Radio Times Guide to Science Fiction
I picked up a copy of the Radio Times Guide to Science Fiction today, which I'd been
looking forward to for a long while. To be honest I'm not terribly impressed, the book
pales in comparison with the Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. The main problem for me is
the format - it's fixed over all 3 of the types of entry in the book (Film, TV and Radio)
giving the title, year, country of origin and timing details at the top, a brief
description and a comma delimited cast list. All very well for films but compare the to
how the Comedy book lists it's TV programs - with UK and US airdates and channels, a cast
list with left aligned characters and right aligned cast - along with details of what
years they appeared where applicable which is missing for some of the longer running
series in the SF book. The cast lists in the SF book are nowhere near as complete as in
the comedy book which is a great shame as I was looking forward to (finally) being able to
index what who had appeared in - which is a major deficiency with the TV Times guide to
Sci Fi - which is probably also due a major update. Long running series such as DW and
ST merit individual entries per ep/story in the TV Times book giving brief cast details
per episode, here we get less than a column per series at most. So the index that is
there only covers major cast. OK I'm not expecting a list to the detail that 2nd Guard
in Snakedance was TV's Bob Mills or that there are 3 members of the Bill in Kinda but
there's no detail here at all that there is elsewhere.
And given that the TV Times book has been around for a decade or more - it was on my shelf
in Williamson - some of the omissions are inexcusable: K9 & Company, Battle of the Planets
and Star Fleet for a start feature in the earlier book. The RT Guide to SF mentions the
Buffy film in the entry on the Buffy series yet has nothing about it. Crusade gets an
entry, no mention for Angel ! And don't say it's too recent as Dark Angel's in there !
No mention for the Star Trek animated series, TF animated series or Star Wars on the
radio - both of which have aired in the UK so should fall under the jurisdiction of the
book.
I can't help feeling if they'd have concentrated primarily on TV Sci Fi and presented in
the same style and depth as in the Sitcom book we'd have a better (indeed, like the sit
com book, definitive) work on the subject in our hands now.
Philip - who recommends the new Floyd compilation on the strength of the version of Shine
On You Crazy Diamond which not only has the original master of the introduction but also
has all 3 verses of the song and much more of the music than you get in A Collection of
Great Dance Songs.
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Philip Ayres
payres@
www.netcomuk.co.uk/~payres
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looking forward to for a long while. To be honest I'm not terribly impressed, the book
pales in comparison with the Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy. The main problem for me is
the format - it's fixed over all 3 of the types of entry in the book (Film, TV and Radio)
giving the title, year, country of origin and timing details at the top, a brief
description and a comma delimited cast list. All very well for films but compare the to
how the Comedy book lists it's TV programs - with UK and US airdates and channels, a cast
list with left aligned characters and right aligned cast - along with details of what
years they appeared where applicable which is missing for some of the longer running
series in the SF book. The cast lists in the SF book are nowhere near as complete as in
the comedy book which is a great shame as I was looking forward to (finally) being able to
index what who had appeared in - which is a major deficiency with the TV Times guide to
Sci Fi - which is probably also due a major update. Long running series such as DW and
ST merit individual entries per ep/story in the TV Times book giving brief cast details
per episode, here we get less than a column per series at most. So the index that is
there only covers major cast. OK I'm not expecting a list to the detail that 2nd Guard
in Snakedance was TV's Bob Mills or that there are 3 members of the Bill in Kinda but
there's no detail here at all that there is elsewhere.
And given that the TV Times book has been around for a decade or more - it was on my shelf
in Williamson - some of the omissions are inexcusable: K9 & Company, Battle of the Planets
and Star Fleet for a start feature in the earlier book. The RT Guide to SF mentions the
Buffy film in the entry on the Buffy series yet has nothing about it. Crusade gets an
entry, no mention for Angel ! And don't say it's too recent as Dark Angel's in there !
No mention for the Star Trek animated series, TF animated series or Star Wars on the
radio - both of which have aired in the UK so should fall under the jurisdiction of the
book.
I can't help feeling if they'd have concentrated primarily on TV Sci Fi and presented in
the same style and depth as in the Sitcom book we'd have a better (indeed, like the sit
com book, definitive) work on the subject in our hands now.
Philip - who recommends the new Floyd compilation on the strength of the version of Shine
On You Crazy Diamond which not only has the original master of the introduction but also
has all 3 verses of the song and much more of the music than you get in A Collection of
Great Dance Songs.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Philip Ayres
payres@
www.netcomuk.co.uk/~payres
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-