Last week I found a science fiction group at USC on Facebook. I posted a note asking if anyone around here ever meets up to write or discuss science fiction. One guy responded, saying that a few people get together in his dorm to watch the new SCI-FI Channel series Battlestar Galactica, and sometimes stick around afterward to discuss science fiction. I’d never seen the show, but I’d heard good things about it, so I decided to drop by.
I was supposed to call the guy to let me into his building, but I couldn’t since I’d destroyed my cell phone. These dorms require you to swipe your card to get in and to use the elevator or stairs. I had to hang around looking as studentish as possible and follow people through the doors, infiltrating the building in much the same way as (in retrospect) Cylon agent Number Six … only sexier. It wasn’t hard. I didn’t even have to resort to my more devious gambit — swiping my card (which I know isn’t going to work) and exclaiming, “What the hell? My card’s not working. Is yours?”
The “group” to watch the show turned out to be just me and the guy I’d talked to. This is honestly exactly what I was expecting. If my long sad experience with school clubs and humanity has taught me anything, it’s that if an activity is even the slightest bit smart or interesting, no one will show. Though the guy claimed that there were usually more people — including an actual girl.
Anyway, Battlestar Galactica is super cool. (The guy loaned my some DVDs with a bunch of episodes on them.) The new show has only the most tenuous connection to the ’70s TV show of the same name, which is a very good thing if my hazy recollections of that show are correct. What impressed me most was that the new show doesn’t shy away from forcing characters to make tough decisions. I also really liked that the future humans are polytheists, while the invading robots are monotheists. The first season comes out on DVD on Tuesday, and I recommend checking it out.
I also ended up randomly talking to another student in the dorm, who’s taking a class in science fiction. I contacted the professor, and I’m going to meet with him next week to talk about his approach to teaching sf and see if maybe I can sit in on a class.
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