(1) BE SEEING YOU. The trailer for the next season of Doctor Who was released at San Diego Comic-Con International today. As a YouTube commenter concluded, “The end was literally BBC saying to us: Any questions? No? See you soon.”
Radio Times adds details showrunner Chris Chibnall shared during that SDCC virtual panel: “Doctor Who series 13 to be serialised connected story”.
…However, it looks like the next series of Doctor Who will be particularly unusual for the “modern” (aka post-2005) era of the show, with showrunner Chris Chibnall revealing during a virtual panel that the upcoming season 13 (starring Jodie Whittaker, Mandip Gill and John Bishop, above) would be a single serialised story rather than the usual collection of self-contained episodes.
“The big thing we’re going to be doing this year is that it’s all one story – so every episode is a chapter in a bigger story,” Chibnall said during Doctor Who’s Comic-Con@Home panel. “And so we’ve changed the shape of the series for this year.
“It’s very much not a business as usual time,” he added, explaining the role that coronavirus restrictions had made on the decision.
“And I think the challenges of getting the show up and running.. […] there were two ways we could go. You could go ‘we’re just going to do lots and lots of tiny episodes in one room with no monsters. Or we can throw down the gauntlet and say we’re gonna do the biggest story we’ve ever done, and we’re going to go to all kind of different places, and have all different characters and monsters, and it’s all gonna be part of a bigger whole.
“I think it’s definitely the most ambitious thing we’ve done…it’s epic and ambitious and we do go to a lot of places.”
Notably, this serialisation ties into the casting of newly-announced series star Jacob Anderson, who is set to play a character called Vinder across a number of episodes and whose presence across the series hints at more shared elements between episodes than fans might be used to….
And here’s the full video of the panel:
(2) CHUCK TINGLE UPDATE. Chuck’s Twitter account is still out of commission. Here’s the update he gave to his Facebook readers.
(3) THE AI AFTERLIFE. “What Should Happen to Our Data When We Die?” asks the New York Times, raising the issue of posthumous privacy.
The new Anthony Bourdain documentary, “Roadrunner,” is one of many projects dedicated to the larger-than-life chef, writer and television personality. But the film has drawn outsize attention, in part because of its subtle reliance on artificial intelligence technology.
Using several hours of Mr. Bourdain’s voice recordings, a software company created 45 seconds of new audio for the documentary. The A.I. voice sounds just like Mr. Bourdain speaking from the great beyond; at one point in the movie, it reads an email he sent before his death by suicide in 2018.
“If you watch the film, other than that line you mentioned, you probably don’t know what the other lines are that were spoken by the A.I., and you’re not going to know,” Morgan Neville, the director, said in an interview with The New Yorker. “We can have a documentary-ethics panel about it later.”
The time for that panel may be now. The dead are being digitally resurrected with growing frequency: as 2-D projections, 3-D holograms, C.G.I. renderings and A.I. chat bots….
(4) CHUTZPAH. Miguel Esteban’s memoir “Octavia Butler and the Pimply, Pompous Publisher” in the Los Angeles Review of Books reminds me of me trying to corral material from pros for my first fanzine earlier in the same decade – excluding offering to pay for it, of course.
…In 1979, when I was 14, I was determined to publish a biweekly, 24-page magazine of and about science fiction entitled Transmission. I commissioned Octavia, who was 32, to write an essay. (I do not believe I ever told her my age.) On July 28 of that year, I had heard her speak at the Fantasy Faire convention in Pasadena, California, where she participated in a panel debating the topic “How Science Fiction Handles Social Change.” [1] Pasadena was Octavia’s hometown.
… On August 3, 1979, I spoke and then wrote to Octavia, inviting her to contribute a 3,000-word essay to the inaugural (and ultimately only) issue of Transmission Magazine….
I offered her $50, which she accepted on the condition that she retain the copyright and the right to resell the essay three months after publication. “Since I am the only black woman writing sf, I have a feeling I’ll be needing this article again,” she explained.
At the end of the month, Octavia sent me her first draft, titled “Lost Races of Science Fiction.” We spoke over the phone, following which this cocky, 14-year-old editor sent his comments to an established and revered writer….
(5) LET’S BUNGLE IN THE JUNGLE. “’It’s Like a Joy Bomb!’ Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson Open Up About New Disney Jungle Cruise Movie” in Parade Magazine.
Who would fare better in a jungle, Dwayne Johnson or Emily Blunt? “I’d like to think I would be OK,” Johnson says, then points his finger at Blunt, his co-star in the new action-packed summer movie Jungle Cruise. “You would struggle.”
But the actress is not having it. “You would be lost without your lip balm!” she says. “And you wouldn’t have your soap. He’s the cleanest human being alive. He needs to shower about five times a day.” Blunt slams down her hand and looks at their interviewer. “Now, what else do you want to know?”…
(6) MEDIA BIRTHDAY.
- 1953 – Sixty- eight years ago on this date, Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, a Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck as space hero Duck Dodgers, premiered before films playing in the United States. This cartoon was the first of many appearances of the Duck Dodgers character including the Duck Dodgers series on the Cartoon Network. Porky Pig is here as a space cadet as is Marvin the Martian who first appeared very briefly in Haredevil Hare, a 1948 cartoon. It was directed by Charles M. Jones from a story by Michael Maltese and produced by Edward Selzer though he’s uncredited in the cartoon.
George Lucas wanted it be shown before Star Wars during its initial run in theaters but couldn’t get the rights. At Noreascon 4, it was nominated for a Retro Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation — Short Form though The War of the Worlds (1953; Paramount) would win. Bits of the cartoon are on YouTube but the entire cartoon is not. You can purchase it on iTunes in a twofer with another Daffy cartoon, “The Scarlet Pumpernickel” for a buck ninety nine. Yeah I bought it. (And don’t get started me on the rabbit hole of watching Warner Brothers cartoons!)
(7) TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS.
[Compiled by Cat Eldridge.]
- Born July 25, 1907 — Cyril Luckham. He played the White Guardian first in the Fourth Doctor story, “The Ribos Opperation”, part one and than twice more in the two part Fifth Doctor story, “Enlightment”. He was also Dr. Moe in the Fifties pulp film Stranger from Venus, and also showed up in The Omega Factor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Tales of The Unexpected. (Died 1989.)
- Born July 25, 1910 — Kendell Foster Crossen. He was the creator and writer of the Green Lama stories. He was a Buddhist crime fighter whose powers were activated upon the recitation of the Tibetan chant om mani padme hum. He also wrote Manning Draco series, an intergalactic insurance investigator, four of which are can be found in Once Upon a Star: A Novel of the Future. Kindle has a really deep catalog of his genre work, and the Green Lama stories have been made into audio works as well. (Died 1981.)
- Born July 25, 1922 — Evelyn E. Smith. She has the delightful bio of being a writer of sf and mysteries, as well as a compiler of crossword puzzles. During the 1950s, she published both short stories and novelettes in Galaxy Science Fiction, Fantastic Universe and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Her SF novels include The Perfect Planet and The Copy Shop. A look at the usual suspects shows a two story collections but none of her novels. Interestingly there are myriad stories by her offered up separately for sale. (Died 2000.)
- Born July 25, 1948 — Brian Stableford, 73. I am reasonably sure that I’ve read and enjoyed all of the Hooded Swan series a long time ago which I see has since been collected as Swan Songs: The Complete Hooded Swan Collection. And I’ve certainly read a fair amount of his short fiction down the years. He has but one English language Award, a BSFA for Best Short Fiction for “The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires” though he has a lot of nominations. The Hooded Swan series is available as separate novels from the usual suspects for two dollars and ninety-nine cents each.
- Born July 25, 1969 — D.B Woodside, 52. He has a recurring role as Principal Robin Wood on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, mostly in season seven. Later he’s Amenadiel on Lucifer. He has one-offs in Prey which I’ve never heard of and Numb3rs.
- Born July 25, 1971 — Chloë Annett, 50. She played Holly Turner in the Crime Traveller series and Kristine Kochanski in the Red Dwarf series. She was in the “Klingons vs. Vulcans” episode of the Space Cadets sort of game show.
- Born July 25, 1973 — Mur Lafferty, 48. Podcaster and writer. Co-editor of the Escape Pod podcast with Divya Breed, her second time around. She is also the host and creator of the podcast I Should Be Writing which won a Parsec Award for Best Writing Podcast.. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Escape Artists short fiction magazine Mothership Zeta. And then there’s the Ditch Diggers podcast she started with Matt Wallace which is suppose to show the brutal, honest side of writing. For that, It won the Hugo Award for Best Fancast at Worldcon 76, having been a finalist the year before. Fiction wise, I loved both The Shambling Guide to New York City and A Ghost Train to New Orleans with I think the second being a better novel.
- Born July 25, 1979 — Bryan Cogman, 42. He wrote eleven episodes of The Game of Thrones. He also acted in it, that being a cameo in “The Lion and The Rose” episode as a Dragonstone waiter. He would share a Hugo at Chicon 7 for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form for Game of Thrones, Season One. He’s writer and producer of the forthcoming The Sword in The Stone series on Disney+. He’s also a write and consulting producer for the forthcoming The Lord of The Rings on Amazon’s streaming service.
(8) COMICS SECTION.
- Ziggy’s solves a problem and creates a neighborhood attraction.
(9) SLOUCHING TOWARD THE ISS. “Russian Module Headed for the ISS Is Still Having Problems” – Gizmodo has the details.
Russia’s newly launched International Space Station module Nauka is still in the fight as of Friday afternoon, as early reports indicate that the module’s backup engines have fired successfully. That’s a big relief for Roscosmos, which nearly saw its long-awaited module become a tragic piece of space trivia instead of the newest piece of the International Space Station. But it’s not out of the woods yet.
The first glitch in Nauka’s journey happened yesterday, when the spacecraft didn’t complete its first orbit-raising burn. This meant that the uncrewed Nauka wasn’t on track to actually intercept the ISS, which it’s scheduled to dock with on Thursday, July 29. The problem was attributed to a software issue in a computer aboard Nauka, which prevented the spacecraft’s main engines from firing. Nauka’s team was able to manage a remote course correction, but a second bout of course corrections were deemed necessary, and scheduled for today. One early report from journalist Anatoly Zak indicated that one of the spacecraft’s engines sputtered back to life in a mission. The “backup engine seems to have fired fine,” said Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, in an email today, though he added that the status of the engines was not yet certain and it would likely be a few hours before a new dataset from Nauka verified the situation.
The thrusters are just one piece of the engineering puzzle, so the new module is hardly home free….
(10) CLOUDY, WITH A CHANCE OF HOMICIDE. Mashable introduces the trailer for a new animated series: “’Blade Runner: Black Lotus’ trailer: Adult Swim and Crunchyroll team up”.
A new trailer for the team-up between the Cartoon Network offshoot and anime streamer Crunchyroll serves us a first look at this CG take on the sci-fi dystopia dreamed up by filmmaker Ridley Scott. The 13-episode series stars, on the English-language side, Jessica Henwick (Netflix Marvel’s Colleen Wing) as a female replicant with a mysterious backstory and purpose.
(11) JOE DANTE RETROSPECTIVE. [Item by Martin Morse Wooster.] In “Joe Dante’s Battle With Hollywood,” the Royal Ocean Film Society looks at the career of Joe Dante through three films: Looney Tunes: Back In Action, which Dante says took up a year and a half of his life and was micromanaged to death; Explorers, which has its moments but is essentially a rough draft, and Gremlins 2: A New Batch, which is a crazy film that has Leonard Maltin killed on screen for writing a bad review and Robert Picardo marrying a gremlin!
(12) RARITIES. YouTube’s “The Auction Professor” calls these the “Top 20 Most Valuable Vintage Paperbacks”. Editions of Richard Bachman? Check. Something published by Vargo Statten – what? I didn’t know anybody outside of fanzines had ever heard of Vargo! As for the Star Wars and nonfiction books about Dune, I’m sorry to say I’ve never owned any of them! (If I own it, it’s not rare, predictably.) Don’t miss the “bonus” commentary following the credits.
[Thanks to Martin Morse Wooster, JJ, Michael Toman, Will R., John King Tarpinian, Cat Eldridge Mike Kennedy, and Andrew Porter for some of these stories. Title credit belongs to contributing editor of the day Jim Janney.]
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First!
(6) MEDIA BIRTHDAY. I’m going to confess that the Warner Brothers cartoons are the equivalent of dark chocolate for me — irresistible and too damn easy to consume in far too large an amount. This one in particular I’ve watched way too many times.
2) I suppose it’s possible Instagram and TikTok actually paid money to or otherwise contracted with Sony to make this music available to their users. And indeed I can find a November 2020 press release from TikTok about one such deal. The very presence of such a deal implies that other social media sites might not share this availability.
6) I have some of these Looney Tunes cartoons on Blu-Ray, including all of the Duck Dodgers ones, and re-watch from time to time.
What do you know, it disintegrated.
(6) I remember watching it with maybe as many as six other people, projected on the kitchen wall at the LASFS clubhouse on Burbank Blvd – there was maybe four feet between the projector and the wall, so they really weren’t many people who could see it. I want to watch it again (and again).
Where’s the earthshattering KABOOM?
P J Evans says I remember watching it with maybe as many as six other people, projected on the kitchen wall at the LASFS clubhouse on Burbank Blvd – there was maybe four feet between the projector and the wall, so they really weren’t many people who could see it. I want to watch it again (and again).
Where’s the earthshattering KABOOM?
Well the earthshattering KABOOM is there. (I just checked.) I watched it three times while writing up that Media Birthday. And I’m sure I’ll watch it again soon. Second most watched Warner Brothers cartoon? “Hillbilly Hare”.
(7) So Evelyn E. Smith composed crossword puzzles. That explains “Baxbr/Daxbr” (Time to Come, April 1954) where the alien trying to contact someone on Earth to inform the people that destruction is in the offing and they can be evacuated by the aliens can only reach a crossword puzzle fan who is more interested by the fact that the alien’s name can be crossed with the “X’ in “Nixon”.
6) B-B-Big Deal..
Nah, Duck Dodgers is great. Mind, I saw Duck Dodgers before the 1980 tv series, so I only retrospectively figured out Duck Dodgers was a play on Buck Rogers..
Joseph T Major says So Evelyn E. Smith composed crossword puzzles. That explains “Baxbr/Daxbr” (Time to Come, April 1954) where the alien trying to contact someone on Earth to inform the people that destruction is in the offing and they can be evacuated by the aliens can only reach a crossword puzzle fan who is more interested by the fact that the alien’s name can be crossed with the “X’ in “Nixon”.
Unfortunately “BAXBR/DAXBR” isn’t available anywhere as I discovered just now when I looked to purchase a copy to read. Every publication it has appeared in has been out of print for a very long time.
Paul Weimer says B-B-Big Deal..
Nah, Duck Dodgers is great. Mind, I saw Duck Dodgers before the 1980 tv series, so I only retrospectively figured out Duck Dodgers was a play on Buck Rogers..
I as well. And I’ll confess that I only sporadically watched Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century as I never really got into the story as it struck me always when I watched it as just too damn cute. And I don’t do cute.
(6) “George Lucas requested that it be shown before Star Wars during its initial run in theaters and it was.”
I don’t recall this, and I saw Star Wars probably 6 times during its initial run (all different theaters, the first being Loew’s Astor Plaza in Manhattan during Memorial Day weekend 1977). Maybe it was a west coast-only thing. (And how did Fox get Warner Bros.’ OK to do so?)
On the other hand, wasn’t this the cartoon briefly seen on a TV in Richard Dreyfuss’ home in Close Encounters later that same year?
gottacook: Among other sources, Mark Hamill says Lucas wanted to do that but it didn’t happen — see this tweet. So good point.
@gottacook: I saw Star Wars in the theaters something like four times that summer, and I don’t recall the cartoon preceding it either.
Mike Glyer says Among other sources, Mark Hamill says Lucas wanted to do that but it didn’t happen — see this tweet. So good point.
Oh well another urban legend shot down. It sounded plausible. And it’s been repeated often.
The second time I saw Star Wars it was in Vancouver on Canada Day and the film was preceded by a patriotic clip with the Canadian flag waving in the breeze and everything. No flag-waving Martians at all.
7) The first Hooded Swan book languishes unread on my tablet, but I did enjoy his Architects of Emortality (not a typo) books.
Thanks for the title credit!
I have an old Dell paperback copy of Evelyn E. Smith’s Unpopular Planet sitting on my shelf, and no recollection of what it’s about.
@ gottacook:
I believe a short snipper of Duck Dodgers featured in Babylon 5, so it would not surprise me if it’s also shown up elsewhere.
IIRC, ir is Mr. Garibaldi demonstrating beloved things to Delenn, who is quite mystified by the whole thing.
(2) cannot help wondering: had every person that played Dr Tingle’s video steamed the song on Spotify and so paid a royalty, how much would Sony have earned from it?
I strongly suspect that I’ve enough spare change in my pocket to compensate them.
@NickPheas
I strongly suspect the point is not compensation, the point is punishment.
@oon Lee
For sure. But punishment should be proportionate.
3:
In James Taylor’s song “The Frozen Man”, he writes
“It took a lot of money to start my heart
To peg my leg and to buy my eye
The newspapers call me State of the art…”
“…See here, when I die make sure I’m gone
Don’t leave ’em nothing to work on”
Looks like not leaving anything to work on may no longer be possible.
@ Cat Eldridge
Best SF Four has that story. Multple copies can be had for not too much on ABE
6)
Well, the whole thing was available on youtube before they perfected their algorithm, in the Napster before times.
Got it, along with what I believe are downloads of every single Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes cartoon with an SF bent from the era of “real” cartoons; including some Betty Boops and one-offs from Fleischer. I’d rewatch them now, but can’t get to the box with the PC cables in it…yet.
@ cat sorry, I was trying to recapitulate the ending of the duck dodgers bit with planet x. That’s the lat line of it…
I do have a soft spot for Marvin the Martian
steve davidson says Best SF Four has that story. Multple copies can be had for not too much on ABE
Yeah that I noticed that but I was looking for a quick digital copy to read. I found that at the Internet Archive in the form of the archived F&SF issue that included it. Neat story.
Now listening to Seanan Mcquire’s Angel of the Overpass
Paul Weimer says cat sorry, I was trying to recapitulate the ending of the duck dodgers bit with planet x. That’s the lat line of it…
I do have a soft spot for Marvin the Martian
Well I wasn’t sure so I has to go look which of course was a pleasure as it meant I got to replay the cartoon. And I too have a soft spot for Marvin the Martian who should’ve gotten his own series.
@Ingvar: Yes, as I recall, Garibaldi was a big fan of Daffy (an avatar of rage).
Clickity
@Andrew oh yeah, Zack and its either Vir or Lennier ( I forget which!) discuss a picture of Daffy in that context.
It’s “Midnight on the Firing Line” in which Garibaldi convinces Delenn to come back to his quarters with him, where they eat popcorn and watch Duck Dodgers cartoons, although the comedy of them is quite lost on her.
@Cat but if he did get his own series, when would he have time to destroy the Earth and make his observations of Venus? 🙂
Paul Weimer say Cat but if he did get his own series, when would he have time to destroy the Earth and make his observations of Venus?
Very good question. But what a delightful series it would’ve have been had it been made in the era of Chuck Jones and company. Hmmm…. I wonder if there was a Marvin the Martian action figure done. Why there was!
@Cat I have a Marvin plushie from long since back.
Oh and it looks like a new Funko Pop of him is coming indeed. Let me get one myself.
Paul Weimer says Cat I have a Marvin plushie from long since back.
Oh and it looks like a new Funko Pop of him is coming indeed. Let me get one myself.
Yeah I saw that one. If you do a search over on eBay as I just did, you’ll find an amazing assortment of plushies, action figures, ornaments, rings (yes, rings) and even a wrist watch. I’m certainly going to get a representation of him but I’m not certain yet which one.
@Paul Weimer:
It’s G’Kar and he’s not actually talking to Garibaldi at the moment, but he and Zack Allen (Garibaldi’s second and later successor) looking for something in Garibaldi’s quarters. This is the relevant dialogue:
G’Kar:
I was studying this image. Is it one of his household gods?
Zack Allan:
[chuckles] That’s Daf- Yeah, well, in a way I suppose it is. It’s sort of the Egyptian god of frustration.
G’Kar:
Most appropriate!
@Lenora
Ack, swing and a miss on my part. Thank you 🙂
Heh. I think I might hold a record for most viewings of the first-run Star Wars movie…except that I was a concession booth worker in a dilapidated old theater by the University of Oregon that it was booked into. Other theater workers probably match or exceed the number of times I watched/was exposed to the movie (no doors, just curtains between the snack bar and the theater).
I think I could still listen to the soundtrack and tell you what was happening on screen, however.
Meredith moment: Pat Murphy’s most excellent The City, Not Long After is available from the usual suspects for a buck ninety nine. It was nominated for a Arthur C. Clarke Award.
(12) That Richard Bachman book is the one King refuses to be reprinted (the school shooting one). I’m not surprised that a first of it is valuable.
But I was surprised to see the Ace Tolkiens on the list. They aren’t that rare.
Jon Meltzer says But I was surprised to see the Ace Tolkiens on the list. They aren’t that rare.
Are we talking about the authorised editions? If so, they’re worth quite a lot these days if they’re in good condition. A copy of The Fellowship of The Ring currently fetches at least two hundred dollars if it’s in near good condition. Copies in near mint condition approach a thousand dollars. So I’d say rare or not, they’re valuable. And no, I’m not getting into the debate that these are asking prices, not selling prices.
Now listening to Charles de Lint’s Someplace to Be Flying
@Cat
He was talking about the 1965 unauthorized editions. IIRC, the authorized ones are Ballantine. (I watched the whole thing. I think I remember seeing some of those books, but I don’t think I have any of them.)
I remember the old Ballentine editions used to have a message on the back, proclaiming that these were the authorized editions, and that courtesy to the author should move you to buy them, rather than those nasty unauthorized Ace editions.
Thus the parody book Bored of the Rings had the message “This paperback edition, and no other, has been published solely for the purpose of making a few fast bucks. Those who approve of courtesy to a certain author will not touch this gobbler with a ten-foot battle-lance.”
(My paperback copies of Lord of the Rings have been read often, and replaced at least once since then, while Bored of the Rings is almost pristine.)
P J Evans says He was talking about the 1965 unauthorized editions. IIRC, the authorized ones are Ballantine. (I watched the whole thing. I think I remember seeing some of those books, but I don’t think I have any of them.)
My bad. I meant those editions. (Never try to do three things at once. Two, yes; three, no.) I remember those editions — they were gaudy.
Huh. I would have guessed that the unauthorized Ace editions were a lot more rare. When I was young, pretty much everyone I knew had the authorized Ballantine editions, and the used bookstores were full of them, but I only ever once saw the Ace editions.
Count me as another who has seen Duck Dodgers a lot more than Buck Rogers.
(birthdays) I only vaguely remember DB Woodside from Buffy, but his role in Lucifer is great. And I’m not just saying that because he’s totally hot, though that doesn’t hurt! 🙂 I think his character arc is probably one of the best in the show, and gives him plenty of opportunity to show off his acting chops.
That show (Lucifer) is quite underrated, IMO. Yes, it bears little resemblance to the original comics it is supposedly based on, but they have so much fun exploring the story they did come up with that I don’t mind at all. (Though I admit I’m also excited to see how Gwedoline Christie handles playing a more true-to-the-comic version of Lucifer in the upcoming Sandman adaptation.)
Xtifr says Count me as another who has seen Duck Dodgers a lot more than Buck Rogers.
Well they are short form stories so they lend themselves to be watched repeatedly. Whereas an hour long show like Buck Rogers in the 25th Century has to damn good (or really, really bad) if I’m going to watch it more than once. As I said previously, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was neither terribly good nor terribly bad, so I pretty much skipped it. And it also suffered from a surfeit of cuteness from Buck himself to that damn robot.
(12) If you go to ebay’s “Antiquarian & Collectible Books” category, search for “paperback”, hit the “sold” filter, and sort in descending order of price, you can see where the “professor” cribbed this video from. Do it quick, before the listings expire.
This was a lazy video, with little or no background on what makes these books expensive. And there are many books not on his list which sell for more, so “Top 20” isn’t very accurate. Better lists:
link
link
link
I think I got my Ace Tolkiens at a library sale for fifty cents each. That was thirty years ago, though.
I’m not surprised that a Ballantine first edition and printing – in mint condition – would be worth money. Those books were always read, and reread, and reread.
If I have seen Duck Dodgers, I don’t remember it (I almost certainly have seen it at some time). Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is something I never watched. On the other hand, I do have fond memories of seeing the original Buster Crabbe serial on TV in the school holidays.