John Carpenter’s Christine and Voyager’s “Alice.” In 1983, horror maestro Stephen King was such a hot property that a movie adaptation of Christine, his story about a haunted 1958 Plymouth Fury that goes on a killing spree to protect its owner, was well underway before the novel had even left the presses. The resulting film, directed by John Carpenter, has become something of a cult classic. Many fans believe that it outstrips King’s original for thrills and adventure. Less successful was Star Trek: Voyager’s attempt to rework the Christine story for the sixth-season episode “Alice,” in which Tom Paris purchases a haunted shuttlecraft that gradually begins taking over his life and personality.

In this episode of Primitive Culture, host Duncan Barrett is joined by Brandon-Shea Mutala of Melodic Treks and Warp Five to discuss one of his favorite movies, Christine, and the novel that inspired it. We consider how well the central premise translates to the Delta Quadrant along with the dark side of nostalgia, the role of the automobile in American culture, and what happens when paying homage to an earlier work becomes stifling rather than inspiring.

Chapters Intro (00:00:00) Christine and Alice (00:03:05) A Suffocating Homage? (00:09:40) No Sex Please … We’re Starfleet! (00:15:40) Nostalgia (00:21:25) Teen Terror (00:31:22) Bad Dreams (00:39:00) The Open Road (00:43:34) Final Thoughts (00:47:41)

Host Duncan Barrett Guest Brandon-Shea Mutala Production Tom Whelan (Editor) Duncan Barrett (Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer) Amy Nelson (Associate Producer) Tony Black (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)