John Kenneth Muir

John Kenneth Muir is the award-winning author of twenty-one reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular accent on the horror and science fiction genres. He has been described as one of the horror genre's "most widely read critics" ("Rue Morgue", Issue #68, June 2007, page 63), and as an "accomplished film journalist" ("Comic Buyer's Guide" # 1535, 4/18/03).

Muir has written a book about Kevin Smith, entitled "An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2002), a study of Sam Raimi entitled "The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2004) and another on the works of comedian Christopher Guest and his repertory company, titled "Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2004). As of 2008, Muir's most recent film director study was "Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair" (Applause Theater and Cinema Books, 2006).

History

Born December 3, 1969, Muir began his full-time writing career in 1996, penning several books for the North Carolina-based publisher of scholarly reference books, McFarland and Company Inc., Publisher. Among John's titles for McFarland are award-winners "The Encyclopedia of Superhero on Film and Television" (2004), "Horror Films of the 1970s" (2002) and "Terror Television" (2001). Other John Kenneth Muir titles from McFarland include "Eaten Alive At a Chainsaw Massacre: The Films of Tobe Hooper" (2003), "The Films of John Carpenter" and "Wes Craven: The Art of Horror".

In the field of television, John K. Muir has written several monographs about SF-TV, including "Exploring ("1997), "An Analytical Guide to Battlestar Galactica" (1998), "A Critical History of Dr. Who on TV" (1999), "A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7" (1999) and "An Analytical Guide to TV's One Step Beyond" (2001). Muir gained early prominence and recognition for treating these genre television series as art, using the language of film criticism to illuminate their unique qualities.

In an interview on this subject, Muir noted: "I viewed the [TV] books as being part of one big book series with a mission: to define these series as works of art, and to apply the tenets of film theory and criticism to prove that notion. This means looking at the choice of camera angles. This means looking at editing. This means looking at how form reflects content. This means analyzing the context and history of the program, since no work of art comes out of a vacuum...My goal was to return to these series and study their visuals, their themes, their ideas, and assemble texts that synthesize new theories about them, using my film background as a guide and underlying foundation." [http://www.anorakzone.com/blake/johnmuir.html]

Muir was educated at the University of Richmond in Virginia from 1988 to 1992, where he studied for two years under renowned "Hudson Review" film critic, Bert Cardullo (a student of The New Republic's film critic Stanley Kauffmann). Muir's first book, "Exploring Space:1999" was published five years after his graduation from University, in April 1997. Muir also counts Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert as important career influences. [http://www.virtualfools.com/newestarticle.php?start_from=&ucat=17&subaction=showfull&id=1131761829&archive=1133416120&]

Fiction

Muir's first novel was published by Powys Media in 2003, an officially licensed continuation of the "" saga, entitled "The Forsaken". This is the second in the Powys line of "Space:1999" books, following William Latham's "Resurrection."

John's other fiction credits include two short-stories for The Official Farscape Magazine. In issue # 6, for May 2002, his story "That Old Voodoo" was featured. In issue #8, for August 2002, his story "Make a Wish" was published.

Media Appearances

The author of articles for magazines including "Cinescape," "Filmfax", and "Collectors News," Muir has appeared on TV on "The E! True Hollywood Story: "Curse of The Exorcist", TV Ontario's "Saturday Night at the Movies", [http://www.tvo.org/TVOsites/WebObjects/TvoMicrosite.woa/wo/MBOWJzFaIdiSway8ZnWKsw/2.0.0.79.45.26.21.19.1.2.1] and on the premiere episode of "Sciography", seen on The Sci-Fi Channel.

On the radio, Muir has been a guest on "", "NiteShift" "Good Morning Charlotte", "The Alan Handelman Show", and "The Mitch Albom Show".

In 2007, Muir appeared as an expert commentator alongside Joe Dante, John Landis, and Dee Wallace in "Decade of Darkness", MGM's 23-minute documentary concerning horror films of the 1980s released with the new "Collector's Edition" DVD of "Return of the Living Dead" (1985). [http://www.digital-retribution.com/reviews/dvd/0763.php]

Muir maintains an Internet presence writing a monthly column at Far Sector. He also manages a home-page, and a blog, John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film/TV [http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com] which features posts on film, TV, pop-culture, collectibles and nostalgia. The blog began in April 2005 and is ongoing.

"The House Between"

In 2006, Muir wrote and directed seven half-hour episodes of an original science fiction series [http://www.farsector.com/media/index.htm] entitled "The House Between", [http://www.johnkennethmuir.com/thehousebetween.html] to be broadcast online. "The House Between's" first episode, "Arrived", premiered at Fantasci V [http://www.chesapeake.lib.va.us/CL_Fantasci2006/CL_FantasciPr.htm] in Chesapeake, VA, on July 29, 2006. The second season of the series premiered January 25, 2008 and ran through March of 2008. A third season is slated for January 2009. The House Between's second season premiere ("Returned") was nominated for a Sy Fy Genre Award in 2008 under the category "Best Web Production." Sy Fy Radio on August 13, 2008 announced that The House Between placed second out of five productions, behind the bigger-budgeted Star Trek: Of Gods and Men by a margin of less than 100 votes.

tyle

Muir's various literary works have been noted for their exhaustive research [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6344319.html] , [http://www.wheremumbai.com/article_archives.aspx?id=264&catid=15] ); and informative yet informal tone. Or, as one reviewer describes his style: "Muir is able to construct a book that shows off an amazing research effort without coming off as too academic." [http://www.richmond.com/arts-entertainment/5204]

From "Reference and Service Users Quarterly's" review of Muir's "Horror Films of the 1970s" (Volume 42, Number 3, Spring 2003): "The title of this book says it all and fans of the genre have reason to rejoice. Muir, an authority on horror and science fiction cinema, has finally turned his attention to the decade when the modern horror film genre came into its own...The film descriptions communicate well to the reader, even when the film itself is unfamiliar. Each synopsis gives an overview that makes clear the subject and scope of the film; and his commentary is serious, thought-provoking, and helpful in understanding the meaning and importance of the film...I am aware of no similar reference that covers the same territory as Muir does in this work. It merits consideration on that basis alone, but academic libraries and larger public libraries will no doubt find it to be a useful - and much-used addition to their reference collections."

Muir is also frequently noted for an unbridled enthusiasm for his subject matter, which often leads to a positive-skewing critical approach. Of his reviews in" The Films of John Carpenter" it has been written: "To call these observations reviews would be a grave disservice to the author. I found most of them worthy of the word dissertations. They're elegantly written, incredibly insightful, and simply a real blast to read. Muir clearly loves and appreciates his subject matter, and the enthusiasm is infectious. For me, one of the signs that a piece of film criticism is well written is when it makes me interested in re-evaluating a film that I didn't particularly care for upon initial viewing. Muir does that on numerous occasions here particularly with the films "Escape From LA" and "Prince of Darkness". "The Prince of Darkness" chapter, in particular, certainly sheds some new light on this much-maligned and misunderstood film. However, even when covering the classics "Halloween" and "The Thing", Muir brings new observations to the table. No small feat considering that anyone who writes about the genre seriously has already dissected these two films." [http://www.culturecartel.com/review.php?rid=10003638]

Book Titles

"Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy" ("SALTed Popcorn") (Open Court, 2008)

"TV Year Volume 1: The Complete 2005-2006 Prime Time Season" (Applause Theater and Cinema Books, 2007)

"The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia" (Applause Theater and Cinema Books, 2007)

"Horror Films of the 1980s" (McFarland, 2007)

"Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2006)

"Singing a New Tune: The Re-Birth of the Modern Film Musical, from Evita to De-Lovely and Beyond" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2005)

"Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest & Company" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2004)

"The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2004)

"The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television" [McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 2004)

"Space:1999 - The Forsaken" (Powys Media, 2003)

"Eaten Alive At A Chainsaw Massacre: The Films of Tobe Hooper" (McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 2003)

"An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith" (Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2002)

"Horror Films of the 1970s" (McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 2002)

"An Analytical Guide to Television's One Step Beyond, 1959-1961" (McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2001)

"Terror Television: American Series, 1970-1999" (McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2001)

"The Films of John Carpenter" (McFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers, 2000)

"A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7, the 1978-1981 British Television Space Adventure" (McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 1999)

"A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television" (McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 1999)

"An Analytical Guide to Television's Battlestar Galactica" (McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 1999)

"Wes Craven: The Art of Horror" (McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 1998)

"Exploring Space:1999 - An Episode Guide and Complete History of the Mid-1970s Science Fiction Television Series" (McFarland and Company Inc., Publishers, 1997)

Periodicals

Filmfax Plus (April/June 2008): Interview with Director Kevin Connor.

GameCulture Journal Volume #1; Number # 4: (Jan 2008): Review of Classic Home Video Games, 1972-1984; A Complete Reference Guide by Brett Weiss.

GameCulture Journal Volume #1; Number #3: (April 2007): "Culture Wars Episode One: The Atari Menace."

Driftwood Creative Arts Magazine, Volume 27 (2006/2007 Edition): "It Saw The Future of America" (on RoboCop [1987] )

Filmfax Plus (Jan/March 2007): "Rediscovering Land of the Lost."

Filmfax Plus (Nov/Dec 2006): Interview with Dorothy Fontana.

Filmfax Plus (Jan/March 2004), No. 101: "John Newland: TV auteur. Final Interview with the Man Who Created One Step Beyond.

Filmfax (Feb/Mar 2002): "All the World's A Stage...And the Universe Too! A Look at the Future with Space:1999 Screenwriter Johnny Byrne."

Filmfax (Feb/March 2002): "1975: A Special Effects Odyssey! From Space Odyssey to Star Wars with Space:1999 Special Effects Director Brian Johnson".

Cinescape (May/June 2001): Vintage Vision: "Toon Trek" (w/Steve Hockensmith).

Cinescape (March/April 2001): Buzz Box: Logan's Run.

Cinescape (Jan/Feb 2001): Vintage Vision "The Running Man" (Logan's Run TV series).

Awards

"The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television": A New York Public Library's "Best of Reference" Selection, 2005.

"Horror Films of the 1970s": A "Booklist" Editor's Choice for 2002; An Outstanding Reference Source for 2003 by RUSA (Reference Users Service Association), and a "Best of the Best" Reference Book for 2002 by the ALA (American Library Association).

"Terror Television": "A Booklist" Editor's Choice for 2001.

External links

* [http://www.farsector.com Far Sector]
* [http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/ John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film/tv]
* [http://www.nypl.org/branch/books/index2.cfm?ListID=234 NYPL Best of Reference, 2005]
* [http://www.ala.org/ala/booklist/editorschoice/20022/editorschoice2002reference.htm Booklist Editor's Choice, 2002]
* [http://www.ala.org/ala/booklist/editorschoice/20011/editorschoice2001reference.htm Booklist Editor's Choice, 2001]
* [http://www.johnkennethmuir.com John Kenneth Muir Home Page]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1756673/ Internet Movie Database Entry]
* [http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA421019.html Library Journal Q & A]
* [http://www.charlottemagazine.com/buzz/story.cfm?ID=253 Charlotte Magazine "Film Buff"]
* [http://www.richmond.com/ae/output.aspx?Article_ID=3454314&Vertical_ID=27 Richmond.com]
* [http://enquirerjournal.com/articles/2004/03/11/news/news08.txt Enquirer Journal]
* [http://www.geekphilosophy.com/2005/07/conversations_w.html Geek Philosophy]
* [http://www.paperbackreader.com/newcolumn2.php?ColumnID=167#ilikeit Paperback Reader]
* [http://www.culturecartel.com/review.php?rid=10003638 Culture Cartel]
* [http://www.opencityforums.org/muir.html Open Cities Dialogue]
* [http://www.wheremumbai.com/article_archives.aspx?id=264&catid=15 Where Mumbai]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006121200761600.htm&date=2006/12/12/&prd=br& The Hindu]
* [http://www.financialexpress.com/old/fe_full_story.php?content_id=148542 The Financial Express]
* [http://notesonculture.blogspot.com/2007/05/book-review-horror-films-of-1980s.html Notes on Culture]
* [http://blogs.amctv.com/monsterfest/2007/11/draft---matts-g.html AMC Monsterfest]
* [http://gale.cengage.com/reference/lawrence/200705/horror.htm Lawrence Looks at Books]