Whatever else is happening in the US, at least money remains available for NASA, and the agencies still intends to return to the moon.
Elsewhere in space, it seems our galaxy is not flat, but rather warped.
That’s some actual space news. Some SF and pop-culture related Nerd News appears below.
In a move that will surprise no one who has been watching Disney consolidate its properties, the last MCU Nextflix dramas have been cancelled, though Jessica Jones will receive one more season.
The shows could reappear on Disney’s own service or even in the MCU, but (by legal agreement with Netflix) not until 2020.
For Valentines Day, Discovery reunites the crew with some established characters, and takes a quest into the bizarre Mycelial Network, where it finds stranger things.
In her lengthy literary career, now-octogenarian Joyce Carol Oates has wandered into genre, most notably horror. Her most recent novel, started in 2011 but not published until late last year, begins as something akin to a YA dystopia before quickly time-traveling into other genres.
The strongest second-season Discovery episode to date brings us a Big Not-So-Dumb Object, a dying Saru, bickering techies, comparatively thoughtful social commentary, and some by-the-way explanations for discontinuities between the tech of this series and Kirk’s era.
Who you gonna call? Sporebusters!
Beyond spore drives, improved effects, and occasional swearing, Discovery distinguishes itself from previous Treks by its serial storytelling. Nevertheless, the first two episodes of Season Two featured something resembling contained stories. With the third episode, we’re clearly in chapter mode, with several segments of story arcs.
The postwar Klingons have started growing their hair, but they still sport prosthetic make-up that makes their facial expressions less human and readable.
“Initiating donut maneuver.”
As far as produced Trek goes, Christopher Pike was Kirk 1.0, but in this episode, which very much hearkens to the classic series, we see a critical difference.
Pike actually follows the Prime Directive which, apparently, applies even to star-lost Terrans who have sent a distress signal.
Head now to Eden
Yeah brother…
Discovery‘s second season takes the show in new directions. They’re familiar directions to Star Trek fans, however, as is the name of the ship’s new captain.
Okay, I hate to post an entry promoting a commercial, especially a Wal-Mart commercial, but the company dropped an ad for their Grocery Pickup Service during the Golden Globe Awards, which features a number of classic genre cars, and a handful of the related characters. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a good deal of fun.
You say you want a resolution? Well, you know, this “New Years Special” provides more of one than the official season finale, while bringing back the villain we know each Doctor will face.