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    Sci Fi Genre Gems: Forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
    Sci Fi Genre Gems: Forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
    Sci Fi Genre Gems: Forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
    Ebook135 pages1 hour

    Sci Fi Genre Gems: Forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

    By John J Joex

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    About this ebook

    Sure, everybody knows Star Trek and Star Wars and Harry Potter and the other “big name” sci fi / fantasy franchises, but there’s so much more to the genre than just those juggernauts. Anybody remember Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski’s other TV series, the post-apocalyptic Jeremiah? What about the Kick-Ass-like Defendor which starred Woody Harrelson and actually beat Kick-Ass to the punch (so to speak)? Ever read the Pelman the Powershaper fantasy book series that pitted an actor/wizard/prophet against a two-headed dragon and a sentient castle (two, actually)? What about that PBS television adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Lathe of Heaven? Anybody want to play the Nuclear War card game?

    Never heard about of those properties mentioned above? Then Sci Fi Genre Gems is here to enlighten you as it takes a look at the nuggets, the upstarts, the dark horses, the gems of science fiction and fantasy.

    Delivering a journey through the obscure, the forgotten, and the over-looked, Sci Fi Genre Gems seeks out those hidden treasures to reveal to the wider sci fi fanbase what they have been missing. So prepare to discover some lost treasures of the genre that may have been previously unknown or that you may have just heard about in passing references. Also get ready to revisit some buried classics (or semi-classics) as this book goes beyond the big names and uncovers some of the less-renown entries of the genre while offering up a fun read that will expand your sci fi horizons.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn J Joex
    Release dateJun 3, 2016
    ISBN9781633158795
    Sci Fi Genre Gems: Forgotten magic and hidden treasures from the worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror
    Author

    John J Joex

    Blogger and writer focusing on science fiction and fantasy television, movies, books, comics, and more. Also working on genre fiction that I hope to have available in the next year.

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      Book preview

      Sci Fi Genre Gems - John J Joex

      Sci Fi Genre Gems

      By John J. Joex

      Copyright © 2014 by John J. Joex

      All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

      may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

      without the express written permission of the publisher

      except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

      First Edition, June 2014

      ISBN: 1-63315-879-5

      ISBN13: 978-1-63315-879-5

      Cover Design by westinCovers westinbookcovers.com

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      UFO (1970 TV Series)

      The Lathe of Heaven (1980 TV Movie)

      Cell: The Web Series (2010 Web Series)

      Jeremiah (2002 TV Series)

      Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (1978 Rock Album)

      The Micronauts (1970’s Toys and Comics)

      Defendor (2009 Movie)

      Pelmen The Powershaper Trilogy (Fantasy Book Series)

      Hawk the Slayer (1980 Movie)

      Moon Patrol (1982 Video Game)

      Science Fiction Theatre and Men into Space (1950’s TV Shows)

      Pioneer One (2010 Web Series)

      Nuclear War (Card Game)

      A Town Has Turned to Dust (1998 TV Movie)

      Starlog Magazine (The Classic Years)

      The Brother From Another Planet (1984 Movie)

      Max Headroom (1987 TV Series)

      The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1979 Rock Album by City Boy)

      Gargoyles (1972 TV Movie)

      Man-Thing (1970’s Comic Book Series)

      X-Minus One (1950’s Radio Series)

      Carnivale (2003 TV Series)

      12:01 (1993 TV Movie)

      The Tripods Trilogy (Young Adult Book Series)

      The Flash (1990 TV Series)

      Appendix

      Interview with Mark Gardner (creator of Cell: The Web Series)

      Interview with Josh Bernhard(Co-Creator of the Pioneer One web series)

      Introduction

      (Keep reading for a free book offer below)

      Star Trek, Battlestar: Galactica, Farscape, The X-Files, Babylon 5. Those are the sci fi TV shows that really matter, right? And then on the big screen you have Star Wars, The Terminator, Indiana Jones, Alien, and The Avengers. Those are the biggest sci fi movie franchises and all you really need to care about, correct? And for fantasy fans there’s Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, the Narnia series, Conan, and all the big fairy tale/folklore names. What else do you need beyond that?

      Well, that’s all some really fine material for sci fi / fantasy fans and they all offer good launching points into the genre. But is there more out there beyond those and the other big names? Some hidden treasures and lost nuggets that may offer their own bits of magic even if they are not too well known or remembered?

      Why yes there is, and these are what I like to call Sci Fi Genre Gems.

      Any well-versed fan of science fiction and fantasy will tell you that there are plenty more options when you are jonesing for a sci fi fix, even if these may not be as well-known as those big names or may have slipped off the radar in recent years. The genre has been around as a viable option since at least Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (with plenty of proto-genre entries preceding that as well) and it has only grown since the 1818 publication of Shelley’s book with a full-on explosion occurring in the last four to five decades. So during all that time, a whole lot more than just the big name franchises have managed to sneak in there, even if their fanbase may not be measured in legions. And I will be taking a look at some of those nuggets, those upstarts, those dark horses, those gems right here.

      I am of course a huge fan of Star Trek and Star Wars. Those were the franchises that won me over to the genre at a young age. But then I have been a lover sci fi since the very late 60’s with Irwin Allen’s Land of the Giants being the earliest genre entry I distinctly recall watching on television (I got hooked on Star Trek during its 70’s syndication run). And since my initial introduction into sci fi, I have watched plenty of television and movies and read tons of comics and books and stumbled across many entries that delighted me, but I noticed that quite a number of these never received the recognition I thought they deserved or have since been all but forgotten. With Sci Fi Genre Gems, though, I am bringing some attention to at least a few of those--both new and old--hoping that other genre fans will enjoy them as much as I have. Some of them might be a bit too quirky or offbeat for the more general populace of sci fi fandom. Some of these might suffer from a perceived cheesiness or dated feel. And some are just an acquired taste.

      And the 25 nuggets that I cover here are not necessarily all classics either (some definitely are, though), just interesting takes on the genre or forgotten treasures from the past or diamonds in the rough or guilty pleasures. But all of them I believe are worth checking out. Some might not quite be your thing, but you can definitely count yourself a more seasoned genre fan after giving them a look. So enjoy the offerings I have here then gear up for the next volume which will offer yet another two dozen plus one such gems.

      And for those of you deathly paranoid of any information that might ruin the story of a movie or TV series or book you have not encountered already, I will emphasize the standard disclaimer: WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!! For each of the entries below, I provide a brief run-down of the property plus a review and/or commentary (and throw in some interesting facts here and there as well). I try not to get too spoilerly, and actually avoid it as much as possible in some places. But then many of these have been around so long and are so well known, chances are that the spoilers have been floating freely about for years. And some of the analyses in my entries rely upon knowledge of the story, so there’s just no way to avoid it. But one more time, just for good measure: WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

      Comment on my sources: Much of what I have compiled here as far as the facts, anecdotes, and trivia was amassed from years of reading magazines (anybody remember those?) and books, watching making-of documentaries, and of course surfing the web. A lot of the facts I have confirmed with research on the Wikipedia and IMDb sites, though I don’t typically cite either of those unless I am referring to a particular piece of information or including a quote. You can find much of what I have covered at those two locations, but why do all that digging when I have it right here? If I did happen across one of these nuggets of information in a particular book or specific site, then I usually do cite it or link to that here as a source. Or if I include an actual quote, then I typically link to the source as well. I do highly recommend checking out the Did You Know? sections from the IMDb entries if you are jonesing for more anecdotes and trivia, though you will find yourself quickly sucked in and hours will melt away without you even noticing.

      If you like what you read here, then watch for future volumes in this series as well as other books that I have written covering the science fiction and fantasy genres. And if you email me at johnjjoex@gmail.com, I will send you a free copy (in pdf format) of one of the books below. Just include in the subject or body of the email which book you want to receive (and if you say all of them, then it’s my choice). And please leave feedback on any or all of my books that you read at the location you purchased them. Good reviews are always nice to read and critical ones help me improve the next time around. And also keep an eye on the Sci Fi Ditties site for more Sci Fi Genre Gems.

      Currently Available:

      Cancelled Sci Fi TV: 1949-2015: The Ultimate Guide to Cancelled Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows over the Past Sixty-Plus Years

      Why Were They Cancelled? The Plight of Sci Fi TV in the Face of the Unforgiving Nielsens and Networks

      25 Must-Watch Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies: An Essential Guide to the Best Movies of the Genre

      Sci Fi Trifles: Useless but Essential Pop Culture Tidbits and Trivia from the Worlds of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

      UFO (1970 Television Series)

      Created By: Gerry & Sylvia Anderson

      Cast: Ed Bishop, George Sewell, Michael Billington

      Aired: 1970 – 1971 (Syndication, One Season Totaling 26 Episodes)

      Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

      What Is It? Purple haired babes in skin-tight silver jump suits. Green-skinned aliens in flying saucers come to harvest our organs (you wondered where all those kidneys were going). Overly-stern British people scowling and fretting about the fate of mankind. And explosions, explosions, explosions! And as an unexpected kicker, you had well-written science fiction stories. What’s not to like about this show? UFO was a British produced television series from Gerry Anderson (best known for his kid-friendly Supermarionation shows like Thunderbirds as well as the so-bad-it’s-good cult sci fi series Space: 1999) that centers around a secret organization known as SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defense Organization supposedly, but the acronym is cool) that is carrying on a clandestine war against an alien race from a dying planet. These aliens come to Earth in cone-shaped UFOs and launch attacks against various targets or abduct humans to use as organ donors. SHADO’s main base is set up beneath a London movie studio (no really--because it is a good cover for all of the elaborate equipment that will be coming and going according

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