ARPAVAX:CSVAX:sf-lovers (08/18/82)
>From SFL@SRI-CSL Wed Aug 18 09:00:08 1982
SF-LOVERS Digest Saturday, 14 Aug 1982 Volume 6 : Issue 41
Today's Topics:
SF Books - Here's the Plot...What's the Title &
Stanislaw Lem & Starcrossed, SF TV - Starlost,
Random Topics - Violence in Movies,
Humor - Genderless Video Games
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Date: 12 Aug 1982 12:05:31-PDT
From: jef at LBL-UNIX (Jef Poskanzer [rtsg])
Subject: Here's the plot, what's the title and where can I find it?
The setting: a lonely navigation beacon on the Moon, a sort of 21st
century lighthouse. The lone technician on duty there is out walking
when he comes across a recent meteor crater. At the bottom is a
bowling-ball sized rock, perfectly round. He brings the rock back
into his station. As soon as he turns his back on it, it HATCHES!
Soon he is battling a fast-growing, vacuum-breathing, INVISIBLE
monster.
------------------------------
Date: 14 Aug 1982 1609-EDT
From: Joseph A. Frisbie <JAF at MIT-EECS>
Subject: Lem again
Sorry about that last message. It got sent by mistake
(miserable escape key...) I thought I sent a message asking it not to
appear, but I guess our fearless moderator didn't get that, c'est la
vie.
[ The message referred to originally appeared in volume 6, issue 37.
-- Jim ]
I would recommend reading the Cyberaid, and The Star Diaries.
These are in my opinion, the best of Lem. The Cyberaid is the story of
two "constructors" that try to out construct each other. It is broken
up into a series of episodes. One example that I remember is when Turl
(sp?) out builds colleague by constructing an "N" machine, which
builds anything that begins with an "N". This works out great except
that Nothing begins with "N". One of the most enjoyable features of
these books, are the names, puns, and plays on words, both verbal and
visual (pretty good for a translated work).
Two other stories I read weren't quite as good, they tended to
drag in spots, but they both had interesting premises. The first is
Chain of Chance which is a detective story of sorts. I can't really
say more with out ruining the ending. The other is The Futurological
Congress. The protagonist (I can't remember his name) attends the
annual futurological congress, where the hotel is attacked by
terrorists of one brand or another. Pharmaceutical warfare is used
either by the terrorist, or to quell the terrorists. For the rest of
the story, you try to figure out what is real, and what is a
hallucination. Some interesting ideas are presented, including how to
improve the quality of life in a deteriorating world. If you like
multiple levels of reality, you'd probably get a kick out of this one.
The Investigation, Memoirs Found in a Bathtub, and Tales of
Pirx the Pilot, I found to be heavy-handed and slow moving. In The
Investigation, corpses start moving around, and some official (I can't
remember his name, I think he worked for Scotland Yard) is assigned to
look into it. If I remember correctly, nothing is resolved in the end.
Memoirs Found in a Bathtub has our protagonist wandering around what
is left of the pentagon, or something equivalent. Everyone is a spy,
even though no one has been outside the building for x years. He is
charged with a secret mission, but he doesn't know what it is, and
can't find his contact. This book is not worth reading. It is
incredibly slow moving, and is reminiscent of Waiting for Godot. Tales
of Pirx the pilot is a collection of four stories whose only
connection with one another is the protagonist's name. If you liked
the Chain of Chance, you might enjoy the last three stories, they all
have the same sense of random events leading up to a seemingly
sinister result.
His latest book, Return from the Stars is all right, but not
great. The hero arrives on earth ~150 years after going out a an
trans-stellar expedition, to find every "beatrized" (sp?). The result
is that everyone gets ill when they even think of a violence.
Dangerous things like space exploration is out of the question
needless to say. The novel tells the story of his adjustment.
In summary, I liked the Cyberaid, and Star Diaries alot, Chain
of Chance, The Futurological Congress, and Return from the Stars a
little, and The Investigation, Tales of Pirx the Pilot, and Memoirs
Found in a Bathtub. At his worst, Lem's books are deadly dull, and
heavy-handed, at his best, they witty, satiric, and immensely
entertaining.
Happy reading,
Joe
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Date: 12 August 1982 20:36-EDT
From: Charles F. Von Rospach <CHUQUI at MIT-MC>
Subject: SF TV: Starlost
If you haven't read it by now, the book 'Starcrossed' by Ben Bova is
about as close as Ben could come to writing his experiences as
'Science' advisor without being sued by various parties (there is a
LOT of truth in the book, however, the truth is funny enough you
won't believe that). The original Science Advisor and the person who
developed the concept originally was Harlan Ellison (who is in Bova's
book, BTW). He wrote an article on the whole Starlost Fiasco for
Amazing stories magazine called 'Somehow, Toto, I Don't Think We are
in Kansas anymore' which I can probably get you a date on if you need
it. Starlost was a real great idea that was nicely butchered by a
bunch of non-SF BEM men. It ranks with me about the same level as
'Plan Nine From Outer Space', that is, so terrible that it was funny,
and funny because they were trying to be serious.
chuck
------------------------------
Date: 12-Aug-82 11:10:24 PDT (Thursday)
From: Mackey at PARC-MAXC
Subject: SF TV: Starlost and Space Ark (?) and...
I think I remember that show. It was about a family (father, son, and
daughter) who are out camping and fall through a time-warp onto a
planet with futuristic technology, and dinosaurs, but no civilization.
There were some neat ideas in the story, like the Pylons that were
communication/memory devices, and there were some interesting story
ideas. But I gave up on it after awhile since I missed some episodes
where important things happened, and it seemed to repeat itself after
awhile (alot of saturday-morning kiddie stuff like people always
yelling and running away from something).
Does anyone remember Space Ark? I think that was the name of it. It
was about a large spaceship with millions of people scattered through
it like nations. The story centers on a group of people who are
trying to find the damaged control center so the ship can go back on
course and order will be restored. In the process, they meet all
kinds of strange societies that have formed on the ship as the result
of the disaster which also wrecked the control center. I recall
reading that Harlan Ellison wrote several of the episodes (under the
name Penguin?). It was done in video, and had several video effects.
[ I am not sure what TV series you are referring to in the first
paragraph, but the one referred to in the second is definitely the
Starlost. -- Jim ]
Going way back (over 10 years)...does anyone remember Fireball XL-5,
Super Car, Stingray, or Thunderbirds? These were all British SF
shows, with the characters being played by marionettes! They had
action-packed stories, and good effects (though my memory may be a bit
warped since I was much younger at the time). I even had a Fireball
XL-5 lunchbox, and a toy Fireball XL-5. If only parents knew how much
these would be worth today.
These shows played in the S.F. Bay Area, and I'd be interested in
hearing if they are still alive somewhere...and are as good as I
remember. Too bad we didn't have VCRs back then.
Kevin
[ We have already had an EXTENSIVE discussion of these TV shows (and
many others) in SF-LOVERS. These discussions appear in the
following:
volume 3, issues 117-120, 125-132, 134-136
USC-ECLB::BUG:<JSOL.SF-LOVERS>SFLVRS.105
volume 3, issues 137-148, 150-155
USC-ECLB::BUG:<JSOL.SF-LOVERS>SFLVRS.106
volume 4, issue 92
USC-ECLB::BUG:<JSOL.SF-LOVERS>SFLVRS.110
volume 5, issue 1
USC-ECLB::BUG:<JSOL.SF-LOVERS>SFLVRS.201
-- Jim ]
------------------------------
Date: 15 Aug 1982 0:12:37 EDT (Sunday)
From: Winston Edmond <edmond at BBN-UNIX>
Subject: Movie items
The sequel to Ralph Bakshi's movie of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is
scheduled for release around Christmas this year.
"In nearly all the scenes in which he appears, Steven Spielberg's
little extraterrestrial is portrayed by a $1.5-million automaton.
However, in certain difficult sequences, such as the trick-or-treat
expedition, E.T. was played by a 3-foot-7-inch actress inside a latex
costume."
-from Robert Massimilian, CineMedia Publications
In London, the original six members of Monty Python (Eric Idle, Graham
Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin) have
begun shooting "The Meaning of Life", their first film in four years.
-WBE
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Date: 13 Aug 1982 1852-PDT
From: William "Chops" Westfield <BillW@SRI-KL>
Subject: Violence.
A while ago, someone defended violence in movies by stating that
violence is part of the real world, after all, and people should be
exposed to it to make them ready for reality, or some such. No one
has argued with this. I am about to.
Most people will never be exposed to the type of violence that modern
movies use so lavishly. Pain is real, death is real, but in general,
most people will never see much in the way of "violence". You
disagree ? Consider: in Blade Runner, the reviews object to things
like the heros fingers being broken, and someones head being crushed.
In Wolfen, which I watched on HBO, there is this great scene where you
get to watch some persons head falling to the ground after it has been
decapitated by one of the wolfish creatures. I won't even go into the
type of violence depicted in "maniac" type horror movies like like
Friday The 13th (today!). Is this type of violence really present in
the lives of most people ? I think not.
I was a gymnast and have seen people break arms, ankles, dislocated
elbows, and such things. I've had a fair share of injuries myself.
None of this is violence.
Maybe someday there will be a war that I might have to fight in, and I
will be unlucky enough to watch some of my friends being blown to
little bits. This is violence, but it is obscured by a general
atmosphere of pain. I am not likely to be treated to close up views
of the various pieces as they leave the center of the explosion and
live to remember it in horror myself, anyway. No one has objected much
to this type of violence in old John Wayne movies or mash, and such.
More likely I will be witness to a particularly gory car accident.
This is unpleasant, but not really violence.
Or maybe ill be mugged, beaten, robbed... This is still a far cry
from having my brains slowly mashed by a robot type creature.
The type of violence depicted in movies DOES NOT, in general happen in
the real world. More people see it in the movies than will ever see
it in reality. Maybe it is harmful, maybe not, but I find it
objectionable, and "violence is real" is no excuse !
Bill Westfield
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Date: 13 Aug 1982 at 0934-PDT
From: chesley.tsca at SRI-Unix
Subject: PACing it up
Q: What do you call a pacman game given as a get well present?
A: A sick's pac.
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Date: Friday, 13 August 1982 12:22-PDT
From: Jonathan Alan Solomon <JSol at USC-ECLC>
Subject: PacMan jokes
What do MR. and MS. PAC use when they want to call someone?
A PAC-TELefone
--JSol
p.s. some of you may not get this one.
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Date: 13 Aug 1982 1729-PDT
From: Henry W. Miller <Miller at SRI-NIC>
Subject: PACPuns
Forgive me Fadder, for I have punned...
-HWM
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Date: 14 Aug 1982 1739-PDT
From: Paul Asente <CSD.Asente at SU-SCORE>
Subject: Yet another video game joke
What is the best remedy for headaches caused by reading too many silly
Pac-man jokes???
An ice-PAC...
(Enough, already!!!)
[ Agreed. -- Jim ]
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End of SF-LOVERS Digest
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