Stalker, based on Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (with guest Ben DeBono)

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Stalker, based on Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky (with guest Ben DeBono)
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Ben DeBono from The Sci-Fi Christian joins us once again to discuss a slow science fiction movie and the book that inspired it. It’s Roadside Picnic, by the Strugatsky Brothers, adapted by Andrei Tarkovsky into Stalker.

SFC episode about Ben catching up with the Criteron Collection:

http://thescifichristian.com/2023/08/episode-1107-criterion-completion/

SF 101 episode about the OMSI Science Fiction Film Festival:

https://101sf.blogspot.com/2024/04/a-festival-of-sci-fi-bonus-episode-of.html

Rankings!:

  • Ben: Film/Book
  • Colin: Book/Film
  • James: Book/Film
  • Seth: Film/Book

A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeline L’Engle

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A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeline L'Engle
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It’s unfortunately time to talk about the A Wrinkle In Time adaptations. We also discuss the book, of course, but I tried to pull back a bit since my fuller thoughts on the book are also covered in my Hugos There episode with Mandy Self:

https://hugospodcast.com/podcast/a-wrinkle-in-time-by-madeline-lengle-feat-mandy-self/

Rankings!

Colin/James/Seth:

  • book
  • very large chasm, perhaps a cloud of cosmic evil or negative energy or some BS
  • 2003 movie
  • 2018 movie

Arachnotherapy! (Spaceman of Bohemia)

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Arachnotherapy! (Spaceman of Bohemia)
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In this episode, we discuss the new Adam Sandler movie (okay, it came out March 1st, but it was new for us!) Spaceman, based on Spaceman of Bohemia, by Jaroslav Kalfar. It’s an interesting adaptation of an interesting book, but don’t go in looking for an action movie.

It’s not necessary to read the book to enjoy the movie, but you do miss quite a bit of background.

Rankings!

  • Colin: movie/book
  • James: book/movie
  • Seth: book/movie

 

Dune: Part Two

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Dune: Part Two
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We saw Dune: Part Two, then grabbed dinner, then got together to discuss our thoughts on the second half of Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation. We all loved it and welcome any other SF adaptations he wants to do in the future.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Season One

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Season One
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The guys follow up their coverage of The Lightning Thief by discussing the first season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Rankings:

Colin/James/Seth: book/series/a very large gap/movie

 

Those Meddling Satyrs: The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, Part One (2010 movie)

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Those Meddling Satyrs: The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan, Part One (2010 movie)
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This is the first of two episodes we’ll do on The Lightning Thief. In this one, we just discuss the book and 2010 movie. We’ll get to the series next month once it’s complete.

Rankings!:

James/Colin/Seth: book/movie (duh)

A couple of links:

My blog post that I resurrected and commented on:

https://pavementpodcast.com/the-lightning-thief-movie-how-to-badly-adapt-a-book-a-case-study/

Rick Riordan’s reminisces about the movie:

https://rickriordan.com/2018/11/memories-from-my-tv-movie-experience/

The Shepherd, by Frederick Forsyth (and 2023 short film)

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The Shepherd, by Frederick Forsyth (and 2023 short film)
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A quick end of the year episode about the new Disney+ short film (40 minutes), Shepherd, based on the Frederick Forsyth novella of the same name. I believe the story is more well known by folks in Britain and former Crown Colonies than it is to American audiences; this was certainly our first experience of the story, and it’s quite delightful.

All the best holiday greetings to all of you, and I hope you have a great New Year.

The Woking Dead (The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells), with Tim Kuskie

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The Woking Dead (The War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells), with Tim Kuskie
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While James was away in South America, Colin’s younger son, Tim, joined us for a discussion of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds, along with several adaptations, including the radio play, the classic movie, the 2005 remake with Tom Cruise, and the 2019 BBC limited series.
Rankings!
  • Colin: 2005/novel/Radio Play/1953/2019
  • Tim: novel/Radio Play/2005/1953/2019
  • Seth: Radio Play/2005/1953/novel/2019
Radio play is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q7tN7MhQ4I

Dracula-Adjacent (movies, TV, books)

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Dracula-Adjacent (movies, TV, books)
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This time we just roundtable some other Dracula-adjacent material we’ve consumed. Consider it a DVD extra from our previous episode.

Works referenced (not exhaustive):

  • Van Helsing (movie)
  • Renfield (movie)
  • Love at First Bite (movie)
  • Dracula Untold (movie)
  • Dracula Daily (book/email subscription)
  • The Dracula Tape (book)
  • Blade (film series)
  • Underworld (film series)
  • The Strain (book and TV series)
  • The Passage (book)
  • The Lost Boys
  • Forever Knight
  • Morbius (movie)

So Many Transfusions! (Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

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So Many Transfusions! (Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
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This time, the guys discuss Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel, Dracula, and two of its direct adaptations, the classic 1931 Universal movie, and 1992’s lavish Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. We also mention quite a few other direct or slightly indirect adaptations.

Rankings!

Colin: 1931 film, book, 1992 movie

James: Audible version, 1931, 1992

Seth: Book, 1931, 1992.

FYI, the Dracula part of Chirp Audiobooks’s Two Horror Novels starts at Chapter 131.