KAMN Show #39: RoboCop

Welcome to Show #39!

Feature Discussion: RoboDave, Brian-209, Summer and Jen discuss the 1987 hit movie RoboCop. A groundbreaking movie when it first came in, in terms of production as well as treading into new territories of movie ratings controversy, much can be said about RoboCop, and we try to hit all the fun points.

Brief Story Description: The city of Detroit is besieged by crime, and an overworked police force is struggling to keep from being outgunned. Because of the city’s financial problems, Omni Consumer Products (OCP) won the outsourcing contract to retool the city’s law enforcement ranks, in order to protect future plans to raze Detroit and build a better future city, Delta City, on top of it.

After a disastrous demonstration of the ED-209 enforcement robot, the corporate plans to implement RoboCop program is fast-tracked, but the project can’t proceed until a Detroit office has been gunned down.

Part man, part machine, all cop. And something more.

Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.

Movies mentioned:

Link: Criterion Collection: RoboCop
Link: Wikipedia: RoboCop
Link: RoboCop Archive
Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing

 

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KAMN Show #38: The Forever War

Welcome to Show #38!

Yes, we put the promo at the beginning, because once we got rolling on the discussion, we never took a break. ‘Tis why we’re geeks.

Feature Discussion: Summer, David and Jen tackle Joe R. Haldeman’s The Forever War, which was first serialized in Analog magazine in 1972, then published in novel form in 1974. It was the Nebula Award winner in 1975 and the Hugo Award winner in 1976.

Brief Story Description: This is the story of William Mandella, a student who is conscripted into an elite force being trained to fight in Earth’s first extraterrestrial war. The problem is that while they age normally while traversing deep space, time is speeding by faster on Earth. How can you go home again when you’ve aged only a few months or years while the only home you’ve known has aged 50-500-1000 years or more?

Listener Feedback: You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.

Books mentioned:

Link: Wikipedia: The Forever War
Link: We Read Science Fiction: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman - Cams #4
Link: Joe Haldeman’s Tangled Website
Promo: Parsec Awards 2008

 

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KAMN Show #37: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Welcome to Show #37!

Not surprisingly, the Ninjas voicemail number is gone. But we can probably handle smallish recordings emailed to us… check first before sending longer comments.

Feature Discussion: Summer, David, Brian and Jen tackle Invasion of the Body Snatchers, both the 1956 version startting Kevin McCarthy, and the 1978 remake starring Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum. The 1956 version was based on a story called “The Body Snatchers” by Jack Finney, that was first serialized in Collier’s Magazine in 1954, and published as a novel in 1955.

Brief Story Description: A handful of people uncover an alien plot to take over the human race, and go to great lengths to remain themselves and warn the rest of the world.

Silly aliens… Earth is for Humans! You might catch something here unless you’ve had all of your shots.

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. You can also email all of us at ninjas-at-kickassmysticninjas-dot-com, and yes, you can also email in recorded commentary.

Movies mentioned:

Link: Wikipedia: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Link: Wikipedia: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 Film)
Link: Wikipedia: “The Body Snatchers” by Jack Finney
Promo: The GeekSpin

 

 KAMN Show #37: Invasion of the Body Snatchers [56:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3332)

KAMN Show #36: The Broken Lands

Welcome to Show #36!

Yes, it’s been a while. We’re still around, though!

Feature Discussion: Welcome newcomer ninja stunt double Jen Crawford. Jen is a big fan of 90s TV, so we’ll have to explore that in future KAMN episodes.

David, Brian and Jen chat about “The Broken Lands”, Book One of the “Empire of the East” trilogy by Fred Saberhagen, first published in 1968, and most recently printed in an omnibus collection of the entire trilogy by Tor in 2004. Book Two is “The Black Mountains” (1971) and Book Three is “Changeling Earth” (1973). “Changeling Earth” was later renamed “Ardneh’s World”, and a followup story, “Ardneh’s Sword” was published in 2006.

Fred Saberhagen passed away in June 2007.

Brief Story Description: In the distant future, society has crumbled. Dark forces now rule the land, keeping all humans under their oppressive thumbs.In the darkness of the shadows and whispered on the winds, there is talk of a rebellion. In the swamps, a small band has formed. Determined to regain their freedom, the rebellion, heavily outnumbered, plans to overthrow an army of thousands . . . with the help of one incredible weapon.

It is only a legend, a story left over from the Old World before magic and the wizards came to the land. A weapon of technology. It is the mystical Elephant, and whoever masters it holds the key to freedom, or defeat. One young man, determined to avenge the death of his family, sets out to join the rebellion and find Elephant. What he discovers will change everything.

It’s always about the elephant.

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

Books mentioned:

Promo: INFECTED by Scott Sigler
Link: Empire of the East (Saberhagen’s website)
Link: Wikipedia: Fred Saberhagen

 

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KAMN Show #35: Near Dark

Welcome to Show #35!

Feature Discussion: David, Brian and Summer chat about the 1987 cult feature Near Dark, written by Eric Red and Kathryn Bigelow, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Adrian Pasdar, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein and Tim Thomerson, and featuring a soundtrack by Tangerine Dream.

The Ninjas talk about this not-too-widely known vampire film with both a wild west and a romantic twist in it. The second twist comes from the fact that the word “vampire” is never once uttered during the entire movie… not by the immortals, and the victims don’t really stick around long enough to be able to say it either.

Did you know that Kathryn Bigelow is planning a remake/reimagining of Near Dark? We didn’t, but an IMDb listing is rarely wrong… it’s still In Development, so no public details are available yet.

For those of you with premium movie channels, Near Dark will be airing on TMC on December 24, 2007. Check your local listings, and have some fun. But for some real fun, definitely check out the 2-disc DVD set… the bonus features are almost as long as the feature itself.

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

Movies and music mentioned:

Promo: PodCulture: Equal Opportunity Geekness
Link: IMDb: Near Dark (1987)
Link: Wikipedia: Near Dark

 

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KAMN Show #34: Ringworld

Welcome to Show #34!

Feature Discussion: David, Brian and Summer discuss the Hugo and Nebula Award winning 1970 novel “Ringworld”, by Larry Niven.

The Ninjas talk about this classic SF novel, and also discuss how this type of story has held up over time. David’s a big fan of the Ringworld series, and even he admits there are some issues with some of the more recent sequels.

The talk ranges from the spinoff Man-Kzin Wars novels, and the newest novel set in Known Space, “Fleet of Worlds”, co-authored with Edward M. Lerner (check out the Dragon Page Cover to Cover interview with Edward about “Fleet of Worlds”)

Who knew that there were at least 10 volumes in the Man-Kzin Wars collection?

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

Books mentioned:

Promo: Podiobooks: 7th Son, Heaven, Playing For Keeps
Link: Known Space: The Future Worlds of Larry Niven
Link: Wikipedia: Ringworld
Link: Tor-Forge Author Pages: Larry Niven

 

 KAMN Show #34: Ringworld [46:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7070)

KAMN Show #33: Quantum Leap

Welcome to Show #33!

Feature Discussion: Summer, David and Brian talk about the Emmy-winning series “Quantum Leap”, which ran on NBC from 1989-1993, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell.

The Ninjas talk about the series, how the show’s setup and premise began with a fun and playful flavor, and progressed to a minor shift in season 4 and completely jumps the shark and loses its way in season 5.

There’s a breakdown and a serious nitpicking, especially on the episodes that went astray. Join in and have fun with us! This is a long show folks… enjoy!

The next KAMN show will be a discussion about the Larry Niven classic Ringworld.

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

DVDs mentioned:

Promo: Adventures in SciFi Publishing
Promo: “Scott Bakula” by Sunspot
Link: Wikipedia: Quantum Leap
Link: Al’s Place: A Quantum Leap Fan Site
Link: Project Quantum Leap

 

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KAMN Show #31: Voicemail Show

That’s right… another All-Feedback show!

Summer, David and Brian dive into the voicemails we received for Shows 29-31, covering mostly “Galactic Patrol” and Poltergeist.

Have we thanked Brad from PodCulture recently, for the bang-up job he’s been doing editing these shows up for us? If not, consider this here a shout-out.

Voicemails: Curt in Utah on the Lensman series; Bill in the Bronx on the upcoming Jumper movie; Moose really really wants regular and separate Ninja voicemail shows; Moose wonders why people do stupid things in movies; Gabriel in LA with Poltergeist comments; Bill in the Bronx really loves “Quantum Leap”, and can’t wait to hear what we have to say; Scott in Middletown; another Colossus comment; and Snow Cat weighs in on “Galactic Patrol”.

If you have a promo you’d like us to play, send it or send a link to it to us!

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

 

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KAMN Show #32: War for the Oaks

Welcome to Show #32!

Feature Discussion: Summer, David and Brian talk about Emma Bull’s critically acclaimed 1987 debut novel, War for the Oaks.

The Ninjas talk about the story premise, the interweaving of music into the story, and the melding of the mundane realm with the magical realm because the immortal Seelie and Unseelie can only permanently harm/kill each other when a human with special abilities is invited to play witness on the battlefield.

We get a glimpse of how there might be magic in all realms that may happen to collide in this world of ours. All in all, it’s a fast, fun read. Go check it out.

The next KAMN show will be an in-depth discussion about the TV series “Quantum Leap”, starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell. We’ll post a list of episodes to watch to prepare for this discussion.

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

Books mentioned:

Promo: Dragon*Con: Joe Murphy Blood Drive
Link: QWERTY Ranch: Will Shetterly & Emma Bull

 

 KAMN Show #32: War for the Oaks [33:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5315)

KAMN Show #31: Poltergeist

Welcome to Show #31!

Feature Discussion: Summer, David and Brian join forces to discuss Poltergeist, a 1982 offering from Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper. Despite the fact this movie is now 25 years old, there is some disagreement on whether this movie can rightfully be called “classic”.

The Ninjas talk about a few elements of daily suburban life that are obviously dated (TV channels going off air), the sharp contrast in tone between the first part and the second part of the movie, and whether or not the movie and it’s special effects can stand the test of time. There’s some disagreement, but it’s all in good fun.

The next KAMN show will cover “War for the Oaks” by Emma Bull. She lives in Arizona now, so you never know who may make a guest appearance on the show.

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

Movies mentioned:

Promo: Heaven, Season 3: Earth

 

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KAMN Show #29: Voicemail Show

We have a rare and special treat for you this time around: a separate voicemail show!

Summer, David and Brian dive into the voicemails we received for Show #29, Colossus: The Forbin Project, and much fun discussion ensued.

Many thanks to Brad from PodCulture for editing this up in a pinch, and doing a very good job with not so great source material.

Voicemails: Nick in Anchorage on the “I (heart) Colossus” t-shirt seen in the background of the final scene, and wants to know if the Ninjas will tackle Dr Who in future episodes; Moose is intrigued enough by our commentary to go check out the movie again, which leads to a Ninjas discussion about how older shows we loved as kids may or may not hold up to newer viewings; Scott in Middletown is leaving voicemails at high speed on Virginia mountain roads late at night, and thinks we need to give Colossus’ creators some slack in not being able to anticipate the machine’s growth beyond their control; RapidEye wonders why we didn’t bring up the fact that Colossus’ creators didn’t implement something akin to Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics to apply to their supercomputer to keep it reined in; Tom from Wake Forest also received a bad copy of the movie from Netflix, which leads to a discussion on older DVD players and compression methods on newer DVDs; Kurt in St George thinks that Colossus has more personality without a voice than with a voice, and grows from a petulant child into a megalomaniacal monster, and really doesn’t understand the sex appeal of an overly restrained Dr Forbin.

If you have a promo you’d like us to play, send it or send a link to it to us!

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

 

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KAMN Show #30 Repost: Galactic Patrol

Welcome to Show #30… again.

Summer, David and special guest Tim Callender (host of The Babylon Podcast) gather ’round to discuss “Galactic Patrol”, the original first novel of E. E. “Doc” Smith’s “Lensman” space opera series.

The audio quality is still popping in places, but it’s the best Mike can do.

 

 KAMN Show #30 Repost: Galactic Patrol [1:09:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (5269)

KAMN Show #30: Galactic Patrol

Welcome to Show #30!

Summer, David and special guest Tim Callender (host of The Babylon Podcast) gather ’round to discuss “Galactic Patrol”, the original first novel of E. E. “Doc” Smith’s “Lensman” space opera series.

Sorry about the audio quality. We’re still trying to figure the problem out.

Feature Discussion: Tim and David give an overview of the book and the plot summaries, while Summer saves most of her commentary for the later dissection of the storytelling style. It’s an engaging space-faring adventure, although it’s easy to see how the writing style could make it harder for those more sophisticated reading tastes to easily become lost in the story if they’re reading them for the first time. It’s very easy to see how the non-stop action and occassionally sparse descriptions would appeal to the intended scifi demographic, the 14-year-old male.

It’s also very easy to step back and see how themes and plot devices from this series influenced later stories, from Star Wars to Babylon 5 to Green Lantern and many more.

Consumer warning: avoid the anime interpretation. Seriously.

Promotional Notes: David’s pop culture show, Moldawer in the Morning, is a new member of the FarPoint Media Network!

The next KAMN show will cover the 1982 paranormal/horror classic “Poltergeist”. Directed by Tobe Hooper and produced by Steven Spielberg, it’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since this film first made moviegoers wonder a little differently about whether or not that item you placed on the counter did or didn’t move when you weren’t looking at it…

If you have a promo you’d like us to play, send it or send a link to it to us!

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

Books mentioned:

Promo: The Babylon Podcast: Deep Geeking for Babylon 5
Wikipedia: Galactic Patrol, Lensman
Link: Old Earth Books

KAMN Show #29: Colossus: The Forbin Project

Welcome to Show #29!

Summer, David and Brian join forces to discuss the 1970 feature film, Colossus: The Forbin Project.

Voicemail: caller is excited about the possibility of the Ninjas talking about “War of the Worlds”, and wants to know who does our theme song. The song is “Ninja” by 7 Seconds of Love, and while I have neglected to credit them in the show, they are completely credited on the Special Features page, where we link to the MP3 and the cute music video they created for the song.

C2 calls in with sentiments about Joe’s passing; Woody comments on the “Highlander” discussion and the retconning that happened in the sequels (that never really happened), and Summer comments on the breaking that happened in the Matrix sequels (that should never have happened); Trevor from MMM Commentaries calls in also letting us know about the HG Wells collaboration with Starship Sofa on the books and movies; Lucid Dream from Anime Roundtable offers his condolences on Joe’s passing. David reads an email from John about “Fire Upon the Deep”, and how our commentary inspired him to go out and buy the book, and the theory that the Slow Zone also affected the mental abilities and acuities of the people living there.

Feature Discussion: Summer, Dave and Brian give an overview of the film, and discuss some of the relatively groundbreaking computer usage (for 1970), and talk a bit about the understated acting performances and how they help create create the slow build up of human desperation in the face of an powerful and inscrutable adversary.

The Ninjas also talk about the original book, it’s two sequels, and the plans for an upcoming remake of the movie; one potentially directed by Ron Howard and one that would incorporate story elements from all three novels, to give the story a longer storyline with more depth, and possibly an ending that doesn’t seem quite as desolate as the original film.

Consumer warning: this film is NOT in widescreen format on the DVD. The only known widescreen home video version appears to be the laserdisc. Summer suggests merely renting the DVD, in the hopes that a widescreen version may be released as the remake gets closer to completion.

Promotional Notes: David’s pop culture show, Moldawer in the Morning, is a new member of the FarPoint Media Network!

The next KAMN show will cover “Galactic Patrol” by E. E. “Doc” Smith, and Tim Callender from The Babylon Podcast will join us for that commentary.

If you have a promo you’d like us to play, send it or send a link to it to us!

Listener Feedback: Give us some! You can leave comments here for the show, or at the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas Forum. If you want to leave a voicemail comment on anything we’ve discussed, you can call us at 206-666-5266.

Movies and Books mentioned:

Promo: Podcasting: Now and Beyond: The Dragon*Con Podcasting Track
Promo: George Hrab: Geologic Podcast
Wikipedia: Dennis Feltham Jones
Wikipedia: Colossus: The Forbin Project

 

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Joe Murphy Tribute

A tribute to Joe hosted by Michael, Evo, Mur, Charlie the Beer Guy, Chris the Wingin’ It Chef, Debbie from East Mesa, Brian, Tim, Sheila, and Lorrie, featuring clips from “Wingin’ It” episodes gone by.

Raise a root beer in memory of Randy Innuendo.

Song: “Mason Rocket” by Beatnik Turtle

 

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