KAMN Show #22: The Omega Man

Welcome to Show #22!

The Ninjas discuss the The Omega Man, the 1971 movie adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic “I Am Legend”, starring Charlton Heston, Rosalind Cash and Anthony Zerbe.

While we don’t go into any detailed discussion about the book, we do note the major differences between the source material and what happens in this cinematic adaptation. There’s also a lot of discussion about the savior symbolism running rampant through the film, and touch a bit on how dated some of the story aspects seem after 35 years. We also wonder how it’ll compare to the new adaptation, currently in production featuring Will Smith in the lead role of Robert Neville.

Doing a separate show on “I Am Legend” is a definite possibility for a future KAMN show.

Listener Feedback: The Ninjas respond to voicemails about Show #20 from Philip from Australia, Tim from The Babylon Podcast, and Neutrino in NJ.

If you have a comment on anything we’ve discussed, let us know! You can call us at 206-666-5266, or send us an email us and let us what you think.

Movies and Books mentioned:

Link: Wikipedia: The Omega Man
Link: Omega Man Script (early draft)
Link: Movie Cliches List
Link: The Top 100 Things I’d Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord
Link: 36 Dramatic Situations by Georges Polti
Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing

 

 KAMN Show #22: The Omega Man [1:01:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6181)

Don’t nobody bring me no bad news

Because I’ve had more than enough this week.

Turns out that Kuato is malignant. So I have one big ass cancer inside me.

Next step, get it out. Then they’ll do more tests on it.

I don’t know when the surgery is, not sure if it’ll be here in Tucson, or in Phoenix. Don’t know what stage, not sure how malignant it is.

I’ll be talking with the surgeon soon to plan the next step.

Kuato update

Just to keep everyone up to date. I was hoping to find out the results of the biopsy last week. I called the doctor’s office today, and I was told they were still working on it, and the doctor wouldn’t be in until Wednesday. So, at best, I’ll find out something Wednesday or Thursday.

Thank you all for your kind calls and emails. They mean a lot to me.

I’ll let you all know something as soon as I do. Know something, that is.

Show #22: Pre-show Discussion

Show #22 will be about The Omega Man, the 1971 movie adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic I Am Legend, starring Charlton Heston, Rosalind Cash and Anthony Zerbe.

There’s a relatively new DVD release out there of this movie… go enjoy it, then come back to listen to the Ninjas discuss.

We don’t delve into the original book, and we may well save that for a future discussion, maybe even in time for the supposedly “more faithful” adaptation, currently in production starring Will Smith.

Feedback Poll 1

First, I know that between June and September, our schedule wasn’t the most consistent it could have been. I’m hoping to fix that a little bit.

Based on our combined increase in workload, we’re going to change things up a little bit. Instead of Ninjas every other week (or as close to it as I can get), I’m going to change the show to twice monthly, on the 15th and 30th of the month.

That said, are there any changes in topic selection that you, the fans and listeners, might be interested in, or are we still good with those?

Personally, I like the 10 years thing… that gives a movie time to fall out of memory, or in some rare cases, a book time to fall back IN to print. The best time to be rediscovered.

Got some bad news this weekend.

Ok, where to begin?

About a week or so ago, I could feel a hard lump on the left side of my belly. This past Saturday, I felt a second lump, so I went to the emergency room. I had a CT scan of my abdomen. Turns out I have a tumor. A big one.

How big, you ask? Imagine, if you will, a tumor the size of a baby. We’ll call him Harry. Harry the Tumor Baby has two little eyes to see with, and a cute little mouth with which to speak.

Imagine if you will, little Harry the Tumor Baby turns over while taking a nap, opens his eyes, sees MY tumor, and yells, “God-damn! That’s a big tumor!”

That’s how big my tumor is.

The doctor says it measures 22cm by 25cm by 12 cm. A cantaloupe, he called it.

Since I have virtually no symptoms other than anemia, the doctors let me go, and we’ll do this on an outpatient basis. I’ll have a needle biopsy tomorrow, and should have the results by Wednesday the 22nd. What we do next depends on the results of the biopsy.

There’s good news and bad news about the tumor, so right now I think I’m 50/50 between coming out of this ok, and being fucked.

I’ll keep everybody posted.

If you want to contact me, email me at “joe at kickassmysticninjas dot com” or “joe at dragonpage dot com”

P.S. Because Evo’s a genius, we have named the tumor Kuato.

Upcoming KAMN Shows

Here’s what’s on tap for the Ninjas to talk about next:

KAMN #22: The Omega Man (1971)
KAMN #23: Gateway by Frederick Pohl
KAMN #24: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
KAMN #25: Far-Seer by Robert J. Sawyer
KAMN #26: Buckaroo Banzai (1984)
KAMN #27: A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

So go hit your favorite book nooks and DVD rental facilitators!

KAMN Show #21: Jumper

Welcome to Show #21!

The Ninjas discuss the 1992 fantasy novel, Jumper by Steven Gould. This is a story that both Summer and Dave have fond memories of reading many years ago when the story was originally published, and time has not diminshed the story.

We also talk a little about the feature film that’s currently filming in Ontario, starring Hayden Christiansen as Davey, and Samuel L. Jackson as NSA Agent (replacing the FBI agent), Michael Rooker as Davey’s dad, and Rachel Bilson as Millie. With Doug Liman directing and David Goyer handling the screenplay, this movie should not suck. I, for one, will be getting a ticket to see it, when the time comes.

If you have a comment on anything we’ve discussed, let us know! You can call us at 206-666-5266, or send us an email us and let us what you think.

Books mentioned:

Link: Steven Gould
Link: IMDb: Jumper (2008)
Link: Wikipedia: Jumper

 

 KAMN Show #21: Jumper [30:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5701)

Show #21: Pre-show Discussion

Yes, I know… I neglected to post a pre-show discussion for Show #19 and Show #20, and I think that’s reflected in the lack of recent feedback.

So let’s get back on track, here!

Show #21 will be about Steven Gould’s novel, “Jumper”, and should be ready sometime around November 15, after I return from World Fantasy 2006 and have a chance to finish up some other audio projects.

Ninja Traveling

Well, I’m about to head to the airport to catch a flight to Austin TX for World Fantasy Con. I wanted to get Show #20 out before I left, so now you know why it went out at 4am.

Sorry again about the audio… based on the quality of the voicemail segment, which was recorded later, I think I have the problem worked out finally. I’ll do some more testing before we actually record next time.

In response to some questions, no, we do not turn on the live feed when we record KAMN shows. That feature is only at the studio, and none of us are at the studio when we record this show.

If anyone’s in the Austin area and wants to say Hello, shoot me an email sometime during the weekend.

Oh, and some shameless Ninja pimping: “So Say We All: An Unauthorized Collection of Thoughts and Opinions on Battlestar Galactica”, from BenBella Books, is now available on shelves. It contains essays by Mur Lafferty, Tee Morris, and myself. Trust me, you’ll like it.

KAMN Show #20: V

Welcome to Show #20!

The feature topic for this show is a pair of cult classic television miniseries, “V: The Miniseries”, and “V: The Final Battle”. The original miniseries, which first aired on NBC in 1983, and the continuation miniseries that aired in 1984, were created by Kenneth Johnson, and initially conceived of as an allegorical tale about the rise of fascism in the United States. But NBC wanted a scifi themed miniseries, and the rest is history.

The Ninjas go into the details about how the first series wanted to really hammer home a more modern warning against how easily a society could fall into being a fascist state (emphasis on hammer). But underneath the Holocaust metaphors, and the creator’s desire to showcase humanity’s need to fight for freedom, is an entertaining scifi-action adventure.

There is some nitpicking about story writing and the loss of story consistency between “V” and “V: The Final Battle”, but all in all, we enjoyed the first miniseries, and had some disappointment with the second one. We don’t talk about the television series at all. Ever.

If you have a comment on anything we’ve discussed, let us know! You can call us at 206-666-5266, or send us an email us and let us what you think.

Movies mentioned:

Link: Kenneth Johson Official Site
Link: Ilana’s V Celebrity Site
Link: Wikipedia: V
Link: Wikipedia: V: The Final Battle (stub entry)

 

 KAMN Show #20: V [1:02:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5820)