Okay, all kidding aside, there really is some good Turkish science fiction out there. Take G.O.R.A., for instance.

Here’s the details: released 2004, directed by Ömer Faruk Sorak, written by and starring Cem Yýlmaz. Online casino USA. The plot doesn’t really give you an idea what to expect; a used carpet salesman is abducted by aliens and becomes involved in their planet’s power struggles (eventually saving the world, of course — gee, I hope I didn’t spoil the ending for you!).

Lead actor and writer Cem Yýlmaz is a well-known Turkish comedian, with a stand-up act that merges observational humor (of the Seinfeld variety) with insightful and subtly controversial cultural criticism. G.O.R.A. takes this approach to ridiculous extremes, lampooning well-known science fiction cliches as well as certain close-to-home elements of the Turkish experience.

It’s difficult to compare G.O.R.A. to anything directly, though you’ll undoubtedly think of the Matrix films several times. It’s not-really-but-kinda like Spaceballs (or any other of the space opera send-ups that you may have seen), though if you go into it generally looking forward to a sci-fi-themed Sacha Baron Cohen or Will Farrell/Ben Stiller farce, you won’t be too far off either.

It helps (a lot) if you’re both Turkish and a sci-fi fan, but a fair amount of the humor is accessible to pretty much anyone (assuming that most of us get a certain amount of exposure to mainstream science fiction, and assuming that you have a sense of humor in the first place).

The special effects and cinematography is also worthy of note; though perhaps not quite as state-of-the-art as Industrial Light and magic (or the latest online slots), they’re significantly better than the average medium-budget film…and definitely raise the bar for Turkish production quality.

Every science-fiction spectacular has to have a sequel, and G.O.R.A. is no exception; in 2008, Yilmaz released A.R.O.G., a time-travelling epic that is slightly like Bill and Ted and slightly like History of the world Part 1. But not really much like either one…