Wednesday 15 October 2014

Raindrops on roses?

As I get solidly into editing my first book (more of which very very soon) I've been thinking about SF tropes and memes and, well... things, in general.

So, here's three of my favourite things -

1 – Starships
I think we all know one don’t we? Yet before 1966 no-one had ever heard of one. And that one? The one with the number NCC1701? Come on, even you non-Trekkies know that one.
Well, she’s not my first one.
My first love was the Fireball XL5, in all her black and white TV glory:-

 fireball xl5
I so wanted to be Steve Zodiac, the fastest guy alive. Check out the theme -

Fireball XL5 theme

So, despite all the fancy CGI, the cutting edge designs, the vivid colours, my heart still flies when I see the Fireball XL5 blast off.


2 – Robots
No, not Data, the rather dull chap from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sorry but he does nothing for me. Dull, dull, dull… I like a real robot. I’m torn between Maria, the Maschinenmensch of Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent movie ‘Metropolis’ and, of course, Forbidden Planet’s very own Robbie the Robot.

 2

3

So let's go with both of them, for a spot of robotic gender equality.


3 – Girls in uniform
Sorry, but I have to default to the demands of my male hormones here and as much as I liked the styling of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as much as I so, so admired Star Trek's (the original series) mini-skirts and boots there is only one SF uniform for me and that is, of course, 7 of 9’s cat suit from Star Trek Voyager.

star trek voyager

Someone run me a cold shower, quick...

So what about you? What floats your boat - or rather, what warps your ship into hyper space?

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