Twilight Zone and Anti-Mediocrity
One thing I appreciated about the Twilight Zone was how it counteracted mediocrity. I mean, yeah – our current state of science and technology is mediocre-friendly, but we weren’t always this way. We became content with just being good enough, instead of striving for excellence. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ve made some amazing advancements and discoveries, but it seems like we’re constantly dumbing things down to make it more palatable for the masses.
Murder Your Darlings: Leonard Nimoy Killed Spock’s Baby
God bless Leonard Nimoy – he remembered the ‘Murder Your Darlings’ rule of story and killed Spock’s baby. I mean, not literally. Nimoy’s decision to cut the subplot of Spock and Saavik having a love child in Star Trek IV highlights a larger issue in Hollywood. We’re so used to the lack of commitment to quality storytelling and the constant need to pander to the lowest common denominator that we freak out when someone refuses to pander.
The Kazon: A Lost Cause for Star Trek
The creators of Star Trek have had a hit-and-miss track record with introducing new alien races, with some, like the Ferengi, being able to redeem themselves and provide comedic and serious storylines, while others, like the Kazon, failed miserably and were eventually abandoned as major antagonists in the franchise’s attempt at serialization, leading to the show avoiding such storylines for most of its run and the Kazon being seen as off-brand Klingons with a problematic origin story.
Sunshine Sunday: ‘Sunny’ Ain’t Scifi
Apple TV+’s original series, Sunny, follows a grieving woman in Kyoto who receives a homebot designed by her late husband and embarks on a journey to discover the truth about him, but despite its visually appealing setting and characters, the show falls short in its narrative depth and exploration of the relationship between humans and technology.
BSG’s BFD was SEX
Battlestar Galactica’s unique and serious portrayal of sex, in contrast to the often silly and comedic treatment of it in other sci-fi series, was one of the reasons why the show was loved by fans and set it apart from others in the genre.
Denis Villeneuve – Green Screen Madness
Denis Villeneuve, along with other directors such as Christopher Nolan and Sam Mendes, prefers to use practical effects over CGI in their films, as they believe it creates a more realistic and engaging experience for both the actors and the audience. This sets them apart from the massive CGI-driven films produced by Marvel, which have faced criticism for their heavy reliance on visual effects.
Disney Force Fail: The Acolyte Fandom Fallout
The recent Star Wars TV shows, with the exception of the first season of The Mandalorian, have been met with criticism from fans, with some attributing it to review bombing, while others point to issues with the writing and unfamiliarity with the franchise among the show’s creators. This raises concerns for the future of the franchise and the need to balance fan expectations with creative freedom.
Jonathan Frakes: Our Champion Scifi Alum?
Jonathan Frakes, known for his role in “Star Trek”, is set to direct the sci-fi series “Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime” and has joined the producing team, with writers David Cormican and Dwayne Hill also serving as producers and showrunners for the six-episode series which is set to go into production in Canada at the end of this year, based on the books which were acquired by Claxson and Navajo and will also have Arthur C. Clarke collaborator Paul Preuss as a consultant while being produced by Navajo Entertainment in association with Claxson, Washington Square Entertainment, Palatin Media, Julijette, Karma Film, Fun Republic Pictures and virtual production studio / film financier Volume Global, with series producers Anand Ramayya and Juliette Hagopian, and executive producers including Volume Global’s Christopher Rush Harrington and Michael Hamilton-Wright, Claxson’s Roberto Vivo, Palatin Media’s Bernd Schlötterer, and executive producer Lucas Vivo Garcia Lagos, with Paradigm’s Babacar Diene, Bill Douglass, and Wilson Rubinoff negotiating Frakes’ deal with Fun Republic Pictures’ Cormican, and Palatin representing international sales worldwide excluding Latin America which Claxson will represent.
Paul Allen Innovation Legacy Up for Auction
The Living Computers museum in Seattle, opened to the public 12 years ago and featuring interactive displays of vintage computing systems, will permanently close as its entire inventory is being auctioned off at Christie’s, including items from the Paul G. Allen Collection, after the museum and associated educational facilities were forced to close due to the pandemic in 2020, leaving it as the only major vintage computing museum in Washington State.
Apple TV+ and the Neuromancer Hype Machine
The long-awaited adaptation of William Gibson’s Neuromancer is finally coming to Apple TV+ as a series, with Callum Turner and Briana Middleton cast as the co-leads and creators Graham Roland and JD Dillard expressing their excitement about the project.