“I can't wait till I have grandchildren. “When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!” - Mark Watney
31:26 i really like how you worded that adam. your always so humble but also observant enough to be very well informed. btw i havent read the book but loved hearing this. i may try to find time to read it someday. but hearing what happens doesnt ruin the story for me at all. it just makes me more interested.
Tested I can't believe you guys didn't mention Mark's praise of duct tape! I bet that put a huge smile on Adam's face when he first read (heard?) it :)
I read The Martian just after reading Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island. Amazing pair to read together! Both are about people stranded, both are heavily science based, but they're from such different eras and (literally) such different worlds.
Love this show, love this podcast, love this episode. I read The Martian when Adam first mentioned it and loved every second. Hearing you guys speak with such passion and excitement over the same interests and experiences I've had absolutely inspires me. Talking about how the future impact of generations from the characters ingenuity, I felt the same way reading those parts and love that you guys shared that as well. Thanks for making a great show. Finally became a premium member. Keep doing awesome work guys!
Thanks for the Book Recommendation. It was brilliant! My list Morgan Freeman : Teddy, Kal Penn (aged) : Dr. Kapur , Clint Eastwood : Mitch, Jim Parsons : Pernel Chloë Grace Moretz : Mindy Karl Urban : Mark, Jessica Alba : Johanson (Irony of her being a nerd icon) Luis Guzman : Bruce
Andy Weir spoke in Google Talks. He shows the program that he developed to simulate the orbital dynamics of the hermes mission and the additional rescue mission. The best is the public's questions, so: DO NOT MISS THAT VIDEO -> Andy Weir: "The Martian" | Talks at Google
haha, I literally stopped listening to this. Read the book, then immediately listened to the audio book. AMAZING! To the comment about Watney being faultless. I have a theory to explain this feature of the novel that may be a little head-canon. Most of reader’s interaction with Watney is through his written accounts in his journal; he is writing these account with the knowledge that someone may eventually read them. Because of this he isn’t really giving us a run through of his emotional state, or stress he is experiencing, but a narrative of the problems he had and how he solved some of them. I posit that he is doing what his character does best, trying to lighten a very serious situation. In the event of his death these journals will be his last real communication with the world and the people he loves. He is probably censoring these journals and protecting the reader (friends, family, fellow crew members) form experiencing all the fear, anger, panic, and overall helplessness he felt throughout his time on Mars. Because of the journal style there was a real feeling that this novel may have been a post-mortem re-telling of Watney’s story. This is partly why it was so exciting to read. You really wanted to get to the end to see if he survived!
I listened this as an audiobook and its over 10h long. The plan was start it when i was going to sleep and continue the next day. I happened to listen 7 straight hours of it. Then 5mins of sleep and then the rest of it. I absolutely loved it. I will read it the next time and i cant recommend it enough. 10/10
Thanks for the recommendation guys, listened to this audiobook over 12 hrs of driving this weekend, and i absolutely loved it, one of the best books i've come across. I bought a physical copy aswell, so i can keep it on my shelf. And my god, best narrator i've heard, apart from a few pronounciation flaws. (Like ASC-2 instead of ASCII)
I would love to hear more spoilercasts! These are the greatest. I am so glad to have been introduced to this book. Stayed up far too late reading to get through it. I loved it.
I finished listening to the audiobook the other day. So very good. The fellow that narrated it does some fantastic work! I will probably actually listen to it again at some point.
I read this book in a day and a half... even with working a full day. Very gripping, very thrilling. My technical question would be about the amount of sealant he goes through -- I mean he actually cuts the hab apart and then glues it back together, and glues up a large tent for the drive... that is a LOT of glue. Is that really plausible?
I figured they would have had lots of it. It's relatively light, and having enough of that and spare canvas would let you rebuild or repair most of the equipment on Mars that had a problem. He would also be able to cannibalize the suit repair kits too. The thing I questioned was the amount of spare canvas he had. He listed it early on, but after that it seemed to be an almost magical amount.
Tested and another thing... :-) With all the comments out there how this is a combination of Apollo 13 and Castaway... and you guys gave not one thought for a role for Tom Hanks in the film adaptation! Shocking. :-)
I'm a recent subscriber to TESTED and STILL UNTITLED. I saw this episode a few weeks ago and immediately signed up for AUDIBLE and downloaded THE MARTIAN. HOLY COW it's a great book! I finished it within a 2 day period it was that awesome.
The Martian is being made into a movie. It's being directed by Ridley Scott and Mark Watney is being played by Matt Damon. I think a few trailers are out already.
I have to say, this book was GREAT! I listened to the audible audiobook and I listened as much as I could. I can't recommend this book enough! As you guys said, the ingenuity that the main character shows is great! This was an awesome podcast!
have just finished reading the book. or rather listening to it. thank you for recommending it. not being a technically educated person, I haven't probably got every detail. but I'm going to re-read it at least twice and I want my daughter to listen to it in spite of the language. right now i'm still enormously stressed after listening to the final. can't thank you enough.
In the original version of the story, the free version he released, which you can still find out there, there is a little bit more at the end, a couple more paragraphs which they took out for the published book. It ends on a really funny note it's totally worth finding and ready.
The Martian is one of the finest science fiction books I have ever read. It is destined to become a classic. I just downloaded the audio version. I can't wait to listen it! I know that The Martian is going to be made into a movie. Let us hope that Hollywood doesn't butcher it!
Loved the book, but I really had a problem with the opening threat. 150 mph winds in such an incredibly thin atmosphere as Mars has wouldn't be able to cause the amount of damage they do in the book.
***** It's not about the wind speed. It's about the atmospheric pressure. If the atmosphere is too thin, heavy objects cannot achieve lift using the wind regardless of how fast the wind is blowing. Nothing heavier than dust is seriously affected by the winds of Mars. Communication arrays would not be ripped down, and multi-ton escape rockets are certainly not in any danger of being blown over.
Geo Cochran That makes sense. It was very clear that Weir had done his research and knew that was the case. Later in the book he even addresses how the thin atmosphere makes the wind harmless. He simply needed a crisis that would allow an astronaut to be left behind by the rest of the crew, and that was the most interesting scenario he came up with.
Had not read a book in years, and read The Martian in a day. Just couldn't stop. Went for a jog that day, but only when I had the audio-book downloaded on my phone. Heard about the book in a previous podcast, so thank you so much guys! BTW, could you recommend another book similar to this? Will? You read a lot, right? Greets from Finland :)
@Daniel Lundqvist - I don't know if you have a propensity toward darker literature, not to mention experimental book formatting (you'll see what I mean), but House of Leaves is nothing short of an experience.
Daniel Lundqvist . Try Voyage by Stephen Baxter. It's not a marooned type of story, but rather a 'counter-factual' depicting the Mars Mission that would have, could have, should have occurred in the 1980s. I loved it.
The early Apollo Mission that Adam couldn't remember was Apollo-7. The Commander, Wally Schirra (Mercury 7 veteran) got a head cold in space. He started talking back to Houston and overall just being a Ass. He had already decided to retire after the mission. He then passed on his attitude and head cold to the other two crew members who were rookies.
Imdb has some names listed... Sure enough it's Matt Damon as Watney. The rest is Jessica Chastain. Kate Mara. Kristen Wiig (rumored) Michael Peña (rumored) and Mackenzie Davies.
I loved this book, I want to thank Adam, Will, and Norm for recommending it to me almost a month ago. I bought it that day and finished within the week. I haven't read a book in a few years that just grabbed me from start to finish. Any other recommendations, I read American Gods a year or so ago on the Tested staff recommendation and I enjoyed that as well.
Everything is correct AFTER the storm,. The density of the atmosphere on Mars in no way shape or form could possibly do what he describes... But it's still a GREAT book!
I did the audio book version of the book was amazing! I listened to it the very next day after you guys talked about it two weeks ago. So glad you guys recommended it.
I read this book via the audio version. I laughed _so_ hard and so _many_ times that my family got genuinely worried about what I was listening. This is definitely one of the best, (if not _the_ best) book I've read
Jon Proce there's an old Arthur C. Clarke book called a Fall of Moondust which is similar. A tourist ship crashes on the moon and gets stuck beneath a sort of landslide/moonquake
+MAXXHEW i feel like armada is only readable if you: -haven't read ready player one, cline's first novel -haven't read ender's game or seen the last starfighter -have a high tolerance for lists of pop culture/nerd culture references (not lots of references, but straight up lists) -don't know a lot of sci-fi tropes, otherwise the story is utterly beat for beat predictable and really unsatisfying. other than that, it's probably a good book.
I don't have any really great ideas for the rest of the cast, but I could sure see Paul Blackthorne as Watney. I always think of him as Harry Dresden, his character from the short-lived TV series "The Dresden Files", based on the novels. I see a lot of similarities in the characters. While just because he can play an intelligent, resourceful, yet comedic character doesn't necessarily make him the perfect fit, I do feel like he pulls it off and well.
It won't be a downer. They have so much exploration excitement and beauty they can show. He picks up so much momentum its achievement after achievement, and in a 2 hour movie this will fly by, earth's excitement will counter any depression.
I knew I had heard the name Andy Weir before! He was the man behind Casey and Andy, and was on the Blizzard staff during the Warcraft days. Welp guess I better pick up that book then.
I highly recommend watching Andy Weir's Google talk he did when he was promoting the book. He discusses the program he wrote, and the one thing he completely made up in terms of scientific accuracy.
Omg! Thanks for the recomendation/spoilercast. I don't read but this book just turned me into a reader. i finished it in 3 days. Also I appreciate the Mars photos when the feed died.
Andy Weir during a Google talk said that he dropped many hints in the book about the date it was set, and that given the voyage of Hermes (which is an accurate voyage given the planetary dynamics of this date), the reader SHOULD be able to decipher when this book took place
I think they could successfully play out a good bit of the narrative of the movie by turning the text logs into audio logs. That way any necessary exposition is natural.
I hope it's a long movie and agree with you on it, I haven't been to a theater in 10 years I think I'm going to have to go see it, I just can't wait that many sols for it to get to DVD.
I have finally read it and had been looking forward to finishing it so I could watch this. Great book. For the film cast I'd like to see Robert Downey Jr and or Jon Favreau as astronauts just for the pay off of the "like Ironman" line. In fact if they were Beck and Vogel they could be in the airlock and share a look at that moment. :) I also really hope the film is structured in a way that we see flaskbacks to the manufacturing of the panel that will fail, and keep going back and forth to the flashbacks step by step leading up to the failure as it does in the book. There are some nice moments like that which would translate nicely to film I think.
I read "The Martian" after I heard you mention it last time I heard you mentioned it. Read it in one sitting, phenomenal, thanks for the recommendation!
NASA couldn't put the satellite over the crash site because the public could see all the satellite pictures being taken and they didn't want them to see Watney's body
I would like to see a spoilercast on 'Automata' and would certainly like to hear Adam's opinion on the styling as the story gives me flashbacks to Bicentennial Man and Blade Runner.
I listened to the audiobook of this because Will had mentioned it was done really well. I haven't enjoyed the reader of an audiobook so much since the Harry Potter series. In fact, I believe this performance by R.C. Bray trumps Jim Dale's in Harry Potter. It helps that Weir's book is written from a first person perspective with great dialog for one-line jokes. Bray's comedic timing brings a whole new level to the book which had me L.O.L. in front of strangers at Starbucks while waiting in line to buy coffee. If you haven't read the book please get it on audio. If you've read the book, re-listen to it on audio. If you've never listened to an audiobook before, listen to this on audio. There are good performances and bad, there are simply passable ones and decent. This is how audiobooks should be done. The voices were all perfect and despite the one person cast R.C. Bray does one of the best audiobook reads I have ever heard. Cast choice...Aasif Mandvi
I found the switch to third-person narrative jarring and felt like the author was taking the easy way out, or couldn't figure out a better way to show us what was happening on earth. Also the profanity and immaturity got old. Not thinking somebody that immature would make it through. Lots of good scienc-y nerd stuff but my expectations were way high from what you guys were saying. Disappointed... Also if you guys are reading this, I would like to know why you guys use Macbooks when you are content creators. I know Norm's been using the Surface but I constantly see the Apple laptops, I know I don't want to switch between the Win/Apple UIs in Adobe CS6. Thoughts? Thanks!
Fuck you scared the shit out of me @12:15 that beep sounded like the one from my dosimeter alarm. Especially since I had been working with some radioactive ores I thought I may have tracked some radioactive dust into the sitting area. Where the geiger counter remains because that's where the ores are located in a display cabinet. But it was a failing GoPro... thanks ;)
Well, I just finished The Martian. I got the audiobook off audible's free 30 day trial deal and proceeded to listen to the whole 10+ hr book in 20hrs(I'm basing this off the fact that it says my first comment on this video was 20hrs ago). And holy fucking shit, that book is amazing. By far one of my all time favorite books, and whoever said whoever's wife said the guy that does the audiobook does a great job with the voices was dead on. Thanks for the spoilercast, if you hadn't posted it I would of never read(ok listened) to the book.
Grant Gelinas-Brown ive just got a message from R.C Bray the guy who did the audible version and he says sorry about saying ASC 2 insteed of ascii. No one told him......lolhe only found out not long ago.
The book shares more with the original Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe than with the multitude of clones. Since you chose to salvage the bit by running Mars pictures why not put the picture of the actor being discussed in as filler in a small window. But since I am complaining NOW I must buy the audio version. Thanks this is one of your best.
My casting choice would have been Ben Browder of Farscape fame. He did a phenomenal job on Farscape portraying someone isolated and struggling not to lose it. I would love to see him play a similar role again on a much bigger stage.
The best audio book I've ever listened to. Only took about 3 days with me only listening to it in my downtime (driving, at the gym, and little at work lol just don't tell my boss)
I loved the book. That murdering drill was a nice twist. There were some very funny parts that brought tears. If your an engineer its a must read, also even if he not.
I don't know if this book is even available here, but i kind of have a concentration issue due to a sleep disorder for the moment, but i heard them about this on a previous podcast, and i just had to check it out. So i got the audiobook/podcast. Awesome. Great story, great audiobook, and i was thinking, wow, this has to be made into a movie. Soon after, i read Ridley Scott is on it. Holy $#!7, not the worst choice ! Yes, the audiobook takes 10 hours, but you can skip things and some things go faster on screen or can be compacted in a small montage and so goes faster than reading. I even thought, this guy may be a bit nerdy or something, but he's cool too. Make Robert Downey Junior do him, his expressions and demeanor kind of fits, dial back on the egoism, and you're done. Thank you for recommending this, keep going !
I think it might be time to switch up your camera setup. I think this is the 3rd time that I can remember something has happened to the video while recording your pod cast
The unfortunate reality about Ridley Scott is that he doesn't understand that space is a vacuum, therefore, there is no sound in space, which Stanley Kubrick and Chris Nolan understood, and captured so well. You can't hear anything on the surface of Mars. You can't hear anything outside the Hermes ship. You can't hear anything outside the HAB or the MAV on the surface of Mars. If he "plays it safe" by adding sound in zero-G,in places where it it is impossible to hear, it will ruin the whole film! Please pay attention to the science, Ridley!
Download the Mars Images App. It showcases photos taken from all three rovers days after they are captured. 1000s of pics, some interesting, some not so, all free to view!!!
Open Google Maps, scroll out of Earth, 3 avatars of Luna, Terra and Mars appear. Select Mars, enjoy. Extra: find the tracks of Curiosity on the surface of Mars.
I keep wondering why you wear headphones. I can understand you wear them in a radiostudio, that's so you can hear the end of the music and not have the sound recorded again by the mic (and so you can hear callers and possibly the techguy). On stage, i can understand why you'd wear an IEM, because you want to hear yourself to ensure you are in sync with the rest, but you three just have a conversation with each other you record. I see no need for headphones whatsoever. Could you explain?
I'm liking the audiobook narrator but found the Indian accent jarring. Since perhaps living in the UK where I did, when I grew up, I was around many my own age who were born here to Indian parents, they had no trace of an Indian accent, they talked like locals, like me. It's likely the Venkat character in the book would be second or third generation American of Indian descent so would have an American accent. Unless of course he's some kind of Indian Wernher Von Braun! Which is fine and it is beyond the scope of the book - his and others backstories.
I have 172 books in my Audible library.... This is the only one I have listened to more than once! Awesome book. Toughest casting Vingkjet Kapour (sp?). Also one of my favorite characters.
“I can't wait till I have grandchildren. “When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!” - Mark Watney
31:26 i really like how you worded that adam. your always so humble but also observant enough to be very well informed.
btw i havent read the book but loved hearing this. i may try to find time to read it someday. but hearing what happens doesnt ruin the story for me at all. it just makes me more interested.
The irony of the camera failing while talking about this of all books tickles me.
pure gold
Some time later....
Amazed by how close you guys called the movie.
Tested I can't believe you guys didn't mention Mark's praise of duct tape! I bet that put a huge smile on Adam's face when he first read (heard?) it :)
I read The Martian just after reading Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island. Amazing pair to read together! Both are about people stranded, both are heavily science based, but they're from such different eras and (literally) such different worlds.
Love this show, love this podcast, love this episode. I read The Martian when Adam first mentioned it and loved every second. Hearing you guys speak with such passion and excitement over the same interests and experiences I've had absolutely inspires me. Talking about how the future impact of generations from the characters ingenuity, I felt the same way reading those parts and love that you guys shared that as well.
Thanks for making a great show. Finally became a premium member. Keep doing awesome work guys!
I listened to the audiobook based on this recommendation and oh my god it's amazing.
I listened to the audio book, and it was FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for recommending this book!
Thanks for the Book Recommendation. It was brilliant!
My list
Morgan Freeman : Teddy,
Kal Penn (aged) : Dr. Kapur ,
Clint Eastwood : Mitch,
Jim Parsons : Pernel
Chloë Grace Moretz : Mindy
Karl Urban : Mark,
Jessica Alba : Johanson (Irony of her being a nerd icon)
Luis Guzman : Bruce
Andy Weir spoke in Google Talks. He shows the program that he developed to simulate the orbital dynamics of the hermes mission and the additional rescue mission. The best is the public's questions, so: DO NOT MISS THAT VIDEO -> Andy Weir: "The Martian" | Talks at Google
"Zonica? Could you grab me one of the zero waters on my laser cutter?" COUGH, COUGH!!! "Laugh-out-loud!"
haha, I literally stopped listening to this. Read the book, then immediately listened to the audio book. AMAZING!
To the comment about Watney being faultless. I have a theory to explain this feature of the novel that may be a little head-canon.
Most of reader’s interaction with Watney is through his written accounts in his journal; he is writing these account with the knowledge that someone may eventually read them. Because of this he isn’t really giving us a run through of his emotional state, or stress he is experiencing, but a narrative of the problems he had and how he solved
some of them.
I posit that he is doing what his character does best, trying to lighten a very serious situation. In the event of his death these journals will be his last real communication with the world and the people he loves. He is probably censoring these journals and protecting the reader (friends, family, fellow crew members) form experiencing all the fear, anger, panic, and overall helplessness he felt throughout his time on Mars.
Because of the journal style there was a real feeling that this novel may have been a post-mortem re-telling of Watney’s story. This is partly why it was so exciting to read. You really wanted to get to the end to see if he survived!
Going to go read this now, thank you.
Loved Andy Weir's short story "The Egg", so I'm sure I'll love his writing in this as well.
I listened this as an audiobook and its over 10h long. The plan was start it when i was going to sleep and continue the next day. I happened to listen 7 straight hours of it. Then 5mins of sleep and then the rest of it. I absolutely loved it. I will read it the next time and i cant recommend it enough. 10/10
Thanks for the recommendation guys, listened to this audiobook over 12 hrs of driving this weekend, and i absolutely loved it, one of the best books i've come across. I bought a physical copy aswell, so i can keep it on my shelf. And my god, best narrator i've heard, apart from a few pronounciation flaws. (Like ASC-2 instead of ASCII)
I would love to hear more spoilercasts! These are the greatest. I am so glad to have been introduced to this book. Stayed up far too late reading to get through it. I loved it.
I finished listening to the audiobook the other day. So very good. The fellow that narrated it does some fantastic work!
I will probably actually listen to it again at some point.
I read this book in a day and a half... even with working a full day. Very gripping, very thrilling.
My technical question would be about the amount of sealant he goes through -- I mean he actually cuts the hab apart and then glues it back together, and glues up a large tent for the drive... that is a LOT of glue. Is that really plausible?
I figured they would have had lots of it. It's relatively light, and having enough of that and spare canvas would let you rebuild or repair most of the equipment on Mars that had a problem. He would also be able to cannibalize the suit repair kits too. The thing I questioned was the amount of spare canvas he had. He listed it early on, but after that it seemed to be an almost magical amount.
Tested and another thing... :-) With all the comments out there how this is a combination of Apollo 13 and Castaway... and you guys gave not one thought for a role for Tom Hanks in the film adaptation! Shocking. :-)
wordsnwood Tom Hanks would be awesome here. He has that same sense of humor that Watney has.
I'm a recent subscriber to TESTED and STILL UNTITLED. I saw this episode a few weeks ago and immediately signed up for AUDIBLE and downloaded THE MARTIAN. HOLY COW it's a great book! I finished it within a 2 day period it was that awesome.
The Martian is being made into a movie. It's being directed by Ridley Scott and Mark Watney is being played by Matt Damon. I think a few trailers are out already.
In the Audiobook version I listened too it has some differences from the Ebook I have, and ends with him back on earth in a mini epilogue.
I have to say, this book was GREAT! I listened to the audible audiobook and I listened as much as I could. I can't recommend this book enough! As you guys said, the ingenuity that the main character shows is great! This was an awesome podcast!
They explain not looking right away because all of the pictures would be public domain. And they didn't want his body exposed to the public's view.
Had this episode in my 'Watch later' list for months - finally picked up the book last week and just finished it. Now for the spoiler cast :D
have just finished reading the book. or rather listening to it. thank you for recommending it. not being a technically educated person, I haven't probably got every detail. but I'm going to re-read it at least twice and I want my daughter to listen to it in spite of the language.
right now i'm still enormously stressed after listening to the final.
can't thank you enough.
In the original version of the story, the free version he released, which you can still find out there, there is a little bit more at the end, a couple more paragraphs which they took out for the published book. It ends on a really funny note it's totally worth finding and ready.
The Martian is one of the finest science fiction books I have ever read. It is destined to become a classic. I just downloaded the audio version. I can't wait to listen it! I know that The Martian is going to be made into a movie. Let us hope that Hollywood doesn't butcher it!
Loved the book, but I really had a problem with the opening threat. 150 mph winds in such an incredibly thin atmosphere as Mars has wouldn't be able to cause the amount of damage they do in the book.
175kph, the hab was designed for 150kph... 175k is 108.7mph.
*****
It's not about the wind speed. It's about the atmospheric pressure. If the atmosphere is too thin, heavy objects cannot achieve lift using the wind regardless of how fast the wind is blowing. Nothing heavier than dust is seriously affected by the winds of Mars. Communication arrays would not be ripped down, and multi-ton escape rockets are certainly not in any danger of being blown over.
if you look up weir's google hangout he will admit that is the only thing he fluffed.
Geo Cochran
That makes sense. It was very clear that Weir had done his research and knew that was the case. Later in the book he even addresses how the thin atmosphere makes the wind harmless. He simply needed a crisis that would allow an astronaut to be left behind by the rest of the crew, and that was the most interesting scenario he came up with.
Had not read a book in years, and read The Martian in a day. Just couldn't stop. Went for a jog that day, but only when I had the audio-book downloaded on my phone. Heard about the book in a previous podcast, so thank you so much guys! BTW, could you recommend another book similar to this? Will? You read a lot, right? Greets from Finland :)
I'll think about it and post some recommendations in a week or two. I'll have to run through the stuff I've read over the last few years.
@Daniel Lundqvist - I don't know if you have a propensity toward darker literature, not to mention experimental book formatting (you'll see what I mean), but House of Leaves is nothing short of an experience.
Thanks John! I'll check it out.
Daniel Lundqvist . Try Voyage by Stephen Baxter. It's not a marooned type of story, but rather a 'counter-factual' depicting the Mars Mission that would have, could have, should have occurred in the 1980s. I loved it.
Every time we get video cut off episode, can we get a new one-day-build episode, please? It doesn't have to be Adam's work. Any would be awesome =D.
We're halfway through a multi-day build right now.
Watney - Sam Rockwell
Louis - Julianne Moore
Vogel - Christopher Walz
Rodriguez - Dave Bautista
PR manager - Emma Stone
The early Apollo Mission that Adam couldn't remember was Apollo-7. The Commander, Wally Schirra (Mercury 7 veteran) got a head cold in space. He started talking back to Houston and overall just being a Ass. He had already decided to retire after the mission. He then passed on his attitude and head cold to the other two crew members who were rookies.
Imdb has some names listed... Sure enough it's Matt Damon as Watney. The rest is Jessica Chastain. Kate Mara. Kristen Wiig (rumored) Michael Peña (rumored) and Mackenzie Davies.
I loved this book, I want to thank Adam, Will, and Norm for recommending it to me almost a month ago. I bought it that day and finished within the week. I haven't read a book in a few years that just grabbed me from start to finish. Any other recommendations, I read American Gods a year or so ago on the Tested staff recommendation and I enjoyed that as well.
Great book!! Thanks for the spoilercast, also very enjoyable! Cheers
Everything is correct AFTER the storm,. The density of the atmosphere on Mars in no way shape or form could possibly do what he describes... But it's still a GREAT book!
Yay I can finally watch this! Finished the book! Podcast - check. Now for the movie!
I did the audio book version of the book was amazing! I listened to it the very next day after you guys talked about it two weeks ago. So glad you guys recommended it.
I read this book via the audio version. I laughed _so_ hard and so _many_ times that my family got genuinely worried about what I was listening. This is definitely one of the best, (if not _the_ best) book I've read
The isopods people are likely to see are woodlice(slaters).and pill-bugs
The huge ones Adam talks of is:-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_isopod
Loved this book! Are there others on the same level that anyone would recommend?
Jon Proce there's an old Arthur C. Clarke book called a Fall of Moondust which is similar. A tourist ship crashes on the moon and gets stuck beneath a sort of landslide/moonquake
Jon Proce Armada, by Cline is a fun sci-fi.
+MAXXHEW i feel like armada is only readable if you:
-haven't read ready player one, cline's first novel
-haven't read ender's game or seen the last starfighter
-have a high tolerance for lists of pop culture/nerd culture references (not lots of references, but straight up lists)
-don't know a lot of sci-fi tropes, otherwise the story is utterly beat for beat predictable and really unsatisfying.
other than that, it's probably a good book.
I still haven't read the book, I'll be back to watch afterwards!
I love that book. I can totally see how Ridley Scott wanted to make it into a movie.
I don't have any really great ideas for the rest of the cast, but I could sure see Paul Blackthorne as Watney. I always think of him as Harry Dresden, his character from the short-lived TV series "The Dresden Files", based on the novels. I see a lot of similarities in the characters. While just because he can play an intelligent, resourceful, yet comedic character doesn't necessarily make him the perfect fit, I do feel like he pulls it off and well.
Just ordered on Amazon, will check back here when I have finished it :-)
It won't be a downer. They have so much exploration excitement and beauty they can show. He picks up so much momentum its achievement after achievement, and in a 2 hour movie this will fly by, earth's excitement will counter any depression.
I read the book just for this and it is incredible, thank you so much.
This podcast made me buy the audiobook, you made it sound aweoms thanks.
I knew I had heard the name Andy Weir before! He was the man behind Casey and Andy, and was on the Blizzard staff during the Warcraft days.
Welp guess I better pick up that book then.
It’s a shame you can’t get the original audiobook anymore.
I highly recommend watching Andy Weir's Google talk he did when he was promoting the book. He discusses the program he wrote, and the one thing he completely made up in terms of scientific accuracy.
Omg! Thanks for the recomendation/spoilercast. I don't read but this book just turned me into a reader. i finished it in 3 days. Also I appreciate the Mars photos when the feed died.
Andy Weir during a Google talk said that he dropped many hints in the book about the date it was set, and that given the voyage of Hermes (which is an accurate voyage given the planetary dynamics of this date), the reader SHOULD be able to decipher when this book took place
I think they could successfully play out a good bit of the narrative of the movie by turning the text logs into audio logs. That way any necessary exposition is natural.
I hope it's a long movie and agree with you on it,
I haven't been to a theater in 10 years I think I'm going to have to go see it, I just can't wait that many sols for it to get to DVD.
I have finally read it and had been looking forward to finishing it so I could watch this. Great book.
For the film cast I'd like to see Robert Downey Jr and or Jon Favreau as astronauts just for the pay off of the "like Ironman" line. In fact if they were Beck and Vogel they could be in the airlock and share a look at that moment. :)
I also really hope the film is structured in a way that we see flaskbacks to the manufacturing of the panel that will fail, and keep going back and forth to the flashbacks step by step leading up to the failure as it does in the book. There are some nice moments like that which would translate nicely to film I think.
I read "The Martian" after I heard you mention it last time I heard you mentioned it. Read it in one sitting, phenomenal, thanks for the recommendation!
I didn't read the book nor do I plan to and I watched the hell out of this video and couldn't be more happier with my decision.
NASA couldn't put the satellite over the crash site because the public could see all the satellite pictures being taken and they didn't want them to see Watney's body
I would like to see a spoilercast on 'Automata' and would certainly like to hear Adam's opinion on the styling as the story gives me flashbacks to Bicentennial Man and Blade Runner.
Just finished it! Bought it on your guys' reccommendation. Awesome!
I listened to the audiobook of this because Will had mentioned it was done really well. I haven't enjoyed the reader of an audiobook so much since the Harry Potter series. In fact, I believe this performance by R.C. Bray trumps Jim Dale's in Harry Potter. It helps that Weir's book is written from a first person perspective with great dialog for one-line jokes. Bray's comedic timing brings a whole new level to the book which had me L.O.L. in front of strangers at Starbucks while waiting in line to buy coffee.
If you haven't read the book please get it on audio. If you've read the book, re-listen to it on audio. If you've never listened to an audiobook before, listen to this on audio. There are good performances and bad, there are simply passable ones and decent. This is how audiobooks should be done. The voices were all perfect and despite the one person cast R.C. Bray does one of the best audiobook reads I have ever heard.
Cast choice...Aasif Mandvi
Thank you for the recommendation guys! I loved the book.
I loved this book. I think it's instantly transferable to film! When's the movie coming out???
you forgot to mention a scene where he is disco dancing to "I will survive" in his EVA suit while drilling the rover.
I found the switch to third-person narrative jarring and felt like the author was taking the easy way out, or couldn't figure out a better way to show us what was happening on earth. Also the profanity and immaturity got old. Not thinking somebody that immature would make it through. Lots of good scienc-y nerd stuff but my expectations were way high from what you guys were saying. Disappointed... Also if you guys are reading this, I would like to know why you guys use Macbooks when you are content creators. I know Norm's been using the Surface but I constantly see the Apple laptops, I know I don't want to switch between the Win/Apple UIs in Adobe CS6. Thoughts? Thanks!
Fuck you scared the shit out of me @12:15 that beep sounded like the one from my dosimeter alarm. Especially since I had been working with some radioactive ores I thought I may have tracked some radioactive dust into the sitting area. Where the geiger counter remains because that's where the ores are located in a display cabinet. But it was a failing GoPro... thanks ;)
Well, I just finished The Martian. I got the audiobook off audible's free 30 day trial deal and proceeded to listen to the whole 10+ hr book in 20hrs(I'm basing this off the fact that it says my first comment on this video was 20hrs ago). And holy fucking shit, that book is amazing. By far one of my all time favorite books, and whoever said whoever's wife said the guy that does the audiobook does a great job with the voices was dead on. Thanks for the spoilercast, if you hadn't posted it I would of never read(ok listened) to the book.
This one is gold! Second viewing now.. Thank you guys
This book is unbelievably awesome!!! I have literally read/listened to this book more than 10 times since this spoilercast came out.
Michael Scherer I'm on read #3 (well...Audible). Driving a daily commute with a smile can't be beat.
Grant Gelinas-Brown ive just got a message from R.C Bray the guy who did the audible version and he says sorry about saying ASC 2 insteed of ascii. No one told him......lolhe only found out not long ago.
The technical details in this book is insane.
The book shares more with the original Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe than with the multitude of clones. Since you chose to salvage the bit by running Mars pictures why not put the picture of the actor being discussed in as filler in a small window. But since I am complaining NOW I must buy the audio version. Thanks this is one of your best.
lol, ironically I planned on watching the video podcast after briefly listening to the audio version.
My casting choice would have been Ben Browder of Farscape fame. He did a phenomenal job on Farscape portraying someone isolated and struggling not to lose it. I would love to see him play a similar role again on a much bigger stage.
Was Ian McShane the actor from Deadwood you were trying to remember?
Hugh Laurie as Mitch at NASA. J K Simmons as Ted as NASA. Jim Parsons as Rich Purnell.
The best audio book I've ever listened to. Only took about 3 days with me only listening to it in my downtime (driving, at the gym, and little at work lol just don't tell my boss)
is it worth it to listen to the audiobook after I've read it? I've never listened to an audiobook before.
I did both and I think the Audio book is completely worth it. The voice acting is fantastic.
how the heck does something like a gopro overheat?
I loved the book. That murdering drill was a nice twist.
There were some very funny parts that brought tears.
If your an engineer its a must read, also even if he not.
Will Ridley Scott direct this film?? Will Matt Damon play Mark Watney? Is Jessica Chastain cast for a role in the film?
I don't know if this book is even available here, but i kind of have a concentration issue due to a sleep disorder for the moment, but i heard them about this on a previous podcast, and i just had to check it out. So i got the audiobook/podcast.
Awesome. Great story, great audiobook, and i was thinking, wow, this has to be made into a movie. Soon after, i read Ridley Scott is on it. Holy $#!7, not the worst choice !
Yes, the audiobook takes 10 hours, but you can skip things and some things go faster on screen or can be compacted in a small montage and so goes faster than reading. I even thought, this guy may be a bit nerdy or something, but he's cool too. Make Robert Downey Junior do him, his expressions and demeanor kind of fits, dial back on the egoism, and you're done.
Thank you for recommending this, keep going !
thank you for the recommendation for the Martian, i got the audiobook. it was fantastic.
I think it might be time to switch up your camera setup. I think this is the 3rd time that I can remember something has happened to the video while recording your pod cast
yay! great :D been waiting for this
I actauly have a 1/1 scale giant isopod figurine on preorder for December.
The unfortunate reality about Ridley Scott is that he doesn't understand that space is a vacuum, therefore, there is no sound in space, which Stanley Kubrick and Chris Nolan understood, and captured so well. You can't hear anything on the surface of Mars. You can't hear anything outside the Hermes ship. You can't hear anything outside the HAB or the MAV on the surface of Mars. If he "plays it safe" by adding sound in zero-G,in places where it it is impossible to hear, it will ruin the whole film! Please pay attention to the science, Ridley!
This book is fantastic. Can't wait to get my ears into this spoilercast!
The techie girl? Allison Scagliotti from Warehouse 13 :)
Adam Savage I can so see you making Mark Watney's space suet from the martian
I really hope he does. It's a great looking suit.
Could "Watney" become a verb, as in "I totally Watney'ed the DDOS attack with iptables and Perl. We're now alive again."
Download the Mars Images App. It showcases photos taken from all three rovers days after they are captured. 1000s of pics, some interesting, some not so, all free to view!!!
Open Google Maps, scroll out of Earth, 3 avatars of Luna, Terra and Mars appear. Select Mars, enjoy.
Extra: find the tracks of Curiosity on the surface of Mars.
Satellite images, sure. The app I suggested show images from ground level taken from the rovers. Anyways...?!
B0GlES Satellite pics are nice too. Gives perspective to the things we see on the ground.
I keep wondering why you wear headphones. I can understand you wear them in a radiostudio, that's so you can hear the end of the music and not have the sound recorded again by the mic (and so you can hear callers and possibly the techguy). On stage, i can understand why you'd wear an IEM, because you want to hear yourself to ensure you are in sync with the rest, but you three just have a conversation with each other you record. I see no need for headphones whatsoever. Could you explain?
i paused this at 4:03 got the audio book as im not a quick reader and intend on watching the rest of this video in just over 10 hours
just finished listening to the audiobook the speaker in truly amazing, spoilercast is such a good sum up of the book
Wrong info. The reader of the audiobook does ONE Indian voice; the other, less reoccurring voice, a Nasa project manager, is Korean.
I'm liking the audiobook narrator but found the Indian accent jarring. Since perhaps living in the UK where I did, when I grew up, I was around many my own age who were born here to Indian parents, they had no trace of an Indian accent, they talked like locals, like me.
It's likely the Venkat character in the book would be second or third generation American of Indian descent so would have an American accent.
Unless of course he's some kind of Indian Wernher Von Braun! Which is fine and it is beyond the scope of the book - his and others backstories.
Has Adam ever played the portal games?
Only a 4 minute episode? Jees. ;-)
The chair that Adam is sitting in looks so awsome!
It's from a harrier. He took off the rocket that shoots it self out of the aircraft
I have 172 books in my Audible library.... This is the only one I have listened to more than once! Awesome book. Toughest casting Vingkjet Kapour (sp?). Also one of my favorite characters.