Blogger Jamie Starbuck

Here are the answers from blogger Jamie Starbuck

1/ What first got you into SF?
The lack of anything else decent to read and watch. I don't see the point of devouring things about the real world. Isn't the point of entertainment to expand your horizons? My first experience was aged six watching ST:TOS at 6pm on BBC 2. From then until now I've read and watched little else. I can think of no bigger waste of life than to sit watching three episodes a week of a soap opera about the denizens of London when I could be watching alien civilisations and entertaining ideas of interspecies relations. I've been a geek for 26 years.

2/ Who was your first geek crush?
Susan Ivonava. Never has there been a military officer that was more of a minx. She combined sexiness with authority and I loved her.

3/ If you were a spaceship from a TV show or movie, which would you be (and why)?
Tin Man from TNG. Tin Man was possessed of an elegance that struck a chord with me. In deciding he'd had enough and sitting out the rest of life waiting for a star to go supernova spoke of a being finally at peace.

4/ If SFX were to run a convention, which guest would you most like to meet there?
George Takei. What's not to like? He comes across as such a lovey bloke and is full of amazing stories. And he dares to speak about about the Shat. Top man.

5/ What's the most exciting thing to happen to you (SF wise) in 2009 so far?
Apart from being an SFX blogger? That was geek heaven to be honest. Apart from that, waiting for Lucifer to appear on Supernatural. And then to be disappointed at the predictable white out.

6/ What feature would you most like us to add to this website?
Better layout, better search, all, and I mean all, reviews of everything ever reviewed.

7/ What SF character has most inspired you in your life?
Not a character but the entire Vulcan race. Notably, Tuvok and Spock with, respectively, the "push the cloud away" and "the needs of the many" speeches. The vulcans helped me understand it's okay to be different and not to rise to the bait; that logic makes far more sense than emotion. And being clever isn't a sin, it can actually be quite useful.

8/ What's always your number one book or DVD recommendation to a friend?
China Mieville's Perdido Street Station. It so wasn't the book I was expecting. His descriptions flew off the page and the ideas were superb. Case in point: when his house robot developed sentience. The entire process lasted only three or four pages but the imagery stayed with me. Has there ever been a more original book, world, protagonist, characters, species or setting?

9/ If you were the boss of SFX magazine for a day, what would be your first command?
Apart from "Make it so"? I'd organise the readership into a revolt through the pages of the magazine. We'd march on Hollywood, a crusade if you will, with the purpose of making them see sometimes a series shouldn't have to make profit. If it's superb, that's reason enough.

10/ Who'd win in a fight, a caveman or an astronaut?
Astronaut suits are very heavy and cumbersome so I'd have to go with the stronger and faster caveman. Presumably he'd have a club, too.