geekosystem

There're too many songs out there about love, and breaking up, and dancing. And single ladies. What there aren't enough songs about: Spaceships, aliens, interstellar exploration, time travel. But you know what? There are some. They're the brilliant, speculative anthems lurking on the airwaves, drifting in the cloud, or locked up in old vinyl. Well, you've got a right to know about some of the best.

The trailer for thew forthcoming webseries H+ looks ambitious. Not only does it aim to tell a sprawling tale of technology gone horribly awry, but it aims to do so online. Check out the intriguing, and visually stunning trailer, after the break. 

We've been seeing the official LEGO Star Wars since 1999; but what about Blade Runner? What about Tron? What about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Our prayers have been answered in the form of The Living Brick's "Mi-Fi" Contest. Take a look at these amazing LEGO versions of sci-fi scenes after the jump!

In reality, Jacob Fleisher is a successful screenwriter, but in this short video he does a great service to humanity by auditioning for every sci-fi character ever. In doing so, he also runs through just about every single sci-fi trope in the book. The only ones I think he missed would be "it turned out we were the real monsters after all," or maybe a shaggy-God type scenario. Still, a lot of fun.

So as you may be aware, NPR crowd-sourced a list of the 100 greatest sci-fi and fantasy novels. As you might also be aware, 100 novels is a lot of novels. Chances are you've read or at least heard of some of them before, but let's say you want to pick a new one, something you aren't familiar with, something that will be an exciting surprise, but more importantly, something you'll actually enjoy.

Well you don't have to choose arbitrarily based on title or cover art any more; SF Signal has created an exhaustive, infinitely useful flowchart that'll help you find the pick that's right for you. Also, it's funny, which is always a plus. Whether you're interested in diving into the annals of post-apocalyptic Catholicism thousands of years in the future or an epic fantasy series with at least ten books under its belt, this flowchart is sure to lead you to the right choice. Take a look after the jump.

This MS-Paint style comic adaptation of Orson Scott Card's landmark novel Ender's Game has it all: There's a kid, some video game thing, tragic violence, very important symbolism, and then a big twist at the end. Now, I'll admit that I have a very limited understanding of the book, but the comic actually mirrors what I know of it pretty closely. Sort of like an M. Night Shyamalan version of The Last Starfighter. Whoops, there goes my geek-cred. Anyway, if you're a fan, or just a curious bystander, read the whole comic after the break but be warned: There be spoilers ahead.

This week, we give you ten science fiction novels that have been or have been threatened with being removed and banned from libraries and schools. Some of these are among the most popular and beloved science fiction works of the last century. They've told us how bad the future might be before we get there, how free you can be if you don't follow blind belief, and that children are perfectly capable of digesting some pretty heavy concepts, actually. Have a good Banned Books Week. Read something. >>>See the list.

Last night was the series finale of FlashForward, though many people, myself included, hoped the series would be renewed for another season. Meanwhile, ABC's other sci-fi series with Lost-fan appeal, V, has been signed on to come back. At first glance, this struck me as very much the wrong move, but the Internet is full of evidence defending ABC's decision, or at least explaining it. Some of it seems founded, some not, and some of it really seems like it should be irrelevant altogether. The way I see it, this boils down to four categories:

GeekSix blogger Josh has productively used his free time to create this neat infographic of the rise and fall of sci-fi and fantasy shows on TV since 1950, as mapped out by the number of genre shows in any given year.

Our inner geeks would've loved to see every single one of these boxes filled in with the actual shows -- though that might be just a tad unwieldy, not to mention ugly -- but the continuity boxes are an especially nice touch. Long live Superman!

Full infographic after the jump:

Today, our American readers may be grumbling about tax day, but really, we may not have it so bad: Under some of the sci-fi governments we know, we'd regularly be terrorized by the mafia, shipped off to fight terrifying space bugs, and, uh, granted power solely based on how tall we were.

We've listed and ranked 10 of the worst science-fiction governments out there, considering not just infamy, but how well-represented the average grunt is. (Warning: there are spoilers in a few of our descriptions, so if you see the word "spoiler," you may want to click 'next' and move on.) Who's the worst? See the list.

This past weekend, from March 26-28, Stony Brook University hosted what is advertised as "the Northeast's largest convention of science fiction, fact and fantasy." Or, put another way, the university held one of the geekiest conventions you could shake a catgirl tail at, what con-goers already know as I-Con. And it was awesome:

Even if you're as clueless about LOST as those Newsweek staffers, you'll probably appreciate this fan-made homage, which reimagines the dark, metaphysical, frequently baffling show as a campy '60s sci-fi thriller, complete with cheesy character introductions, a surf-spy soundtrack, and, of course, "girls in bikinis."

LOST fans will bask in the knowledge that those girls in bikinis are strong and accomplished female leads, thank you very much. Also: the show's obsession with close-up shots of record players.