Bat Soup for the Soul

Some recommendations of books or media while waiting out the pandemic.

Movies:

• The Andromeda Strain.. A satellite returns to Earth with an incredibly virulent and completely alien microorganism on board. The science has not held up well for me over the years, but it scared the scatological metaphor out of me when I was 10 years old, so there’s that.
• The Last Man On Earth. Best described as spaghetti science fiction, but it has Vincent Price and some good moments. Vincent Price is the titular character, in a world destroyed by a plague.
• The Omega Man. Essentially a reimagining of The Last Man On Earth, and I have a soft spot for Charlton Heston.
• Serenity. I have never actually seen the science fiction series on which it was based, Firefly, so some context was missing. But I found it enjoyable anyway.

Books:

• The Naked Sun. Asimov posits a universe in which a detective from a crowded and communal Earth is called in to help solve a murder mystery on a planet that practices the ultimate in social distancing.
• The Great Influenza. I read John Barry’s book many years ago, and found it gripping. Er, so to speak.

Television:

• Star Trek. Several episodes seem relevant: “Miri”. “The Omega Glory.” “The Naked Time.”
• Little House on the Prairie. “Plague.” An unusually serious and well-written episode of what I’m otherwise tempted to regard as a fluff series.

Music:

• Israel in Egypt. The plagues feature prominently.

Why, yes. My sense of humor is becoming mordant.