education. Suspended animation. Temporal and cultural displacement. Overpopulation. Evolution v. progress. The idea of meritocracy. The Flynn Effect - connections between intelligence and progress. Propaganda & manipulation.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Combo special here … we need a Venn diagram. A little bit of all three here.

Previous episode: Poul Andersen, “Sam Hall”
Next episode: C.J. Cherryh, “Pots”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Films. Raiders of the Lost Ark. No Way Out. Enemy of the State. Minority Report. Running Man. Gattaca.
TV episodes, series. X-Files.
Music. Johnny Cash, “Sam Hall.” 
Ideas. Authoritarian societies. Data-driven society. Control of data, control of information. Mythology of the centralized information state and the technical priesthood.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill says hmmm + whoa. Dan say whoa + hmmm. Sadly, it is too plausible for WTF.

Previous episode: J.G. Ballard, “The Voices of Time”
Next episode:  Cyril Cornbluth, “The Marching Morons”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. William Gibson, “Johnny Mnemonic.” Arnold J. Toynbee, A Study of History. Oswald Spengler, The Decline of the West. Murray Leinster, “First Contact.” Sigmund Freud. Carl Jung. Erich von Daniken.
Films. Sphere. Inner Space. Godzilla series. Gamera series. The Creature From the Black Lagoon.
TV episodes, series. na.
Ideas. New Wave sci fi. Silent gene pairs. Could humans be in an evolutionary decline? The final countdown. Perceptions of time. Asks the question … what if things were different?
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. WTF? no question. Elements of whoa and hmmm. But primarily a mindbender.

Previous episode: Murray Leinster, “First Contact”
Next episode:  Poul Anderson, “Sam Hall”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Buck Rogers stories. Terry Bisson, “They’re Made Out of Meat.” Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker’s Guide series.
Films. Star Wars films. Stargate. Contact. Star Trek: First Contact.
TV episodes, series. Star Trek. Star Trek: Enterprise. George Carlin, “Seven Dirty Words.”
Ideas. First contact with an alien race. Protocols for diplomacy & war. Male bonding & inappropriate humor. The idea of a universal translator. Humor and culture. 
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Dan says FC evokes mostly a hmmm from him. Straight up hmmm, agrees Bill.

Previous episode: John W. Campbell, “Who Goes There?”
Next episode:  J.G. Ballard, “The Voices of Time”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode Connections
Authors, stories. Astounding Science Fiction. Kenneth Robeson, Doc Savage series. Clarke, “The Sentinel.” H.P. Lovecraft, “At the Mountains of Madness.” William Golding, Lord of the Flies.
Films. The Thing from Another World. The Thing (1982). The Thing (2011). MovieTone news reels. Alien series. Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Alien v. Predator. Rare Exports. Horror Express. It. Revenge of the Nerds. The World’s End. Signs.
TV episodes, series. Big Brother.
Ideas. Antarctic expeditions and aliens. What dangers do alien lifeforms pose to humans? How do people contend with scientific conundrums when they are isolated from peers? Pop culture & alien invasion.
Whoa - Hmmm - WTF. Bill says WTF. Dan says yes! but adds in a little bit of whoa to go with it.

Previous episode: Philip K. Dick, “War Veteran”
Next episode:  Murray Leinster, “First Contact”

Music Credit: "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (Incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
Link: Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/