Final Episode of Excellent Prisoners of Gravity Documentary Now Online

The team at Radio Free Krypton has now posted/aired the final episode of its excellent documentary on Prisoners of Gravity!

Part four of "Inside the Orbit of Prisoners of Gravity" talks about the show's legacy, and asks the question of whether it could be done today. Interviewees include the PoG host and producers, author Robert J Sawyer, and fans — including me. For my part, I think, at least as far as Canadian fans go, the legacy of PoG is every sf-related, interview-oriented podcast and video log/Youtube show. Whether these shows follow the PoG template or go in their own directions, Commander Rick and his producers showed us that it could be done (nearly 30 years ago), and so all of us have escaped the world to our own little broadcasting/podcasting/vlogging space stations. We're all the children of Commander Rick (although I can only wish that I had his hair).

Thanks to Radio Free Krypton for putting this documentary together. As important as Prisoners of Gravity was 30 years ago, it's just as important now for fans to celebrate what the host and producers accomplished for the speculative fiction community — especially the Canadian sf community (though not exclusively so, since the show contained many interesting interviews with American and British sf and comics creators too) — and the legacy it created. It was the first time (at least in this country) where our community had a voice that showed the significance of its work, it was a voice that further connected our community, and it was a voice that could be heard/seen by people outside of our community. For Radio Free Krypton to document this achievement, and explore its ongoing relevance, is also important to our sf community. For that, the RFK team deserves an Aurora Award. And I'm not just saying that because they invited me to participate in this doc (although being part of this group does tickle me immensely) — I would have endorsed it anyway. It's that good.

Lastly, I think it's also important to thank TV Ontario for airing the show in the first place. During the first half of my childhood, in Ontario, I devoured TVO's programs (Hey, TVO introduced me to Doctor Who! That's why Tom Baker will always be my favourite.), and even after moving away and growing up, I can still see them for the quality shows they were. It's also important to thank BC's Knowledge Network for picking up PoG from TVO — without Knowledge, I wouldn't have seen the awesomeness of Prisoners of Gravity in its original run back in the late 1980s and early 90s. The value of public broadcasters is incalculable.

If you haven't listened to "Inside the Orbit..." yet, head over to Radio Free Krypton and do so! And if you've never seen an episode of Prisoners of Gravity, what are you waiting for? Punch it up on Youtube and watch one, or three, or all of them! Thirty years on, it's still as relevant, thought-provoking and entertaining.

Episode 3 of Prisoners of Gravity Doc Now Online

More documentary goodness: The gang at Radio Free Krypton has released the next episode of its series on Prisoners of Gravity!

Part 3 of "Inside the Orbit of Prisoners of Gravity" focusses on what the show meant to fans — including me — and how it inspired us in different ways.

I've shared my thoughts before here on the blog about how amazing PoG was, but it's really worth checking out this episode of the doc (well, all of the episodes!) to listen to other fans share their stories. It's great to know that so many people were inspired in different ways. And it was good to hear from the PoG producers that they're aware of how popular the show was — and still is — among fans. All too often, people can create meaningful things but exist in a vacuum in terms of feedback, and it's important that they hear how much their fans love their work.

Looking forward to the final episode of the doc this coming week!

Prisoners of Gravity Documentary Continues with Examination of Early Challenges

Radio Free Krypton has dropped the second episode of its cool documentary about Prisoners of Gravity.

In this episode, they examine the challenges faced by the show as it struggled to find its feet in its first season, and some of the changes it went through later on both behind the scenes and on-screen.

As with the previous instalment, part two includes interviews with host Rick Green, producer Mark Askwith, and others involved with the show. Author Robert J Sawyer also weighs in on the early days, as do some fans — including me.

I'm really impressed with how this series is going so far. Lots of fascinating insights into what was going on behind the scenes as the show came to life. And I'm always interested in hearing what the authors and other fans thought about it too.

Can't wait for the next episode of "Inside the Orbit of 'Prisoners of Gravity'"!

Check out Radio Free Krypton's New Documentary about Prisoners of Gravity

Check out Radio Free Krypton's new documentary about the immensely important science fiction- and fantasy-related TV show of yesteryear, Prisoners of Gravity, called "Inside the Orbit of 'Prisoners of Gravity'".

For those who missed it in its original run on TV Ontario (or on BC's Knowledge Network, which picked it up, as did some PBS stations; or on Canada's Space channel, which rebroadcast it years later), Prisoners of Gravity was a science fiction-, fantasy-, horror-, and comic-related TV show that ran from the late 1980s through the early 90s. The premise was a wacky, yet brilliant, combination of fact and fiction: the host, a fictional character named "Commander Rick" (played by comedian and actor Rick Green) was a fanboy who got fed up with all of the horrible things happening in the world and one day converted his car into a spaceship. Loading his stash of comics, books and other nerd treasures into the car, Commander Rick blasted off into orbit, where he promptly crashed into an abandoned space station, befriended its AI, Nancy, and began pirating TV signals. And that's just the show's intro (delivered as a set of comic book panel illustrations, after the pirate signal interrupts a sedate Canadian nature show [itself entirely fictional]). On the non-fictional side of the show's content, the program revolved around Commander Rick interviewing several sf authors, editors, artists and others about issues ranging from gender representation to the rise of artificial intelligence, to the fan community itself. The guests ranged from titans of the past, like Ray Bradbury, to then-up-and-comers (now giants themselves) like Neil Gaiman, to comic legends like Jack Kirby, to directors like James Cameron. It's been years since the show's been rerun, but many Prisoners of Gravity episodes are now available on Youtube.

Fast-forward to a couple of months ago when the team at Radio Free Krypton radio show/podcast (which is a good show and you should be listening to anyway) decided to put together a four-part doc about the creation, airing and legacy of PoG. Part One of "Inside the Orbit of Prisoners of Gravity" has just hit the air/been uploaded, so I'd highly recommend you follow the link above and give it a listen. It's well put together and contains interviews with Rick Green and PoG producer Mark Askwith about the show's genesis, along with comments from authors Robert J Sawyer and Cory Doctorow about what it meant for sf writers to have a legitimate platform where they were taken seriously as literary professionals and could talk about important issues in the genre and in society as a whole. There are also clips from fans talking about what the show meant to them — including me (but don't let that prevent you from listening [even if my voice was particularly husky that day, making me sound a bit like Rowlf the dog from the Muppets] because everyone else has interesting stuff to say). Really, I'd be recommending this doc even if I wasn't in it because PoG was such an important show and any examination of it is worth listening to.

If the rest of the miniseries is as good as the first part, the cats at RFK should definitely get a nomination for an Aurora Award, or even a Hugo.

Looking forward to listening to the rest of "Inside the Orbit of 'Prisoners of Gravity'" as the episodes become available.