Monday, February 22, 2021

Episode 69: Travelling through Lovecraft Country


In this SPOILER-FILLED episode, your Planet 8 crew, plus our special guest, Lord Blood-Rah, explore the HBO mini-series, Lovecraft Country! We  will discuss the show from top to bottom, so if you haven't seen it yet, you may want to check it out and then come back! But if you have already watched the show, grab a beverage, get in a comfy chair, and join us for a wide-ranging convo!

The show is based off a book by Matt Ruff, but as we note, it is based loosely on that novel. Both the book and show take inspiration from the strange works of author H.P Lovecraft, probably best known today for creating the bizarre elder being Cthulhu and its ilk. It's come to light that Lovecraft was a racist, and by using his works as a background for telling a tale about the racist, segregated America of the 1950s, and making the protagonists African American, it really turns the Lovecraft milieu on its ear. It's a fascinating combination of fantastical horror and real-life horror - as Commander Larry points out, do you run from the monsters or the people?

The show is beautifully made - the production values are amazing. It's also more than a little gory, which was too much for Recon Officer Karen! But much of the gore is in service of allegory. We'll discuss how Lovecraft Country uses allegory in ways similar to Twilight Zone. Social injustice has always been a concern of fantasy and science fiction and this show continues that tradition powerfully, by looking at not only racism, but also sexism and sexuality.

It manages to incorporate many real world elements, such as the Tulsa Massacre, the Emmett Till trial, and more, which makes it feel so very relatable. The characters too, are well-drawn, with good qualities and flaws, achingly human. The leads, Jurnee Smollett and Jonathan Majors, bring Leti and Atticus to life. As the series goes on, we really get to know them and understand why they are who they are. Considering they only have 10 episodes, it's tremendous work.

We'll talk about the most shocking moments in the show -and there were many! This is a show heavy in imagery. It sticks with you long after the episodes are over. We all got freaked out by those spooky little girls from the episode "Jig A Bobo"! We'll also go over some of our favorite moments in the show. There are a lot of magical, even beautiful moments and we really enjoyed that aspect of the show as well. 

Apparently HBO plans to make a second season, so we look forward to that, although we're a little perplexed about what direction it might go! Perhaps a time jump to the 1960s?

For our Sensor Sweep, we turn to our guest, Lord Blood-Rah, to discuss his many projects! Unfortunately there are still no live shows right now, but fingers crossed,  Creatures Con is planned for August 8th at the Crowne Plaza in Concord, California. This year's show will be celebrating 90 years of the Universal Monsters! David J. Skal, author and audio commentator, will be the con's special guest. Season 11 of Lord Blood-Rah's Nerve Wrackin' Theatre will be going into production. You can go to the site to find out where you can watch or stream the show.  Soon our good Lord will have a new weekly show coming exclusively to Patreon, so keep your ears open for that.  And hey, Lord Blood-Rah will be joining us for our next episode, to talk about Star Trek Discovery!

That brings us to a close this time. Let us know what you thought of Lovecraft Country. Did you enjoy it? Did it make you think? What do you think season two will be about? As always, you can leave comments here on our site, or reach out to us at our other locations:

Stay safe! Whether you travel through Lovecraft Country, or more earthly realms.


Monday, February 8, 2021

Episode 68: HAL, open the podcast ap. It's 2001: A Space Odyssey!



 

Your Planet 8 crew has explored many realms of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, but this time we are taking on one of the all-time greats: Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.


Still considered by many to be the finest science fiction film ever made, Kubrick, along with science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, developed a sweeping epic about mankind's place in the universe. It took almost three years from conception to the film's premiere in April 1968. Audiences had never seen anything like it, and many were simply dumbfounded by the ambiguity of the film. With 2001, Kubrick wanted to go outside conventional storytelling techniques and give the audience  "basically a visual, nonverbal experience" that "hits the viewer at an inner level of consciousness, just as music does." The film seems to be rather polarizing, with people either enjoying the mystery of it or finding the whole thing annoying.


Your crew has various levels of enthusiasm for 2001! Some of us -OK, one of us (Karen) loves the film! Other crew members are perhaps not quite as enthusiastic. But we all can agree on its importance to science fiction, and film in general. Without 2001, and the vast technological advancements it made, we certainly wouldn't have had Star Wars, or Battlestar Galactica, Space:1999, and pretty much everything that has been made after it. The pioneering techniques of Douglas Trumbull, Stuart Freeborn, and so many others paved the way for the science fiction films we all know and love. The effects still look surprisingly good today. 


Of course, the movie was made during the height of the space race, and that enters our conversation too. Kubrick and Clarke wanted to create something that showed the beauty and wonder of space exploration, and how it was mankind's destiny to leave Earth -the cradle -and go beyond. Certainly, the film must have had a different impact on audiences viewing it in 1968 than in 2021. 


2001 is nothing if not thought-provoking, and we get into some pondering of our own, as we wonder about the meaning and function of the mysterious monoliths, if progress is always fueled by aggression, what happened to HAL, and man's place in the cosmos. But hey, it's not all deep thoughts! You can be sure we'll talk about things like wobbly space stewardesses, cockney HAL, and Arthur C. Clarke in a towel!


Fittingly, our Sensor Sweep this time around centers on a massive tome, Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece by Michael Benson. If you're a fan of 2001 or Stanley Kubrick, this is a fascinating look at how the film came together, from the initial meetings of Kubrick and Clarke, to preproduction and all the way to the film's reception by critics and audiences. It's amazing in its depth and detail. You can find it on Amazon, and be sure to check your local bookseller too.

That's all for us this time - we're shutting the pod bay doors now! Send final transmissions to:

This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.