conversations with geeks: July 2005 Archives

Here’s the first in a new series: Conversations with Geeks, in which I chat about all things geeky with professional geeks. First up: author John Kenneth Muir, who thinks a lot about TV and movies and shares his insights in too many books to count, including The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith, The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi, An Analytical Guide to Television's Battlestar Galactica, and many more. I met John at a science fiction convention a couple years ago, when we were both sat on panels talking about film and TV, and we hit it off instantly. Check out John’s blog, Reflections on Film/TV, for a regular fix of pop culture wisdom.

MAJ: Was there a point in your childhood when you realized there was something different, something geeky, about yourself?

JKM: I think I felt the first stirrings of my own geekiness in 1975 or 1976 when the other kids on the playground wanted to play dodge ball or kickball, but I wanted to re-enact scenes from Saturday's episode of Land of the Lost. And if memory serves, I think I wanted to play Enik (the smart Sleestak who wore a red lame gown and could control the crystal matrix tables...).