1. …you have access to every Russian and American ICBM and still cannot exterminate the human race.
2. …you make a human into a cyborg and then show him where to find his control chip. You deserve to have him tear out the control chip and kill you.
3. …you make a cyborg with a control chip, and the control chip does not prevent him from ripping out the control chip. What was the control chip doing?
The consensus seems to be that Fringe is a less-inspired version of X-Files. What bothered me was the torture sequence. Allowing torture as a plot device robs interrogation sequences of any semblance of wit and intelligence. I’d much rather see a foxy cop trick a criminal into confessing than beat it out of him. (Also, torture is typically a disappointing way to make the hero morally conflicted). But enough about torture. I’d like to quote one review of Fringe…
“Hi, Vague Agent I don’t know from Adam. I’m Nina Sharp, Executive High Muckity-Muck. I’m just going to assume you’re in on the conspiracy. Oh, by the way, have you seen my absurdly high-tech prosthetic arm? Sorry if this is going too fast, but we only have an hour and a half to out-WTF Lost and The X-Files at the same time. Do try to keep up.”
Some of the mad science was pretty cool, but other aspects were patently ridiculous and goofy (talking to the dead, LSD-communing, etc.)
Defense Tech has an article on military exoskeletons. We haven’t reached the level of killer androids (yet), but strength-enhancement is interesting, too. (Also, if killer androids are in the works, exoskeletons will help programmers teach the androids how to move naturally, says one commenter).
Fans of trippy science-fiction novels everywhere can rejoice that Neuromancer is getting a movie. In other good news, the movie poster shown by i09.com looks pretty stylish and suggests that it won’t be a remake of Swordfish.
The bad news is that Hayden Christensen, the same “actor” that ruined Star Wars and Jumper, is starring as Case. Dare I say that John Travolta could do this better? Egads. How could we have come to the point where John Travolta is the lesser of two acting evils? Hayden [censored]ing Christensen.
1. If a competent villain must make one of the huge villain mistakes on the Evil Overlord List, the villain should have a good reason to do so. Here are some examples: For example, generally, it’s a mistake to try capturing a hero rather than just killing him (because the hero will always escape). However, […]
I wouldn’t recommend giving your characters supersenses unless they develop a character and/or serve an important plot purpose. Otherwise, they’re probably wasted space. 1. You can use supersenses to develop an unusual point of view. For example, maybe a nonhuman is supernaturally talented at perceiving something highly relevant to his species and/or cul […]
Toys classified as “dolls” face import taxes twice as high as other toys do. Dolls are toys that are (only) humans, as opposed to, say, teddy bears. In 2003, Marvel successfully convinced the U.S. Court of International Trade that mutant action figures are not actually humans, even the ones that look human (e.g. Professor X). […]
Witch Doctor is a Lovecraftian medical thriller graphic novel. According to one reviewer, “The metaphysics they reveal through the gruesome adventures in this volume has a weird internal consistency, but it’s so cockeyed and frankly revolting that I can honestly say it never occurred to me before they scarred me with it.” I haven’t […]
“Think of a person watching a computer screen and having his or her brain patterns modified to match those of a high-performing athlete or modified to recuperate from an accident or disease. Though preliminary, researchers say such possibilities may exist in the future.” […]
1. As always, be smart–the competition is pretty fierce. I have superbly qualified candidates with postgraduate degrees and years of experience applying for a minimum wage writing internship. If a prospective writer has typos in his cover letter and/or resume, he’s probably not in the running. I’ll assume that you’re pretty smart and already have […]
Kahi: “At the moment, [I'm writing] a novel. Its about a world where superhumans have long been the cause for conspiracy and secrecy, but have recently entered the public eye in the last decade. While the world is adjusting to these superhumans walking among them, a mutant is discovered that has the ability to sense […]