And We Have A New Doctor

Ncuti Gatwa finally appeared as The Doctor in the 3rd David Tennant special for 2023. We didn’t get to see much of him (which is typical for a transition) but he brought energy and excitement to the role.

I’m looking forward to watching his run as The Doctor but I have to say I do so reluctantly. The problem for me is this Timeless Child arc that Chris Chibnall injected into the Doctor’s backstory. I hate it.

Tolkien Estate Slaps Down Infringement Scheme

I’m reminded of the old Gauntlet arcade game, where the announcer says “I’ve never seen such bravery!” every now and then while you’re fighting goblins.

I received an interesting press release this morning. Demetrius Polychron has failed to prevail in a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Who is Demetrius Polychron? Yeah…I had to ask that, too. I apparently missed the announcement back in June about the Tolkien Estate filing this infringement lawsuit.

The short version of this Middle-earth tale is that Demetrius (perhaps that’s a pen name? I don’t know) wrote an unauthorized sequel to The Lord of the Rings. Okay, that’s nothing new.

SciFi Fans In the Fediverse

While nearly all eyes are focused on Meta’s Threads platform, Automattic has quietly exploded into the fediverse, the vast network of federated (connected via interactive protocols) Websites that is gradually becoming the social media sphere of choice for millions of people. And that includes a large group of science fiction and fantasy fans around the world.

Most people think of Mastodon, a network of Twitter-like social media sites that operate in many ways like traditional Web forums. But the fediverse includes many other types of sites that replicate the experiences people have on major platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and more.

Exploring the Fascinating Worlds of Cdramas

Every major film and television center in the world supports the science fiction and fantasy genres. As an American viewer I grew up on “homegrown SF”, with occasional imports from the BBC like Doctor Who and Blake’s 7. Of course, British film and TV is quite productive but there’s so much more out there. Today’s streaming audiences have fallen in love with Kdramas (Korean) and Cdramas (Chinese) with historical, science fiction, or fantasy settings.

A generic Xanxia poster.

There’s more to love about Asian film and TV than just the C- and K-dramas. But I’ve been watching mostly Chinese dramas for the past few years when I’ve grown weary of old American reruns.

I like Cdramas from the historical, romance, fantasy genres with occasional influences from the Xanxia (immortals) and Wuxia (heroes) genres. What I mean is I don’t mind if the lead characters fly through the air a bit and defeat a dozen or so valiant foes, but I don’t want the whole show to be about that. Well, mostly. It comes down to the production values for a show or movie. If I feel like it was made more for children than adults, then I tend to pass. I need realistic sets, lots of people, minimal CGI, and good acting. An engaging and compelling story helps, too.

SF Fandom Forums Mobile Friendly

Better late than never, as they say.

Earlier this year we upgraded the SF-Fandom Forums to be mobile-friendly. Now our friends and visitors can browse the latest forum discussions on their smartphones, although we still recommend using a tablet, laptop, or PC.

Visit https://forums.sf-fandom.com/

Visitors can browse 24 public forums with discussions and posts going back many years. You don’t have to register just to read the discussions but free registration is required if you want to leave a comment.

We do moderate the forums for spam but published authors and active film-makers are encouraged to drop by and tell us about their projects. (Tip: You get more attention if you come back to answer questions people leave on your posts.)

SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 when the old Xenite.Org Web forums were moved to their own domain. SF-Fandom is part of the Xenite.Org network of science fiction and fantasy Websites.

Changes at Xenite.Org

Two major changes have rolled out at Xenite.Org this month. First, we’ve brought an old domain, Tolkien-Studies.com, home to a new subdomain on Xenite. Second, we’ve added a new Hot Zone section to the Middle-earth Blog.

Tolkien Studies on the Web Has Moved

Many years ago we launched Tolkien Studies on the Web to help document which universities were teaching classes about J.R.R. Tolkien’s fiction. But the task became monumental and the site has languished for many years.

Low Cost Streaming Options for Science Fiction Fans

Scifi fans should not have to give up everything when the household income drops. Here are ways to keep watching shows and movies.

Over the past 13 years, millions of American families have struggled to make ends meet. Even though economists generally agree that the U.S. economy began picking up steam in 2015, the years 2015-2019 were no better for 10s of millions of American workers than the years 2009-2014. The people who benefited the most from economic growth were wealthier families.

There are several reasons why about half of American workers didn’t benefit from the “good years” after the Great Recession. First, millions of people turned to the Gig Economy for income. They had no other viable options. But Gig jobs are not designed to make the gig workers rich. They pay just enough to keep people working to make the Gig company owners rich. That sucks, but that’s the capitalism most Americans love.

New Look for SF-Worlds

SF-Worlds.Com enters 2021 with a new look and new content.

SF-Worlds.Com is the second oldest domain in the Xenite.Org network of fan sites. When we moved the original Xenite forums to their own domain in 2001, we discussed whether SF-Worlds.Com should be the new forum home. We decided to give the forums a fresh start on a new domain, and the rest is history.

Through the years I’ve experimented with different ideas for SF-Worlds. Most of its content consists of articles I wrote for for specific science fiction or fantasy worlds – articles that didn’t really fit in well on Xenite.Org or SF-Fandom. But it would be many years before I added a blog to SF-Worlds.

SF-Fandom Is About to Turn 20 Years Old

What SF-Fandom’s home page blog looks like as of December 2020 and January 2021.

March 3, 2021 is approaching. It’s a special day for us because it’s the 20th anniversary of the launch of the SF-Fandom forums. The forums began on Xenite.Org, which I launched in March 1997. Xenite is still going strong today, nearly 24 years later. But I’m proud to say that SF-Fandom is doing very well, too.

What makes SF-Fandom special to me is that it’s a community of dedicated science fiction and fantasy fans. It’s a moderated community, in fact. We don’t allow flame wars. People don’t attack each other when they disagree. Our moderation team is very democratic, too. If I as the forum owner do something the other moderators disagree with, I bow to their wisdom.

SF Fandom Forums Have Moved

We have changed the location of the SF-Fandom Science Fiction and Fantasy Forums. The move was necessary so that we could upgrade our software to be more secure. And I’ve been wanting to separate the forums from the old blog for a long time. Putting the forums on their own subdomain simplifies a lot of things.

The new URL for the forums is:

https://forums.sf-fandom.com/