ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Enjoy three fine threads which discuss two science fiction movies and one short-lived series from the 1970s about a brilliant insurance investigator.

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Oblivion (2013)



* This post assumes you've seen the movie and I'm not spoiling it for you. If you haven't, watch the movie while I grab a cup of coffee, then come back and read this post.

I'm really glad this movie has a great story, because with all the beautiful production designs so reminiscent of Forbidden Planet the movie is just begging to be loved.



The house up in the sky is something I can't get tired of looking at, not to mention the fun of speculating about how the structure could be made strong enough not to sway in the wind and cause its occupants to puke all over the futuristic furniture.









The special effects are dazzling, too, and if any of us older sci-fi fans had seen this movie when we were twelve years old, our enthusiasm for some of the less-than-perfect classics might have been tough to maintain. This movie is such a dazzling glimpse into the future that it just makes you yearn for this kind of quality in more movies.



When the red-haired gal sits down at that magnificent console and watches Tom lift off to zoom around in the coolest aircraft ever to grace the skies, I get tingly all over.







This aircraft is one of the most magnificent vehicles ever designed for a science fiction movie, and when Tom flies it around shooting at the pursuing drones, we get a real sample of just how versatile the design is. I hope someday we'll actually be able to build this flying work of art.







The story is so focused on the handful of human survivors of the alien invasion, we never even get a description of the aliens themselves, which is a little frustrating. But I guess that's one way to avoid criticisms concerning the design of the aliens. And since the story wasn't about them anyway, I guess it's best just to leave the matter of their physical appearance out of the film all together.





I like the way the story is slow and thoughtful when it's giving us a lot to think about. And when it's time for action, the movie cuts loose like a Brahma bull at a rodeo.





Watching Tom Cruise wrestle with the slow revelation that the "history" he's been told is a lie and his identity is false is what keeps the movie interesting from start to finish. I admire the fact that there are no evil villains or sneaky turncoat characters, just people facing hard truths and making tough decisions.





The first time I saw it, I was surprised that Tom Cruise died at the end, but because of the story's unique nature, his character can actually die and get the girl — in that order!





The Blu-ray of this movie is available on Amazon for only $5.00. What a deal.


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Back to the Future trilogy

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Ten Things Back to the Future II Got Wrong!




Ten Things Back to the Future II Got Right!


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Banacek (1972-1974)



I really enjoyed this series, and I wish there were more than just seventeen episodes. The stories were always about the clever heist of valuable items, and they were always stolen in complex and mysterious ways.

The series pilot concerned a gold-barring armored truck that disappears from a lonely desert highway, after a brief distraction caused the police escort to fall a bit behind it.

The ingenious plan used in this robbery set a precedent that the series often followed. In many of the stories, the solution to the mystery fell into one of two categories.

(a) The stolen item was never actually taken, it was just hidden right on the premises.

— or —

(b) The stolen item was never actually there in first place, it only seemed to be there, and the theft involved simply terminating whatever trick was used to create the illusion.

One of my favorite episodes, Rocket to Oblivion, is a good example of this.

Spoiler ahead. Beware!

A revolutionary new rocket engine is on display at a science exhibit, and the inventor has safeguarded his design by placing a cylindrical shield around it made of shaded Plexiglas to prevent flash photos from being taken. The Plexiglas will reflect the flash back to the camera, and this will spoil the picture.



The shaded plastic also cuts down on the reflected light that reaches the camera, making photography even more difficult. And just to make absolutely sure, the engine is mounted on a turntable that rotates continuously.

Thus it's even impossible to take pictures with a long exposures, because the light from the engine is dimmed by the shaded Plexiglas, and the engine is constantly moving.



During the presentation of the engine to the press and the public at the science exhibit, the lights suddenly go out for a moment — and when they come back on, the engine has vanished from inside the shaded Plexiglas cylinder!



Now, if you haven't seen this episode (but you read my description above anyway), which of the two situations I mentioned would this one be an example of?

Was the engine (a) still there, but somehow hidden, or (b) just an illusion, and it was never there at all?

The answer is (drum roll, please) . . . the engine was never there to start with. And this magic trick was done with pure science. Here's how.

The rotating Plexiglas cylinder created one of those early holograms introduced in the 1970s, and the image of the engine was caused by the light that illuminated the area inside it from above. This made the engine appear three-dimensional to the watching crowd as the cylinder rotated.

When the light above was extinguished, along with the room lights when they went out briefly to mask the deception, the engine seemed to vanish.

This second-season episode was rich in both scientific paraphernalia and pretty girls — making it a sure-fire winner for sci-fi loving twenty-six-year-old with an eye for the ladies! You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a hot honey in this story. And since this was made in 1974, miniskirts were insanely short.

I was fresh out of the Air Force in 1974 and dating like Don Juan was my daddy. The world was wall-to-wall legs back in those days, and my hormones held me hostage on a daily basis.

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The leggy gal in the pictures below appears in the opening credits during season two. She's Banacek's stunning date as she climbs out of his limo and stops the hearts of men all over America.



I'm sure this had absolutely nothing to do with my eagerness to watch this show each week.



Honest. Nothing at all.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)