Genre labels are not a measure of quality. 2001 is SF. So is ROBOT MONSTER. :)

And space opera and hard SF are both subcategories of science fiction. And you can have great or terrible examples of each, depending on the execution.

On the other hand, any attempt to strictly define sf/fantasy is invariably going to be too narrow BARBARELLA or THE SEVENTH VOYAGE OF SINBAD don’t bear much resemblance to 2001 either, but they’re all under the same big tent.

And who says comedy and sf/fantasy are incompatible? See GALAXY QUEST, THE MAN IN THE WHITE…

Depends to some degree on the type of spy story involved. THE AMERICANS or John Le Carre is not remotely SF. But comic-booky spy-fi stuff like MAN FROM UNCLE tv series or most Bond films often cross the line into SF territory.

The lines between SF, fantasy, and horror have been blurry since Day One. Look at, say, “Frankenstein” or “The Island of Doctor Moreau.” It’s doesn’t pay to get too caught up in trying pigeonhole everything. Purism is overrated.

I just thank God that the headline reads “science fiction and fantasy” so we don’t have to…

I raised an eyebrow at MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (although I haven’t seen the film), but rest seem fine to me. A magical talking bear, a Gothic ghost story, even a children’s story about sentient emotions all sound like fantasy to me. You don’t necessarily need robots or dragons to be sci-fi fantasy.

As I recall, those books have been optioned for years. Maybe Hollywood will get around to filming them someday.

You know, that Lifetime movie sounds a little like an old Bela Lugosi movie where he plays a brilliant surgeon who becomes obsessed with the beautiful young ingenue whose life he saved.

Or maybe that old Peter Lorre movie, where he plays a brilliant surgeon who becomes obsessed with the beautiful young wife of one of…

Loved the Stainless Steel Rat reference, btw.

Good one!

Kyle MacLachlan already played the villain in the very first LIBRARIAN tv-movie.

Other contenders:

1) A shockingly young Robert Redford in the classic Twilight Zone episode, “Nothing in the Dark.”

2) Jessica Lange as a sultry Death in ALL THAT JAZZ.

3) And, of course, Fredric March in the original DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY. (We’ll just forget about the remake with Brad Pitt.)

That’s the one about the vampires and lycans, right?

(I kid, I kid!)

True story: The Village Voice once ran a tongue-in-cheek article comparing DeLillo’s book to my novelization of the vampire movie. Still not quite sure what to make of that . . . :)

Honestly, I can’t get worked up about this.

Now that Martian Invasion hoax back in the thirties . . .. :)

I was just answering iwishiwascharliex’s query.

And Bride is the SECOND film in the Universal cycle of Frankenstein movies. SON OF FRANKENSTEIN was the third, logically enough. :)

Hey, it’s bound to be better than the previous remake starring Sting and Jennifer Beals. Remember that one?

Good God, that was tedious, even with Clancy Brown playing the Monster.

Interesting. STIR OF ECHOES is seriously underrated.

Olden Times . . .? Harrumph!

I remember camping out overnight on the sidewalk outside the UA 150 theater in downtown Seattle to see JEDI on opening day (twice). Just as the Force intended . . . .

My sister tried listening to the book on audio. I can’t even imagine how that could work, what with all the facsimile websites and articles and such.

I know. I was actually his first American editor, and am still proud of helping to introduce him to American readers. He was always a pleasure to work with, even though we only met in the flesh once, over breakfast at a WorldCon in Glasgow many, many years ago.

He was an amazingly talented author, who deftly straddled…