Essays by Isaac Asimov about television and film

Copyright © 1995 by Edward Seiler and Richard Hatcher. All rights reserved.

Hollywood and I

Subject: Asimov's limited influence on Hollywood
First Published In: May-79, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
Collection(s):

• 1981 Asimov on Science Fiction
  

Hollywood II

Subject: The Hollywood productions of "Light Years", "Probe", and "Nightfall"
First Published In: Jan-89, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

The Insidious Uncle Martin

Original Title: Can You Spot the Family Resemblance?
Subject: a spoof on TV Martians
First Published In: 5-Mar-66, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• 1967 Is Anyone There?
  

What are a Few Galaxies Among Friends?

Subject: scientific inaccuracies in television programs
First Published In: 26-Nov-66, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Mr. Spock is Dreamy

Subject: women like Mr. Spock because it's sexy to be smart
First Published In: 29-Apr-67, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Rejoice, Oh Reader!

Subject: Saturday morning cartoons, where the bad guys are dark and always lose
First Published In: 4-May-68, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Hitch Your Wagon to a Rock

Subject: the TV show "The Prisoner" is unique because the good guy doesn't win
First Published In: 31-Aug-68, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Yipes, Cripes, and Other Scientific Expressions

Subject: the scientific impossibility of TV's "Land of the Giants"
First Published In: 22-Feb-69, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Husbands, Beware!

Subject: in the TV show "Bewitched", the husband is terrified of his wife, not vice versa
First Published In: 22-Mar-69, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Daytime TV Can Be Hard to Swallow

Subject: daytime television is worse than a hospital stay
First Published In: 1-Oct-77, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

The Answer to Star Wars?

Original Title: Battlestar Galactica: Creativity(?) in Full Force
Subject: "Battlestar Galactica" is a copy of "Star Wars", including implausible science
First Published In: 17-Sep-78, Newsday
Collection(s):

• 1981 Asimov on Science Fiction
  

The Boom in Science Fiction

Subject: real SF differs from (visual) eye-sci-fi, which relies on special effects
First Published In: Fall 79, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Adventure Magazine
Collection(s):

• 1981 Asimov on Science Fiction
  

Speculative Fiction

Original Title: Science or Speculative Fiction
Subject: the inconsistencies and illogic of the TV production of "The Lathe of Heaven"
First Published In: 6-Jan-80, Newsday
Collection(s):

• 1981 Asimov on Science Fiction
  

It Changed the World!

Subject: television has changed the world
First Published In: Mar-82, TV:2000
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

ALF, You've Got Some Explaining to Do

Subject: the lack of originality in the television show ALF
First Published In: 15-Aug-87, TV Guide
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Searching for the Self-starter in Television

Subject:
First Published In: Sep-89, Video
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

The Reluctant Critic

Subject: criticism of the movie Close Encounters
First Published In: Nov-Dec-78, Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
Collection(s):

• 1981 Asimov on Science Fiction
  
• 1996 Magic
  

A Pumpkin is Not a Spaceship

Subject: SF in movies or on television depends entirely upon special effects
First Published In: Jan-80, Horizon
Collection(s):

• DOES NOT APPEAR IN ANY COLLECTIONS
  

Movie Science

Subject: are those things we see in movies possible in the future?
First Published In: 1984, Omni's Screen Flight, Screen Fantasies
Collection(s):

• 1987 Past, Present, and Future
  

Book Into Movie

Subject: different art forms of necessity must be different
First Published In: 1985, Murder in the First Reel
Collection(s):

• 1987 Past, Present, and Future