Caught in the Time Loop of Science Fiction Fandom

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Scene from the 1951 film “The Thing From Another World.”

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There seems to be an ongoing war debate on social media about whether or not science fiction is inherently liberal/progressive or conservative.

I should say that “woke” is the more common word used for “liberal” or “progressive” although the two terms are not exactly synonyms. Since, in certain circles, “woke” is used as a pejorative, I’ll be using “progressive” in the body of this wee article.

It is (mostly) conceded that across the history of science fiction (and the length of that history is also under dispute) that SciFi has tended to be progressive relative to the era in which it was created.

I bolded that statement because depending on when the piece of science fiction was created, the definition of “progressive” might not fit what it is considered to be in 2023.

Side Note: I took the image above from the movie The Thing from Another World (1951). The military people tend to be conservative and the scientists liberals. The Air Force people end up destroying the monster while one scientist almost gets them killed trying to communicate with the superior, intelligent (and extremely violent) alien.

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Leap into the Panderverse: The End of Quantum Leap

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Promotional graphic for “Quantum Leap” season 2

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I really thought One Night in Koreatown was going to be the Let Them Play episode for season two of the current version of Quantum Leap starring Raymond Lee and Ernie Hudson.

I thought this because of how the showrunner and writers seriously spun the story, emphasizing only some aspects while ignoring the more important facts.

That episode, if you’ve read my blog or have seen the show, depicted the beginning of the 1992 Rodney King riots. I remember them well, because I lived only thirty miles or so from L.A. at the time.

Four white cops had been videoed brutally beating a black suspect named Rodney King. The officers were charged, arrested, and went to trial. All four were found not guilty. Outraged, the black community rioted and looted, but get this. The primary damage almost all in L.A.’s Koreatown.

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My Drabble “Butterfly” a Favorite in “Pocket SciFi: Drabble Contest One”

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Screenshot from Facebook.

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I received this wonderful compliment on Facebook this morning (see the image above). As you may know from this announcement, nine out of ten of my submissions to “Pocket SciFi: Drabble Contest One” was accepted for publication.

You can find this Starry Eyed Press anthology at Amazon in kindle or paperback formats.

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Review of “Meg 2: the Trench” (2023)

Promotional poster for the film “Meg 2: The Trench” (2023)

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Yes, last night I was so bored I watched Meg 2: The Trench (2023) starring Jason Statham, Jing Wu and Shuya Sophia Cai.

I watched and reviewed the original back in 2018 (and I previously read the book upon which it was based). It was “okay,” no great film, but a way to kill a couple of hours if you’ve got nothing better to do.

That’s pretty much the same summary for “2.” Keep in mind that in any logical, scientific, or historical sense, the events in these movies don’t work. They are present for their shock and delight value (who doesn’t wish that the biggest, toughest shark in all of history would show up, just once?).

Statham, who not only starred in this movie but produced it, admitted that as long as the franchise makes money, they’ll keep making “Meg” movies. That’s about it. No other message involved. It’s refreshing.

This time it’s not one or even two Megs we’re dealing with, and it’s not just Megs.

The movie opens up around eight years after the original. Meiying is now 14 years old and with her mother and Grandfather having died in the first film, she’s being raised by Jonas Taylor (Statham) and her uncle Jiuming Zhang (Jing Wu).

The Meg baby introduced in the first movie is now a full grown female and still in captivity in a reserve in Hainan. Jiuming has named her Haiqi and believes she is trainable. Jonas thinks he’s nuts.

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One Last Look

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PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

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Mo lagged behind the tour group being escorted into Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter. He’d been here hundreds of times over the past ten years but decided he needed to take one last look.

Decades of Islamic terrorism had escalated into war. Netanyahu finally ordered the IDF to excise Hamas from Gaza. It wouldn’t be enough. Soon even the Americans would turn against them.

He would travel back in time as Moshe ben Isaiah, the only name Shaul would understand. Moses had to save the life of the Apostle to the goyim and stop twenty centuries of Anti-Semitic hate before it began.

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Water Me

green jug

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

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Ken wasn’t getting any younger or thinner, so every morning took himself out for a walk. Fall had arrived, and he enjoyed strolling in brisk weather.

Then it turned weird.

“Hey, Buddy. Stop a second.”

He was walking past the tennis court. The green watering jug marked Ken’s halfway point. He stopped walking and looked around.

“Who said that?”

“Me, the plant. Gee, you’re dense. I’ve been hanging my jug out here every day but you don’t take the hint.”

“A talking plant?

“I need a little more water before the hibernation thing kicks in. Be a pal, will you?”

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Review of Original Quantum Leap S5E5 “Killin’ Time”

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Scene from the original Quantum Leap episode “Killin’ Time” featuring Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett.

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Based on what I said in my review of the original Quantum Leap show Blind Faith, I decided to continue to sample other episodes.

I just finished watching S5E5 Killin’ Time. The title is appropriate because Sam (Scott Bakula) leaps into an escaped murderer named Leon Stiles (Cameron Dye) in 1958 Oklahoma. Stiles has taken Carol Pruitt (Connie Ray) and her young daughter Becky (Beverley Mitchell) hostage in their home. The house is surrounded by law enforcement officers.

They are led by Sheriff John Hoyt (Jim Haynie) who is determined to kill Stiles in revenge for Stiles murdering the Sheriff’s daughter.

This is far from a “normal” leap.

In the project’s waiting room Stiles has leapt into, he has attacked a Marine guard, knocked him unconscious and taken his sidearm (this was in a deleted scene which originally made the audience wonder where the gun came from). He threatens to kill Al (Dean Stockwell) unless Al lets him out. Besides letting an armed killer from forty years in the past out of a confined area, the other problem is if Stiles leaves the waiting room, Sam can’t leap.

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Kenneth Darlington, Race Riots, and the Justification for Violence

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Kenneth Darlington . PHOTO: BIENVENIDO VELASCO/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

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By now, you’ve probably heard the news from Panama of the 77-year-old man who shot and killed two environmental activists apparently in cold blood. For perspective, I’m providing two other news sources, The Independent and People Magazine. I’m sure you can “Google” more.

The short synopsis from People says:

Kenneth Darlington, 77, is accused of approaching the group, who were blocking a highway in Chame, a district west of Panama City, before firing his gun on Tuesday afternoon, according to a report from Newsroom Panama. One protestor died at the scene, while the other died in the hospital, the outlet reported.

The question of whether or not Mr. Darlington’s actions were justified would seem fairly obvious, but it’s complicated.

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Review of Quantum Leap S2E5: “One Night in Koreatown”

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QUANTUM LEAP — “One Night in Koreatown” Episode 205 — Pictured: (l-r) Raymond Lee as Dr. Ben Song, Ernie Hudson as Magic — (Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC)

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My review of the modern incarnation of Quantum Leap S2E5 episode One Night in Koreatown.

I don’t think I can keep this one short because there’s too much packed in the episode, plus it connects to me personally. I didn’t think it would except for the fact that I lived in Orange County, CA (right next door to L.A.) in 1992 during the Rodney King riots, and I was working for Child Protective Services. But that’s not the part of my history that came up watching the show.

Ben (Raymond Lee) leaps into 18 year old Daniel Park, one of two sons of Jin Park (C.S. Lee) who are running a “Mom and Pop” shoe store in L.A.’s Koreatown. It’s April 29, 1992 and Ben is helping customer Luisa Rojas (Analisa Velez) try on some shoes.

A black kid named Dwain (Benjamin Flores Jr.) comes in saying Ben’s older brother Sonny (Danny Kang) was going to hook him up with some shoes. Rojas has to get to work at the hospital (she’s a nurse) but will be back before closing to pick up her shoes.

Ben follows Sonny in the back to get Dwain’s shoes except the shoe box is filled with cash. Yeah, it’s a WTF moment. Going out front, Sonny hands Dwain the “shoes” while Jin is ranting on about Dwain being a thief and he’s going to call the cops the next time the kid shows up.

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Review of Original Quantum Leap S2E5: “Blind Faith”

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Scene from original Quantum Leap episode “Blind Faith” featuring Scott Bakula as Sam Beckett.

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I was inspired by part one of this Youtube review of original Quantum Leap’s pilot Genesis hosted by Price of Reason  to revisit the show.

As some of you know, I have been working my way through the “update” or “remake” or “continuation” or whatever you want to call it of Quantum Leap starring Raymond Lee, Caitlin Bassett, and Ernie (Ghostbusters) Hudson. However, I have only rarely reviewed anything from the Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell original from the 1990s.

I’m here to change that.

For your consideration, my review of the original QL S2E5 episode Blind Faith.

Sam Beckett (Bakula) leaps into a blind concert pianist Andrew Ross. It’s February 6, 1964 and Ross has just finished a performance at Carnegie Hall. His “unpaid assistant” and love interest Michelle Stevens (Cynthia Bain) is just off stage watching him with adoration.

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