Jackson Allen's Blog, page 15

Mad Max: The Fast and the Furious of Scifi

Oh whoopee, another Mad Max movie is turning the franchise into the ‘The Fast and Furious of Scifi.’ Sure, this time we’ve got girls and Chris Hemsworth coming to a cineplex near you, but so what? I’m not commenting on this movie or the previous one – much too violent for me. I feel compelled to point out something that’s been scratching at the back of my head since the last movie came out: What’s Mad Max *about* anymore?

Maybe I’m asking the wrong question, but the Mad Max franchise was a strong pillar in the post-apocalyptic scifi genre throughout the late 70s and 80s. Culturally, there’s very few people who don’t know Max Rockatansky or his nitro-injected cop car. The pathos of a man who loses his family to violence and re-invents himself among the post-nuclear wasteland spoke to all of us. Along the way, George Miller examined interesting topics like ‘what if the children of the survivors of a plane crash became a cargo cult?’

We’ve read enough reviews, seen enough commercials, or seen a few seconds of the movies on TV to know what they’re about. So that comes back to my original question – ‘what’s Mad Max *about* anymore?’

Seriously, take a step back. The fourth movie, they … rebooted the concept? Now it’s off talking about somebody that had nothing to do with the original franchise? As scifi fans, how are we supposed to process a major studio-induced retcon of the original material? I mean, the first time they did it … okay, whatevs. Now you’re doubling down and telling us via major scifi media outlets that we’re supposed to care? This is how things are now?

The Trouble with Fast and the Furious

Yeah – I have a few questions. My only conclusion goes back to the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise. I hate the F&F movies, but I watched the first three. That’s why I feel qualified to say that the movies started out bad and only got worse with time. No, strike that. They’re *awful*.

Let’s remember: F&F started with a ho-hum premise (“Oh cool, ‘Point Break’ reboot. Never seen that before!”) and spiraled into ever-escalating acts of public destruction with the emotional abandon of a six-year-old playing destruction derby with his Hot Wheels. We’ve seen movies like these before (Looking at you, ‘Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry’ and ‘Breaker, Breaker’) and they’re fine if that’s what you’re into.

Here’s the thing, as Lydgate said: you can have too much of a good thing. Harvard Business Review did a study in 2006 and found ‘more isn’t always better.’

That memo never reached the Fast and Furious franchise, and then ‘oh, waah – nobody wants to go to the movies anymore!’ I digress – this isn’t a takedown of Fast and Furious – other people have done this and they’re much more invested in you understanding why Fast & Furious movies suck.

Anyway. Fast and Furious is fine if that’s what you’re into, I’m not going to judge. It’s just not for me, and it’s why – in the era of ‘Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry ‘ and ‘Convoy’ – that Mad Max was such a thematic palette-cleanser. Sadly, Mad Max is now becoming the over-produced, under-felt movie franchise that keeps adding more noise while taking away its heart.

Mad Max: Fast and Furious

All trailers/commercials/news stories I’ve seen point back to an experience that prays you’ll never ask the most important question: ‘Why would things happen that way?’

Seriously, look at the movie description: ‘Snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers (‘Why did things happen that way?’), young Furiosa falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus(‘Why did things happen that way?’). Sweeping through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by the Immortan Joe(‘Why did things happen that way?’). As the two tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home (‘Why did things happen that way?’).’

Am I sounding redundant? I apologize. I guess the Mad Max thing is rubbing off on me. Regrettably – Mad Max took a page from F&F and doubled-down on their ‘charm.’ Um … kay. I’m gonna go out on a limb. This new movie will suffer some alarming lack of engagement and disappointing box office returns. You gotta capture the viewers hearts and minds, and this movie is failing on both fronts.

Best wishes folks, I hate to see good stories die.

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Publishing Advice: How Books Become Movies

I was reminded of Schoolhouse Rock when I ran across this publishing advice related to ‘how books become movies.’ Any writer worth their salt wants a book to become a movie – unless you’re Clive Cussler. Sadly, ‘book-to-film scams are extremely common these days … the best way to avoid being scammed is to understand the process. The more you know about how things should work, the easier it will be to recognize questionable or dishonest practices when you encounter them.’

I really appreciate this advice. Turning a written story into a filmable screenplay is a journey unto itself. Anyone giving a roadmap deserves respectful attention. Let us now distill Jeanne Veillette Bowerman’s advice into some simple takeaways that everyone can learn from. Ready? Here we go!

The Process – SimplifiedAssume any offer of representation is fake until proven otherwiseUnderstand that books are sold by agents – not individual people – rights sold directly to a producer or studio, as an ‘option,’ or as a ‘selling agreement.’You’re only as good as your agent – they handle everything including development fees, adaptation, relationships, industry contacts, etc.You can succeed as a self-published author under the right circumstances. Know who doesn’t have the right circumstances? You and me!Writing contests might work, or they might be a scam – do the research – your mileage may vary.

Bowerman goes into this in greater detail and I definitely encourage you to read her advice carefully. Reading publishing advice like this can be frustrating – ‘How will my books become movies?’ Yes, it is a BIG job to get your work noticed, approved, supported, and published. Don’t give up! I’m adding this article to my ‘Free Author Tools’ page.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re in good company. We’re all in this together.  <3

 

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Sci-Friday #208 – Scifi Fish in the City

Every once in a while, a simple concept comes along and bends your head like ‘Scifi Fish in the City’ film: they come out at night. You’ve probably seen this one by artist Christian Szczerba before but it’s my first time, so I wanted to include it as a trippy little Sci-Friday entry. Take a look:



I love this because it takes a simple concept (‘what if fish could swim on land?’) and then walks us through the emotionally-jarring reality of seahorses in our grocery stories and sharks on our streets. Simple, well-executed, bravo!

This, of course, is not the only time we’ve seen an indie scifi creator blow our eyeballs back with something in Blender or Unreal Engine (eg. This post, and this post). Tech is lowering the bar of entry for new ideas and we’re reaping the benefits. Hope all the kiddos out there realize how fortunate they are to be living with such access. All we had back in the 80s were cheap cartoons and crummy product tie-ins.

But I’m not bitter. Love boosting indie scifi concepts like these ones. The only way for us to succeed as original scifi creators is to champion original scifi when it happens. I said it before, but it bears repeating. I hope you enjoyed this moment of sitting back, zoning out and congratulating yourself on making it through another dystopian week of 2024. Please feel welcomed to dive down the rabbit hole of every other Sci-Friday I’ve published in the past couple years. Have a great weekend!

 

 

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Scifi Magazine Starblazer Online for Free!

Here’s something cool for Wednesday – a scifi magazine for free: Starblazer! Starblazer was launched in response to the popularity of science fiction in the 1970s at the cinema and on television. Archive.org – yes, that one – has a digital copy of all their issues and they’re free for us to enjoy. Take a look here.

Backstory

Starblazer was owned and run by DC Thomson, a media conglomerate who produced other teen/children magazines like The Beano, The Dandy, Commando, Jackie, Shout, and Bunty. Although Starblazer was never that popular, it was known for innovating in a variety of scifi storytelling areas, like recurring characters and RPG-style storylines in comic form.

Along the way, it boosted several famous and successful comic artists like Mike ‘Judge Dredd’ McMahon, Grant Morrison, Colin MacNeil, and Cam Kennedy. Mike Chinn had a few kind things to say about Starblazer that I found on DowntheTubes:

I’ve always thought D C Thomson’s Starblazer picture digest was one of the country’s best-kept secrets. Easily available in Scotland, south of the border it became increasingly difficult to find; and by the time it reached London, nothing more than a rumour. This was a shame since – all personal bias aside – it evolved into a pretty decent comic. Writers such as Grant Morrison cut their teeth there, along with artists who’ve since gone on to bigger and brighter things: Alcatena, Casanovas, et al.

At first the magazine was strongly in the grip of Star Wars fever, every issue strictly SF, with lots of space battles involving chunky star ships. My own involvement started in 1982, with #64: “The Exterminator” (not my original title). I introduced an uncaring world to one Glave Questor (honest – would I lie?), a young crewman who is terribly injured during one of the aforementioned space-battles. From that point on he becomes a mercenary – but instead of money (or credits), his payment is technology: increasingly sophisticated and deadly. Sounds pretty ropy, I know – but I had Alcatena doing the artwork … so nyah nyah!

Go Check It Out

Original issues go for $13 to $130 on Ebay. Fortunately for us, there’s a digital archive available.  Take a look at Starblazer magazine as a resource – free scifi, interesting ideas, legendary artists finding their voice.

 

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Megalopolis – I Want to Believe – Original Scifi

Francis Ford Coppola released a ‘first look,’ clip of his original scifi project: Megalopolis. There’s a lot to unpack here, so first let’s watch the clip and then discuss. Take a look:



So yeah, more questions than answers. When you watch the clip, you quickly realize it tells you nothing about the movie beyond Adam Driver’s character’s ‘special power.’ Doesn’t tell you much, but we should still support Megalopolis sight-unseen. Why should we do that? One very simple answer:

It’s.

Original.

Scifi.

As an original scifi storyteller myself, the only way I can succeed is to make sure that original science fiction still has a place in the world of 2024. Where other original scifi stories have failed, Coppola is creating a glorious physical salute to the value of original scifi. Megalopolis is the gestalt of a lifetime of curiosity, thoughtfulness and wonder. Coppola’s asking big questions like: “Is the society in which we live the only one available to us?”

Francis Ford Coppola is the perfect storyteller to tell this story. Who better than a mature filmmaker who has spent a lifetime watching the world change around him, to combine history, science fiction, and humanity? 

Even if you discount that argument, think about this: Coppola believes in this project. I’m serious, he’s been working on Megalopolis since 1979 – literally our entire lives, in many cases. ‘Actively started developing it in 1983, it underwent significant delays and numerous cancellations over the years, until Coppola revived the project in 2019 by spending $120 million of his own money on the film.” Coppola plans for Megalopolis to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it is set to premiere on May 17, 2024.

This isn’t just a movie, it’s a magnum opus. How much more investment could we ask of an authentic, original storyteller after a lifetime of telling authentic, original stories? We want to champion good, original science fiction when we see it. Even if it’s not perfect – Hollywood responds to butts in seats. This is an opportunity for us to say ‘more, please!’

Yes, Megalopolis is Original Scifi. Yes, we want to support it. Make it your aim to give it a shot, watch it for yourself, and support the original, authentic storytelling we all said we always wanted.

 

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Sci-Friday #207 – DIY Solarpunk – Build Your Own EV Charging Station

Hooray – Sci-Friday is here – please enjoy this DIY Solarpunk: Build your own EV charging station. Why waste time buying a crummy indoor charger off of Amazon when you can *build* your own charging station for fun and profit! Pedro Neves walks us through the process step by step in this video. Take a look:

Quick and easy, no? There’s even a community of makers that run the ‘OpenEVSE’ project on Github. It’s also worth noting that there may be all kinds of legal, zoning, or insurance issues that haven’t been examined or addressed. Famously, disruptive tech ideas fizzle after a lawmaker hears about it and goes ‘well, it’s not illegal … but it’s going to be.’ Don’t believe me? Ask TikTok, or Uber.

Why is this solarpunk? Simple – solarpunk imagines a society where the climate crisis has been resolved or is being approached with camaraderie. What could be more ‘camaraderie’ than inventing your own community-based greentech vehicle charging stations?

Some people will tell you that this isn’t the best idea, but so what? the best is the enemy of the good. As Voltaire said,  the best is the enemy of the good. I watch this video and my mind starts spinning about potential opportunities for small neighborhood EV charging stations. Cool ideas, but I’m chasing my dream of being an author. Maybe someone else will get to it.

I hope you enjoyed this DIY Solarpunk moment and that it made you ask your mom if you could build your own EV charging station. Please feel welcomed to dive down the rabbit hole of every other Sci-Friday I’ve published in the past couple years. Have a great weekend!

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Mesh Networking – We Need a Federated Internet

Notes from Lunduke highlight why we need a federated internet – and why mesh networking may be the answer. The Internet Archive – one of the Internet’s last major resources for ‘free and open information’ faces an existential threat. Could this have been avoided? Maybe. As I said last year, my best wishes are that we come away from these fights with a plan where everybody gets most of what they want, and we lose none of what we need. That never happened. Nothing got better, and now everything is worse.

Since 1996, The Internet Archive “intended to provide free access to collections of digitized materials including websites, software applications, music, audiovisual and print materials … As of February 4, 2024, the Internet Archive holds more than 44 million print materials, 10.6 million videos, 1 million software programs, 15 million audio files, 4.8 million images, 255,000 concerts, and over 835 billion web pages in its Wayback Machine.[5] Its mission is committing to provide ‘universal access to all knowledge'”

Who could say ‘no’ to that, ‘right? Evidently, big book publishers could, and did. Per Lunduke: “Here’s the short-short version of this lawsuit:

The Internet Archive created a program they called “Controlled Digital Lending” (CDL) — where a physical book is scanned, turned into a digital file, and that digital file is then “loaned” out to people on the Internet.  In 2020, The Internet Archive removed what few restrictions existed with this Digital Lending program, allowing an unlimited number of people to download the digital copy of a book.

The result was a group of publishers filing the “Hachette v. Internet Archive” lawsuit.  That lawsuit focused on two key complaints:

The books were “digitized” (converted from physical to digital form) — and distributed — without the permission of the copyright holders (publishers, authors, etc.). The Internet Archive received monetary donations (and other monetary rewards) as a result of freely distributing said copyrighted material.  Again, without permission of the copyright holders.  Effectively making the Internet Archive’s CDL a commercial enterprise for the distribution of what is best described as “pirated material”.

That lawsuit was decided, against The Internet Archive, in 2023 — with the judge declaring that “no case or legal principle supports” their defense of “Fair Use”.”

But then it gets worse, IA’s legal brief contains flimsy arguments and weird arguments:

The argument here is roughly as follows:

“It costs a lot of money to make, and distribute, digital copies of books without the permission of the copyright holder…  therefore it should be legal for The Internet Archive to do it.”

An absolutely fascinating defense.  “Someone else might not be able to commit this crime, so we should be allowed to do it” is one of the weirdest defences [sic] I have ever heard.

The IA appears ready to lose both their appeal and the lawsuit, heralding the death-knell of one of the major repositories of ‘free and open information’ on the Internet. This will be a dark day for the Internet and a darker future for free and open information exchanges worldwide. One wonders at the conversations that led to their lawyers’ D-list defense. Did the Internet Archive kill itself by refusing to get out of its own way?

I welcome additional information about this topic so I can learn more. In the meantime, my Futurology brain started whirring as I read through the bad news and an interesting though occurred to me: How would a federated Internet avoid the issues in Hachette v. Internet Archive?

What is a FedInternet?

A federated Internet – a worldwide meta network of non-centralized networks uses an Internet architecture and governance that removes the ownership and control of large organizations (looking at you, AT&T). Instead, smaller, autonomous networks with interoperable protocols, APIs and formats means that no single person or organization can exert undue influence on how the rest of the Internet works.

The current model of Internet architecture and control have led us to some bad places – censorship and control, privacy issues are bad in and of themselves. Then you add problems like Cory Doctorow’s … ahem – ‘enpoopification‘ of Internet properties. Centralization of Internet resources have incubated 21st century Robber-Barons. We aren’t seeing any light at the end of that tunnel yet.

By contrast, a federated Internet would have given the Internet Archive decentralized storage and a reduced legal entity to target. A fedinternet could have implemented transparent copyright management, community governance, and built-in fair use mechanisms.

Now, Add Mesh Networking

What about a mesh networking? A mesh network would fit hand-in-hand with the fedinterent. Part of the reason our current Internet architecture exists is because centralized network management was handled by large monolithic organizations (again, looking at you, AT&T) and enabling them to be pressured to provide extraordinary access to their technology at the expense of privacy.

Small-scale implementations of mesh networking are out there already. For example, Meshtastic is an open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on affordable, low-power devices. Meshtastic utilizes LoRa, a long-range radio protocol, which is widely accessible in most regions without the need for additional licenses or certifications, unlike HAM radio operations.

Mesh networking, by definition, resists centralized control. Sure, it takes a little longer for packets to get from Point A to Point B, and there are real dangers to having all your stuff out there for public consumption. But on the balance, after thirty years of ‘road closures’ and ‘traffic jams’ on the Information Superhighway, the juice seems to be worth the squeeze.

And Then There’s Mesh

When I started working on Mesh a few years ago, stories like these were my inspiration. Like many others, I read the dire predictions about the death of ‘free, open information on the Internet’ with a level of hopelessness and then I thought ‘what if somebody did something about this? How would they fix it?’ I started imagining a future where smart kids (and yes, there are a few running around) decided to make their own fedinternet as an alternative to the massive, bloated Internet monstrosity we’re stuck with now. Then I started thinking about the characters and their motivations. The story started telling itself from there.

Sadly, we don’t have a fedinternet or a mesh networking internet. Internet Archive insisted on implementing the CDL, despite the massive legal liability. Large publishers, facing pressure from management to avoid piracy-induced losses, attacked the lowest-hanging fruit. Calmer heads didn’t prevail, and now we’re here. We’re hurtling toward a future I hoped we might avoid. Yeah, I’m really sad about this.

Now, nobody gets most what they want, and we all lose something important that we need. Hope it was worth it, folks.

 

 

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Futurology – Dystopia of Utopia – Scifi

New important futurology topic – the dystopia of utopia – a common scifi trope. We should remain aware of is the flawed logic and failure of utopia, especially in the context of Futurology. A utopia would be ‘an ideal commonwealth whose inhabitants exist under seemingly perfect conditions. Hence utopian and utopianism are words used to denote visionary reform that tends to be impossibly idealistic.’

Why is utopia impossible for humanity? Who wouldn’t want to live that way? Let’s take a few moments to talk about why utopia doesn’t work, and consider some historic examples of aborted utopias.

First and foremost – utopias don’t work for people and here’s why: my idea of ‘perfect’ is different from yours. Billy Fleming makes an important point about utopia in this article. ‘Margaret Atwood reminds us in The Handmaid’s Tale, an ideal society is never ideal for everyone. The difference between utopia and dystopia is often little more than one’s vantage point.’

Humanity’s innate diversity means we’re constantly at odds with each other when it comes to what we want out of life, what makes us tick. The only way to solve that ‘problem’ is for everyone to live, think, and see things the same way. Know what you get when you do that? ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers.’ I’ll have more to say about that later.

Another problem – balancing priorities, resources, and power. Power is corrosive and corrupting to humanity. We’d constantly be fighting the influence of bad actors tipping the balance of power in their favor. Those bad actors might be coming from inside or outside the community, forcing you to treat citizens and neighbors as both assets and liabilities. If you ever figure out how to do that correctly, let me know.

How do I know that utopia won’t work? History. We’ve tried this before! New Harmony, Indiana thrived for a while on principles of equal rights and equality of duties only to fall apart due to competing ideologies, quarrels, and ‘ nature’s own inherent law of diversity.’ The Oneida Community pursued the idea of ‘individual spiritual perfection within a harmonious society‘ but declined over practices like ‘complex marriage’ and ‘community criticism’ sessions. (Fun fact – the Oneida community founded the company that makes your favorite forks and knives – they’re still in business today!)

There are other examples, too. The Amana Colonies were founded by Inspirationists, and based their society on shared religious principles for over seventy years, only to fall victim to external economic pressure. Even the former Soviet Union, on paper, was an attempt to create a society based on Marxist-Leninst principles of socialism. We all know how that ended.

Could utopia work under the right circumstances? Sure, maybe. AI-based governance could be a way for us to cede authority to an objective resource but even modern AIs have a serious problem – they’re learning from humans. When it comes to computers, it’s ‘garbage in – garbage out’ – and we’re the garbage. Could we fix that? Will advancements in quantum technology allow us to simulate future outcomes before assimilation into our universe?

Again, maybe – but that brings up a new potential danger: Quantum annihilation. We’d be constructing and destroying other universes as a science experiment. What consequences would we face, if other citizens of the multiverse started coming back through the doors we’re opening? I talk about that in The Conquered. 

What are other possibilities? Virtual reality? Best case scenario – Ready Player One. Worst case scenario – Mark Zuckerberg. Either way, the odds are good but the goods are odd. No bueno.

So yeah – utopia – it’s a third rail for humanity. If you take nothing else from this, remember: there’s a ‘dystopia’ that comes with ‘utopia.’ Scifi loves to pontificate about ‘here’s how utopia could work,’ but the reality is utopia is also dystopia, depending on who you talk to.

Write on, and have a great weekend!

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Your Stupid Makes Us Stupid – Futurology, Climate Change, Scifi

The science has spoken, folks – your stupid makes us stupid, with broad implications to futurology, climate change, and scifi. If you take nothing else from this essay, take this: stop being stupid – your stupid is an existential threat to life on Earth.

Need more info? Let’s get after it. ‘Stupidity’ is a subjective term, but I think we can agree on this definition from Italian economist Carlo Cipolla: ‘A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses.’ Examples of this ‘Law of Stupidity’ abound, including areas of climate change, scifi community, and futurology. Long-time readers of this blog will be familiar with those topics.

But we’re learning more about the damage of stupid. Acta Psychologica published an article this month on ‘The emotional impact of baseless discrediting of knowledge.’ Their point, per the article, “baseless discrediting of the knowledge of people with marginalized social identities is a central driver of prejudice and discrimination. Discrediting of knowledge may sometimes be subtle, but it is pernicious, inducing chronic stress and coping strategies such as emotional avoidance.”

Human progress needs to re-think its systemic survivorship bias – forcing big thinkers (e.g. – Socrates, Galileo, Tesla, and Marie Curie) to survive lifetimes of baseless discrediting of knowledge. Not only have we lost the next Einstein and Oppenheimer to sweatshops and cotton fields, but we sacrificed countless others to ‘epistemic injustice,’ or the ‘ systematic distortion or misrepresentation of one’s meanings or contributions; undervaluing of one’s status or standing in communicative practices; unfair distinctions in authority; and unwarranted distrust.’

This stupidity is dangerous – stupidity drives people to hurt others, even as it hurts themselves. Stupidity is a force multiplier for evil, and even well-intentioned people who engage in manipulation become the villains they sought to defeat (e.g. – ‘zero tolerance’ policies, forced lobotomies, and ‘Every Child Succeeds’).

Our Appointment In Samarra

Systems designed to democratize and equalize information have been taken over by ‘effective and powerful ideological institutions that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalized assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion.’ If fixing the future hurts the pocketbooks of the powerful / evil people of this world, they have no qualms about weaponizing stupidity against us (e.g. – antivaxxers, Flat Earth, climate change deniers). Being stupid against stupidity is, in itself, stupid. The Internet was to be our horse to escape death in Baghdad, not realizing we had an appointment in Samarra.

Stop it. Your stupid is making us stupid – it’s a luxury we can no longer afford. You know what I’m talking about.

‘You can’t know about cars, you’re a *girl*.’‘Boys don’t cry.’‘Men never remember and women never forget.’

Whether we’re talking climate change, sci-fi culture, racism, or other futurology-related topics.

Our role – in the avoidance of this boring dystopia we hurtle toward – is to ‘liberate the stupid.’ The weaponized incompetence, the learned helplessness? We know you’re doing it. You know you’re doing it. Maybe you have a reason – maybe you tried to help and you were punished? I get it.

But seriously. When it comes to being stupid? Stop it. Your stupid is making us stupid – it’s a luxury we can no longer afford.

 

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Sci-Friday #206 – The Questor Tapes – Scifi

Let’s celebrate making it through the week with a little ‘repressed Roddenberry’ – this obscure scifi project by Gene “Star Trek” Roddenberry called The Questor Tapes.  TQT is a made-for-TV movie written by  Gene Roddenberry and  Gene L. Coon as a pilot for a 13-episode series on NBC in 1974. Take a look at the movie and then learn more below:

Oh man, the soundtrack is such 70s electro-funk cheese and includes other ‘that guy’ players as Mike Farrell and John Vernon. The Questor Tapes aren’t that fun to watch on its own but it’s significant when you consider its scifi pedigree. Roddenberry played around with Big Ideas like extraterrestial abiogenesis and post-human social issues.

More fun facts about The Questor Tapes:When Jerry enters “Vaslovic’s information center”, 4 TV screens are visible on the right. The upper right screen is running the loop used in Universal’s Colossus: The Forbin Project when Colossus and Guardian are creating a common language.Gene Roddenberry’s son, Rod, has confirmed that the Questor android was an inspiration for the character of Data, from Roddenberry’s later  Star Trek: The Next Generation .The Questor Tapes connects to other major scifi projects like The Andromeda Strain, Battlestar Galactica, and Star Trek: the Motion Picture.  Richard A. Colla directed many television projects along with TQT, including BSG. The music for The Questor Tapes was scored by Gil Mellé. His most well-known film score was The Andromeda Strain, whose director, Robert Wise, later directed Star Trek: The Motion Picture.Originally Leonard Nimoy was asked to play Questor. He posed in makeup for production photos and agreed to do the weekly series if picked up. However, Roddenberry hired Robert Foxworth.

All in all – The Questor Tapes remain a fond, if undersung, piece of ‘repressed Roddenberry’ and I’m glad we could revisit it for Sci-Friday! Please feel welcomed to dive down the rabbit hole of every other Sci-Friday I’ve published in the past couple years. Have a great weekend!

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