Sci-Fi/Fantasy Fun

Ragnell's comment reminded me that I have been meaning to post something about the science fiction I have been reading and watching lately. I really enjoy thinking and writing about the themes in sci-fi/fantasy, but I'm kind of a workaholic, so sometimes I forget to think about anything beyond my graduate school work/issues.

Over winter break Beorn and I watched the new BBC version of Terry Pratchet's The Hogfather. I had never read the book, although I have read some other things by Pratchet. Ian Richardson is perfect as the voice of death. I think this may be a new Christmas classic for our little family. It was funny, had a strong female hero, and a message about the true meaning of Christmas.

We also watched the new Doctor Who Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride." Generally I have enjoyed the new Doctor Who episodes, despite their not being very feminist friendly, but I was disappointed with this episode. The plot was too implausible, even for a Doctor Who, and the "runaway bride" was annoying as hell. Unlike the Doctor's regular companions, who love being dragged all over the universe never knowing where or when they will end up, or who will be trying to kill them, she wasn't happy at all. She basically whined and complained through the whole episode, which ruined the fun for me.

I love the BBC though. Sometimes I think I should move to Britain just so that I could watch British TV. Did you know that the new Battlestar Galactica was jointly produced by the BBC and the Sci-Fi Channel? (I was wondering how they could afford such high production values.)

Tags: sci-fi, reviews, movies, BBC, TV