****BANTHA-SIZED SPOILERS!!**** The eighth and final chapter of The Mandalorian, “Redemption”, is now available for streaming on DisneyPlus, and it answers a few nagging questions that have cropped up in this short sophomore series of this young series. The episode was written by series’ creator Jon Favreau and was exceptionally well directed by Taika Waititi…
Month: December 2019
“Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” solders together the saga’s many pieces…
*****PLANET-KILLER SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!***** The most difficult aspect of writing this review was deciding how to write it. I decided not to write a full-length story synopsis, because the moment-to-moment plot mechanics are a lot less important (or interesting) to me than how “The Rise of Skywalker” (TROS) manages to pull off a few cinematic…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 7: “The Reckoning” exacts a price…
****BANTHA-SIZED SPOILERS!!**** Chapter 7 of “The Mandalorian” is up now on DisneyPlus streaming, and as the second to last episode of the season, “The Reckoning” sees Mando and his allies headed back to Navarro (the Bounty Hunter Guild planet seen early on, but not named until later) for a final confrontation with ‘The Client’ over…
Season 4 of “The Expanse” sticks the landing at Amazon Prime….
Amazon Prime has resurrected SyFy’s cancelled sci-fi saga “The Expanse,” and it’s never been better. The greater production value afforded by Amazon’s money bags have given the series a luxe sheen that is greatly deserved, as “The Expanse” is easily one of the greatest sci-fi series going on right now (and of the 21st century…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 6: “The Prisoner” delivers a motley crew…
*****REPUBLIC CRUISER-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** Chapter 6 of The Mandalorian is now streaming on DisneyPlus. Directed by Rick Famuyima and written by Famuyima and Christopher Yost, “The Prisoner” is the closest we’ve seen to a standalone adventure in this young series to date. The Prisoner. Mando (Pedro Pascal) lands the Razor Crest aboard a large station, seeking…
Star Trek “Short Treks” 2.4-5 warp into animation with “The Girl Who Made The Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot”…
*****WARP CORE-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!***** CBS-All Access has dropped two more Short Treks to fill the void (and to slow subscriber cancellations) between the end of “Star Trek: Discovery”’s second season, and the debut of “Star Trek: Picard” (coming January 23, 2020). These 10-15 minute shorts are designed as brief experiments within the Star Trek universe….
Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone”: 60 years of “shadow and substance”, Part 2…
Part 2: “You’ve just crossed over into…” In “60 Years of Shadow and Substance” Part 1,” I covered seasons 1 through 3 of Rod Serling’s classic TV series, “The Twilight Zone” (1959-1962): The Twilight Zone; 60 Years of Shadow and Substance Part 1 For Part 2, I’m going to discuss “The Twilight Zone” seasons 4…
The Mandalorian, Chapter 5: “The Gunslinger” gives plenty of ‘new hope’…
*****BANTHA-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!!***** The latest chapter of DisneyPlus’ The Mandalorian series, “The Gunslinger,” is streaming this week. Co-written and directed by series co-creator Dave Filoni (“Rebels” “The Clone Wars”) there are many nods, easter-eggs and homages to the original 1977 Star Wars (aka “A New Hope”) in this chapter, most of them taking place on…
Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone”: 60 years of “shadow and substance”, Part 1…
In The Zone. The hardest part about revisiting Rod Serling’s classic series, “The Twilight Zone”, was deciding where to start. There have been books (see: Marc Zicree’s brilliant “The Twilight Zone Companion”, now in its 3rd edition, which I’ll cover in part 2) and videos (as well as DVD/blu-ray bonus features) chronicling how Rod Serling…
Dorothy Fontana (1939-2019): A trailblazing writer who went where no woman had gone before…
The Star Trek family suffers another great loss this year. Writer/story editor Dorothy Catherine Fontana, who helped shape early Star Trek into a warmer, more character-driven series, has passed away at the age of 80. She is survived by her husband, Oscar-winning special effects artist Dennis Skotak (“ALIENS”), whom she married in 1981. In the…