(0) TODAY’S TITLE INSPIRATION. Daniel says he found retroactive inspiration in the fact that the group Them which performed “G-L-O-R-I-A” included Van Morrison.

(1) WEIRD NATURE. “The author has no problem embracing the inscrutable and uncanny; it’s what fuels his fiction” says Publishers Weekly: “Jeff VanderMeer Journeys into the Unknown”.

…The fantastical petri dish of Area X springs largely from VanderMeer’s experiences with nature and wild spaces. His parents were Peace Corps volunteers in Fiji when he was a boy. “It was pretty much what you’d expect from a tropical paradise,” he says. He would marvel at the eels and frogs at the local botanical gardens, and his father, an entomologist, would take him out to see the rhinoceros beetles on the region’s outer islands. He learned at an early age to experience a certain awe of the natural world. But he also suffered from serious asthma attacks and allergies.

“There was this weird contrast between things being so beautiful and also sometimes feeling very physically miserable,” he says. “That was a juxtaposition that I think comes through in the work, where you have really beautiful things, and then things that are disturbing or unsettling at the same time.”…

(2) GOOD OMENS SCUTTLEBUTT. Social media outlets are echoing this basic story today: “According to various sources but still pending official confirmation, the last instalment of Good Omens could take the form of a TV movie….” at Good Omens News on Instagram.

The Sun took the same scanty information and turned it into this headline – “Huge TV show with two A-list Hollywood star lead ‘axed’ after creator is ‘cancelled’ over scandal” – however, in the body of the article it also said the project may be converted to a TV movie.

Behind a paywall, UK Production News has posted this information:

(3) TEN DEEP CUTS. At Bluesky, Bobby Derie of Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein shares “Ten facts about Lovecraft that might need more explanation.” Thread starts here

The first item is:

1) "The Dunwich Horror" may have been inspired by a horror novel from the author of THE VELVETEEN RABBIT.deepcuts.blog/2022/04/09/t…

— Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein (@deepcuts.bsky.social) 2024-10-18T12:16:44.158Z

(4) ELLIPTICAL THOUGHTS. [Item by Steven French.] Here’s Kate Gardner’s review of Samantha Harvey’s Booker & Ursula LeGuin Prize nominated novel Orbital in Physics World: “Around the world in 16 orbits: a day in the life of the International Space Station”.

The ISS is almost a time capsule, hearkening back to the end of the Cold War. It now looks likely that Russia will pull out – or be ejected – from the mission before its projected end date of 2030.

Viewed from the ISS, no borders are visible, and the crew joke comfortably about their national differences. However, their lives are nevertheless dictated by strict and sometimes petty rules governing, for example, which toilet and which exercise equipment to use. These regulations are just one more banal reality of life on the ISS, like muscle atrophy, blocked sinuses or packing up waste to go in the next resupply craft….

…Harvey manages to convey that these details are quotidian. But she also imbues them with beauty. During one conversation in Orbital, a character sheds four tears. He and a crew mate then chase down each floating water droplet because loose liquids must be avoided. It’s a small moment that says so much with few words.

Orbital has been shortlisted for both the 2024 Booker Prize (winner to be announced on 12 November) and the 2024 Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction (the winner of which will be announced on 21 October). The recognition reflects the book’s combination of literary prose and unusual globe-spanning (indeed, beyond global) perspective. Harvey’s writing has been compared to Virginia Woolf – a comparison that is well warranted. And yet Orbital is as accessible and educational as the best of popular science. It’s a feat almost as astonishing as the existence of the ISS….

(5) NO JOKE. “Why did Joker 2 lose so much money? And how on earth did it cost so much in the first place?” The Guardian sets out to find the answers.

To quote Heath Ledger’s version of the clown prince of crime, maybe some wag should be scrawling “Why so serious?” on glass-fronted offices at Warner Bros Discovery this week, as executives there contemplate the box-office implosion of Joker: Folie à Deux. A catastrophic $37.7m opening weekend, the largest second-weekend drop for a DC film (81%), a worldwide take currently standing at a piddling $165m … how has the studio gone from the 2019 original, a billion-grosser that was then the highest earning R-rated film, to this?

If nothing else, the Joker is proving true to his reputation as an agent of chaos. But he is also the most beloved of comic-book villains from a storied franchise; a draw almost on par with Batman himself, making the disaster all the more unthinkable. With bubonic word of mouth, Joker: Folie à Deux is now projected to lose $125m-200m, depending on whose budget estimate you believe. If it’s the $300m figure being generally touted for production and marketing, then this is clearly what has hobbled the film; it would leave it needing as much as $475m to break even. Risky reinventions of hallowed pop-cultural icons are a lot more feasible on the first film’s sensible $60m budget.

… But chastising the fanbase so openly is tantamount to box office self-harm (probably why the director refused to test-screen Joker: Folie à Deux). The impunity of a $300m budget seems to have led Phillips to mistake this for an auteur film, and shooting during a period of regime change at both Warner and DC reportedly allowed him to operate with weak oversight. According to Variety, he refused to liaise with new DC heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, saying: “With all due respect to them, this is kind of a Warner Bros movie.” But he also pushed back on new Warner president David Zaslav’s suggestions for lowering the budget, including moving the shoot to London rather than Los Angeles….

(6) DON’T CHANGE THAT CHANNEL. The 2026 Worldcon has a mascot: “Introducing Fuzzy: The LAcon V Channel Island Fox Mascot”.

The Channel Island fox is pure California: an animal unique to the coastal islands in the southern part of the state, whose habitat, once threatened to the point of extinction, is now thriving due to conservation. Fuzzy, the playful Channel Island fox depicted at right, exemplifies the spirit of California and joins us on our expedition to LAcon V in 2026 as our official convention mascot.

Artist Teddy Harvia has captured Fuzzy’s likeness so elegantly, yet so playfully, through many illustrations yet to be revealed by LAcon V. Fuzzy will join us throughout the next two years on all our adventures, all hand-drawn by Teddy.

Fuzzy has been named in honor of our friend and colleague, Marilyn “Fuzzy Pink” Niven, a long-time participant in Southern California and American science fiction fandom and the wife of celebrated author Larry Niven. Fuzzy Pink Niven passed away in December 2023, leaving behind a legacy of friendship and service to fandom that can never be replaced. We could think of no greater tribute to her than to bring her spirit along with us on our adventure, and we are very grateful to Larry for his blessing….

(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAY.

[Written by John Hertz, Laura Molesworth and Mike Glyer.]

Born October 18, 1924 — Voltaire Molesworth. (Died 1964.) Vol Molesworth was an Australian fan historian and small press publisher. In 1939 he co-founded the Futurian Society of Sydney – which suffered endless keruffles, like so many fan groups — and started the fanzine Luna. The next year he also published Cosmos.

Being a diabetic, Vol (as he was known) was ineligible for service in World War II but during these years he gained his wide experience in all aspects of journalism. He also wrote fiction. By the time he was 20 Vol had written a number of short novels published in paperback, the most widely known being his science fiction novel The Stratosphere Patrol.

He led a revival of the Sydney Futurians in 1947, becoming one of the leading Australian fans in the 1950s. He played a major role in the three Australian Natcons held in Sydney during the ’50s. He founded and operated the Futurian Press.

Molesworth wrote A History of Australian Science Fiction Fandom 1935-1963 and the earlier An Outline History of Australian Fandom I.

Outside of fandom, he was a mathematician and amateur radio operator and managed the University of New South Wales’ radio station. He was married to Laura Molesworth.

(8) MEMORY LANE.

[Written by Cat Eldridge.]

Anniversary — Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars (2005)

Once upon a time, a beloved SF series got cancelled, and yes there is absolutely nothing unusual in that happening, it happens more often than it should. What is extremely unusual is that it got a second chance to have a proper ending in the Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, seventeen years ago. 

So let’s tell the tale of how that happened. Farscape arrived here twenty-three ago when Deep Space Nine was just wrapping up and Voyager was well into its seven-year-run. It started fine and ratings were strong until the fourth season and that, combined with regime change here in the States on who was picking up the tab for the two million dollars per episode led an abrupt end. 

Fans being fans weren’t going to let things end that way, nor should we. (Yes, I loved the show. Deeply, unreservedly. I think it was one of the best series ever made, if not the best.) A massive campaign was undertaken with of course emails, letters, phone calls, and phone calls pleading with the network to reverse the cancellation. 

Even Bill Amend who created the Fox Trot series had his Jason Fox character direct his ire at SciFi and demand that they change their mind.

Well, they did, sort of. A fifth season didn’t happen after all. What did happen in some ways I think was even better though I know that isn’t a popular opinion among those who wanted a full season. 

What we got was the two episode, one hundred-and eighty-minute Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars which I thought splendidly wrapped things up. Every single storyline that wasn’t dealt with during the series was during this film.

SPOLER ALERT HERE.

We got a baby too. Yes, our Peacekeeper gives birth in a fountain in the middle of a firefight, insists she’s married while in labor, carries her baby unscathed through a battle. I assume that the baby was a puppet from the Henson labs. It was terribly cute.

END OF SPOILERS

I’ve watched it at least a half dozen times, probably more, in the last fifteen years. The Suck Fairy in her steel toed boots is obviously scared of those Aussie actors (and the non-Aussie one as well) as she slinks away to harass someone else. 

Just looked at Rotten Tomatoes — not at all surprisingly, it carries a ninety-two percent rating among audience reviewers there. It’s streaming at Amazon Prime and Peacock. .

(9) COMICS SECTION.

• Off the Mark offers some old celebrity head shots.
• Bizarro says in another reality this guy is delusional.
• Mother Goose and Grimm has a super problem.

(10) ANOTHER STAN LEE CAMEO. “DOT announces limited sale of commemorative ‘Stan Lee Way’ street signs to honor Bronx-born comic book legend” reports the Bronx Times.

The New York City Department of Transportation announced it is selling a limited number of “Stan Lee Way” commemorative street signs through the Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ CityStore. The master comic book writer grew up in the Bronx, attending DeWitt Clinton High School.

“A cultural icon, Stan Lee, has gifted the world with stories that captivate, inspire, and make us believe in the heart of a hero,” said NYC DCAS Commissioner Louis A. Molina. “With this sign release, you have a chance to gift yourself or the superhero in your life a piece of history.”

In 2021, the city co-named a portion of University Avenue between Brandt Place and West 176th Street where he lived, “Stan Lee Way”. The Bronx native revolutionized the comic book world by developing complex characters with relatable flaws and layered plot lines.

(11) BIRD WORDS. The Hollywood Reporter is there when “The Penguin’s Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti Tease Episode 5 at NYCC”.

The Penguin star and executive producer Colin Farrell was joined on Thursday at New York Comic Con for a mid-season discussion by showrunner and fellow EP Lauren LeFranc, as well as co-stars Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Deirdre O’Connell, Michael Kelly, and Clancy Brown, where they debuted two sneak peaks for the crowd for episode five, before going in-depth on what’s motivating the characters.

In the first clip, Oz (Farrell) and Victor (Feliz) share a sentimental moment where they discuss their relationship loyalty, while Oz’s car burns in the background. “It’s you and me now, kid until the end,” Oz says, before he and his henchman make a surprise visit to rough up Sal’s (Brown) son, before paying him and his wife a visit in prison to set up an exchange… 

(12) MILLIE BOBBY BROWN SFF. “’The Electric State’ trailer is all Millie Bobby Brown and robots in an alternate sci-fi ’90s” – Mashable sets the scene.

Robots are in exile and Millie Bobby Brown is on the road to revenge in Netflix’s star-studded sci-fi adventure, set in the apparently “retro” ’90s (fml).

Based on Simon Stålenhag’s graphic novel and directed by the MCU’s Anthony and Joe Russo, The Electric State sees Brown in the lead as Michelle, a teen without a family who meets a robot called Cosmo. But surprise, Cosmo is controlled by a human — her long lost brother no less! He’s across the country somewhere, and there’s sinister circumstances afoot, so Michelle and Cosmo hit the road to find him….

[Thanks to John King Tarpinian, Chris Barkley, Cat Eldridge, SF Concatenation’s Jonathan Cowie, Steven French, Kathy Sullivan, Teddy Harvia, Mike Kennedy, and Andrew Porter for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to File 770 contributing editor of the day Daniel Dern.]