[continued from previous message]   
      
   [of God], and the crew thinks it with replace Imperial Rome just   
   as it did before.  Except that Christianity did not replace Rome,   
   Rather, Imperial Rome absorbed Christianity and lasted until 1453.   
   The crew also claims there was no sun worship in Rome; this was   
   absolutely not true.   
      
   This is supposedly one of the most underrated episodes, but to me   
   it's on a level with the one with the Yangs and the Comms, except   
   that one had at least some rationale.  This has none.   
      
   Aldrete then points out that each of these reflects the concerns   
   of its time:   
      
   1960s: civil rights   
   1970s: trust in government undermined by Vietnam and Watergate;   
   and rampant capitalism   
   1980s: corporate dominance   
   1990s: concern about rampant uncontrolled technology   
   2000s' Spartacus-like uprisings, gender issues, and lack of   
   humanity   
      
   And for the 2010s we have READY PLAYER ONE (2018), which has its   
   version of favelas and townships, but people live in a virtual   
   world, so they don't care.  At the end of the film, victory   
   consists of limiting product placement and being able to live in   
   the real world two days a week, rather than any meaningful change,   
   expressing perhaps the cynicism and pessimism of the 2010s.   
      
   (Professor Aldrete also did the "Great Battles of World History",   
   which we had previously watched.)   
      
   [-ecl]   
      
   ===================================================================   
      
   TOPIC: James Bond's Wardrobe (comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)   
      
   James Bond travels all over the world.  He never seems to carry a   
   suitcase (or anything larger than a briefcase), yet he always has   
   the right clothes for any climate or occasion.  How does he do   
   this?   
      
   I suppose he could go into the men's shop in the airport, buy a   
   new set of clothes, put them on, and just leave the old set there.   
   But this doesn't explain the fitted tuxedos et al.  In SPECTRE,   
   for example, he arrives in the middle of the desert wearing a   
   brown suit, and is then seen in a black suit.  (At least for Dr.   
   Swann, there is a change of clothing laid out for her.)  [-ecl]   
      
   ===================================================================   
      
   TOPIC: DR. SLEEP (film review by Dale Skran)   
      
   It's been a while since I wrote a movie review, but I just saw   
   something that I thought was worth watching.  Amazon Prime now has   
   included for no extra fee DR. SLEEP, a 2019 film based on a   
   Stephen King novel of the same name.  Although this is not   
   immediately obvious to the viewer, it is a sequel to Kubrick's THE   
   SHINING, also based on a King novel.  I am not at all a fan of   
   King, but THE SHINING is possibly the only movie by him that I   
   have seen, and I recall that it was a bit of joke in that Kubrick   
   knew nothing of horror tropes, and re-invented and over-used such   
   standbys as the "jump scene" and blood flowing under a doorway.   
   Apparently, King did not like the film either, as it did not   
   convey key elements of his novel.   
      
   Now, long after, we see the squeal, which is quite different in   
   content and tone from THE SHINING, although connected to it, and   
   in fact it does resolve some loose ends from the first movie. DR.   
   SLEEP refers to the little boy in "The Shining," who now has   
   become an adult struggling with alcoholism. Although some critics   
   did not like the three-hour length of DR. SLEEP, I found that it   
   made the film much more watchable outside the theater.  There are   
   six chapters, and I watched them over three days.  There is plenty   
   of time to develop both characters and the plot, but without any   
   significant amount of padding. It may well be that as a movie, DR.   
   SLEEP is too long, but that makes it perfect for binge watching at   
   home.   
      
   In this glorious age of Wikipedia and IMDB, I will spare you the   
   list of actors, directors, and so on. I found the film well-acted   
   and well directed, so let's leave it at that.  Although billed as   
   "supernatural horror" "Dr. Sleep" reminded me to a great degree of   
   the kind of psionic superhuman story ASTOUNDING/ANALOG use to   
   publish in the 1950s and early 1960s.  The two main characters are   
   Dan, the grown-up little boy from the first movie, and Abra Stone,   
   a teenage girl. Dan and Abra possess "the shining" which is just   
   another word for magic, or psionics. They have a wide array of   
   powers, although not simply characterized and not all the same.   
   Abra is more powerful than Dan, but Dan's greater experience makes   
   him a formidable combatant.   
      
   The villains call themselves "The True Knot," a group of immortal   
   psychic vampires who have roamed the Earth for ages, torturing to   
   death any children they can find with "the shine" so as to better   
   consume their mental energies.  Apparently as we age the "shine"   
   becomes tainted and less tasty.  They are led by the beautiful,   
   powerful, and enigmatic "Rose the Hat," so called because she   
   always wears a top hat.  With her #2 "The Crow," "Snakebite Andi"   
   who can "push" people to do things, and about six other followers,   
   they are a dangerous menace, bent on finding Arba and enslaving   
   her as an on-going source of "stream."   
      
    From this description, I think you can see that DR. SLEEP has a   
   lot more going on than THE SHINING.  Dan is well developed as a   
   recovering alcoholic who has used booze to escape his powers, and   
   Arba comes over as engaging and realistic.  This is basically a   
   story of psionic war between two sides, fought for mere survival.   
   I am rating DR. SLEEP as +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.  Not for kids   
   under 12, and only then for those who feel comfortable with horror   
   tropes.  There is no sex, but a good bit of violence.  Recommended   
   to fans of SF, fantasy, and horror.  The mental combat is better   
   thought out than is often the case in this sort of tale, and   
   reminds me of a good Telzey Amberdon story from ANALOG.  And no, I   
   will not tell you why the title is DR. SLEEP--see the movie!   
   Also, keep watch for the cat who has a bit of the "shine."  Or   
   more likely, King is suggesting all cats have the "shine."  [-dls]   
      
   ===================================================================   
      
   TOPIC: SERVICE MODEL by Adrian Tchaikovsky (copyright 2024,   
   Tordotcom, $28.99, Hardcover, 373pp, ISBN 978-1250-29028-1,   
   Macmillan Audio, $17.71, Audio Book, 12 hours and 21 minutes, ASIN   
   B0CMYJRJPB, narrated by Adrian Tchaikovsky) (book review by Joe   
   Karpierz)   
      
   Adrian Tchaikovsky once again demonstrates his vast range in   
   SERVICE MODEL, a somewhat humorous post-apocalyptic novel where   
   humanity is in ruins.  Why it's in ruins, or even that it is in   
   ruins, isn't evident at first, but Tchaikovsky masterfully leads   
   the reader and his main character valet robot Charles through a   
   sort of hero's journey of discovery that is both startling and   
   amusing.  No, you don't normally think of a post-apocalyptic story   
   as amusing and humorous, but oddly enough it works.   
      
   Charles spends his days taking care of his Master:  laying out his   
   clothes, arranging his travel schedule, bringing his meals.  In   
   short, the kind of thing you'd expect a valet or butler to do.   
   Charles also takes care of his Master's hygiene, including giving   
   him his daily shave.  One day Charles discovers blood on his   
   Master's clothes.  In short order, Charles comes to the conclusion   
   that for some reason he cut his Master's throat.  That he,   
   Charles, himself is the murderer (this of course immediately   
   brings to mind the statement that "the butler did it", and once   
   you see that one coming you see that the rest of SERVICE MODEL   
   will have other instances of humor that should have you smiling,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)