Steven L. Taylor is a retired Professor of Political Science and former College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog).
Follow Steven on Twitter and/or BlueSky.
@Steven L. Taylor: Given the evergreen nature of the shows, you might consider banking them and releasing them on a given day of the week. Although I do think a weekly pace will be hard to sustain after the first dozen or so episodes.
I’ll listen to this on the way in tomorrow. I liked the Batman TV show as a kid but cold not get into the old George Reeve Superman. Conversely, I was a much bigger fan of Superman comics than Batman comics until much later. I did enjoy the Christopher Reeves Superman movies (except maybe Superman 4), whereas I thought the Michael Keaton and subsequent Batman movies deviated too far from the books.
Whatever schedule you wind up with, I think it would be a good idea to upload it the evening before, or very early in the morning, especially if it’s done automatically (I’ve no idea how this works). I assume most people listen to podcasts early on the way to work, or at the gym.
Now, a list of all the superhero and Sci-Fi comic books I’ve read:
1) A Babylon 5 graphic novel whose title escapes me*.
2) I’ll let you know when it happens.
That was quick and pointless.
*I think it involved a trial of Sinclair in minbar. I thought I was buying a novel, not a comic book. There is a novel about Sinclair in Minbar (no trial I can recall), called “To Dream in the City of Sorrows” by Kathryn Drennan.
Our current schedule is releasing new episodes early on Monday morning. We definitely appreciate all suggestions about the best time slot to publish. Many thanks!
A Harlan Ellison quote concerning, inter alia, Superman comes to mind: “If one of the unarguable criteria for literary greatness is recognition, consider this: In all of the history of literature, there are only five fictional creations known to every man, woman, and child on the planet. * * *
[E]very man, woman, and child on the planet knows Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Robin Hood… and Superman. [Superman] is more than the fanciful daydream of two Cleveland schoolboys. He is the 20th-century archetype of mankind at its finest. He is courage and humanity, steadfastness and decency, responsibility and ethic. He is our universal longing for perfection, for wisdom and power used in the service of the human race.
Of all the literary creations of American fiction, Superman, after all these years, born of a “dispensable, disreputable” genre, is the only one that seems certain to get Posterity’s nod. And that is because, simply put, he is our highest aspirations in human form.” (emphasis added)
Interesting how the popularity of each of the five – including Superman – has risen or fallen over time.
@Steven L. Taylor: Sweet. I would imagine that there are 15-20 episodes screaming to get out just given the diversity of superhero and sci-fi shows/books out there. And a debate over monster movies, since Tom seems to like them and they’re not your cup of tea. (I can take them or leave them but am closer to you than him on that score.) But episodes will naturally get more granular over time. Still, I think there’s a near-inexhaustible supply of topics.
I’ve yet to listen to the Superman ep (Duncan’s Revolutions was ahead in the cue), but the subject reminded me of Niven’s Man of Steel Woman of Kleenex
@James Joyner: We have quite a long list. First there is just hitting major properties, but several (like Batman) that clearly need more than one episode. There are a number of theme/topic-based eps I would like to do.
@Winecoff46: I remember that essay by Ellison. That’s a list that needs to be updated. I would say that many characters are now higher on the list than Tarzan (e.g., Darth Vader).
You could do an ep for every version of Batman: the 60s show, the 80s-90s movies, the 90 s animated series, the Nolan movies, the Justice League movies, the various other animated versions like Justice League, The Brave and The Bold, the Harley & Ivey Batman, etc., and you’d still have however many comic book versions there are.
The various versions of Superman I’ve seen, many overlap with the list above, vary more in setting and secondary characters. The protagonist is far more constant on all of them, even the latest My Adventures With Superman animation.
The one different version I’ve seen is a clone from centuries in the future called Superman X, who appears in animated series of the Legion of Super Heroes. Maybe also the version I saw in the adaptation of Red Son of Krypton, where Kal El lands in Ukraine rather than Kansas.
Hope you will do some of the older, classic sci-fi though many people may not be aware of them. The old HG Wells and the movies/radio shows based on them. Jules Verne and his 20,000 Leagues, etc. Hopefully you point out how so many of the older sci-fi classics are better than the modern remakes. Maybe an episode on the influence of the magazines and their influence on the development of sci-fi. Also, wonder if when you do Outer Limits and Twilight Zone if you just do an overview or devote entire episodes to one or two episodes.
For a change, it dropped just before I left home, and managed to download it before the WiFi disconnected.
@Kathy: We are hopefully going to have a regular schedule going forward.
@Steven L. Taylor: Given the evergreen nature of the shows, you might consider banking them and releasing them on a given day of the week. Although I do think a weekly pace will be hard to sustain after the first dozen or so episodes.
I’ll listen to this on the way in tomorrow. I liked the Batman TV show as a kid but cold not get into the old George Reeve Superman. Conversely, I was a much bigger fan of Superman comics than Batman comics until much later. I did enjoy the Christopher Reeves Superman movies (except maybe Superman 4), whereas I thought the Michael Keaton and subsequent Batman movies deviated too far from the books.
@Steven L. Taylor:
Whatever schedule you wind up with, I think it would be a good idea to upload it the evening before, or very early in the morning, especially if it’s done automatically (I’ve no idea how this works). I assume most people listen to podcasts early on the way to work, or at the gym.
Now, a list of all the superhero and Sci-Fi comic books I’ve read:
1) A Babylon 5 graphic novel whose title escapes me*.
2) I’ll let you know when it happens.
That was quick and pointless.
*I think it involved a trial of Sinclair in minbar. I thought I was buying a novel, not a comic book. There is a novel about Sinclair in Minbar (no trial I can recall), called “To Dream in the City of Sorrows” by Kathryn Drennan.
Our current schedule is releasing new episodes early on Monday morning. We definitely appreciate all suggestions about the best time slot to publish. Many thanks!
A Harlan Ellison quote concerning, inter alia, Superman comes to mind: “If one of the unarguable criteria for literary greatness is recognition, consider this: In all of the history of literature, there are only five fictional creations known to every man, woman, and child on the planet. * * *
[E]very man, woman, and child on the planet knows Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Robin Hood… and Superman. [Superman] is more than the fanciful daydream of two Cleveland schoolboys. He is the 20th-century archetype of mankind at its finest. He is courage and humanity, steadfastness and decency, responsibility and ethic. He is our universal longing for perfection, for wisdom and power used in the service of the human race.
Of all the literary creations of American fiction, Superman, after all these years, born of a “dispensable, disreputable” genre, is the only one that seems certain to get Posterity’s nod. And that is because, simply put, he is our highest aspirations in human form.” (emphasis added)
Interesting how the popularity of each of the five – including Superman – has risen or fallen over time.
@James Joyner: We have banked, and continue to bank, eps. And the idea is for them to come out each Monday.
We have two more in the can already.
@Steven L. Taylor: Sweet. I would imagine that there are 15-20 episodes screaming to get out just given the diversity of superhero and sci-fi shows/books out there. And a debate over monster movies, since Tom seems to like them and they’re not your cup of tea. (I can take them or leave them but am closer to you than him on that score.) But episodes will naturally get more granular over time. Still, I think there’s a near-inexhaustible supply of topics.
I’ve yet to listen to the Superman ep (Duncan’s Revolutions was ahead in the cue), but the subject reminded me of Niven’s Man of Steel Woman of Kleenex
@James Joyner: We have quite a long list. First there is just hitting major properties, but several (like Batman) that clearly need more than one episode. There are a number of theme/topic-based eps I would like to do.
@Kathy: I recall that story as well!
@Winecoff46: I remember that essay by Ellison. That’s a list that needs to be updated. I would say that many characters are now higher on the list than Tarzan (e.g., Darth Vader).
@Steven L. Taylor:
You could do an ep for every version of Batman: the 60s show, the 80s-90s movies, the 90 s animated series, the Nolan movies, the Justice League movies, the various other animated versions like Justice League, The Brave and The Bold, the Harley & Ivey Batman, etc., and you’d still have however many comic book versions there are.
The various versions of Superman I’ve seen, many overlap with the list above, vary more in setting and secondary characters. The protagonist is far more constant on all of them, even the latest My Adventures With Superman animation.
The one different version I’ve seen is a clone from centuries in the future called Superman X, who appears in animated series of the Legion of Super Heroes. Maybe also the version I saw in the adaptation of Red Son of Krypton, where Kal El lands in Ukraine rather than Kansas.
@Kathy: There is a lot of material to work with!
I just re-read Red Son, the “Elseworlds” series about a Soviet Superman. Great stuff!
Hope you will do some of the older, classic sci-fi though many people may not be aware of them. The old HG Wells and the movies/radio shows based on them. Jules Verne and his 20,000 Leagues, etc. Hopefully you point out how so many of the older sci-fi classics are better than the modern remakes. Maybe an episode on the influence of the magazines and their influence on the development of sci-fi. Also, wonder if when you do Outer Limits and Twilight Zone if you just do an overview or devote entire episodes to one or two episodes.
Steve
Steve
@steve:
I’ve a DVD of the original Fritz Lang Metropolis.
I might not have understood the whole story had I not read the book by Thea von Harbou first.
And I just can’t talk about Metropolis without Bonnie Tyler popping into my head
@Kathy: “And I just can’t talk about Metropolis without Bonnie Tyler popping into my head.”
For some of us, the entire 1984 Giorgio Moroder soundtrack – with Tyler and others – is a memorable accompaniment.