SpockSoc

Thanks to all of you who made it to last weeks session, I hope you enjoyed yourselves, this week we’ll be showing Lost Girl, a supernatural crime drama that follows Bo, a succubus who finds herself fighting crime and trying to not get in trouble with the other fae who make up the magical underworld we normal humans don’t get to see. Sounds like fun? We saw the pilot last year and most of us thought so us well, which would be why we’re showing it again!
We’ll start once again at 5PM on Friday, in the Red Centre theatre, pizza run around 6:30-7:00PM dinner a bit later before finishing at 11PM,
see you there!

Thanks to all the new and returning members for signing up during O-Week, I’m hoping that you’re looking forward to our first session this Friday and I apologise for leaving this e-mail so late, it took a while to get confirmation of a room booking, but here we are.
This Friday we’ll be show No Ordinary Family a superhero-comedy-drama (according to Wikipedia) that has Michael Chiklis (the Thing from The Fantastic Four movies) in it. We’ll be starting at 5PM in the Red Centre Theatre, which is not exactly in the Red Centre itself, but just tucked away under the outside corridor at the end closest to Anzac Parade. This link has a PDF map you can open to see where the theatre is; it’s the yellow box at the end of the Red Centre (or Faculty of Built Environment) We’ll go on until 11PM, with a pizza run taking place at 7PM, it;ll be good to see as many people as can make it,

A tentative S1 schedule is now up.

http://www.spocksoc.com/schedule

Founded a little over one-hundred years ago, the University of New South Wales’ Science Fiction and Fantasy club was short lived, when the founders, a motley collection of scientists, occult figures and specialists in the weird realised that science fiction was not, at that time wide spread enough to really form a club around and that the university did not yet exist. Undeterred, these brave pioneers built a time machine and got ready to travel into the future to see what the club would be like then. Reasoning, perhaps optimistically, that there would be a place for science fiction and fantasy in any place of higher learning that was worth a damn, they set off into the great unknown that is time and space…

Sadly their attempt failed, and while we may never know for sure what happened to these brave men and women who dared to dream, we do know that we cannot let their sacrifice be in vain. For it was only recently that their notes and plans we’re rediscovered, leading to the creation of SpockSoc, the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Club.

In this emporium of delights and wonders, we attempt to capture the magic that drove our distant forbears to meddle with things that man would have done better to have left untouched. We watch shows that may not yet be available on these antipodean shores, or indeed available anywhere in space and time.  We watch them in the presence of some truly remarkable (and occasianly terrifying, it must be admitted) people, who enjoy science fiction and fantasy as much as you yourself surely do.

To take part in this, all you have to do is sign up, at the cost of five dollars for a whole year, you must agree that this is quite a bargain.

Then, every Friday you come along to a lecture theatre put aside for our needs, where you can watch TV shows and movies, enjoy pizza taken out, at five dollars a half and a drink for free! You can chat and meet new people who share your likes (and possibly dislikes) and generally have a fun time.

Movies and TV shows that we plan to show are laid out in our schedule, but we welcome any suggestions that you might have, and we’d love to see you at our stall signing up (the members there are the ones who don’t bite, so don’t be afraid!)

Thank you for reading and I look forward to meeting you at any one of our sessions,

Jamie Heron
President of SpockSoc, the Sci-Fi and Fantasy Club

Several people have mentioned they would like screenings to continue through the summer months. As we save all the new stuff for during session we are collecting ideas on what to show.

Please see this forum post and add your ideas:
Summer Screening Ideas

Last week of session, aww. Also my last week as SpockSoc President. Our AGM went off without a hitch, and as soon as I get the paperwork sorted and handed in, we’ll be all re-affilitated for next year. Our new president is James Heron, and our new treasurer is Kristian. Caroline is remaining as secretary, and James Rudd is remaining as VP/Webmaster. I’ll still be lurking around in the background as Immediate Past President, though – I’m not expecting James to leap into my shoes in one go. =)

This week, we’ll be finishing off Legend of the Seeker, the second (and final) season. Our hero Richard Cypher searches for the Stone of Tears so that he can seal the veil to the Underworld and prevent the Keeper from destroying all life, but things are looking grim. The location of the Stone is long-lost to living memories, and to make matters worse, prophecies from the Creator foretell doom and gloom should the Seeker ever actually find the Stone. Could this be the end of the line for Richard?

Come along to find out. 5pm Friday in Red Centre G001.

Lastly, we’re always on the lookout for suggestions to make SpockSoc better. I’ve never actually seen more than maybe a third of our members at any screening, and I’d like to know how we can attract more people. Are we just not on at a good time? Was sitting in a room watching TV series not quite what you had in mind when you joined the club? Drop me an e-mail. Suggestions for possible summer screenings also welcome.

Otherwise, see you at our O-Week stall next year?

-Joel
el presidente

This week: the long-awaited AGM! Woo hoo! The AGM is neccesary for the continued existence of SpockSoc next year, and it’s vital that we have at least fifteen members there, so please try to come, even if it’s just for the AGM. We’ll kick off the AGM itself at 7:30 on Friday, over dinner – send me an e-mail ahead of time if you want to order pizza and won’t be able to make it before 7:30. Pizza is $5 per half.

All exec positions are up for re-election. We’re all students, after all, and we’ll all have to graduate someday, so at some point we’ll certainly all need to be replaced. Please think seriously about whether you want to help keep SpockSoc running. You also get to hear fun things like the state of our finances, and read the club constitution.

So: AGM, 7:30pm Friday, Red Centre G001. Be there. If we don’t get the numbers, we’ll have to do it over during the summer break, and noone wants that, do they?

Also, we’ll be showing Defying Gravity, but seriously, the AGM is the main draw-card here, right? =) The series follows eight astronauts on a journey of exploration around the solar system. However, they’re not alone on the voyage, and not because there’s aliens hovering outside the window – they brought something with them. What’s inside the mysterious Pod 4? What’s waiting in store for them on their journey?

We showed the first half of the season way way back in the first few weeks of session one – I’d meant to show this much earlier, but I forgot to include it until I was reminded of it a few weeks ago. With that in mind, I’ll certainly open with a brief recap and character introduction. The screening starts at 5pm Friday, Red Centre G001.

Hope to see you there,
-Joel
el presidente

This week at SpockSoc, we’re showing Eureka season four. It’s been rather a long wait. For those not in the know, Eureka is a town created by Albert Einstein and the US government, and administrated by a corporation named Global Dynamics. In it, the government has gathered all the greatest minds in the country. Of course, since the town is composed almost entirely of geniuses, when things go wrong, they REALLY go wrong.

Enter Jack Carter, formerly a US Federal Marshall, now town sheriff. He’s a complete average joe, and since he’s the only one in town who’s not an absolute genius, he’s therefore usually the only one who can think of a solution to the current problem at hand. Or at least, the only one who can say something so stupid that it gives everyone else the clue to solving it.

In any case, it’s a great series. Everyone should certainly try to come, even if they haven’t seen Eureka before – it’s a new season, and all of last season’s storylines got wrapped up last season. This screening will even include the Eureka side of the crossover with Warehouse 13. Starting at 5pm in Red Centre G001. Pizza run at 7-ish.

Also, remember: AGM next week. All Exec positions are up for re-election, even the presidency. We’re especially in need of a new treasurer, as Erin, our prior one, started a new job this session which runs on Friday nights. If you are thinking of running for office, don’t worry that we’ll be tossing you into the deep end – we’ll still be around to help ease you into things.

Remember we need at least fifteen people there, even if it’s just for the AGM. I’m aiming to start the AGM at 7:30, and have dinner at the same time, so even if you can’t come for the whole night, try to be there then. Drop me a line if you want me to put you down for pizza.

Hope to see you there,
-Joel
el presidente

This week at SpockSoc: Warehouse 13, the start of season two. Secret Service agents Myka Bering and Pete Lattimer find themselves transferred to Warehouse 13, a secret facility in South Dakota where all manner of weird, mystical and outright paranormal devices are stored, from Lewis Carroll’s mirror to Tycho Brahe’s nose to Sylvia Plath’s typewriter to Nicola Tesla’s stun-guns.

When last we met our heroes, the rogue former Warehouse 13 agent MacPherson had invaded the warehouse with the help of a mole inside, stealing a number of artefacts, and setting off the self-destruct on his escape. Can you say “cliffhanger”? The screening will also include the Warehouse 13 half of the crossover with Eureka – we’ll be showing Eureka next week.

Starting at 5pm in the Red Centre theatre as usual. Pizza run at 7pm. Remember our AGM will be in week twelve. We need at least fifteen people or we don’t get re-affiliated. Which would be bad.

Hope to see you there,
-Joel

Don’t mind me, just trying to get one last squeeze out of International Talk Like A Pirate Day. =) This week at SpockSoc, we’re showing Sanctuary, the second half of season two. I realise it’s been airing on ABC2, but a lot of us haven’t been watching it, so we’re going to go ahead with it at SpockSoc anyway.

Starting at 5pm in Red Centre G001 – pizza run at 7-ish.

Due to certain Arc requirements not being met, the AGM will not be held this week. Instead we’ll be postponing it, most likely to week twelve. This just gives you extra time to decide whether you want to run for a position in next years’ exec. =)