Somewhere on Dagobah…
Thanks to Kevin Conn for inspiration for this one.
The spine (neck) surgery went well and I’ve now been back at home for almost a week. It will be several weeks before I can go back to work and I’m only now starting to be able to sit up as opposed to lying on my back. However, I expect to get back to something close to my normal self in the next couple of weeks. Still stuck with this neck brace on until my followup with my doctor. The narcotics keep the pain away so long as I keep up with taking them. Starting to sleep longer too and dreaming of electric sheep… Or maybe that’s just my TENS unit?
I’ve ended the sci-fi poll. The question asked readers what was their favorite science-fiction outside of Star Wars. Due to the finite number of options, I obviously could not include everything, and I largely omitted book series, focusing more on sci-fi in the visual medium. There were many write in votes in the category of “other”. These included: X-Files, Halo, Tron, Asimov’s Foundation Series, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, Futurama, Starship Troopers etc…
However, of the options listed, Firefly was far and away the winner. This did take me a little by surprise, considering I’m not a fan of the show myself. Obviously Firefly hits a chord with many Star Wars fans. I hear Firefly has a ferociously loyal fan base, but I’ll trust the poll was generally accurate, even if multi-voting did occur.
Both Doctor Who and Star Trek tied for second place, with both shows taking a narrow lead over the other in a neck-and-neck race over the course of the 6 weeks we ran the poll. At the time of ending the poll, Star Trek had an almost imperceptible lead, and I think it’s fair to consider this spot a draw.
Babylon 5 was followed by Stargate and Battlestar Galactica for the 3rd, 4th and 5th spots. Not too far behind were Dune, Farscape, Alien and Bladerunner which all came in very close to one another. On the other hand, Flash Gordon, UFO and Space 1999 barely managed more votes than the write-ins for X-Files. So, well done X-Files!
If anything, the poll gives me a good idea what our readership likes and might appreciate seeing appear in BMS. Although we didn’t have anything planned regarding a Firefly crossover, it has certainly won the right to a nod in the strip in the near future. We already give nods and winks to Doctor Who, Star Trek, BSG and Blake’s 7 after all.
The new poll question is up. We couldn’t think of anything really exciting this time. I’m not a 3D guy, so you can guess my response.
I’m surprised I never even thought of the whole your lost thing before got a chuckle out of this strip made me think of road trips I’ve taken. Glad to hear the surgery went well and that your at least starting to recover even if its just minimal right now.
Good to hear you’re starting to feel better, Rod.
I’m kind of surprised by the poll results — I would’ve expected Star Trek and Doctor Who to be much closer to Firefly. Then again, there’s a big overlap in the fanbases, so that probably skewed my estimation.
You have to remember that the question is being asked of a readership who, no doubt, for the most part love Star Wars as their first and foremost sci-fi show. As we are a Star Wars parody there is going to a bias in the readership towards Star Wars to begin with. So, I expect the results would be different if a site like MTV was asking the question, where the readership is much more of a mix of tastes to begin with. So the poll wasn’t “what is the most awesome sci-fi in the world?” but instead, what is the favorite sci-fi of our readers (excluding Star Wars). I was surprised by Firefly, but also surprised to see Doctor Who marginally leading Star Trek for a long time too.
You shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque.
Go Firefly!
Excellent – well done all (and Skeletor)!
happy to hear you are on the mend, Rod – I do hope you shelled out the extra for the Inspector Gadget option.
Yoda, “the back seat driver”! 🙂
I love Yoda’s expression – the feeling you get when you realize you’re lost. That happens to me a lot, whenever I try and go somewhere new.
3-D Star Wars? Gimmicky, but I’ll go anyway. Can’t beat Star Wars on the big screen!
Stay in the Bacta tank, Rod!
I voted for Alien Series–Gotta love those Xenomorphs! I just watched Alien resurrection and really didn’t care for the alien/human hybrid, though it was funny to see Brad Dourif make kissy faces at an alien.
Hope Yoda has his JPS (Jedi Positioning System
I agree Zayne, the alien/human hybrid destroyed what was an effective enough addition to the series. The scene with the suspended, boxed aliens being taunted was truly scary.
Glad you’re doing better and the surgery went well. Take your time to recover. You don’t want to rush it and make things worse. Most of us are a patient type. 🙂
Best wishes Rod!
I almost voted for Firefly, yes. But my heart belongs to Babylon 5, a true comparison to Star Trek, as opposed to Star Wars. Though as I write this, I see Babylon 5 a bridge between the two “Stars”.
For the comic; Yoda’s outta touch with The Force, eh? Pull those ear buds out that might make a difference.
Battlestar behind that stargate and babylon bilge! ha!
Hope your feeling better, live long and prosper… 😉
I’m glad to here you’re feeling better after your surgery. May the Force be with you as you continue to recover. I have a question I would like to ask: will you be joining the SOPA protest tomorrow?
I was also wondering about the whole SOPA shtuffs. According to reddit.com, SOPA and PIPA will affect WordPress. BMS just so happens to be powered by WordPress. I’m hoping our favorite Star Wars parody webcomic with adult themes and fun cartoon art will be unscathed.
It shouldn’t effect us, as we host our wordpress files on our own webserver, rather than the free hosting through WordPress. However, if the site vanishes you will have your answer.
Optimistic, Optimistic, Optimistic, Optimistic, PESSIMISTIC!
I do see your point though.
What I’m saying is that WordPress doesn’t control this site. There are two types of wordpress you can set up. The one hosted through them, or the one you set up and install in your own environment such as your own webhost. Once it’s on our webhost, the only people that can pull the plug are me, or the webhost. As for people using WordPress through WordPress’ servers, they would be effected by any decisions of WordPress.
I get it, really. I was simply commenting on the irony of your explanations mood swinging. Now let’s not let this turn into anything other than friendly conversation. Thank you for your answer, it’s good to know we can all enjoy BMS for as long as you choose for it to stay.
I was only explaining. I didn’t intend for my post to sound patronizing. I thought your “Optimistic, Optimistic, Optimistic, Optimistic, PESSIMISTIC!” was a little odd and meant you thought it could still be pulled down by wordpress. Thinking about it more I didn’t see how and tried to clarify. What, do I have a rep for mood swings now? 🙂
Haha no, not in my opinion. How’s the recovery going?
Good. Thanks.
Ah Reminds me of my old Yoda voice Sat Nav(GPS if you’re American)
Should have been more like. Turn right here you must…Turn left here you must… Lost we are not yes hmm.
Yeah? Tell that to Lucas when Yoda says “the boy. I can not teach him.” It’s not “Teach him, I can not”. So the movie doesn’t even obey the convention. Big deal. ;-P
There are quite a few similarities between Firefly and Star Wars. Both involve a small band of heroes fighting an evil empire. Both involve at least one roguish hero/gunslinger type. Both involve western-style settings (or, at a minimum, areas where law and order are not all-pervasive.) Both Firefly and Star Wars are, for all practical purposes, space westerns.
In fact, I would suggest that SW/Firefly are part of a whole seperate sphere of sci-fi I’ll call “Balls” sci-fi. Balls sci-fi involves:
– Bad guys who are actually bad, as opposed to misguided. Generally more powerful than the good guys.
– Willingness to fight more powerful bad guys and taking them down through individual heroics.
Other examples would include Farscape, Starship Troopers, Robocop, Predator, Alien(s).
The alternative would be “Brains” sci-fi like Star Trek. In Brains sci-fi:
-Enemies are generally good at heart and can be turned to your point of view.
-Victory is achieved through turning or technobabble.
Doctor Who certainly fits this category, along with Trek.
People who are fans of Star Wars tend to gravitate to Balls sci-fi. I certainly do, and most of the people I have met at conventions and such have followed the same pattern. The Trek/Wars divide is real, and noticeable because both shows approach life from very different angles.
Doctor Who crosses the board quite a few times. It’s similar to Star Trek only in the broadest of comparisons. Doctor Who’s format allows it to have a good mix of many types of sci-fi. The “enemies being generally good at heart” thing doesn’t seem to be very prevalent in Doctor Who to me. Maybe the new series is like that, but I’m speaking for the original series. Doctor Who was filled with base-under-siege stories and copious violence; Daleks’ Masterplan, middle of the Troughton Era, UNIT, Hinchcliffe, Saward… and it was, originally at least, a kids show! There are a host of stories where it’s more about action and big explosions saving the day. Anyway, Doctor Who aside, great post and good points.
The Twilight Zone needs some representation.
Glad you’re feeling better now
I wonder why Farscape never gets represented…damn I loved that show