John Kenneth Muir is an American literary critic. As of 2010, he has written twenty-one reference books in the fields of film and television, with a particular focus on the horror and science fiction genres.
Biography
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 & Company. Muir also has written monographs about SF-TV, including Exploring , An Analytical Guide to Battlestar Galactica, A Critical History of Dr. Who on TV, A History and Critical Analysis of Blake's 7 and An Analytical Guide to TV's . 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. Muir also counts Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert as important career influences. Muir's first book, Exploring Space: 1999 was published five years after his graduation from University, in April 1997. The book was the first English language attempt to analyse the television series Space: 1999'' in a wider cultural context, and is sometimes compared and contrasted with a similar French book written by Pierre Fageolle. In 2009, Muir became a member of the artist collective, Tecamachalco Underground. The following year he was a judge at the ACEFEST NYC2010 Film Festival, occurring August 20–28, 2010.
Selected works of literary criticism
Muir has written a book about Kevin Smith, titled An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith, a study of Sam Raimi titled The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi, A book on terror television called Terror Television American Series-1970-1999, and another on the works of comedian Christopher Guest and his repertory company, titled Best in Show: The Films of Christ opher Guest and Company. As of 2010, Muir's most recent film director study was Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair.
Media appearances
Muir has appeared on TV on The E! True Hollywood Story: "Curse of The Exorcist", TV Ontario's Saturday Night at the Movies, and on the premiere episode of the Sci-Fi Channel series Sciography. On radio, Muir has been a guest on , NiteShiftGood Morning Charlotte, The Allan Handelman Show, and The Mitch Albom Show. In 2007, Muir appeared as a commentator in Decade of Darkness, a special feature on the Collector's Edition DVD release of the 1985 filmReturn of the Living Dead. He also appeared with others in the 2009 documentary film Nightmares in Red, White and Blue. On October 25, 2010, he was featured on the Biography Channel's The Inside Story: Halloween documentary about director John Carpenter's 1978 film, Halloween.
Horror Films of the 1970s: A Booklist Editor's Choice for 2002; An Outstanding Reference Source for 2003 by RUSA, and a "Best of the Best" Reference Book for 2002 by the ALA.
Terror Television: A Booklist Editor's Choice for 2001.2001.
Nomination: Airlock Alpha Best Web Production, The House Between
Nomination: Sy Fy Portal Best Web Production, The House Between: "Returned"
Fiction
Muir's first novel was published by Powys Media in 2003, an officially licensed continuation of the saga, titled The Forsaken. This is the second in the Powys line of Space: 1999 books, following William Latham's Resurrection. Muir's other fiction includes 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. Two of his Space: 1999 licensed short stories, "Futility" and "The Touch of Venus", appear in the anthology Space: 1999 Shepherd Moon.
''The House Between''
In 2006, Muir wrote and directed an original science fiction series titled The House Between, to be broadcast online. The House Between's first-season episode, "Arrived", premiered at Fantasci V in Chesapeake, Virginia, on July 29, 2006. The second season of the series premiered January 25, 2008 and ran through March 2008. A third season began airing online in January 2009. The House Betweens second-season premiere 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 by a margin of less than 100 votes. The third season of the series was nominated for "Best Web Production" at Airlock Alpha, but did not win. Altogether twenty-one episodes of The House Between were produced over three seasons.
