
Hey, guys! The Laire is proud to welcome Michael J. Foy, science fiction author. Michael has gladly volunteered to take over the bridge and tell you about his own personal time machine. I could use one! So before you gather your lightsabers for the new Star Wars movie this weekend, sit back, relax, and let Michael take you on a journey to the past, present, and future. I can't promise if any ghosts are involved. See you next week.
Take it away, Michael!
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A few years ago I saw a movie called Hollywoodland. It was the story of the actor George Reeves who played Superman in the television show in the 50s. The story presented the mystery of his death in 1959. Was it suicide, homicide or accidental? The question remains to this day but the movie presented some well envisioned theories.
In upstate New York in the mid-sixties, while visiting my aunt and uncle, I played outside with some neighborhood kids. I think it was one of my female cousins who came out to say that Superman was on TV. It was like someone yelled STAT to a doctor in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital. I let go of the radio flyer I was hauling up an incline and made a mad dash into the house. I believe someone sustained a minor injury from the runaway wagon.
In the mid-eighties I looked forward to the miracle of owning a device that could play any movie I rented or bought on the television. It was called a Video Cassette Recorder or VCR. Truly, civilization had taken a giant leap forward. Now I could relive all the video experiences I wanted. There were several movies that fleshed out my initial library including one called Forbidden Planet. From 1956 it was unlike most Science Fiction films of that era since it made one think. For that reason among others it is still one of my favorites. Like Superman it transported me back. This time I was in my late teens in the seventies when I watched it from a prone position as was my custom from the floor of my parents’ living room. Again, I experienced the awe I felt when seeing this story for the first time.
Pike was captured by a race of aliens known as the Talosians. Using their innate ability to create illusion they tricked Pike and his landing party into believing they were rescuing an imaginary set of castaways. Luring Pike to the entrance of their underground complex they knocked him out, took him below and deposited him on a bed in a cell that was part of an underground zoo. He woke with a start and flung off a thin metallic fabric blanket. Cave-like walls surrounded him on two sides, while a large, rectangular stone wall made up the back of the cell. Turning around to the front, he looked out onto a corridor whose floor lay about eighteen inches below the level of the chamber he occupied.
Pike stood and felt a transparent barrier that prevented him from leaving the cell. With a quick flair of anger, he hurled himself against the obstruction. It resisted as if it were made of tautly stretched rubber. Only then did he observe that he was just one of many zoo specimens.
In summary, I hit upon a method for conjuring up prior memories and feelings. I could be nine, or nineteen or thirteen but by utilizing selective viewing I can inhabit a younger self to relive mystery, fear, triumph or whatever. Roger Ebert once said that movies are an empathy machine. Perhaps, but by selecting past viewing experiences, movies can also help one re-explore earlier states of their own being. Couldn’t that also be described as a personal time machine?
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In 1991 he sold an option for his first novel, False Gods, as a screenplay to Timothy Bogart the nephew of Peter Guber, Producer of Batman. Michael has since published Future Perfect, a Science Fiction novel and local bestseller, and The Kennedy Effect which weaves the story of JFK with parallel reality themes.
He was also an early pioneer in publishing short stories over the internet including the Solar Winds of Change, The Adventure of the Moonstone and A Land to Call Our Own. He lives in Massachusetts where he enjoys kayaking, bicycling and exploring a wide array of literary subjects.
I am delighted you had Michael as a guest on your site Sir David. Welcome Michael, as you know, I really enjoyed your book and look forward to reading the following stories. Wishing you all the best with your writing. I loved Christopher Reeve as Superman and probably watched all the original Kirk Star Treks.
ReplyDeleteYou took me back memory lane, Michael. Good luck with your book.
ReplyDeleteI definitely recall that movie...but why do I keep picturing Ben Affleck? LOL
ReplyDeleteRe-watching those shows from childhood can bring back memories. Although I am careful which ones I watch as I've had those memories ruined by cheesy shows.
ReplyDeleteI hear that Alex. Who needs to relive Lost in Space. :-)
DeleteThanks Jo. Love the feedback... especially when it's positive. ;-) But the fact that I'm entertaining discriminating readers validates my efforts.
ReplyDeleteI love immersing myself in Star Trek and travelling into the future and back again. Its almost like when I come back to the present, I've gained the power of Q to alter the current timeline. Yessss!
ReplyDeleteGreat guest post! I love to relive old shows from my childhood like this, too. It never fails to be a fun and easy way to take a trip down memory lane!
ReplyDeleteSometimes the stories around the movies and TV shows are more nostalgic than the shows themselves. I still recall watching Star Trek: TNG when an earthquake struck...
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing Forbidden Planet. And I was hooked on the original Star Trek series. Just reading about them brings back fun memories.
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