Sci-Fi Explosion Creator, Chris Cummins, Talks Horror, Sci-Fi, and Sarah Jessica Parker

I had a chance to sit down (digitally) with my longtime friend, supporter, and collaborator, Chris Cummins. Chris is a Philly-based writer, producer, comics historian, performer, and all-around friendly ginger-bear whose work focuses on popular culture – specifically science fiction, comics, and television.

Dudrick Bevins: Chris, tell everyone a little bit about yourself: your writing, your fandoms, and how your queerness appears in your work.

Chris Cummins: I produce and host the events Nerd Nite Philadelphia (think of it as non-pretentious TedTalks with somewhat inebriated speakers), Music Video Book Club (in which comedians, pop culture experts, and myself present a goofy analysis of the strangest music videos ever), and Sci-Fi Explosion, my pride and joy which I call a “cosmic cabaret of craziness.”

DB: Tell me more about Sci-Fi Explosion. Where did this idea come from?

CC: Sci-Fi Explosion was born, as many good things are, in New York City. In 2012, Jake Fogelnest (a favorite of mine), Julie Klausner, and Chris Gethard did a show at Upright Citizens Brigades East for CBGB Fest that was all about punk rock. They showed clips of things like news reports on the frenzy caused by the Sex Pistols and general punksploitation stuff and it blew my mind.

It was fun and conversational and featured hilarious clips. My thought was that such a format should be incorporated into a show about how science fiction went from being “nerd” fringe to mainstream. Also, I wanted to do a show with wild performance aspects, live musical performances, prizes, and random craziness.

DB: How did you make it a reality?

CC: I had already done a tribute show to MTV’s 120 Minutes and hosted a Double Dare Retrospective at PhilaMOCA here in Philly. Eric Bresler, the mastermind of the venue, is a kindred spirit and absolutely a great guy, listened to my pitch for Sci-Fi Explosion. He was really into it and booked me!

June 2014 the first ever Sci-Fi Explosion was held. And it was so damn fun! I had my friend Simon Joseph perform the Star Wars theme on accordion, Skeletor (the hilarious Carmen Martella III) performed a few songs, and got sponsors to give away over $250 in prizes.

I ended with a 90 minute video mixtape I created that showed everything from local news reports on Star Wars mania to clips from the E.T. porno to the video for Billy Ocean’s “Loverboy” – a work so mind-blowingly amazing that it has become an essential part of every Sci-Fi Explosion and literally my favorite thing ever.

DB: How has Sci-Fi Explosion changed since the pandemic?

CC: I would do Sci-Fi Explosion a few times a year in Philly, then as a part of fandom conventions like New York Comic Con and DragonCon. Obviously, Covid-19 halted this, so I was forced to pivot online. Every Friday since March I’ve done a virtual Sci-Fi Explosion, and the experience has allowed me to make the show technically look and sound better by brushing up on my A/V editing skills, getting a green screen, etc.

I have some regulars who watch every show, but I’ve grown my audience a bit organically, which is nice – having people just kind of stumble into the stream and wonder what the hell is going on. Weirdly, that’s kinda exactly the response I’m going on for here. I consider myself an emcee, not just in the shows or writing I do, but also like in general – if I’m enthusiastic about something I want others to know about it, and this show gives me the forum to be enthusiastic about the exact sort of nonsense that is near and dear to my heart.

You can watch my show every Friday on Twitch at twitch.tv/scifiexplosion. Each week I have a pre-show at 7:30pm EST with the main show running from 8-9:30pm. Tune in, it’s fun!

DB: You’ve told me that all October you will be doing horror themed shows. Can you tell us what is happening for the rest of the month, or give us some hints if you are keeping things a surprise?

CC: Yes! On October 16th, I’m doing a special collaboration with Den of Geek (whom I write for) and Warner Archive showcasing the latter’s horror and sci-fi titles and doing some giveaways. Then on October 23rd, batch of Cosmic Cartoons.

To wrap up the month I’m doing the First Annual Sci-Fi Explosion Halloween Spooptacular, a 12-hour marathon of horror/sci-fi themed music videos, cartoons, TV episodes, and surprise feature films that will be punctuated by original comedy bits, interviews and special prizes for anyone who actually sits through the entire thing. It begins at 7:30pm EST on the 30th and ends at 7:30am on Halloween. (Full details can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/events/344797816945748/)

I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises, but I can say that there will be plenty of forgotten favorites, general weirdness, and I’ll be showing “Loverboy” at some point.

DB: I know the show is called Sci-Fi Explosion, but since you are doing monsters and horror all October, I’m wondering what “horror” and “monster” mean to you.

CC: At this very specific point in history, I feel like the only horror and monsters worth paying attention to are those in the White House. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote.

DB: Do “monster” and “horror” have any queer associations to you?

CC: I think the practice of queer-coding villains as a way to let audiences know a character is “bad” is a fascinating one (Desslok in Star Blazers immediately comes to mind). Of course, these characters are almost always more appealing than the heroic or “good” characters, so take that, heteros!

DB: I agree. Historically, I think we have settled for “bad representation” over no representation. If you were going to have a horror host persona — like Elvira — what would it be and why? What movie would you host?

CC: I wouldn’t and here’s why: I’m awkward enough on screen to watch  so I don’t need vampire teeth or pancake makeup to scare people (but my beard looks GREAT these days, so bears, holla). I would host Basket Case, though, because it is absolutely perfect. I’m actually working on a musical adaptation of Basket Case right now, so stay tuned for THAT!

DB: Chris, this is a big question, so I appreciate you tackling it: what are your top five sci-fi or horror movies for Queer autumn watching, and why? Hocus Pocus is a nonstarter.  

CC: Here’s one of countless reasons why I’m a bad gay. I have never seen Hocus Pocus. Like, I vaguely remember when it came out, but don’t recall hearing about it until like three years ago. Now it’s everywhere.

I have no issue with it, I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. I am definitely a Sarah Jessica Parker fan and have a google news alert set for Sex and the City 3, so I can keep my gay-card, right? Fellow Sarah Jessica Parker gays, you’ve seen Square Pegs, right? If not, go see Square Pegs instead.

DB: Chris, focus! Queer autumn watching… go.

CC: Oh yeah. I’d say my must watch every autumn are the aforementioned Basket Case, Carnival of Souls, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Alien, and The Mask (the trippy 3-D Canadian one, not the Jim Carrey one – never the Jim Carrey one).

But I absolutely must watch the Freaks and Geeks Halloween episode and the episode of The Facts of Life where everyone thinks Mrs. Garrett is killing people and using the meat for her special sausage. I don’t think it gets any queerer than that. I love it. Facts of Life fans, represent!

DB: Where can I see your weird show this Friday, and every Friday for the rest of my life?

CC: You can watch my show every Friday night until life returns at twitch.tv/scifieplosion at 7:30pm EST.

Additionally, you can follow me at: facebook.com/scifiexplosion, on Twitter and Instagram at @scifiexplosion, patreon.com/scifiexplosion, and you can even watch my recent Dragoncon show at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKZ659HZ2Og&t=1820s&fbclid=IwAR3-ltMCSdHpyb0GujdL1Pw8v43OuFP0wDdoo160MBdx6-Nc3_v_Z1Vv_OM

It’s fun, I promise!

DB: Chris, thank you for taking this time to share with us.

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