In 1994, Peter Hyams, who had been known for directing genre films Outland (1981) and 2010, The Year We Make Contact, made an SF action-adventure film called Timecop, starring “The Muscles from Brussels,” action star Jean-Claude Van Damme. Not surprisingly, it was a pretty good movie with excellent special effects for the time (including some early CGI) and some not terribly deep subtext. Did you see it? Did you like it? Read what Steve thinks.
There was a TV series The Avengers in the 1960s before Marvel decided to team up its superheroes. Most of us—especially young men—who grew up in the ‘60s remember Diana Rigg’s character Mrs. Peel very fondly. And overall, the series was better than much semi-genre TV of the era in my opinion. Have you seen it? What do you think?
It is supposed that Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth Indiana Jones movie, will be the last one Harrison Ford will star in. But it’s possible that it will not be. It’s almost certain that there will be more Indy movies, but who will star in them? Only Lucasfilm knows!
James Bond themes: love ‘em or not, they’re an indisputable part of a long-lived franchise. SF or not, who cares? Steve talks about his favourites.
Jynabare is a difficult book to read, but those who get through it will find it very rewarding.
Before there was a Marvel version, there were The Avengers! Join Steve in a look back at some less-than-super heroes, but maybe a lot more fun ones! (And no CGI!)
The world’s gonna die! Steve looks at two British end-of-the-world movies from the 1960s, and finds them good. See what you think!
Alexei Panshin is a well-known critic/reviewer of Heinlein and his works
Steve has been an active fan since the 1970s, when he founded the Palouse Empire Science Fiction Association and the more-or-less late MosCon in Pullman, WA and Moscow, ID, though he started reading SF/F in the early-to-mid 1950s, when he was just a sprat. He moved to Canada in 1985 and quickly became involved with Canadian cons, including ConText (’89 and ’81) and VCON. He’s published a couple of books and a number of short stories, and has collaborated with his two-time Aurora-winning wife Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk on a number of art projects. As of this writing he’s the proofreader for R. Graeme Cameron’s Polar Borealis and Polar Starlight publications. He’s been writing for Amazing Stories off and on since the early 1980s. His column can be found on Amazing Stories most Fridays.
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