30 June 2014

 Birthdays
Angela Sarafyan b. 1983 (Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Buffy)
Lizzy Caplan b. 1982 (Hot Tub Time Machine, True Blood, Cloverfield, Smallville)
Aaron Perilo b. 1981 (In Time, True Blood)
Desi Lydic b. 1981 (Stan Helsing, Invasion Iowa)
Rick Gonzalez b. 1979 (Reaper, War of the Worlds, Buffy)
Molly Parker b. 1972 (The Road, The Wicker Man, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Highlander [TV])
Megan Fahlenblock b. 1971 (Warehouse 13, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Mutant X, Witchblade, The Fifth Quadrant, Relic Hunter)
Chris Conrad b. 1970 (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Marton Csokas b. 1966 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Alice in Wonderland [2010], AEon Flux, Lord of the Rings, Xena, Cleopatra 2525, The Lost World [TV], BeastMaster [TV], Farscape, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys)
Rupert Graves b. 1963 (Doctor Who, V for Vendetta)
Predrag Bjelac b. 1962 (The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Omen [2006], Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Children of Dune, The Immortal [TV])
Rebecca Tilney b. 1960 (True Blood, Lost, Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines)
Vincent D’Onofrio b. 1959 (Daredevil [2015], Jurassic World, The Cell, The Thirteenth Floor, Men in Black, Strange Days)
David Alan Grier b. 1955 (Bewitched [2005 movie], The X-Files, Jumanji, Blankman, ALF)
Leonard Whiting b. 1950 (Frankenstein: The True Story)
Charlene Polite b. 1943 died 21 June 1999 (Star Trek)
Jeri Taylor b. 1938 (writer/producer, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager)
Clifford David b. 1932 (The Exorcist III, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
Harvey Vernon b. 1927 died 9 October 1996 (Deep Space Nine, The Twilight Zone [1985], Teen Wolf)
Nestor Paiva b. 1905 died 9 September 1966 (They Saved Hitler’s Brain, Jesse James Meet Frankenstein’s Daughter, The Addams Family, My Living Doll, The Three Stooges in Orbit, Atlantis, the Lost Continent, World of Giants, The Mole People, Tarantula, Revenge of the Creature, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Mighty Joe Young)

The Picture Slot was a tough choice today. There are several living actors on the list whose work I've liked, Molly Parker as Alma Garrett in Deadwood, Rupert Graves as Lestrade in Sherlock, Vincent D'Onofrio in several projects, and D'Onofrio in Men in Black would count as genre and iconic. But my main debate was between two of the actors no longer with us, The bald Oh That Guy actor Nestor Paiva (300 credits on imdb.com!) and our winner, Charlene Polite, who played the revolutionary Vanna in The Cloud Minders. On the other end of the spectrum form Paiva, she had only eleven screen roles, one of them uncredited. The only thing they have in common is that they both died from cancer in their early sixties.

Many happy returns to all the living on our list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Twilight Saga: Eclipse released, 2010
Spider-Man 2 released 30 June 2004

Predictor: The OMNI Future Almanac published 1982

Prediction: By 2010, most tourism travel will be in vertical take-off and landing craft or high speed trains. The speeds will range from 500 to 3,000 mph and the cost will be five cents a mile, measured in 1981 dollars.

Reality: Oh, pull the other one, it's got bells on it! Nobody has VTOL commercial flights and the United States never got behind supersonic air travel or high speed trains. Now, the high speed train issue is a left-right split based on the recent conservative view that conserving energy is for commies. As for five cents a mile in 1981 dollars, that's about 12 cents a mile now. That's in the ballpark if you get a cheap flight across the country or a good price on a train ticket for shorter distances, but not at the speeds being discussed.

Looking on day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our weekly routine is broken up by a prediction from Dale Brown that does NOT involve an act of war. Crazy, right?

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

Never to be Forgotten: Meshach Taylor 1947-2014

Actor Meshach Taylor, best known for his role as Anthony Bouvier on the sitcom Designing Women, has died at the age of 67 of cancer. Among the genre films and TV show in which he appeared are Hyenas, Mannequin 1 and 2, ALF, Ultra Warrior, The Howling, The Incredible Hulk and his very first screen appearance pictured here in Damien: Omen II. It hardly seems a spoiler now to say his character died gruesomely in the movie. Heck, who didn't?

When I was younger, I thought that being typecast was a burden for an actor, but having spent a year and a half researching this blog and listing the credits of so many Oh That Guy actors (and Oh That Gal actresses), it's clear to me that spending several years on a successful TV show is one of the few ways for actors to get a large and dependable paycheck in an unforgiving business. While he gets mentioned here because of his work in genre, Meshach Taylor caught a very lucky break to be on a show that lasted seven seasons when he was in his thirties and forties.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Meshach Taylor, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

29 June 2014

 Birthdays
Addison Timlin b. 1991 (Zero Hour)
Christopher Egan b. 1984 (Dominion, Gothica [TV], Beauty and the Beast: A Dark Tale [TV], Resident Evil: Extinction, Eragon)
Lily Rabe b. 1982 (American Horror Story)
Sharon Lemelin b. 1979 (Being Human, Zombie Hamlet, Anonymous Rex)
Zuleikha Robinson b. 1977 (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, Lost, The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen)
Travis Richey b. 1977 (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, Robot, Ninja & Gay Guy, Dinocroc vs. Supergator, Cry of the Winged Serpent)
Sharon Conley b. 1971 (The Hunger Games, Green Lantern)
Ilan Mitchell-Smith b. 1969 (Superboy, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Weird Science)
Aleks Paunovic b. 1969 (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Once Upon a Time, Chupacabra vs. the Alamo, Eve of Destruction, Mortal Combat: Legacy, Smallville, Supernatural, Caprica, Stargate: Atlantis, Bionic Woman, Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica, Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep, Eureka, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Mutant X, Andromeda, Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah, Nostradamus, Roswell: The Aliens Attack)
Judith Hoag b. 1968 (Grimm, I am Number Four, Halloweentown, Carnivale, The X-Files, Strange World, Armageddon, The Burning Zone, Quantum Leap, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990])
Melora Hardin b. 1967 (Zombie Hamlet, Timecop, Things That Go Bump, Lois & Clark, Quantum Leap, Mann & Machine, The Rocketeer)
Amanda Donohoe b. 1962 (Starship Trooper 3: Marauder, The Atlantis Conspiracy, Stardust, A Knight in Camelot, The Hidden Room, The Lair of the White Worm)
Sharon Lawrence b. 1961 (The After, Nuclear Family, Atomic Twister, Aftershock: Earthquake in New York, Star Trek: Voyager)
Maria Conchita Alonzo b. 1957 (Dark Moon Rising, The Dead One, Predator 2, Vampire’s Kiss, The Running Man, Knight Rider)
Michael Whelan b. 1950 (Illustrator)
Fred Grandy b. 1948 (Monster Squad, Death Race 2000)
Brian Herbert b. 1947 (Author, Dune universe)
Michael Carter b. 1947 (The Illusionist, The Cloning of Joanna May, Return of the Jedi, An American Werewolf in London, Doctor Who)
Gary Busey b. 1944 (Mansion of Blood, Piranha 3DD, The Gingerdead Man, The Huntress, Jacob Two Two meets The Hooded Fang, Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms, Predator 2, Silver Bullet)
Soon-Tek Oh b. 1943 (Seven Days, Stargate SG-1, Babylon 5, Time Trax, Highlander [TV], The Final Countdown, Logan’s Run [TV], The Invaders)
Corey Allen b. 1934 died 27 June 2010 (director, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Otherworld, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Dick Martin b. 1927 died 14 February 1990 (illustrator, Oz books)
Ray Harryhausen b. 1920 died 5 May 2013 (visual effects, Clash of the Titans, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, The Valley of Gwangi, One Million Years B.C., First Men in the Moon, Jason and the Argonauts, Mysterious Island, The 3 Worlds of Gulliver, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, 20 Million Miles to Earth, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Mighty Joe Young)
Antoine de Saint-Exupery b. 1900 died 31 July 1944 (author, The Little Prince)

Last year, the Picture Slot went to Ray Harryhausen and in terms of importance to the genre, he could get the Picture Slot every June 29th with very little debate. But just for a switch I have put up an illustration by Dick Martin, whose work will always be connected with the original Oz books written by L. Frank Baum. No disrespect to the actors on the list, but my third choice would an illustration from The Little Prince.

Many happy returns to the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories. 

Movies released
Ted released 2012
Transformers: Dark of the Moon released 2011
War of the Worlds released 2005

Predictor: Erastus Wiman (1834-1904), Canadian entrepreneur, making predictions in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exposition held in Chicago.

Prediction: Let me look 50 years into the future instead of 100. By the 1940s, the population of this continent will be between 150,000,000 and 200,000,000. Without expansion, a "land hunger" will set in, and there must be expansion. Canada will afford that room.

Reality: Well, howdy, manifest destiny! Wiman actually overshot the population numbers that existed in 1940, About 130,000,000 in the U.S. and another 11,000,000 in Canada. His estimates might have been reached if not for World War I and the great flu epidemic of 1918. Of course, we are now over 300,000,000 people in the U.S. and we still haven't annexed Canada.

Yet.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

That perfect pick me up for the start of a new week, another prediction from OMNI Future Almanac.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

28 June 2014

Birthdays
Kare Hedebrant b. 1995 (Let the Right One In)
Felicia Day b. 1979 (Supernatural, The Guild, Eureka, Red: Werewolf Hunter, The Legend of Neil, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Buffy)
Alessandro Nivola b. 1972 (The Eye, Jurassic Park III)
Ayelet Zurer b. 1969 (Man of Steel, Halo 4: Forward Into Dawn)
Gil Bellows b. 1967 (Extraterrestrial, Sanctuary, Goblin, FlashForward, Smallville, Infected, Final Days of Planet Earth, Mermaid Chronicles Part 1: She Creature, Snow White: A Tale of Terror)
John Cusack b. 1966 (Cell [2014], Hot Tub Time Machine, 2012, Being John Malkovich)
Mary Stuart Masterson b. 1966 (Amazing Stories, The Stepford Wives [1975])
Sara Stewart b. 1966 (Wizards vs. Aliens, The Prisoner [2009], Demons, Batman Begins, Doctor Who, Space Island One)
Christopher Doohan b. 1959 (Star Trek Continues, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek, Star Trek: the Motion Picture)
Alice Krige b. 1954 (Thor: The Dark World, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Solomon Kane, Children of Dune, Dinotopia, Star Trek: Voyager, Welcome to Paradox, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, Star Trek: First Contact, Sleepwalkers, The Hidden Room, Ghost Story)
Raffaella De Laurentiis b. 1954 (producer, The Forbidden Kingdom, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Kull the Conqueror, DragonHeart, Dune, Conan the Destroyer, Conan the Barbarian)
Lalla Ward b. 1951 (Doctor Who, Vampire Circus)
David Gautreaux b. 1951 (The Event, Threshold, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Man from Atlantis)
Kathy Bates b. 1948 (American Horror Story, Alice, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Golden Compass, Dragonfly, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Stand, My Best Friend is a Vampire, The Morning After)
Bruce Davison b. 1946 (Return of the Killer Shrews, Earth’s Final Hours, Lost, Knight Rider [2009], The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Battlestar Galactica, Kingdom Hospital, X-Men, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Hunger [TV], Star Trek: Voyager, Harry and the Hendersons [TV[, Amazing Stories, V, The Astronauts, The Lathe of Heaven, Willard)
Robert Asprin b. 1946 died 22 May 2008 (author, Myth Adventures, Thieves’ World)
Gilda Radner b. 1946 died 20 May 1989 (Haunted Honeymoon, Dr. Zonk and the Zunkins, Jack: A Flash Fantasy)
Pat Morita b. 1932 died 24 November 2005 (Earth Minus Zero, Timemaster, Space Rangers, Harry and the Hendersons [TV], The Munsters Today, Alice in Wonderland [1985 TV], Slapstick (Of Another Kind), Full Moon High, The Incredible Hulk, Man from Atlantis)
Don Dubbins b. 1928 died 17 August 1991 (Starman [TV], The Incredible Hulk, Project U.F.O., I Dream of Jeannie, The Illustrated Man, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Twilight Zone, Men Into Space, From the Earth to the Moon)
Mel Brooks b. 1926 (Dracula: Dead and Loving It, Spaceballs, Young Frankenstein)
Maxine Stuart b. 1918 died 6 June 2013 (The Outer Limits, Twilight Zone)

Nice long list today filled with actors, writers, directors, producers, you name it. Last year, the Picture Slot belonged to Felicia Day, and deciding not to repeat I had a lot of choices. There are actual movie stars like John Cusack and Mel Brooks, truly recognizable character actors like Pat Morita and Kathy Bates and the very busy Bruce Davison, who I think is still at the Oh That Guy level in the public consciousness. But my choice is the lovely Alice Krige as the not so lovely Borg Queen. I've been keen on her since her breakout role in Chariots of Fire as the Gilbert and Sullivan actress who is Harold Abrahams' object of affection. 

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Superman Returns released 2006  

Predictor: Matthew Hubbard on his Math Year 2013 blog on 7 December 2013

Prediction: Other than Colombia, no team from Group C or Group H will win a game in the knockout stage of the 2014 World Cup.

Reality: I didn't say who would get through other than Colombia and I didn't say who they would be playing. If you click on the link, you'll see I only mentioned Uruguay, England and Italy in Group D, completely ignoring plucky Costa Rica, who won the group handily playing a very disciplined offsides trap defense that gave Uruguay and Italy fits. Here are the games this prediction covers, which doesn't include today's Colombia-Uruguay match, since I only said Colombia has a chance to win. The numbers behind them are from Nate Silver's Soccer Power Index.

Sunday: Costa Rica over Greece (Costa Rica favored 57% to 43%)
Monday: Germany over Algeria (Germany favored 82% to 18%)
Tuesday: United States over Belgium (Belgium favored 59% to 41%)

On Wednesday, I'll be back with the results.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

It was bumped today, but tomorrow we make another trip back to 1893.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

27 June 2014

 Birthdays
Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter) b. 1989
Ed Westwick b. 1987 (S. Darko, Children of Men)
Sam Claflin b. 1986 (The Hunger Games, Snow White and the Huntsman, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, The Lost Future)
Drake Bell b. 1986 (I [Heart] Vampires, Dragonworld: The Legend Continues)
Courtney Ford b. 1978 (True Blood, The Big Bang Theory, The Vampire Diaries, Alien Raiders)
Tobey Maguire b. 1975 (Spider-Man 1, 2 & 3, Pleasantville, Eerie, Indiana)
Christian Kane b. 1974 (Angel)
J.J. Abrams b. 1966 (writer/director, Star Wars: Episode VII, Fringe, Star Trek, Super 8, Lost, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Armageddon)
Isabelle Adjani b. 1955 (Nosferatu the Vampire)
Ken Marshall b. 1950 (Deep Space Nine, Quantum Leap, Krull)
James Naughton b. 1950 (Hologram Man, Weird Science [TV], V, The Incredible Hulk, Future Cop, Planet of the Apes [TV], The Sixth Sense [TV], Shazam!)
Paul Koslo b. 1944 (Stargate SG-1, The Flash, Xtro II, Solar Crisis, Robot Jox, Misfits of Science, The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, Galactica 1980, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, The Omega Man)
Billy Curtis b. 1909 died 9 November 1988 (The Twilight Zone [1986], Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Batman, The Angry Red Planet, Adventures of Superman, The Incredible Shrinking Man, Jungle Moon Men, Superman and the Mole Men, The Wizard of Oz)
John McIntire b. 1907 died 30 January 1991 (The Incredible Hulk, Twilight Zone)

Last year, I featured a picture of Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter series. This year it's Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. Unless I go Whedonverse nerd and pick Christian Kane next year, the other big name on the list is J.J. Abrams. My problem with Abrams is so much of his work has been so disappointing, especially if we add in the stuff he's produced. Putting both Star Wars and Star Trek in his hands looks like a mistake to me. Just sayin'.

A note on our two deceased birthday boys. Billy Curtis was a little person actor, and though he was uncredited in both, he was in The Wizard of Oz and Star Trek. John McIntire did lots and lots of westerns, most notably Wagon Train, but anyone who made an appearance on the original Twilight Zone will get a mention on this blog.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
WALL-E released, 2008

THREE DAYS OF BLADE RUNNER!

Predictor: The movie Blade Runner, released 25 June 1982.

Prediction: In 2019, there will be sex robots.

Reality: Okay, now we are getting somewhere! I don't believe flying cars or off-world colonies are coming soon, but sex robots! Granted, two out of three of them are going to try to kill you, but this is the sort of risk that early adopters of technology have to get used to.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

We interrupt the schedule once again to get a testable prediction from some know-it-all prat named Matthew Hubbard.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
  

26 June 2014

 Birthdays
Aubrey Plaza b. 1984 (Safety Not Guaranteed)
Jason Schwartzman b. 1980 (Bewitched [2005 movie], The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, S1m0ne)
Tory Mussett b. 1978 (Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Peter Pan [2003], The Matrix Reloaded)
Matt Letscher b. 1970 (Her, Radio Free Albemuth)
Chris O’Donnell b. 1970 (Batman & Robin, Batman Forever)
Steven Brand b. 1969 (Hellraiser: Revelations, Jurassic Attack, Alien Express, The Scorpion King)
Ian Tracy b. 1964 (Continuum, Man of Steel, Supernatural, Sanctuary, Sucker Punch, The 4400, Smallville, Elektra, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Taken, Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel, Poltergeist: The Legacy, Highlander [TV], The Adventures of Sinbad [TV], The X-Files, Timecop)
Mark McKinney b. 1959 (Space Riders: Division Earth, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang)
Lela Ivey b. 1958 (Pleasantville, The Addams Family [movie], Quantum Leap, She-Wolf of London, ALF, The Purple Rose of Cairo)
Gedde Watanabe b. 1955 (47 Ronin, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Armageddon, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Vamp)
David Brisbin b. 1952 (The X-Files, Buffy, From the Earth to the Moon, Dark Skies)
Robert Davi b. 1951 (Lost Time, Asteroid vs. Earth, Swamp Shark, Stargate: Atlantis, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, VR.5, Predator 2, The Powers of Matthew Star, The Incredible Hulk)
Michael Paul Chan b. 1950 (Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, The Invisible Man [TV], Good vs Evil, Batman & Robin, Lois & Clark, The Burning Zone, Batman Forever, Babylon 5, Alien Nation, Max Headroom)
Leo Rossi b. 1946 (The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human, Mutant Species, Amazing Stories, Halloween II)
Clive Francis b. 1946 (Relic Hunter, A Clockwork Orange, Journey to the Unknown)
John Beasley b. 1942 (The Lost Room, Millennium [TV])
Edwin Hodgeman b. 1935 (Ultraman: Toward the Future, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome)
Richard X. Slattery b. 1925 died 27 January 1997 (Space, Monster Squad, Wonder Woman, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Invaders, Mr. Terrific, The Green Hornet)
Richard Bull b. 1924 died 3 February 2014 (Amazing Stories, The Andromeda Strain, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Bewitched, The Satan Bug, Men Into Space)
Peter Lorre b. 1904 died 23 March 1964 (The Raven, Tales of Terror, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea)

A lot more Oh That Guy actors than A-list movie stars are celebrating birthdays today. I could have put Chris O'Donnell in the Picture Slot as Robin, but it's generally acknowledged the movies in which he played the Boy Wonder killed the franchise in the 1990s and didn't do his career much good either. A better choice would be Peter Lorre from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but instead I went with Oh That Guy Richard X. Slattery, who played lots of cops and military men throughout his career. The picture is from one of the many episodes where he played a cop on Bewitched. People if a certain age might remember him as Murph on Union 76 commercials.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.  
 

THREE DAYS OF BLADE RUNNER!

Predictor: The movie Blade Runner, released 25 June 1982.

Prediction: There would be many jobs available on off world colonies in 2019.

Reality: In five years, we might have more space exploration than we have now, but a job boom that needs to advertise for workers seems nearly impossible.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

One more prediction from Blade Runner, this one closer to home.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

25 June 2014

 Birthdays
Scott Terra b. 1987 (Daredevil, Eight Legged Freaks, Charmed)
Megan Burns b. 1986 (28 Days Later)
Busy Philipps b. 1979 (The Sarah Connor Chronicles)
Jason Lewis b. 1971 (Charmed)
John Benjamin Hickey b. 1963 (The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
Ricky Gervais b. 1961 (The Invention of Lying, Night at the Museum, Stardust)
Erica Gimpel b. 1964 (True Blood, Babylon 5)
Timur Bekmambetov b. 1961 (director, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Wanted, Day Watch, Night Watch)
Paris Themmen b. 1959 (Star Trek: Voyager, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Michael McShane b. 1955 (Love in the Time of Monsters, Evil Alien Conquerors, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show)
Kene Holliday b. 1949 (The Philadelphia Experiment, The Incredible Hulk)
Roy Marsden b. 1941 (Doctor Who, Mysterious Island, Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, Space: 1999)
George Murdoch b. 1930 died 30 April 2012 (Torchwood, Legend of the Phantom Rider, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files, Team Knight Rider, Apollo 11, Plughead Rewired: Circuitry Man II, Lois & Clark, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Small Wonder, The Sword and the Sorceror, Battlestar Galactica [1978], The Invisible Man [TV], The Six Million Dollar Man, The Sixth Sense [TV], Twilight Zone)
June Lockhart b. 1925 (Zombie Hamlet, Super Capers: The origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion, Lost in Space [1998 and 1965], Babylon 5, C.H.U.D.II – Bud the Chud, Amazing Stories , Troll, Strange Invaders, The Greatest American Hero, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Bewitched)
George Orwell b. 1903 died 21 January 1950 (author, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Animal Farm)

Here's the Picture Slot decision in a nutshell. George Murdoch was a great Oh That Guy actor, June Lockhart is both a fabulous babe and played an iconic role on Lost in Space. They were just unlucky to share a birthday with Eric Blair, known to the world as George Orwell. I've had the idea for This Day in Science Fiction since the early 1990s, and when I was scanning books for dates way back in the day, Nineteen Eighty-Four was the only one so well written that I knew I would have to re-read it from cover to cover.

Many happy returns to the living on our list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.


Movies released
Rollerball released 1975
Blade Runner released 1982

THREE DAYS OF BLADE RUNNER!

Predictor: Blade Runner, released 1982

Prediction: In 2019, there will be flying cars.

Reality: For the next three days, we will bask in the thoughts of what 2019 was supposed to look like in 1982. For a baby boomer like me, dates 2014 or 2019 should be the future, and of course, we all know the future was supposed to be flying cars and jet packs.  While it is the policy not to speak of reality when flying cars are concerned, let me type two things.

Landing. Energy use.

Let us speak no more of these things.

Looking one day ahead...  INTO THE FUTURE!

Another aspect of 2019 is discussed, also unlikely to come to pass.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

Never to be Forgotten:Eli Wallach 1915-2014

Eli Wallach, a talented actor whose career in film spanned from 1951 to 2010, has died at the age of 98. His best known roles are in the non-genre films Baby Doll, The Misfits, The Magnificent Seven and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, but he is remembered here because he was one of three actors to play Mr. Freeze on the 1960s TV version of Batman. The other two were George Sanders and Otto Preminger. I barely remembered he played the role; of the three, the one I remember is Preminger, not for being the best actor but for being the biggest ham.

As it was with Ruby Dee, I blush to add Wallach's name to a sci-fi blog list, since it's just one role in 167 film credits. If stretched to include horror, he was also in Tales of the Unexpected and The Sentinel, but even with that, it's just a drop in the bucket when looking at his career. For a boomer like me, seeing Wallach even in a bad film (like say, Godfather III) was a pleasure, not just for his work but for his connection to the past. He was a grown-ass man when I was a little kid and to see him when he was older still brought back memories of the foul-mouthed Tuco or the villainous Calvera. As much as I appreciate the work of Sergio Leone for his use of the camera, of music and of silence, the most memorable Spaghetti western is The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, and Eli Wallach's role is the extra ingredient that puts it over the top. Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef were are cool as cool could be, but Wallach's bluster made their performances stand out even more.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Eli Wallach, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

24 June 2014

Birthdays
Kaitlin Cullum b. 1986 (Galaxy Quest)
Lotte Verbeek b. 1982 (Outlander [TV])
Sarai Givaty b. 1982 (The Legend of Hercules)
Joanna Kulig b. 1982 (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters)
Minka Kelly b. 1980 (Almost Human)
Liane Balaban b. 1980 (Supernatural, Alphas)
Carla Gallo b. 1975 (Carnivale)
Iain Glen b. 1961 (Game of Thrones, Kick-Ass 2, Doctor Who, Resident Evil, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)
Dan Gilroy b. 1959 (writer, Stan Lee’s Annihilator, Real Steel, Freejack)
Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister b. 1958 (The Lazarus Papers, Super Capers: The Origins of Ed and the Missing Bullion, Monster Ark, The Dark Knight, Saul of the Mole Men, Vegas Vampires, Dracula 3000, Star Trek: Enterprise, The Fifth Element, The Meteor Man, Universal Soldier)
Joe Penny b. 1956 (Reign of the Gargoyles, Threshold, The Twilight Zone [1986], Tucker’s Witch)
Michael Reid MacKay b. 1953 (X-Men 2, Batman & Robin, Sleepwalkers, The Monster Squad)
Mercedes Lackey b. 1950 (author, Valdemar, The Ship Who Searched)
Nancy Allen b. 1950 (My Apocalypse, RoboCop, Poltergeist III, The Philadelphia Experiment, Strange Invaders, Carrie)
Peter Weller b. 1947 (Star Trek Into Darkness, Fringe, Star Trek: Enterprise, Odyssey 5, Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, Screamers, RoboCop. Leviathan, Buckaroo Banzai)
Paul L. Smith b. 1936 died 25 April 2012 (Gor, Haunted Honeymoon, Red Sonja, Dune, Wonder Woman)
Jack Carter b. 1923 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Time Trax, Lois & Clark, They Came From Outer Space, Arena, Amazing Stories, Alligator, Beyond Westworld, I Dream of Jeannie, Batman, Tales of Tomorrow)
Sir Fred Hoyle b. 1915 died 20 August 2001 (scientist/author, A for Andromeda, The Molecule Men)

Two surprises in my research today. Paul L. Smith is dead and Jack Carter is alive. I was also thinking Carter wouldn't have any genre credits when I went to his imdb.com page, but obviously I was wrong.

And to the Picture Slot choice. Everyone less than 40 years old is female and fabulous, but they have one or maybe two genre roles. Nancy Allen could also qualify for Pretty Girl = Picture Slot, but her best known role is in RoboCop, so Peter Weller has her trumped and he was the Picture Slot last year. When I did my first research, I had Iain Glenn's birthday wrong, so he's had a Picture Slot as well. Wanting to show someone new, I considered Paul L. Smith from Dune as Beast Rabban, but instead went with the Number One Oh That Guy on our list, the former wrestler Tiny Lister, here seen in his role as the president in The Fifth Element. For me, he's at the "Hey, It's Abe Vigoda!" level of fame, but your mileage may vary.

One last note: Sir Fred Hoyle was an astrophysicist, the father of our regular predictor Geoffrey Hoyle. The elder Hoyle is given credit for coining the term "big bang", though he didn't accept the theory and used it derisively. Now it's the dominant paradigm in physics, but the term used to deride it is the name everyone calls it, whether a proponent or a detractor.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories. 

Movies released 
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen released 2009
Spaceballs released 1987

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle form his 1972 children's book 2010: Living in the Future, illustrations by Daniel Sinker

Prediction: Your school classes finish every day at one o’clock. After lunch it is time to meet friends at the Sports and Social Center. You can travel by electric car or in a bus. The bus services are very good and run twenty-four hours a day. You can go anywhere in the town and know there will always be a bus back. With very little traffic on the roads it is safe for children to travel by themselves.

There is no fare to pay on the bus.

Reality: Two words.

Fukkin' commie!

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The regular weekly schedule gets a three day break as we celebrate a future that is now just around the corner.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

23 June 2014

Birthdays
Connor Jessup b. 1994 (Falling Skies)
Louisa Connoly-Burnham b. 1992 (Wolfblood)
Melissa Rauch b. 1980 (Big Bang Theory, True Blood)
Isabella Leong b. 1978 (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor)
Emmanuelle Vaugier b. 1976 (Lost Girl, Supernatural, Painkiller Jane, Unearthed, Andromeda, Smallville, Charmed, MythQuest, Mindstorm, Level 9, Shapeshifter, Saban’s Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Highlander [TV])
Joel Edgerton b.1974 (The Thing [2011], Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith)
Selma Blair b. 1972 (Hellboy, The Fog, Xena, Amazon High)
Martin Klebba b. 1969 (Pirates of the Caribbean, Monsters on Main Street, Project X, The Cape, Van Helsing, Charmed, Planet of the Apes)
Joss Whedon b. 1964 (writer, Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., In Your Eyes, The Cabin in the Woods, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Commentary! The Musical, Serenity, Angel, Firefly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Titan A.E., Toy Story)
Billy Wirth b. 1962 (Charmed, Space Marines, Starlight, Body Snatchers, The Lost Boys)
Frances McDormand b. 1957 (Transformers: Dark of the Moon, AEon Flux, Darkman, The Twilight Zone [1986])
Russell Mulcahy b. 1953 (director, Teen Wolf [TV], Resident Evil: Extinction, Mysterious Island [TV], Jeremiah, The Hunger [TV], Tale of the Mummy, Perversions of Science, The Shadow, Highlander I and II)
Lauren Shuler Donner b. 1949 (producer, X-Men, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, Constantine, Ladyhawke)
Bryan Brown b. 1947 (On the Beach [TV], Journey to the Center of the Earth [TV], 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [TV])
Ted Shackelford b. 1946 (Space Precinct, The Twilight Zone [1988], Wonder Woman)
Jerry Ahern (a.k.a. Axel Kilgore) b. 1946 (author, Survivalist, They Call Me the Mercenary)
James Marcus b. 1942 (A Clockwork Orange, Doctor Who, UFO)
Larry Blyden b. 1925 died 6 June 1975 (The Twilight Zone)
Dennis Price b. 1915 died 6 October 1973 (Son of Dracula, Theatre of Blood, The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [1972], Dracula Contra Frankenstein, Vampyros Lesbos, The Horror of Frankenstein, Voodoo Blood Death, The Earth Dies Screaming, H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man [TV], Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde [TV])
(Paul) Orban b. 1896 died 6 April 1974 (artist)

Joss Whedon turns 50 today, so the Picture Slot is not a discussion. Usually, if someone is a writer and director, I list the direction credits, but Whedon is a writer first and foremost. Last year, before I had done as much research, Melissa Rauch was the featured birthday girl, but next year don't be surprised if it's the artist Orban, a prolific artist of both covers and interiors during the pulp magazine era who is nearly completely forgotten. The guy doesn't even have a Wikipedia page, though he is noted on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. I think I'll see if I can remedy that today.

A random thought in closing of the birthday celebrations: Poor Dennis Price! He was so good in Kind Hearts and Coronets, though overshadowed by Alec Guinness, but finishes his career in movies like Vampyros Lesbos and The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein. Brits are very fond of the "when you get a role, take it" view of their jobs, but that's a heck of a way to pay the rent.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

 

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: A new 3-D movie craze may arise, but will die for the same reasons the technique faded in the 1950s: poor picture quality, shoddy low budget productions and the inconvenience of wearing special glasses to watch the films.

Reality: There are purists who dislike 3-D because it doesn't add to the experience, the late Roger Ebert to name just one. But we are in the middle of a 3-D craze that doesn't have an end in sight. Whether or not it adds anything to a story, poor picture quality and shoddy low budget productions are NOT problems in the 21st Century. Computer generated animation is a look the public likes and it lends itself to 3-D intrinsically. Of all the complaints in the prediction, only the cost of glasses is a factor today.

Sorry, guys, right now I have to give you low marks for this one.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Another glimpse into the collectivist paradise of 2010 as imagined by Geoffrey Hoyle in 1972.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

22 June 2014

Birthdays
Portia Doubleday b. 1988 (Her, Carrie [2013], Legend of the Mummy)
Joe Dempsie b. 1987 (Game of Thrones, Merlin, Doctor Who)
Douglas Smith b. 1985 (Antiviral, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The X-Files)
Lindsay Ridgeway b. 1985 (Star Trek: Voyager)
Stephanie Jacobsen b. 1980 (Star-Crossed, Quantum Apocalypse, The Devil’s Tomb, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Battlestar Galactica, Farscape)
Donald Faison b. 1974 (Kick-Ass 2, Skyline, Clone High, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch)
Mary Lynn Rajskub b. 1971 (Safety Not Guaranteed, Dude, Where’s My Car?)
Michael Trucco b. 1970 (V [2010], Meteor Storm, Battlestar Galactica, The Big Bang Theory, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, Charmed)
James McCauley b. 1966 (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, True Blood, I am Legend)
J.J. Cohen b. 1965 (3rd Rock from the Sun, Back to the Future, V [1985])
Bruce Campbell b. 1958 (Spider-Man, Alien Apocalypse, Sky High, Man with the Screaming Brain, Terminal Invasion, Bubba Ho-Tep, Timequest, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Xena, The X-Files, Weird Science [TV], Assault on Dome 4, Escape from L.A., American Gothic, Lois & Clark, Congo, Army of Darkness, Mindwarp, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Darkman, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, Moontrap, The Evil Dead I and II)
Tim Russ b. 1956 (Star Trek: Voyager, Asteroid vs. Earth, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari [2006], Star Trek: Generations, SeaQuest2032, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Journey to the Center of the Earth [1993], Eve of Destruction, Alien Nation, Beauty and the Beast, The Twilight Zone, Spaceballs, Timestalkers, Starman [TV], Amazing Stories)
Graham Greene b. 1952 (Twilight Saga, Phil the Alien, Big Wolf on Campus, The Green Mile, Poltergeist: The Legacy)
Meryl Streep b. 1949 (Into the Woods, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Defending Your Life, Death Becomes Her, Alice at the Palace)
Lindsay Wagner b. 1949 (Warehouse 13, Alphas, A Light in the Forest, The Bionic Woman, The Six Million Dollar Man)
David L. Lander b. 1947 (Zoom, Black Scorpion, Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, The Tick, Homeboys in Outer Space, Freddy’s Nightmares, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Octavia E. Butler b. 1947 died 2/24/2006 (won 2000 Nebula for Parable of the Talents)
Michael Lerner b. 1941 (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Tale of the Mummy, Godzilla [1998], Omen IV: The Awakening, Amazing Stories, Strange Invaders, Wonder Woman)
Kris Kristofferson b. 1936 (Blade, Planet of the Apes, NetForce, Millennium)
Amrish Puri b. 1932 died 12 January 2005 (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Ralph Waite b. 1928 died 13 February 2014 (Carnivale, Timequest, Time Trax)
H. Rider Haggard b. 1856 died 14 May 1925 (author, She)

I love a good same day birthday pair and Meryl Streep and Lindsay Wagner certainly qualify. (David L. Lander and Octavia Butler... not so much. People with fond memories of Squiggy who read black feminist sci-fi are few and far between.) On this blog, Wagner would trump Streep because Lindsay's most famous role is genre and iconic, though Meryl is easily the biggest movie star on this list. She has made and still makes a lot of "Oscar bait" films, and the Academy voters have not shown a lot of love for genre over the years, with a few exceptions like Cliff Robertson in Charly and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight Returns.

After all that, it's Bruce Campbell and his BOOMSTICK in the Picture Slot because... reasons.

One last comment on the birthday list today. I'm embarrassed that I only know Tim Russ from Star Trek: Voyager, because he has a long Oh That Guy career before that role.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: Margaret Thatcher, October 26, 1969

Prediction: "No woman will be Prime Minister or Chancellor or Foreign Secretary – not the top jobs. Anyway, I wouldn’t want to be Prime minister; you have to give yourself 100 per cent."

Reality: The blog welcomes our new prediction source, The Experts Speak by Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky. As you might expect, the short answer for the Reality section is going to be "nope", but I did find one about prices that could almost be counted as true if the Consumer Price Index is factored in. Today's prediction, while it does not have the usually required date attached, gets the nod because of the added dimension of irony.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Monday's a fun day for me, because I get to open up the OMNI Future Almanac to some random page and see what they thought would happen by some date that's usually already passed by now.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

21 June 2014

 Birthdays
Benjamin Walker b. 1982 (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter)
Chris Pratt b. 1979 (Jurassic World, Guardian of the Galaxy, Her, Jennifer’s Body, Path of Destruction)
Erica Durance b. 1978 (Painkillers, Smallville, The Butterfly Effect 2, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda, House of the Dead)
Maggie Siff b. 1974 (Push)
Juliette Lewis b. 1973 (From Dusk Till Dawn, Strange Days, My Stepmother Is an Alien, Meet the Hollowheads)
Carrie Preston b. 1967 (True Blood, Lost, The Stepford Wives [2004], Wonderfalls)
David Morrissey b. 1964 (The Walking Dead, Earthbound, Doctor Who, The Reaping)
Doug Savant b. 1964 (Godzilla [1998], Teen Wolf)
Josh Pais b. 1964 (The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, Deep Space Nine, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [1990])
Berkeley Breathed b. 1957 (writer, Mars Needs Moms)
Michael Bowen b. 1953 (Revolution, Lost, The X-Files, Night of the Comet)
Robyn Douglass b. 1953 (Galactica 1980)
Michael Gross b. 1947 (Tremors, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court)
Mariette Hartley b. 1940 (Conan [TV], Encino Man, The Incredible Hulk, Logan’s Run [TV], Genesis II, Mystery in Dracula’s Castle, Earth II, The Return of Count Yorga, Star Trek, Twilight Zone)
Ron Ely b. 1938 (Superboy, Wonder Woman, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze)
Monte Markham b. 1935 (Fringe, Millennium Man, Deep Space Nine, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show, The Incredible Hulk, Beyond Westworld, The Invisible Man, The Six Million Dollar Man, Project X)
Bernie Kopell b. 1933 (The Creature of the Sunny Side Up Trailer Park, Charmed, Bug Buster, Charmed, The Charmings, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Bewitched, My Favorite Martian)
Lyman Ward b. 1941 (Black Scorpion [TV], Independence Day, Weird Science [TV], Sleepwalkers, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Battlestar Galactica [1979], Man from Atlantis)
Maureen Stapleton b. 1925 died 13 March 2006 (Doin’ Time on Planet Earth, Cocoon, The Electric Grandmother)

Happy middle of the sunny half of the year to my Northern Hemisphere readers. If I have any Southern Hemisphere readers, well... it gets better. The Picture Slot was a three way race today. Being a geezer nerd I could easily have gone with Mariette Hartley from Star Trek, and I did love Michael Gross in Tremors, but David Morrissey as The Governor from The Walking Dead is pretty gosh darned iconic to modern genre fans.

A few random thoughts from this morning's research.
1. Carrie Preston, best known from True Blood, certainly qualifies as a Fabulous Babe and well enough known, but I stopped watching True Blood because it's such a dangerous world depicted and there are multiple characters too stupid to live, including hers. As always, I blame the writers, not the actors.

2. I hate having to type a year after Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was a comic book reader when this thing started and I thought it was cute, but never bought it. I knew it was a phenomenon when parodies started popping up. Then it was a TV cartoon, then a video game, then a live action movie and now a live action movie reboot. At each point, I thought "Okay, it's had a good run, but now it's over, right?" No, it's not over yet.  Sheesh.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the late Maureen Stapleton, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
World War Z released 2013
Monsters University released 2013
Minority Report released 2002

Predictor: John Swinton (1829-1901), journalist and activist, looking forward to 1993 in honor of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chaicago.

Prediction: I guess that in 1993:
1. The functions and powers of our government shall be greatly enlarged.
2. Railroads, telegraphs and a great many other things now held as private spoil will be public property.
3. Law, medicine and theology will be more reasonable than they now are.
4. Inventions and discoveries will be greater than we have ever yet had.
5. The welfare of mankind will be higher than it is in this age of confusion.

Reality: Okay, first things first. We usually look to the facial hair in the 1893 predictors and he has a fine soup strainer, but that hat. I was gonna say you buy that hat you should get a bowl of soup with it, but that may actually be the soup bowl.

Oh, but John, it looks good on you.

Here I am, making fun, but as a predictor, he is vague but not incorrect for the most part, though the railroads and telegraphs stayed private spoil for the most part and are not today the strangling monopolistic octopi they were 120 years ago.

Also, I have to work the phrase "private spoil" into my vocabulary more and gentle reader, so do you.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

As much fun as a weekly nuclear holocaust is, I'm going to introduce a new Sunday regular that will tag team with the Old Goom and Doom.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

20 June 2014

 Birthdays
Jadin Gould b. 1998 (Man of Steel, Battle Los Angeles)
Shefali Chowdhury b. 1988 (Harry Potter)
Claudia Lee b. 1996 (Kick-Ass 2)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse b. 1989 (Kick-Ass, This is the End, Fright Night)
Ronnie Gene Blevins b. 1977 (True Blood, The Dark Knight Rises, A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Josh Lucas b. 1971 (Space Warriors, Hulk)
Robert Rodriguez b. 1968 (director, Sin City, From Dusk Till Dawn, Planet Terror, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3D, Spy Kids, The Faculty)
Nicole Kidman b. 1967 (The Golden Compass, The Invasion, Bewitched [2005 movie], The Stepford Wives, The Others, Practical Magic, Batman Forever)
Chuck Wagner b. 1958 (Into the Woods, The Sisterhood, America 3000, Automan)
Miles O’Keefe b. 1954 (Waxwork, Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Ator the Fighting Eagle)
John Goodman b. 1952 (Speed Racer, The Borrowers, Fallen, C.H.U.D.)
Candy Clark b. 1947 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer [movie], The Blob [1988], Starman [TV], Amityville 3D, Q, The Man Who Fell to Earth)
Oliver Cotton b. 1944 (The Dark Knight Rises, Beowulf [1999], Space Precinct, Space: 1999)
John Mahoney b. 1940 (3rd Rock from the Sun, The Manhattan Project)
James Tolkan b. 1931 (Robo Warriors, Back to the Future, Masters of the Universe, Iceman, WarGames, Wolfen, The Amityville Horror, The Werewolf of Washington)
Martin Landau b. 1928 (Sleepy Hollow [1999 movie], The Adventures of Pinocchio, The X-Files, The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, The Twilight Zone [1985, 1964, 1959], The Return, Meteor, The Fall of the House of Usher, Space: 1999, The Outer Limits)
Robb White b. 1909 died 24 November 1990 (writer, Thirteen Ghosts, House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler)

We were so close to an all living list today! The name of Robb White on imdb.com was #94 on the birthday list and I usually don't check past #100, but the movies he wrote earned him a spot. My first choice for the Picture Slot was Oh That Guy James Tolkan, the principal in Back to the Future, but I'll wait for 2015, the year Back to the Future II is supposed to take place. Two actors I love, John Goodman and John Mahoney, were not in contention as far as I was concerned because they are so much better known for non-genre stuff. Instead I went with Nicole Kidman from The Golden Compass. There was a temptation to have Martin Landau from Space:1999 in the Picture Slot, because in my geezerhood I think of the show as iconic, but to be blunt, I always hated the show.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the late Robb White, scary stuff, dude! 


Movies released
Hulk released 2003

Predictor: James Axler in the Death Lands series of novels, first published in 1988

Prediction: The 20th of June 2001 is the war known as Doomsday

Reality: This is taken from a remarkably successful series of books set 100 years after the apocalypse. Yet again, we avoided an apocalyptic nuclear confrontation in 2001, but it's been a popular form of entertainment for much longer than I have been alive, and I'm old enough to remember Space:1999.

I know... scary.

As usual with all but the most popular nuclear war fiction, I know about it because I found it on Paul Brian's very useful website.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

1893 beckons once again.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

19 June 2014

Birthdays
Paul Dano b. 1984 (Looper, Cowboys & Aliens)
Aidan Turner b. 1983 (The Hobbit, Being Human)
Lauren Lee Smith b. 1980 (Ring of Fire [TV], Blade: The Series, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Mutant X, Dark Angel)
Zoe Saldana b. 1978 (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rosemary’s Baby [2014 TV], Star Trek, Avatar)
Ryan Hurst b. 1976 (Taken, The Postman)
Hugh Dancy b. 1975 (Ella Enchanted, Relic Hunter)
Chelah Horsdal b. 1973 (Arrow, The Cabin in the Woods, Supernatural, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Iron Invader, Stargate, Eureka, Alien Trespass, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, Bionic Woman, Battlestar Galactica, X-Men: The Last Stand, Smallville, The 4400, Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Andromeda)
Robin Tunney b. 1972 (End of Days, The Craft, Frogs!)
Alan Van Sprang b. 1971 (Survival of the Dead, ReGenesis, Diary of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Starhunter, Mutant X, Earth: Final Conflict, Highlander: The Raven)
Chris Larkin b. 1967 (Doctor Who, Mysterious Island [2005 TV], Highlander [TV])
Mia Sara b. 1967 (Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Birds of Prey, Lost in Oz, Jack and the Beanstalk: The True Story, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [1997 TV], Timecop, Time Trax, Legend)
Samuel West b. 1966 (Dark Relic, Van Helsing, Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader [1989 TV])
Sadie Frost b. 1965 (Dracula [1992])
Andrew Lauer b. 1965 (Iron Man 3, Adventures of a Teenage Dragonslayer, King of the Lost World, Screamers)
Virginia Hey b. 1952 (Alien Armageddon, Farscape, The Return of Captain invincible, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior)
Salman Rushdie b. 1947 (author, Midnight’s Children, Haroun and the Sea of Stories)
Steve Ryan b. 1947 died 3 September 2007 (The X-Files, D.A.R.Y.L.)
Pier Angeli b. 1932 died10 September 1971 (Octaman)
Diana Sowle b. 1930 (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
Robert Fyfe b. 1925 (Cloud Atlas, Xtro)
Louis Jourdan b. 1921 (Swamp Thing, Count Dracula [1977 TV])
Pat Buttram b. 1915 died 8 January 1994 (Back to the Future Part III, Knight Rider, The Munsters)
Julius Schwartz b. 1915 died 8 February 2004 (editor, DC Comics)
Harry Lauter b. 1915 died 30 October 1990 (Superbeast, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Land of the Giants, The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Green Hornet, Batman: The Movie, My Favorite Martian, Earth vs. Flying Saucers, The Werewolf, Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Captain Midnight, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger, The Day the Earth Stood Still)

The most iconic genre roles on the list are all fabulous babes and Virginia Hey from Farscape is my choice this year. Last year it was Zoe Saldana and Mia Sara from Legend is the early front runner for next year. Harry Lauter is definitely an Oh That Guy, but not as recognizable as Ed Lauter (no relation), a bald character actor who died last year.

Sometimes I feel a little guilty including someone who only had one role in genre, and I felt that way today about Pier Angeli, a beauty who died very young and who had just the one role in the forgettable Italian sci-fi movie Octaman. On the subject of dying young, Steve Ryan is a character actor best known as the one-handed guy on Arrested Development who taught the Bluth kids terrifying lessons at their father's request. I had no idea he had died. In the other direction, I had no idea Louis Jourdan was still alive.

As my father often says, you learn something new every day, if you aren't careful.

Many happy returns to the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Jason and the Argonauts released, 1963

Seeing this at the Grand Lake in Oakland the summer it came out is still a special memory for me.
  

In the year 2000!

Predictor: Lee de Forest, "The Father of Radio", predicting the world of 2000 in the 17 January 1960 edition of the Sunday supplement American Weekly.

 Prediction: Some day, the need for power wires and such common household items as cords and plugs may have vanished: There is a technical possibility that power can be transmitted directly on invisible beams-and that an airplane, for instance, can be controlled and powered by transmission of a radio and energy signal.

Reality: De Forest is not the only person I've read who thought broadcasting energy was a thing, but I've never heard of a successful example, especially not over distances necessary for an airplane.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

The weekly schedule is interrupted for an exact date of a nuclear Armageddon. Fun!

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!

18 June 2014

 Birthdays
Max Records b. 1997 (Where the Wild Things Are)
Willa Holland b. 1991 (Arrow, Legion)
Jacob Anderson b. 1990 (Game of Thrones)
Meaghan Rath b. 1986 (Being Human, 10.5: Apocalypse)
Kristina Klebe b. 1979 (Chillerama, Zone of the Dead, Halloween [2007])
Alana De La Garza b. 1976 (Forever, Charmed, Smallville, Mortal Kombat: Conquest)
Kim Dickens b. 1965 (FlashForward, Lost, Hollow Man)
Ralph Brown b. 1957 (Jack the Giant Slayer, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist, Star Wars: Epidsode I – The One We Don’t Discuss, Alien³)
Isabella Rossellini b. 1952 (The Phantom, Infected, Earthsea, Merlin [1998], Death Becomes Her)
Carol Kane b. 1952 (Addams Family Values, Scrooged, The Princess Bride, Transylvania 6-5000)
Miriam Flynn b. 1952 (Evolution, Deep Space Nine, Buffy)
Steve Miner b. 1951 (director, Eureka, Day of the Dead, Smallville, Lake Placid, Halloween H20: 20 years Later, Friday the 13th II and III)
Mac McDonald b. 1949 (Red Dwarf, The Fifth Element, Gulliver’s Travels [1996 TV], The Tomorrow People, Nightbreed, Batman, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, The Empire Strikes Back, Rollerball)
Roger Ebert b. 1942 died 4/4/2013 (writer, critic)
Michael Sheard b. 1938 died 21 August 2005 (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Doctor Who, Space, The Invisible Man, The Empire Strikes Back, Blakes 7, The Tomorrow People, Space: 1999)
George Hearn b. 1934 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Richard Boone b. 1917 died 19 January 1981 (The Last Dinosaur)
E.G. Marshall b. 1914 died 24 August 1998 (The Tommyknockers, Superman II, Vampire)
Nedra Volz b. 1908 died 20 January 2003 (ALF, Earth Girls Are Easy)
Keye Luke b. 1904 died 12 January 1991 (Gremlins, Superboy, Beauty and the Beast [1988 TV], Star Trek, Project X, The Green Hornet [1966 and 1940])

Last week, the Picture Slot would have belonged to Jacob Anderson, leader of Danerys' Unsullied. But Game of Thrones is officially off the air now, so it's a open race. Carol Kane from The Princess Bride is certainly iconic, Isabella Rossellini is obviously a fabulous babe, Michael Sheard is famous as the admiral who Darth Vader chokes with his brain. (Sheard also played Hitler five times, though I don't see the resemblance.) But as you can see, the Picture Slot went Keye Luke in his role from Gremlins. You might notice that he was in two different versions of The Green Hornet, which is only barely a genre show. He was Kato in 1940.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Toy Story 3 released, 2010

Predictor: Herman Kahn in Things to Come, published in 1972 by the Hudson Institute

Prediction:By 1985, cable TV will be a virtually unlimited smorgasbord of home entertainment for every taste.

Reality: Welcome to our new regular Wednesday predictor, Herman Kahn, who is called "a prominent futurist". Our regular commenter has some choice words for anyone called a futurist, but let's note that this was a very good call. In 1972, cable is pretty much a forced option for people who live away from the big broadcast antennas and though cable 30 years ago is a paltry thing compared to today, it was quite a step up from the three networks, PBS and UHF we had in the early 1970s.

Kahn was a conservative intellectual and gained notoriety in the 1960 when working for the RAND Corporation and stated that nuclear war was survivable and winnable. Characters stating his ideas showed up in several movies, notably Walter Matthau in Fail-Safe and Peter Sellers as Dr. Strangelove in the movie of the same name. Not unlike Lee de Forest, Kahn is hit and miss, unlike Ray Kurzweil and Paul Ehrlich, who were pretty much miss and miss.

And miss and miss and miss again.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!
  
I mentioned Lee de Forest and of course, tomorrow is his regular date, guessing about the year 2000 from his vantage point in 1960.

Join us then ... IN THE FUTURE!
 

Never to be Forgotten:Daniel Keyes 1927-2014

Author Daniel Keyes died on 15 June 2014 at the age of 86. His literary career had many twists and turns, including stints at EC Comics and Atlas Comics, which later became Marvel, working with artists including Basil Wolverton. It was during his time at Atlas that he got the germ of the idea that became his most famous work Flowers for Algernon. He decided quite correctly that it was not comic book fare in that era, and as a short story, it won the Hugo in 1959. The expanded version won the 1967 Nebula for best novel. The work became famous outside the genre when the movie adaptation titled Charly won a Best Actor Academy Award for Cliff Robertson in 1968.

Keyes left comic books to teach creative writing at Wayne State University and Ohio University. His other well known works are the true crime books The Minds of Billy Milligan and Unveiling Claudia.

Charly is by no means the first big budget science fiction film, but it was marketed as an Oscar contender, which is rare even now when genre films are so ubiquitous. Cliff Robertson won the 1968 Best Actor award, the first major acting award for straight sci-fi. (Frederic March won for the lead role(s) in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1932, a story on the border of horror and science fiction.) While Robertson deserves credit for his performance, films always start with the writing, and Keyes book is still remembered and beloved.

Best wishes to the family and friends of Daniel Keyes, from a fan. He is never to be forgotten.

17 June 2014

 Birthdays
Arthur Darvill b. 1982 (Doctor Who)
Scott Adkins b. 1976 (Metal Hurlant Chronicles, The Legend of Hercules, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Mutant X)
Heather Mazur b. 1976 (Journeyman, Night of the Living Dead [1990])
Joshua Leonard b. 1975 (Touch, Shark Night 3D, Dead in Love, The Shaggy Dog, The Blair Witch Project)
Matthew Senreich b. 1974 (writer, Robot Chicken)
Louis Leterrier b. 1973 (director, Clash of the Titans [2010], The Incredible Hulk)
Jason Patric b. 1966 (Powers, Frankenstein Unbound, The Lost Boys, Solarbabies)
Erin and Diane Murphy b. 1964 (Bewitched)
Greg Kinnear b. 1963 (What Planet Are You From?, Mystery Men, Blankman)
Thomas Haden Church b. 1960 (John Carter, Spider-Man 3, Zombie Roadkill, Idiocracy, Monkeybone, Takes from the Crypt: Demon Knight)
Jon Gries b. 1957 (Skinwalker Ranch, Supernatural, Lost, The Astronaut Farmer, Carnivale, Men in Black, The X-Files, Quantum Leap, The Twilight Zone, The Powers of Matthew Star)
Joe Piscopo b. 1951 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
James Shigeta b. 1933 (Space Marines, Babylon 5, SeaQuest 2032, The Greatest American Hero, The Outer Limits)
Peter Lupus b. 1932 (Giant of the Evil Island, Challenge of the Gladiator, Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon, The Brass Bottle, Muscle Beach Party, Goliath and the Conquest of Damascus)
Wally Wood b. 1927 died 2 November 1981 (artist)
Beryl Reid b. 1919 died 13 October 1996 (Doctor Who, Dr. Phibes Rises Again)
Ralph Bellamy b. 1904 died 29 November 1991 (Amazon Women on the Moon, Twilight Zone, Space, Search for the Gods, Rosemary’s Baby, The Invaders)
M.C. Escher b. 1898 died 27 March 1972 (artist)

The finalists for the Picture Slot today were the artists M.C. Escher, Wally Wood and this year's winner Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams from Doctor Who. Some of the other actors might make the cut in other year's but I can say this for certain.

It's not Lupus.

I kid. I'm a kidder. I might put in Peter Lupus from one of his Italian muscle man movies. The guy I will never put in is Joe Piscopo.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: Geoffrey Hoyle from his 1972 book 2010: Living in the Future

Prediction: With few people traveling to work there are no morning or evening rush hours—no streets crowded with cars, buses, and people. Gone are the oily smells and fumes of traffic. When people travel, they go by electric car, bus, or train.

In 2010 people can live and breathe in clean, fresh surroundings, but it was not always like this.

Reality: That would be a great advantage of nearly universal telecommuting, but as we know, that didn't become the norm. Still, there are a lot more environmentally conscious options now than there were back in 1972, though the pushers of petroleum really are doing everything they can to keep from being knocked out of their dominant position, the more's the pity.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

A new predictor joins the weekly line-up, and he is said to be the inspiration for several movie characters from the 1960s.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

16 June 2014

 Birthdays
Madisen Hill b. 1993 (The Last Man on Earth)
Nathan Parsons b. 1988 (The Originals)
Debora Nascimento b. 1985 (The Incredible Hulk)
Missy Peregrym b. 1982 (Cybergeddon, Reaper, Heroes, Smallville, Andromeda, Jake 2.0, Dark Angel)
Sibel Kekilli b. 1980 (Game of Thrones)
Tom Lenk b. 1976 (Witches of East End, The Cabin in the Woods, The Guild, Transformers, Angel, Buffy)
Joseph May b. 1974 (Dracula [TV], Revolution [TV movie], Stephen King’s Dead Zone, Stargate: Atlantis, Dead Like Me, Resident Evil, Bugs)
Eddie Cibrian b. 1973 (Invasion, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch)
John Cho b. 1972 (Sleepy Hollow [TV], Star Trek, Total Recall [2012], FlashForward, Solaris, Earth vs. the Spider, Evolution)
Clifton Collins Jr. b 1970 (Transcendence, Pacific Rim, The Event, Star Trek, The Flash, Freddy’s Nightmares)
Arnold Vosloo b. 1962 (G.I. Joe, Fire & Ice, Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld, Endangered Species, The Mummy, Strange World, Progeny, American Gothic [TV], Darkman II and III, Steel Dawn, Gor)
James M. Connor b. 1960 (Watchmen, Buffy, The X-Files, Futureworld)
John Franklin b. 1959 (Star Trek: Voyager, Tammy and the T-Rex, Addams Family, Beauty and the Beast, Children of the Corn)
Peter Vaughn-Clark b. 1957 (The Tomorrow People)
Laurie Metcalf b. 1955 (Big Bang Theory, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Making Mr. Right)
Bjorn Sunquist b. 1948 (Ragnarok, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow)
Joan Van Ark b, 1943 (Wonder Woman, Quark, The Last Dinosaur, The Six Million Dollar Man, Frogs)
Suzan Farmer b. 1942 (Blakes 7, UFO, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Monster of Terror)
Carole Ann Ford b. 1940 (Doctor Who, Day of the Triffids)
Joyce Carol Oates b. 1938 (author, American Gothic Stories, Zombie)
Michael Culver b. 1938 (The Empire Strikes Back, Space: 1999)
Bill Cobbs b. 1934 (Vampires in Venice, Oz the Great and Powerful, Star Trek: Enterprise, Lost, Demolition Man, The Brother from Another Planet)
Faith Domergue b. 1924 died 4 April 1999 (Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, It Came from Beneath the Sea, This Island Earth)
Phil Chambers b. 1916 died 16 January 1993 (The Invaders, The Time Tunnel, Twilight Zone, The Mole People)
Anthony Sharp b. 1915 died 23 July 1984 (Gawain and the Green Knight, A Clockwork Orange, No Blade of Grass, The Andromeda Breakthrough)
Jack Albertson b. 1907 died 25 November 1981 (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Immortal, Land of the Giants, It’s About Time, Twilight Zone)
Murray Leinster b. 1896 died 8 June 1975 (author, Exploration Team, A Logic Named Joe)

Technically, Game of Thrones is no longer on the air as of last night, but Sibel Kekilli gets the Picture Slot yet again, because... reasons. She is certainly not the only choice. As a Whedonverse nerd, I could put up a picture of Tom Lenk, John Cho is Sulu in the Star Trek re-boot, Laurie Metcalf plays Sheldon's mom on Big Bang Theory, Carole Ann Ford was one of the Doctor's companions, Faith Domergue was in a lot of 1950s monster movies and Jack Albertson's turn in Willy Wonka certainly counts as iconic. Arnold Vosloo is a great villain and Bill Cobbs is a great Oh That Guy.

Many happy returns to the living on the list and to the dead, thanks for all the memories.

Predictor: OMNI Future Almanac, published 1982

Prediction: Sometime in the early twenty first century, probably by 2010, the first space vacations will become a reality, say NASA officials. Although cramped and physically taxing, short stays in space aboard a space station should prove very alluring because of the danger - largely an illusion - and sheer excitement. At first, space tourism will be more of a novelty vacation. As space development continues and the fares decrease, astronomy and photography hobbyists will become the first serious space tourists.

Reality: There have been space tourists, all going up on Russian rockets. The danger is not largely an illusion and the Columbia disaster put a lot of plans on hold. There have been a total of seven space tourists according to Wikipedia: Dennis Tito, Mark Shuttleworth, Gregory Olsen, Anousheh Ansari, Charles Simonyi, Richard Garriott and Guy Laliberte. The first went up in 2001 and the most recent in 2009. Companies are planning more, but everything is still in the planning stages. OMNI Future Almanac gets close to full marks here, but the fares still make this a hobby for the very wealthy.

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Our Tuesday regular Geoffrey Hoyle looks boldly once more at the wonders that await in 2010.

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!
 

15 June 2014

Birthdays
Ray Santiago b. 1984 (Touch, In Time)
Elizabeth Reaser b. 1975 (Twilight)
Neil Patrick Harris b. 1973 (Beastly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, Starship Troopers, Quantum Leap, Purple People Eater)
Greg Vaughan (Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, Charmed, Buffy)
Jake Busey b. 1971 (From Dusk Till Dawn [TV], Charmed, Jeremiah, Starship Troopers, Contact, The Frighteners)
Courtney Cox b. 1964 (Bedtime Stories, Zoom, Cocoon: The Return, Misfits of Science, Masters of the Universe)
Helen Hunt b. 1963 (Trancers, Project X, The Bionic Woman, Ark II)
Jim Belushi b. 1954 (The Tick, Retroactive, Last Action Hero, Abraxas, Guardian of the Universe, Little Shop of Horrors)
Neal Adams b. 1941 (artist)
William Newman b. 1934 (The Tick, Angel, VR.5, The Stand, The Craft, Leprechaun, Eerie, Indiana, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Silver Bullet)
Victor Lundin b. 1930 died 29 June 2013 (Babylon 5, Batman, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Star Trek, Robinson Crusoe on Mars)

Given how big a Whedonverse geek I am, NPH as Dr. Horrible is a very easy choice for the Picture Slot. In future, I might use Jake Busey or the Oh That Guy William Newman, but I'd say second choice is more likely to be some artwork by Neal Adams, still one of my favorite comic book artists of all time. The only person on the list who is dead is Victor Lundin, who used to bill himself at Trek conventions as "the first Klingon." This is a bit of a stretch. While he is in the cast of Errand of Mercy, the first episode where Klingons are shown, his character is named Lieutenant, which shows how much care went into the writing. The Klingon commander in the episode is John Colicos and he's the guy who deserves the title more.

Many happy returns to all the living on the list and to Victor Lundin, you glory stealing old ham, thanks for all the memories.

Movies released
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer released 2007
Batman Begins released 2005
  

Predictor: The Eleventh Commandment by Lester del Rey, published 1962

Prediction: After an accidental nuclear holocaust devastated the Earth in 1993 (an explosion occurring during an attempt at disarmament was misinterpreted as an attack), the Russian Mars colony and the American lunar colony joined forces. Two hundred years later, a Martian exile finds that much of Earth is dominated by the American Catholic Eclectic Church, which fanatically enforces the "Eleventh Commandment": "Be fruitful and multiply." Although the planet is safe from the danger of nuclear weapons, since they are banned, it is grossly overpopulated. In the end the protagonist sees that such wild breeding is necessary so that the gene pool damaged by the earlier holocaust will recover, and a new, stronger race can emerge.

Reality: As is often the case, the description of the plot of the stories involving nukes is nicked from Paul Brian's great website. Fear of nukes is born in the 1940s, but it continued as a strong cultural terror for decades afterwards. Besides the Cuban Missile Crisis, there were about 70 nuclear bombs tested in 1962 and 170 in 1963. The fear of the inevitability of nuclear war someday was a rational a thought as assuming a big quake in California or a terrible hurricane in Florida. It just felt like a matter of time.

Next year will be the 70th anniversary of the last atomic bombs dropped in a war, and while I don't want to jinx it, nuclear confrontation no longer seems inevitable. As for overpopulation, numbers that everyone feared like 5 billion and 6 billion and 7 billion were passed without causing an immediate die-off or wars fought over scarcity of resources. As usual, reality is a more subtle writer than most humans. We may be headed for trouble, but the size, shape and source of that trouble is not what the sci-fi novels were afraid of for the most part.

Oh, and by the way, happy Father's Day to all you indiscriminate breeders out there. ;^)

Looking one day ahead... INTO THE FUTURE!

Words I am always happy to type: OMNI Future Almanac,

Join us then... IN THE FUTURE!