{"id":34065,"date":"2026-04-11T12:30:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T16:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=34065"},"modified":"2026-04-10T22:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T02:16:00","slug":"april-11-2026-club-meeting-post-1-of-2-1230pm-introduction-and-agenda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/?p=34065","title":{"rendered":"APRIL 11, 2026 CLUB MEETING; Post 1 of 2, 12:30PM \u2013 Introduction and Agenda"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>1) INTRODUCTION<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

Welcome to MonSFFA\u2019s April 2026 meeting! We are gathering, today, in-person downtown, and online via ZOOM, to share our passion for sci-fi! Join our ZOOM-chat<\/strong> and take part from the comfort of home! Proceedings will be getting underway shortly. See the instructions, immediately below (Item 2).<\/p>\n

Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the meeting will conclude at 5:00PM. This opening post has gone up 30 minutes before the meeting\u2019s start time to allow folk to gather online at their leisure. A closing post will go up at 5:00PM to officially thank today\u2019s presenters, and to preview next month\u2019s MonSFFA event!\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

2) JOIN THIS AFTERNOON\u2019S VIDEO-CHAT ON ZOOM!<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

To take part in this afternoon\u2019s meeting online, join our ZOOM video-chat, which will run throughout the next few hours. Simply click here and follow the prompts:\u00a0This Afternoon\u2019s MonSFFA Meeting on ZOOM<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not fully equipped to ZOOM, you can also take part by phone (voice only); in the Montreal area, the toll-free number to call is:\u00a01-438-809-7799<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Also, have this information on hand as you may be asked to provide it:<\/p>\n

Meeting ID:\u00a0892 7485 1016<\/strong>
\nPasscode:\u00a0620286<\/strong><\/p>\n

3) APRIL\u2019S MEETING THEME<\/strong>:<\/span><\/h1>\n

Come to the meeting with your comedic sensibilities honed for mockery of the material as we emulate MST3K<\/em>; on this occasion, it will be perfectly acceptable to make joking remarks aloud during a movie screening!<\/p>\n

4) AGENDA:<\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n

1:00PM – MonSFFA\u2019s Own MST3K!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

MST3K<\/em> (Mystery Science Theatre 3000<\/em>) was a TV comedy series popular in the 1990s and early-2000s that made fun of cheesy, really bad, sci-fi B-movies. During the screenings of these films, characters trapped aboard a space station were compelled to watch countless examples of sci-fi schlock, and during screenings, would comment aloud with droll, pithy remarks mocking plots, acting, special effects, etc. We\u2019ll have some fun doing much the same!\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The film we have chosen to relentlessly ridicule is 1959\u2019s Attack of the Giant Leeches<\/em>, originally entitled The Giant Leeches<\/em>, and also released in some jurisdictions as Demons of the Swamp<\/em>. This is a tale of mysterious disappearances, deaths, infidelity, monstrous, blood-sucking leeches, and fishing with dynamite in the Florida Everglades. The film was shot in just eight days on a budget of some $70,000, paltry by Hollywood standards, even in 1959! The cast includes seasoned B-movie veterans and character actors, and a Playboy<\/em> centerfold, with Gene Corman producing and Roger Corman listed as executive producer. This is a flick rife for the MST3K<\/em> treatment, and in fact, the show did<\/em> poke fun at Attack of the Giant Leeches<\/em> in one episode!<\/p>\n

Paul Blaisdel, known within the industry at the time for crafting B-movie monster-suits quickly and on the cheap, actually turned down<\/em> the assignment of creating the giant leech costumes. Because the Corman brothers had allocated so little money for special effects, Blaisdel doubted he\u2019d even be able to cover the cost of materials! In the end, stunt performer and actor Ed Nelson and Gene Corman\u2019s wife, Nan, sewed together a few old raincoats and garbage bags, to which they attached rubber suckers, forming large, rather flimsy sack-like costumes prone to easily tearing! Exterior scenes were shot at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Today, dear MonSFFen, during our little matinee, we\u2019re looking for funny ad-libs, substitute dialogue, joking asides, bad puns\u2014just call \u2019em out as they come to you!\u2014and generally humorous commentary on current affairs and popular culture, all cleverly derived from what is unfolding on the screen before us. That\u2019s the plan, anyway. Our goal is to have fun with the whole MST3K<\/em> concept, and \u201cenjoy\u201d a classically bad sci-fi monster movie!<\/p>\n

Attack of the Giant Leeches<\/em> is in the public domain, and so is readily available for viewing on YouTube, or on free streaming services like Tubi, should you wish to watch it again when you get home because, you know, it was so good!<\/p>\n

3:00PM<\/strong> – Break<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Brief discussion of club business, other announcements, and raffle.<\/p>\n

3:15PM – The Titanic in SF\/F <\/strong><\/h4>\n

On today\u2019s date in 1912, the luxury liner RMS Titanic<\/em> set out from Ireland across the Atlantic on the final leg of her doomed maiden voyage, inspiring many a tale over numerous genres, including science fiction and fantasy. We\u2019ll look at SF\/F\u2019s take on the legendary ship.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

4:30PM<\/strong> – Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We close the afternoon with final thoughts, questions, and commentary on today\u2019s topics, or on other sci-fi or club-related subjects members may wish to briefly share with the group. Your feedback is always welcome, folks!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

5:00PM<\/strong> – End of Meeting<\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please Note: While we strive to keep on schedule, we do, sometimes, fall behind a little, or find ourselves having to reshuffle the order of items on the agenda for one reason or another, or reschedule planned presentations\/discussions. Therefore, please understand that all programming is subject to change!<\/span>\"\" <\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome home, Artemis!<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The meeting officially begins at 1:00PM! Thanks for joining us today, and enjoy the afternoon!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1) INTRODUCTION Welcome to MonSFFA\u2019s April 2026 meeting! We are gathering, today, in-person downtown, and online via ZOOM, to share our passion for sci-fi! Join our ZOOM-chat and take part from the comfort of home! Proceedings will be getting underway shortly. See the instructions, immediately below (Item 2). Our programming agenda begins at 1:00PM; the … Continue reading APRIL 11, 2026 CLUB MEETING; Post 1 of 2, 12:30PM \u2013 Introduction and Agenda<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":435,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/435"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34076,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34065\/revisions\/34076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monsffa.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}