We have a shorter review than usual this week, but much to discuss, as two small ships ponder taking on a navy, and a couple of characters bid “oyedeng.”
Author Archives: JD DeLuzio
Star Trek Discovery Review: “Su’Kal,” “There is a Tide…” “That Hope is You, Part 2”
A three-episode arc brings Season Three to a conclusion. Discovery has changed its premise each year, resulting in very distinct seasons. These episodes bring us to a new equilibrium, a new premise, and new uniforms.
The Expanse Review: “Tribes”
The show has taken some dark turns, and this week’s episodes handle these with extraordinary acting, writing, and visuals.
Even in the darkest times, people can find hope.
Novel Review: Afterland
“You can’t imagine how much the world can change in six months.”
Lauren Beukes has established a name as a writer who crosses literary, SF, and other genres, producing some of the best speculative titles of this century. Penned before the current pandemic but not published until 2020, Afterland has most of the male human population die from a plague that hit in, as it happens, 2020. The overwhelmingly female future is no women’s paradise. Our protagonist, Cole, and her son, Miles, find themselves on a nightmarish road trip, with representatives of legal and criminal enterprises in pursuit. Among her adversaries: her own sister, accompanied by a pair of mercenaries.
Doctor Who Review: “Revolution of the Daleks”
Doctor Who‘s next season will be, according to showrunner Chris Chibnail, “on telly straight away,” just as soon as they can finish shooting.
Meanwhile, we have this New Year’s Day Special, with the Doctor, her companions, a pair of Jacks, and the show’s most iconic foe.
Pity none of these can help us with COVID.
The Expanse Review: “Down and Out”
It turns out Scotty finally made it to space.
James Doohan, best-known as the Enterprise’s Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, died in 2005. His ashes made it to the International Space Station three years later, a fact only . Entrepreneur and “private astronaut” Richard Garriott, with the backing of Doohan’s family, smuggled the ashes onto the ISS in 2008, thus fulfilling a final wish of the Star Trek actor.
Discovery Discussion: “Su’Kal”
What with Christmas, The Expanse, and Wonder Woman 1984, we didn’t get to Discovery with spore-drive speed. However, this week’s episode, which brings us the possible origin of the Burn, some strong performances by the leads, and a confrontation with the Chain, ends with a cliffhanger. I’ll review both next week. Meanwhile, here’s a place to discuss “Su’Kal” and, as a bonus….
Movie Review: Wonder Woman 1984
After numerous, pandemic-related delays, Wonder Woman returns.
The Expanse Review: “Mother” and “Gaugamela”
The developments in these episodes pervade all aspects of the show, such that a spoiler-free review that discusses anything becomes more-or-less impossible.
The following review therefore assumes you have either watched the episodes or, alternatively, that you don’t care if you know about major, earth-shattering plot developments.