Friday 6 February 2009

Search for the sci-fi gene - update

The following quotes from the blogosphere and elsewhere suggest I am not alone in thinking that the ability to enjoy more or less anything sci-fi might be genetic. Follow the links for full articles and quotes:

Well, when I was 1 year old, the original Star Trek was new. I'm told that my father used to put me in my playpen and have me watch original Star Trek when it was new in 1966. It's for this reason that I'm convinced that I'm a Sci-Fi geek. Particularly of Star Trek and other TV Sci-Fi. Well, it appears my daughter is the same way. Check out this video. It's my daughter dancing in her playpen to the theme song for Doctor Who. The Sci-Fi gene has been passed on, it seems. :)

The Sci-Fi Gene Carries On, Joe Spiegel, May 2006

The Sci Fi Gene (or Help! That Dingo Got My Wall.E)
Mysteries like: ... why does science fiction leave some folks cold, while the rest of us, well, we others just can't get enough of sci fi. As to the latter question: I suppose that it's genetic perhaps ... And thus to those of who have the correct gene, Wall.E's character/ personhood is so DANG APPEALING!

The Sci Fi Gene (or Help! That Dingo Got My Wall.E), True Margrit, July 2008

"Battlestar Galactica's" return on Jan. 16 is a cause for rejoicing, and not just because it provides a couple of million geeks a more compelling excuse than usual to stay home Friday nights. (As someone who carries the sci-fi gene, these are my peeps, so it's OK for me to dog them a little.)

Battlestar and Lost: The Power of Setting an End Date, Brian Lowry, Jan 2009

He [Phil DeGueres, Twilight Zone producer] had that sci-fi gene, not only in his willingness to explore ideas and imagine a different world—he also liked to shake things up. To my knowledge, he was the first writer-producer to use computers in a major way, not just in formatting and writing scripts, but for preproduction scheduling, budgeting and other tiresome administrative tasks.

A Death In The Family, Michael Cassutt

I missed V the first time around, but I watched on Joost before they had their big (and awful) overhaul to a Flash-based site. I would make the excuse that I was too young for it (I was about 7 or 8), but somehow I managed to see things like Poltergeist in that same time period. Maybe my sci fi gene hadn't kicked in yet?

V Original Series Creator Not Happy about Re-boot, Lee (comment on Angry Puppy), Oct 2008

For those of you who lack the sci-fi gene. I’m sure you all have friends who are nerds, geeks, spaced-out, fantasy, and sci-fi nuts. i09 (strung out on science fiction), has put together a little holiday gift guide for the 10 major species of science fiction fans.

i09 Sci-fi Gift Guide, blog I am your father, Dec 2008

Would you say The Chosen One narrative express itself better or more frequently in Science Fiction and Fantasy than in other genres?

I don’t know about that. Perhaps not. The little girl in The Little Princess, is a Chosen One, and there’s no hint of Sci Fi in that. I think it’s not something that is specific to Sci Fi, just something that *when it is present*, helps readers feel pulled into the story even if they don’t possess the Sci Fi gene.

Interview with Firefly scriptwriter Jane Espenson, N.E.Lilly, spacewesterns, 2007

So, it was interfacing with the real world that got you interested in all this stuff, not -- I was going to ask you, did you read a lot of science fiction?

No. We have a theory that there's a science fiction gene, that you either have it or you don't, and for some reason I didn't get that gene.

Interview with Ken Goldberg, Conversations with History, UC Berkeley, Aug 2005

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