Got this in the mail. The message header says that it was transmitted on Thursday, January 1, 1970 (retroactive internet?). I thought you all would be interested.

Spelling, punctation, etc., as it was in the original. more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:11 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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(2005 continued...)

The review can now be found here.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:01 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova, Commander. Daughter of Andre and Sophie Ivanova. I am the Right Hand of Vengence and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, sweetheart. I am Death Incarnate, and the last living thing you are ever going to see. God sent me."

(Babylon 5)

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 06:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Zoe: "Isn't the Bible kinda specific about killin'?"

Book: "Yes, but it is somewhat fuzzy in the area of kneecaps."

(Firefly)

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:17 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"It has spaceships, a bank heist, Interplanetary cannibal zombies, geishas, ruthless government operatives, and a hot psychic kung fu fighting chick, how could you possibly have been bored!"

(A fan's reaction to a non-fan's dislike of Serenity.) more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 08:47 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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How To Survive Your Stint In Federal Service

(...thanks to the film version of Starship Troopers for being so bad that it inspired...)

Twenty useful tips brought to you by Gen. Paul Verhoven, C in C...

20. The enemy can drop driveless asteroids on your cities from over 1000 light years distance-presumably at FTL speeds-without resorting to any visible technology. Therefore, assume they're just stupid Bugs incapable of rational thought;

19. When piloting the ship, don't strap yourself in. When the ship is hit, you'll look cool flying through the air into the viewport;

18. Artillery? Only wussies need artillery.

17. Ignore those plasma bolts the mindless Bugs are firing at your ship-they're just "random light";

16. Be ready to shoot your buddies at a moments notice; they'll thank you for it;

15. Rest assured that, in the future, even the chicks are pumped on testosterone; more...

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 07:09 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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So far, therefore, as the public profession of magic has been one of the roads by which men have passed to supreme power, it has contributed to emancipate mankind from the thraldom of tradition and to elevate them into a larger, freer life, with a broader outlook on the world. This is no small service rendered to humanity. And when we remember further that in another direction magic has paved the way for science, we are forced to admit that if the black arts has done much evil, it has also been the source of much good; that if it is the child of error, it has been the mother of freedom and truth.

Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). The Golden Bough. 1922.

Posted by: Fred Kiesche at 10:56 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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That's me. Geeze. On the whole SF Babe thing, I've been WAY ahead of the curve.

First, everyone seems to be noticing fellow Planoite Anousheh Ansari now that she's going into orbit and has her own blog. Me? I noticed her two years ago and even named her an honorary SF babe for helping fund the X-Prize.

Female Stormtrooper costumes? Again, on the absolute bleeding edge.

That makes me think I need to revive the whole SF Babe Poll thing again, to stay on the cutting edge. I know I need to re-run the Firefly poll, since I didn't include "Our Mrs. Reynolds" (Saffron) the first time around. Any other suggestions?

Posted by: JohnL at 10:11 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Like lunches at McDonald's, the Ardala-Deering debate comes back at an inopportune time. Inopportune, as I would like to devote more time to this argument than I can afford right now.

Nevertheless, in a nutshell:

Ardala - sultry princess of the powerful Draconian empire. She donned a golden bikini years before Princess Leia. Her hat has horns, for TANJ sake. Her main goals are to conquer Earth and seduce Buck Rogers.

What more would you want, were you Buck Rogers??

Wilma - icy colonel in the Earth Defense Directorate - the incompetent military arm of the Computer Council. Before Buck came along, the pilots relied exclusively on their overrated computer overlords to aim their lasers. Nobody on this emasculated future earth seems ashamed that they are the pets of Speak-and-Spell toys hanging around the necks of diminutive robots.

I would rather deal with a hot-blooded princess than an oppressed bureaucrat any day. Sheesh.

Posted by: JohnL at 11:07 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Again, in the absence of original content hereabouts, go have a look at this worthy gallery of SFnal babes.

They're even kind enough to link to my (stale) gallery (as well as this SF cheesecake site).

Never fear -- one of my resolutions in this new year is to revive the SF Babe poll, so check back soon.

Posted by: JohnL at 10:28 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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OK. It's been more than four months since the last poll.

I'm not sure where to take this thing. I am planning to do the definitive Ardala better than Deering post (complete with dialogue excerpts and vidcaps from the movie/TV pilot) sometime during my Christmas vacation (I'm taking a couple of well-deserved weeks off at the end of the year). I'm also trying to figure out how to score an email interview with Pamela Hensley (i.e., "Ardala"), who put out a cookbook recently (Jewish-Sicilian cuisine? Cool).

Leave me a comment on what you would like to see, if anything. Some thoughts for discussion:

1. Should I have some sort of "Hall of Fame?"


2. Should I run less frequent contests (weekly was pretty challenging).


3. Are there any egregious omissions from prior polls (be sure to check the category listing and the gallery before answering).


4. Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

Posted by: JohnL at 10:59 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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1 Weekly was probably way to frequent for a prolonged effort. That said, you never did the chicks of Dune (movie and two miniseries to work with there). Possibly monthly? I'm sure there's lots of overlooked SF. No need for a hall of fame; just keep polling and maintain the gallery. Hey, that's just my opinion.

Posted by: Gunner at December 08, 2005 12:06 AM (HilSN)

2 1. Sure! Take the most popular 4 or 5 ladies and pit them against each other. 2. I'd say monthly. You put a lot of effort into that poll, and woohoo! A lot more than I would. 3. Where's Trance Gemini from Andromeda? (Hubby's fav on that show.) The SF Babes from the 70's and 80's b-grade sci-fi horror movies? How about some drawn Sci-Fi babes? Bell and Vallejo; Dawn; Heavy Metal, etc. 4. Your blog, your poll man. We just get the eye-candy and the voting rights.

Posted by: Rhianna at December 08, 2005 07:16 AM (oOr1c)

3 The thing about Ardala/Deering is that Ardala was voluptuous, but had no waistline. Deering was fine but slender. It all depends on your taste. I preffer the latter. As for Andromeda, all of the women on that show were scrumptuous, but I could never care much for the characters and allways thought of it as a "throwaway" show.

Posted by: Kyle N at December 08, 2005 09:41 AM (z6tJ+)

4 I've been missing the polls here too lately. You can always re-run some of the best-of's... I've currently got a poll up for best 70's sci-fi thats doing well...

Posted by: Chad at December 17, 2005 10:12 AM (E2GpM)

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Well, after more than 400 votes, it was time to close down the incredibly close Incredibles poll. Results are posted here and in the Gallery.

With our new house, we finally got standard cable TV, including the Sci Fi channel. As a consequence, I've now gotten a chance to see a few episodes of Stargate Atlantis. Decent enough SF drama featuring a couple of nice-looking ladies, who feature in the new poll:

Teyla Emmagan (portrayed by Rachel Luttrell):

Dr. Elizabeth Weir (portrayed by Torri Higginson):

Results (Posted 1 December 2005):

Teyla 139 of 350 votes for 40%
Dr. Weir 211 of 350 votes for 60% -- WINNER!

Posted by: JohnL at 09:18 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Well, I finally saw The Incredibles this past weekend. Pixar sure modeled a couple of nice-looking virtual female leads, who will feature in this week's poll:

Mrs. Incredible a/k/a Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter):

And Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena):

Vote early and often and check back next week here for the results.

Results (Posted 2 August 2005):

Elastigirl: 204 of 411 votes for 49.6%
Mirage: 207 of 411 votes for 50.4% -- WINNER!

Posted by: JohnL at 09:46 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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1 Woohoo! 100% for Elastigirl! Only 2 people voting, but 100%! Darn good movie.

Posted by: owlish at June 14, 2005 10:46 PM (sBj9U)

2 Sorry, Owlish. I hate to break the purity of the vote, but this round's installment of the voter guide disagrees with you. Yee haw. Thanks for bringing the poll back, John.

Posted by: The Country Pundit at June 15, 2005 01:21 AM (wVbH5)

3 A close one, but I think I'm going with Mrs. I, at least this morning. I mean, consider the possibilities!

Posted by: Robert the Llama Butcher at June 15, 2005 07:56 AM (IkTb7)

4 In my mind it's a virtual *ahem* tie, so the only obvious solution is a threesome.

Posted by: Ted at June 15, 2005 10:36 AM (blNMI)

5 I'll second Ted's comment. There should be a "Both" button.

Posted by: Chrees at June 15, 2005 11:12 AM (hFZJx)

6 Well, I didn't want to sound greedy earlier, but since you guys mentioned it, gimme some o' that sandwich action!

Posted by: Robert the LB at June 15, 2005 12:24 PM (IkTb7)

7 Both? With this particular option on the table, er, I may have to revise the guide. To quote that sage of the couch, Butt-head, "Huh huh huh..."

Posted by: The Country Pundit at June 15, 2005 09:18 PM (X+2HW)

8 Pshaw. Polling you perverts pining after pixellated p... er, something alliterative can be a perfect pain. "Both" is not an option, though I may have to add that to future polls....

Posted by: JohnL at June 15, 2005 10:58 PM (gplif)

9 "Both" is not an option, though I may have to add that to future polls.... And, for polls with more than two a simple "Yes" will do (Though, I could envisage where a simple "NO!" might be equally appropriate.) Lysander

Posted by: Lysander at June 20, 2005 09:12 AM (ShW/G)

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This week's poll is yet another variation on the Star Trek theme.

Though the odd-numbered Trek films are commonly considered inferior to the even-numbered ones (at least for the first 6 or so), they did feature some striking ladies.

From Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Lieutenant Ilia (portrayed by Persis Khambatta):

From Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, the other Lieutenant Saavik (portrayed by Robin Curtis):

And finally from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Romulan Caithlin Dar (portrayed by Cynthia Gouw):

(P.S. I'm taking nominations for future poll candidates and themes. I'm also thinking about giving the poll a summer hiatus, since it takes about an hour or two to put each one together. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks!)

Results (Posted 17 May 2005):

Ilia: 16 of 57 votes for 28%
Saavik: 16 of 57 votes for 28%
Dar: 25 of 57 votes for 44% -- WINNER!

Posted by: JohnL at 10:02 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I get a few regular commenters, whose input I really value (please keep it up, folks!). But I really love getting comments from readers I didn't even know I have (ahem), and "BadLiberal" left this great gem in the comments of last week's SF Babe Poll pitting Lt. Marlena Moreau against Lt. Marla McGivers:

You've gotta be f'-in kidding.

One [sic] the one hand we have a woman who's slept her way to the top while incinerating entire planets, and on the other we have a woman who gets all googly eyed over fine Corinthian leather.

Lt. Moreau walks away with this one. Probably after leaving McGivers at the bottom of a convenient river.

Very nice generational joke there about "fine Corinthian leather" -- most people much younger than I wouldn't catch the reference. I couldn't have agreed more with the other sentiments and was quite pleased with the outcome of the poll. (And for what it's worth, note well that I included McGivers at the request of another so-far-one-time commenter, "Ishy.")

A neat thing that's showing up in some of the polls is how the personality attributes of the characters influence certain voters more than just surface appearances. That's how I usually vote and also why I try to make the poll pics purely of the characters "in character." The Gallery is where I sometimes feature more flattering pictures of the actresses "out of character."

Posted by: JohnL at 09:43 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Don't let the existentialist title fool you. There is a point to all of this. Oh yes, there is. A few points, in fact.

This week's poll was inspired by Rob at the Llamabutchers (see post here), who urged a write-in campaign for pointy-eared previous poll loser Lieutenant Saavik (of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan):

Interesting idea, I thought, to run another previous "loser": the sometimes pointy-hatted Princess Ardala (of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) (who only "won" her earlier poll against Colonel Deering thanks to the machinations of a corrupt poll author):

Vote early and often (and for Ardala, of course).

Enjoy!

Results (Posted 10 May 2005):

Princess Ardala: 41 of 69 votes for 59% -- WINNER!
Lieutenant Saavik: 28 of 69 votes for 41%

Posted by: JohnL at 11:02 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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This week's poll offers a choice between two lovely, lusty lieutenants from the original Star Trek:

Lieutenant Marlena Moreau, the ruthless "Captain's woman" in the Bearded Spock universe of Mirror, Mirror (played by Barbara Luna):

And Lieutenant Marla McGivers, who fell hard for genetically-enhanced superman Khan Noonian Singh in Space Seed (portrayed by Madlyn Rhue):

Have fun, and check out the Gallery of previous winners.

Results (Posted 3 May 2005):

Lt. Marlena Moreau - 44 of 68 votes for 65% -- WINNER!
Lt. Marla McGivers - 24 of 68 votes for 35%

Posted by: JohnL at 10:30 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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This week's poll visits a classic semi-SF movie from 30 years ago, The Stepford Wives. Watching this movie with my wife, we couldn't help commenting on how ugly the mid-70s were. However, our candidates this week are anything but ugly:

First up is Katharine Ross, playing the housewife/photographer Joanne Eberhart, who misses the sounds of the big city and discovers the deadly secret of Stepford Village too late:

Next up is Texan Paula Prentiss, who portrays the outspoken Bobbie Markowe ("upwardly mobile for Markowitz"):

Finally, everyone's favorite castaway Tina Louise plays the frustrated housewife Charmaine Wimperis:

Enjoy!

Results (posted 26 April 2005):

Joanne 21 of 58 votes for 36%
Bobbie 12 of 58 votes for 21%
Charmaine 25 of 58 votes for 43% -- WINNER!

Posted by: JohnL at 11:10 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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For this week's poll, there's no real unifying theme, just a small selection from the many lovely ladies who appeared in the original Star Trek.

I know there are many, many worthy candidates, so if you don't see your favorite, name her in the comments. But please review earlier polls and the Winners' Gallery before criticizing me for the presence or absence of some candidate or another. The fields of Star Trek are fertile, and we will eventually take the many poll finalists and pit them against one another in a "Sweet 16"-style tournament. Without further ado:

From A Private Little War, the sexy but deceitful healer Nona (portrayed by Nancy Kovack):

From The Omega Glory, the Yang warrior Sirah (portrayed by Irene Kelly):

And from The Paradise Syndrome, Captain Kirk's only wife, Miramanee (played by Sabrina Scharf):

(All pre-cropped images courtesy of AllYourTrekAreBelongTo.us)

Results (Posted 19 April 2005):

Nona 21 of 71 votes for 30%
Sirah 38 of 71 votes for 53% -- WINNER
Miramanee 12 of 71 votes for 17%

Posted by: JohnL at 11:23 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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This week's poll continues to highlight some of the lesser-known SF actresses who have starred in more obscure SF series -- in this case, Farscape.

Claudia Black portrays Aeryn Sun, a tough former soldier of the Peacekeeper corps:

Tammy McIntosh plays the part of Joolushko Tunai Fenta Hovalis (or, more simply, "Jool"), an intelligent but fiery scientist:

Raelee Hill's character is Sikozu Svala Shanti Sugaysi Shanu, a member of the Kalish species who can walk on walls and ceilings:

Finally, Gigi Edgley portrays Chiana, a sarcastic survivor:

Results (Posted 13 April 2005):

Claudia Black (as Aeryn Sun) 34 of 86 votes for 40% (WINNER)
Tammy McIntosh (as Jool) 4 of 86 votes for 5%
Raelee Hill (as Sikozu) 26 of 86 votes for 30%
Gigi Edgley (as Chiana) 22 of 86 votes for 25%

Posted by: JohnL at 09:34 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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1 I guess blue women arn't your cup of tea - PA'U ZOTOH ZHAAN (played by Virginia Hey).

Posted by: owlish at April 05, 2005 10:20 PM (sBj9U)

2 Nah, Twi'leks (in the Star Wars universe) look fine to me, so the blue has nothing to do with it. Just rank ignorance of the show on my part -- I went with the four names offered up by the commenter a couple of weeks ago. Aside: I'm gonna wait a day or two to see if anyone else volunteers for an interview before posting questions for you.

Posted by: JohnL at April 05, 2005 10:26 PM (gplif)

3 Yikes! Strike that. I just went and googled the character. I would have excluded her from the poll had I known to even consider her. Not a "babe" under even a very liberal and broad-minded definition.

Posted by: JohnL at April 05, 2005 10:28 PM (gplif)

4 Heh. So, do we have an exact definition of a babe, yet?

Posted by: owlish at April 06, 2005 12:41 AM (sBj9U)

5 Having met the actress, I've got to concurr with JohnL. As a recovering ex-Scaper, I'll add this thought: mmmm, leather. >

Posted by: Lysander at April 06, 2005 12:59 PM (ShW/G)

6 more obscure SF series -- in this case, Farscape. Heathen! Infidel! You know, of course, that Farscape has had a larger national audience than Andromeda, has had an audience close to Buffy's final few years, and has a larger international audience than SG-1?

Posted by: scottm at April 06, 2005 01:53 PM (7vGc/)

7 Scottm: Heh heh heh. Actually, I didn't know. I'm a strange sort of technophile who hasn't had cable (or satellite) TV for 10 years now, so to me these series are obscure. I'll catch up on the DVDs someday.

Posted by: JohnL at April 06, 2005 05:55 PM (gplif)

8 Except Andromeda has shown on regular TV. I think.

Posted by: owlish at April 06, 2005 11:36 PM (sBj9U)

9 You may be right, Owlish. Some obscure UHF broadcast channel in the middle of Saturday afternoon when I'm out doing yardwork or coaching soccer teams. With reruns at 2:00 AM. Someday, I'll check the DVDs out or finally break down and get cable and a TiVO to hoover up all the shows I've ever missed.

Posted by: JohnL at April 07, 2005 12:39 AM (gplif)

10 LOL Scottm, you sound like a Scaper! Though, I'm surprised that John didn't use some of the publicity photos of Ms. Black as Aeryn - leather and all >

Posted by: Lysander at April 07, 2005 08:59 AM (ShW/G)

11 Lysander, those kind of pics usually make it into the Gallery (compare the Gallery pics to the poll pics). There's a method to my madness: I try to keep the polls mostly even, with good pics of all contestants, but none obviously better than the others. Once there's a winner, though, I usually look for a really, really good pic to post in the Gallery. (Compare the Lexa Doig pic from the last poll with her Gallery shot, for example).

Posted by: JohnL at April 07, 2005 09:11 AM (Hs4rn)

12 LOL. Good point.

Posted by: Lysander at April 07, 2005 03:45 PM (ShW/G)

13 Lord, this one is *hard* to call. They're all real babes!

Posted by: Ranten.N.Raven at April 08, 2005 08:18 PM (fghYh)

14 A little late on posting this but I'll take Chiana any day! Just imagine the things she's done to D'Argo! Aeryn was cool too...until she got too skinny.

Posted by: Princess Cat at April 13, 2005 03:23 PM (K10IP)

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