The Skiffy and Fanty Show 7: Conan and Vampires and Subgenres, Oh My!

Episode #7 is finally here, and on time! This week we have a special guest host, which probably suits Adam just fine, since the episode is rather fantasy heavy. We discuss sword and sorcery, the next big thing in science fiction and fantasy, some fascinating news in science and film, and much more!

Question of the Week: What is your favorite campy science fiction or fantasy movie and why? Feel free to email your answers to skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com or send us a voicemail at 206-203-1686! You can also leave a comment here or follow us on twitter. We’d love to hear your creative responses!

On a side note: if you have a second to give us a review on iTunes, we’d greatly appreciate it.

Here’s the episode (show notes are below):

Episode Seven — Download (MP3)

Intro Discussion (0:00 – 13:50):

Is Sword and Sorcery Ready For a Comeback? (Suvudu)
Conan (new movie to come in 2011)
The Allure of the Assassin (the Speculative Horizons post)

News (13:51 – 37:50):

Super-complex organic molecules found in interstellar space!
The Symphony of Science (these are amazing songs)
Pioneer One (the show) (they’ve raised $18.4K so far)
Note: Pioneer One was the name of the first spacecraft successfully launched by NASA in 1958.
Robert Downey, Jr. and Sam Raimi to make a Wizard of Oz prequel!
Plot details for Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Main Event (37:51 – 1:10:10):

Minotaurs are the next big thing (from The Onion)
The Huffington Post gives us 9 possible replacements for vampires in teen lit
Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber (that zombie Star Wars book we couldn’t remember)

The End (1:10:11 – 1:21:05):

Note: The Man-Kzin Wars that we mentioned in the podcast are set in Larry Niven’s Known Space universe (i.e. where Ringworld is set). Niven’s Known Space universe has been expanded by authors such as Poul Anderson, Jerry Pournelle, S. M. Stirling, Greg Bear, Gregory Benford, and many more. Wing Commander is not officially based on Niven’s universe, but the creators did name a system after him as a tribute.

That’s all, folks! Thanks for listening.