2006 Hugo Nominees!

[sdelmonte]

http://www.locusmag.com/2006/News/03_HugoNominations.html

1. Congrats to mabfan on his two noms.

2. As usual, I have read none of the novels up for that prize. And have heard of only the GRRM book. But I will note my surprise that Anansi Boys and Harry Potter 6 were not nominated. I thought that at least one, if not both, would get in simply on the popularity of the authors.

3. Some collection of films up for best long-form dramatic presentation (aka best film)! My vote would go to Serenity, though I won't complain if Batman Begins. Of the five, the only I haven't seen yet is Wallace and Gromit. No surprise that Episode III was ignored. Some surprise that neither of Burton's films were nominated.

4. Three nominations for four episodes of Doctor Who, all of which will air in the US before the vote closes. My pick? "The Empty Child"/"The Doctor Dances".

5. And so much for the best video game prize. "Not to be awarded due to lack of interest." Can't say I'm surprised. I would bet that most Hugo voters are like me and remain indifferent about such things.

Comments

[aberrantangels]

Congrats to mabfan on his two noms.

And to autopope on his (for Accelerando).

As usual, I have read none of the novels up for that prize. And have heard of only the GRRM book.

I'd heard of it, Accelerando and Old Man's War, but the last is the only one I've read. I'm more surprised that Anansi Boys didn't get in than than HBP didn't.

Of the five, the only I haven't seen yet is Wallace and Gromit.

I've seen them all and am not sure which one I'd pick. (Though if you count demiurgent's reminder about Narnia, I called it pretty closely.)

Three nominations for four episodes of Doctor Who, all of which will air in the US before the vote closes.

And two of which we had a chance to see in Glasgow (speaking of, Interaction vets are probably the only reason Lucas Back in Anger and the Prix Victor Hugo are on the ballot). I read plot summaries of the two-parter at a time when I thought the show might never get licensed in America, and it sounds like a worthy one. My money, however, is on "Father's Day" for playing fast and loose with time and space, or "Dalek" for being the equivalent of TNG's "I, Borg" or DS9's "Duet" (with "Jack-Jack Attack" as a possible dark horse based on its parent film having won last year). But yeah, this award is Russell T. Davies' to lose.

[sdelmonte]

I gotta ask, then, what Lucas Back in Anger and Prix Victor Hugo are. I assume the former is a short comdey film arbout George Lucas, and the latter is the weird hybrid of the Hugo Awards and 19th century literature i heard about?

[aberrantangels]

I assume the former is a short comdey film arbout George Lucas,

Close; it was a stage-play parody of the Star Wars saga, presented as part of the programme at Interaction.

and the latter is the weird hybrid of the Hugo Awards and 19th century literature i heard about?

More like "weird hybrid of pulp sci-fi and 19th century [French] literature", but again, close enough for gov't work.

[sdelmonte]

I'm now sure how they are even eligible for this category. Like mixing apples and bananas, I think. And it's yet another sign of how insular the Hugos are.

But that's the Hugos for you.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

1. Thank you!

2. It's quite possible that both are somewhere just bubbling under the top five; we won't know until August. And there may very well have been a backlash against Harry Potter for having actually won the Hugo back in 2001.

3. Wallace and Gromit is excellent. Batman Begins will probably be my first choice.

4. My first choice among the Who eps is "Father's Day," but they are all quite good.

5. Experiments are worth trying. It failed, and we move on.