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A Look at Predestination in Science Fiction

A cursory analysis of predestination versus free will in science fiction finds that most of the plotlines exploring this depend on time travel. For example, Doctor Who struggles to change timelines and often cannot beyond a bare minimum. The movie “12 Monkeys” is a classic case of someone trying to change history guaranteeing it will happen, as are the books “Consider Her Ways” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife”.

The movie “Predestination” and short story “All You Zombies” on which it is based shows that certain things are predestined no matter what, condemning even a time travelling agent to their foretold fates. Anne McCaffrey’s “Dragonriders of Pern” novels allow for time travel, but you can’t change the timeline. So, too, does “Harry Potter” until you get the abominable “The Cursed Child”. However, J. K. Rowling had already abandoned canon by that point, so what is a total retcon at this point?

Gene Roddenberry’s Failed Post-Apocalyptic Series

If you say “Gene Roddenberry”, the vast majority will immediately think “Star Trek”. A smaller fraction will remember “Andromeda”, not quite a failure given that it lasted several seasons though it failed to have a lasting cultural legacy. Yet both of these projects continue a number of trends seen in Gene Roddenberry’s repeated, failed post-apocalyptic series. Yes, there is more than one.

“The Tripods” TV Show versus All of the “War of the Worlds” Movies

We’ve had at least two “War of the Worlds” movies, the 1953 version and 2005 version with Tom Cruz. For the sake of argument, I’m going to mention the “War of the Worlds 2” movie but not address it here, since it is a sequel to a direct to VHS/DVD movie that had to loudly pronounce its relation to H.G. Wells’ work to get attention. The more important sequel in my mind is “The Tripods” TV show, because it takes the same premise and shows what happens if we lose the “War of the Worlds”.

“Tron” Versus “Pixels” – a War of the Video Game Movies

“Tron” and its “Tron: Legacy” along with “Pixels” count as video game movies. They both take it one step further than movies like “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” by bringing the video game to the real world instead of dropping the theoretically real life characters in the video game. Yet they are nearly exact opposites in their approach of merging the war in the virtual world with the real world.

Ringworld the TV Show?

“Ringworld” by Larry Niven is a classic science fiction novel, and it spawned an entire series. Amazon is apparently developing it into a TV show. Having watched their Philip K. Dick adaptations, I think there are several ways it could be presented and remain true to the novels.

Frank Herbert Vs. Brian Herbert: Dune Cannon Vs. Everything Else

Frank Herbert wrote the original “Dune” series, which I have read in its entirety. For those who read the original series, the cliffhanger after Murbella takes over the Bene Gesserit and Sheena flees with a Duncan Idaho turning into the Kwisatz Haderach leaves people wanting more. Frank Herbert died, and his son Brian Herbert decided to try to finish the series. Brian Herbert arguably wrote the prequels, though I think Mr. Anderson did more of the work, though that is not a compliment. There are a variety of problems with the sequels and prequels that they wrote.

The Disney Sci-Fi Cartoon We All Forgot

“Treasure Planet” is a science fiction cartoon that was released in 2002. It ranks among Disney’s biggest flops. The question we should be asking is why.

It isn’t because Disney can’t do animated features, either. They have many billion dollar cartoons to prove the contrary point. The classic excuse is the animation style used in “Treasure Planet”, since the movie relied heavily on traditional animation plus some CGI. However, “Brother Bear” was mostly hand-drawn and earned about 250 million dollars the next year, so we can’t blame a lack of CGI.

Why Wall-E Is a Cute Post-Apocalyptic Movie No Matter How It Goes

“Wall-E” is arguably the cutest post-apocalyptic movie ever. It is clear that the environmental disaster forced humanity to flee the Earth. We don’t see billions dead, though they’re likely under the trash, because there is no way humanity could build more than a modest armada. We don’t see an armada. We only see the Axiom. One ship with a few thousand people is the remnant of the human ra

Definitely Christian in Spite of the Distortions

Great Moments in Chaos and Order, Part IV

My title is a twist on Mr. Spock’s announcement to the enterprise crew that the ugly creature that had attacked them was still a human being: “Definitely humanoid in spite of the distortion,” says Spock in a first season episode of Star Trek, titled “Miri” where the landing party on a faraway planet remains shocked by the hideous creature still babbling inanities after being subdued. Likewise, the American Left is Christian to the core, in spite of the distortions, and no matter how often they attack Christians in film, politics and education.

As the children of the French revolution, Karl Marx, and 19thcentury American progressivism, today’s Left hold dear the heart of the New Testament, Love thy Neighbor, while discarding the rest of the Bible, including love for an old guy named God. Like a skilled arranger, they spot the hook in a great score, a musical hook that lovingly insists to help the poor and the oppressed. That accomplished, they deep-six the rest of the Holy Book and anything greater than the state (Check out Diane Feinstein’s remark to judicial appointment Amy Coney Barrett for the most recent example.)

The Quiet Earth VS. The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price

It was a shock to realize that The Quiet Earth is now old enough to be a classic like The Last Man on Earth. These two low budget science fiction movies have a number of points in common, though there are understandable differences as well. Spoiler warning – we spoil everything.

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