The Space Cowboys panel, held at Lunacon 50, covered the range of sources from knights-errant to Samurai Films, with Keith R.A. DeCandido, Marvin Kaye, and Ernest Lilley participating. — ed. N.E. Lilly

A look at how the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) mixture of the Western and Science Fiction genres has endured since the early days of Science Fiction. What is causing its modern re-emergence (Cowboy Bebop, Firefly/Serenity, Daisy Kutter)? Where did Space Westerns come from and why haven’t they just mosied off into the sunset?

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  1. Introduction by N.E. Lilly (0:00)
  2. Keith R.A. DeCandido (0:25)
  3. Marvin Kaye (0:52)
  4. Ernest Lilley (3:15)
  5. What is a Cowboy, anyway? (4:26)
  6. Mixing genres is fun (11:15)
  7. Stock characters (15:37)
  8. Why are Space Westerns made? (17:11)
  9. Necessary Space Western elements (20:51)
  10. The conflict of morality (24:15)
  11. Railing against slavery (27:00)
  12. Space Westerns other than Star Trek and Firefly (29:20)
  13. Space Western stories and novels (33:07)
  14. Remade in the Space Western Image (38:52)
  15. Does the Western in Space have a future? (44:11)

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Keith R.A. DeCandido has written several billion novels, short stories, eBooks, essays, and comic books in a huge variety of media universes, as well as editing anthologies, playing percussion, and generally making trouble.
Ernest Lilley is the senior editor of SFRevu and TechRevu and is a freelance editor and photojournalist who regularly writes for science and technology publications. His monthly column, Unleashed Computing, appears in Byte.com. He likes station wagons, roadtrips, and digital photography and currently lives in the Gernsback Continuum with that classic trope of SF, a red headed heroine.
Marvin Kaye edits H. P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror and Sherlock Holmes’ Mystery Magazine. Author of The Incredible Umbrella series, coauthor of The Masters of Solitude and A Cold Blue Light, he edits anthologies for the SF Book Club and other publishers. He is artistic director of The Open Book theatre company in Manhattan.
Nathan E. Lilly is the editor-in-chief of SpaceWesterns.com and a man who wears many hats.

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