6 thoughts on “TMTYR Episode #45: Pale Luddites (I Am Legend)”

1. A very good discussion, with some funny quips.

   I haven’t seen the 2007 version, and now I want to.

   Regarding The Last Man, which I saw on TV in the 70s and quite liked: Narration is always problematic in a visual medium, but I think with this story, as it’s very internal, and especially as he has no one to talk to, the narration is effective and necessary. Yeah, perhaps they got around this talking to himself better in the other versions. I find this 1964 film haunting.

   I saw The Omega Man in the theater with my parents. I think the anti-technology theme of The Family is a reflection of the 60’s culture, back to nature, (some New Wave SF.), etc. And it was cool when Heston watched Woodstock… maybe a commentary on how this peace movement was cut-short by the apocalypse…? And definitely eerie seeing all the people massed together, while for him so many were now gone.

   Years ago I was in a friend’s apartment, in the bathroom, and he knocked on the door, “Morgan, come out…! Come out, Morgan!” It gave me a moment of goosebumps, and was so funny.

   I’m glad I’ve discovered your podcast.

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   1. Great comment. I forwarded it to all the guys, because we’re always glad when someone new finds us. Out of curiosity, how’d you stumble upon us?

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      1. Hi: I discovered you via a link on SFFAudio, on their discussion of The Martian Chronicles there was a link to Phil Nichols’ Ray Bradbury website, and he had a link to you.
         He had excellent insights on A Sound of Thunder.

         I’ve greatly enjoyed your podcasts on The Chronicles, The 10th Victim, The Terminator, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Planet of the Apes… Colossus: The Forbin Project…. well, essentially all the ones I’ve listened to so far. ^_^ Maybe I can post a few comments relevant to those on their pages.

         I find it strange that your wonderful episodes — as is the same case with SFFAudio’s — have very few comments.
         Sometimes there are some very enlightening ones.

         To move up the Que: Logan’s Run, Soylent Green, A Clockwork Orange, The Lathe of Heaven, Fantastic Voyage (the commentary on the latter is very enlightening, by a film historian.) I don’t know if I’ll live long enough to enjoy the entire series you have queued up, heheh.

         Almost every time, I think you guys are going to leave something out, and then you do discuss it. You’re very knowledgeable, three heads are better than one. Wikipedia is my third brain lobe.

         I wish you had the stories/films listed alphabetically, but that’s not a deal-breaker. On the Que page, I just use the Search function on my browser to enter “Ellison,” etc.

         The only idea that I’ve been able to suggest that you haven’t done, is Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, which of course was the inspiration for Apocalypse Now. I know this isn’t SF or Fantasy, but it’s very stylized so it somewhat fits into that category. To compare and contrast is quite interesting. I dunno, the decision rests on your shoulders. Of course it’s been said, that a meta-theme was that the boat ride up the river was like a (horrific) attraction in Disneyland.

         Oh, you know, a late friend of mine who was very knowledgeable on history, said some of the Vietnamese craziness by the Americans was based on true events; there was a Colonel who’d set up like a Fair/Playground, with a Merry go Round, and so on.
         I’d also recommend a TV production, perhaps by the BBC, of the novel, starring John Malkovich, which was very accurate to the novel. I think circa the late 80s or early 90s.
         This adds to the visualization of the boat and surroundings when one reads the tome. There’s a wonderfully quiet and powerful moment at the end of the written story, which wasn’t in Coppola’s film, but was in the other production.

         Okay, sorry for the long missive, but I guess that’s the way I role, lol. ^_^
         Thanks again to you all for the Brain Stimulation…!

         Reply

         1. Yeah we don’t get a ton of comments on the site. We interact a bit more on Facebook (facebook.com/pavementpodcast) and Twitter (twitter.com/pavementpodcast), but it’s certainly nice to get some interaction going with a new listener!

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         2. Hey Steven, we’ll be recording for Logan’s Run this week, so if you want to give us your thoughts, fire away.

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2. We should definitely talk about moving Logan’s Run up in the queue. I (Colin) have a paperback version of it, and while we’ve been waiting for the long rumored remake, maybe should stop waiting.

   You might find this version of the queue a little easier to sort/search:
   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bl3JmhFEQz_lErPhQQ_fW3OGQVQKrQ1ol1XUtQl1KbU/edit?usp=sharing

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