The Golden Age of Science Fiction - Modernity Begins - Extra Sci Fi

[@extrahistory]

The golden age began in the fires of the second world war; it ushered in the space age, and it came to an end in a world which could no longer deny that that it staggered on the precipice of nuclear annihilation.

[@tyriekbaker2667]

Not gonna lie, I was fine with the new narrator for game design, but I don't like it for extra history or extra Syfy. It'd be cool if it was either history or syfy but not both.

[@robertfaer4522]

I hope we get a nod to Harlan Ellison and Dangerous Visions.

[@R0YJ0YJ0Y]

Libtards

[@jankosi6882]

Man, if they eventually mention "the matrix", but not "ghost in the shell", I am gonna be so goddamn mad.

[@LordBloodySoul]

Arthur C. Clarke!?! OMG! Can't wait for that :D One of my favs!!

[@hannahdawg6829]

So THAT'S why "I, Robot" felt like a bunch of short stories flimsily connected together, because it was! I had no idea

[@PongoXBongo]

Actually, the movie was based on just one short story taken from the "I, Robot" anthology. It felt flimsy because it was stretched out into a feature-length film with all sorts of extra Hollywood subplots tacked on. ;)

[@hannahdawg6829]

PongoXBongo I know that, I was talking about the book.

[@PongoXBongo]

Ah, that makes more sense. Sorry for the misinterpretation.

[@hannahdawg6829]

PongoXBongo it's okay, the movie tends to be the one people think of first, so I understand the confusion XD

[@SwagbitoUchiha]

If you can get one, I recommend the book. Or anything written by Asimov. That dude knew his shit.

[@asalways1504]

Oh thank goodness! I thought this series would never leave hiatus.

[@thelastcube.]

As Always RIP HunterXHunter

[@LashknifeTalon]

The break probably happened while they had Matt record the newer scripts after the backlog of pre-recorded Dan episodes ran out.

[@old-moose]

i have dyslexia and struggled with reading. Asimov, Clarke, and Heinlein forced me to learn skills that allowed me to work around my dyslexia. Heck Asimov's psychohistory lead me to factor analysis as the statistical tool I used in my doctoral research. Thanks to these 3 guys, plus a couple of bull headed teachers & one librarian, a high school dropout wantabe became a college instructor.

[@joshuaschluter6802]

I loved Zoey in the endcard. Fly kitty!

[@willhuey4891]

the cat reminded me of cookie cat from steven universe

[@Andreea-kj2sv]

The end credits song is even by Surasshu, one of the composers for Steven Universe

[@SecondSince]

I'm still not used to the new narrator... Damn my stupid brain and it's dislike of change!! Slowly i'm trying to get there though, and super-happy this series is continuing!

[@camazotzz]

I vastly prefer this narrator to that chipmunk vox

[@TECHN01200]

Knowing how this channel has its roots in video games, Isaac Clarke from the Deadspace franchise is actually a tribute to both Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.

[@AHEARAUF]

Just take a moment to appreciate the flying space cat. Science has come a long way.

[@MM-xm5vx]

It must be 6 weeks later

[@barrybend7189]

So if fantasy is shaped by culture and culture is shaped by fantasy...... Why do I smell Chaos entities?

[@Andreych95]

Barry Bend HERESY

[@jamestang1227]

DID SOMEBODY SAY CHAOS?!

[@manticore6963]

I called the Inquisitor this Comment Section will be purged.

[@Jamie-kg8ig]

Man I hope they get into 40K at some point. Because it really is like the total opposite of Golden Age stuff.

[@jamestang1227]

Jamthis Me too, there's just something about soul-crushing grimdark that draws people to it.

[@scottgray4602]

Inching ever closer to Dune...

[@briancrocker3377]

Really really looking forward to that one.

[@Nipah.Auauau]

Eventually we'll get there. I saw part of the episode while on melange.

[@ericlueck5838]

When feudal empires were mentioned, I immediately think Dune. Not always the specific setting, but Dune just has such a distinct impression of overextending politics and busy governments trying to keep the madness at bay while an evolved humanity continues to grow and become ever stranger. It's a huge influence on me as a kid, that you could make a space opera with all the strangeness of the pulps but mature it, ground the characters, and make the ideas adult.

[@likosmith16]

HELL YA!

[@yryama]

Dune is the real deal

[@penguinorojo8962]

Love this series, cant wait to see more. Ive recently read a lot of whats been recommended and enjoyed most of it. Also is there merch for the cat? That cat-stronaut would be a great pin or sticker

[@Theraot]

Fridge magnet!

[@lucaspeterson5605]

I'm definitely warming up to Matt as he's taking over announcing duties for more series. I was a little afraid his tone was a bit over-enthusiastic when he first took over Extra Credits, but his tone in Extra History and Extra Sci-Fi videos has been great. Just the right amount of genuine interest, and still keeps things relaxing and casual. Keep it up!

[@evilkatos]

Really it was the first episode that got me concerned. He seems a lot more relaxed now which is perfect

[@skizzik121]

im trying, i love this channel and all of its content especially Extra History too much to let a "little" thing like new host keep me down but i miss the old guy a lot.

[@Gonboo]

What happened to Dan?

[@Zveebo]

I think this was his best video yet. He's definitely toned it down quite a bit since the first video, and it all sounds a lot less forced now, which is great. I think he'll probably do a great job now, having taken on the feedback.

[@RyanofAndor]

I think he's doing a good job. This episode felt better here than in the Flu Pandemic. His pacing though felt slightly off, perhaps a bit too fast, or rushed. I know with time he'll come into his own as an orator, but my two cents. Still good job.

[@pihungliu35]

Darn, Moira and Brigitte fits so well around the narration at 3:18.

[@adriennegormley9358]

Just a note: The Good Doctor Asimov didn't grow his sideburns until the mid-late '60s. Although i have to admit they do make a recognizable feature.

[@BeCurieUs]

I feel like the Expanse embodies nearly every gold age trope of sci fi, while also integrating some real diversity and picking up on some of the more modern humanistic problems and solutions that older sci fi often squanders. It is funny, cause as much as it is a basket of tropes, I always manage to be surprised at what happens next. Thank you for reading this further edition of "Chris really wants to talk about the expanse with someone"

[@merrittanimation7721]

I should really get around to watching that show. Everywhere i look I see someone praising it.

[@danielhall271]

Indeed, it is one of the few mainstream portrayals of hard sci-fi. And does a fairly good job of it.

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

The Expanse is like a post Gibson take on Niven’s Known Space (the stories set in the medium future that is)

[@taylorhancock5834]

WOO, IT HAS RETURNED! Glad to see that Extra Sci Fi is back! Hope to see more!

[@beretperson]

One thing I loved when reading the Foundation novels was just how visible the evolution of female characters was. At first they're barely there, then you have them having important but stereotypically female roles, and later you have them as protagonists and leaders. I don't know if Aasimov just knew his audience and chose to go with the flow until he was big enough it didn't matter, if his views on women changed slowly, or if he had some epiphany about it, but it's clear than in his earlier work they're not even being considered, while in the later work he actively works to challenge sexism with no intention of being subtle.

[@Duhad8]

Yes. This! And I think it was an evolution as a person and a writer that accounted for the change since he talked in interviews about feeling guilty for his shabby treatment of women in his early work. Asimov, like King was one of those people who just turned out book after book after book and because he was never NOT writing, its easy to see where certain ideas stick with him and where he grows and matures as he gets older.

[@icook1723]

It grew with him. The last two books came in the early 90s, and were in my opinion, his best work.

[@danilooliveira6580]

its important to remember that all of these people were men that started writing things that they enjoyed, for a target audience that they knew it was just like them, so they knew what they would enjoy, and I'm pretty sure most of them had no idea how to write credible woman or that they needed credible woman characters. so its just natural they were going to write things that would fell misogynistic, but its also natural that with time they would start to realize the importance of better fleshed out characters, instead of working around "self-insert templates". and that includes writing more credible women characters (specially in later periods, when women were finally getting more independent on society, and a lot of writers finally realized they exist)

[@TheRayny]

Mateo Gg also remember these people were born in the early 90' and late 80', so of course they had a specific role in mind for woman. No matter how a woman is skilled, nothing can trump the ability to give birth unless giving birth becomes less mandatory.

[@merrittanimation7721]

I think a good comparison can be made in between the books Foundation and Foundation and Empire on his depiction of women. In Foundation there is only one named female character and she is so irrelevant I forgot she was even in the book the first couple times I read through it. Compare this to Bayta from Foundation and Empire, who while being a housewife with little motivation to be much beyond that she's intelligent and capable and only particularly flustered when being mind controlled (and another portion of the book which I will not mention due to spoilers)

[@brandchemist]

Yay!! Welcome back. I missthe voice effect like crazy, tho.

[@FaoladhTV]

Talking about their late careers? Oh, I am looking forward to the Heinlein episode. There will be laughs to be had, I imagine.

[@gercunderscore4]

Yeah, that should be a lot of fun. I wonder if they'll get into how "interconnected" the stories and character become.

[@veggiesblowup8785]

Why? The survival prep stuff or some of the out-there stuff? I mean, I also look forward to seeing someone else's opinion on him, as mine is a bit colored by the fact I started reading him when I was like, eight.

[@Moonthroughtheglass]

I really hope they address how hard Verhoeven tried to ruin his legacy.

[@jroden06]

So happy to have this back - awesome work on the portraits of Brigitte and Moira!

[@benjaminhedges7992]

This felt like a trailer rather than an episode

[@Moonthroughtheglass]

I’m so glad you’re jumping into Heinlein, I feel like so much of his work is either distorted by critics or disregarded as pulp. I’m excited to see your analysis and grok it

[@friedwater6519]

oh my god they updated the Extra Sci-Fi logo to put Matt instead of Dan in the middle of the A. littles things like these is what makes you guys such a great channel

[@loremloremlor3m]

I like the cat

[@thornangel16]

Me too. 😺

[@pinodevideos]

Same

[@reddir]

Yay! You are back! I need to go and do other things....but I am staying just to watch this vid!

[@aeiou75]

Oh boy, great timing

[@RedJax69]

I just want to say thank you for organizing this genre in historical context. I would just read or watch sci-fi, never seeing the threads of certain authors or themes of an era.

[@History_Matters]

Amazing topic , you guys are providing magnificent pieces of information in a fantastic way , well done , I'm waiting the next videos

[@Vicioussama]

Zoey is best new addition to EC, easily :D

[@arvidp.247]

Yes! It's back! And with a great topic. Looking forward to the Asimov episod(s).

[@TheTrueAdept]

THE BIG THREE OF SCI-FI! [Beast Wars Megatron Voice]YES![/voice] Also, ASIMOV! (goes around being giddy as a school girl while squeeing like said school girl)

[@slowmoe1686]

Thanks, now you have me imagining BW Megs as a schoolgirl.

[@TheTrueAdept]

Well, I'm of the faction that if Transformers read Asimov's writings, the Autobots (or the Beast Wars incarnations) would simply have their respect of humanity go up a few ticks while the Decepticons (and their Beast Wars incarnations) will up their respect for humanity for a few notches.

[@merrittanimation7721]

I imagined him as a Japanese schoolgirl making stereotypical anime noises

[@likosmith16]

That's up for deabate

[@Theraot]

Top cats you hear about in science fiction: 3. Cheshire Cat 2. Schrodinger's Cat 1. Zoey

[@nonebeliever5321]

So I'm not sure but i think this is the first episode mat voiced

[@Alverant]

Hooray! Extra sci-fi is back!

[@tylerowens]

Asimov is hands down my favorite Sci-fi author and possibly my favorite author period. I am so excited for a whole episode dedicated to him and his work.

[@urkhmullerbach4595]

Here's an interesting idea for a video: Talk about Gustav Holst's "The Planets". It's insane how pretty much all well known film soundtracks have been influenced by that piece. The very second it starts, you instantly see an epic space battle in your head.

[@CornerShadow]

I love the Extra... everything but I found the narration in this video overbearing. I would prefer a little calmer, a little softer.

[@adisonlandon9883]

Emalthya I wish they had picked a woman to take over narration, tbh

[@s0nicsilver]

You're doing well, Matt. Sounds like you've found your groove. Keep up the good work, my friend.

[@TheCreepypro]

been waiting patently for this series to get to the Golden Age and now we are finally here can't wait til the next episode to talk about one of the three guys you mentioned I hope it is Asimov but even if if isn't I know it is going to be a good time

[@gurentgc3546]

I was waiting for this for too long!

[@hallfiry]

There's one blip of a female science fiction protagonist from 1952: Peggy Seeger's song Space Girl. Really worth a listen :)

[@jean-philippedoyon9904]

The lack of Frank Hebert's Dune is disturbing...the book considered the best of science-fiction and his influence on the genre really need his own episode...or at least the Dune Saga...

[@gercunderscore4]

That will probably come later. This stuff is earlier.

[@fugitiveunknown7806]

Dune is hugely influential, but Herbert is more of a silver age writer (60's 70's). These three got their start way earlier. He'll get his nod soon.

[@doppelrutsch9540]

He was mentioned several times in the first season but is commonly regarded as a writer after the golden age. No reason to bring him up here.

[@jessiegreene6771]

Please do an episode on Ursula K. LeGuin!

[@chinthor]

Oh! Your're taking up where this history of Sci-Fi left off? Cool! Way to go, new Dan!

[@robertdaws4743]

Robert Heinlein's Have Spacesuit Will Travel is the first sci-fi book I read as a kid, great memories of all three authors and their works.

[@brycewilson2065]

So happy you guys are back. Would you ever consider doing an episode on Kingsley Amis? It might seem a bit out of left field, but New Maps Of Hell is arguably the first serious work of criticism devoted to Sci Fi. And he has one excellent alternative history novel (The Alteration) as well as a few less excellent ones.

[@mariyaberestyuk39]

I love how we still in many cases forget important and not

[@TnThSm]

One thing that I hope they talk about: Susan Calvin. A strong, flawed character, whose entire idea centers around not needing men to tell her how the big shiny robots work. As a boy, I always wanted to be like her: independent, smart, and a woman. And I'd like to think I'm good at being all three. :P

[@Duhad8]

:D Same!

[@Jamie-kg8ig]

Pretty weird to think that a character like her existed in 1950 at all. At least that's the date my copy of I,Robot says the first edition was published.

[@merrittanimation7721]

Yep! She might be one of the only female characters of Asimov's early days but she makes her presence known.

[@NelsonStJames]

The absence of Susan Calvin from the center of the I Robot film is just one of the many reasons that film was rubbish, and I'd say it was the main one.

[@CountDVB]

And thus it begins, the Golden Age! The age of opportunity, of promise and reason! Fueled by the idealism of yesteryear and before the controversies and harsh realities would fully settle in!

[@merrittanimation7721]

It really did take place in the 50s

[@ethangrant5061]

I've been listening to old sci fi radio shows like dimension x, it's fascinating on how much they predicted like in a logic called Joe and others of its like, it's really cool to listen to when driving around in the wee hours of the morning

[@NelsonStJames]

There are a lot of really great Sci-fi stories from dimension X and X minus 1. Many of them still hold up today.

[@shawnheatherly]

I am pumped for this series to cover the pillars of the Golden Age.

[@spamus5243]

Allow me to remind you of one Dr. Susan Calvin, written by Asimov as the highest expert in robopsychology in a world where robots define every aspect of society. She was portrayed as a living legend, revered by all in the field. Asimov's most famous short story, Robot Dreams, featured a young Linda Rash, an innovative and curious robopsychologist who accidentally created a Robot capable of dreaming. Yes, Asimov did portray many male characters and protagonists, but I think that was mostly a reflection of his society, leaving the exceptions to stand head and shoulders above their male counterparts.

[@smileyp4535]

Dope, can't wait

[@hases2772]

Great stuff

[@anonymousperson3392]

Yes! My favorite series is back!

[@wesleypatterson929]

yay!! New Extra Scifi!

[@Mordewolt]

Compare and contrast to the USSR sci-fi of the time. In fact - do just that! I hope it's in the pipeline already.

[@GM-xk1nw]

*love your videos*

[@SimplyDudeFace]

Asimov, Hienlien and Clarke. I hope with the introduction of modernity you continue with the next torch bearer Silverberge.

[@N3WR3N41554NC3]

Not that I the other art style is bad or anything, but I miss the attention to detail from this artist in Extra History, he draws really really well

[@likosmith16]

can you please make an episode on dune when you get the chance, you show it or mention it in passing in almost every episode and it has really influenced me and many others I know as well as the genre as a hole. So please, when you get to the new wave era( or the end of the golden age), just devote an entire episode to dune. If you did I think it would really demonstrate its widespread influence over the coming years of sci if. It would mean the world to me that see this understudyd book done justice on this wonderful show.

[@ОлегКозлов-ю9т]

I'll give you three guesses as to the gender of those authors. You guessed it: they were males! Now, jokes aside, I hope you will make an episode about soviet Sci-Fi as well, at least for the great female protagonists it created.

[@goneutt]

I get a bunch of chuckles reading Doc Smith, whose FTL MacGuffin more or less worked by breaking the Higgs field. Decades before Higgs got around to the idea. Massless, inertial-less vehicles zooming around at superluminal speeds.

[@TheRollsen]

Zoe best cat, specially at the end

[@jonlevir]

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about New Dan doing this series, but he did pretty good.

[@nygge]

Welcome back Sci-fi, you were missed 🙂

[@zachsplat4805]

Perhaps there could be an episode on Ray Bradbury?

[@extrahistory]

We did three episodes on his work The Martian Chronicles which may satiate you for now! Starting with this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGTXn5tmorR6gKs

[@r0kus]

I would like to see that as well. He is different than the Asimov/Clarke/Heinlein trio though. Until later in their careers they were pretty-much pure genre authors. Bradbury had a mainstream aesthetic and for whatever reason many educators considered him an author whose works were worth teaching. My taste was more towards the other three, though.

[@brycewilson2065]

"I'm aware of his work."

[@RyanofAndor]

The Martian Chronicles were good, but I think Fahrenheit 451 was his better work.

[@AtlasNovack]

Finally it's back!

[@ryderdonahue]

Great narrator!

[@farkasmactavish]

But why the change?

[@jimparsons6803]

Liked the clip. In many ways, our current times were foretold in the 1960s. A major staple during the 60s were computerized widgets, or robots, that did stuff for people. If you substitute the word 'laptop' for 'robot,' as an example ---- y' kind a get the drift, I would guess.

[@elvenatheart982]

Please do Phillip K Dick and paranoid fiction sometime soon.

[@ggnoxious2533]

3:16 She's hammering with a wrench?

[@Cat-mx2mn]

Smart women😂

[@bottasheimfe5750]

hell yeah. i love Arthur C. Clarke's Works. to be perfectly honest... i miss Dan. Matt and Zoey are cool, but Dan was there since the beginning. although i guess now we only have Two Dans to confuse instead of Three, so that's a plus

[@BizarreWords]

Yes! More please!

[@strangeman7577]

I would love an extra fantasy

[@LordDragon1965]

Let's not forget Niven and Pournelle, Yang the Nauseating (Bob Asprin), etc.

[@lonagen9340]

5:40 oh, there goes the cat.

[@comradelayla5635]

I really like the new intro

[@arturoreyescortez2476]

I like the stories of Isaac Asimov, but my issue with some of those stories is that the free will of the characters seems pointless and the problems most of the time aren't problems and solve themselves. Also, the third law of Arthur C. Clarke allows science and magic to coexist since magic is the result of advanced technology going beyond what we consider ordinary.

[@carloscaro9121]

Flying Zoey in the end card just wants to know if Flying Plato from before will feed her, since her normal human is too busy making a video.

[@TheLanCave]

I know Asimov and Clark, but not the other one. Time to go read!

[@pegzounet]

In france you have René Barjavel around the same period. I don't know if english translations exist but i'd definitely recommend him.

[@TitanSix]

I'd love to see an episode on Harlan Ellison or L. Ron Hubbard (even though it's nigh-impossible to distance Hubbard's sci fi work from his, uh, more well-known endeavour. And i'll leave it at that.)

[@offtop1a]

Anyone else notice that they changed the "A" in "Extra" now has Matt's (i think thats his name) avatar now instead of Dan's.

[@Drake844221]

The upcoming arc is going to make me sad. I love Audible, but it drives me nuts that 2010: Odyssey 2 and all three of the sequels to Rendezvous With Rama are unavailable... at least in English. All of Rama is available in French, but I'm not _quite_ at the skill level for it.

[@adoredpariah]

Anyone else read Moorcock's; Behold The Man? It's a sort of alternate history/sci fi that has a lot of (subversive) religious subtext. Read it in my teens and it's one his works that really stuck with me. Even though I love his fantasy series about the eternal champion too, behold the man is really something else.

[@rhysulrich123]

Talk About The History Of Star Trek And How It Grew

[@Sluggernaut]

While I will totally admit they weren't perfect, Heinleins female characters were rarely weak or submissive tropes. Glory Roads secondary character was a female. She (iirc) is the smartest humanoid in the multiverse and needs the main characters help to defeat a great evil. After it's defeat she goes back to guiding the multiverse and takes him with her. In a short story called Gulf (super good) The main character is a man but in a part of the story he is selected to be a member of an elite group of extremely intelligent people. The two main women that are written in the story run circles around him regardless of an advanced intellect he has. I'm sure there are other stories he wrote that are even better examples.

[@influenza3736]

Too bad the next Flu outbreak is still fiction. *For now...*

[@extrahistory]

Flu???? Not today! *grabs hand sanitizer*

[@influenza3736]

Oh heck no! *I AM DONE FOR!*

[@Easy-Eight]

Flu? How about an airborne version of rabies virus? Rabies is almost 100% fatal in humans if there is no immediate treatment. Imagine Rabies with a contagion factor of the common cold.

[@influenza3736]

My friend Rabies may try an epidemic, not sure about it yet.

[@dr.vikyll7466]

*grabs the soon to be catch 22 of phages and antibiotics*

[@quintu5]

Good! Gooood! Now give me my Herbert Episode after the next three please!

[@nathanaelsallhageriksson1719]

"Three guesses to what gender the protaganist was?" 'Trans!' "Male" I can't believe I was wrong.

[@dubbingsync]

So how long has this new narrator been on here? I admit I only watch the odd episode of every other series on this channel so it was a surprise to hear a normal human voice at the start.

[@kevinsullivan3448]

Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. I saw what you did there.

[@jafu86]

why are the subtitles in hebrer but no in eglish?

[@nicholasmaniccia1005]

I feel like you won any skeptics of switching out Dan with that cat... I like Matt but I'm a dog person.

[@stealthflower]

I realise it’s irrelevant to the genuinely fascinating episode, but I love Zoe. I would totally buy an AstroZoe plush.

[@atlasellis8604]

I’m curious about how we can (if we wish to) move past golden age thinking

[@GallowglassVT]

Harlan Ellison needs his own video.

[@nerowulfee9210]

What about soviet science fiction? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_science_fiction_and_fantasy I dont want to elaborate too much, but all this focus on USA makes my cheeki go breeki.