Laser Rangers 2020 January Meeting

Strange Revivals

Date: January 11, 2020 January 25, 2019 Updated!!!

Time: 4:15pm
Location: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and upgraded seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: David S. & Chris H.
Food: Whatever You Want
Costume: Mishmash

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.

Short features will be shown before each feature. Don't miss them!

Iron Sky II: The Coming Race

(2019, 92 minutes) Directed by: Timo Vuorensola

Starring: Lara Rossi, Vladimir Burlakov, Kit Dale, Julia Dietze, Stephanie Paul, Tom Green, Udo Kier

A follow-up to the film Iron Sky (2012) in which Nazis plan to take over the world after lying dormant in a secret military base on the moon. -IMDB

Watch the trailer here!







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After the first feature, please join us for a potluck dinner. Bring something to share. It can follow the theme, or be something you prefer.
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Feature Presentation!
Captain Marvel

(2019, 124 minutes) Directed by: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck

Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Jude Law

Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races. -IMDB

Watch the trailer here!







The home of the Laser Rangers is located about four miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB. The movie posters come from Wikipedia or the movie's respected distributors. 

The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

Best new SF-F TV in 2017?

Our panel and audience have spoken!

Carol Doms and Ken Keller did considerable research
for this panel.

At the January 20, 2018 KaCSFFS meeting we once again invited Carol Doms and Ken Keller to present a panel discussion about the best new shows (2017 debuts) in the science fiction, fantasy, and related speculative genres. 

The discussion included shows one can see on TV, stream, or download. Their spreadsheet (probably incomplete) listed 50; audience members added another.

Between our panelists and the audience, ten recommended shows emerged. However--as they pointed out--it's impossible for anyone to follow all the shows and still have a life. They may have missed some good ones. If you think a good one was overlooked, please tell us in the Comments section!

Fiction Series 
These are listed in alphabetical order, not order of preference. Click on the links in the captions for more information, trailers, and other goodies.

American Gods

American Gods, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, is available on STARZ.

Castlevania

Castlevania is an adult animated dark fantasy based on a 1989 video game, available on Netflix.

Dark

Dark is a German sf thriller (with subtitles) available from Netflix.

(Marvel's) The Defenders

One of two Marvel titles in this lineup, The Defenders, based on the Marvel comics, is available from Netflix.

The Gifted

Also drawn from the Marvel Universe is Fox's The Gifted, available via Hulu.

The Handmaid's Tale

Based on the 1985 bestseller by Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning Hulu Original.

Happy!

The offbeat Syfy series Happy! is based on a graphic novel series by writer Grant Morrison and artist Darick Robertson.

Marvel's The Punisher

Another Marvel spin-off is The Punisher, from Netflix. "It's dark, but . . . it's the Punisher, so--yeah."

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Lemony Snicket's books come to new life in the Neflix production of A Series of Unfortunate Events. "The movie never happened. Do not speak of it"

Star Trek Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery continues the saga and has generated quite a buzz, but some of our group were pretty disgusted that CBS was making fans pay a premium to see it on All Access.

Documentaries
This year we also heard about two fascinating non-fiction documentaries about SF or things that relate to SF.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath

L. Ron Hubbard, who founded Scientology, was a science fiction writer before he created the religion. Our panel praised Leah Remini's work in untangling the backstory and examining the ramifications in this A&E series.

Visionaries: Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics 

Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics tells the stories behind the stories in this AMC series.

Early Looks at 2018

We weren't very far into 2018 at the time of this January 20 meeting, but the panel already was excited about the pilot for one show:

Black Lightning

So far, the Black Lightning pilot impressed our panel. We hope the series, based on the DC Comics character and produced by the CW, lives up to its promising start!

PLUS! great Chili! 
Let it not be forgotten that the Annual KaCSFFS Chili Cook-off drew a large number (for us) of contender-chili recipes, from relatively mild to extremely spicy. Members enjoyed the samples, and when the votes were counted, the winners were:

(Third Place): Mom's Midwestern Chili-moderate spice (David Means)
(Second Place): I Dub Thee Chili Bob!-very spicy (Jim Murray)
(First Place): Torn Label Chili-moderate to spicy (Carol Doms)


IMAGES: The photo of our panelists was taken with their permission by Jan S. Gephardt, for this post and other KaCSFFS publicity. 
We extend many thanks to Slashfilm via The Gryphon (includes a review), for the American Gods image; to GameRant for the Castlevania image; to Flixable for the Dark image; to Honk if You Love Justice's review of the series for the Defenders image; to Wikipedia for the title card image for The Gifted; to Script (with a post about the craft of scriptwriting), for the image from The Handmaid's Tale; to Next Episode for the Happy! image; to Live 105 for the Punisher logo; to YouTube for the image for A Series of Unfortunate Events (nice trailer here); and to Wallhaven for the Star Trek: Discovery title image.
Our deepest thanks also go to The Emmys for the title image of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath; to SkyBound for the title image for Robert Kirkman's Secret History of Comics, and the link to the YouTube trailer; and to IGN via YouTube for the Black Lightning image (and official trailer). We appreciate you all!