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.

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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.