Science Fiction

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Elysian Kingdom

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Elysian Kingdom
  • wiki: link

“The Elysian Kingdom” is the first major misstep in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ First Season. In what feels like a holodeck episode (set in a time before the holodeck existed), most of the Starfleet officers on the ship start acting like characters in Rukiya‘s (Sage Arrindell) favorite story. The sets of the Enterprise get marginally redressed to act as locations in the book and only Dr. M’Benga (Babs Olusanmokun) and Hemmer (Bruce Horak) are aware that something odd is happening. The end goal of the series is to write Rukiya off the show in such a bizarre deux machina that you feel disappointed given all the set-up over the course of the season. As for the actors playing out the tale with limited sets and props, the episode has a community theater feel to it that doesn’t fit with anything we’ve seen before (and hopefully won’t see again).

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Darth Vader #24

/ / Comics

Using her knowledge of Darth Vader‘s identity to her benefit, Sabé leads Vader and an Imperial regiment after a local corrupt governor working with Crimson Dawn in creating a new weapon capable of extracting living energy. And, it turns out, the machine is capable of (at least temporarily) stopping a Dark Lord of the Sith as well.

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Tron

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Tron
  • IMDb: link

Remember when Frisbees were Cool?

Tron is something of a novelty.  The film was the first to rely heavily on CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) during a time when no one used computers in movies. The technology was new and limited, but because the film was made at such a time the movie has a look and feel that no other film is likely to duplicate. 

The way Tron was colored and backlight by hand, frame by frame, is too labor intensive for our Star Wars / Jurassic Park era and beyond.  Rather than using CGI to create more believable images or other worlds, the creators of Tron realized the limitations of the technology and instead focused on using light against the black background to produce a one of a kind art form.  The difference is important.  Even after 40 years have passed the movie still holds up even though the technology used to create it has long been passed by.

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Halo – Allegiance

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Halo – Allegiance
  • wiki: link

“Allegiance” offers the tease of a peaceful happy ending for Master Chief (Pablo Schreiber) and Makee (Charlie Murphy) following their shared experience with the artifact. Then, all goes to hell. Dr. Halsey (Natascha McElhone) corrupts the other Spartans and attempts to steal Master Chief and the artifacts, and Dr. Keyes (Olive Gray) makes a discovery about Makee’s recent history and allegiances that reminds her of the evils of humanity and makes it impossible for her to leave the Covenant behind. The only good news for John by the end of the episode is that Cortana (Jen Taylor) chooses him over Halsey’s orders and helps to stop the doctor from getting her hands on the Spartan.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Serene Squall

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – The Serene Squall
  • wiki: link

Although the episode relies on a twist you’ll likely see coming, “The Serene Squall” has the feel of a classic Trek adventure with the Enterprise fighting space pirates on the edge of Federation space. Themes from the season continue to be played out here including Spock (Ethan Peck) and  T’Pring‘s (Gia Sandhu) relationship and the tease of Nurse Chapel‘s (Jess Bush) feelings for the Enterprise’s Science Officer. Jesse James Keitel is well-cast here as the main guest-star whose character needs to be insightful and empathetic to Spock but also to turn on a dime when the plot calls for it.

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