In all of our excitement about the return of Orphan Black on Saturday, let’s not forget to stay tuned afterwards for the premiere of The Real History of Science Fiction. With its exceptionally impressive list of guest appearances and its subject matter, it should be an easy winner with We Who Love Sci-Fi.
Check out the TV spot, followed by a reminder of what’s in store for us:
TV Spot: The Real History of Science Fiction
BBC AMERICA delves into the real history of science fiction with filmmakers, writers, actors and graphic artists looking back on their experiences and on how their obsession and imagination has taken them into the unknown. The new original documentary series is a BBC AMERICA and BBC Two co-production. The Real History of Science Fiction premieres Saturday, April 19, 10:00pm ET.
From Star Wars to 2001: A Space Odyssey, and from Jurassic Park to Doctor Who, each program is packed with contributors behind these creations and traces the developments of Robots, Space, Invasion and Time. Narrated by Mark Gatiss, Doctor Who writer, actor and co-creator of the BBC’s Sherlock, the series determines why science fiction is not merely a genre… for its audience it’s a portal to a multi-verse – one that is all too easy to get lost in.
Among those taking part are: William Shatner (Star Trek), Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Star Trek), Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), Richard Dreyfuss (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Chris Carter (The X-Files), Ronald D Moore (Battlestar Galactica), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London, Schlock),David Tennant (Doctor Who), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), John Carpenter (Dark Star, The Thing), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), Neil Gaiman (The Sandman, Stardust), Kim Stanley Robinson (Mars Trilogy), Scott Bakula (Quantum Leap, Star Trek: Enterprise), Ursula K Le Guin (The Left Hand of Darkness), Syd Mead (Blade Runner), Kenny Baker (Star Wars), Anthony Daniels (Star Wars),Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek), Peter Weller (Robocop), Edward James Olmos (Blade Runner, Battlestar Galactica) and many more.
On one level, sci-fi can deliver a ‘white knuckle-ride’ – jaw-dropping special effects, and thrills that have cinemagoers flying out of their seats. But also, it is possibly the only area of pop culture that engages with big ideas. Good science fiction engages audiences on a deeper level than mere spectacle; it becomes a place to discuss not just the universe and how it works – but what it means to be emotional, sentient human beings.
The Real History of Science Fiction premieres Saturday, April 19 at 10/9c on BBC America.