Cuplog

At the end of the Futuristic Small Arms of Film and Television list, there is a short list of toy science fiction weapons that have no direct connection to any film, television show, or literary source. One of these, which I had labelled “Liquidator [by ?]“, was the original continuous stream water gun, predating the first Super Soaker by a decade. I owned one of these. I saw the television commercial (back when I was a lad capable of being influenced by advertising), and my mother, an ardent lover of science fiction, fantasy, and swashbuckling adventure of any kind, bought me one. I guess it was about 1978. It was, indeed, the emperor of all squirt guns, and I played with it rather too often and hard, for eventually some mechanism involving the pump or the loss of the hose forced me to use the gun as a toy gun rather than a functioning water weapon, so to speak.

I decided to do a Google search to see if I could find the name of the manufacturer, and lo and behold, I stumbled upon this site, wherein I learned that its full name (as I suspected it might be, but was unsure) was the Cosmic Liquidator, and that it was manufactured by Sun Products Corporation. The site has a full review and extensive photographs of what had been one of my favorite toys when I was growing up.

I think I may still have my old Cosmic Liquidator somewhere at my parents’ house or my grandmother’s house, but it’s probably in a very sorry state.

Suddenly I feel the urge to get into a squirt gun fight. Or should that be squirt gunfight?

Futuristic Small Arms in Film and Television is a list or survey of science fiction weapons from live-action films and television shows as well as comic strips. Included are pistols, rifles, portable artillery, and suitable futuristic hand-to-hand weapons. Excluded are unique weapons (e.g. the Glaive from Krull, the Demat Gun from Doctor Who, the Positronic Ray from Barbarella), weapons that can be used only once (e.g. Cyberbombs, Dalekanium Bombs, and Nova Devices from Doctor Who), and doomsday weapons (e.g. the Doomsday Device from Doctor Strangelove, the Time Destructor from Doctor Who).

Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

The Award for Most Redundant Name for a Robot in a Film or Television Show goes to Alpha 1 from the episode “Alpha” of the television show, The Flash. Alpha 1 tells us that her name stands for “Artificial Lifelike Prototype Humanoid Android One.” That could almost be a new game… called Alpha 1.

Rule Number 1. Make an acronym of an existing word.
Rule Number 2. Make it as redundant as possible.
Rule Number 3. Make it robot appropriate.

Example: Beta 2: Brainless Experimental Test Automaton Two

Alpha 1 is the newest addition to Robots in Film and Television.

I think it might be useful to compile a list of films that have used puppets. I first started thinking about this after reading Bil Baird’s The Art of the Puppet, with its many stills and backstage photographs of filmed puppet productions, including Baird’s own. Then I finally succeeded in seeing Santa Claus’ Punch and Judy, a short film from 1948 featuring the masterful puppetry of George Prentice (and viewable here). Then I read some articles on marionettes such as Marionettes Go Hollywood in old issues of Popular Science or Modern Mechanix, wherein I learned that Jack Benny was in a musical comedy in 1937 called Artists and Models, which featured a musical number with marionettes.

This may be a daunting task, but it would be nice to add something practical and unrelated to science fiction to the odd reference page. Many of these films are truly useful for research purposes where puppeteers and puppet builders are concerned.

The ongoing addition of Star Trek ships to the Spaceships of Film and Television page has proved unwieldy, so I have transferred them to the newly established Ships of Star Trek page in the Cuparium. Do not, however, expect to see any vessels from Star Trek: Enterprise, for it is anathema as far as I am concerned. The spin-off series are bad enough (except for Star Trek: Voyager, which has its merits), but a prequel series? Bah!

I shall desist from ranting further on the subject… for now.

Yesterday, I posted a list in progress at the Cuparium, namely Spaceships in Film and Television. This time I shall not mirror it on three pages. If you wish to view it, click on the link; if you wish to vote on your favorite spaceship, you may do so here or in the posting in Mr. Cooper’s Journal. Be seeing you… :-?

I have updated the links page at the Cuparium for the first time since November 2005. I’m not sure why I waited so long.

 I have also added some colorful expressions originating with Tom Corbett, Space Cadet to the Swearwords of Science Fiction and Fantasy glossary.

I have just updated the Robots in Film and Television survey, and the Swearwords of Science Fiction and Fantasy lexicon has been expanded to twice its former size.

I’ve added a new subsection to the words section of the Cuparium. Odd Reference is where I collect certain surveys, lists, glossaries, and other informational miscellany that appeal to me. Such are my time-squandering powers:

• Robots in Film and Television
• Futuristic Computers in Film and Television
• Swearwords of Science Fiction and Fantasy

The first two started as surveys here and in my LiveJournal site. If you wish to comment or suggest additions, the Cuplog versions are here for robots and here for computers; Mr. Cooper’s Journal versions are here for robots and here for computers. Confused? Fear not. All mirrors are hyperlinked to one another.

If you wish to make comments or suggestions for my new dictionary of science fiction and fantasy swearwords, that page did not start as a survey, so please feel free to comment here, or in the swearword announcement at Mr. Cooper’s Journal.

As for this lexicon of speculative foul language, I was prompted partially by an appreciation for any sign of creativity in a form of human expression that has become increasingly barren. To be honest, I enjoy venting my harsher emotions in a manner that surprises, confuses, and yet doesn’t quite descend to a level of crudity that ought to be beneath me. ‘Tis a fine way to promote lexicography, too!

As promised in the Robots in Film and Television Survey, here is the survey for famous futuristic fictional computers. State your favorite and the one you would most like to own (if the two are not the same). As with the earlier survey, the rules remain the same. There will be inadvertent omissions, so if you wish to enter your own, do so. I’ll probably include it, with a note at the bottom including the date it was added. My rules for inclusion are: All computers must represent programmable computing devices of some sort (not robots) appearing in a live-action film or television show.

[Edit: The list has been moved to Futuristic Computers in Film and Television at Cuparius.com.]