The A To Z Of Sff

The red-headed stepchild of the Alien franchise gets a brisk going-over from Rob and Clive. Surrealist French director meets a series that badly needed a shot in the arm. It's pretty out there. Worryingly, they find lots to like in Alien Resurrection. Have they been out in the depths of space maybe that little bit too long?   

Controversy on the Ulysses, as Rob confesses a sneaking admiration for David Fincher's bleak take on the Alien franchise. Can Clive talk him back to his senses, or does our noble astrogator have a point? One thing's for sure: this time, it's personal.

What can you say about James Cameron's classic reinvention of the Alien mythos that hasn't already been said? Well, nothing, really, but Rob and Clive will give it the ol' college try. Ripley as Final Girl? The themes of motherhood? Sure, why not, we'll give it a go. It's not Game Over quite yet...

A highly influential take on the notion of the superhero team that would arguably lead to the cinematic version of The Avengers that we know and like quite a bit. But who are The Authority, and why should we care? Rob, Clive and CycloMedia lay out the characters and story beats of a comics series that still has a lot of bite.

Rob really does not like Armageddon. Can Clive persuade him to the merits of the Bay-buster, or is this one going down like an asteroid the size of Texas? Join our intrepid pair of trivianauts and deranged AI CycloMedia as they spend some time in Bruckheimer-Space. 

The Grandmaster of Science Fiction. Not just prolific but absurdly talented, Brian Aldiss is a Great British Author in every sense of the word. Rob and Clive celebrate the man and his work: not just as writer, but editor, artist and advocate for SF in all its forms. If his work is good enough for Kubrick and Spielberg, it's good enough for us!

Time travel, skeleton warriors, heroic fantasy tropes upended and shaken till the lint drops out of their pockets... of course the film also known as Evil Dead 3 fits into our bailiwick! Join Rob, Clive and CycloMedia as they tease out what makes Army Of Darkness such a great movie for Halloween. Because when you're travelling the universe at trans-luminal speeds, it's always October 31st somewhere...

Outer space is all well and good, but all the cool kids know that inner space is where it's at. Rob and Clive take a look at the Ken Russell adaptation of Paddy Cheyefsky's Altered States, and come to the conclusion that the greatest discovery of all is the ability to love...

Who doesn't love a giant monster movie? Rob and Clive certainly do. Factor in a storming script from the mighty John Sayles, sturdy direction from Lewis Teague and a 36 foot long alligator called Ramon, and you know you're in for a treat. This one's got bite.

People have a lot of fond memories of the cult dark fantasy, starring Gary Cole as the demonic sheriff of a small South Carolina town. Does it deserve its reputation? Rob and Clive take another look at the strange tale of the people of Trinity, SC... 

Mon Dieu! Rob and Clive peek into the world of French SFF, with a nose around Les Adventures Extraordinaires de Adele Blanc-Sec. A crazy steam-punk mash-up, part Indiana Jones, part Amelie, part Tintin, with a wink to Melies. Mummies! Pterodactyls! Bringing people back from the dead! It's all in here! We apologise in advance for the 'Allo 'Allo-style dodgy French accents.

Cult classic? Unwatchable mess? Both? After a week struggling through an asteroid storm, there's no rest for Rob and Clive. CycloMedia throws them straight back into the fray, demanding an overview of a film that doesn't so much polarise opinion as tear it into little bits and throw them off a cliff. Strap in, team-mates. We're firing up the oscillation overthruster on this one.

Rob and Clive celebrate a real milestone in comics storytelling–Bryan Talbot's remarkable The Adventures Of Luther Arkwright. Prepare for some deeply, heavily biased fan-boi action. If you haven't read this one, you really should.  

The story that broke Michael Crichton is a taut, sharp and intellegant bit of science-fiction. Unless you watch the badly-misjudged TV mini-series. Settle down and enjoy Clive's epic rant on the AMAAAAZING climax that will have you looking at thumbs in a whole new way... 

Rob And Clive take a look at a neat little SF short that elegently describes one way life on earth may have come about. Science in our science-fiction? Well, maybe just a tiny bit. We can't be too educational, can we?

60s espionage-adventure doesn't get any more sparky, charming and downright fun than Adam Adamant Lives!  Join Rob and Clive as they don their cloaks, grab their sword-sticks and launch themselves into the fray in exploration of this great little dose of escapism from the golden age of Brit-TV. 

CycloMedia points Rob and Clive at a story about a supercomputer with a mysterious agenda. How very appropriate.  A For Andromeda is a classic piece of British TVSF that would be well worth your attention. If only there was a way to see it...  

A stone classic fron Rob, Clive and CycloMedia. With two different versions to choose from, what will our hapless crew make of the proto-feminist classic, Attack Of The 50 Ft Woman? Those of you with a giantess fetish, front and centre, please...  

A look at the directoral debut of Joe Cornish (sort of Ant-Man co-writer): the alien-siege hoodie-centric action-comedy Attack The Block.  This is one on which Rob and Clive have to disagree. But can they come to a conclusion that will satisfy CycloMedia?   

There's been a great deal of ant-icipation over the last part of Marvel's Phase Two output. But never mind, now we can all enjoy the ant-ics of Paul Rudd and company.  What do Rob and Clive, marooned ten billion light years from home and 600 years in the future make of it all? Does the movie match the hype, or is it all just a bit of an ant-iclimax?