Wondering why 205 was delayed a week? It was preempted by Sean’s beautiful new daughter! This week: We chat about ’50s stereotypes and awesomely-wacko AI in 2001. In the final round of the fantasy sci-fi challenge we tackle the ultimate challenge: fighting our own team — written onto super-hot Dollhouse actives. And we run down the week in geek, including NASA’s important announcements, a possible Dune director’s not-so-important announcements, what happens when Rocky Horror Picture Show trips and sticks its chocolate in Avatar’s peanut butter, and the fact that Chuck has never had occasion to crossdress. (Doh!)
Only to the first words part, but my grandfather is convinced that my first words were “Up yours”
And based on how colorful his personality is, I bet his were.
My younger son’s first action out of the womb was to pee on the doctor. Then he cried, but to me it sounded more like a laugh! 
You guys didn’t mention any of the forum solutions to last week’s problem.
Good show otherwise.
@Starsaber Oops. Our bad. We were on kinda a tight schedule and just blew it with that. The good news, though: We’re going to do a championship ceremony next week, so we can fix it then. 
Grats again on the baby!
1.0 Baby making? Not going there…
Ok. Now, we have the Poop Report. (:
Lol. Ipod Touch.
Lol. Poor Chuck gonna get emails and made fun of for mistaking February for January. I’ll let it slide though since I gave him crap about Christopher Lloyd. (:
Could Enver portray Bender? He did Topher better than Topher sometimes.
Okay, point to Audra for saying Sy Snoodle has a muppet and CGI counterparts. Well, played there.
Point taken away from Audra about splitting Aragorn because Dollhouse tech doesn’t work like that. It can kill you as per Ballard, but not split you like a transporter malfunction. d:
I don’t even know who Peekaboo(sic?) is…
Point to Sean for riddng the world of Fran Drescher. d: I’m only kidding… I don’t wish harm to her.
I have to say, Sean. I’ve always penalized you for Teamwork because Conan always screwed up. I penalized Carter too on the date night scenario. But, you’ve had this in mind the whole time didn’t you? d:
Poor Chuck. I regret teasing him about Christopher Lloyd now. Sorry Chuck!
Grats on the baby yet again!
I’m mostly enjoying Mass Effect 2. The Bypass interface is killing me more so than people shooting. And, I’ve never been real good at shoot em ups. I’m playing as Sentinel for armor and powers and not having to aim as much.
Finally…
Can you guys make fantasy cards for the duplicate teams? (:
Another thing… That caller who didn’t know the day reminds me of the story where Chuck and/or Sean would help late calling drunk people back to their hotels. Did you call him back to make sure “Bob” was ok? (:
Fastcart, I give you the 411 on Picabo Street.
http://www.realwomeninsports.com/street.php
I know nothing about skiing but her name is fun to say. Team Sean definitely gets my vote for Entertainment value this week, between Picabo and Hollywood Squares and Conan’s Breakfast Club salute.
Ack, I’m still one movie behind but now I’ll know what to look for when Netflix finally ships 2001 to me. Just like I was prepared for the “foamy boobs” and the hero doctor’s really bad driving in Invasion of the Body Snatchers thanks to the 'cast.
Wow, one month till the Meet-up? On one hand, yay for fun times with fellow GWCers. On the other hand, boo for turning a year older that same week. But I think there’ll be a few others in the birthday boat with me.
Thanks for taking Shooter Jr’s call! He laughed at Chuck’s armadillo’s sound. We are both looking forward to the TV Show catchup cast next week. Are you guys taking recommendations on which shows to talk about?
~Shooter out
Congrats again to Sean. I’m sure Mickey has a special destiny ahead of her.
I’m only half way through the 'cast but want to add some 2001 points:
Regarding the dialogue, I imagine it was all done intentionally on Kubrick’s part. The staid conversational tone did seem appropriate for both the corporate and spaceflight environments even for today. Maybe its loosened up a bit (particularly in the corporate world), but I imagine it’s modern movies that depicts those environments in a much more relaxed fashion to make them more comfortable to the viewing audience. If you listen astronauts today doing their job, they are pretty dry and matter-of-fact in their conversational tone. I suspect it’s all part of the same realism that Kubrick was depicting with respect to the living and working in space.
Good points about early tool use. In fact, back in the 1960’s it was a quite popular theory that tool use was first evolved to make weapons. It was called the osteodontokeratic culture first proposed by Raymond Dart, the grandfather of modern paleoanthropology who discovered the first early hominid in Africa. However, throughout the 60’s and 70’s it became clear that chimpanzees also use tools for feeding and not fighting and that all the animal bones, teeth, and horns found near early human fossils indicated not at the hominids used them as weapons, but that the hominids themselves some of the carcasses accumulated by carnivores.
I also found this cool Flash site that provides one interpretation of the meaning of 2001. I haven’t read the book in years so I can’t remember how this interpretation jives with it.
So far another great cast. I’m diving back in…
Edit: One other point on the watchability of 2001. It was insanely popular in its time and still ranks at 124 for adjusted gross receipts according to Box Office Mojo.
I liked 2001 - but I can totally see why some would not. It does drag in spots…and the silence in space thing…that could be annoying. But to me, this was a really good sci-fi movie.
BTW, if n one has seen “Moon” with Sam Rockwell yet…see it. The AI in that movie has to be HALs cousin or something. Really great movie as well.
And to show my vast maturity on my birthday - I shall openly admit - everytime you guys said “tool” in the cast 9which was a lot), … heh heh heh, you guys said “tool” hehe heh heh
Question for Chuck or any of the other NASA experts here, regarding private sector space travel. Hasn’t NASA already been essentially sub-contracting a lot of the building and designing to other companies? I know Grumman, (now Northup Grumman) worked on the Lunar Module on Long Island near where I live. Lockheed Martin has an entire space division. How is what is being proposed now any different? Is it a question of building vs. designing?
Thank you!!
Yes, Yes I have.
I hadn’t thought about it but I could
Just wanted to take the time to give a big congrats to Team Sean on their latest addition! The husband and I just found out we are expecting our first child last week and have another seven months before our own little geek is weclomed into the world. Its both nerve wracking and exciting simultaneously. Having said that we, of the James-Ohaji family, extend to yours our love, our prayers and our hopes for a propsperous future.
congrats!!
Hey Sean, Congrats on the new arrival from “Pookaburra” land.
Just think of the cool things she’s going to see & do…
- A privately owned / operated Mars exploration and development company
- AFFORDABLE orbital flights
- It’s very likely she’ll be of the generation to hear from extraterrestrials for the first time.
- When she’s old enough to play video games we’ll be up to…Mass Effect 9!
- Then again, it won’t be a video game as we know it: probably some sort of neural interface.
Sigh…now I is getting depressed. The future sounds like so much fun…
gaf.
Thank you! I mean, I have had practice with my step-daughter, so the concept isnt totally foreign to me. But Daisie’s five, babies are totally different and books only tell you so much. But I cant wait for all the firsts. First time watching Buffy, first episode of Dr. Who, first time playing WOW, first convention, etc. I mean, I have started to get Daisie interest in sci-fi, much to her mother’s dismay. Everyone is having babies, its just so wonderful. 2010 will definately be the year of the geek babies.
Buffys great - good Whedon stuff. That and Firefly. Enjoy!
Loved the podcast! 2001 holds an important place in my heart. It was the first movie I ever saw and it was my father’s introduction to me into sci-fi. One of the things I noticed about classic sci-fi is that for all its inovations, their visions of the future are yet limited by their own environments and social standards. Its one of the reasons why to truly enjoy these films is to not dwell so much on the details but the overall theme of the film itself.
Great Podcast, guys. Really loved it this week.
My father, who is no longer with us, unfortunately, got to see this movie when it first came out (possibly even at the Cinerama theater they had in Pittsburgh at the time.), and he was one of the few who just immediately got the film, and embraced it, which he did shortly afterward with Clockwork Orange, and the rest of Kubrick’s work.
It’s definitely not a film I watch all the time, but I still appreciate 2001’s ambitious, if sometimes overwhelming qualities, and the standards it set for future sci-fi filmmaking.
I’m also glad you mentioned 2010, because people are so quick to brush that one off as a crappy cash-in sequel from the 80’s. True, the presence of The Soviet Union dates the film a little, but overall, 2010 is still a fascinating, and very competently made film, from a different kind of filmmaker than Kubrick.
It was never meant to be greater than 2001, and it works well as a stand-alone film, with a very satisfying end, in my view.