The Orville’s latest episode, “Nothing Left On Earth Excepting Fishes” (a direct quote from “The King And I”) shines a spotlight on Captain Ed Mercer (series creator/producer/star Seth MacFarlane), while the subplot focuses on the captain’s best friend, the less-than-genius Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes). While Gordon’s subplot is primarily played for laughs (with just…
Star Trek: Discovery, S2.1: “Brother” kicks off a soft-reboot of the series…
The first season of “Star Trek: Discovery” offered feature-film production values, some interesting characters, and a Klingon-Federation war, yet it was still a bit wanting overall. The story arc of that first year felt a bit clumsily put together (too many cooks?). The final episode of season one felt as if the series was more than…
“Hellboy”‘s 15-year reunion is one of the highlights at IMATS in Pasadena.
Last weekend was the IMATS (International Makeup Artists Trade Show) LA convention in (technically it was in Pasadena, but close enough…) Five years ago, my wife and I attended our first IMATS LA, and it’s been a staple event we now attend every year. My wife (and our friend Ali) attend primarily for the cosmetics…
The Orville S2.3, “Home” is both reunion and farewell…
**** UNION CRUISER-SIZED SPOILERS!! ***** In the tradition of Denise Crosby’s “Tasha Yar” from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Orville saw the departure of one its own in the latest episode from Seth MacFarlane’s retro-but-fresh sci-fi dramedy Fox series. Though not quite the tragedy of TNG’s “Skin of Evil,” Orville’s “Home” still managed to…
Taking “The Bird Box” challenge…
With the holidays now in the rear-view mirror, I finally had a chance to check out the new Netflix original movie, “The Bird Box” (2018), starring Sandra Bullock, directed by Susanne Bier from a screenplay by Eric Heisserer based on a 2014 novel by Josh Malerman (which I’ve not read, for full disclosure). The film…
The Orville S2.2: Really feeling “Primal Urges”…
As The Orville’s stock continues to rise, it’s increasingly clear that this ‘dramedy’ sci-fi series from star/creator Seth MacFarlane is rapidly eclipsing Star Trek: Discovery in the hearts and minds of some (if not many) fans. Personally, I hate to stoke competition (why not enjoy them both?) but if I had to say which series…
Discovery Short Treks, 4 of 4: “The Escape Artist”…
Just saw the latest and last of four CBS-AA Star Trek: Discovery “Short Treks”, and well… my wife says if you have nothing nice to say, you should say nothing. So… thanks for reading. Okay, I’m half-kidding. While it’s true that I don’t have nice things to write regarding Short Trek #4, “The Escape Artist”…
Doctor Who’s New Year’s “Resolution” feels a little half-hearted…
Doctor Who breaks with over a decade of traditional Christmas specials to deliver a New Year’s special instead. Technically, this isn’t the first time a DW event has taken place around that holiday, since the 1996 Paul McGann DW TV movie took place around the last day of 1999. The 1996 Doctor Who TV-movie used…
The Orville S2.1: “Ja’loja” answers nature’s call…
“The Orville”‘s sophomore season opener “Ja’loja” is the kind of fully character-driven story that “Star Trek: The Next Generation” rarely (if ever) had the courage to do without some kind of ‘space McGuffin’ B-story handy. With no particular mission or ticking clock to drive this episode, we spend this opening hour of season 2 really…
“SpiderMan: Into the Spider-Verse” truly tingles the spidey-senses…
I’ll admit, I wasn’t too keen on seeing the latest Sony/Marvel animated feature “SpiderMan: Into the Spider-Verse” (2018) for two reasons; (a) I’m getting just a little sick of cinematic superhero movies, and (b) because Spider-Man has already been rebooted several times in the last 18 years. That sentiment may seem a bit strange coming…
Happy holidays from a Middle-Aged Geek…
To those who’ve subscribed to this site as well as any/all casual readers, I just wanted to wish you and yours a happy holiday season, be it Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, Life Day or other (all alien holidays welcome, too). Best wishes for 2019 as well! Two years in now, 200 stories published with more to…
Deep Space Nine’s “Trials and Tribble-ations” is hip-deep in Star Trek love…
Star Trek’s 30th anniversary arrived in the fall of 1996, and it was a truly great time to be a Trekkie. I was turning 30 myself around that time, and Star Trek was everywhere; two concurrent TV series (“Deep Space Nine” “Voyager”), an explosion of books, a rather silly televised anniversary special on (defunct network)…
