Dr. Strangelove (1964) & Young Frankenstein (1974): Satirising Mad Science
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
Release Date: 04/09/2025
Mad Science in Star Trek: Khan, Bashir and the Eugenics Wars
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we head into the Star Trek universe to explore one of its most enduring mad science taboos: genetic engineering. From Space Seed and the rise of Khan to Enterprise’s Augments arc and Deep Space Nine’s shocking Bashir reveal, we trace how Star Trek keeps returning to the dangers of trying to “improve” humanity. Along the way, we get into the Eugenics Wars, creator-creation relationships, scientific hubris, and why a utopian future still casts a long shadow over forbidden science. Plus: Brent Spiner being superbly awful, Bashir’s identity crisis,...
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Frankenstein (2025) & The Bride! (2026): Mad Science Comes Full Circle
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
What happens when one of sci-fi’s oldest stories is reimagined for a modern audience? In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we return to the origin of mad science — Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein — through two new adaptations: Frankenstein (2025), directed by Guillermo del Toro, and The Bride! (2026), directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. This isn’t just another adaptation. It’s a full-circle moment for the genre. From the obsessive creator who dares to make life… to the creation who refuses to belong to him, these films show how the Frankenstein myth has evolved over 200 years of...
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Get Out (2017) & Possessor (2020): Losing Control of Your Own Body
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
In this episode of Journey Through Sci-Fi, we dive into the terrifying idea of mad science controlling the human mind through two modern sci-fi horror films: Get Out (2017) and Possessor (2020). Jordan Peele’s Get Out hides a chilling science-fiction twist beneath its social horror story, revealing a sinister procedure designed to take over another person’s body and consciousness. Meanwhile, Brandon Cronenberg’s brutal cyberpunk thriller Possessor imagines a world where corporations use technology to possess people’s minds and carry out assassinations. We explore how both films tap...
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The Human Centipede (2009) & Tusk (2014): Turning People into Monsters
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
Two kidnappings and two grotesque transformations. Listener discretion advised... This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we head into the grisliest corner of our Mad Science season as we explore The Human Centipede (2009) and Tusk (2014). From Tom Six’s clinically cold, torture-era nightmare to Kevin Smith’s surreal walrus transformation, both films twist the mad scientist archetype into something deeply insular... not driven by progress, but by obsession. In The Human Centipede, Dr Heiter’s experiment is cold, clinical and cruel - a Frankenstein figure filtered through torture...
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Hulk (2003) & Iron Man (2008): When Scientists Become the Experiment
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
Two Marvel origin stories. Two very different mad scientists. Only one built a cinematic empire. This week, we revisit Hulk (2003) and Iron Man (2008) to explore the science behind the superheroes and why one experiment failed while the other changed blockbuster cinema. Ang Lee’s Hulk is a tragic tale of inherited trauma, gamma radiation and fractured identity, a full-blown mad science horror hiding inside a superhero movie. Iron Man flips the formula: no monster, no accident, just a billionaire engineer weaponising his own genius and building the future in a cave. From...
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Splice (2009) & Mimic (1997): Playing God with DNA
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we’re heading into murkier, creepier territory as we pair Mimic and Splice - two films that take mad science out of the lab and straight into body-horror nightmare fuel. Directed by Guillermo del Toro and Vincenzo Natali, they arrive from very different moments in sci-fi cinema. Mimic comes out of the late-90s creature-feature era, mixing practical effects with early CGI and big studio ambition. Splice, released over a decade later, taps into anxieties around gene splicing, biotech, and scientists who really should know better. Visit our website ...
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The Best Sci-fi of 2025: Future Frontiers
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
We look back at the biggest sci-fi moments of 2025 — franchise returns, standout TV, Marvel’s slump, DC’s revival, and the auteur films that kept the genre interesting. From Superman and 28 Years Later to Severance and Alien: Earth, we break down what landed, what didn’t, and what comes next for JTSF. Visit our website Support the podcast on Add us on Find us on Like us on Follow us on
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Flubber (1997) & The Nutty Professor (1996): The 90s CGI Boom
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we revisit Flubber (1997) and The Nutty Professor (1996) to explore how both films became showcases for the 90s CGI boom. We look at how early digital effects, morphing tech, ILM’s rubbery animation, and ambitious makeup and prosthetics reshaped the mad-scientist trope for a family audience. From Eddie Murphy’s multi-character transformations to Flubber’s bouncy CGI flying rubber, we break down the moment Hollywood shifted from practical FX to digital spectacle and what effect it had on the depiction of Mad Science. Visit our website Support...
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Buckaroo Banzai (1984) & The City of Lost Children (1995): Rockstar Scientists & Stolen Dreams
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
“Remember, no matter where you go… there you are.” This week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we’re looking at two very different visions of genius at work - one saving the world, the other stealing dreams. We discuss The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) - now say that five times fast - and The City of Lost Children (La Cité des enfants perdus, 1995) to explore the heroes and villains of mad science. Visit our website Support the podcast on Add us on Find us on Like us on Follow us on
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Predator: Badlands, Bugonia & Del Toro’s Frankenstein: Future Frontiers
Journey Through Sci-Fi: A Science Fiction Film Podcast
We’re back with another Future Frontiers episode, covering all the latest sci-fi hitting screens this month. We chat about Predator: Badlands, Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia and the upcoming Running Man remake from Edgar Wright - plus we try to decode what on earth Vince Gilligan’s mysterious new series Pluribus might be. We also talk about what we’ve been watching lately - Peacemaker S2, Gen V, Foundation, and Demon Slayer - and tackle your big listener questions. Should The Thing and Predator start one minute later? Chapters 00:00:00 – Welcome...
info_outlineThis week on Journey Through Sci-Fi, we examine how Stanley Kubrick's Doctor Strangelove (1964) and Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974). cleverly parody the mad scientist archetype. Whether it's triggering global catastrophe or reanimating the dead, these films remind us that playing god can lead to comedic—and catastrophic—consequences.
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