SciFi Tech Talk

Julie, Jeff, and Mike look back at their favorites of the past 200 episodes and look forward to so many more to come!

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2018 movie Annihilation:"A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2018 movie Tau: "A woman is held captive by a scientist in a futuristic smart house, and hopes to escape by reasoning with the Artificial Intelligence that controls the house." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2017 movie Beyond Skyline: "A tough-as-nails detective embarks on a relentless pursuit to free his son from a nightmarish alien warship." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2018 movie The Titan: "A military family takes part in a ground-breaking experiment of genetic evolution and space exploration." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2016 book "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)": Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty. The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2018 movie Anon: In a near-future world where there is no privacy, ignorance or anonymity, our private memories are recorded and crime almost ceases to exist. In trying to solve a series of unsolved murders, SAL FRIELAND (Owen) stumbles onto a young woman (Seyfried) who appears to have subverted the system and disappeared. She has no identity, no history and no record. Sal realizes it may not be the end of crime but the beginning. Known only as THE GIRL, she must be found before Sal becomes the next victim. —Andrew Niccol on imdb.com

Julie, Jeff and Mike discuss the 2013 movie Her: "Sensitive letter writer Theodore has just ended his marriage. Lonely, he goes out to buy an artificially intelligent Operating System that promises to give him everything he needs. Samantha is more than his average OS. She does secretarial work for him but also becomes his friend whenever he's lonely. They go out on adventures and travel together. He becomes the physical feet to get them places, and she the new eyes in which to see the world. Their intimate moments soon turn into love and they start an unusual relationship between OS and human. Things get complicated as they deal with Theodore's complex emotions and Samantha's inability to provide physical comfort. What happens to an OS when its consciousness is altered? Or to a sensitive man who doubts his emotions?" — Marielle on imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2016 book Version Control: "Rebecca Wright has reclaimed her life, finding her way out of her grief and depression following a personal tragedy years ago. She spends her days working in customer support for the internet dating site where she first met her husband. But she has a strange, persistent sense that everything around her is somewhat off-kilter: she constantly feels as if she has walked into a room and forgotten what she intended to do there; on TV, the President seems to be the wrong person in the wrong place; her dreams are full of disquiet. Meanwhile, her husband's decade-long dedication to his invention, the causality violation device (which he would greatly prefer you not call a “time machine”) has effectively stalled his career and made him a laughingstock in the physics community. But he may be closer to success than either of them knows or can possibly imagine. Version Control is about a possible near future, but it’s also about the way we live now. It’s about smart phones and self-driving cars and what we believe about the people we meet on the Internet. It’s about a couple, Rebecca and Philip, who have experienced a tragedy, and about how they help — and fail to help — each other through it." - goodreads.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2014 movie The Giver - "In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the 'real' world." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2006 movie Children of Men: In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea. - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2015 movie Infini: "An elite 'search and rescue' team transport onto an off-world mining-facility to rescue Whit Carmichael, the lone survivor of a biological outbreak." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2016 movie Arrival: "When twelve mysterious spacecrafts appear around the world, linguistics professor Louise Banks is tasked with interpreting the language of the apparent alien visitors." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 1985 book The Handmaid’s Tale: "Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead. She may leave the home of the Commander and his wife once a day to walk to food markets whose signs are now pictures instead of words because women are no longer allowed to read. She must lie on her back once a month and pray that the Commander makes her pregnant, because in an age of declining births, Offred and the other Handmaids are valued only if their ovaries are viable. Offred can remember the years before, when she lived and made love with her husband, Luke; when she played with and protected her daughter; when she had a job, money of her own, and access to knowledge. But all of that is gone now..." - goodreads.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2016 movie "Passengers": A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers are awakened 90 years early. - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 1956 movie Forbidden Planet: "A starship crew goes to investigate the silence of a planet's colony only to find two survivors and a deadly secret that one of them has." - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 1968 movie Barbarella: "Barbarella is marked by the same audacity and originality, fantasy, humor, beauty and horror, cruelty and eroticism that make comic books such a favorite. The setting is the planet Lythion in the year 40,000, when Barbarella makes a forced landing while traveling through space. She acts like a female James Bond, vanquishing evil in the forms of robots and monsters. She also rewards, in an uninhibited manner, the handsome men who assist her in the adventure. Whether she is wrestling with Black Guards, the evil Queen, or the Angel Pygar, she just can’t seems to avoid losing at least a part of her skin-tight spacesuit!" - iTunes

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the book "2312": "The year is 2312. Scientific and technological advances have opened gateways to an extraordinary future. Earth is no longer humanity's only home; new habitats have been created throughout the solar system on moons, planets, and in between. But in this year, 2312, a sequence of events will force humanity to confront its past, its present, and its future." - Amazon.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 1981 movie, The Road Warrior: “In the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline rich, community escape a band of bandits.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 1976 movie The Man Who Fell To Earth: “Thomas Jerome Newton is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft, and meets Mary-Lou, a girl who falls in love with him. He does not count on the greed and ruthlessness of business here on Earth, however.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2014 movie "Space Warriors": “A group of kid space cadets must help in the rescue of three astronauts whose ship got stranded in space.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2014 movie Robot Overlords: “Earth has been conquered by robots from a distant galaxy. Survivors are confined to their houses and must wear electronic implants, risking incineration by robot sentries if they venture outside.” - imdb.com

“The year is 3326. Nigel Sheldon, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, receives a visit from the Raiel—self-appointed guardians of the Void, the enigmatic construct at the core of the galaxy that threatens the existence of all that lives. The Raiel convince Nigel to participate in a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void. Once inside, Nigel discovers that humans are not the only life-forms to have been sucked into the Void, where the laws of physics are subtly different and mental powers indistinguishable from magic are commonplace. The humans trapped there are afflicted by an alien species of biological mimics—the Fallers—that are intelligent but merciless killers. Yet these same aliens may hold the key to destroying the threat of the Void forever—if Nigel can uncover their secrets. As the Fallers’ relentless attacks continue, and the fragile human society splinters into civil war, Nigel must uncover the secrets of the Fallers—before he is killed by the very people he has come to save. (less)” - goodreads.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 1902 classic sci-fi movie A Trip to the Moon: A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon..” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike review the 2016 movie ARQ: “Trapped in a lab and stuck in a time loop, a disoriented couple fends off masked raiders while harboring a new energy source that could save humanity.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the movie "Star Trek Beyond" - “After stopping off at Starbase Yorktown, a remote outpost on the fringes of Federation space, the USS Enterprise, halfway into their five-year mission, is destroyed by an unstoppable wave of unknown aliens. With the crew stranded on an unknown planet and with no apparent means of rescue, they find themselves fighting against a ruthless enemy with a well-earned hatred of the Federation and everything it stands for. Only a rebellious alien warrior can help them reunite and leave the planet to stop this deadly menace from beginning a possible galactic war.” -- Written by Paramount Pictures

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the movie Pitch Black: “A commercial transport ship and its crew are marooned on a planet full of bloodthirsty creatures that only come out to feast at night. But then, they learn that a month-long eclipse is about to occur.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 1997 movie Event Horizon: “A rescue crew investigates a spaceship that disappeared into a black hole and has now returned...with someone or something new on-board.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the book Stranger in a Strange Land: “Valentine Michael Smith is a human being raised on Mars, newly returned to Earth. Among his people for the first time, he struggles to understand the social mores and prejudices of human nature that are so alien to him, while teaching them his own fundamental beliefs in grokking, watersharing, and love.” - goodreads.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the movie Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow: “After New York City receives a series of attacks from giant flying robots, a reporter teams up with a pilot in search of their origin, as well as the reason for the disappearances of famous scientists around the world.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2002 movie Equilibrium: “In a futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it.” Written by Anonymous - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2015 movie Synchronicity: “A physicist who invents a time machine must travel back to the past to uncover the truth about his creation and the woman who is trying to steal it.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the book Ready Player One: “In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.” - goodreads.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the movie Mars Attacks!: “Earth is invaded by Martians with unbeatable weapons and a cruel sense of humor.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the 2014 movie Predestination: “For his final assignment, a top temporal agent must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time. The chase turns into a unique, surprising and mind-bending exploration of love, fate, identity and time travel taboos.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the classic sci-fi film Westworld - “A robot malfunction creates havoc and terror for unsuspecting vacationers at a futuristic, adult-themed amusement park.” - imdb.com

“After peaceful aliens invade earth, humanity finds itself living in a utopia under the indirect rule of the aliens, but does this utopia come at a price?” - imdb.com

1855: The Industrial Revolution is in full and inexorable swing, powered by steam-driven cybernetic Engines. Charles Babbage perfects his Analytical Engine and the computer age arrives a century ahead of its time. And three extraordinary characters race toward a rendezvous with history - and the future. - goodreads.com

XCOM is a science fiction video game franchise featuring the titular fictional elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth.

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the movie Ex Machina - “A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breath-taking humanoid A.I..” - imdb.com

“A little girl is taken on a mind-bending tour of her distant future.” - imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss Ultima, the sequel to Proxima: “In PROXIMA we discovered ancient alien artifacts on the planet of Per Ardua - hatches that allowed us to step across light years of space as if we were stepping into another room. The universe opened up to us. Now in ULTIMA the consequences of this new freedom make themselves felt. And we discover that there are minds in the universe that are billions of years old and they have a plan for us. For some of us. But as we learn the true nature of the universe we also discover that we have countless pasts all meeting in this present and that our future is terrifyingly finite. It's time for us to fight to take back control.” - goodreads.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike discuss the SyFy series "The Expanse." Two hundred years in the future, in a fully colonized Solar System, police detective Josephus Miller, born in the asteroid belt, is given the assignment to find a missing young woman, Julie Mao. Meanwhile, James Holden, the first officer of an ice freighter, is witness to an unprovoked attack upon the ship, by attack craft believed to be from Mars (MCRN Federation). As news of the attack spreads throughout the System, the incident's flow-on threatens to destabilize already tenuous relations between Earth, Mars and The Belt. Far away from the struggles in deep space, on Earth, Chrisjen Avasarala, a powerful United Nations executive & diplomat, works to prevent war between Earth and Mars by any means at her disposal. Soon, the three find out that the missing woman and the ice freighter's fate are part of a vast covert conspiracy that threatens all humanity. - Written by nano_tech imdb.com

Julie, Jeff, and Mike review the movie Alien Outpost: "A documentary crew follows an elite unit of soldiers in the wake of an alien invasion." - imdb.com

In 2021, the whole world is connected by the gigantic Internet, and almost a half of the population is suffering from the Nerve Attenuation Syndrome (NAS).Johnny with an implanted memory chip in his brain was ordered to transport the over loaded information from Beijing to Newark. While Pharmakom Industries supported by yakuza tries to capture him to get the information back, the Low-tech group led by J-Bone tries to break the missing code to download the cure of NAS which Johnny carries. - Written by Miho Ishimine on imdb.com

The very far future: The galaxy is a drifting wreck of black holes, neutron stars, and chill white dwarfs. The age of star formation is long past. Yet there is life here, feeding off the energies of the stellar remnants, and there is mind, a tremendous galaxy-spanning intelligence each of whose thoughts lasts a hundred thousand years. And this mind cradles memories of a long-gone age when a more compact universe was full of light... The 27th century: Proxima Centauri, an undistinguished red dwarf star, is the nearest star to our sun. How would it be to live on such a world? - goodreads.com

The six-person crew of a derelict spaceship awakens from stasis in the farthest reaches of space. Their memories wiped clean, they have no recollection of who they are or how they got on board. The only clue to their identities is a cargo bay full of weaponry and a destination: a remote mining colony that is about to become a war zone. With no idea whose side they are on, they face a deadly decision. Will these amnesiacs turn their backs on history, or will their pasts catch up with them? - imdb.com

A genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel. - imdb.com

In the near future, crime is patrolled by a mechanized police force. When one police droid, Chappie, is stolen and given new programming, he becomes the first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. - imdb.com

Spike Spiegel is a bounty hunter in the far future with an easy going attitude and some deadly skill at martial arts. Together with his partners, Jet Black, and later Faye Valentine as well, they go from job to job across the galaxy looking for the high priced fugitives to bag. - imdb.com (by Kenneth Chisholm)

1000 feet below the ocean, navy divers discover an object half-a-mile long. A crack team of scientists are deployed to the site in deep sea habitats. What they find boggles the mind as they discover a perfect metal sphere. What is the secret behind the sphere? Will they survive the mysterious 'manifestations'? Who or what is creating these? They may never live to find out. - imdb.com, written by Michael Hofer