BRAIN BLOG: Laser vs. Plasma, Sword Battle of Doom!

Star Wars Laser Swords
Original Star Wars concept art by Ralph McQuarrie

1 STARKILLER AND HIS TRUSTY LAZERSWORD

Stories abound on the internet these days about early drafts of the original Star Wars trilogy. Lucas made the move from Starkiller to Skywalker, from Bogan to The Dark Side, and since when is Biggs Luke’s brother? But most importantly for this essay, he went from Lazersword to Lightsaber, (check out starwarz.com for more). Both of which are terrible misnomers, even though the latter is far cooler sounding. Unfortunately both regular light and light amplified by the stimulated emission of radiation are completely useless as a weapon, or a tool, or anything beyond a fancy colored flashlight for finding your way through a dense jungle cavern. So let’s do this . . .
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THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 13: Bill and Ted and Andrew W.K.

TSFP Be Excellent to Each Other and Party Hard

Welcome to The SciFi Podcasta wretched hive of scum and villainy a bi-weekly podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

On this episode of The SciFi Podcast, we welcome a most-triumphant guest, Andrew W.K., to discuss his music, philosophies, science fiction and, of course, Bill S. Preston, Esquire and “Ted” Theodore Logan. That’s right, Andrew W.K. joins your hosts for reviews of the hard-partying films Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991). Station!

TSFP Bill and Ted and Andrew WK

Find Andrew W.K.‘s rock anthems of the future on iTunes or, even better, get something real to hold in your hand directly from his website at AndrewWK.com. You can (and should) also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Please go find him on at least one of these platforms and thank him for coming on The SciFi Podcast.

On most episodes, theme music comes courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens’ ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. This episode’s theme music features Andrew WK tracks from his recordings, which can be found on iTunes. Podcast production by Mattroid. Artwork by SpaceWolf.

THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 12: Halloween Special

TSFP Halloween Special

Welcome to The SciFi Podcasta wretched hive of scum and villainy a bi-weekly podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

On this special episode of The SciFi Podcast, we are joined by members of the TSFP family and frequent podcast guests Brain and SpaceWolf.

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production and artwork by SpaceWolf who can be found podcasting at Movie Stream Cast and Horror Movie Podcast. You can also follow him on Twitter @IcarusArts.

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THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 11: The Alien Universe, Part 2

Alien Universe Part DeuxWelcome to The SciFi Podcasta wretched hive of scum and villainy a podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

On this episode of The SciFi Podcast, we welcome back special guest Jalien (aka Jason Pyles of Movie Podcast Weekly and Jay of the Dead of Horror Movie Podcast) for the continuation of our Considering the Sequels-style discussion, the second half of the Alien cinematic universe.

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production by Mattroid. Artwork by SpaceWolf.

Show notes at some point, most probably.

THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 10: The Alien Universe, Part 1

Alien P1 image

Welcome to The SciFi Podcasta wretched hive of scum and villainy a podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

On this episode of The SciFi Podcast, we welcome special guest Jalien (aka Jason Pyles of Movie Podcast Weekly and Jay of the Dead of Horror Movie Podcast) for a Considering the Sequels style show to discuss the first half of the Alien cinematic universe.

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production and art by Mattroid.

Show notes coming soon.

SCI-FI SHORTS: Patric Reynolds from Salt Lake Comic Con

Patric Wilson

Station! and Mattroid are attending the Salt Lake Comic Con and because Matt has press access from his newspaper, he’s going to be collecting some fun little audio clips that we will run here as part of a new segment called “Sci-Fi Shorts” …
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SCI-FI SHORTS: Scott Wilson from Salt Lake Comic Con

TSFP SLCC Scott Wilson

Station! and Mattroid are attending the Salt Lake Comic Con and because Matt has press access from his newspaper, he’s going to be collecting some fun little audio clips that we will run here as part of a new segment called “Sci-Fi Shorts” …
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SCI-FI SHORTS: Marina Sirtis from Salt Lake Comic Con

TSFP SLCC Deeana Troi Marina Sirtis
No new episode this week as Station! and Mattroid are attending the Salt Lake Comic Con, but because Matt has press access from his newspaper, he’s going to be collecting some fun little audio clips that we will run here as part of a new segment called “Sci-Fi Shorts” …
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BRAIN BLOG: Time Travel and Thermodynamics

Time Travel White

1 WHERE WE’RE GOING, WE DON’T NEED ROADS . . .

Hollywood seems to be a huge fan of veering off into no-man’s land when time travel is involved. From flux capacitors to spinning egg timers on a string they would have you believe that “All of the silly details to time travel have already been accounted for, surely then you need only believe the premise of the story!” Perhaps that is indeed the case. Maybe we should believe in the science of a flux capacitor, an ancient staff, a metal box with washers glued to it, or a giant spinning EM quantum field generator. They sound science-y don’t they? I mean, the writers must have had the decency to look into these theories before taking the leap onto the silver screen. . . right?
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THE SCI-FI PODCAST EP 9: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Max World

TSFP Mad Max Fury RoadWelcome to The SciFi Podcasta wretched hive of scum and villainy a podcast focused on in-depth discussion of all things Science Fiction. The SciFi Podcast features three hosts—Mattroid, Solo, and Station!—and frequent guests. Each episode we look at a science fiction theme or franchise and take the discussion where no show has gone before.

In celebration of this weeks BluRay release of Mad Max: Fury Road, the great Station! leaves the fellas on their own for a War Boys Night Out (or is it a Guys Afternoon In?) when SpaceWolf returns and special guest Jonasty makes his debut for a no-holds-barred discussion of the post-apocalyptic Mad Max franchise and the high-octane newest film in particular. What a lovely day!

Theme music courtesy of I Hear Sirens, featuring Matt on bass and Liz on keyboard. Hear more of I Hear Sirens ethereal, instrumental, post-rock at BandCamp. Podcast production and art by SpaceWolf.

Show notes after the jump.
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