The Real History of Science Fiction (2014)

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Siskoid
The Real History of Science Fiction isn't aptly titled. It's a 4-episode BBC series, each chapter discussing a trope or theme (robots, space travel, aliens, time travel) innate to science fiction, but through television and film, very seldom through its actual literary roots. It's a chance to hear various TV and movie stars talk about the premises of what they were in (with lots of clips), but books and authors, while present, get short shrift indeed. Even then, the "history" is never chronological (robots starts with Terminator, for example), and sometimes narrator Mark Gatiss strays off the main topic (what's Metropolis and Blade Runner doing in the time travel episode, for example? especially since they were covered under robots). One to half-listen to while cooking and eating dinner, but a real disappointment awaits actual fans of the genre with this surface treatment of it. 7 years 10 months ago