Science Fiction fans rejoice! Ridley Scott, the acclaimed director of genre classics Alien and Blade Runner, has found a home on Discovery Science with his hit show Prophets of Science Fiction.
The show (which is nearing the end of its first season) is eight episodes long, and revolves around famous authors of Sci-Fi novels that seemingly foresaw human advancements well before their time. Running at about 45 minutes (60, including commercials) each episode focuses on a single novelist, and uses professional testimonials from experts – in the realms of technology, medicine, and defense – and traces back how said author was responsible for dreaming up some of the wonders we all take for granted. What follows is an examination on how life as we know it mimics fantasy that is both educational, as well as entertaining.
Episode Guide/Critical Reception
The series debuted on November 9, 2011, to lukewarm reviews. Some critics claimed that the show made huge leaps in logic to connect the subject (Mary Shelley) to the advancements being claimed (organ transplants, supercomputers, and DNA research). Even still, plenty more critics and – more importantly – viewers found the first episode nothing short of brilliant. This ensured that the rest of the season would air, and maybe even give way to a second season.
The episodes, as well as their air-dates are as follows:
• Mary Shelly: 09, November 2011
• Philip K. Dick: 16, November 2011
• H.G. Wells: 23, November 2011
• Arthur C. Clark: 30, November 2011
• Isaac Asimov: 15, February 2012
• Jules Verne: 22, February 2012
• Robert Heinlein: 29, February 2012
• George Lucas: 7, March 2012
There are only three episodes of the season left, but Discovery Science has been rerunning the first five episodes weekly for viewers who have missed out.
My Thoughts
As an avid consumer of all things Science/Sci-Fi related, I have found myself grinning from ear-to-ear with each passing episode. Each installment showcases top-notch re-enactments that make use of some pretty convincing look-alikes, as well as clear and concise narration. As a bonus, and also as a means of backing up their claims, the producers have sought out professionals in every field covered. These geniuses provide insight into how each author has contributed to his/her field – sometimes even dreamt up a field or two.
The amount of things I have learned borders on the absurd, but I am no doubt grateful for having learned it all. In fact, here are a few of my favorite tidbits gleaned from what I have seen so far:
• H.G. Wells dreamt up laser technology while looking for a weapon to be wielded by the alien invaders in War of The Worlds.
• H.G. Wells was also responsible for much of our modern research into time travel and, to an extent, Quantum Theory with his book The Time Machine.
• Philip K. Dick has been cited by many researchers into Cybernetics as their main inspiration for getting involved in the field, thanks to his book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, which inspired Scott’s Blade Runner.
• Arthur C. Clark’s book The Sentinel (which became the seminal sci-fi classic 2001: A Space Odyssey) has served as inspiration for professionals making advances in both the Space Travel and Artificial Intelligence fields.
These are really only a fraction of the facts I learned by watching this insightful program, and given the next few episodes… Well, I think I’ll be finding out all kinds of factoids that will blow away what has already been revealed. Personally, I think Ridley Scott should spend next season focusing on the likes of Kurt Vonnegut, Aldux Huxley, and Carl Sagan. (How these three missed the cut for the first season I will NEVER know!)
Even should a potential 2nd season fail to arrive, I will see this first season out to its sweet, sweet end. I encourage all fans of Science or Science-Fiction to do the same.
Image courtesy of Discovery Channel
About the author: Jordan Siron is a freelance writer/blogger living in Orlando, and he can’t help but wonder which sci-fi author prophesized Online Printing.
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This year’s Oscars provided much better entertainment than in recent previous year’s telecast, with Billy Crystal back for a ninth time as the host. So often the script written for the Oscars can be tolerable at best. There were enough short clips by actors commenting on acting that this part of the script was fairly interesting. In fact the show seemed to run well, have some real entertainment value and did not drag as often is the case. 
HBO Documentary Films presents THE LOVING STORY. In many ways, Richard and Mildred Loving were a typical couple. They grew up in the same Virginia town, fell in love and decided to cement their relationship by marrying. Because she was part-black and part-Native American, and he was white, however, their 1958 marriage was declared illegal by their home state. 
