Stingray Sam

The western space musical Stingray Sam has been available for purchase online for some time, but now the soundtrack is available, so you can sing about "Fredward" to your heart's delight.

The episodic adventures of Stingray Sam and his old pal the Quasar Kid take them across the galaxy as they search for a kidnapped girl. In glorious black and white, Stingray Sam has the sensibilities of early serials with deceptively simple musical numbers.

Slyly smart and with a big heart, the Stingray Sam soundtrack is infectious to the point some audiences end up singing along during screenings. At Fantastic Fest it was not uncommon to hear people randomly singing "Stingray Sam is not a hero, but he does do the things that folks don't do that need to be done," and not just star Cory McAbee.

McAbee, who directed and co-produced with Bobby Lurrie, is still on the festival circuit with the film. The soundtrack is available on the Stingray Sam website as well as the film itself.

2009 is almost over, and it's been a banner year for science fiction. More than three dozen science fiction themed films have seen release in the US. Some emphasize the science fiction more than others, and a couple may be more occult/horror than actual science fiction, but they're close enough.

While the quality of the films listed below varies wildly, the fact that science fiction elements are featured in so many wide released films is outstanding, and there are at least three critical and box office hits among the list below. At least three of the movies listed below give me hope that smart science fiction films are still viable.

I can't help thinking I'm missing something. I didn't include TimeCrimes because it came out on DVD. What else should be on this list?

9
2012
Alien Trespass
Astro Boy
Avatar
Battle for Terra
The Box
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Cold Souls
District 9
The Fourth Kind
G-Force
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Gamer
Gentlemen Broncos
Knowing
Land of the Lost
Men Who Stare at Goats
Monsters vs. Aliens 3D
Moon
Pandorum
Planet 51
Push
The Road
Star Trek
Stingray Sam
Surrogates
Terminator Salvation
Thirst
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Watchmen
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

TV and straight-to-DVD, or otherwise extremely limited theatrical release include: The Mutant Chronicles, Dante 01, Eden Log, Before the Fall, Sleep Dealer, The Objective, and Outlander.

What was your favorite?

How Stuff Works has taken on Stingray Sam, an episodic space musical that features an all-male planet, Fredward. Stingray Sam is coerced into a mission on Fredward, where male pregnancy and gender-determining pills have made women extinct.

While the technology for gender-determinant pills isn't currently available, How Stuff Works points out that according to the Oxford Journal of Reproduction, sperm separation technology does exist. It's a medical technology used in other science fiction as a premise to discuss gender issues and the potentially devastating results of choosing one gender over another instead of relying on natural selection.

On planet Fredward, with a male only population, the only way to reproduce is male impregnation. Today, few species involve males in hosting the developing young, such as male seahorses. According to Popular Science, Robert Winston insisted the technology was only 20 years off as of 1999. Winston detailed a method involving in-vitro fertilization and implanting the embryo implanted in the wall of his peritoneum.

By Kevin Kelly

Cory McAbee is not your average indie filmmaker. He's more of a self-taught Renaissance man who paints, writes, composes music, and also directs mind-bending films. At Sundance earlier this year, I had a slot to fill in my schedule and I thought Stingray Sam sounded interesting. Science fiction meets the Western? Sign me up.

What I didn't know was that I would be treated to a bizarre musical that was sliced up into a serialized format, complete with dance numbers, elaborate 60-second long handshakes between partners, and social commentary on everything from the U.S. prison system to tobacco companies. It's great stuff, and the songs will stick with you long after the movie ends.

Cory is no stranger to film festivals, having been at Sundance with three different films. I spoke with Cory at Fantastic Fest, where he was screening Stingray Sam. Check out the full interview after the break.