THE ROBOT REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN

First it was the automotive workers, now the actors are on the verge of being replaced by automation.





...and the singers and the dancers too, apparently...





I just hope they're Three Laws Safe!


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

NIGHTMARE AT 37,000 WORDS

So one of the drawbacks of being two personalities in one body is the intense time management issues. Personality A (M. D. Jackson) an artist, has a handful of commissions on his plate. Most of them are paying gigs but some of them aren't but have to be done for one reason or another.

Personality B (Jack Mackenzie) meanwhile, is a writer and he has to produce 37,000 words in the next little while. While the deadlines aren't strict, that's still a lot of verbiage to produce. It also has to be cogent, clear and, hopefully exciting.

So this leaves very little time for personality C (your humble blogger) to write all the nifty posts that he wants or to leave all the smartass comments that he'd like to on his friend's blogs. So the second part of my post about "fun" SF shows where I highlight the television series FARSCAPE will just have to wait until some of this stuff gets cleared out.

So if it seems like I'm ignoring you all, I'm not. I'm just trying not to end up like this guy:

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

ALL ALONE IN THE NIGHT

You know, I really believe that science fiction should be fun.

I recently wrote a post about the cancellation of SyFy's Caprica. I think part of the reason why Caprica got cancelled was the fact that the show was just no fun.

Fun is one aspect of science fiction on tv or in the movies that i really like. A series can be serious and bleak, like Syfy's Battlestar Galactica, but it can still have its fun aspects. Fanboys (and fangirls) can still get excited about cylon vs. cylon fights and how many vipers engaged how many cylon raiders, or even quieter character moments where a subtle look changes everything, as long as the show as a whole is entertaining and rewarding.

A show that I thought was a tremendous amount of fun to watch was BABYLON 5.

BABYLON 5 was conceived and, for the most part, written by one man, J. Michael Straczynski. He envisioned a science fiction epic for television - a story arc that would take five season to tell properly. It was old-fashioned space opera set in a huge galaxy filled with alien races in conflict, humans, telepaths and fleets of FTL capable ships, yet told in a way that would be entertaining television. What Straczynski wanted was a show that would do for Science Fiction what Hill Street Blues had done for Cop shows.

Babylon 5 was a game changer in many ways. Aside from the five year story arc, it was the show that introduced CGI effects to the world. Ron Thornton, whose company Foundation Imaging had earlier worked on crude computer graphics for a show called Captain Power had made a breakthrough in imaging, losing the "computery" feel that most computer graphics had at the time. Looking back now the effects for Babylon 5 are crude, especially in comparison to the effects on Battlestar Galactica or Stargate Universe, but, honestly, neither of those shows have dared to depict the scope and grandeur that Babylon 5 achieved back in 1994.

The excitement and the Sense of Wonder and, above all, the fun of science fiction that used to be redolent in the science fiction pulps up until the 60's, was all there. The show was saturated with it.

It wasn't perfect. The production values were not as high as other shows (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Seaquest), the performances were not exactly Emmy quality and the writing was uneven -- sometimes absolutely brilliant and sometimes downright clunky.

But there were moment when it all came together beautifully. Never more so than with the story arc of one of the characters, Londo Molarri, played by Peter Jurassik. Londo was an ambassador to Babylon 5 for the Centauri, a race that closely resembled human beings but with several distinctive differences. The Centauri were once a great race whose time had come and gone. At the start of the series Londo is a drunken, gambling middle aged functionary dreaming of the glory days of a fading empire. As the series progresses, though, Londo gets an opportunity to help his people regain their place in the univrse. In the process, though, Londo makes some very bad choices, including declaring war on a rival civilization, the Narn.

The war progresses to its inevitable conclusion, the orbit bombing of the Narn homeworld. There is a moment about halfway through the series where Londo watches in absolute horror from a ship in orbit as it hurls bombs to the surface, all but wiping out the Narn race.



It is moment like that which make Babylon 5 a series that is worth sitting through. There are many others which mean little to a casual viewer but have tremendous impact for those who watched the show from the beginning to the end.

Although not as flashy, well-written or well acted as other shows, (not to mention being regularly maligned by Dr. Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory) Babylon 5 avoided cancellation for five seasons (a notable accomplishment in the world of SF TV) and it can be held up as an example of a show that was, as its creator intended: "good science fiction as well as good television."

The series is availabe on DVD as are several made for TV movies, although there are a few of those that really should be avoided, particularly one called LEGENDS OF THE RANGERS... don't go there.



I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

"I'M THE KIND THAT PAYS BETTER..."

Look what I found at my local library. I had to pick it up. It's not a thick book by any means. I'm about halfway through it and so far it reads like an episode of CASTLE.

Although the book is so far very entertaining, the prose is not exactly riveting. Richard Castle is certainly no Robert B. Parker, although, as you can see from the photo on the back cover, he really is ruggedly handsome, isn't he?

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

EVERY DAY IS LIKE SUNDAY

Morrissey - Every Day Is Like Sunday
Uploaded by jpdc11. - Watch more music videos, in HD!

Back in the 1980's Morrissey could do no wrong... or so he thought. Then he left his band, The Smiths and tried a solo career. As one rock journalist put it, Morrissey went from Godhead to Dickhead in the space of a year.

Still, this song is one of my favourites. It captures that feeling of existential angst that we make fun of these days. My daughter loves this song as well. She actually caught the reference to Neville Shute's novel ON THE BEACH which went over most people's heads.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

DRACULA LIVES!

Hey! Cruise on over to Joshua Reynold's blog and check out the first chapter of his novel DRACULA LIVES! Cover looks great, doesn't it? Wonder who did the artwork? ;) ;).

Then head on over to the Pulpwork Press website and buy a copy because it is a fabulous book!

Tell 'em M.D. sent ya.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

WUNDER BABE

This is the third piece in my series of twisted super heroine costumes. As I've said before the idea is a prostitute trying her luck at a comic-con event. This one looks like she has found a paying client.

Corel Painter X. Five hours.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SYFY CANCELS CAPRICA

Colour me unsurprised. And vindicated.

CAPRICA, for those who do not know, is the prequel series to SYFY's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. BSG ran for four seasons and garnered a decent sized audience and a very enthusiastic fan base. Caprica has garnered neither. Despite being well reviewed by the critics, Caprica has not had the same kind of response from viewers as BSG did. And there is a good reason for that.

Ronald D. Moore, the executive producer of BSG and Caprica stated that the original reason for doing the prequel series was to try to expand the show's audience. In other words what he wanted to do was to appeal to an audience other than science fiction fans. So he wanted to keep his core audience nut also gain a wider audience of people who may have been "put off" from watching Battlestar Galactica because of the name or the spaceships or the killer robots.

"Caprica however leans heavier on the kitchen sink drama than any sci-fi show ever." explained a web story at the time the series debuted. "This makes Caprica a much different animal, but from an entry point this is something beyond sci-fi and as a result a wider audience will be able to enjoy Caprica." Something "beyond" sci-fi? Yeah. Right.

This stated intention corresponded with the Sci-fi channel re-branding itself as Syfy and trying to broaden its appeal beyond the core audience. Or, as one headline put it: "Sci Fi Channel Aims to Shed Geeky Image With New Name". To further ad salt to the wound Tim Brooks, one of the founders of the sci-fi channel went on record with: “The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular.”

Way to alienate your core audience. And to seriously misjudge and mischaracterize a growing female science fiction audience.

Of course the whole thing was wrongheaded from the beginning and Caprica's dwindling audience and recent cancellation only serves to underscore that fact. Most fans of science fiction television tune in to these shows specifically for the spaceships and robots and rayguns. When you make the mistake of thinking that your material is somehow "better" than the genre and try to scrub it clean of all that "silly sci-fi" stuff... well, then in my view you have made a major misjudgement.

This is one of my "hot-button topics" and it will usually get me on a rant where I will rail against authors like Margaret Atwood or Cormac MaCarthy who do not understand science fiction but feel that they can single handedly "save" the genre, pulling it out of the gutter and transforming it into something wonderful and literary, when all they end up doing is diluting it, repackaging it and missing the point along the way. Don't get me started.

This is the arrogant mistake that Ronald D. Moore made. That seems pretty obvious now with Caprica's cancellation and the fact that Syfy has given the greenlight to another Battlestar Galactica series: Adama: Blood and Chrome, which is set during the Cylon-Human war. Spaceships. Killer Robots. Ray guns. And they're going ahead without Ronald D. Moore.

But that's what happens when you consider yourself to be better than your audience and say so in public.



I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

POLAR

Here is a piece of interior art for Encounters #4. It illustrates a story called POLAR.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

SWIMMING WITH SHARKS

I figure it's okay to post this now that the book has come out. Here is the cover art for Encounters #4. It illustrates the issue's feature story Swimming With Sharks.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and DISCUSSION

My daughter went to see PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 last night. She enjoyed it for the goofy horror movie that it was and as I drove her home from the theater she asked me: "What would you do if you had to deal with someone who was possessed by demons?"

I immediately answered "I would contact the Reverend Sean Manchester." 

My daughter nodded sagely at this response because she knows very well that The traditionalist Right Reverend Seán Manchester, the Bishop of Glastonbury (bishop in the Old Catholic Church, not the Roman Catholic or Anglican Church) is an author, exorcist and demonologist. Bishop Manchester gained fame when he headed up the investigation into a string of bizarre happenings which plagued Highgate Cemetery beginning in 1967 and ending in 1982.

My daughter agreed that would be a good idea. When we got home we asked my wife what she would do. My wife rolled her eyes and said "Can we please, for once, talk about something that makes sense?"

We said no more about the subject except to agree that my wife would probably kick the demon's ass.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

ENCOUNTERS #4

The PDF edition of this magazine has just been released. I know the thumbnail is small but guess who did the artwork for the cover? You guessed it! I also did all the interior illustrations. The stories are really good especially "I Regret That I Must Eat You" by Tom Barlowe.

Pick up a copy if you can. It's well worth it. You can find out more about it here.


Or just check out this preview:

Open publication - Free publishing - More fantasy

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio