“Nothing lasts.”
—Lord Varys
Game of Thrones returns for its final season.
The story thus far: In a well-written, brilliantly-acted, expensively-produced show based on what European history would look like in the imagination of a clever 12-year-old boy, many people and one dragon have died, and an ice-zombie apocalypse looms.
Like many people, we missed this indie SF satire from rapper/composer turned writer/director Boots Riley. Its nomination for a Hugo makes it this week’s Weekend Review.
The third episode of the new Twilight Zone brings us a parable with an location fans will find familiar, and elements many viewers will find distressingly close to reality.
It’s not perfect, but it’s the best the show has delivered to date.
Discovery sets itself up for the season’s end, a new captain, and a change of direction—except that Spock’s presence on the ship suggests the direction won’t change too much.
Burnham and Beard-Spock encounter a mystery in space; Pike confronts the Klingons and his own future.
Submitted for our approval: the first two episodes of The Twilight Zone, revived (again) for the twenty-first century, with high production values, “adult” language, and Jordan Peele.
Back in the early 1990s, a young auteur set out to make a low-budget, feature length SF film. Negotiations with a backer to fund the film fell through, so she decided to shoot it on her own, with a budget of $250.00, borrowed and donated equipment (she worked for a local cable station), and friends and family as volunteer actors.
In the era before Youtube, it picked up its cult following through local cable broadcasts and SF Cons. It finally found its way to an actual theatre in 2016, and in 2017, a remastered version made it onto DVD.
Phobe proves surprisingly watchable.
As you’ve likely already heard, North Bergen High School in Hudson County, New Jersey, actually adapted Alien as its school play:
Believe it or not, they’ve received praise from the original Ripley, Sigourney Weaver, and director Ridley Scott!
Additional video below:
The battle with Control continues, and my earlier suspicion as to where this might go almost gets confirmed this week. I don’t really like it, but they’ve already filmed the final episodes, so struggle is pointless.
We do get some impressive character interaction this week.
Dark Horse had a long run with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and related titles, which continued the characters’ adventures after the show’s end. Boom! now owns the rights, and they’ve taken their own, comic-appropriate approach to the Slayer:
A complete, contemporary reboot.
Welcome back to the Hellmouth.