SciFi Ranter Girl's Blogathon

Try again next year

2006-08-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

Oh well...

I didn't plan enough for this one. I'll try again next year. The sad part is that there was no massive email sent out to remind people to start planning. They should really do better so that they can get more fabulous bloggers like me on board.

Blogathon 2006

2006-07-19T17:59:00.000-07:00

It's that time again!!!

I want to do Blogathon again this year.

It is a charity event where I would blog for 24 hours straight. Last year, I counted down the most influential TV shows in Science Fiction.

This year I need a topic, a charity to blog for and pledges. Last year I blogged for the Planetary Society but they didn't send so much as a thank you email so I won't be blogging for them again. Here's a link to Blogathon's Suggested Charities.

Blogathon starts this year on July 29th so comment with your suggestions.

This Blog is Closed

2005-08-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

This blog is closed until next year's Blogathon.

For regular rants on science fiction visit my original blog.

SciFi Ranter Girl

Vote For Me! Blogathon Awards

2005-08-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

This should be my last post about Blogathon, next it's back to our regularly scheduled program. And yes, the Orion Slave girl will go back up!

Blogathon Site

You want ‘em, we got ‘em: Awards. Every year after Blogathon, give awards in various categories with real (gasp! real!) prizes. Most Funds Raised and the three Monitor’s Choice awards have already been decided, but nominations are being accepted for the following categories. To nominate a site, send an email to awards@blogathon.org with the email account you are registered with. Include the category you are nominating a blog for and their URL. You may only nominate one blog per category, and myself (Sheana) and the team leaders (Rickie Beth, Heather and Chris) are not eligible for awards.

So, the categories are…

Most Tired (but still made it!)
Most Enthusiastic
Best Webcam
Best Undefinable Project
Best Audio Project
Best Writing Project
Best Visual Arts Project
Best Themed Blog
Best Blog

Again, to nominate a site, send an email to awards@blogathon.org with the email account you are registered with. Include the category you are nominating a blog for and their URL. You may only nominate one blog per category, and myself (Sheana) and the team leaders (Rickie Beth, Heather and Chris) are not eligible for awards.

Thanks for all of the comments

2005-08-08T19:20:00.000-07:00

Just a little note to say thanks to everyone who commented on my blog during Blogathon 2005.

halogirl66 on LiveJournal
Loren Javier
Jackson B
Robert
Markiss
Carolyn
Andyk
kira
Anne
Jennie
Alicia
and some Anonymous person who was wondering why Buffy and Angel wasn't on the list.
Here's why...
Countdown criteria

Did she just go crazy and fall asleep?

2005-08-07T06:03:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO MY SPONSORS
for raising money to The Planetary Society
Anonymous $10.00
Loren Javier $10.00
Christopher $10.00
Eric James Stone $25.00
Jennie Kadrioski $5.00
Elke Sisco $10.00

These are the Top 10 Shows
#10: Farscape
#9: Battlestar Galactica
#8: Stargate
#7: Mystery Science Theatre 3000
#6: Dune
#5: Dr. Who
#4: Babylon 5
#3: X-Files
#2: The New Outer Limits
#1: The Jetsons

And that's the SciFi Ranter Girl Science Fiction TV Show Countdown. It's been a fun experience and I look forward to...
....getting all...
....bendy....
You've got the light... from the console... keep you, lift you up. They shine like...
... little angels...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

#1 Countdown: The Jetsons

2005-08-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Two words: Flying cars
Two more: Robot housekeepers
Two more: Food synthesizers

We already have the visaphones (web cams/ camera phones/ video phones), moving side walks (ever been in an airport or to Vegas?).
Electric diary Didi? We call it a PDA.
Puppy mill? Treadmill.
Rosie? Asimo
And don't forget Aibo.

Mrs. Jetson put a bubble over her head and her hair was done in a snap. The washing/dry machine washed, dried and folded the clothes in seconds.

I know The Jetsons is a cartoon and that I can't have every thing from a cartoon BUT the previous list is to show people that we do get a lot of our technological wants and innovations from movies, TV shows and yes cartoons.

At the beginning of the 'thon I had a way more intelligent explanation about why this is the most influential science fiction TV show. It is a really compelling arguement in my head. Still is but in this late hour, sleep prevails.

The Jetsons is number one dammit. I want my flying car before I die.

Wait for it...

2005-08-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

Less than 10 minutes.....

#2 Countdown: The New Outer Limits

2005-08-07T05:21:00.000-07:00

[creepy music]

There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling the transmission. We control the horizontal and the vertical. We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand one single image to crystal clarity and beyond. We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive. For the next hour we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest inner mind to The Outer Limits.

...Please stand by...

[/creepy music]
The opening theme sets the mood for this show. I always get goose bumps when I hear it. I like The Outer Limits because you never know what you are going to get. The lack of a regular cast is what makes this show unique. Anybody is fair game which lets them tell a story where they can kill off the star and not loose any fan loyalty.

The range of topics kept The Outer Limits fresh. One week you would have aliens or androids. The next week you would be dealing with evolution or mutation. The themes ranged further and covered things like after life, scientific theory to the extreme, life after death, recycling bodies for people with souls but no body, resurrections, artificial intelligence and every one's favorite, time travel. My life's work doesn't deal with science, physics or theory but these topics fascinate me. I know when some of the story stretch fact to extend the imagination, it's the purpose for the show and it's one of my favorites because of it.

Some of my favorite shows are Double Helix, A Stitch In Time, Sand Kings, there are more but I'm sleepy...

TWO, two more shows....

2005-08-07T04:57:00.000-07:00

ah, ah, AHHHHHHHH

Anyone up? Anymore donations?

For the green aliens?

Article: Pure Fantasy

2005-08-07T04:30:00.000-07:00

The latest in TV news.

Pure Fantasy
Published: Saturday, August 6, 2005
By Mike Hughes

This fall, the big networks will debut four sci-fi shows and two shows designed to scare. Add in the movies and the cable channels and you have a science fiction invasion.

Why now? Hollywood offers lots of reasons, ranging from philosophy to technology to DVD sales. Still, Shaun Cassidy jumps straight to the big one:

"I think you can answer that question in three words: 'Lost,' 'Lost' and 'Lost,'" he says.

Yes, that's the same Shaun Cassidy who used to sing to screaming teenagers. He's 46 now and has been writing strange TV fantasy for the past decade. "American Gothic" and "Roar" died quickly; "Hollyweird" was pulled before it ever aired.

Now his "Invasion" -- with spooky things happening in hurricane-wracked Florida -- is getting praise, a big build-up and a cozy spot behind "Lost" on ABC's Wednesdays. That's appropriate.

" 'Lost' has changed the climate for shows that don't answer all your questions by the end of every episode," says Cassidy, who adds that it's something he likes.

Ironically, "Lost" doesn't spend much of its time in the sci-fi genre.

"There is a part of 'Lost' that has some sci-fi elements," says Stephen McPherson, the ABC president. "Although, I would argue, very little ....

"At the heart of 'Lost' is great character work. And that's what we like about 'Invasion.'"

In its early weeks, viewers only knew that "Lost" was about survivors of a plane crash on a tropical island. With one exception -- a really big bear or something -- it offered no fantasy; that has crept in slowly, after the show was a hit already.

And that seemed to open the door for other shows with big ideas.

Now they figure it out. It's about damned time.

OMG! I'm delirious!

2005-08-07T04:07:00.000-07:00

I was thinkiing about a chat I was having with someone about Firefly and some of the stuff Jayne says and I couldn't stop laughing. I'm trying not to wake anymore up but I'm dying of hysterics over here.

Honorable Mention: The Lone Gunmen

2005-08-07T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Lone Gunmen

I was excited about The Lone Gunmen spinoff. The first couple of episodes were alright then the goofy side kick guy and the eye candy chic ruin the vibe of the series. The Lone Gunmen were about conspiracies and foiling govenment plots not baby sitting some jock. The chemistry wasn't there.

I can't let go of The Lone Gunmen topic without revealing how freaked out I was about the first episode of this show how close it was with September 11th. I thought the 9/11 news coverage was a cruel joke because of the LG show a few months earlier. It was not a good time to be paranoid.

The advice is still good: Trust No One.

#3 Countdown: The X-Files

2005-08-07T03:27:00.000-07:00

The X-Files
The Lone Gunmen
Millennium

This show was my first television obsession. I used demand that my boss make my schedule around the show. Even though it totally sucked in the end, X-Files will always hold a special place in my heart.

Fox Mulder made conspiracy theories cool. Scully made science hot. I thought they had the perfect non-relationship. The whole baby thing at the end was sweet but by the middle of Season 6, Scully wasn't the only one screaming, "This isn't happening!". I watched every episode of this show but I'm still confused about what was actually going on.
I think X-Files was so popular because there was a growing mis-trust of the government and no real way to express it. Mulder was like a lot of us who just wanted to know what the hell was going on. The trouble with this show is that it makes our government offices look more competent than they actually are.

The Cigarette Smoking Man, Kryceck, Mr. X, Deep Throat, The Lone Gunmen, Skinner. These characters were gifts that kept on giving. The Samantha arc, Scully's Aduction and Impregnation, The Black Oil, contagions, quarantines, plagues, genetic mutations, cannibalism, stolen files, serial killers, paranormal entities, you name it, this show had it all.

One of these days I'm going to watch all of the mythology episodes minus the monster-of-the-week episodes. Maybe then I'll figure out what's going on.

My favorite episodes:
X-Cops
Vampires
Small Potatoes - It's the one where the plumber is a changeling and morphs in to Luke Skywalker.
Jose Chung's from Outer Space
Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man

$30 for my Top 3 Science Fiction TV Shows

2005-08-07T02:53:00.000-07:00

It's down to the Top 3.

C'Mon anyone out there, I'm at $70 and it would be awesome if I raised an even $100. $10 for each show.

Click the link to pledge today! SciFi Ranter Girl's Blog-a-thon Campaign Page.

The Planetary Society

I'm a tough soldier. I'm staying the course. So say we all!

[Listening to: TFN_050622 - Upcoming Book Rel - Erik - TheForce.Net (27:44)]

Blogaton Cuteness

2005-08-07T02:38:00.000-07:00

The Blogathon coordinators make entries on the front page about all of the bloggers. Here's the entry about mine.
SciFi Ranter Girl’s Blogathon

Sunday August 07th 2005, 4:23 am
Filed under: General

SciFi Ranter Girl is calling the 10 most influential sf television shows, interpersed with general sf posts. It’s good stuff, and to make it more interesting–no Star Trek. I noticed she hasn’t mentioned Babylon 5 yet!

SciFi Ranter Girl is beaming up for The Planetary Society. Click here to sponsor.

They should have known that B5 will always be in the top 5!

Thanks for the mention!

[Listening to: TFN_050615 - Television Series - Erik@TheForce.Net - TheForce.Net (24:26)]

#4 Countdown: Babylon 5

2005-08-07T02:30:00.000-07:00

Babylon 5

"I was there at the dawn of the third age of mankind.

"It began in the Earth year 2257, with the founding of the last of the Babylon stations, located deep in neutral space. It was a port of call for refugees, smugglers, businessmen, diplomats...and travelers from a hundred worlds. Could be a dangerous place -- but we accepted the risk, because Babylon 5 was our last, best hope for peace.

"Under the leadership of its final commander, Babylon 5 was a dream given form: a dream of a galaxy without war, when species from different worlds could live side by side in mutual respect. A dream that was in danger as never before, by the arrival of one man on a mission of destruction.
"Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. This is its story."

For the people whole have anything bad to say about Babylon 5, THERE'S A HOLE IN YOUR MIND!
(that never get's old)

The fact that the entire world hasn't experienced the show that is Babylon 5 is a crime against Humanity. I can rant about how this is the best space opera ever but what's the point? If you are reading this blog then you are already aware of this. I'm perpetually offended that this show is treated like the red-headed step-child of science fiction.

This show was well written and the actors were tip-top. There was war, romance and intrigue. Pen & Teller even made an appearance, what more can you ask for?

[Listening to: TFN_050615 - Television Series - Erik@TheForce.Net - TheForce.Net (24:26)]

Thank you Elke!!!

2005-08-07T02:16:00.000-07:00

Elke Sisco made a pledge to The Planetary Society. Be awesome like Elke! Stop those Voguns and those Vorlons!

Click the link to pledge today! SciFi Ranter Girl's Blog-a-thon Campaign Page.

[Listening to: TFN_050615 - Television Series - Erik@TheForce.Net - TheForce.Net (24:26)]

Dr. Who Inspires Fashion

2005-08-07T02:00:00.000-07:00

....and here I'm thinking he would've inspired time travel. Silly me.

Doctor Who, fashion icon

Flamboyant. Garish. Bizarre. Seldom does Time Lord fashion make it to the High Street.

Until now. When David Tennant takes over the role later this year, it will be in what he describes as "geek chic".

Gone is his predecessor's tailored leather jacket. Instead Tennant will look like the type of man Kate Moss might date, with a just-got-out-of-bed, dragged-through-a-hedge-backwards, only-thing-I-could-find look.

It's not that serious but I'm sure I'll see this costume at a con... correction, in pictures of a con that I didn't go to. :)

The REALLY disturbing part of this article is the "In Today's Magazine" blurb in the top right corner. They are saying that mullets are back in style. OH NO!!!! Down and not across right?

[Listening to: 13-EarthCore-Chapters25-26 - Scott Sigler - (38:22)]

#5 Countdown: Dr. Who

2005-08-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

The New Dr. Who

Dr. Who?
Isn't that the show that had something to do with a doctor, time travel and a blue telephone booth?

I'm ashamed to admit but this was the extent of my Dr.Who knowledge prior to this latest season. I did not know that this show had been on for a whopping 26 years prior. So this is the longest running science fiction show to date yes?

I fell in love with this show only to find out that Christopher Eccleston was leaving at the end of the season. I was PISSED! The new guy came in with style so I'm going to give him a chance. That's the least of my worries with this show. Twenty- six entire seasons that I haven't seen. My blood pressure rises thinking of the catch up that I would have to do just to really know what is going on. Rose explained the "Bad Wolf" thing but I still didn't get it.

The show seems like it's for kids, it's definitely not Battlestar Galactica. Like Farscape though, this show reminds me that there's a whole planet that I live on and I've been living in the same city all my life. Terrorists be damned, I want to visit England anyway.

[Listening to: 12-EarthCore-Chapters23-24 - Scott Sigler - (0:-1)]

Honorable Mention: LOST

2005-08-07T00:59:00.000-07:00

The jury is still out on whether this is science fiction or not. The writers and producers shun this label but at this point in the story, we don't really know what this show is about other than a group of airplane passengers get stranded on a island. There's a lot of weird, supernatural things going. No mention of aliens, we don't know if that hatch is from a spaceship and we aren't sure what the thing that's hunting on the island is.

This show can go either way.

[Listening to: 12-EarthCore-Chapters23-24 - Scott Sigler - (0:-1)]

#6 Countdown: Dune

2005-08-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

Frank Herbert's Dune
Frank Herbert's Children of Dune
...and of course the movie.

Set far in the future amidst a sprawling feudal galactic empire where planetary fiefdoms are controlled by noble Houses which owe allegiance to the Imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides and scion of House Atreides, as he and his family relocate to the planet Arrakis, the universe's only source of the priceless spice melange. In an action-packed story that explores the complex interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, the fate of Paul, his family, his new planet and its native inhabitants, as well as the Padishah Emperor, the powerful Spacing Guild, and the secretive female order of the Bene Gesserit, are all drawn together into a confrontation that will change the course of humanity.

This is another story that I have fond memories of. This epic is so beautiful and elegant. The story is timeless and I have to watch this everytime it is on TV. This is another David Lych treat.

[Listening to: DPWI_014_060805 - Michael & Evo - Dragon Page Wingin' It (43:40)]

Saturn Awards

2005-08-06T23:55:00.000-07:00

An awards ceremony for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. Sweet. I love these every year. I wish they were televised.
*clears throat for and thinks of SciFi Channel*

31st Annual Saturn Awards
I usually entirely disagree with award shows selection of winners but these guys are have good taste.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I still have to see this one.

BEST FANTASY FILM:
Spider-Man 2
Bruce Campbell says this is a "B" movie.

BEST ANIMATED FILM:
The Incredibles
I agree

BEST COSTUME:
Kevin Conran
(“Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow”)
Hell yes!!

BEST MAKE-UP:
“Hellboy”
(Jake Garber, Matt Rose, Mike Elizalde)

BEST NETWORK TELEVSION SERIES:
Lost

BEST SYNDICATED/CABLE TELEVSION SERIES:
Stargate SG-1

BEST TELEVSION PRESENTATION:
Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars

BEST ACTOR ON TELEVSION:
Ben Browder
(Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars)

BEST ACTRESS ON TELEVSION:
Claudia Black
(Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR ON TELEVSION:
Terry O’Quinn
(Lost)

[Listening to: DPWI_014_060805 - Michael & Evo - Dragon Page Wingin' It (43:40)]

#7 Countdown: Mystery Science Theatre 3000

2005-08-06T23:27:00.000-07:00

Mystery Science Theatre 3000 lovingly known as MST3K

I found the greatest summary for this show that I've found is:

A man and two robots trapped on an Earth-orbiting space station are forced to watch the worst movies ever conceived.

No generation should be without this show. It is such an important resource. People have no outlet for the onslaught of horrible films and TV shows today. We could bring back 2 seasons using SciFi Original's alone. This show was always funny. Budget? What budget?

I don't know if Joel is ever resucued but the torture still exsists and there is still a need for this show.

[Listening to: DPWI_013_060105 - Michael & Evo - Dragon Page Wingin' It (42:35)]

The Planetary Society

2005-08-06T22:59:00.000-07:00

The Planetary Society is the charity that I'm campaigning for in this year's Blogathon.
Click the link to pledge today! SciFi Ranter Girl's Blog-a-thon Campaign Page.

The Planetary Society is the largest nonprofit, nongovernmental, space advocacy group on Earth. Funded entirely by individuals like yourself, the Society helps to make space exploration happen in many different ways, including:
* Supporting and funding innovative and novel research and development projects that can seed future projects of planetary exploration.
* Actively lobbying governments around the world in support of space exploration.
* Providing extensive coverage on current robotic space missions like Cassini and the Mars Exploration Rovers.
* Supporting educational activities about the exploration of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life.
* And much more …

The Society sponsors novel and innovative projects that will "seed" further exploration. These projects, funded by our members – not with government support, distinguish the Society as an organization that "makes it happen."
The current list of projects includes:
* Earthdials
* Mars Stations
* Near-Earth Objects (NEO) Research and Missions
* Planetrek
* Political Action
* Red Rover Goes to Mars™
* Red Rover, Red Rover
* Scholarships
* Search for Extraterrestrial Life (SETI)
* Solar Sailing with Cosmos 1

The Planetary Society was founded in 1980 by Carl Sagan, Bruce Murray, and Louis Friedman, The Planetary Society is a non-profit, non-governmental membership organization that supports and advocates exploration of the solar system and the search for extraterrestrial life. With 100,000 members in more than 140 countries, the Planetary Society is the largest space-interest organization on Earth

[Listening to: CleavantDerricks - Sci - (23:58)]