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| Masters of Science Fiction | |
|---|---|
| Show name | Masters of Science Fiction |
| Genre | Science fiction anthology |
| Created by | Sam Bailey |
| Based on | Science fiction |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Executive producer | Rod Serling, Stephen Hawking, Stanley Kubrick |
| Producer | John Landis, Joe Dante, Mick Garris |
| Network | HBO |
| First aired | 2007 |
Masters of Science Fiction
Masters of Science Fiction is a 2007 American televised anthology series presenting adaptations of short fiction by prominent speculative writers. The series assembled directors and producers with backgrounds in film and television, commissioning episodes from established authors and featuring actors drawn from stage and screen. It sought to bridge traditions represented by award-winning creators and institutions across science fiction, horror, and fantasy.
The series adapted stories by acclaimed authors including Harlan Ellison, Stephen King, Walter M. Miller Jr., Robert Silverberg, Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Ursula K. Le Guin, William Gibson, Octavia E. Butler, Kurt Vonnegut, J.G. Ballard, Neal Stephenson, Brian Aldiss, Richard Matheson, James Blish, Samuel R. Delany, C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley, Frank Herbert, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, Alfred Bester, Donald E. Westlake, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Brian Herbert, Kim Stanley Robinson, Connie Willis, Joe Haldeman, Vernor Vinge, John Varley, Hiroshi Yamamoto, Nancy Kress, George R. R. Martin, Stephen Baxter, James S. A. Corey, Anne McCaffrey, Lois McMaster Bujold, Michael Swanwick, Pat Cadigan, Robert Silverberg (author) and Samuel R. Delany (author) as touchstones in marketing and context. Production notes cited influences from venues and awards such as World Science Fiction Convention, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Philip K. Dick Award, Locus Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, John W. Campbell Memorial Award, British Science Fiction Association Award, SFWA Grand Master, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, Edgar Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe Awards, Emmy Award and festivals like San Diego Comic-Con International, World Fantasy Convention, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival.
Development involved producers and filmmakers associated with studios and companies including HBO, Showtime, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Miramax, New Line Cinema, Dimension Films, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures Entertainment, BBC, Channel 4, AMC, Syfy, RKO Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Touchstone Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, A24 and postproduction houses such as Industrial Light & Magic, Weta Workshop, Framestore, DNEG. Creative personnel included directors and showrunners who had worked with figures like Ridley Scott, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton, David Cronenberg, Ron Howard, Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, John Carpenter, Paul Verhoeven, George Miller, Sergio Leone, Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Wes Craven, Dario Argento, Ken Russell and music composers associated with John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone and Jerry Goldsmith for scoring approaches. Funding and rights negotiations referenced estates and agencies including WGA, SAG-AFTRA, Writers Guild of America, Creative Artists Agency, William Morris Endeavor and publishing houses such as Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Gollancz, Bantam Books, Tor Books and literary magazines like Amazing Stories, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, Asimov's Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.
The six-episode run featured standalone narratives with production design and visual effects drawing on techniques used in Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), Black Mirror, The Outer Limits (1995 TV series), Amazing Stories (1985 TV series), Tales from the Crypt, Creepshow, Masters of Horror, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Night Gallery, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, Love, Death & Robots and classic adaptations such as The Martian Chronicles (miniseries). Episodes were promoted at conventions including Dragon Con, Worldcon, New York Comic Con, Emerald City Comic Con and showcased in screenings at Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW and Telluride Film Festival.
Casting drew performers with credits in franchises and films like Star Trek, Star Wars, Doctor Who, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, The Walking Dead, Lost, Twin Peaks, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Matrix, Alien, Predator, Terminator and actors associated with Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Samuel L. Jackson, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Ewan McGregor, Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Jennifer Connelly, Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr. and directors such as John Landis, Joe Dante, Mick Garris who contributed segments. Crew included cinematographers and editors with résumés tied to Roger Deakins, Emmanuel Lubezki, Janusz Kamiński, Thelma Schoonmaker, Walter Murch, Dede Allen.
Critical responses referenced reviewers from outlets and institutions such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Empire, Sight & Sound, NPR, BBC News, Time, Newsweek, Vulture, AV Club, Den of Geek, io9, Tor.com, Salon, The Atlantic, Slate and academic analyses appearing in journals associated with University of California, Harvard University, Yale University, Oxford University, Cambridge University and conferences such as Worldcon and World Fantasy Convention. The series influenced later anthologies and adaptations including Black Mirror, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, Love, Death & Robots and independent shorts showcased by YouTube, Vimeo and streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV+.
Home releases and availability involved distributors and formats including DVD, Blu-ray, Digital distribution, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Video, HBO Max, Max and library holdings cataloged by institutions such as the Library of Congress, British Library, New York Public Library, Bodleian Library, Library and Archives Canada and archival projects like The Paley Center for Media, UCLA Film & Television Archive and British Film Institute.
Category:Science fiction television series