Timeless Appreciation

Way back in October, in simpler times, I wrote that I was excited for Timeless because because of this snippet in the trailer from Malcolm Barrett: “I’m Black. There is literally no place in American history that’ll be awesome for me.” I went on to say I was disappointed in the show, and that line…

Timeless Nonsense

I’m always primed for any show about time-travel, and Timeless grabbed me before its premiere because of this snippet in the trailer from Malcolm Barrett: “I’m Black. There is literally no place in American history that’ll be awesome for me.” It reads as funny and tragic and, if you think about it, he may be…

The Startling Probabilities of Finding Life in our Galaxy

I would dearly love to believe we live in a universe teaming with intelligent life. But I have found my optimism and pragmatism have clashed in a way that has left me feeling a little lonely and misled. Through this wonderful tool posted by the BBC I have been able to play with the famous…

Everything already wrong with Star Trek 2017

Star Trek is, and always has been, a fan’s baby. CBS knows this, but they also know that even though the fans love it and care for it, CBS and Paramount have joint legal custody. Like a terrible, petty ex, they intend to use that custody to manipulate those who love it most, locking a…

Why Your Star Wars Theories Mean Nothing… or Everything

My love and affection for the original, 1977 Star Wars film is so strong, and my anger (which leads to hate) of the 1999 prequels so intense, that I could not go into the new film anything but wary. Even without this baggage, I am a difficult audience. It matters to me that the film…

The State of Safety

Dear Governor Baker, I completely understand your feeling with regard to not accepting refugees from Syria. You are worried that, among them, some terrible, dangerous element will creep in and cause harm to the good people of our state. I applaud your desire to protect us. If you want to keep all possible threats out,…

And it Worked!

Watching Lena Dunham’s 2009, proto-“Girls” film, “Tiny Furniture”, I was struck with a question I often ask myself viewing random films on Netflix: How did this get made? As always, I turned to the IMDb for answers. Fortunately, I found a simple explanation, right away. The very first piece of trivia for the film is…

Ex Machina

Ex Machina

Ex Machina does almost everything well.  It looks gorgeous and cinematic. The three leads turn in outstanding performances in roles that are interesting. The story is immediately compelling, tense and thought provoking. It holds up, right up until the end. And then the end comes, and it does not end well. Or perhaps it is…

Ceres of images

NASA released an animated sequence of images from NASA’s Dawn spacecraft today. In their description, they call attention to the mysterious white spot (actually a close pair of spots) on the dwarf planet’s right side easing into view in the animation’s last few frames. It is pretty interesting, but it isn’t what caught my eye.…

On the passing of Leonard Nimoy

When I was eight, my mother bought my siblings and I Star Trek shirts, complete with little gold insignias. It was an unexpected and thrilling gift. My younger sister’s shirt was red. She was little, so she was set loose to play any random character she pleased, as long as she knew that character would…