SciFiPulse Radio

For this episode, we do something a little different and host a discussion with up-and-coming UK-based writer Dave Hartley. Based in Manchester, England. Dave Hartley is a writer of science fiction and fantasy stories and fairly recently published his latest story called 'Pigskin', which is somewhat of a modern take on George Orwell's 'Animal Farm'.Dave's Works and InterestsAs well as discussing his Phd, Dave Hartley also discussed some of his works of fiction. Some of the focus was on one of his most recent releases, "Pigskin", a dark, twisted fable about the horrors of industrial farming. It's available from the wonderful Fly on the Wall Press, which has published many other science fiction works, and other speculative fiction. Dave's very much a writer who draws on what he believes in. For example, he's an enthusiastic and dedicated animal rights activist. But we chose to stick with what we know most about, and further explore depictions of autism within the world of science fiction, within books and also in film and TV, too.Autism Within Science FictionDave's favourite film is the fantastic Blade Runner (1982), from the wonderful Ridley Scott. His theses focuses on how it may well be a narrative concerning autism. Consequently, we considered other characters that might also be codified representations of autism. The obvious ones included Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Data (Brent Spiner), from the Star Trek franchise. But there were other interesting characters too, that emerged during the conversation. But we don't want to tell you everything we discussed, you can listen for yourself. If you've some of your own favourite representations, then by all means leave us a comment and let us know what you think.You can keep up with up and coming releases by Dave Hartley on his website and blog. His latest collection, "Incorcisms" is out now. If you're interested in autistic representation, Dave runs Autism Through Cinema, his ongoing podcast series freely accessible on his site.

Welcome to a very special edition of SFP-NOW on SciFi-Pulse Radio. In this episode, we are joined by special guest John Walsh who is a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy. An acclaimed filmmaker and writer as well as a Trustee of the Ray Harryhausen Foundation, which preserves and displays the work of the legendary special effects artist and filmmaker. In the episode. John takes us through his early career and how he found friendship with the late filmmaker who created memorable monsters such as Medusa and the Kraken from the original 'Clash of The Titans' and many more. He also talks in-depth about many of the things that can be found in his book 'Harryhausen: The Lost Movies', which I highly recommend to fans of genre film and television. As it gives insight into the many things that Ray Harryhausen would have liked to do. But never got to due to budgetary reasons. John also discusses the incredible journey that he went on. When putting together his Flash Gordon book 'Flash Gordon: The Official Story of the Film'. Which is an incredible story to listen to and well worth the time in the telling. In short. When John wrote the book and it came time to look for images from the film. He learned at the last minute that the studio didn't save anything. So he had to source images and production stills from the fan community and some of the people that worked behind the scenes on the film. Added to all of this great stuff. John also previews his new book, which is due out in September, which is called 'Escape From New York: The Official Story of the Film'. So if you enjoy retro movies and appreciate classic genre entertainment. Tune into this episode because we cover a hell of a lot of stuff.You learn more about John Walsh and his work at johnwalshfilmmaker.com

We're back and this month Ian and Ben have a proper chat about the Marvel shows as well as DC and Pennyworth. We start the show by discussing our excitement about 'Falcon and Winter Soldier and how it explores the post 'Avengers Endgame' world by introducing a new villain who put us in mind of a psycho orphan Annie. But is she really all that bad?We also discuss the release of a new Graphic Novel called Adler. Which is the League of Extraordinary Women and kind of explores what happens in turn of the century England when someone from one of the English Colonies begins to fight back for her people. And finally for fun. We discuss the new Disney + Mighty Ducks series and try to figure out a way to justify talking about it on a podcast, which is supposed to be about sci-fi and comics. So please tune in. Chill out and laugh along with us as we shoot from the hip. Also you can now follow us on Spotify. Look for SciFiPulseRadio