The World Science Fiction Convention has come and gone this year, and you may have heard about this thing that we did — showing up with cameras and lights and microphones and our really spiffy metal sign Ray made, and broadcasting live from the event. It was unprecedented coverage, and we use that word a lot, but it's absolutely true — no one has ever done this in the history of Worldcon.

Were there hiccups? Of course. Were there mistakes? Yes, a few. Were there tons of authors and editors and publicists wanting to talk to us on camera after they figured out what we were doing there? Absolutely.

It was an experience we've never had before, and unless we find a way to expand our resources, we may never get a chance to do it again. At least, not at a Worldcon. To those who were asking about our next excursion into live-streaming from a convention: we're figuring that out now.

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to set up shop at the second annual Kansas City Comic Con, and we took the show on the road, setting up in front of a captive audience to discuss all sorts of random items.

Some of it you may have heard before -- in fact, we may have inadvertently invented a drinking game -- but it was all brand new for our live audience.

Director Ridley Scott recently got put in front of a microphone at the Venice Film Festival, where he opined about the state of affairs in Hollywood, and while expressing his opinion he stumbled into almost quoting renowned science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon:

Scott: "I think movies are getting dumber, actually. Where it used to be 50/50, now it's 3% good, 97% stupid."

Sturgeon: "I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of SF is crud. Using the same standards that categorize 90% of science fiction as trash, crud, or crap, it can be argued that 90% of film, literature, consumer goods, etc. is crap. In other words, the claim (or fact) that 90% of science fiction is crap is ultimately uninformative, because science fiction conforms to the same trends of quality as all other artforms."

Sturgeon first shared that in the March 1958 issue of Venture magazine, and the "Revelation" has since been distilled down into Sturgeon's Law: "90 percent of everything is crap".

Is Scott right? Have we descended in a spiral toward mediocrity and sad hollow shells of the Hollywood of olde? Or has this kind of ratio always been around?

Tucked in between Star Wars Celebration Europe and the Television Critics Association press event, there was this thing called ?Comic-Con International in San Diego. You might have heard of it...

This week, we take on the daunting task of trying to cover just a little bit about everything — and there is a lot of ground to cover. From casting news to new projects to expansions of existing franchises to rumors and blowbacks and panels that might have gone better, we just barely scratch the surface of the pile of news that hit us from SDCC 2016.

It's just one month away: the World Science Fiction Convention, known more colloquially as Worldcon. The 74th Annual event will be hosted by the MidAmericon II convention in Kansas City this year, and SciFi4Me will be front and center with unprecedented coverage from the floor of the event.

The Hugo Awards. The Campbell Conference. Award-winning authors and editors. Plenty of panels and workshops. And we can't forget about the Masquerade -- plus: this year, a special anniversary for Charley Lippincott and Star Wars.

Don't forget to check out the latest cool merchandise at SuperHeroStuff.com!

Back in the day, there were movies that weren't part of big franchises. There were movies that were single stories, without the need for sequels. There were stories being told for the first time, with no reboot or remake or prequel or re-imagining or whatever.

Nowadays, however, it seems that the modern cinema is populated only by such blockbusters and tentpole films that the studios distribute in the quest for the next billion-dollar box office. But what does that do for smaller films and the independent (and mostly young) filmmakers trying to find an audience?

At the suggestion of SciFi X/Y co-host Sonya Rodriguez, we discuss visual effects -- is it better to have everything computer-generated (CG)? Or are practical effects better? Consider that the original Star Wars trilogy was practical, while the prequel trilogy was CG-heavy (even though there were considerable practical effects as well).

With the return of the original shooting model of the USS Enterprise to a place of prominence at the Smithsonian, it's a good time to debate the merits of both, so join us as we barely scratch the surface of the topic.

Feel free to weigh in on this discussion, friends.

We've heard them before. Or we've at least heard some of them. Those crazy notions, the theories and speculations that lead people to believe certain things about stories -- things we never see, things that never become canon, except in our heads.

This week, not only do we delve into the world of the fan theory, we also do it on camera and launch what may be a regular thing: H2O both on SciFi4Me Radio and SciFi4Me TV. So you can watch us or listen to us. Or both. All the while we talk about Sith Jar Jar Binks, Bland Marvel and DC Headcanon, the Pixar Theory, the Disney movie connections, and more.

It's that nebulous otherworldly thing: the viral video. Like unicorns, Leprechauns, and high-paying jobs, the viral video is rare. It's unique. And there's no formula that determines when a video will blow up the internet.

So when video of a woman laughing hysterically whilst wearing a Chewbacca mask is the thing blowing up the internet, it becomes worthy of notice and discussion. What is it that makes this video so popular? Is Candace Payne, known as "Chewbacca Mom" throughout the web, deserving of her fifteen minutes of fame? Is she the type of person who should have so much attention? So much media focus? She's been able to parley this burst of attention into an opportunity to talk about spreading the laughter around, and it's certainly brought her plenty of opportunities to be in front of people. She's been able to open baseball games and travel to L.A. for driving in the car with J.J. Abrams and meet with Peter Mayhew. And she's also been able to lift the spirits of children facing medical and emotional challenges. But with all that, does she need to be charging $20 for an autograph?

We also take some time to digress into politics, touching on the Brexit vote and Mr. Harvey's thoughts about Donald Trump, but more importantly: we talk about the importance of a good cup of coffee.

Following up on last week's episode, we delve into our lists of stories we probably should have already read or watched, but for various reasons just haven't yet. From 2001: A Space Odyssey to Asimov's Foundation to Ringworld and all points in between. The shows we haven't seen yet -- or just fell away from for lack of time or interest -- and the stories that intimidate us. We take a look at several titles, and you may find yourself in the same boat when it comes to a few on the list.

What are the stories you have yet to conquer? Leave us a comment and let us know. Just like Ray did.

And yes, the Hugo Award nominees are still on that list as well, since we still need to sit down in a locked room and dive into reading those titles before August rolls around and Worldcon is upon us...