Episode 517: The Spectre of Potential

The Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: We’re joined by patron, friend of the show, and high school classmate of Steven and Devon: Renee! She went to Comic-Con, so we think she’s cool. Renee and Devon were in the smart class together. Turns out all of us were in the GATE program. We ask her how we can improve the podcast, but it turns out it’s already perfect. Steven and Ben went to The Ravine, a local water park, with their kids. Getting a cabana is a must. Ben has season tickets and considers using lunch time to slip away to the water park. Ben takes some time to reminisce about his departed father with a bike ride. Devon tells us about Glamping at Lake Tyler. Ben’s son Flint hates camping, it’s “the worst.” Devon is also going to stay in a tree house. Renee was traumatized by Steven’s boating/spider story from a prior episode. This concludes the camping portion of the podcast.

What We Have For You Today:

Hundreds of Beavers: Ben then brings us the black and white silent comedy movie: Hundreds of Beavers. A must-watch movie: “The second highest-rated film on Letterboxd at the halfway point of 2024 is a black-and-white silent comedy made for just $150,000.” Imagine Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, and The Legend of Zelda thrown in a blender, but even better. The movie is a #ShowYourWork dream: Here’s the behind-the-scenes of how they made it https://letterboxd.com/crew/story/how-they-made-hundreds-of-beavers-exclusive/ (lo-fi with lots and lots of After Effects), an epic list of movies that inspired the film https://letterboxd.com/100sofbeavers/list/movies-that-inspired-hundreds-of-beavers/, and an interview with the filmmaking team, who say, “We believe in small and slow” https://filmmakermagazine.com/126576-interview-mike-cheslik-ryland-brockton-cole-tews-hundreds-of-beavers/. Four people over 12 weeks can make a more interesting film than an indie trying to emulate a Hollywood look and only having 10 days.”

Ben then asks the age-old question: Godfather Part I v. The Bear Season 3? Ben watched The Godfather for the first time. Renee recommends the show The Offer about the making of The Godfather. Renee then reveals that she is not sure about the Fantastic 4 comics or movies. Steven is optimistic about the coming MCU Fantastic 4: First Steps.

House of the Dragon: We all finished this season of House of the Dragon. Devon gives us a rant about how the botched ending of Game of Thrones is even worse now given how important HOTD makes The Song of Ice and Fire. Ben didn’t fully buy Daemon’s character arc this season. Ben and Devon would like HOTD to be more removed from Game of Thrones. We still all liked the season. Renee schools us on dragons v. wyverns.

San Diego Comic Con 2024: We then interview Renee about San Diego Comic-Con. She, her daughters, and mother all dressed as Leia the last couple years. This year they went as characters from Percy Jackson and X-Men ’97. Renee previously got a pic with Mark Hamill and wants a pic with Hayden Christensen (with her family as various Leia incarnations). Renee explains how she got into cosplay and how she made some of her costumes. She liked using her daughter as a prop when she was a baby. She also makes clothes. She learned a lot by making Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor costume for her daughter. We then learn about the mechanics of the Con and off-site events. Marvel nerds will wait a long time for a panel, a long time. Artist panels are fun and don’t have as long as a wait. Renee’s daughter got to ask a question at the Percy Jackson panel. Renee recommends the off-site bar Mothership, the coolest bar ever! https://mothershiptrip.com/

The only Comic-Con Ben went to was in 1992, which was where they premiered Batman The Animated Series. Ben found some interesting videos of the 1992 San Deigo Comic-Con: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ek3-VofsGtQ&ab_channel=CBS8SanDiego https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPwQKn9ZfLI&ab_channel=retrogamer

Renee has also gone to Fan Expo and Condor. Also, The Santa Maria Inn had a come kind of Con when Renee was a kid. Ben has also been to a lot of Star Trek conventions, one with Devon. Ben and Devon also went to the Star Trek Experience in Vegas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8tEbC5JUu0&ab_channel=DannysonicPuppy

According to Steven, the new Batman show, Batman: The Caped Crusader, is a must watch. You can find it on Amazon Prime Video. It’s rated TV Y7 but it feels like it’s for adults.

You can find Renee on Instagram as @vongeekery, visit her esty store too: https://www.etsy.com/shop/VonGeekery/

Book Club: Next week: The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay