Review: “2001: A Space Odyssey” – Stanley Kubrick

PODCAST:

S4E11M – 2001: A Space Odyssey (movie)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we ride this cosmic starship past the moon and head straight for the rings of Saturn—rather, Jupiter. Once more round the sun I am accompanied by musician John Doyle a/k/a Dole (I Decline, Theurgy) and sci-fi fan Richard Bacon. We three arrive, at last, to stare in perplexed amazement and wonder at this speculative fiction masterpiece.

It was no surprise that this film received universal praise from all three of us. While Ryan tended to cite examples of contributions by others including the co-creator of the story and the recruitment of clever forerunners in the special effects field, the guests were more focused on the director’s vision. Dole greatly appreciated that in the film everything was not explained for him and much was left to the viewer’s interpretation—though, he admitted the book provided a new perspective. Rich agreed and recounted a screening of the work he attended while in university that was introduced by actor James Earl Jones who provided some historical context.

Like, as before, we closed out this episode with another teaser track from Dole’s “Theurgy” band project (Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Theurgy-233634134183768/) called “Dreamcatcher”. Check out this preview of dark wave music at the end of the episode!

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)” by Stanley Kubrick (movie)

Ryan: 5 Stars “…an ode to space travel and mankind’s cosmic destiny that takes painstaking attention to scientific detail with deft poetic breath and all around general sense of contemplative bewilderment and awe…”

Dole: 5 Stars “…mind-blowing…I mean it’s so influential on any sci-fi film ever since created…”

Rich: 5 Stars “…a cinematic masterpiece—a must see, for anyone who wants to appreciate serious films…”

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

On this episode Ryan mentioned a collection of audio interviews of the director which included a collage of still photos. You can watch “Stanley Kubrick: The Lost Tapes” on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/QsSV6yZZIVk.

Some other podcasts about our subject work mentioned (maybe not by name) on our episode were the
Now Playing Podcast (http://www.nowplayingpodcast.com/episode.htm?id=1222) and a June 2018 interview of Michael Benson author of “Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece” by Martin Bandyke for Under Covers and the Ann Arbor District Library (https://aadl.org/node/377257).

There were two short documentaries which inspired the special effects for this movie and where the director curated some of his crew. One was “To the Moon and Beyond” which was part of the 1964/1965 New York World’s Fair Exhibit and narrated by Rod Serling (Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_the_Moon_and_Beyond). The other film was titled “Universe” and put out by the National Film Board of Canada (Wiki: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe_(1960_film)), and that one can be seen on the film board’s website or YouTube here: https://youtu.be/48gIN4hGOdI.

As noted on the show the author and director sought the help of other noted science fiction writers during the evolution of this unique project. Here is an article by Michael Moorcock for the New Statesman America titled “Close to tears, he left at the intermission: how Stanley Kubrick upset Arthur C. Clarke.” – https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/01/close-tears-he-left-intermission-how-stanley-kubrick-upset-arthur-c-clarke. Another article about Carl Sagan by Stefan Andrews for The Vintage News concerns how “Carl Sagan advised Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick on extra-terrestrial life for their masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey”” – https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/03/10/carl-sagan-advised-arthur-c-clarke-and-stanley-kubrick-on-extra-terrestrial-life-for-their-masterpiece-2001-a-space-odyssey/.

Ryan talked about noted special effects guru Douglas Trumbull who was recruited to work on the film. Although Trumbull couldn’t get effects together to make the rings of Saturn to the satisfaction of this director, he did it later for his own directorial effort in the science fiction film “Silent Running,” which starred actor Bruce Dern. Here is a forum discussion related to this topic: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/177/why-is-the-destination-of-the-discovery-in-2001-a-space-odyssey-saturn-in-the-b.

With regard to the final stargate sequence of the movie Rich couldn’t help, but cite the line “They went plaid!” spoken by comedy actor John Candy as Barf the Mog (half man/half dog) from the ultimate science fiction Star Wars parody movie “Space Balls.” Watch that full scene here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk7VWcuVOf0.

It should also be stated that “Douglas Rain,” who provided the voice for the computer Hal 9000 died after the recording of our podcast episode, but before it’s release so it was not mentioned during the show: https://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/douglas-rain-voice-of-hal-in-2001-a-space-odyssey-di-1830379580.

Lastly, Dole mentioned his new band project “Theurgy,” which is a post-punk dark wave band. You can check out rough cuts of their music on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/theurgyband/sets/exit-strategies-rough-mixes?fbclid=IwAR13ja8J6euwpSHXAS05aIFnFuKcbd4z18TGWrMu0JK3c_-4vVW8VDBJlxw. At the end of the podcast episode their is a fully mastered teaser from their forthcoming song “Dreamcatcher.” They hope to have their music available on bandcamp soon: https://theurgytransmissions.bandcamp.com/. Until then follow them on facebook and instagram.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

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Review: “2001: A Space Odyssey” – Arthur C. Clarke

PODCAST:

S4E11B – 2001: A Space Odyssey (book)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein I am joined by NDIOS theme composer John Doyle a/k/a Dole (I Decline, Theurgy) as well as previous guest Richard Bacon (speculative fiction fan). This month the three of us dissect the concurrently developed piece of literature from speculative fiction’s, perhaps, most  famous and influential film.  

Ryan felt that the economic prose had an almost poetic quality to it in the way it was organized and written. Rich found the writing clear and technically proficient, but read this novel chiefly as a way to better understand the movie. While Dole highly recommended this book for any science fiction fans he didn’t think he would ever read it again himself. In counterpoint and assent Rich expressed that he would not necessarily recommend the book to others, but it did inspire him to check out more of this author’s stuff. Our discussion went pretty long, but that seemed appropriately timed for a uniquely written collaborative work that will be forever associated with (and overshadowed by) such a significant visual expression. 

Additionally, Dole generously allowed us to include a teaser track called “Walk Away,” from one of the songs off his “Theurgy” band project (Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Theurgy-233634134183768/). Preview this song of dark wave music at the end of the episode!

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)” by Arthur C. Clarke (book)

Ryan: 4 1/2 Stars “…A future-perfect scientific adventure through the solar system which bears all the hazards of an early and epic exploration toward evolutionary destiny…”

Dole: 4 Stars “…a space drama that explores humanity and how we evolve and how we are pushed…in interstellar overdrive into the outer reaches of imagination…”

Rich: 3 Stars “…this book was written by a man that was concerned with telling us how we were going to achieve wonders through the different ways that we would use technologies…but it was good technical writing, it combined good practicality with some aspirational evolution…”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

Another podcast about this subject book mentioned by Ryan was “Nachos and Books” and their June 02, 2014 episode can be found here: http://www.booksandnachos.com/episode.htm?id=133.

During our talk we stated that the idea for this novel was based on two previously published short stories by the author. If you want to check out these stories go here:

• “The Sentinel“:
  • Images from original pulp magazine publication: http://lakdiva.org/clarke/pulp/1951_spring_10SF.html
  • HTML Format: https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2017/01/28/sentinel-of-eternity-1951-by-arthur-c-clarke/
  • PDF Format: http://econtent.typepad.com/TheSentinel.pdf
  • Audiobook: https://youtu.be/EPmyOYyXkk8
• “Encounter in the Dawn“:
  • Images from original pulp magazine publication: http://lakdiva.org/clarke/pulp/1953_june_AS.html
  • PDF Format: https://nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/sffaudio-usa/usa-pdfs/EncounterInTheDawnByArthurC.Clarke.pdf
  • Audiobook: https://youtu.be/kHy42LdxPfY

Ryan mentioned how the author was a popularizer of the concept of geostationary satellites due to his circulation of a private paper and an article he wrote on the subject titled “EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL RELAYS: Can Rocket Stations Give World-wide Radio Coverage?” published in Wireless World in October of 1945. Find it in HTML here: https://lakdiva.org/clarke/1945ww/1945ww_oct_305-308.html or PDF here: http://clarkeinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ClarkeWirelessWorldArticle.pdf.

Underwater ocean diving was a passion of Arthur C. Clarke. He wrote a few books on the subject including one regarding the discovery of an ancient temple “The Reefs of Taprobane (Blue Planet Trilogy)” which he was involved with: https://www.amazon.com/Reefs-Taprobane-Blue-Planet-Trilogy/dp/0743445023/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=The+Reefs+of+Taprobane&qid=1573478788&s=books&sr=1-1. The author also had his own diving school and though we could not verify its continued existence we did find articles about it here: https://www.lightmillennium.org/3rd_april_03/bu_hekanayake.html and here: https://www.timeout.com/sri-lanka/things-to-do/underwater-safaris.

Arthur C. Clarke was no stranger to television. Among other appearances we mentioned that he hosted at least three of his own programs and even commented on the moon landings. His TV programs included: “Mysterious World,” “World of Strange Powers,” and “Mysterious Universe.” Previous NDIOS subject Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke were both interviewed by Walter Cronkite for CBS News to comment on the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PLTkYJ7C40.

There is an award given under the author’s name: Arthur C. Clarke Award. “The annual Arthur C. Clarke Award is given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year.” (from https://clarkeaward.com/).

In a humorous moment during the show Ryan and Dole a cited movie character “Large Marge” (he actually mistakenly said “Big Bertha”) from 1985’s “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pee-wee%27s_Big_Adventure. In the scene, Pee Wee hitches a ride from a truck driver named Large Marge who recounts the worst accident she ever seen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPMSGTfK4Aw. Ryan also brought up the short-lived grammar correcting robot “Linguo” who appeared first on the episode “Trilogy of Errors.” Neither of the other guests knew what Ryan was talking about, however, the character was real and his main story arc can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmMaEUl-6DU.

While Dole bemoaned the length of the recording process of our episodes, Rich delightfully mentioned that he got to catch up on some shows. One was Berwyn, Illinois’ very own Svengoolie who hosts a local horror television program and can be found here: https://svengoolie.com/. Rich’s also wanted to plug his efforts making a customized Christmas train. However, his efforts to keep his children from attacking it failed. Even still he did provide us the brief video below of what he was referring to:

 

Music played a big role in this movie and has in other works of literature. On the episode we mentioned Pink Floyd‘s album “The Piper at the Gates of Dawn” which was taken from a chapter of Kenneth Grahame‘s “The Wind in the Willows” and the song “Childhood’s End” which was taken from Arthur C. Clarke’s eponymous book title “Childhood’s End“.  We also mentioned David Bowie‘s song “Space Oddity” which was inspired by the film adaptation.

Lastly, Dole mentioned his new band project “Theurgy,” which is a post-punk dark wave band. You can check out rough cuts of their music on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/theurgyband/sets/exit-strategies-rough-mixes?fbclid=IwAR13ja8J6euwpSHXAS05aIFnFuKcbd4z18TGWrMu0JK3c_-4vVW8VDBJlxw. At the end of the podcast episode their is a fully mastered teaser from their forthcoming song “Walk Away.” They hope to have their music available on bandcamp soon: https://theurgytransmissions.bandcamp.com/. Until then follow them on facebook and instagram.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “Screamers” – Christian Duguay

PODCAST:

S4E8M – Screamers (movie)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein we dissect this Peter Weller enticing Canadian-American production of a Philip K. Dick short story with a screenplay that originated from the writer of the first “Alien” movie. I am rejoined by former co-host Richard Mehl a/k/a Rick for another dueling duo of discussion as we fight our way through the miasma of psychological distrust, shock, action/adventure, and science fiction horror.

Ryan enjoyed the film, but expressed that some of the changes made lost the claustrophobic feel that heightened the suspense of uncertainty and distrust which were at the hallmark-heart of what he enjoyed about the short story. Rick liked the visual clarity the film brought to the narrative, but was more engaged with how much of the underlying elements were used elsewhere across the filmic landscape.

While Rick and Ryan were both impressed with the level of special effects employed during film, Rick felt that some of this effort was unnecessary or wasted. That said, nobody questioned the high-quality contribution made by the unflappable Peter Weller (Rick even deigned to delight us with a brief impression!). 

So, suit up for this shorter NDIOS journey and don’t forget your evil-robot-warding-tab while you join us on this mid 90’s exploration of robotic evolution and mind game trickery! 

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN MOVIE REVIEWS:

“Screamers (1995)” by Christian Duguay (Peter Weller) (movie)

Ryan: 3 Stars “…This lesser known b-movie effort falls just short of cult status tracking decently with its fun PKD source material, but there are enough choice bits for science fiction fans to enjoy…”

Rick: 3 Stars “…a top Canadian production and not really a b-movie, but, yeah, it had some memorable moments in it and I think they really capitalized on some of the imagery from the story ‘Second Variety’…”

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

Not mentioned during the episode, the website www.philipkdickfans.com has an article pulling together information about the originating short story (Second Variety) as well as quotes from the author himself concerning the story and his feelings about the original script written by Dan O’Bannon (who also wrote the script for the movie “Alien“). You can read this short article here: http://www.philipkdickfans.com/mirror/websites/pkdweb/short_stories/Second%20Variety.htm. Within this web article is a quote from PKD: “My grand theme — who is human and who only appears (masquerading) as human? — emerges most fully.” The author talks about the difficulties of exploring this theme and how he kept coming back to it. This quote is from the original magazine publication of the short story (Space Science Fiction, May 1953) and is also quoted in the appendix notes of one of the anthologies which this story appears (“Second Variety – Collected Stories Volume 2″).

There are a couple blog posts on SFF Audio by Jesse Willis concerning PKD’s work and the copyright status of some of his stories that mentions the two stories talked about in our book review episode (“Second Variety” and “Jon’s World”). These posts include scanned images purporting to be copyright renewal forms of PKD works. Check these out here: https://www.sffaudio.com/commentary-philip-k-dicks-public-domain-short-stories-novelettes-and-novellas/ and also https://www.sffaudio.com/philip-k-dick-copyright-renewal-and-registration-scans/.

Ryan mentioned a few podcasts that talked about this movie and even discussed its similarity to the 1990’s cult classic Kevin Bacon film “Tremors.” One such show is Venganza Media‘s “Now Playing Podcast” and that episode can be heard here: http://nowplayingpodcast.com/episode.htm?id=675. It’s sister show “Books & Nachos” covered the written work here: http://www.booksandnachos.com/episode.htm?id=48. Check them out, too!

A few other articles either mentioned on the show or worth reading that are about this topic are as follows: “Screamers Is the Most Underrated Philip K. Dick Adaptation Ever” by Cheryl Eddy for iO9; “From The Vault: Screamers (1995)” by Simon Fitzjohn for Movie Ramblings; and “Peter Weller on feminism, sequels, and more” by Will Harris for AV Film.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Review: “Second Variety” – Philip K. Dick

PODCAST:

S4E8B – Second Variety (short story)*

SHOW NOTES:

Wherein the podcast returns to its origins and delves into another existential robot mystery by the great questioner of reality: Philip K. Dick. I am joined by former co-host Richard Mehl a/k/a Rick, and we make for a tight duo this go round as we grapple with one of the author’s lesser known short stories. 

Ryan found this early cold war era tale a fun read. He agreed with other reviewers who have indicated that it is demonstrative of themes which PKD would spend greater amounts of his time on and become more well known for during the later years of his career. It was a great window into that perspective of the author’s developing voice. Rick felt more blase about the whole affair having a “it’s just typical Dick” take on things. He was rather jaded wading through the morose morass this author tends to weave with his characters and the stuff that confounds them. 

Rick didn’t get a chance to read our bonus story (Jon’s World), but we did briefly discuss the plot of that tale and its relationship to our subject matter as it was set in the same universe.

Since we were discussing two shorter works this episode we were able to sort of go through each one blow by blow. It was a zoomed-in look worthy of all the curvy plot twists and spin outs which the author wrote into each of the narratives. Hope you enjoy our story breakdowns and revisiting of PKD, about whom there always seems to be something new to discover and consider.

-Ryan

 

WRITTEN BOOK REVIEWS:

“Second Variety (1953)” by Philip K. Dick (short story) + Bonus: “Jon’s World (1954)” by Philip K. Dick (short story) 

Ryan: 3 1/2 Stars “…a post-apocalyptic cold war style tale early in this author’s career that contains entertaining edges and hints, emblematic of future efforts in plot ideation and explorations into uncertainties for which this author is known…”

Rick: 2 Stars “…a paranoid experience in the final war between the United States and Russia where humanity lies on the brink and is about to pretty much extinct themselves with their own technology…”

(Click the links to read full written reviews on Goodreads.com)

 

FUN FACTOIDS:

During the episode we mentioned that the two short stories discussed were published in a science fiction magazine (Space Science Fiction, May 1953) and science fiction anthology (Time to Come, 1954). You can read more basic information about these publications by clicking their cover art (right and left images) or visiting the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (a community cataloging website): http://www.isfdb.org.

The other podcast referenced during our episode which reviewed the bonus story (Jon’s World) is called  “American Writers (One Hundred Pages at a Time)” and their episode on that topic can be listened to here: https://hundredpages.podbean.com/?s=jon%27s+world or https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/american-writers-one-hundred-pages-at-a-time/id1207607233?mt=2&i=1000393771283. This story does not seem to be widely reviewed so it’s worth a listen if you want to know more about it.

If you want to read another review of our subject story (Second Variety) then check out this article by T.S. Miller concerning a different PKD anthology (The Adjustment Team: The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, Volume 2) which was written for science fiction magazine “Strange Horizons” and published on October 03, 2011: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/reviews/the-adjustment-team-the-collected-stories-of-philip-k-dick-volume-2/.

The story “Second Variety” discussed on this episode can be read and listened to for FREE at these websites:

• Online – Project Gutenberg – http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32032?msg=welcome_stranger;
• Ebook – Kindle – https://www.amazon.com/Second-Variety-Philip-K-Dick-ebook/dp/B004UJKI0Y;
• Ebook – Google – Space Science Fiction Magazine May 1953 – https://books.google.com/books?id=O4uaDAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover;
• Audiobook – Fictional – https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fictional/id1270922382?omt=2&i=1000417347316;
• Audiobook – Classical Tales (two parts) –
  • https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-classic-tales-podcast/id258214995?mt=2&i=1000392861823; and
  • https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-classic-tales-podcast/id258214995?mt=2&i=1000393140184.

 

Philip K. Dick eventually moved away from short stories to focus more on novels, in part because of his frustrations with editors changing the stories without permission. One such occurrence, mentioned on the show, involved  a work titled “The King of the Elves,” which has been in film development off and on throughout the years: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/King_of_the_Elves.

Lastly, the biography of Philip K. Dick that Ryan cited on the episode and which he has used in various other episodes where we covered works by this author is by Lawrence Sutin and called: “Divine Invasions: A Life of Philip K. Dick.” This work can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Invasions-Life-Philip-Dick/dp/0786716231.

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.

Preview Episode (Screamers)

PODCAST:

S4E8P – Preview Episode (Screamers)

SUBJECT MATTER:

“Second Variety (1953)” by Philip K. Dick (short story)

“In the aftermath of a devastating nuclear war between the United Nations and the Soviet Union, sophisticated robots nicknamed “claws” are created to destroy what remains of human life. Left to their own devices, however, the claws develop robots of their own. II-V, the second variety, remains unknown to the few humans left on Earth. Or does it?“ (from Goodreads.com)

“Jon’s World (1954)” by Philip K. Dick (short story) ++ bonus story++

“An expedition back in time shall get hold of the papers written by Schonerman for his artificial brains that were responsible for the success of the Claws described in Second Variety, but this time to the betterment of civilization.“ (from ISFDB.com)

*** * ***

“Screamers (1995)” by Christian Duguay (Peter Weller) (movie)

“A rebel commander (Peter Weller, Robocop, 1987) must protect his outpost from the programmed weapons that are mutating into killers of all human life.” (from Amazon.com)

 

 

* DISCLAIMER: Please be advised that the views and opinions of the hosts and guests of NDIOS are completely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of the other hosts and guests or that of NDIOS.