Highway To Mars

The Singularity – Mass Effect Pt 2

June 22, 2016 16:32 - 2 hours - 58.3 MB

Mass Effect explores almost every portion of the singularity and has provides all manner of answers to how it will work. The best part is you can try out multiple answers to the same problem. In this 2 part episode we look specifically at the singularity elements of Mass Effect and even though we don’t get […]

The Singularity – Mass Effect Pt 1

June 19, 2016 22:06 - 2 hours - 58.8 MB

Mass Effect explores almost every portion of the singularity and has provides all manner of answers to how it will work. The best part is you can try out multiple answers to the same problem. In this 2 part episode we look specifically at the singularity elements of Mass Effect and even though we don’t get […]

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – The TV Series

June 16, 2016 04:52 - 1 hour - 130 MB

The Hitchhikers Guide TV series follows a similar storyline to the Vinyl edition, swapping out the Hagunemnon for an epic sun dive during a rock concert. With it’s 80’s British TV charms there is a lot to like about the TV Series. It fleshes out the world building of the radio play while remaining pretty much faithful […]

Pyramid (Revisited)

May 31, 2016 12:03 - 1 hour - 35.3 MB

My favourite independent piece during the run of The Martians are Here. This is First Contact as I suspect it will be.

The Singularity – AI Artificial Intelligence

May 30, 2016 13:37 - 2 hours - 59.5 MB

This is the story of Pinocchio set in the modern world. Unlike Pinocchio, David is in fact conceivable as a creation and as such the question is not “Can I ever be a real boy” but when will the world work out there isn’t that much of a difference. In a world where our teens […]

The Singularity – Terminator 2

May 22, 2016 12:55 - 2 hours - 61.9 MB

When you think militaristic robots gone awol, Terminator comes to mind. The unstoppable machine hell bent on destroying the Connor family are the poster children for the Singularity gone wrong. Skynet has it in for humanity, in particular it’s future leader and will do anything including screwing with the timeline to remove him. The one thing […]

Heroine Cast – The Dark Crystal

May 04, 2016 13:29 - 1 hour - 97.6 MB

The dark crystal is one of those movies which you either love or hate. Personally I loved it, it’s imaginative, crazy and has some great central characters. It also demonstrates the power of strong female characters. Kira embodies a great many capabilities all of them positive. She is decisive, resourceful, compassionate, protective and self sacrificing. […]

The Singularity – Short Circuit

May 02, 2016 12:40 - 1 hour - 52.6 MB

Number 5 is alive! We are back in the eighties where Robots were innocent, well except when checking out software and men were naive. Well not much has changed really. This movie is a lot of fun and proves you can present scientific concepts in a kind of friendly way that makes it more accessible. […]

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – The Restaurant at the end of the Universe Book

April 27, 2016 14:45 - 2 hours - 170 MB

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, aka the day Douglas Adams discovered cut and paste. This book is actually something of a technical challenge given portions were hand written and cut and paste was actually somewhat new technology at least at the desktop. The book however addresses a number of the weaknesses of […]

The Singularity – Metropolis

April 24, 2016 14:25 - 1 hour - 49.9 MB

It seems a little odd to me that the two films that have really caught my attention this year are a french black and white film and a silent film. In both cases it’s the story telling, without the distraction of effects or modern demands to fit in more and more content the film maker […]

First Contact – Cocoon

April 17, 2016 12:04 - 2 hours - 56.9 MB

Cocoon is the last entry into our first contact series and is the most complex character wise. Each of our entries has had a quite different take on first contact, from war to alien superintelligences and this one is no different. Three occupants of an old peoples home and a boat owner make contact with […]

Heroine Cast – Hit Girl Part 2

April 12, 2016 11:24 - 1 hour - 31.3 MB

Chloe Grace Moretz has been in a heap of movies since Kick Ass and built up a pretty big profile. While she isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, movies such as Hick prove she has some serious acting ability. I loved her in Kick Ass and in many ways she is the best thing about Kick […]

Maze Runner and Maze Runner Scorch Trials

April 10, 2016 01:22 - 1 hour - 40.2 MB

The martian is travelling and fish whispering so here is an episode we recorded earlier in the year, will release the cocoon episode next week. I did have a look at this previously under special muffins of the apocalypse but seeing as there is a second instalment I thought it merited a better look. Have […]

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy The Novel

April 05, 2016 14:22 - 2 hours - 57.7 MB

But wait theres more. There can’t be too many instances of a story making it to radio before Novelisation but then Douglas Adams is not a conventional man. The novel follows the original radio play but with some important differences which we cover. If you are a fan of the radio play the novel adds […]

First Contact – Evolution

April 05, 2016 14:22 - 2 hours - 146 MB

Evolution is funny. In the right mood I have a good laugh but I need my brain switched off to do so. On the other hand I enjoy the aliens in Evolution every time I watch it and despite a dozen viewings too date, I always end it wanting more. Of all the movies we […]

Once a Jolly Swagman (Revisited)

March 30, 2016 13:20 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MB

We’ve all been down on our luck but Robert seems to have made an art of it. Still the good folk of Lybourne are always there to help even when Robert starts to act very odd indeed. What is Roberts hiding?

First Contact – Independence Day (ID4)

March 26, 2016 12:11 - 1 hour - 34.8 MB

Independence Day is a bit like Avatar. At the time it was a big thing but over time it’s kinda been put in the bin. In part that’s because while the setup is great the payoff is not so great in many peoples eyes. I won’t argue that but I will say that none the […]

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Secondary Phase

March 23, 2016 22:17 - 2 hours - 67.6 MB

Who is Zarniwhoop and why is he on an interstellar cruise in his office? This is a very important question which needs a podcast to address. Equally important is the question of why Douglas doesn’t seem to be able to find shoes that fit him. This is the second and decidedly more sci-fi part of Hitchhikers […]

First Contact – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

March 21, 2016 16:53 - 1 hour - 49 MB

Back in the 1980’s people put beer on the bottom shelf of their fridge in reach of the children… (Think about that for a moment). This is the story of two beings that come from very different worlds that overcome their differences to become friends. Unlike Enemy Mine, this story is intended for children and […]

Heroine Cast – Hit Girl

March 16, 2016 12:35 - 1 hour - 53.6 MB

In the second episode of our Heroine Case Series we look at the first movie in the Kick Ass series, specifically the character Hit Girl. I avoided watching this movie as I didn’t think it would be any good but couldn’t be happier to say I was wrong. I love all the characters in the […]

First Contact – Close Encounters of the Third Kind

March 12, 2016 20:17 - 1 hour - 106 MB

Another in our First Contact Series, this time we have a look at Close Encounters of the Third Kind. If you ever wondered what a legitimate presentation of the Alien Conspiracy theories would look like, look no further as Close Encounters covers a good many. It’s a product of it’s time, unlike the later far […]

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Primary Phase

March 09, 2016 13:08 - 2 hours - 194 MB

Like all good stories, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy kicks off with the careless destruction of the earth in what could be considered to be an act of death by bureaucracy. This made a lot of people happy and has been widely considered to be a pretty sweet move. Not least the BBC Radiophonic […]

FIRST CONTACT – 2001 A Space Odyssey

March 04, 2016 12:37 - 1 hour - 127 MB

Widely considered the best science fiction movie, if not the best movie ever at some point we were going to have to cover this film. While there is no doubt it is brilliant and demonstrates that science fiction is a serious medium it’s not “accessible” to all. One of the key elements of science fiction […]

Heroine Cast – Gravity

March 01, 2016 12:13 - 1 hour - 44.9 MB

Kicking off the Heroine Cast on Highway to Mars a discussion we had on the movie Gravity featuring the Apocalypse before she became a moody teen. Gravity was a great movie but also part of the growing list of movies carried by actresses. There will be bribes to get the apocalypse back for more Heroine […]

Eyes Without a Face

February 27, 2016 00:30 - 1 hour - 48.3 MB

We drift a little off the conventional path with a black and white subtitled piece. I really enjoyed this piece not least because the character development is in general really good. This highlights my general disconnect with modern SF and Comic story telling, they stuff in so much what there is rarely time for more than […]

Maggie

February 19, 2016 23:23 - 1 hour - 44.7 MB

I am done with Zombies. Having said that, this was a huge surprise to me, firstly because Arnie is good at something other than smacking up bad guys and second because despite the fact I thought there was nothing left to say on Zombies, this movie not only reopens the conversation but rehumanises Zombies in […]

DEADPOOL

February 13, 2016 23:12 - 1 hour - 44.7 MB

So, Deadpool. This is all sorts of fun and then some! I have been waiting for this and I wasn’t disappointed. No, it’s not super packed with story but in many ways that is so refreshing because instead we get to know the character instead of trying to determine their values from action scenes. My […]

A New Hope For Star Wars

December 20, 2015 09:05 - 1 hour - 96.4 MB

So we have a new star wars and after the “disappointment” of the prequels pretty much anything that doesn’t suck will be successful. That said, having seen the movie it’s a whole lot of fun in all the right ways and I enjoyed it immensely. This will be a movie that has significant rewatch value. […]

Identities

November 22, 2015 01:14 - 1 hour - 30.8 MB

This week on Highway to Mars we look at three pieces of science fiction from the perspective of what they can tell us about the country of origin. In this case we have Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (TV Series), Mad Max (Original Movie) and Independance Day. Each of these movies is a reflection of […]

Jaws – Fish we should be terrified of

November 17, 2015 01:21 - 2 hours - 59.4 MB

Sharks have a bit of a reputation for attacking humans and Jaws is the apex predator of Shark movies. That said it leaves a fair bit to be desired in ascribing dark motivations to the shark and I have no doubt it has played a role in our feeling about the species. Not that this […]

Under the Skin

November 01, 2015 00:25 - 1 hour - 32.9 MB

This is one of those you have to experience kind of movies, there is no way to easily describe it. I enjoyed this one in a way I haven’t enjoyed movies for a long time and it rightly deserves to be listed as a sci-fi classic. It takes the genre into new territory and I […]

Limitless and Lucy

October 25, 2015 02:13 - 1 hour - 44.6 MB

This week on HWTM we look at two transhumanist movies that explore the same idea (that we can use more of our brain via chemical means) from quite different perspectives. I look not just at the ideas but some of the science and explore the central themes of the movies. There are some really good […]

Falling Skies Series 5

October 17, 2015 04:34 - 50 minutes - 23.5 MB

Falling Skies series 5 promises Apocalypse Now, then seems to forget that. Far from driving to a conclusion it wanders all over the place with stories that seem out of place with the state of the world and the war. It’s not all bad, there are some good moments and episodes but in terms of […]

DRAGONSDAWN and All the Weyrs of Pern

October 12, 2015 04:27 - 1 hour - 31.8 MB

The Pern series is iconic in science fiction terms and this week we look at two of the Pern – DragonsDawn and All the Weyrs of Pern to look not just at the role they play in the Pern universe but the interesting ideas that relate to our world.

EX_MACHINA

October 04, 2015 00:55 - 1 hour - 50 MB

A taut thriller that succeeds in dealing with the rise of AI where many have failed. I’d buy that. This is an excellent movie that on the one hands delivers a great story about AI and on the other subverts the mythology of relationship archetypes and embraces female emancipation. Seemingly straight forward yet more complex the […]

Birdman

August 23, 2015 12:49 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MB

This is not a movie I expected to be covering but when another planned podcast was derailed I thought I would give it a try. I always have trepidation with movies that have strong critical reviews because I often don’t like them but this one really engaged me on many creative and personal levels. This […]

Detentionaire

August 16, 2015 11:26 - 1 hour - 47.6 MB

We haven’t covered too many animated series on HWTM and this one is definitely one worthy of mention. Detentionaire makes a virtue of that dreaded part of High School combining mystery and science fiction with many of the things anyone who has been to high school will remember. From cliques to cloned teachers, monsters, robots and […]

Bioshock Infinite – The Story

August 02, 2015 07:54 - 2 hours - 157 MB

We have done a couple of episodes on Bioshock but really neither of them have in any way done the series justice. So rebooting (hey even podcasts can get a reboot!) I look at Bioshock Infinite a second time and in the process discover what might now be my all time best game. This game […]

The Giver

July 24, 2015 12:40 - 1 hour - 51.4 MB

The “G-Man” is back. Gareth Edwards is back after compiling the longest set of shows on a topic highway to mars is likely to ever see, to talk the movie “The Giver”. This is a movie that wasn’t super successful but it’s got a lot going for it, especially with the teenage dystopian future genre […]

Chappie

July 17, 2015 14:17 - 1 hour - 53.7 MB

I avoided this one at the cinemas as I was bitten by Elysium and didn’t want to end up disappointed. In the end I wasn’t but probably not due to the Science Fiction. Chappie doesn’t have a lot to add to the science fiction canon when it comes to artificial intelligence but as with District […]

The Host

July 10, 2015 14:03 - 1 hour - 40.4 MB

NO THIS ISN’T THE SOUTH KOREAN VERSION. So for a challenge I decided to watch The Host, the Stephanie Myers teenage Sci-Fi/Romance. First this wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, in fact in many ways I enjoyed it. Second, it’s pretty clear she can write, not that she needs me to tell her that. […]

Torchwood – Miracle Day

July 04, 2015 00:00 - 1 hour - 54.5 MB

I didn’t watch this when it came out. The reviews were largely negative and friends told me it was awful. I had enjoyed children of earth, so I really didn’t want to spoil that if it was so bad. Serves me right. So on reflection, having watched it, the main arguments were really over aesthetics and […]

Mass Effect 1

June 27, 2015 00:00 - 2 hours - 60 MB

I am not a gamer, nor do I pretend to be. I do however enjoy games as a storytelling medium and in that context Mass Effect is a game in a league of it’s own. This is by far the richest story of any game series and with it’s dynamics of being able to interact […]

After The Dark (The Philosophers)

June 20, 2015 00:00 - 1 hour - 36.6 MB

So this is one the Apocalypse and I were going to do around 2013. I always expected we would have a bit of an argument on this one, it took a bit but finally we found something to disagree on! I put it down to the fact she was ill but when her dander is […]

Eureka Seasons 1&2

June 13, 2015 00:00 - 1 hour - 52.9 MB

So yet again I am late to the party but this year I finally caught up with Eureka. On premise I didn’t really expect to like this show which is why I avoided it (who else does that???). That said when I got through the first episode, I was hooked but not for the sci-fi […]

Avengers Age of Ultron

June 07, 2015 00:00 - 2 hours - 62.9 MB

Well this one seemed to divide the fans, especially over Black Widow. Funny thing about heros (super or otherwise) is we idolise them, then when they don’t reflect the values we want we tend to get pissed. All the same I loved it, I don’t agree with many of the critics largely because they are […]

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