Return of the Jedi. Twice delayed, understandably, due to the COVID pandemic, the Star Wars Celebration finally arrived at Anaheim, California, for the first time since 2015. When my wife Julia and I attended the 2015 show, we were only able to get tickets for one day (Saturday) of the four-day event, which felt like…
Month: May 2022
DisneyPlus’ “Obi-Wan Kenobi” miniseries has taken its first step into a larger world…
*****STAR DESTROYER-SIZED SPOILERS!!****** Though I am currently attending the Star Wars Celebration convention in Anaheim as I type (details in a forthcoming post), I’m compelled to jot down a review of one of the major events at this convention; DisneyPlus’ premiere of the new six-part miniseries simply titled, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Starring actor (and co-producer) Ewan…
Remembering iconic sci-fi designer Colin Cantwell (1932-2022)…
Colin Cantwell, Rocket Man. This morning, I woke up to read that Colin Cantwell–a name I’ve known since my teens, and a man I had the pleasure of meeting three years ago–passed away at age 90, after a struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. No, his name may not be a household name in special effects, like…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, S1.3; “Ghosts of Illyria” shares a few secrets…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!****** This week’s episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, “Ghosts of Illyria”, is a return to a storytelling device we’ve seen several times in the earliest episodes of new Star Trek series; the ship-wide epidemic. It was done in The Original Series’ (TOS) “The Naked Time,” The Next Generation’s (TNG) “The Naked Now”…
Star Trek returns to episodic storytelling, and repairs a nagging issue with the franchise…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS***** “As it was in the time of the beginning, so it is now…” “Star Trek” began in 1966 as an episodic TV series, and it would eventually change the pop culture landscape forever… though not at first. The show struggled with less-than-stellar ratings, and was later cancelled (despite massive letter-writing campaigns) after three…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, S1.2; “Children of the Comet” spotlights a classic character…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** The second episode of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is available to stream on Paramount+. Written by Henry Alonso Myers, Sarah Tarkoff and directed by Maja Vrvilo, “Children of the Comet” showcases a character we Star Trek fans have known for nearly 56 years; Nyota Uhura (Cecelia Rose Gooding). As originally played by…
Diving into Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element,” 25 years later…
*****SPACE CRUISE SHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!***** Acquired Taste. I remember seeing teaser trailers for French filmmaker Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element” in early 1997, along with a dramatic TV spot during the Super Bowl (which, over time, has become more famous for its ads than the actual game). “The Fifth Element” promised an epic space opera, a…
Future Redux: “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” exits spacedock…
******STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!****** Two years ago, sometime after Star Trek Discovery’s second season finale, I made a case on behalf of other Star Trek fans for a possible Captain Pike “Star Trek” series. Well, two years later, and the powers-that-be at Paramount+ have heard our pleas. “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is a reality now, continuing…
“A long time ago…”: Looking back at Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim…
“You’ve taken your first step into a larger world…” In April of 2015, my wife and I went to our first “Star Wars Celebration”; an every-four-years event that reaches Star Wars fans worldwide in places such as England, Japan, Germany, etc. Usually it’s held in locales beyond my immediate fiscal/practical reach. Luckily, in 2015, Star…