Slice of SciFi
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| Slice of SciFi | |
| Hosting | Michael R. Mennenga Brian Brown Summer Brooks |
|---|---|
| Updates | Weekly |
| Genre | SciFi Newscast |
| Website | Slice of SciFi |
Slice of SciFi is a podcast and website and part of the FarPoint Media Network that looks into the world of science fiction, fantasy and horror. It was the winner of the "Top Rated Podcast Award" at the Podcast Awards in 2005 and an inductee into the Podcast Pickle Hall of Fame.
Started in early 2005 as a response to the reaction of Star Trek fans over the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise, the Slice of Sci-Fi Podcast has grown to encompass a broader range of topics. Hosts Michael R. Mennenga, Summer Brooks and Brian Brown try to make their podcast both fun and informative, two characteristics they feel have not been brought together in other efforts.
The hosts of the show have interviewed such people as Samuel L. Jackson, Manny Coto, Claudia Black, Walter Koenig, Wil Wheaton, Bruce Campbell, Ted V. Mikels, Dean Haglund, Chase Masterson, Peter Mayhew, Lake Bell, Peter S. Beagle, Jim Butcher, Amanda Tapping, Michael Stackpole and more.
Slice of Sci-Fi is also heard each week on XM Satellite Radio's Sonic Theater channel, as well as several cell phone networks across the globe.
Slice of Sci-Fi has been announced Site of the week by SCI FI Weekly on November 22, 2006.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
[edit] Michael R. Mennenga
Michael R. Mennenga is a co-host of the show, its Engineering Chief at the DracoVista Studios in Arizona and a published author of fantasy novels who began writing in the late 1980s. In 1996 he turned his attention to writing for the Internet. In 1998 he joined a developing writing community and was soon asked to become part of the staff. He has received recognition from Writer's Digest and Forbes Publishing for his first book, Zac and the Valley of the Dragons. His next book, Mistress of the Dragon, was released in 2001. Mennenga followed that in 2002 with The Valley of the Dragons: Dragon's Fire and Wizard's Flame, which was re-released as Dragon's Fire, Wizard's Flame in 2003.
He is a member of The Arizona Authors Association and Toastmasters International.
[edit] Summer Brooks
Summer Brooks is one of the co-hosts of the Slice of SciFi show. She is also co-producer and is responsible for booking guest appearances.
She is an avid reader and writer of sci-fi and fantasy with a few publishing credits to her name, and she desires to write and produce a TV series or miniseries that leaves a mark on people. She also co-hosts The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas, which is a podcast the specializes in reviewing older scifi books and TV shows, focusing on how they have held up over the years.
Brooks spent many years as a computer specialist for Unix servers for various large corporations, and competing in amateur full contact kickboxing. She is now a licensed massage therapist with her own private practice.
[edit] Brian Brown
Brian Brown began with the Farpoint Media family of podcasters as a recurring co-host and reviewer for The Dragon Page Cover 2 Cover podcast. He also became a frequent visitor and then co-host for The Kick-Ass Mystic Ninja podcast.
Brian can now we heard almost every week as a co-host on Slice of SciFi, lending his insights and ideas to the news stories and interviews done on the show.
[edit] Samuel K. Sloan
Samuel K. Sloan is the other co-producer for Slice of SciFi and the Executive News Director for the show's parent company, Farpoint Media. He has been a Nuclear Medicine/Molecular Imaging medical professional for over thirty years and is currently working at BryanLGH Medical Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
He has spent the last thirty-seven years writing spiritual self-help books and articles and is a retired messianic rabbi. He also has over twenty years experience in writing news and radio script and hosted his own talk-teaching radio program "Shema Yisrael" for four years in Pennsylvania between 1995 to 1998.
Sloan is responsible for managing, editing and producing the news for the Slice of SciFi Website and writing the show's scripts for each week's XM Satellite radio and internet podcasting program.
[edit] Nina Hofmann
Nina Hofmann is the Webmaster of the Slice of SciFi, and several other Farpoint Media website. She is a civil engineer and software developer from Bavaria, Germany. She spends her workdays designing and specifying software applications.
Hofmann also joined the team upon request and is responsible for the entire look of the Slice of Sci-Fi Website and is lovingly referred to as the "Web-Queen".
[edit] The Slice of Sci-Fi News Team
Like all successful news and entertainment venues there are a whole team of people behind the scenes responsible for that success. Slice of Sci-Fi has a news team scattered all over the globe from the UK to Canada and the U.S. to Germany. Eight staff field reporters and journalists contribute stories each week to the show and the website. Fans also participate and are encouraged to do so by sending in stories and updates to the news director.
[edit] Former Cast
[edit] Joe Murphy
Joe Murphy was a reviewer on the show. He studied computer science and education for the hearing impaired and had his MA in Audiology from Western Illinois University. Murphy first reviewed Lisa Lee and Tee Morris's Morevi on the Dragonpage's forum and soon became the "official" book reviewer for the Dragon Page podcast. Later he co-hosted the Kick-Ass Mystic Ninjas show with Summer Brooks. He also frequently appeared on the Wingin' It podcast.
Joe was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. in late 2006; he died on April 1, 2007.
[edit] Evo Terra
Evo Terra was an original co-host of the show. He is co-writer of the Podcasting For Dummies manual, co-creator of Podiobooks.com and co-creator of the The Dragon Page Cover to Cover and Wingin' It podcasts. Evo served as co-host of Slice of SciFi up through show 111.
[edit] Show Elements
While the exact structure will vary from episode to episode, each show generally contains the following elements:
- News Bytes - a sample of science fiction and fantasy related news stories not posted on the Slice of Scifi website.
- Website News Teasers - short headlines from news stories on the Slice of SciFi Website not covered on the radio/podcast show, designed to increase traffic to the show's webpage.
- TV Talk - Discussion science fiction shows currently running on television.
- Doug's SciFi Trivia Segment - a sampling of snippets from scifi and other related genre flicks designed to stump the show's hosts as they try to guess the name or source of the trivia clip.
- Movie Talk - Discussion of recent and soon to be released theatrical sci-fi and fantasy movies.
- Interview - The hosts will conduct an interview with a personality from the world of science fiction/fantasy movies and television.
- SF DEF - Humorous "definitions" of science fiction terms provided by Paul S. Jenkins of the The Rev Up Review podcast.
- Podcaster Endorsements - Break segments where other podcast personalities promote Slice of Sci-Fi and mention their own podcasts.
- Future Talk - Tidbits of information on what's coming up down the road in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy universe.
