Strangers and Aliens: Science Fiction & Fantasy from a Christian Perspective

In this episode, the Strangers and Aliens interview . . . themselves.

Ben and Steve interview Dr. Jayce, Dr. Jayce and Ben interview Steve, and Steve and Dr. Jayce interview Ben . . . then all three interview Shazbot, who opens up a little about his past and his family . . . and we end it all with some listener questions. (Of all the questions sent to us, two of them are going to be used for full episodes in the future, and one of them we jus didn’t have time for and will come back to soon.)

Thank you all so much for joining our conversation! We truly appreciate it!

Godspeed!

In this episode, Ben, Steve, and D.r Jayce take a look back at Asimov’s three laws of robotics. Join the trio as they explore the ramifications, weaknesses, and philosophy behind Asimov’s lows of morality for artificial intelligence.

The conversation goes from Buck Rogers to free will vs. predestination to Chuck E. Cheese . . .

We want to hear from you for our 50th episode! We’ve got a fun episode planned, and would really like you to be part of it. Do you have a question for one of the Strangers and Aliens team? Almost anything goes — just send us your question to [email protected] or leave us a voicemail by calling 1-840-37-ALIEN.

Thanks for listening!

In this episode we settle, once and for all, which franchise is better . . . Star Wars or Star Trek!

Really, does anything else need to be said?

This episode also features feedback from the listeners, weighing in on their own thoughts of which franchise is their favorite.

And really, it’s just a chance to geek out about the two franchises that J.J. Abrams is taking over, right?

We want to know what you think! Did you agree or disagree? Find us pithy or find us crazy? Let us know!

Next episode: Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics!

Some links:

Ben referenced his appearance on The Wired Homeschool: The Wired Homeschool Episode 71 — Comics and Graphic Novels in Homeschooling with Ben Avery

Join our Goodreads discussion of Out of the Silent Planet here: Strangers and Aliens Book Club

Support Strangers and Aliens by visiting our sponsor, Audible — get your free audio book (yours to keep, no matter when you cancel) by going here (and remember, Out of the Silent Planet is one of the books you can download!): Audible Free Trial

In this episode Steve and Ben explore Malacandra — the destination of C.S. Lewis’ protagonist Ransom in his science fiction(-ish) novel Out of the Silent Planet!

What are the connections J.R.R. Tolkien had in Lewis’ writing of the book?

What are some of the science fiction and fantasy novels Lewis read in his childhood and adulthood that influenced the book? And how much did they influence him?

What was he writing against? And what was he writing it for?

Out of the Silent Planet was written before C.S. Lewis was C.S. LEWIS, and was his first published work of prose narrative fiction (unless you consider the allegorical Pilgrim’s Regress). It is one of his lesser read novels, but is also a cornerstone for not just Christian fiction but science fiction in general.

So join Ben and Steve as they make the journey to Malacandra and back . . .

Some links:

Ben referenced his appearance on The Wired Homeschool: The Wired Homeschool Episode 71 — Comics and Graphic Novels in Homeschooling with Ben Avery

Join our Goodreads discussion of Out of the Silent Planet here: Strangers and Aliens Book Club

Our blog post about the book: BOOK CLUB: Out of the Silent Planet

Buy the book on Amazon: Out of the Silent Planet on Amazon

Support Strangers and Aliens by visiting our sponsor, Audible — get your free audio book (yours to keep, no matter when you cancel) by going here (and remember, Out of the Silent Planet is one of the books you can download!): Audible Free Trial

In this episode, we have fun reminiscing and dissecting our favorite (and least favorite) Disney movies!

We are also joined by special guest Daniel Butcher, who has two different venues he contributes to:

Between Disney — http://www.betweendisney.com/ and

https://www.facebook.com/BetweenDisney — This is Daniel’s blog, which reviews movies, books, and everything else possible by and about Disney. Here is a direct link to the book review he mentioned about John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood — http://www.betweendisney.com/2013/01/between-books-john-carter-and-gods-of.html

The Sci-Fi Christian — http://thescifichristian.com — Oddly enough, this is a podcast about spec-fiction and Christianity. If you like Strangers and Aliens, you may enjoy The Sci-Fi Christian as well. (Ben recently joined them to talk about one of his favorite DC Comics characters, Aquaman — http://thescifichristian.com/2013/02/episode-114-superhero-spotlight-on-aquaman/)

Free audio book trial at Audible.com — http://audibletrial.com/strangers

Free Kindle copy of the book Daniel mentioned: John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood

 

 

Remember is a independent sci-fi feature film with big ideas and a micro budget. Made for $4000, writer Greg Lammiman and director Dallas Lammiman set out to make an epic science fiction thriller, and the results belie the budget. This movie also has big themes and tackles big subjects, like all good sci-fi.

Not long after posting episode 24 (Where Are the Christian Sci-Fi Movies?), Ben was contacted by the Lammimans to see if he was interested in seeing their feature film, Remember.

Ben had a chance to talk with Dallas and Greg about the movie, its origins, making on a micro budget, making Christian films in general, science fiction inspirations, and C.S. Lewis (because it IS the year of C.S. Lewis at Strangers and Aliens).

It’s an interesting and inspiring interview, as they explain why they wanted to make this movie and how they saw God moving to help them.

Their story should motivate anyone interested in making movies or any kind of media with a Christian perspective. Especially if you are interested in doing so, but lack of money has been holding you back!

The official plot summary: “Carl’s job is to protect children in a society that has suffered from a great economic disaster. The use of memory blocking drugs by the general public and even Carl himself makes his job more manageable. Following a traumatic incident Carl receives a series of unusual messages that challenge him to remember his past, question everything and lead him to play a double role that not even he himself suspects.”

Links mentioned in the interview:

Remember’s website: http://www.theremembermovie.com/

Remember’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RememberMovie

Christian Filmmakers: http://www.christianfilmmakers.org

Purchase the soundtrack by Rick Holets, the composer: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rickholets

Episode 24 of Strangers and Aliens: Where Are the Christian Sci-Fi Movies? — http://strangersandaliens.com/2012/08/episode-24-where-are-the-christian-sci-fi-movies/

Free audio book trial at Audible.com — http://audibletrial.com/strangers

So it’s all over the internet . . .

And it’s here, too!

J.J. Abrams is taking the helm to the OTHER big sci-fi franchise . . . Star Wars!

He gave us the most Star Wars of all the Star Trek movies, a movie that met critical and financial success no other Star Trek movie had. Now?

Ben, Dr. Jayce, and Steve talk about what they think about this news . . . go off on some fun rabbit trails . . . and go back to the topic at hand . . .

And don’t forget, if you sign up for a free trial at Audible, you will get one free audio book to keep forever AND help support Strangers and Aliens!!!

Here is the link: http://audibletrial.com/strangers (And they DO have plenty of Star Wars books, including the full cast drama adaptations of the movies!)

In this episode, Ben and Steve talk about some of the great and horrible movies and television shows that Star Wars inspired because it made so much money.

Hollywood never met a successful movies they didn’t want to rip off . . . and therefore, as soon as people realized Star Wars was a hit, studios rushed to get whatever they could to ride on those space opera/sci-fi coattails!

Disney’s The Black Hole!

Flash Gordon!

Battlestar Galactica!

And so much more!

Ben and Steve take a stroll through sci-fi movies and TV of the late ’70’s and early ’80’s . . . the best and the worst of it!

Features a bonus after the end of the episode: Ben and Steve’s live reaction to the announcement of the podcast awards!

And don’t forget, if you prefer to listen to your books, you can sign up for a free trial at Audible, which will give you one free audio book to keep forever AND which will help support Strangers and Aliens!!!

Here is the link: http://audibletrial.com/strangers (And they DO have The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe — this month’s book!)

 

Purchasing from Amazon from our links helps support Strangers and Aliens!

In this episode we look ahead to the upcoming year, including:

The year of C.S. Lewis at Strangers and Aliens — http://strangersandaliens.com/2012/12/2013-strangers-and-aliens-year-of-c-s-lewis/

The Strangers and Aliens “Book Club” — http://strangersandaliens.com/2013/01/book-club-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe/

The C.S. Lewis Book giveaway. Listen to the podcast to see how you could win . . . if you are the first to e-mail us with the correct answer. We’re giving away a copy of this book: The Essential C. S. Lewis(which has complete texts of Perelandra, The Abolition of Man, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, along with excerpts from many of his other books).

Upcoming sci-fi and fantasy movies for 2013 — http://strangersandaliens.com/2013/01/2013movies/

The feud with the Sci-Fi Christian — with some special guests!!! — http://thescifichristian.com/

Professor Negatron — http://negatron.strangersandaliens.com

We also look BACK to The Dark Knight Rises . . .

And we talk about some personal upcoming things were are excited about!

And don’t forget, if you prefer to listen to your books, you can sign up for a free trial at Audible, which will give you one free audio book to keep forever AND which will help support Strangers and Aliens!!!

Here is the link: http://audibletrial.com/strangers (And they DO have The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe — this month’s book!)

Ben, Steve, and Dr. Jayce tackle some of the big questions of Christmas. And then a group of children answer the questions as well, while posing some other questions for the three strangers and aliens, too.

Does Frosty have a soul? Is Santa a Time Lord? Is Rudolph a mutant? These questions, and more, are answered once and for all . . . and then once again . . .

WARNING: The existence of Santa is disputed in this episode. Parents with children who believe in Santa should not listen to this with children nearby.

Here are some quick links to other Strangers and Aliens Christmas articles:

Professor Negatron’s Episode 7: Christmas Cheese — Professor Negatron, our supervillain and movie reviewer in residence, gives his skewed spin on the Christmas story and some classic Christmas specials.

Strangers and Aliens episode 3: The Best (and Worst) Christmas Movies Ever — Our third episode, a Christmas themed episode!

Unusual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Christmas Movies — Ben’s list of some sci-fi and fantasy Christmas movies that you may not consider Christmas movies.

A Christmas Carol Smackdown — Dr. Jayce takes a look at his favorite versions of this classic story.

A Christmas Carol in Klingon — A link to a news report about the geekiest version of Christmas Carol possibly ever!

If the World Ended and You Could Only Watch 7 Christmas Movies — Dr. Jayce does a round up of his favorite Christmas movies.

An Epic Christmas: Watching Rankin Bass Christmas Specials as Epic Mini-Series — Ben has created a very, very geeky way to watch some classic Christmas specials.

The MOST Overrated Christmas Movies Ever — Dr. Jayce’s list of his least favorite Christmas movies.