Prince of Disappointment

I read last week that Disney Studios worried that they had released "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" at the wrong time of year, and that its disappointing box office takings reflected that decision.

Could it be that the whole film is a bit of a mess?

I saw it today, and while I went into the first film with fond memories of having read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" as a primary aged child, and also knowing how popular the whole series of novels have been over many decades, that first film had many moments of nostalgic delight - and SPFX CGI magic and awe - but "Caspian" seemed to lack heart.

The actor who played Prince Caspian seemed quite capable, little Lucy had a few cute moments, her siblings spent much of the movie with petulant looks on their faces, and there were some nice CGI FX - but I was over it before the war had even started.

I guess I'm no Narnian.

How I got into science fiction media

As a kid, I followed "Batman" on TV (so cool!), and vividly recall reading "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in the 60s. At high school, we were expected to read "The Black Cloud" (by Fred Hoyle) and "The Hobbit" (Tolkien) as set novels. Then came two attempts to read "The Lord of the Rings". The introduction of colour TV in 1975 saw the return of "Star Trek: The Animated Series", as repeats during the innovative and new breakfast TV, plus a few selected "Star Trek" episodes on weekends.

At teachers college we were expected to read "Dune" (Frank Herbert) in our literature course, and produce an essay on ewater symbolism, but I didn't like the book much, and preferred that lousy motion picture they made, featuring Sting in bizarre silver underwear, and where it rained at the end (two books too early, I believe)!

Movie releases that swept me away in the 80s included "Superman: The Movie", "Barbarella" (which I saw at someone's Christmas party on 16 mm), "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Superman II", quickly followed by the first "V" mini-series on TV. "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" was a popular hit, and ensured that TOS repeats returned in prime time! Somehow I missed the "Star Wars" phenomenon until "The Empire Strikes Back"; the magazine "Starlog" became an essential monthly purchase.

From 1980, I had become deeply involved in "Star Trek" fandom, and began attending conventions, writing fan fiction and skits, publishing fanzines, making costumes, collecting rumours about new trek projects, and producing a regular column for the NSW club's newsletter. Since the 90s, as fan club activities and conventions became more splintered, I began using the Internet to satisfy my Trek yearnings. As a direct result of "Star Trek", I now read general science fiction novels by the likes of David Gerrold, Larry Niven, Vonda McIntyre, Peter David and others. I still buy and read all the licenced "Star Trek" novels and comics, and "Starlog".