Women Talk Sci Fi Podcast

We are Gerri & Eugenia and we love Sci Fi so much so that not only did we start an ezine but also a podcast. The great thing about this podcast is that we have been extremely lucky and we have met many amazing actors and have been lucky enough to interview them.

Gerri

I have been an avid consumer of all things Sci Fi since I was a girl! One of my first significant memories is the moon landing and that of course put me outside the world as I knew it, amazing! This then set me on a path of looking outwards and all things spacey! Of course, being from the Northern Hemisphere I started my Sci Fi TV watching with Dr Who, William Hartnell in his frock coat and his police box. Did I ever just want to go with him, of course I did? Then along comes Star Trek, more amazing TV, coming from Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was a joy to the young girl in me to see many people from all over the world get along and there was also an alien! What journeys I wanted to take in any spaceship. Then I snuck into my brother’s room one day and found a copy of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Flight and that put me out on a search for Sci Fi books, so Blish, Asimov, Heinlein and of course McCaffery and more came into my life as well! My father (lucky me) was the manager of a couple of stores (they sold toys, every kids dream) in Belfast and of course because of this all sales reps would give samples to him so roll in the comic annuals and so super heroes also came into my life. There was also another man Gerry Anderson, whose wonderful shows I would watch after school, Joe 90, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and Stingray. As I grew up anything that had a space ship, alien or some weird science in it had me enthralled. Now I am enjoying the fruits of all that has gone before, enjoying my Sci Fi from the front seat! I have met many wonderful actors, whilst helping to run conventions, interviewing actors and writers, writing an e-zine and contributing to another and now a podcast. Isn’t Sci Fi amazing, it not only gets the imagination going but motivates one to “go beyond where I have never went before” LOL!

Eugenia

I have been a geek all my life. First as a Dr Who fan and then I moved onto watching anything that had aliens, mad scientists or space travel in it. Over the years I have perfected my ‘geekness’ by buying sonic screwdrivers, the full collection of Star Trek First Contact Action figures along with many other plastic characters, props and statues plus the odd DVD or two or three or four or much, much more!!

Over ten years ago I went to my first Star Trek Convention and now I am in full Galaxy Quest mode, meeting actors, collecting autographs and taking many photos. The only thing I haven’t done yet is come dressed in costume though I do wear the odd Sci Fi earring, badge and painted jeans.

Why am I attracted to this genre? It gives me hope; it shows me places and gadgets beyond my wildest imagination. It can shock me, excite me, make me laugh and sometimes make me cry.

From watching the adventures of the funny old man and his companions inside a police box at the tender age of 6 or 7 my thirst for science began. A turning point for me was watching the moon landing with my primary school classmates and wishing that I could do that. At this stage I still haven’t travelled into space but I am hoping that one day I have taught someone and encouraged their passion to reach for the stars.

By watching the TV or movie screen and seeing people step through a Stargate, captaining a starship or meeting strange coloured aliens I too can pretend that I am doing it as well. So much of what I have seen on screen is now a reality that maybe a starship captain is still possible!

Sci fi is firmly entrenched in my life. Because of this passion I have met many wonderful friends and I continue to experience amazing opportunities to indulge myself in a world or ‘worlds’ that I love.