Science vs Fiction

Scott and Steven take a short break from the normal SVF format to bring you a breakdown of the best science fiction films they saw at Fantastic Fest 2019 -- and there are a lot of them. (We also cover some non-sci-fi as well.) Grab a pen for this episode because you're going to want to keep an eye out for most of these movies... like the creepy Lovecraft adaptation that stars Nicolas Cage!

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Thank you, Fantastic Fest! 

A young man survives a horrible tragedy only to discover that his body is now under the control of a nefarious force.

That basic plot synopsis covers both Venom and Upgrade, but beyond that (as in the arenas of scientific justification, quality filmmaking, clever ideas, and intelligent storytelling) they couldn't be more different. Listen in as Scott and Steven discuss the relative merits of each movie, the science of parasites vs. computer implants, and which movie is a whole lot better than the other.

Things get a little shaky between Steven and Scott as they discuss the relative assets of Roland Emmerich's big, fat blender of a disaster movie, 2012 (2009), but then they find a lot of common ground with the fantastic 2015 Norwegian import called The Wave. Precisely how do earthquakes cause tsunamis? What are neutrinos? Which movie has the sillier science? Do disaster movies always have to be, well, stupid? We tackle all of these questions (and a lot more) in this disastrous episode of Science vs Fiction!

Steven & Scott sit down with one of Scott's favorite episodes of Firefly: Bushwacked.

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Is the Cloverfield monster truly from outer space? Can formaldehyde actually turn fish into elephant-sized tadpoles? How large can a kaiju get before its legs simply break? Scott and Steven pose these science-adjacent questions (and more) in a mega-monstrous episode that spends time with found footage favorite Cloverfield (2008) and the frankly fantastic South Korean import The Host (2006).

When is a pilot episode not a pilot episode? When the network decides to bury the actual pilot episode and commands the writers to bang out another one in a big hurry. Seriously. That's what happened on The Train Job.

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While it's true that James Cameron's Aliens (1986) has very little in common with Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers (1997) in tone, style, presentation, and possibly even genre, they do have similar stories: humans land on an unfriendly planet and are required to fend off waves of insectile alien creatures. But they may have more in common than that. Plus all the science! Steven and Scott cover alien biology, high-tech load-lifters, and full-scale outer space missile craziness.