I discussed in recent chapters what a big influence Doctor Who and Star Trek were on my childhood. I did read books as well as watch TV, but a lot of those books were Doctor Who novelisations. In terms of fantasy, the books of Alan Garner were a big influence. Manchester, Cheshire, and North Wales were all relatively nearby places, and Garner imbued them with a sense of magic. The Earthsea trilogy was also a favourite, and then, when I was around twelve, Tolkien hit. Science fiction reasserted itself via Douglas Adams, and then I was introduced to the works of Philip K.

I have an idea for a quiz show. Not sure what the name should be. "Isn't That the Opposite of What You Think?", "The Edge of Epiphany"? "Unwitting Insight"? Maybe a pun like "The Irony Chef"? It would be quotes from notable people, but the quote would be wholly at odds with the person's personality and/or actual behaviour. Contestants would have to guess who it was by working backwards from the quote. A historical example from the 1940s: "If the whole world outside of Russia were to insist upon international control of atomic energy to the point of going to war on this issue, it is highly probable that the Soviet government would give way on this issue.

Neil Gaiman, Sandman and character.

This show is on an upward trajectory. I haven't done an episode ranking each week but if I had it would just be in descending order of the episode number i.e. episode 5 is the strongest episode yet, beating episode 4, which beat episode 3 etc. Once again, I will add the disclaimer! This is still very, very much YA Wizarding College In Space, and this episode absolutely indulges in what that genre implies. If that's not for you, then you might not enjoy this episode. BUT! What this also means is that this is a Trek show that is being its own thing rather than attempting to replicate the original or TNG.

Interactive map of 3.4 million Bluesky users, visualised by their follower pattern.

Welcome to Susan's Salon. This post has an open comment thread for people to discuss any topic they would like. Happy, sad, weird or just catching up with events. Yes, you can promote things in the comments if you want. The only rules are: nothing hateful and no cranky disputes/arguments. Susan's Salon is posted early Monday morning Sydney time, which is usually still Sunday in most places in the world. I'm sure I say "feb-u-rary" and not whatever "february" is supposed to sound like.

The winner of the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form) was an episode of the fantastical sit-com The Good Place. Entitled The Trolley Problem it took as its premise the attem…

Both Doctor Who and Star Trek were a big part of my childhood and shaped my understanding of science fiction – Doctor Who more than Trek, because there was more of it, and also because of the yards of Doctor Who novelisations. Lost in Space had less impact in the UK. It did, apparently, get shown on ITV in the late 1960s but I didn't see it until (I think) Channel 4 started showing the old Irwin Allen sci-fi shows in the 1980s1. What I had seen as a kid was any vaguely science fiction movie shown on TV before my bedtime.

For the 2026 cycle, we are opening up our longlist judging cohort to folks who may be a good fit (interested, available, organically well-read in a diverse and inclusive titles in sffh whether profess...

The history of science fiction is intimately tied to shifts in mass media. By the 1960s, television had become the medium of the moment and in the USA colour television was becoming increasingly popular. Science fiction was already an established genre on US television from the 1950s primarily from shows that replicated the kind of adventure serials from cinema and radio. Anthology shows such as Science Fiction Theatre were aimed at a more adult audience and drew on the short fiction tradition from magazines. Star Trek was not the first ongoing drama science fiction drama series (we will discuss a slightly earlier example…

This is the strongest episode yet of the new Trek show. It retains the core flaw in the show i.e. the whole genre of kids at wizarding school but as that is the core premise of the show it is likely complaining about their being aliens in it. By way of example of the inherent-flaws, we have that annoying thing where a supposedly large school revolves around a small social circle of students. Last week Caleb and his acquaintances (not quite a friendship group yet) where key members of the school's sports team.

For those of us who follow pop culture, January 2026 marked a significant anniversary. It was five years ago last month that Disney and Marv...

Welcome to Susan's Salon. This post has open comment thread for people to discuss any topic they would like. Happy, sad, weird or just catching up with events. Yes, you can promote things in the comments if you want. The only rules are nothing hateful and no cranky disputes/arguments. Susan's Salon is posted early Monday morning Sydney time which is usually still Sunday in most places in the world. I'm sure I say "feb-u-rary" and not whatever "february" is supposed to sound like.