Friday, December 30, 2011

Into 2012 (Deeds, Not Words...)

Well, the year 2011 has been the biggest so far for this blog in terms of readership, and we topped last year's number of hits by well over 30,000 unique visitors.  I also posted more frequently this year than in any year since the blog began, in 2005: over 380 posts.

In terms of content, 2011 was the year of my first blogathon (in honor of the great Lance Henriksen), and the span of such events as Planet of the Apes Week, the Matrix-a-thon, The James Cameron Curriculum and the Tim Burton Brief. 

I've had a blast, and I hope you did too.

As we move into 2012, I am starting up a new recurring feature called "1982 in Film," which reviews movies from the great genre year of 1982. 

This was the span that brought the world highlights such as Blade Runner, Conan the Barbarian, Creepshow, The Dark Crystal, E.T., Firefox, Poltergeist, Q, The Secret of NIMH, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Thing and Tron, as well as cult movies such as The Beastmaster, Class of 1984, Cat People, Timerider and The Last Unicorn.  I'll be reviewing ALL of these memorable productions in 2012, in remembrance of thirty years since '82.

Also in 2012 on the blog, I'll be writing  retrospectives of the Jurassic Park film trilogy and Harryhausen's Sinbad trilogy.  Plus, to celebrate the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises in July, I'll be featuring a Batman week much in the vein of the Planet of the Apes week last year.

Finally, I'll be continuing to look back at some of the unexcavated gems of Star Trek: The Next Generation to celebrate that program's historic 25th anniversary. 

And, of course, in 2012 I'll continue to examine cult-tv faces of different sci-fi tv tropes and conventions, and highlight "collectibles of the week."  Also, come summer, I'll be offering another director retrospective...or two.

Stick around! The best is yet to come...

6 comments:

  1. Ah, Megaforce, what a wonderfully terrible flick, seemingly the subject of more comic book ads than anything that decade save perhaps D&D and the debut of the Bulletboys.

    Can't wait to read your stuff on TNG. 25 years, [insert standard now-I-feel-old bit].

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  2. Wonderful--looking forward to it! I turned 7 in 1982, and I've always thought of this as a year that really solidified my fandom and interest in SF & fantasy.

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  3. We look forward to another insightfully entertaining year in reflections. Happy New Year John. sff

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  4. Randal: Megaforce is a terrible movie, but a fun, terrible movie. I've been threatening my wife with it for a week now: "Are you ready for Megaforce?" So far, she hasn't taken me up on it. But her time is running out...

    Hugh: I totally agree with you about 1982. It was a magical year for horror and science fiction, and with titles like Blade Runner, John Carpenter's The Thing and Tron really pointed to the future of genre cinema!

    SFF: Thank you, my friend! And Happy New Year to you as well!

    best to all,
    John

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  5. Anonymous10:56 PM

    Star Trek II - The Wrath Of Khan will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary this summer. As will Blade Runner and The Last Unicorn among others.

    John, I'm looking forward to readings your articles about these thirty year old productions. Some of the best years I ever had in the Eighties, in terms of sci-fi and fantasy were in 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1989.

    Keep up the good work.

    Chris Dalton.

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  6. Revisiting 1982 is a fantastic idea, John. So many great films came out that year.

    And ahhh, MEGAFORCE. I must've spent many hours of my misspent youth watching this film on VHS, probably driving my folks crazy in the process. Cheese-tastic film.

    Also, looking forward to you revisiting the BATMAN films.

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