Open to suggestion

[james_davis_nicoll]

What panel topics would induce you to watch if I was one of the panelists?

I've suggested one on space colonization with me, Charles Stross and a couple of Space Colony True Believers, as well as something related to my f/m posts.

Comments

[maruad.livejournal.com]

When I was growing up, and oddly high number of my neighbours had been born in Europe with a few from Scotland and even one family from England. There were not any from the USA. For many years Americans seemed more alien. Years of exposure to American TV programming has changed this view to a certain extent.

[nelc.livejournal.com]

I was thinking of some awful/awesome hybrid of the L5 society and steampunk (why hasn't this already been made as an anime?), to mix the Victorian colonial attitudes with the space cadets', so that Charlie would truly pop a gasket.

[nelc.livejournal.com]

You realise that's an open invitation to comment on the alien-ness of US TV programming?

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

In order to get Charlie on the panel, the title has to be "Real Scotsmen Don't" with the rest as a subtitle.

[maruad.livejournal.com]

I am okay with that. When I was young, there used to be a lot more programming from the UK, showing on Canadian stations, in proportion to what there was from the USA. Nowadays it is very heavily American with many of the Canadian shows virtually indistinguishable from their American counterparts.

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

"You Got Chocolate In My Peanut Butter--when Science Fiction Claims Vampires and Fantasy Claims Aliens"

"Don't Interfere with Charlie's Living: A discussion of Fan Fiction"

"How can such an unpopular genre have so many books? A reviewer wonders" (with pictures of cats)

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

And 3D glasses with black paper pasted over the lenses so you can choose to put them on not to see.

[nelc.livejournal.com]

How did the books compare?

[nelc.livejournal.com]

In a freefall gymnasium, though that would probably give OSC the advantage.

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

There is no not-seeing. You will watch. All of it.

[neowolf2.livejournal.com]

How about a broad overview of SF cliches and tropes, both past and present, and some thoughts of how SF falls into the trap of propagating such things, especially when they are Obviously Wrong?

[neowolf2.livejournal.com]

This reminded me of the recent QC with "explain Steampunk!"

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

One of William Castle's gimmick horror movies was a black-and-white one with ghosts superimposed in red blue, and he had people hand out colored filters you could look through in case you found them so terrifying that you preferred a ghost-free viewing experience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_Ghosts

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

Some day, I will have a complete list of gimmicks that William Castle did.

Assuming I can get the list without actual work on my part. :)

[apostle-of-eris.livejournal.com]

T*H*A*T is the scariest icon I've ever seen.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

He was a true genius of hokum, right up there with Barnum.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Here are some:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Castle#Castle.27s_gimmicks

[agharta75.livejournal.com]

Threat or Menace?

[resonant.livejournal.com]

Scotland - isn't that someplace in England?

[resonant.livejournal.com]

Stirling's setting was in an alternate-history where the 20th-century island of Nantucket (population 10,000) was thrown 5000 years back in time. They used their remaining technology to build sailing ships, single-shot rifles, and bayonets, and then proceed to get involved in a land war in Asia, fighting opponents armed with spears and swords. So, the events in the story pretty much lined up with the historical record - just moved a few thousand kilometers northeast.

Huff's setting was on a planet of aliens with a high birth rate. Their dumb and aggressive spawn were released into wilderness areas to fight and cull each other as they developed towards adulthood. A diplomatic delegation from other planets (including Earth) was sent; it had a multispecies armed forces unit attached to it for security. The security force's transport crash-landed in the middle of a wilderness area full of aggressive, hostile juvenile aliens. They took shelter in some abandoned buildings, and had to defend themselves until help arrived.

Read Stirling for the setting, Huff for the characters.

[jeffreyab.livejournal.com]

I remember that in the 60's and 70's CBC Windsor could not show US shows bought by CBC so it featured a number of British shows like Doctor in the House. So ironically the Canadian city closest to an American city actually had the most British television.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

This one, definitely this one.

[nelc.livejournal.com]

Nod. It's suburb of London.

[scott-sanford.livejournal.com]

I have proposed before that a staff member be assigned to follow James around with a fire extinguisher and first aid kit.

[le-trombone.livejournal.com]

I think the subtitle would make an excellent panel title. Ehrlich doesn't really deserve top billing.

Also, I'd be interested in a list of the pop-science books that qualified.

So: "Popular Science Books that Damaged the SF Genre" has as many votes as I can stuff.