Category: Science Fiction

My Voyager Rewatch: S4E23

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E23 “Living Witness”

It’s not just a new haircut, Janeway’s uniform is suddenly like a dominatrix outfit & she’s gone all Sun Tsu. I’m intrigued. Alternate universe? Changed timeline? I don’t know.

Damnit! A Kazon! We should be done with them!

Sultry Janeway, Warship Voyager, casual genocide. This is dark. Cut to a classroom 700 years in the future. The theme now seems obvious. Yawn. Lots more 1-D villainy from caricatures of the Voyager crew. It’s a museum display from when the Vaskans defeated the Kyrians.

Add racial animus to the equation. They’ve discovered an artifact which I bet is going to be the Doctor to give the other viewpoint. Yup. It’s an EMH backup actually. Here’s the first interesting twist. The Doctor may be tried for War crimes. We start looking for the truth.

Picardo is excellent throughout. The Doctor starts to make headway and it sparks violence and almost another war. He wants to recant and offers to be decompiled to ensure peace. Quarren, the historian, convinces him that finding the truth is the safer alternative in the long run.

And we get another shift of perspective. We pull back into the museum watching this last exchange as a simulation. The Doctor and Quarren set off “The Dawn of Harmony” between the Vaskans & the Kyrians. That’s a feel-good ending. Ultimately this was an excellent episode.

The false narrative bit was too long and some twists were too predictable. But… the predictable twists set up better ones and this didn’t end on a trite homily about history but on a much better adage about the search for the truth. I was dubious, then pleasantly surprised.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

#StarTrek

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Quick Take: Kindred on FX

Kindred is possibly Octavia Butler’s most acclaimed work. It’s a meaningful novel with much to say about power, family, racism, sexism, the Antebellum South, and more. Possibly its most important theme is the human condition and the lengths to which humans can go to survive intolerable conditions.

I watched the FX series; it was fine. But I didn’t see much beyond what I’d already gotten from the novel; the relatively minor changes didn’t seem to disturb the broader brushstrokes. I was honestly on the fence about watching the second season.

Still, FX was taking an important novel and making it available to a wider audience and that is a public service. I was glad the series was being made even if I hadn’t yet decided to watch season two.

Now I’m disappointed that FX has canceled Season Two. It seems to me that if a network undertakes an adaption of an important work, it should see it through. Leaving the project undone does nobody any good.

Evidently, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, the showrunner, is currently shopping season two to other networks. You know what, network executives: I’m in. Pick up season two, and you can count on me as a viewer, even though I’ve aged out of most of the demographics you care about.

Meanwhile, everybody else: If you’re interested in Kindred read the novel. It’s worth your time. Or, if you’re committed to experiencing the book through other media, cross your fingers. Or check out this Eisner Award-winning graphic novel. I’ll review the graphic novel here once I read it.

Bottom Line for the FX series:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

My Voyager Rewatch: S4E11

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E11 “Concerning Flight”

They really like starting things off in the holodeck. Still, John Rhys-Davies as Leonardo Da Vinci is excellent and his being mocked because his flying machine didn’t work is amusing. Janeway’s pep talk about perseverance is less so.

The main plot appears to be about aliens shoplifting Voyager’s tech. They track it down and discover Leonardo has escaped the holodeck. His interactions with the 24th century are charming. After navigating the black market for a while, James T. Kirk gets name-dropped. Nice!

I enjoyed watching Leonardo’s philosophical conversations with Janeway but now I’m wondering how exactly it works that this holodeck character is out and acting fully sapient when that took the Doctor years. It’s one of those things it’s best not to question too deeply. And yet if we can casually whip up self-aware beings for holodeck games, isn’t that slavery? With Minuet it required an upgrade. When it happened with Moriarty it was portrayed as a fluke. If it happens as a matter of course there are ethical questions to ponder and address. Is that coming in Picard Season Three?

Leonardo’s clever thought to enter the warehouse isn’t really so clever. But as he starts to process new knowledge he’s buzzing with curiosity and bursting with questions. He basically gets “because I said so” from Janeway. This would be the perfect place to invoke Clarke’s Third Law. A missed opportunity.

Leonardo is undeniably self-aware and continues the rapid-fire questioning. He gets “your mind is too small” from Janeway. That doesn’t fit what we see. They flee and use Leonardo’s too-conveniently-located hang glider to escape. The moment they take flight is surprisingly moving, and the wrap-up is a nice character moment for the holographic artist. It’s a delightful episode if you can ignore the dumb premise and it begs for a sequel. What could Leonardo accomplish if he could run wild in the 24th century? How about the ethical questions? I bet Trek will mash the reset button way too hard.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

#StarTrek

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My Voyager Rewatch: S4E10

My #startrekvoyager rewatch S4E10 “Random Thoughts”

Paris and Neelix are talking about dating. That is NOT how I want to start my morning. And telling Neelix to be himself is, at best, dubious advice. Telepaths. We’re clearly heading toward some kind of Minority Report nonsense.

B’Elanna is arrested for “aggravated violent thought.” So far it’s all a little stiff and heavy-handed. It seems violent thoughts can spur others to violence. B’Elanna is arrested and will be forced to undergo dangerous memory alteration. Janeway tries to intervene.

Violence spreads and Neelix’s friend is killed. B’Elanna’s violent thought is to blame which shouldn’t be happening. In his own investigation, Tuvok uncovers a black market in violent, dark thought. It gets gross and salacious and what might have been interesting degenerates into a simplistic metaphor for illicit behavior that almost ends up being pro-thought-police. I suspect that the writer was trying to be anti-violence but you could read the ending as an anti-free expression or a message that behavior outside the norm should be punished.

There’s a Potential essay here about why there are right-wing Trek fans. The final 3 minutes redeem things a little. Tuvok and B’Elanna have an exchange that’s reminiscent of classic Spock/McCoy Banter and earn a good laugh. Tuvok says, “Burdened as you are by your primitive Klingon psyche, it is a wonder that you were able to keep your violent thoughts under control as much as you do.” Then a conversation with Janeway and 7 explains why Voyager isn’t trying very hard to get home. Still, ending on a high note or two is not enough to save the episode. Bleh.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5.

#StarTrek

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My Voyager Rewatch: S4E22

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E22 “Unforgettable”

It’s a little funny when Tom ribs Harry about being uncomfortable about working with Seven but enough of that already. There has to be another dimension to Harry’s personality.

Directed by Andrew Robinson. That’s Cool!

We get right into the action in the teaser when a mystery woman on a cloaked ship knows Chakotay by name.

“Try to stabilize the hull” is a terrifying phrase.

They find and rescue the woman, Kellin. Chakotay doesn’t know her and her affect is peculiar. She keeps claiming that it’s complicated. But it’s more convoluted than complicated. Her people are the Silence from Doctor Who in slow motion. Other races forget them after a few hours so they’re secretive. She was on the ship for two weeks to capture another who wanted to leave their society. Now she wants to escape. I’m dubious.

We get lots of coquettish and suspicious behavior from Kellin and Neelix’s platitudes are annoyingly simplistic. Kellin has been claiming she and Chakotay had been in love. He’s been suspicious and then does a sharp 180-degree turn, asking her to stay on the ship. They had better explain this.

They don’t. When the heel turn doesn’t come we’re suddenly dealing with a better episode. When Kellin’s recent memories get erased she and Chakotay replay old interactions with the roles reversed. It’s nice and then bittersweet when she ultimately returns to her people.

Kudos for the nice premise for defying expectations. Sadly, emotional changes were abrupt, the “romance” never felt authentic, and the non-linear chunks were perfunctory. Ultimately I wish the execution were better. The highlight was Tuvok telling jokes worthy of Spock.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

#StarTrek

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My Voyager Rewatch: S4E09

My #StarTrekVoyager rewatch S4E09 “Year of Hell, Part 2”

Here we go. Hiding out in a nebula. Quintessential Star Trek since 1982. But I’m pretty sure the science here is nuts. The gas in a nebula can’t possibly be very dense. Janeway refusing treatment is also nuts.

Red isn’t an idiot though. Paris is “intransigent.” Serving delicacies that have been deleted from time is too ostentatious, but offering to fix Voyager’s timeline is a decent strategy. And now Red explains the obvious for us. He’s palpably smart though and I like that.

There are parallels developing between Janeway’s single-mindedness and Red’s. I’m sure Chakotay is planning something; meanwhile, his discussions with Red about temporal mechanics are fascinating.

There’s a line between brave and self-destructive. Janeway’s crossed it. In a great scene the Doctor, correctly, calls Janeway on her recklessness & Janeway, perfectly, goes all Andrew Jackson on his ass.

There’s probably a freshman comp paper to be written about that watch within the episode’s context. Janeway finding it is a hopeful moment.

There are lots of great little character moments as things unfold with good and even above-average performances from the cast. We learn about Red’s white whale. There were explicit comparisons to Nemo and Bligh. Why not Ahab? Too on point?

The climax is satisfying even if it hinges on being a “Hail Mary.” Happy endings all around are a nice change of pace. Another good episode. Part 2 is maybe even a little stronger than part 1. Few two-parters hold up this well.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

#StarTrek

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Stars End S3E29

“Humanity Whether in the form of Earth People or Spacers Must Podcast”

Join us as we continue to wind our way through Robots and Empire, the final book in Asimov’s Robot series, even if you count collections of short stories.

In this episode, we discuss chapters 3 through 6.  “The Crisis,” “Another Descendent,” “The Abandoned World,” and “The Crew.”  

In these chapters, the Great and Glorious Az establishes Robots and Empire as an important bridge between the Robot Stories, the Galactic Empire Novels, and the Foundation Saga; it’s both a prelude and a coda.  

Elijah Baley isn’t in this novel except in flashbacks, but his presence looms large.  Daneel and Giskard try to deduce what Elijah’s nemesis, Amadiro might try in the aftermath of Fastolfe’s death.  As they do, they’re forced to ponder the Three Laws of Robotics, which seem to be impeding their efforts.  Together, these discussions wrap up the Robot Stories.

Meanwhile, these two robots are pondering Elijah’s ability to predict, in broad brushstrokes, the future that has unfolded over the past two centuries, including an oncoming crisis.  Giskard, in particular, is trying to deduce the “Laws of Humanics” that Elijah must have understood to see so clearly.  In this, of course, we see the seeds of the Foundation.

How do the Galactic Empire Novels figure into all of this? For that, you’ll have to stay tuned.

Stars End S3E28

“I Do Not Ask You to Like the Podcast – I Ask You to Trust It”

If you’re a fan of Issac Asimov, you probably like robots, the Three Laws of Robotics, and characters having long, expository conversations about interesting ideas.

If that’s true, then Robots and Empire is the book for you!  It features, except for when the plot forces its way in, our two favorite robots, Daneel and Giskard, having long, expository conversations about the Three Laws of Robotics.  Jon is quite outspoken about how those are his favorite bits.  Dan and I are more apt to keep that revelation to ourselves.

Robots and Empire lives in between the three Elijah Baley novels and the Foundation books.  As a consequence, it never seems to get the attention of Asimov’s other major novels; it’s never, for example, been made into an official mass-market audiobook.

But if you love the three Elijah Baley novels and the Foundation books and if you’ve bought into Asimov’s project to link most of his work into a tremendous future history, Robots and Empire isn’t just essential, it might even be the most important piece.

And we’re finally talking about it, starting, in this episode, with the first two chapters, “The Descendent” and  “The Ancestor.” You don’t want to miss this one!

Stars End S3E27

“Everyone Believes in the Freedom of the Podcast – It Should Be Right There in the Constitution”

It’s human nature, it seems, to celebrate round numbers, 40th birthdays, 20th wedding anniversaries, 10th high school reunions, and so forth.  New Year’s Day 2000 was a huge deal even though, as Arthur C. Clarke was quick to point out, the third millennium CE didn’t start until 2001.

Early on, we poked a bit of fun at this tendency, culminating in episode eight, because eight is a very round number:  It’s “10” in base eight, “20” in base four, and “1000” in base two.  That was also when we tied Manimal for their number of episodes.

But now we’re celebrating our 50th episode and that is a milestone.  Fifty isn’t just 6.25 on the Manimal scale, it’s when a lot of comics and magazines (remember those?) have their first special issue! It’s a half-century, a semi-centennial, and a golden jubilee!  You might even say that we’re almost playing with a full deck!

So we celebrate, reminisce a bit, and wax some nostalgia.  And we take care of some business since there’s a trailer out for season 2 of Foundation.  

But the main event here is the most shocking of plot twists!  The most special of special guests!  It’s the one guest that no one, I say, no one, could have expected!  And not just because he’s 103 years old and refuses to leave his apartment!  It’s our interview with the professor of biochemistry, the great explainer, and the father of robotics.  He’s the founder of foundations, he’s one-third of the big three, he’s the best science writer according to the Clarke-Asimov Treaty, and he’s The Sensuous Dirty Old Man.

It is, of course, the Great and Glorious Az, Issac Asimov himself! And he joins us for a conversation! Believe it or don’t believe it, but DO NOT miss it!

Stars End S3E26

“It is from this Point On, Earth Itself that is the True World of the Podcast.”

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, it is said, “always get their man.”  I haven’t checked, but I’m confident that’s been updated.  “Always get their human” might not work perfectly in the context of Asimov’s Robot Novels, so let’s settle on “always get the perpetrator.”  A perpetrator could be an animal, vegetable, or mineral.

In Elijah Baley’s time, millennia in the future, it isn’t clear whether New York City has grown to include parts of Canada but it isn’t likely.  If it had, Lije would have been part of this same tradition.  And yet, as we’ve noticed, Lije hardly ever “gets” the guilty party.  Usually, he has figured out who it is, but the actual “getting” part never actually happens.  It’s like watching an episode of Law & Order where the latter half kinda goes off the rails.  As we approach the denouement of The Robots of Dawn we have to ask… will Lije finally have an unqualified win?

You want to know!  You need to know! We know!  And we talk about it!  Let’s go!

And in one week… Episode 50!