Bonus mini-essay. 200 words, 1-minute read. Bill, Trans Dimensional Electrician By Ray Tabler Last week, I posted an essay about minor characters who deserve their own stories, Dangling Threads. In an inexcusable oversight, I neglected to include a prime example, Bill Towner, the electrician, from the movie House II-The Second…
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Series vs. Standalones
Reader PTSD. Essay. 700 words, 4-minute read. Series vs. Standalones By Ray Tabler Kirk or Picard? Boxers or briefs? Pineapple on pizza, or not? Great, unresolved questions of our time. Thanks for reading Ray Tabler’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. To which I…
Gaming Is Bigger Than Anything
Well, here it is. Scientific proof that gaming is bigger than anything.
Dangling Threads
Dangling Threads By Ray Tabler There are so many spoilers below that I’ll just issue a general warning right off the bat. Read on at your peril. The other day Indiana Jones-Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was playing on the cable, and I left it on, running in the background….
The Book Was Better
The Book Was Better By Ray Tabler Based on the image above, you might expect this to be a rant about the 1997 movie Starship Troopers. It isn’t. Not exactly. I cynically used that image to rope in people on either side of the controversy surrounding the film. I feel…
Sci Fi Weather
Extreme stories in extreme conditions. Essay. 800 words, 4-minute read. Sci Fi Weather By Ray Tabler There’s an old joke that all alien planets look like Southern California. This is a snarky hat tip to Hollywood’s tendency to film at convenient nearby locations. Iconic among those was (and is) Vasquez…
Looking Backwards on the Future
Looking Backwards on the Future By Ray Tabler When I was a kid, the year 2000 was the future. Seemed like most every sci-fi story was set just about then. 2001 A Space Odyssey, Space 1999, even Prince’s song 1999. I doubt anyone paused to consider if all of this…
Wrangling Time
Time travel can be hazardous to your health. Essay 900 words, 5-minute read. Wrangling Time By Ray Tabler Time travel tales fall into two broad categories, one in which you can’t change the past, and one in which you can. Although ultimately frustrating, the no-changes-allowed variety is more eloquent. No matter how elaborate…
Gypsies in Space
Gypsies in Space By Ray Tabler The word “gypsy,” as far as I can tell, derives from the (probably) mistaken belief that, at some point in the sparsely-documented past, the ethnic group known as the Romani originated in Egypt. Genetic studies indicate that the Romani came from India, not Egypt….
For the Laughs
For the Laughs – Parody in Science Fiction and Fantasy By Ray Tabler A sign of a healthy fandom is the ability and a willingness to laugh at itself. Thus, is born the parody. Depending on the size of the fan base, parodies of a book, TV show, movie, or…