Christopher L. Bennett

Watching STARHUNTER REDUX: Season 1, Episode 3: “Order” (spoilers) | Christopher L. Bennett Get more from Christopher L. Bennett on Patreon

On #Patreon, STARHUNTER REDUX changes its original episode order with the episode "Order," ironically, and pits its bounty-hunting antiheroes against a suicide cult leader with mind-control powers. Subscribe to get my #classictv #reviews for just $2/mo!
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It's sad that visiting a "genuine strange new world" has become such a rarity on this show that they actually call it out in the preview as the episode's most notable feature.

Never been a fan of "inside the nacelle" shots. The whole reason Matt Jefferies put them on long pylons is because he assumed the engines generated too much heat and radiation for anyone to get near them safely. But then, that ship sailed as soon as TMP put the reactor right in the engine room.

I liked this one. A rare case where the found-footage format is well-justified and thematically important. I like the film's ultimate message, and I love the plausible science, aside from the Earthlike gravity on Europa's surface (unavoidable given the film's budget, I suppose).

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Get half off on the first volume of my #tokusatsu-inspired #superhero #audiobook trilogy TANGENT KNIGHTS, now through October 11!
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Don't shoot the typewriter! It's an endangered species!

The Lone Power wins another round.

The credits establish the names of the characters who will be significant in the story to follow. Lupino was important to the mystery plot, so she got a name drop. (She was no doubt named in honor of Ida Lupino, the most prominent female director/producer/writer in 1950s Hollywood.)

Without a License by Keith R.A. DeCandido | eSpec Books (If you are placing a digital-only order, please email us before placing your orderfor a discount code to remove the shipping.)For more than twenty years, Keith R.A. DeCandido has told stories in a…

Media tie-in author Keith DeCandido unleashes his own original short fiction on his eager fans in Without a License buff.ly/aqQwN3e @dmcphail.bsky.social @kradec.bsky.social

All three of those are samurai weapons, though. As I understand it, swords were expensive and delicate, a weapon of wealth and status, and ninja were commoners, relying on tools repurposed as weapons, such as the sickle and chain. "Ninja swords" are an invention of fiction, pretty much.

Footprints in the Stars | eSpec Books (If you are placing a digital-only order, please email us before placing your orderfor a discount code to remove the shipping.)Beyond the CradleTo follow in the footsteps of those who have gone…

Don Sakers of Analog Magazine says of Footprints in the Stars: “A sweet collection [...] with, in my opinion, one of the most striking SF covers I’ve seen in many a year [...] There’s something here to delight any SF reader.” buff.ly/3OhUB1n #scifi #aliensamongus @especbooks.bsky.social

I don't remember, but it was when I realized that you take pains, you don't stake pain.

Aleyara's Descent by Christopher L. Bennett | eSpec Books (If you are placing a digital-only order, please email us before placing your order for a discount code to remove the shipping.)Infinite Dimensions. Endless Possibilities. Universal Questions. Across…

From bestselling author Christopher L. Bennett comes Aleyara's Descent, eleven tales portraying the search for understanding, connection, and hope that unites seekers of all species, eras, and realities. buff.ly/fc4vyk1 @clbennett.bsky.social @dmcphail.bsky.social

Arachne Omnibus by Christopher L. Bennett | eSpec Books (If you are placing a digital-only order, please email us before placing your orderfor a discount code to remove the shipping.)What a Tangled Web…The crew of the interstellar colony vessel Arachne is…

The #ArachneOmnibus takes you to the frontiers of space to embroil you in political intrigue millennia old, as #FirstContact threatens to become #LastContact for the crew of the colony ship Arachne buff.ly/DtBl3m8 @dmcphail.bsky.social #FirstContact #AlienEncounter @clbennettauthor.bsky.social

8 tales portraying a future of challenge, conflict with heroes willing to stand up for what's right. Analog magazine says, “Among the Wild Cybers is particularly accessible to readers who aren’t that familiar with science fiction.” amzn.to/2KGU37B @dmcphail.bsky.social @clbennettauthor.bsky.social

Watching STARHUNTER REDUX: Season 1, Episode 2: “Trust” (spoilers) | Christopher L. Bennett Get more from Christopher L. Bennett on Patreon

On #Patreon, the #Starhunter crew takes a manipulative felon to a prison on a tidally locked Mercury, an idea already 35 years out of date when the episode was made. Subscribe to get my #classictv #reviews (sometimes not so classic) for just $2/mo!
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Please tell me you haven't actually tried it.

No, the whole point of the analogy is that the water temperature is raised so slowly that the frog doesn't realize it needs to jump out until it's already too late.

What? He doesn't kill his daughter's boyfriend, he kills the boyfriend's father. And the daughter is barely a presence in the episode at all. There's also nothing in Mark Dawidziak's thoroughly researched THE COLUMBO PHILE about any kind of rewrite.

Holy pareidolia, Batman!

More importantly, copyright protects all creators' rights equally. Respecting other people's right to their own property is how we ensure our own rights are protected. We should treat other people's intellectual property the way we hope others would treat our own.

Building on others' creations is a valid form of creativity; most of Shakespeare's plays were adaptations or remakes. But it's far from restrictive to have to create your own things; I find it liberating. Although working within restrictions can be good for creativity.

Incompetent Southern lawmen who frequently crashed cars seemed to be a whole subgenre in the '70s, between Sheriff Lobo, Roscoe P. Coltrane, and that guy in the James Bond movie. Where did that come from?

Yes, and I like that part. I hope the show focuses more on the new than the old.

I don't see it. Copyright only keeps you from using other people's stuff without their permission. Working with borrowed ideas can be creative, sure -- I hope so, since I've been writing licensed STAR TREK fiction for 20 years -- but creating my own stuff is more liberating.

I sometimes forget that the Sheriff Lobo series was a spinoff. But then, I've rarely thought about either show in the past four decades.

But look at TNG. It mostly added new elements to the universe, and references to the past were only occasional. And yes, purists complained for years that TNG wasn't "real Trek," but most viewers embraced it anyway, and eventually even most of the purists were won over.

Honestly, it bugs me how many continuity nods there are. The shows from ENT to PIC encompass c. 250 years, but SFA is set in a millennium-old Federation. Logically, then, about 3/4 of the people, planets, etc. it mentions should be new and unfamiliar to us. Modern Trek overuses continuity.

There was a time when Trek producers cared about credibility. The depiction of a periodic nova star in TNG: "Evolution" was so good you could use it in an astronomy class.

What gets me is when the FX shots contradict onscreen dialogue. Like today's episode, the dialogue repeatedly says they're in a "dust belt," but instead it's yet another cluttered asteroid field around a planet. It's jarring. (Though not as bad as the roller-coaster hammerspace turbolifts in DSC.)