Charlie Jane Anders's posts - English uPOST
Person Of Interest Shows What Happens When You Look A God In The Eye
Person of Interest's A.I. war seems to be heating up once again — and the above clip shows a chilling moment where this week's Number comes a little too close to the truth about Samaritan. Spoilers ahead...
Actually, the most interesting thing about this week's Person of Interest, "Search and Destroy," is that it seems to show Samaritan getting a bit nervous. And making mistakes. Samaritan is...
Ugh, Supernatural. You Really Didn't Have To Go There.
Don’t watch this video unless you’ve already seen this week’s episode of Supernatural, since it’s mega-spoilery. And somewhat upsetting, as well. Why did Supernatural have to go down this road? Just... ugh.
Spoilers ahead...
So there’s a running debate over whether Supernatural kills off more female characters than male ones, and it’s easy to get bogged down in statistics and...
This Notorious B.I.G./Dinosaurs Mash-Up Video Is My New Happy Place
I apologize if you've already seen this, since it's a couple days old — but I had to post this amazing music video, featuring Earl from Dinosaurs "lip"-synching to "Hypnotize" by the Notorious B.I.G. Because it is the most amazing thing I have seen in ages.
Seriously, this is the entire reason why Dinosaurs, that weird-ass 1990s TV show, actually existed. [via The Verge]
Contact...
Here's Where People Thought Genre Book Publishing Was Headed In 1991
Back in 1991, OMNI Magazine did a huge survey of the state of science fiction and fantasy publishing, and where people thought things were heading. Not surprisingly, nobody predicted the rise of Borders, much less Amazon or e-books. But some stuff was surprisingly prescient.
The blog Castalia House has some excerpts from the article, written by Robert J. Kilheffer, and a few trends jump out as...
Is It Really Legal To Publish Your Own James Bond Book In Canada Now?
As of 2015, James Bond is entering the public domain in Canada. But he's still copyrighted in the United States and Europe — so what does that mean? Can Canadians create their own adventures of 007 and sell them as long as they stay North of the Border? We talked to some law experts, to find out.
Top image via Yellow and Creased. What Does It Mean That James Bond's In the Public Domain In...I'm Going To Pretend Everyone Died At The End of Supernatural Season 10
Supernatural has had an amazing run. The first five seasons of Eric Kripke’s monster-fighting show had a beautiful arc, and formidable storytelling chops, and the five post-Kripke seasons have had moments of greatness, despite an aimlessness bordering on ennui. But after season 10? I’m done.
It’s a bad sign when the season finale of a show features a character saying “None of this makes any...
What's The Most Perfect Blend Of Science Fiction And Fantasy?
The line between science fiction and fantasy gets pretty wobbly—where do you stick Star Wars?—but some things just straddle it with pure glee. Earlier today, we were debating about shows that are both science fiction and fantasy. But what’s the absolute best blend of the two, of all time?
Please include a picture,...
The Truth About Books, Money, Awards (And Not Quitting Your Day Job)
Authors seldom discuss how much money they actually make writing science fiction or fantasy. But on her blog, Kameron Hurley breaks it down, listing all her advances and how much she actually ended up with. And she explains how winning an award can change the game, and why she won't quit her day job.
Top image: The Mirror Empire by Kameron HurleyIn a nutshell, Hurley's advances went way down...
What's The Best Retelling Of A Story From The Villain's Point Of View?
We all know that a villain is just a hero who needs to get a better PR department. The "bad guy" seldom believes that he or she is actually bad, and usually has reasons for his or her actions. But what's your favorite story that shows the villain's point of view on a set of events?
Please include a picture, book cover, poster, clip, comics panel or other piece of artwork for your chosen...
Which Movie Can You Abandon For A Pee Break Without Missing Anything?
We always feel guilty and ashamed — like bad movie-lovers! — when we have to take a pee break in the middle of a long movie. What if we miss the best bit? But certain films make it easy, with long stretches that you can safely miss. Go to the bathroom. Get a soda refill, even. Which movie can you safely miss a decent stretch of?
Please include a picture, clip, poster, or piece of artwork for...
Doctor Who’s New Season Premiere Is Not For Novice Viewers
We’ve seen both halves of the Doctor Who season opener, which starts tomorrow on BBC America at 9 PM. The good news? The time-traveling eccentric Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, is as electrifying as ever. The bad news? You’ll be kind of lost if you’re not a Who expert. Here’s our spoiler-free review.
Head writer Steven Moffat is once again concerned with the question of just who, and what,...
Last Night's Originals Ended With Not One, But Two "Holy F--k" Moments
The Originals is spending a lot of its second season focusing on the ever-growing number of Mikaelsons, and not really giving enough screentime to Marcel, Josh, Aidan, Davina, and all the storylines about New Orleans magical politics. But at least the Mikaelsons can still surprise us, as this clip proves.
Elijah spends rather a lot of time wallowing in blood, while his brother Finn rants at him...
The Original Star Wars Is Finally Getting Shown In A Chinese Theater
When Star Wars came out in 1977, China was still in the immediate aftermath of the Cultural Revolution, and foreign films were not screened in Chinese theaters. And even in recent years, China has maintained strict quotas for overseas movies. So it’s taken 40 years for Star Wars to reach Chinese movie theaters.
According to AFP, Star Wars was shown at the Shanghai International Film Festival,...
Does Your Town Have A Science Fiction Bookstore On Wheels? Austin Does.
Yet another reason to wish you lived in Austin. Fifth Dimension Books is a science fiction bookstore in a bus, taking advantage of a new "mobile retailing" ordinance to set up shop next to the Hyde Park Bar & Grill. It's described as "Austin's Weird, Wandering Bookmobile."
According to the Austin Business Journal, owners Sukyi and Patrick McMahon were friends with chemistry professor John Marx...
Supergirl Had the Best 'Be My Girlfriend or I'll Become a Supervillain' Speech
Last night’s Supergirl was all about making the lovestruck nerd Winn into a sympathetic character, by showing us his psycho supervillain dad. And it worked… until Winn tried to use Supergirl’s sympathy to steal a kiss. And then he gave this weird speech.
Seriously. WTF? The gist of Winn’s speech is, “My dad became a supervillain because he bottled up his feelings about the toy company that...
Looks Like Tonight's Person Of Interest Will Kick Us In The Teeth Again
Here's an exclusive clip from tonight's brand new episode of Person of Interest — in which Reese tries to teach Finch a skill that Finch does not want to learn. But more importantly, you can see just how desperate things have gotten, and how much Reese is trying to prepare for the very, very worst.
All I Want To Do With My Life Is Watch Stefan-Caroline YouTube Videos
I was going to recap last night's episode of Vampire Diaries, but instead all I want to do (with my weekend, pretty much) is watch all of the Stefan-Caroline clips on Youtube. Of which there are a lot. Turns out Stefan and Caroline are even more fun when they're both remorseless monsters. YAY!
Actually, last night's episode was pretty great in general — this show seems to be going...
Spend Your Weekend Breaking Down Identity And Bodies With Some Radical New Artworks
The annual Photoville festival, filling a bunch of Brooklyn shipping containers with artwork, is happening this weekend. And one of the containers is being curated by artist Claire Christerson, who created an exhibition about identity, the body, and prosthetics. Including some pretty fantastical artworks.
Warning: One image might be slightly NSFW, maybe.
“Its basically just thinking about many...
Finch Learns A Very Different Way To Hack Reality On Person Of Interest
Here's the funniest scene from last night's Person of Interest, in which Harold Finch gets a crash course in swaying a jury from the inside. It's a very different kind of hacking than Finch is used to, and it requires him to be sort of a blowhard. But it's all part of an episode that looks at how "fixers" reshape our perceptions.
Spoilers ahead...
To be honest, "Guilty" was sort of an odd...
On Supernatural, Sam And Dean's Main Critic Becomes Their #1 Fan
The character of Cole had a lot of potential on Supernatural: someone with a reason to hate Dean (who killed Cole's father.) Someone who hadn't drunk the hunter Kool-Aid. He could have provided an interesting critique of the Winchesters — but as of last night's episode, Cole is totally on the Sam-and-Dean fan bandwagon.
In "The Things They Carried," we're still dealing with the realization that...