Why the 2013 crop of summer blockbusters has sucked

A sign of the times: the new Man of Steel (Photo credit: Ed Yourdon)

Once again, I am called upon by my fellow SF Signal podcast irregulars to snark my way through a topic better left to professionals: What's up with the not-so-hot lineup of 2013 summer movie blockbusters?

Fortunately, Jeff Patterson, Patrick Hester and actual honest-to-Grodd film critic Derek Johnson are on hand to wrangle my even-more-nerdy-than-usual snivelings about film and genre. (How these guys got nominated for a Hugo with me on the line is beyond explanation.)

In the course of the podcast, we go deep on the flagship blockbuster of the season -- Man of Steel -- and sort of back into a treatise on why the "midlist movie" is so desperately necessary to save Hollywood from itself. There are worse ways to spend an hour of your time, especially if you fast forward through all my speaking parts. Those of you that tuned into my appearance on Shooting the WISB wherein I savaged Star Trek Into Darkness have heard most it already, anyway.

You can listen to the complete SF Signal podcast here.

As always, the chronicle of my previous SF Signal podcast atrocities is available here.

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Why no one should direct the next Star Trek movie

Cover via Amazon

For the last week, the internet has lost its mind over District 9 and Elysium director Neill Blomkamp stating he doesn't want to helm the next Star Trek movie. I, for one, am glad. Not because I don't like Blomkamp's work, but because no one should direct the next Star Trek movie. There shouldn't be a next Star Trek movie, period.

Star Trek belongs on television. Including the new JJ Abrams Star Trek.

TV Guide just anointed Star Trek as the greatest sci-fi show of all time. George Lucas has gone on record saying that without Star Trek, Star Wars never happens.

At the end of the nostalgia-obsessed Star Trek Into Darkness -- about which I have very strong feelings -- The Chris Pine/Zach Quinto versions of Kirk and Spock are about to embark on the infamous Five-Year Mission to seek out new life and new civilizations, boldly going where no one has gone before.

That mission should happen -- with the cinematic Abrams cast -- on television. The why is obvious -- blockbusters are typically callow, shallow spectacles of anti-intellectual cotton candy. Star Trek is the opposite of that. As to how we get Trek back home to the small screen, read on.

Everything wrong with Star Trek Into Darkness, according to three random geeks

Star Trek into Darkness (Photo credit: David Holt London)

In one those rare moments of serendipitous geekery, Paul Weimer and Shaun Duke threw out a random "anybody want to jump on a podcast about Star Trek Into Darkness in five minutes?" flares on Twitter and, to my own surprise, I had a free evening.

The result is an hour of unremitting podcast hostility towards the Hollywood machine that is dismantling Star Trek, as only ad hoc nerdrage can deliver it.

If you liked the movie and want to understand why you were wrong to do so (he said, tongue only half in cheek), this is the podcast for you. Tune in and unlearn all that J.J. Abrams foolishly tried to teach you. It's fun to use anger for good.

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