Sci-Fi Happy Hour

Ep.029 Guest Actor Writer Aarti Hari Chopra, Dune, Conspiracy Theories, History, We’re All Just Humans, Writing the Scene: The Most Emotionally Edible Feast

Episode 029. Preamble. (01:11) Introducing Actor Writer Aarti Hari Chopra (04:08) Dune and the way people see themselves in stories, (16:20) AI Coming for Artists Jobs, Propaganda, and the power of celebrities, (29:13) Obelisks, Discussion on History, we’re all just humans, and Who is running the world? (51:39) Writing the Scene: The Most Emotionally Edible Feast. Aarti plays the part of Aubrey, a dog owner about to prepare a Thanksgiving Dinner when she is abducted by Aliens from space planning to prepare a meal of their own. (53:37) Aubrey chooses (A2) to help the Aliens with their cooking skills. (55:33) Aubrey chooses (B3) to consult the Aliens on what to prepare for their meal. (58:23) Aubrey decides (C1) to teach the Aliens how to cook. (1:04:37) Aubrey wants (D2) to learn more about their world. (1:09:47) Aubrey chooses (E1) to impress the Aliens with an elaborate Thanksgiving spread. (1:16:22) Aubrey wants (F1) to convince the Aliens she must serve the meal; not be the meal. (1:21:35) Aubrey opts (G1) to craft a profound, culturally resonant meaning for the feast. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ep.028 Ted’s Moon Base Alpha Shirt, Predator: Badlands, Veterans Day, Ted Talks About Service in the USN, President Wilson’s Message on the First Armistice Day, Kwinn Talks About Service in the USMC

Episode 028. The Shutdown is about to end, Ted’s Moon Base Alpha T-shirt, and the idea to have a bare-chested booth at ComiCon. (04:47) Predator: Badlands, (35:16) Veterans Day observation, Ted talks about his service in the US Navy, (38:25) President Woodrow Wilson’s Message to America on the first Armistice Day, (42:00) Kwinn talks about his service in the US Marine Corps.

Ep.027 Movie: Mars Attacks, Netflix and Comcast Interested in Buying Warner Bros Discovery, Kwinn’s Fan Made Star Wars Movie Begins Filming

Episode 027. Preamble. (01:17) Movie: Mars Attacks. (20:34) Netflix and Comcast Interested in Buying Warner Bros Discovery, (27:30) Control: The Illusion of Choice. (41:04) Kwinn’s Fan Made Star Wars Movie Begins Filming.

Ep.026 Recommended Sci-Fi Movies for Halloween, 2025 PN7 Earth’s Quasi-Satellite, Star-Studded Movies are Losing Money and the Shrinking Attention Span of Audiences

Episode 026. Kwinn’s Preparation for the fan-made Star Wars film. (06:12) Recommended Sci-Fi Movies for Halloween, (28:23) 2025-PN7 Earth’s quasi-satellite. (35:22) Star-studded movies are losing money and the shrinking attention span of audiences.

Ep.025 Guest Bradley Walker, Demon Slayer, Berserk, Attack on Titan, and Sci-Fi Happy Hour Playhouse: The Challenge of Master Ted’s Dojo

Episode 025. Ted Describes a Family Wedding He Recently Attended and Introduces Bradley Walker. (03:09) Demon Slayer, (21:27) Berserk, (41:01) Attack on Titan (52:47) and Sci-Fi Happy Hour Playhouse: The Challenge of Master Ted’s Dojo.

Ep.024 Ted Talks Government Shutdown, Kwinn Shares Info About His Star Wars Fan Film, Tron: Ares, and Predator: Badlands

Episode 024. Ted talks a tad about the ongoing government shutdown and Kwinn shares a little about the Star Wars fan film he’s making. (09:27) Next, we discuss our impression of Tron: Ares, (18:33) the character of Ares, the disconnect with audience expectations, and Depeche Mode. (28:32) The story lacked something and why was Kevin Flynn so old? (40:38) We move onto the Predator: Badlands trailer, and the release date will be preceded by Predator: Prey, and the PG-13 rating. (49:26) Benjamin Wallfisch and Sarah Schachner credited for composing the score.

Ep.023 Guest Author Chris Tannhauser, Weird Fiction, Movies, Music, and Writing the Scene: Thief in Dracula's Castle

Episode 023. An introduction to author Chris Tannhauser, he describes his work and shares how he grew into writing. (07:44) Next, we read an excerpt from Chris’ piece titled ENDNOTES FROM THE NEW PHRENOLOGY, an entertaining and vivid story about wizards, and Ted analyzes MOSTLY SKIN, Chris’ alternate history of the Weinermobile. Chris explains how he sees the short story format as an experience. (26:40) Chris’ favorite movies. (32:43) Chris discusses his use of music for writing and how cooperation is the genius of our species. (47:16) Chris talks about writing tools and how the novel LIGHT is a brilliant work of science-fiction. (55:41) Writing the Scene: Thief in Dracula’s Castle where we follow Chris (as the Thief) along a “choose your adventure” story. (58:56) The Thief initially wants to hit the tavern and drink but decides to don his baby-skin slippers for Option 2. (01:01:43) The Thief surprises everyone when he whips out his baseball bat with the Pelvis of a Saint lashed to its end and goes on the attack for Option 2. (1:04:31) The Thief plants the Pelvis of a Saint as a trap for Option 3. (01:07:40) The Thief descends towards the Crypt’s Chapel for Option 2. (01:10:31) The Thief chooses to throw the doors wide open and offer the Count a business proposal. (01:14:54) The Thief goes for the grab whilst taking a big dramatic swig. (01:18:17) The Thief uses the vampire toilet for his escape for Option 2. (01:20:45) The Thief chooses to do things we don’t understand for Option 2. (01:23:17) The Thief chooses to flee into the night; his new womb for Option 2.

Ep.022 Movie trailer: Tron: Ares, AI Generated Actress, AI Cultural Icons; Role Models, and Robots Taking Jobs of Human Workers

Episode 022. Looming government shutdown. (08:28) Movie trailer: Tron: Ares. (14:28) AI generated actress Tilly Norwood. (34:29) AI cultural icons; role models. (44:40) Robots taking jobs of human workers.

Ep.021 Alien: Earth with Guest Ruben Davila, Part 6. We’re Talking Episode 8 Character Development and Plot Analysis. Synthetics Abilities, and Series Analysis. “Now We Rule,” Connections to Alien1979

Episode 021. We’re talking Episode 8 of Alien Earth, focusing on the opening scenes of Arthur’s corpse on the beach and Dame’s visit to Marcy Hermit's grave. We debate the title "The Real Monsters," questioning whether it referred to Boy Kavalier and his cohorts, the Lost Boys, the alien specimens, or all the characters acting as monsters. We analyze the scene where Dame leaves a flower at the grave. Inconsistencies with how firearms affect xenomorphs, with some bouncing off while others penetrate xenomorph armor. We discuss character development and plot progression. We analyze Wendy's character transformation, noting her growing resentment towards humans and her newfound control over technology and the xenomorph. Morrow points out to Joe he is a cyborg now since Joe has a Prodigy lung(s). (12:45) The conversation also touched on the Peter Pan theme and the significance of Wendy growing up, with Curly being representative of the character Jane from the story. We explore how the hybrids, despite being 11-12 years old, could perform complex tasks due to their hybrid nature and ability to download information quickly. The conversation also covered the strength of synthetics in the Alien franchise, noting inconsistencies in their abilities. The group analyzed fight scenes, character motivations, and plot twists, including Adam being Kavalier's synthetic and the use of the Trypanohyncha Ocellus. (28:38) Wendy chooses to play her hand wisely with her timing of unlocking the cell gate to Boy Kavalier. The character of the Hybrids. Wendy fights Adam. “Now we rule.” We discuss the show’s connection to the Alien 1979 film. Kwinn shares a theory about Ash being a Yutani effort to retrieve a xenomorph specimen at any cost, Ruben reinforces the point by citing Director’s notes. (53:04) We conclude by discussing potential storylines for future Season 2 and possibilities with xenomorph mutations. Ted states he would never watch it again.

Ep.020 Alien: Earth with Guest Ruben Davila, Part 5 of 6. Alien Earth Series Plot Analysis. Consciousness Transfer and Cloning Ethics and Brain Debate. Hybrid Children's Violent Transformation.

Episode 020. What’s with the oversized vent ducting from the lab? We analyzed the plot, character development, and inconsistencies in the story. Ted and Ruben agree Curly's character did not have a significant impact on the narrative. Ruben suggests Curly's character might be saved for a potential showdown in the next season. We also debate Wendy's motivations for releasing the xenomorph and discussed the alien's behavior in previous episodes. Xenomorph takes Joe from the eggs and webs him in the Conex box for embryo hosting. (15:57) The graveyard scene. We discuss the philosophical implications of consciousness transfer and cloning in a sci-fi context, focusing on the ambiguity of whether the transferred consciousness is a true transfer or a copy. We analyze the show's portrayal of Wendy and Nibs, considering whether their new synthetic forms contained their original consciousness or were merely copies. The conversation explores the challenges of quantifying whether a transferred consciousness is still the original person, with Kwinn and Ruben debating the technical and philosophical distinctions between transfer and copy. Kavalier’s business practices and the ethical implications of selling consciousness transfer technology. Ruben suggests copying consciousness as data into a robot is not the same as having an actual human brain in a robot, which he considers more plausible for achieving a transfer of consciousness. We debate whether consciousness resides in the brain or if it could be tied to other organs or even cells, with Kwinn mentioning Dr. Andrew Huberman's view the mind is distinct from the brain. (35:55) The dead end mention of mold scrubbers. We discuss the Pi scene in episode 7, Kavalier’s dark intentions and the scene's humor, as well as the visual representation of the sheep's excrement. We discuss the character development of Wendy and the other hybrid children, particularly focusing on their increasingly violent behavior and the transformation of Wendy into an efficient killer. We analyze the strength of the hybrids, with Ted and Ruben debating whether Tootles’ door-ripping scene demonstrated their true power or was an accident. (48:24) The conversation concludes with a discussion about the humans' treatment of the hybrids, with the group agreeing that most humans, including Kirsh, were not acting in the hybrids' best interests, while Joe Hermit emerged as a rare exception. Ted expresses dissatisfaction for the need to kill simply because they’re pointing firearms at you. None of the guards on the dock open fire at the hybrids on the boats.