Journey Through Sci-Fi: Science Fiction Film History

By James Payne

A film history podcast that takes one big science-fiction idea and follows it through the decades.

Hosted by James Payne and Matt Willcock, Journey Through Sci-Fi traces the evolution of science fict... more

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The podcast currently has 194 episodes available.

Best of Journey Through Sci-Fi: Science Fiction Film History

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Number 1: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951 & 2008): Come in Peace, Or Else
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and its 2008 remake. The alien who comes in peace and brings a threat with him. Journey Through Sci-Fi continues We Come in Peace, our series tracing the history of friendly aliens on screen. This time, the foundational one. A saucer lands on a Washington baseball field, a man walks out with a gift and a message, and he is shot for it inside a minute. Klaatu is polite, patient and 78 years old in a 35 year old body. Behind him stands Gort, seven foot seven of rubber suit and near limitless force. We get into what 1951 audiences carried into the cinema with them, why a film about world peace was built from a short story that had nothing to do with world peace, and how much of the friendly alien playbook starts right here. Then 2008. Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, a swarm of nanobots and a McDonald's. The nuclear threat becomes an environmental one, Klaatu arrives having already decided we are not worth saving, and the remake we both expected to be terrible turns out to be an admirable attempt at updating the classic sci-fi movie. In this episode: Flying saucer mania Farewell to the Master: Harry Bates' 1940 story, and the twist Fox threw away Michael Rennie's charm offensive, and the two separate times he gets gunned down Gort's little pants, circus strongmen and the Superman connection Who would you take an alien to today? Brian Cox or Martin Lewis Milk, milkshakes, and the day the American dairy industry stood still GORT as an acronym Old Testament orbs, arks and biblical locusts Is humanity worth saving? Asked and answered in a McDonald's car park Also discussed: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, A Message from Mars, Destination Moon, The Man from Planet X, The Twilight Zone, War of the Worlds (2005), The Happening, WALL-E, Armageddon, The Matrix, John Wick, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Alien: Romulus, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Disclosure Day. Gort or GORT? Tell us which robot you would rather meet in a field. Next time: It Came from Outer Space (1953) and Warning from Space (1956). Hosted and produced by James Payne and Matt Willcock. Edited by James Payne. Bonus episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/journeythroughscifi Join the JTSF Logbook, our free newsletter: https://journeythroughscifi.beehiiv.com Full back catalogue and everything else: https://journeythroughscifi.com Follow the show so you never miss an episode, and if you can, a review or a share costs nothing and helps a lot. Journey Through Sci-Fi is part of the EOH Network.
September 23, 20261h 28min
Number 2: A Message from Mars (1913): The First Friendly Alien
Where does the friendly alien begin? Not with E.T., but with a Martian exiled to Edwardian London to reform the most selfish man alive. Journey Through Sci-Fi returns with a brand new series. We Come in Peace traces the history of friendly aliens on screen. In this opener we set out the stall: what makes a visitor friendly rather than hostile, why everything gets measured against E.T., and how one mistranslated Italian word put Martians in our heads. Then we go back to 1913 and A Message from Mars, widely held to be the first British science fiction film. Ramiel, a Martian stripped of his rank and banished to Earth, has to reform a selfish London bachelor called Horace Parker. It is A Christmas Carol with a spaceman, and almost every benevolent visitor since owes it something. In this episode: Friendly visitor or invader? Where the line actually sits Voltaire's Micromégas (1752), possibly the first friendly alien story ever written Kenneth Arnold, Roswell, and how 1947 gave us the flying saucer Schiaparelli's canali: the mistranslation that built fictional Mars Ramiel's tough love, the zap power, and some baffling 1913 camera trickery Lizard people or Arthurian courtiers? Britain in 1913: picture palaces and a film industry inventing itself Also discussed: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Cocoon, Batteries Not Included, Earth Girls Are Easy, It Came from Outer Space, Aelita: Queen of Mars, A Princess of Mars, Project Hail Mary and Armageddon. Watch along with us. A Message from Mars is free on BFI Replay: https://replay.bfi.org.uk/video/7f470ecc-3ccd-5cde-aca0-ac97153f8ecd Lizards or courtiers? Tell us what you saw. Next time: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) meets its 2008 remake. Hosted and produced by James Payne and Matt Willcock. Edited by James Payne. Bonus episodes on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/journeythroughscifi Join the JTSF Logbook our free newsletter: https://journeythroughscifi.beehiiv.com Full back catalogue and everything else: https://journeythroughscifi.com Follow the show so you never miss an episode, and if you can a review or a share costs nothing and helps a lot. Journey Through Sci-Fi is part of the Evolution of Horror Network.
September 09, 202651min
Number 3: Splice (2009) & Mimic (1997): Playing God with DNA
This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we're heading into murkier, creepier territory as we pair Mimic and Splice - two films that take mad science out of the lab and straight into body-horror nightmare fuel. Directed by Guillermo del Toro and Vincenzo Natali, they arrive from very different moments in sci-fi cinema. Mimic comes out of the late-90s creature-feature era, mixing practical effects with early CGI and big studio ambition. Splice, released over a decade later, taps into anxieties around gene splicing, biotech, and scientists who really should know better. Visit our website https://www.journeythroughscifi.com/ Email Us! Support the podcast on PATREON Add us on INSTAGRAM Find us on TIKTOK Like us on FACEBOOK Follow us on LETTERBOXD
February 12, 20261h 15min
Number 4: Ghostbusters (1984) & The Cabin in the Woods (2011): Science vs. the Supernatural
What happens when unlicensed nuclear accelerators meet ancient rituals? This week we look at what happens when mad science collides with the world of ghosts, gods, and monsters. From proton packs in Ghostbusters (1984) - Oh the nostalgia! - to underground experiments in The Cabin in the Woods (2011), we explore how science and the supernatural crash together in hilarious and horrifying ways. A perfect pairing for the spooky Halloween season! Visit our website https://www.journeythroughscifi.com/ Email Us! Support the podcast on PATREON Add us on INSTAGRAM Find us on TIKTOK Like us on FACEBOOK Follow us on LETTERBOXD
October 22, 20251h 24min
Number 5: Tron (1982) & Tron: Legacy (2010): Inside the Machine
What happens when humanity steps inside the machine? This week we're diving back into the grid! In anticipation of Tron: Ares, we revisit both Tron (1982) and Tron: Legacy (2010). Two landmark films that imagined what life might look like inside a computer. From the neon glow of 80s cyberspace to Daft Punk's sleek digital symphony, we explore how these films evolved our ideas about artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Featuring archive clips from our AI and VR series, this episode connects the dots between man, machine, and the legacy of Tron. Visit our website https://www.journeythroughscifi.com/ Email Us! Support the podcast on PATREON Add us on INSTAGRAM Find us on TIKTOK Like us on FACEBOOK Follow us on LETTERBOXD
October 08, 20251h 16min