Isaac Asimov on Changes in Science Fiction after 1949

[makeiteasyable]

wow nice commentary

[TheWhistler3]

He make no mention of radio which produced two marvelous Science Fiction series, Dimension X and X Minus One. Both available for download on the internet. These series were written by the masters of The Golden Age in Science Fiction.

[xhable]

Awesome writer... but wow he was so boring to listen to 0.o

[mujuranokamen]

@xhable You must be out of a sane mental state... I hope you get better soon. When you do, think about the absurd of your words.

[DCdabest]

this man died the year and the month i was born.... and i really love his work...coincedence?

[2ratties]

@DCdabest

Don't forget to read his marvelous essays! FYI did you know that he died from AIDS? Bad blood tranfusion during surgery. That damnable 80's denial!

[help4343]

@DCdabest

Yes, millions of people are born every month, and Asimov was a popular writer.

[DCdabest]

@help4343

I know but it's still cool....

[23167luis]

wow. the galactic empire.

[productrushuk]

Very incisive commentary from Isaac Asimov.

[vanderbilt887]

This reminds me a lot of what Bertrand Russell says about the Presocratics and their period of intellectual inquiry in his 'Western Philosophy'.

[CoastConFan]

I think it was Asimov who once said that you can't have good science fiction without having good fiction first. That pretty much sums up his stance.

Thanks for putting this interview on YouTube.

[gooddarkjedi]

its funny how people say that science is chancing all the time and cant be trusted. actualy science changes only when there is evidence. earth will never be falt ever again. its only the smaler things that are still unclear.

[jmm1233]

Epic scifi and cyberpunk , he defiantely offered himself sopificated stories of society change through science

[aperson22222]

Asimov liked Star Trek! Awesome!

[ObeeLektro]

I love his books. Had read all 10 that related to the Daniel Robot and The history of the Foundation Foundation and the Empire Second Foundation etc. But little did Isac Asimov new how huge and legendary Star Trek will become in the next 50 years or so. Cheers.

[ajittffcure]

Nice little footage. The sci-fi magazines were so advanced and ahead of its time in the late 1940s and 50s (well, that's funny because it is meant to be that way!).

[mjufpn]

star trek isnt scienc fiction its culture!

[deepinmyass]

You're not gay, you're a fruit!

[einhorn303]

I don't understand that comment as it seems to imply that things that are "science fiction" cannot be "culture" at the same time.

[jbrisby]

What a tragedy that nobody ever took Isaac aside and told him gently that the sideburns went out in the 70s.

[burns725]

Isaac Asimov's side burns are the shiz

[cgn1fcance]

We should worship him!

[radovest]

Idol.

[kevb013]

dude this guys brilliant, i love his work, so far ive read prelude to foundation, forward the foundation, foundation, and im working on foundation and empire now. I bought caves of steel, and the naked sun and the fantastic voyage and i cant wait to read those

[andscifi]

Pick up the short story nightfall too.

[raptrackfanman]

This dude is my fav author. Its hard to find a story by him i didnt like. And i still have yet to read the Foundation series. Asimov = the shit

[drillsargentadog]

WOW. My firend take to reading the foundations series at once. Asimov is great in all his 5oo books, but foundation is a folio-style classic (of liturature as well as SF) that goes beyond all others, certianly it will be read in to the time Hari Seldon (around 12,000 G. E. [what can I say i,m a huge fan]).

[elbethere]

I know this is trivial to what he was saying, but what author do you think influenced the Star Wars film francise more. Asimov or Frank Herbert?

[Naturality]

Frank Herbert by far.

I've heard that FH was going to sue George Lucas for plagiarism, but didn't because it would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Although, really, I don't personally consider Star Wars science fiction. It seems far too... action focused for a science fiction series. It doesn't seem to fit with the SF ideal that Asimov is talking about here. But that's just me.

[Cabochon1360]

Agreed; Star Wars is Space Opera. (Not nearly as imaginative or wild as the stuff by "Doc" Smith and Jack Williamson back in the 1930s!)

[tet64]

Lucas has admitted to Dune being one of the influences for Star Wars. So Herbert, definitely.

Although if you want influences on Star Wars, then I recommend hunting down a copy of Joseph Campbell's book "Hero with a Thousand Faces." A book that Lucas has admitted to having a bigger influence on the franchise (particularly the original trilogy) than Dune (at least in terms of plot structure).

[elbethere]

I know. I actually own a copy. But I've heard it said that the star wars universe and many plot elements of the films bear an uncanny resemblance to worlds and places described in asimov's foundation series.

[tet64]

hmmm, haven't heard that before. Though it wouldn't surprise me if Asimov's work had some influence on Star Wars, given Asimov's semi-god like status in the genre (and rightfully so I might add).

[SSBDelphiki]

The original book description of Coruscant was supposedly based somewhat on Trantor, at least the idea of a world-city.

[djminimoto]

Then maybe it's high time for Hollywood to start making Foundation book movies?

[Rodimus78]

No. Now stop it.

-R78

[almanacofsleep]

@tet64 Isn't a big amount of plot sturcture of Star Wars taken from Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress?

[tet64]

@almanacofsleep Hidden Fortress is where Lucas got the idea for R2 and Threepio. I.E. telling the story from the point of view of the two lowliest characters (the two bums in Hidden Fortress) like a chorus from ancient Greek Drama. Other than that and saving/protecting a princess, the two films have very little in common plot wise IMO. But Lucas has admitted that Kurosawa's films did heavily influence Star Wars.

[cicero1453]

It looks a bit like he's reading from a script.

[JDBW]

This man's one smart dude.

[civeniv]

gracias por este video, esta de coleccionista!!

[CRACKOWL]

my sci-fi fav. cheers to talented upcoming sci fi writers an creators here in the 21st century and a positive non fictional reality that should come to manifest because of them.

[20mmnagler]

Isn't it a shame when caretakers let pinheads like dennisjiewenliu expose their ignorant babel on the web for all the world to see? Asimov had more intellect in his right toe nail than this obvious moron will possess is in his whole pathetic life.

[IgnoreLan]

dennisjiewenliu needs to do some research on Asimov, he wrote over 500 books much of which was non-fiction in subjects ranging from literature and history to, of course, science. He was a great writer and thinker by any measure (although I disagree with some of his conclusions in the realm of psychology among others).

[mozrox]

Issac Asimov wrote a two volume guide to Shakespeare, a two volume guide to the Bible, a Treasury of Humor, and various mystery novels and stories. He also wrote about history, popular science, anatomy, and astronomy, just to name a few of his many and varied topics.

[gdavies1967]

Thanks for uploading this great video, it's wonderful to watch and listen to Asimov, he was the best!

[roja545]

Super brain, I loved this guy.