Episodes
Raise a root beer in memory of Randy Innuendo.
Song: "Mason Rocket" by Beatnik Turtle
Published 04/03/07
Summer, Dave and Tim give an overview of the story, and discuss some of the more interesting aspects of the book: varying zones of thought dividing up the galaxy, a sentient evil entity and its sentient countermeasure, and a quasi-lupine civilization whose packs are formed from hive minds.
Published 03/30/07
Dave and Brian go over the highlights of the movie, and some lively discussion about what does and doesn't work for the story and the myth. It's much easier to ignore the continent-hopping accents and origins than it is to ignore some of the plot problems. The humor and the wonderful acting by Clancy Brown truly shoot this movie to higher levels of appreciation, as well as some of the more unique camera work.
Published 03/06/07
Joe Murphy is back, joining Dave and Summer in the discussion of Robert J. Sawyer's 1992 novel, Far-Seer. This is the first book in the Quintaglio Ascension trilogy, and it features a planet of intelligent and advanced dinosaurs.
Published 02/15/07
Two Ninjas plus One discuss the 1984 cult classic film, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
It's a little hard to classify this movie because it pulls elements from so many different genres: a smattering of extraterrestrials, a lot of swashbuckling action, a little rock-n-roll, and a little romance.
Published 02/01/07
The Ninjas discuss the 1951 classic scifi feature, The Day The Earth Stood Still. Once again, the Ninjas disagree.
Both David and Joe were disappointed and displeased with the story, leaving Summer alone to defend it's merits. She also adds a little bit more historical perspective, in terms of it being the film to create what would later become the "standard" for B-movies of the 50s and 60s
Published 12/31/06
The Ninjas discuss Frederick Pohl's award-winning novel Gateway. Published in 1977, it won the Hugo Award in 1977, and the Nebula and John C. Campbell awards in 1978.
Published 12/15/06
We have a special treat for you KAMN listeners -- Steven Gould joins us to talk a little bit more about "Jumper", his first novel and a recent Ninjas discussion feature.
Published 12/07/06
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.
Doing a separate show on "I Am Legend" is a definite possibility for a future KAMN show.
Published 12/01/06
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.
Published 11/15/06
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.
Published 11/02/06
The feature topic for this show is the 1970 fantasy novella, Ill Met in Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber. While chronologically it isn't the first story featuring Fafhrd and Grey Mouser (that one was "Two Sought Adventure", published in 1939), it is the first story where they team up and work together. This story also won the Nebula Award in 1970 and the Hugo Award in 1971 for Best Novella.
Published 10/11/06
The feature topic for this show is the cult classic mythology fantasy, Clash of the Titans. This 1981 feature film stars Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith, Ursula Andress, Burgess Meredith, and some of the most memorable creature effects Ray Harryhausen created during his illustrious career (he retired from filmmaking after this movie).
Published 09/29/06
Summer, Joe and David tackle the first novel to win the Hugo Award, Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. The story is on the surface a pulp police procedural where a weary yet tenacious detective must catch a killer.
What sets this story apart from typical pulp novels is the incorporation of telepaths and telepathy as integral necessities of society, for business and commerce, lifestyle quality, and for deterring crime.
Published 08/29/06
The feature topic for this show is Space: Above and Beyond, a military scifi show created by X-Files writers Glenn Morgan and James Wong for Fox Network, and likely one of the first victims of Fox Network's habit of early killings of scifi shows with potential.
Published 07/27/06
Summer, Joe and David reach into the wayback machine and grab an old one off the shelves: More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. A winner of the International Fantasy Award, this story is broken down into three novellas from different perspectives of the creation, growth and maturation of a different kind of human.
Published 07/10/06
Summer, Joe and David sink their tsais into the 1980 campy cult classic Flash Gordon, starring Sam J. Jones, Melody Anderson, Max von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, and Brian Blessed. The cheese factor is strong with this one.
Published 06/07/06
Summer, Joe and David are joined by the one and only Jack Mangan in a lively discussion about the 1996 Bruce Sterling novel, Holy Fire.
Published 05/24/06
This time around, we discuss the 1976 cult classic film, Logan's Run.
The Ninjas also share their thoughts on comparing the original film with the novel, and what the impending remake by Joel Silver might look like.
Published 04/29/06
This week, we discuss Dune, the 1965 Frank Herbert novel that continues to have an impact on the way people think about science fiction.
The Ninjas also cover the theatrical movie (several different versions of it), and the more recent SciFi Channel miniseries treatment of the book. Listen to their varied opinions on the creative interpretations.
Published 03/29/06
This week, we discuss the 1985 fantasy Ladyhawke. Is it a cult classic, or is it something else entirely?
Published 03/16/06
This week, we discuss Sundiver, the first novel in David Brin's award-winning Uplift series. The first book of the first trilogy, the one that started it all.
Dave, Summer and Joe have varying opinions of the story, which always makes for a lively chat.
Published 03/01/06
This week, we discuss Glen A. Larson's Knight Rider.
Did Knight Rider help that subgenre back then? Does it hold up well enough to tempt new viewers and new shows?
Published 02/15/06
This week, we discuss Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash.
Published 01/31/06
This week, we discuss Battlestar Galactica, both the old and the new.
Summer, Joe, Dave and special guest Tee Morris (Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy) talk about the original Battlestar Galactica, the new Galactica, and a few things in between.
Published 01/17/06