For this bonus episode I’ve teamed up with the excellent History Daily podcast. 

Very exciting! 

History Daily tells fascinating stories of what happened “on this day” in history with a new episode every weekday.

The early 1950s in the USA stand out as not just a time of economic prosperity but also one of paranoia. The country faced the fear of the atomic bomb, the Red Scare and a moral panic around juvenile delinquency. (Teenagers were new and unpredictable!)

During this time Joseph McCarthy’s power to seek out and persecute perceived communists was at its peak but the tide was about to turn. In 1954 it took journalist Ed Murrow guts to stand up to the influential senator.

You can learn more about History Daily on their website here. 

(And please just indulge me in telling you that it is a complete coincidence that this episode release aligns with this day in history! 9th March 1954 is when Ed Murrow aired his report on Joseph McCarthy!)

You can hear more from me on social media platforms Threads, Instagram and somewhat gingerly also on Bluesky. 

 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

The Worst Film of All Time by The Worst Director of All Time. So claimed the 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards by Michael and Harry Medved regarding the film Plan 9 from Outer Space and director Edward Wood Jr AKA Ed Wood. 

But this very title is one of the reasons behind the revival of the film and of Ed Wood. The film has issues with continuity, set design, dialogue and a coherent ‘Plan 9’ but something about the film appeals to a subset of film lovers. Perhaps it’s the flashes of style, the joy in its failings or perhaps it’s a recognition of something beyond the traditional and often formulaic nature of mainstream narrative filmmaking. Today I speak with two wonderful film academics and fans of the film. 

The Experts 

Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema. 

Rodney F Hill is a Professor of Film at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication at Hofstra University and has written extensively about film. 

If you are interested in finding out how you can help the Prince Charles Cinema you can visit this page here.

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

01:28 Ed Wood: Hollywood, Kubrick and Corman 

05:04 Glen or Glenda, the production code and censorship 

12:39 Plan 9 and the Baptist Church 

14:33 Bela Lugosi and the rest of Ed Wood’s crew 

20:35 The Amazing Criswell 

23:23 Plan 9: An unconventional classic 

25:50 Why my guests love the film 

34:04 Bad science 

35:46 The more traditional aspects Plan 9 

37:22 The Worst Film of All Time and The Worst Director of All Time 

39:57 Ed Wood the outsider and the Church of Ed Wood 

43:14 Comparison to mainstream films 

45:21 The Legacy 

48:08 Recommendations 

50:37 Save the Prince Charles Cinema 

NEXT EPISODE! 

The next episode we will be discussing The Blob (1958) which is available to rent and buy online in many places. You can also watch the film on the Just Watch website which was quite unexpected! (And remember folks, Steve McQueen is supposed to be 17 years old in this film!)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

I would love to know what you make of the ending of this film if you watched it. Best place to do that is on social media. Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. 

1957 USA seems like a country on the brink of huge social change. (Of course, I say this with the benefit of hindsight and with a deep affection for the decade that was just around the corner.) But so many of the events of the year are an indication of what’s to come. 

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 was the first of many legislative attempts to bring federal protection for African Americans in the face of growing dissatisfaction in the South towards desegregation of schools and society. 

1957 was the year the Little Rock Nine were enrolled into a previously all white school. The photos of nine black children often surrounded by angry and jeering crowds and the presence of US paratroopers are staggering. 

It is the year Enovid was approved by the FDA for menstrual problems. Two years later it would become the first FDA approved contraceptive pill. 

And in October 1957 Russia launched Sputnik into orbit causing a shock across the USA. Despite anxiety about their biggest rival the country was not ready for such a display of technological accomplishment. 

The year prior in 1956 Jack Arnold (who had become somewhat disillusioned by the increasingly schlocky independent sci-fi films of the late 50s) was convinced to return to Universal to make The Incredible Shrinking Man. 

Richard Matheson’s story is an unusual examination of a man losing stature both physically and socially. Many consider this Jack Arnold’s greatest science fiction film. We have two wonderful guests to explain why that might be. 

Scott Higgins is a Professor of Film at Wesleyan University as well as being the Curator of the Wesleyan Cinema Archives. He has written multiple books and essays about film. 

Ian Scott is a Professor of American Film and History at The University of Manchester. He has written extensively about politics and film in Hollywood. 

Chapters 

00:00 Introduction 

01:42 Jack Arnold’s best film? 

06:30 Special effects and 1950s horror 

09:15 1957 USA: The rumblings of change 

13:29 Metaphors and definitions of masculinity 

30:43 Kafka, psychoanalysis and The Kinsey Reports 

35:22 Women 

37:38 The End! 

45:17 Legacy 

49:55 Recommendations for the listener

NEXT EPISODE! 

Next episode we will be talking about what the book The Golden Turkey Awards declared as the Worst Film of All Time by The Worst Director of All Time. Plan 9 from Outer Space by Ed Wood is available to rent or buy on various online platforms. Just Watch is a good resource to check where it might be available in your region. Mubi and Pluto are only available in some regions but do offer a decent range of older science fiction films.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead! 

Forbidden Planet (1956) is a somewhat overlooked 50s classic. Although it often fails to make lists of the greatest sci-fi films of all time it has come across often in my written research and when speaking to guests. It’s a film that not only seems to excite avid fans of sci-fi cinema but also influenced some of the genre’s heavy hitters like both Star Wars and Star Trek. A costly, slick, colourful movie which takes a break from the red scare themes and invites us to delve into the dangers of the human mind. 

We mention Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics in the episode which are: 

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 

2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. 

The fourth law also known as Law Zero or Zeroth Law is: 

A robot cannot cause harm to mankind or, by inaction, allow mankind to come to harm.

I have two amazing guests to help unravel the threads in this space opera. 

The Experts

Jay Telotte is Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film including the 2023 book Selling Science Fiction Cinema. 

Glyn Morgan is Curatorial Lead at the Science Museum in London and a science fiction scholar.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to the film, some historical context and the guests 

02:25 The impact of Forbidden Planet 

07:56 MGM does big budget sci-fi 

13:52 Robby the Robot: a new type of robot and Asimov’s laws 

22:02 Special effects 

23:15 Altaira: miniskirts, the Hays Code and sexism 

32:44 The monster: Disney, the id and technological hubris 

38:01 The sound of electronic music: Bebe and Louis Barron’s breakthrough 

43:50 The legacy of Forbidden Planet 

50:09 Recommendations for the listeners

NEXT EPISODE!

The next episode we will focus on The Incredible Shrinking Man. You can buy or rent the 1956 film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region. It is worth checking platforms like Tubi and Pluto if they are available.

 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media: Instagram, Threads and dipping my toes into BlueSky a little too.  DescriptionInvasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) spawned many remakes over the years, each rendition reflecting the anxieties of its time. The original film is one of my absolute favourites with a variety of potential meanings for a mid-century USA grappling with what it means to be American. My heavyweight sci-fi guests help to unravel the multiple threads. The ExpertsBarry Keith Grant is professor Emeritus of Film Studies at Brock University Canada. He has written/edited a huge number of books including the BFI Classics book on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction. Chapters 00:00 Introduction  02:25 From book to screen: different visions, nostalgia and AI  07:24 Invaders from Mars: mistrust and madness  11:58 Sci-fi, Horror and Noir, oh my! The film gets framed with an ambiguous ending  21:21 Sleep, Shakespeare and tranquillisers  25:29 Capitalism vs communism: Corporate culture, McCarthyism and conformity  31:57 Becky: the frothing dress, changing social dynamics and divorce  41:07 The great remake: 1978 and the cynical fade of counter culture  47:22 The benefits of being a pod person  50:52 1993 remake  52:22 Recommendations

NEXT EPISODE! The next episode is on one of the most underrated science fiction classics of all time: Forbidden Planet. You can buy or rent the 1956 film from many outlets or check the Just Watch website to see where it may be streaming in your region. It is worth checking platforms like Tubi and Pluto if they are available in your region.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead! For the full show notes without character limits you can head to the website here.  You can follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads although I am also trying to join in on BlueSky a bit. (It's a bit weird though.) Description Godzilla was released in 1954 in Japan it has gone on to become one of the longest standing movie franchises and began the Kaiju film tradition. Directed by Ishiro Honda, produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka with special effects my Eiji Tsuburaya. It was inspired in part by the 1933 King Kong and The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms from the year before. A big difference compared to US 1950s sci-fi films dealing with nuclear themes is the Japanese perspective. The film wasn’t officially released in the US until 2004 but the US re-edit Godzilla: King of the Monsters! (1956) brought Godzilla to a global audience. My absolutely wonderful guests share their insights on this cinematic masterpiece. The Experts The wonderful Lisa Yaszek is Regents' Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech. She has written/edited numerous books on science fiction. Yuki Miyamoto is Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Humanities Center at DePaul University. Her work focuses on the ethics around nuclear discourse. Chapters 00:00 Introduction  01:56 A short overview of Japanese science fiction history  04:42 Yuki’s experience of Godzilla in Japan  07:00 1950s sci-fi in the USA  10:40 Japanese cultural context: Post nuclear bomb, radioactive tuna and censorship  16:03 Scientists and flipped themes  22:44 The scientist’s daughter, a demure rebel and the moral centre  27:27 Japanese self-sacrifice  29:27 Godzilla: King of the Monsters! Social critique vs entertainment  40:16 The Legacy of Godzilla  48:55 Recommendations for listeners  51:25 Jean-Luc Picard’s birthday message to me

THE NEXT EPISODE! The next film we will be covering is the 1956 Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The film is available to buy and rent on many outlets and even some free with ads streaming platforms. You can check the Just Watch website to see where its available in your region.  We will (as usual) be spending some time speaking about the sequels so it might be worth watching the 1978 version as it is considered the best version by many! I loved it but the original holds a very special place in my heart so it will not be replaced by a copy.  The episode hasn’t been recorded yet but the plan is also to speak a little about the 1953 film Invaders from Mars that has many similar themes.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The end of 2024 is nigh! You can follow the podcast on Instagram and Threads although I am also trying to join in on BlueSky a bit. (It's a bit weird though.) Welcome to an end of year special! A compilation of some interesting parts of conversations from the podcast in 2024 that were edited out. I edit the podcast down to a more digestible length but this means I often lose parts of conversations that are really fun or insightful so here is a collection of those. I also wanted to give a shout out to some amazing independent podcasters who (like myself) do not have huge teams or budgets to put together their shows. They’ve also offered me some sense of camaraderie in the crazy world of obsessing over something and then making podcasts about it. You can find The Lorehounds crew and offerings which include conversations and recaps on some of the best sci-fi shows around on their website. Em at Verbal Diorama is absolutely lovely, passionate about films (especially The Mummy) and does deep dives into many popular movies. Her research skills are fantastic and she is a fellow winner on the Ear Worthy podcast awards for 2024. Her website is here. Mark Steadman is a fantastic and knowledgeable digital producer who knows lots about the podcasting business. He will be launching Undo: How history’s outliers got stuff done in January. You can learn more about him and it here.

Details of the guests and shows featured in this end of year episode:  • Jess Nevins and Julian Chambliss were guests on episode 10: Pulps, Comics and the Rise of Superheroes.  • Mark Bould and Peter Conolly Smith were guests on episode 8: King Kong: The Origin of a Cinematic Titan. • Sonja Fritzsche and Noah Isenberg were guest in episode 5: Metropolis: The Most Influential Sci-Fi Film Ever*. • Thomas Doherty and Xavier Aldana Reyes were guests on episode 12: Mad Scientists: Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll & Boris Karloff. • Keith Williams and Ari Brin were guests on episode 14: Robert Duncan Milne: A Lost Pioneer of Science Fiction. • Jay Telotte and Marc Longenecker were guests on episode 15: The Thing from Another World: Howard Hawks & the Cold War. •  Scott Higgins and Phil Nichols were guests on episode 18: It Came From Outer Space: Bradbury, 3D & 1950s Teens • Thomas Doherty and Mathew Rule Jones were guests on episode 21: Them! The 1954 Horror Sci-Fi that Spawned Big Bug Cinema. • Jay Telotte and Mark Bould were guests on episode 11: Flash Gordon: From Buck Rogers Rip-Off to Space Opera Legend.

Chapters: 00:00 Intro and indie podcast shoutouts 02:06 Comics and Pulps: Who is your favourite superhero? 05:46 King Kong: Hays Code, covert wars and Frank-N-Furter 10:17 Metropolis: Rotwang the prototype 15:35 Mad Scientists: Favourites 20:55 Robert Duncan Milne: From page to screen 30:35 The Thing from Another World: Themes of seeing 34:15 It Came From Outer Space: 3D cinema and unions 36:28 Them! Drive-ins, degenerates and dingy cinemas 46:53 Flash Gordon: Casting choices

NEXT EPISODE! The next film we’ll be focusing on is the original Japanese version of Godzilla (1954). This is surprisingly difficult to get hold of although you can purchase a DVD from many outlets. In the US it is available on Apple TV and Max (previously HBO Max) as well as on Tubi. You can check the Just Watch website to see if it might be streaming in your region. I just wanted to add that the opening credits and music are just phenomenal in my opinion.  

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead!

For the full show notes without character limits you can head to the website here.

Description Them! (1954) is the 6th film we are covering from the 1950s. Hollywood is beginning to realise that sci-fi is a money making genre! The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms from the year before was a big hit for Warner Brothers and Them! followed suit. Another nuclear monster but this time it’s giant ants! Them! was the very first big bug feature and is often considered the greatest of the genre. It sits firmly between the horror and sci-fi and leaves a legacy that echoes beyond just big bugs into films like Aliens and A Quiet Place. The Experts Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively including the book Teenagers and Teenpics: The Juvenilization of American Movies in the 1950s. Matthew Rule-Jones is a senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Science Fiction Cinema and 1950s Britain: Recontextualising Cultural Anxiety. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 01:23 The first Big Bug film: Atomic to hydrogen bombs 03:49 The quality of Them! 05:24 Matt’s first experience of watching Them! 10:08 Boredom v terror, the silent generation and flame throwers in Japan 14:48 US vs UK interpretations in the post-war period 20:15 Scientists and heroes 25:15 The Ants! 28:38 Feminism 31:08 Sounds design and the Wilhelm Scream 33:51 The horror in Them! 39:01 The LA river 40:00 1954 Brown vs Board of Education: the seeds of change 43:10 Legacy 50:41 Recommendations NEXT EPISODE! Next episode there is an “end of year” episode which will include parts of conversations over the last nine months (since the launch) that were edited out before release. There are some bits I planned for the end of the year and others that I reluctantly took out because I like to keep my podcast episodes to 45 minutes. (And yes, I know I fail almost every single time!)  CORRECTION: I stupidly say Alien at 49:50 when I obviously mean the sequel Aliens. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As usual there are spoilers ahead! For the full show notes with no character limits you can visit the website. DescriptionCreature from the Black Lagoon released in 1954 is in many ways the epitome of 1950s science fiction cinema. Jack Arnold (director), William Alland (producer) and Richard Carlson (the leading man) were all people who has become associated with the increasingly popular genre. It also has a beautiful and stylish Julie Adams as the heroine, scientists on a mission and of course the monster. But there are no themes of nuclear radiation, Russian invasion or small town shenanigans here. The film was filmed in 3D although the peak of 3D popularity had faded and most viewers saw this film in 2D. 

Two absolute heavyweights of sci-fi research join me to enlighten us.

The Experts Jay Telotte is a Professor Emeritus of film and media studies at Georgia Tech. He has written/edited numerous books and articles about science fiction film. Mark Bould is a professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, Bristol. He has also written/edited extensively about science fiction cinema. You can take a look at the Forbidden Planet poster mentioned amongst others that have the same trope by viewing my instagram post here. 

Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the film and guests  02:16 Little Jay goes to the cinema  03:19 Universal monsters and comebacks  06:20 The mythical origin of the story  10:03 The monster, its maker and dangerous desires  21:37 Human invaders and Jack Arnold  23:22 Everybody loves Kay  28:59 Man, nature, science and the environment  29:12 Evolution: The Scopes Monkey Trial  33:32 1950s sci-fi: Space opera to the dangers of the depths  38:55 The Legacy: Sequels  45:00 Legacy cont: The Shape of Water  53:10 Recommendations for listeners

NEXT EPISODE! Next episode we will be taking a closer look at Them! (1953). You can check Just Watch to see where it can be found in your region and the film is available to buy or rent at many outlets including Apple TV. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As with all episodes of this podcast there are spoilers ahead! Earlier this year I approached a brilliant theoretical physicist about whether she would like to come on the podcast to speak about her favourite science fiction film but instead she wanted to speak to me about the science of the film Interstellar (2014). I apologise in advance for my own level of understanding of physics which is a mix of decades old lessons in school, a tiny handful of pop science books and a number of science fiction films. Interstellar was released ten years ago in November 2014. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne was the main consultant to director Christopher Nolan on the science of the film which is packed with scientifically accurate scenarios (and a few scientifically fantastical ones too). The Guest Claudia de Rham is a theoretical physicist at Imperial College, London. Her expertise lies at the interface between Quantum Field Theory, Gravity, Gravitational Waves, Cosmology, Particle Physics, Numerical Simulations and Theoretical Mathematical Physics. She is also the author of the book The Beauty of Falling: A Life in Pursuit of Gravity. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the show and guest 01:20 Claudia’s first viewing: Science, emotion and the world you leave behind. 03:25 A quick overview of the premise 04:37 Wormholes: folding paper and spacetime 17:17 Kip Thorne and gravitational anomalies 11:14 Time dilation and black holes 15:14 Time is relative, gravity is multi-dimensional and the transition to science fiction 16:49 Going beyond Einstein’s theory of general relativity to the holy grail of science 19:34 Differences in singularities and being pulled apart by black holes 21:47 The tesseract and extra dimensions 24:50 Gravity as communicator 29:38 Gravity vs light 33:20 Direct detection of gravitational waves, interferometers and LISA* in space 35:06 Observation of the shadows of black holes 36:50 Claudia’s love of gravity Next Episode: The next film we will be looking at is Creature from the Black Lagoon from 1954! You can check JustWatch for where you can find the film in your region. It is available to rent or buy in various places including Apple TV. Sequels Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us are trickier to track down though there are some online streaming services. The Shape of Water (2017) which is heavily inspired by the original film is available to rent or buy in various places and is also available for those who have a Disney+ subscription.  * The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.