In this episode we welcome our first guest, film critic Travis Johnson, to rank all six Terminator films from worst to best. We discuss what makes some of the films modern classics and why other films in the franchise get it so wrong. We explore how the films express anxieties about A.I., what makes Sarah Connor such an enduring action icon, how Arnold Schwarzenegger's performances change from film to film and try to untangle the very complicated rights issues that were happening behind-the-scenes. We also discuss how the Terminator has expanded into TV, comics, and videogames and pitch our own ideas for future films.

Timecodes:

Film 6 (16:57)

Film 5 (30:20)

Film 4 (41:30)

Film 3 (57:21)

Film 2 (1:10:20)

Film 1 (1:23:01)

Hosted, produced, and edited by Liam Dunn and Lindsay Hallam

Music composed and performed by Damo Alexander and Rosie Gilbey

Artwork by Millie Hallam

Visit our website: https://rss.com/podcasts/scifrights/

Email us at scifrightspodcast@gmail.com

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Bluesky

Letterboxd

In this episode we discuss Liam’s most anticipated film of the year – and a film that set the box office on fire over the weekend – Zach Cregger’s Weapons. We start with a spoiler-free conversation about the film’s influences, structure, style, and scares, before getting into spoiler territory (from 24:50) going deep into the film’s villain and the societal implications of its themes.

Hosted, produced, and edited by Liam Dunn and Lindsay Hallam

Music composed and performed by Damo Alexander and Rosie Gilbey

Artwork by Millie Hallam

Visit our website: https://rss.com/podcasts/scifrights/

Email us at scifrightspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on:

Instagram

Facebook

Bluesky

Letterboxd

This episode’s topic explores how direct relationships develop between humans and A.I., leading to questions about the nature of consciousness and the nature of love, sexuality, human emotion and bodily autonomy. Firstly we have a discussion about whether there are differences between robots and A.I. and survey some key examples of robots/A.I. throughout cinema history (01:33). Then we go on to explore one woman’s nightmare of A.I. domination in Demon Seed (24:44) and Alex Garland’s examination of human/A.I. relations (and possible robot liberation) in Ex Machina (01:01:05) . We end with some Honourable Mentions of other films about robot/computer/human relations (01:33:24).

Content Warning - this episode discusses depictions of sexual assault.

Hosted, produced, and edited by Liam Dunn and Lindsay Hallam

Music composed and performed by Damo Alexander and Rosie Gilbey

Artwork by Millie Hallam

Visit our website: https://rss.com/podcasts/scifrights/

Email us at scifrightspodcast@gmail.com

Follow us on:

Instagram

Facebook

Bluesky

Letterboxd