Space Pilot

The best science fiction movie ever made! Forbidden Planet starring Leslie Neilsen, Ann Francis and Walter Pidgeon, with the original Robbie The Robot and the Monster Of The ID. Movie Night is now going monthly, while I find some other retro SF gems for you, perhaps in my own field of comic art. Wait and see. TRIVIA QUESTION: Which play inspired the plot of Forbidden Planet? Movie Night comes to you with the help of the Internet Archive .

Thinking back over the heatwave that we've experienced here in the British Isles for the past week or so, while our friends across the Atlantic face the terrors of the polar vortex, I wonder if there's a future perspective to take into account in telling our science fiction tales. It seems that our children and grandchildren might tell stories of the golden age when their ancestors experienced the turning of the year in a series of well-ordered seasons. That there was a time to plant, a time to grow, a time to harvest and a time to rest. It certainly looks like climate change has scrambled that pattern as we experience the two hottest days in February ever, one after the other. Looking out of the window, I see a strange summer day, as warm as most that we experience in Scotland, except that there are no leaves, no heavy verdant foliage; a skeleton of summer. Something is changing and we need to take that into account. New stories of the future should not refer to the gentle

I came across a little story in the National today that came as no surprise to me but it was interesting to see a suspicion of mine supported. The story was " Scottish scientists identify security flaws in 'smart' technology " and it was showing how some academic research had exposed security flaws in smart domestic appliances. The convenience of having an internet fridge that can remind you what to put on your shopping list through an app, or even just order direct from your favourite supermarket opens up an access-way for hackers to enter your home network and do their worst, perhaps using your account to fill their fridge, for example. Now, in terms of a systems analysis viewpoint, smart appliances stand out as an unnecessary complication and a removal of a key control point in the domestic economy. Your house system includes a number of places where you store food: the fridge, the freezer, the larder cupboard, the spice rack, and others. Occasionally you chec

A real treat tonight as we show Max Neptune and the Menacing Squid, probably the best movie made in recent years that no one has heard about. Starring the dynamic Curt Clendenin, the gorgeous Keaton Shyler, and menaced by the outrageous Michael Ornelas, this is one you should see again and again. Movie Night comes to us courtesy of http://www.maxneptune.com . Thanks, guys.

I'm involved with a really great project with my pal Russell Jones. A team of comic artists are turning Russell's poems into comics for an anthology pamphlet (literary world name for a twenty-page comic). This fellow introduces the story I've chosen but I can't tell you any more except that it is full of some wonderful characters for me to draw. I hope to get this piece to Russell later this week.

This is Atomoblender, who helps me occasionally when I'm researching the things that go into a comic. We are looking at potted palms and interesting lamps here. It's essential to employ a household atomic robot when creating retro sf styled work.

We started Thursday Night Is Movie Night with Buck Rogers, played by Buster Crabbe. Now here's Buster again but in his earlier role as Flash Gordon. This is a feature length compilation of the second serial Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe. Enjoy. TRIVIA QUESTION:How many comic artists can you list who took a turn at drawing Flash Gordon since the character was created by the legendary Alex Raymond? Movie night would not be possible without the Internet Archive .

This fellow has the unfortunate distinction of being the last smoker. I'll be singing his story in the Bier Kellar at Frankenstein's, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, tomorrow night with SF prog folk band Painted Ocean. We're there to support Shoreline of Infinity's Event Horizon which launches the new anthology The Chosen From The First Age. Have a look at the Shoreline of Infinity website to see more about that. So, if you are in Edinburgh tomorrow night between 7pm and 10pm, drop by Frankenstein's for a night of science fiction music, storytelling and poetry. They have a good raffle too. If you can't be there I'll still have a Thursday night movie for you here on the Space Pilot Comics blog. You can't say I don't look after you. EXTRA! Watch most of the Event Horizon on Shoreline of Infinity's video feed here .You need to fast forward to 9 minutes 10 seconds to find the start, and it cuts off before the actual Last Smoker song. I'l

Tonight's movie is episode 5 from the 1966 Marvel Animation series Captain America and tells how Captain America came to be a member of the Avengers in the present day. This cartoon looks like a sequence of Jack Kirby's comic frames and has a lot of the liveliness of the Marvel Age of Comics. Tonight's trivia item is an answer. This cartoon gives you the answer to one of the previous trivia questions. Movie night would not be possible without the Internet Archive .

How did you enjoy This Island Earth last night? A movie full of ideas that were current at the time. So where do we get some ideas for a great story today? Well my email inbox had a NASA press release that caught my eye and then I saw two other stories that would combine with that to create a really well-informed climate change story. I'm going to read these with renewed interest to see if I can get some of those scientific challenges across to the lay reader in the form of an entertaining science fiction story. NASA's AIRS Captures Polar Vortex Moving in Over US Huge Cavity in Antarctic Glacier Signals Rapid Decay Warming Seas May Increase Frequency of Extreme Storms