40 Years Ago. When I was not-quite 11 years old, one of the most awe-inspiring movies I’d ever seen was Steven Spielberg’s brilliant “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”(1977). “Close Encounters” was life-changing, and propelled my current never-ending curiosity about the universe. Five years later, in 1982, I was a somewhat more cynical 15 years…
Author: A Middle Aged Geek
I am a happily married, progressive-minded, middle-aged science fiction geek. My interests included photography, reading, movies, Halloween, and all kinds of nerdy-niche things. After months of prodding from my wife (and my friends), I decided to 'throw down' with a blog of all of my nerdiest of nerdly thoughts and musings... here's hoping you enjoy!
Disney’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” is more about making pieces fit than bold storytelling…
*****STAR DESTROYER-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** Debuting with a lot of fanfare at the recent Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” miniseries has concluded with a finale that pulls out all the stops and throws in every cameo that it can, perhaps to make it seem more impactful than it actually was. Produced/directed by “Mandalorian” veteran…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, S1.7: “The Serene Squall” sets sail for space pirate hijinks…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** An avalanche of of new sci-fi content of late (“Severance,” “The Orville: New Horizons”, “For All Mankind”) has prevented me from reviewing the previous Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach,” and while I enjoyed it, I also think it borrowed quite a bit from the late sci-fi…
AppleTV’s “For All Mankind” kicks off Season 3 with “Polaris,” a high-octane disaster movie in space…
*****SPACE STATION-SIZED SPOILERS!!***** Right upfront; “For All Mankind,” co-created and produced by Ronald D. Moore (“Deep Space Nine” the “Battlestar Galactica” reboot) is my favorite science fiction series going on right now. Yes, it has strong competition (“Severance,” “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”)–this is a great time to be a sci-fi TV fan–but for overall…
AppleTV’s “Severance” hits you where you live…and where you work.
******SPOILERS!****** When I first heard of AppleTV’s new workplace series “Severance,” my TV tastebuds were more prepared for a comedy sci-fi twist on Mike Judge’s “Office Space,” or “The Office.” I knew the premise involved a company that incorporated technology and brain surgery to bifurcate the brains of its employees into separate beings; one who…
The Orville: New Horizons, S3.1; “Electric Sheep” eschews humor for heavy…
*****SPOILERS AND WARNINGS FOR POSSIBLE SUICIDE TRIGGERS***** The Orville: New Horizons. It’s been three years since we last saw “The Orville” on Hulu. During the interim, there was (and is) the ongoing COVID pandemic, which halted production on producer/writer/star Seth MacFarlane‘s sci-fi space opera series, which was first introduced in 2017 as a lighter, more…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, S1.5: “Spock Amok” is about insight and breaking a few rules…
******STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!****** I’m still unsure if I can logistically review every new episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (SNW), as last week proved, when I was too busy covering and participating in the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim. While I did catch S1.4’s “Memento Mori” on my iPad in my hotel room, my take…
Tour de Force; the long-delayed Star Wars Celebration 2022 returned to Anaheim with a vengeance…
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…
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…
Musings of a Middle-Aged Geek 