Happy April Fool’s Day! I’m traveling and really hope the pilot doesn’t pull any jokes on us.
In honor of April Fool’s Day, I figured it would be fun to think about some of our favorite spoofs, parodies, and other just plain humorous science fiction and fantasy works.
In novels, one of my favorite spoofs is the whole Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. A flat disc world balanced on the back of four elephants. Yeah, enough said. And the series only got funnier from here.
First off, the whole thing is a spoof on the belief that the world is flat, and I love the scene where they actually head over the side of the disc.
Second off, it’s a spoof on Ringworld by Larry Niven, a “classic” sci-fi story. Didn’t you love the image of the ring around the star with a giant hole poked in it? There are so many images from Ringworld I retain in my head. Loved this book!
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Next up on my favorite sci-fi spoofs is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.When does the Earth blow up? Like the first page or something?
Bonus points if you know WITHOUT GOOGLING what the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is.
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And then there are movies.
Loved Spaceballs. And Galaxy Quest. And I have Amazon Women on the Moon on order now.
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So what makes for a good spoof? Still the basic story-telling needs to be there. And great characters. In movies, how much funnier is the spoof when the source material (Star Wars, Star Trek) has been seen? How less funny if not?
Terry Pratchett requires no advanced reading. This stuff is just downright FUNNY! Seriously. I did many of these on audiobook and would laugh out loud on my drive to work each day.
Anyway, back to the answer to that question.
The answer is…
PJ Hoover thinks her sense of humor would work well in a spoof. It all goes back to when my 10th grade English teacher told me not to try to be serious in my writing.
Parker Peevyhouse
lindajoysingleton
Joni Sensel
Chris Eboch
Nick
Greg R. Fishbone
…but what did your teacher mean by that!? Were you able to turn in all funny essays? If so: LUCKY!!
Unfortunately not, Tanita, but I did get to read books more suited to my tastes which totally helped!
42! (also…. you can get a beach towel with the number 42 on it from thinkgeek.com. it is awesome.) Great post!
I kind of prefer my Care Bears beach towel
I don’t know. I just got the Pi dish. I think the Number 42 towel would go along nicely with that! Thanks for the suggestion, Allegore!
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzaii in the Fifth Dimension! (It’s a movie, though, does that count?) I liked Galaxy Quest, too.
And watch Star Wars again; it’s almost a spoof of itself, these days. (Though still great fun.)
I can’t think of that many books. Authors mostly seem pretty serious.
That’s like heresy, Joni!!!! Star Wars a spoof. Say it isn’t so.
OK, I’ll twist the kids’ arms and rewatch
You cannot look at Princess L’s hairdo with a straight face, that’s all I’m saying.
I love Galaxy Quest. Hilarious.
I do love this kind of humor, Parker!
My favorite spoof is Diana Wynne Jones’ Dark Lord of Kerkholm,where all the inhabitants of a fantasy type land have to role play for the benefit of tourist parties.
I am also rather found of the Star War’s spoof Toaster Wars…
I read Dark Lord too. I really, really love Diana Wynne Jones’s books.
I never read Dark Lord, Charlotte! But you can bet I’ll look for it now! Thanks for the suggestion.
And Toaster Wars. I’ll google…
42. And do you know where your towel is? And of course “Don’t Panic”. I totally loved the Hitchhiker books. All four or five books in the trilogy. Great article!
They are fun, aren’t they, Chris! Maybe it’s time for me to read them to the kids.