KAMN Show #9: Sundiver

Welcome to Show #9!

This week, we discuss Sundiver, the first novel in David Brin’s award-winning Uplift series. The first book of the first trilogy, the one that started it all.

Dave, Summer and Joe have varying opinions of the story, which always makes for a lively chat.

We didn’t go into some of Brin’s other works, most notably some essays he wrote for Salon Magazine… one that raised the ire of many a Star Wars fan, and another that made him a target of Tolkien fans. Links below if you’ve never heard of or read them before. The Ninjas might talk about them later, but we haven’t decided on that yet.

This week’s Old School Anime Reviews for Your Ears, by Aaron from Weekly Anime Review, is about the series that began the mecha craze in the USA, Super Dimensional Fortress Macross!

Books mentioned:

Promos and Links:
Promo: The Babylon Podcast
Promo: Variant Frequencies
Promo: SciFi Dig Podcast
Link: Raven’s Reviews: Sundiver
Link: Review: Sundiver
Link: David Brin’s Uplift Universe
Link: David Brin Essay: “Star Wars” despots vs. “Star Trek” populists (6/1999)
Link: David Brin Essay: J.R.R. Tolkien — enemy of progress (12/2002)

 

 KAMN Show #9: Sundiver [54:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4430)

Unbelievable

Not science fiction related, I know, but if you want to see amazing talent, check out this juggling video featuring Chris Bliss.

Classic Cylon Centurion in Distress

See for yourself how low the old tin cans had fallen.

Afterwards, take a moment to look around the Cylon Replica Costumes website, including a video commercial featuring the Cylons (a promo for the return of the classic series to SPACE television).

They seem to be doing just as good a job as the Original Galactica Costume and Prop Museum with our treasured memories.

I have seen the light

VERONICA MARS IS ON THE COVER OF MAXIM MAGAZINE!! Honest, look here. I… I just… I can’t believe I’ve been wrong all these years. There is a God. And he is good. And he loves me very much.

TV News: Dark Skies

It seems to be a new trend for older tv shows to show up on cable networks.

Sometime last fall, one of the Showtime channels began airing “The Magnificent Seven”, the TV series starring Michael Biehn and Eric Close. Now it looks like one of the Encore networks has begun airing “Dark Skies”, the scifi-mystery series starring Eric Close and Megan Ward.

Since “Magnificent Seven” showed up on DVD back in December (first season, anyway), I wonder if this means that “Dark Skies” might soon show up as well.

Show #9: Pre-show Discussion

For Show #9, we head back to the bookshelves to examine the first book in David Brin’s Uplift Saga, Sundiver.

The main premise behind the tale is that no sentient species ever became that way without having had a little bit of help from another sentient species, visitor or indigenous. But no one knows if the humans achieved it from a species that didn’t stick around, or if they managed to uplift themselves… it’s a mystery.

What questions do you have about the book, or the overall trilogy that we might be able to address?

More Hasselhoff news

Doug Kress suffered a moment of Hasselhoff overload while listening to KAMN #8, so he decided to share with us.

Here’s a YouTube music video. Decide for yourself if David would have become the superstar pop idol he dreamed of being.

Thank you so much, Doug.

KAMN Show #8: Knight Rider

Welcome to Show #8!

This week, we discuss Glen A. Larson’s Knight Rider.

Summer ’s all better now (thanks so much for the well-wishes), so she, Joe, and Dave jump right back into the early 1980s and one of many “futuristic tech” scifi shows featuring toys for the big kids.

Did Knight Rider help that subgenre back then? Does it hold up well enough to tempt new viewers and new shows? The first season is available for download via iTunes, and the fourth and final season will be released on DVD in April.

This week’s Old School Anime Reviews for Your Ears, by Aaron from Weekly Anime Review, is about the ground-breaking action scifi movie, AKIRA!

Shows and Movies mentioned:

Promos and Links:
Promo: Silent Universe
Promo: The Babylon Podcast
Promo: Getting A Leg Up Podcast
Link: Knight Rider Online
Link: Jump the Shark: Knight Rider
Link: Ask A Ninja Video ‘cast

 

 KAMN Show #8: Knight Rider [1:01:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3231)

Aging Tech Gear

I guess it really was just a matter of time.

I finally bought a new video cable and spun up my old Sony MDP-605 laserdisc player to check out some old discs, and was met by an interesting surprise.

The sound was fine, but the picture didn’t work. Best description is that the vertical hold seemed off and the picture, what little there was of it, was distorted.

My first guess was a laser alignment problem, but I figured I’d do some Googling first. Alas, I was correct in that first assumption (scroll down about halfway if you’re even remotely curious).

I haven’t investigated how much it’d cost to get this tank fixed, but I do happen to have another laserdisc player. A Pioneer CLD-D406, which I believe was the very last consumer model sold in the US. I bought it, and haven’t used it… it’s been sitting “new in box” since December 1999.

I just have to go get it out of storage, and hope it still works, or I’m going to have to jump through some hoops to find a replacement.

And yes, I would find a replacement. Laserdisc is the only media I have left for the original Star Wars trilogy in it’s pristine original form.

update (14:00, 8 Feb): The “new” player works just fine. I’m currently watching the original version of the Babylon 5 pilot (before re-editing for TNT), in preparation for talking about it for the next Babylon Podcast. Wow, does the music change make a difference!

Sometimes, the commercials are worth it

There was a MacGyver MasterCard commercial on the Super Bowl right now.

It was nice to see that Richard Dean Anderson can still do those MacGyver “I can’t believe I just did that” facial expressions.

Show #8: Pre-show Discussion

We’re diving back into the scary-fun world of 1980s television, and we’re revisiting the supertech machines.

That’s right, we’re going to talk about Knight Rider.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

KAMN Survey: Info Dumps

A side discussion popped up between Jack, Mur, and myself about the use of infodumps in novels (especially the epic-length dumps of Neal Stephenson in Snow Crash, Cryptonomicon, and the Baroque Cycle).

This is probably a discussion for everyone to participate in.

Continue reading KAMN Survey: Info Dumps…