Chris and Alex are joined once more by Mark Bould, Professor of Film and Literature at the University of West England, for this Footnote episode that explores the origins and definitions of science-fiction storytelling. Expect turns to genre theory and the evolution of generic cycles, including the shifting ways that science fiction gets defined (and by whom); how science fiction moved from print magazines and paperback publishing to movie serials and the international and U.S. blockbuster; and the multimedia expansion of the genre that sits alongside the intensification of the study of science fiction into an academic discipline.

**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**