As I continue to plug away plug away plug away at giving SciFiHistory.Net's Main Page a bit more definition from time-to-time, this means I'll drop these daily features as time allows.  It isn't easy trying to be the best off-ramp on the Information Superhighway for fans of genre entertainment, but I do aim to please.

So here's the first installment of what I've called "All Roads Lead To Marvel" with today's citations in the history of Marvel itself!

Birthdays

I don't know about you, but Linda Cardellini will always be 'Velma' to me as she looked picture perfect in the role aboard Scooby Doo (2002).  But how good does it get when we get another award-nominated actress to dip her delicate toes into the Marvel Movie Universe?  That's nothing short of incredible in my book.

She first appeared in this franchise in Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) in the guise of 'Laura Barton' ... or perhaps as she's better known as 'Mrs. Hawkeye.'  As fate (and the script!) would have it, her character made a return in the ultimate cinematic extravaganza Avengers: Endgame (2019).  Her current profile on IMDB.com (here) doesn't indicate a return to the franchise, but we all know that Marvel's biggest secrets are kept well under wrap.  I, for one, hope we haven't seen the last of her.

Cardellini was born on this day in 1975.

Thankfully, the Marvel Universe is big enough to include more than just motion pictures, books, and comic books: the Mouse House has truly given the entertainment franchise incredible opportunities both on regular television as well as streaming outlets like Netflix and Disney+.

Back in the days when Disney wanted to capture some of that Marvel magic on plain old broadcast television, the creative powers that be were tapped with giving Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. life on the small screen.  And life they gave it as the show racked up an impressive seven seasons.  Granted, the program was never a ratings juggernaut, but in its own small way S.H.I.E.L.D. broke creative ground by giving modestly budgeted adventures a prime time slot across America and around the world.

Early in the show's history, actress Shannon Lucio (IMDB.com profile here) brought her own measure of talent to the show.  Alas, she wasn't there long, but it was great to have her there while we did.  Naturally, SciFiHistory.Net wishes her luck and good fortune wherever her feet might deliver her next!
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I've always said that -- more than any other genre out there -- Science Fiction and Fantasy's success largely rests on the shoulders of its supporting players and stunt people.  Without quality workers in these fields, there honestly would be no big name entertainment.  Why not?  Well, they'd likely all be deceased and buried from attempting something mom and dad always told us when we were little to avoid doing.  Stunt people, in particular, are required to make it all look good; and they deserve an extra bit of recognition in this space.

That said, can I get a round of applause for the lovely Corrina Roshea?  Born on this day in 1982, this award-winning stuntwoman has rough-and-tumbled her way through an incredible assortment of genre programs (just check out her full resume on IMDB.com right here), but this citation is about Marvel.  In that field, I'm seeing work aboard Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Fox TV's The Gifted series, and Avengers: Endgame (2019) deserving your immediate attention.

Remember: those big name stars couldn't look as good as they do on the silver screen without folks like Roshea, so let's all be thankful she's up to the task.

For the record, Mckenna Grace has to be one of the hardest working young actresses out there.  Every time I've checked out her IMDB.com profile (here), I'm absolutely godsmacked: at her ripe your age, she's already amassed an incredible 58 different screen credits!  We should all be so lucky!

And just what are her contributions to the wide, wide world of Marvel?

In case you don't recognize her, she played the 13-year-old version of 'Carol Danvers' aboard Marvel's Captain Marvel (2019).  How very cool is that?  At present, IMDB.com has no indications that she'll return for another picture in that mythology, but you never know as scripts continue to be revised even through active shooting.  We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Grace was born on this day in 2006.

That's all we have for today, folks.  As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

-- EZ

A few years back, your faithful editor was penning a weekly Science Fiction and Fantasy column for a now-defunct online web magazine.  Essentially, I was doing a print format of my daily citations page – except I was covering the highlights for an entire week.  Readers were provided a ‘comment below’ section, and – on one occasion – one of them posted this curious insult: “By the looks of things, you’ll never know what real Science Fiction is.”

The magazine editor didn’t allow his contributors to engage with those who commented, so I’ll never really know what the point of the post was since I couldn’t ask the reader for clarification or even encourage a dialogue.  Given the fact that the barb was pretty vague, I’ve always assumed it came from someone who disagreed with my personal assessment of what SciFi and Fantasy are, a sentiment that has plagued much of fandom for years.  For example, I’ve ‘crossed swords’ with folks who insist Star Trek isn’t Science Fiction, nor is The Twilight Zone televised Fantasy.  They’ll tell you Star Wars is a Western and Battlestar Galactica is watered-down mythology.  These peers have any number of reasons for reaching the conclusions they have, and their logic is certainly no less nor any stronger than my own.

Still, I took that original comment as a call-to-action: I was willing to ‘bone up’ on my knowledge of the past to further enlighten those who followed me on my trail to promote All Things SciFi (& Fantasy) in hopes that we’d eventually find common ground somewhere in middle.  We didn’t have to agree maybe we never would … but we could still come together in our pursuit of knowing all that is knowable about our beloved genres.  I purchased myself a used copy of the 1995 updated edition of The Encyclopedia Of Science Fiction (by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, St. Martin’s Griffin Publishers) with the intent that from time-to-time I’d pull it out, read up on an entry, and feature it in this space.

So without further ado …

Frank Belknap Long was born on April 27, 1901 and passed away on January 3, 1994; and between those years this U.S.-based author managed to write twenty-nine novels, 150 short stories, and scores of other works both fiction and non-fiction.  In his work, he was a contemporary of authors like Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Robert E. Howard, Henry Kuttner, C.M. Eddy Jr., and – his most well-documented friendship – H.P. Lovecraft.  In fact, during his youth Long met Lovecraft, and the man served as a mentor to him, often commenting on his work, tastes, and life in general.  Those who have examined Lovecraft’s life and body of work are apt to point out that it was during his friendship with Long that the legendary writer crafted some of his most impressive work; and I would suspect that this ‘spiritual communion’ likely extended to influencing the quality of Long’s own writing.

As to those works?  Wikipedia.org recognizes that Long penned tales across many genres including Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and more; but perhaps he’s best remembered for his work The Hounds Of Tindalos which is considered part and parcel of the greater Cthulhu Mythos.  Another work he’s remembered for?  Well, that would be the biography of none other than his lifelong friend, H.P. Lovecraft.

But Long didn’t only craft stories of prose and poetry.  In the 1940’s, he expanded his repertoire to include comic books, penning tales for Adventures Into The Unknown, Superman, Green Lantern, and Fawcett Comics Captain Marvel.  He spent much of the 1950’s editing genre magazines.  The 1970’s saw the author turning his eye toward gothic romance, and he turned out several of them with the assistance of Lyda Belknap Long, his wife.

Naturally, it’s difficult to reduce the summary of an author’s life to a few paragraphs, especially one as prolific and influential as Long.  I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t point out that his works also garnered him some impressive award citations, including the Edna St Vincent Millay Poetry Award, the First Fandom Hall Of Fame Award (1977), the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (1978), and the Bram Stoker Award for Life Achievement (1987).  These are impressive credentials, indeed.
As I often point out, though he’s no longer with us is no reason to ignore the footprints he left behind.  Certainly his works are deserving of greater study, especially for those of us who aspire to continue keeping genre entertainment near and dear to the center of our lives.  I’ll include some links below so that interested readers can keep that flame alive.
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Wikipedia.org Entry

SFE The Science Fiction Encyclopedia Online Entry

Amazon's Frank Belknap Long Page

YouTube.Com: The Space-Eaters episode of Monsters (adapted from Long's short story)

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ

Apologies, folks: I meant to post this yesterday, but as can happen the day got away from me, and I just didn't get to it.  You know how life goes ...

In any event, word reached us at SciFiHistory.Net that Star Trek's Joanne Linville has left us.

Star Trek fans will tell you that the third season of the beloved franchise was an awful lot of hit-and-miss, though it leaned heavily more in the 'miss' category than anything else.  Much of this was owed to the kinda/sorta departure of Gene Roddenberry who kinda/sorta bowed out to focus on some other ventures; but it is what it is.  However, I've always thought that 1968's "The Enterprise Incident" was a better-than-average outing for the crew, some of which is owed to Linville's performance as a Romulan commander.  She did an exceptional job giving her character an adversary's nobility that served as a counterpoint to the Starfleet focus of Kirk and Spock.

With 84 different screen credits to her name, Linville definitely explored what she could do with her craft across all genres.  I'll probably remember her more for her work in television than movies (the feature films lean toward conventional drama, which I really don't much explore).  As I look over her entire roster of work, I do see much worth savoring, including roles in One Step Beyond, The Twilight Zone, and The Invaders.

Also, I'd be remiss in my duties if I failed to mention that she also put on her Trek shoes again in 2016 with some work aboard a web-based project, Starship Excelsior, for Excelsior Productions.

Though she's no longer with us, we'll always have her performances to remember her by.

Thoughts and prayers go out to families and friends.

​-- EZ

There are those who believe that life here began out there ... but as far as SciFiHistory.Net believes it's true that the beloved Battlestar Galactica is one of Science Fiction and Fantasy biggest franchises.  So say we all?  I'd hope so ...

And, in that respect, it deserves to get a little bit of extra love by way of these 'On This Day In History' features I've been tinkering with.

Strap into your Vipers, pilots.  We're about to see some action!

Birthdays

Where in all of the Colonies would the ragtag fleet be without the help of Michael Trucco?  For those caught unawares, the actor played 'Ensign Samuel Anders' aboard the Syfy reimagination of the Glen Larson property, surviving all four twist-laden seasons of the show.  The talented actor has also been a part of such properties as Touched By An Angel, Charmed, Tru Calling, Meteor Storm, V, Young Justice (animated), Intelligence, The Librarians, and a whole host of more conventional fare ... but to us he'll always be the man with a deadly secret in those fateful hours of Battlestar Galactica.  Trucco was born on this day in 1970.  [Source: IMDB.com]
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Unlike the Glen Larson original, Syfy's newfangled Battlestar Galactica took strides to develop roles amongst the fleet's civilian population, of which Paul Campbell played 'Billy Keikeya,' an aide to Secretary-turned-President Laura Roslin.  Alas, poor Billy didn't make it to see Earth -- such can be the fate of secondary characters -- but kudos to the actor for keeping his career alive with work in such properties as The Dead Zone, Andromeda, and Knight Rider.  Campbell was born on this day in 1979.  [Source: IMDB.com]

Stephanie Jacobsen (aka Stephany Jacobsen) cracked into the wide, wide worlds of the Twelve (or is it Thirteen?) Colonies by way of a role aboard the Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007) telefilm for the Syfy Channel.  This talented, award-nominated actress has also dabbled in such genre properties as Farscape, Life On Mars (2008), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, The Devil's Tomb (2009), Quantum Apocalypse (2010), and The CW's Star-Crossed.  Jacobsen was born on this day in 1980.  [Source: IMDB.com]

​-- EZ

I’ve seen more than my share of recent Russian-language Science Fiction entries, and I’ve definitely noticed a trend: they tend to be very, very big on visuals but generally light on details.  In other words, these Science Fiction and Fantasy films are following in the footsteps of, say, America’s Michael Bay and JJ Abrams, relying heavily on their artistic sensibilities glossing over any shortcomings to the plot specifics.  This isn’t an assessment on stories, nor is it an affirmation of their quality: it’s just a kinda/sorta “it is what it is” observation about what I’ve seen in their latest offerings.

Thankfully, The Blackout (aka The Blackout: Invasion Earth) bucks that trend.  This script from award-winning screenwriter Ilya Kulikov is literally packed-to-the-gills with ideas, essentially building a world wherein mankind itself was a product of an alien intelligence who seeded our planet nearly a quarter-million years ago for the purpose of creating a slave race to eventually do all of their dirty work.  But Kulikov doesn’t stop there: his expansive story even posits the lengths to which these alien overlords had to plot out every possible development in our shared existence, and rest assured that this is no small feat.

Therein lies the film’s central problem: it’s an awful lot to digest, and it sadly gets communicated through a series of strategically placed ‘information dumps’ along the way.  Some of its clunkiness is likely attributed to the fact that, originally, the feature was shot as 6 30-minute episodes for big budget television, and the international cut released for the Western world clocks in at just over two hours.  As a consequence, I have a strong feeling that some of this simply had to get communicated this way due to the structure; perhaps those six episodes might have stronger balance as well as more character development and explanation for the missing details.

Performances are all very good.  Aleksey Chadov and Pyotr Fyodorov are the ‘buddies’ in this ‘military buddies’ picture, though exactly how they are thrown together might have been one of the elements lost in this translation; some of Pyotr’s “awakenings” as a character – i.e. why he’s such a great combatant while having little to no combat training whatsoever – get brushed over in one of the exposition packages, and it would’ve been nice to have more substance there.  Lukerya Ilyashenko’s ‘Alyona’ comes across like a Russian-language Jennifer Lawrence clone: she’s pretty in just the right way to distract the audience from a convincing development as to how she’s one of the medical geniuses of the country (and that somehow escaped earlier disclosure in the script).  Svetlana Ivanova is the heart-of-gold journalist who just happens to be in the right place at the right time to be blessed with the exploring the story of a lifetime.  There are a few supporting players – Kseniya Kutepova does solid work as the military leader who gets roped into exposing this alien conspiracy – and, as I said at the outset, they all turn in good marks for what’s required here.
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Alas, it’s hard to endorse watching the film other than to say that, “It’s good if you like your basic alien invasion story.”  Beyond that – and a pretty spiffy alien mythology – much of this is pretty standard fare.  The fact that it’s incomplete – all of this ends with the near-extinction of the human race and a huge, huge, huge last second twist that practically guarantees that there’s more to come – puts this reviewer in the position of only being able to say, “Yeah, I enjoyed some of what I saw … I just don’t know what to make of all of it.”

An understanding of the Ancient Astronauts theory helps most of The Blackout come across as if its an attempt to extrapolate how all of that may have happened way back then; and, on that level, The Blackout blacks out much of an explanation.  It’s covered quickly, with a lot of gloss, and how the disparate elements of evolution, telepathy, and a distant alien government planning from afar never come together in a way that benefits the viewer; instead, they’re offered here as filler to get these soldiers from one military encounter to the next as the action quotient gets heavily dialed up in the second half.  Because I appreciate even casual SciFi, it’s easy to find The Blackout’s appeal in its bare bones framework; I would have to know an awful lot more – as well as see an effective resolution – to know if this is one worth re-examination.  As it stands, I feel like I’ve seen much of this before, just maybe with a smaller body count.

Still, there’s no shortage of ambition here.  Kulikov’s script – while picking out some of the better SciFi tropes of the era – definitely puts its characters through some paces.  There’s loss in here on an epic scale; but there’s no way to know whether or not it’s worth it.  We won’t know that until the story is properly brought to a close, and I’ve no way to know whether that’s the case or not.
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The Blackout (aka The Blackout: Invasion Earth) stops short of being good but never fails to be interesting.  The problem is that it’s clearly incomplete – the ending is, arguably, one of the biggest cliffhangers in film (of recent record); and I’ve been unable to locate whether or not a sequel is in the offing or headed to television as a miniseries event.  Still, if you like spectacle and can appreciate aspiration, there’s plenty to behold in this two-hours-plus; I think it best, though, that you understand ahead of time that the meal is incomplete.

​-- EZ

Though he’s a man who courted some controversy in his tenure, Star Trek’s producer Rick Berman once said something measurably profound in an interview when asked about creating yet one more incarnation in the Gene Roddenberry franchise: he said there’s always a risk in going back to the well one too many times.  Clearly what he was implying is that all products – good, bad, or middling – have a shelf life.  By continuing to produce something – whether it’s entirely fresh or even mildly derivative – the storyteller always runs the risk of going too far, of disenfranchising the audience who’ll then depart your show for greener pastures elsewhere.  Essentially, it’s the tale of the Golden Goose … and I can’t help but wonder if AMC’s half-baked The Walking Dead: World Beyond might serve as the first nail in the entire Walking Dead coffin, an irony if there ever were.

AMC’s The Walking Dead – a TV-based adaptation of the popular comic from Robert Kirkman and friends – premiered in 2010.  Despite exploring some incredibly downbeat subject matter (namely the end of life as we know it), the series rocketed to the top of the Nielsen ratings, perhaps defying expectations of Hollywood’s established prognosticators.  Naturally, network executives were enthusiastic about ponying up as much Dead as they could; so they tasked the program’s creative powers with designing a kinda/sorta sister series, something that could fill the void left when The Walking Dead was on its regular production breaks.  The result – Fear The Walking Dead – promised to explore the origins of the virus, but rather quickly turned into just another venue for telling stories audiences had seen before on the original.  When it appeared to be losing some of its luster, Fear’s showrunners even took the avenue of robbing one of The Walking Dead’s popular characters (Morgan, played by Lennie James) from that hour and giving him top-billing in theirs.  If that doesn’t smack of desperation in a universe requiring desperation throughout its narrative, then I don’t know what does.

And yet, AMC still wasn’t content.

Despite both program’s lagging viewership and the loss of market share, executives continue to press for Sheriff Rick Grimes to return to The Walking Dead universe by way of a trilogy of motion pictures.  (For those unaware, this central character also vanished from the TV show, but unlike Morgan his departure was under curiously suspicious circumstances, ones intended to set-up the movie franchise.)  At last word, the proposed trilogy was heavily mired in pre-production efforts “to get it right,” perhaps the only studio acknowledgement that – as Trek producer Berman cautioned – going back to the well is risky business.  I suspect that these big budget extravaganzas will cement the franchise as either blockbuster gold or prove that perhaps the Dead could use a bit of retirement for the time being.

Still, AMC wasn’t content to rest of the laurels of the deceased, and somehow The Walking Dead: World Beyond came into being.  Again, it was reported that this show would be different from what came before because its cast of characters were going to be youngsters who’ve only known the world of the Apocalypse.  There were some additional promises made about how World Beyond would serve as a bridge between the TV universe and the forthcoming movies; but most of those sentiments have vanished from online chatter surrounding the show.

In a recent interview with Nico Tortorella who plays Felix Carlucci – a troubled gay survivor tasked with protecting the youth in World Beyond – the actor implied that Season Two of his program will be markedly different than Season One (which SciFiHistory.Net reviewed on DVD right here).  Boiling down what he said to the core point, Tortorella claims that the first ten episodes were designed to lay out the background of these newcomers to the Dead universe so that now the real story can begin.

For what it’s worth, that’s a sentiment I hope is true.
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While I’m no professional critic, I’ve been reviewing films, television shows, and even novels for well over forty years now; and I’ve rarely been as unimpressed with a cast of characters as I am with those depicted in World Beyond.  Some of their shortcomings can be attributed to the youth and inexperience of a cast just starting out in their careers, but I’d argue that World’s stable of screenwriters – an incredible and almost unheard of thirteen different writing minds for a slim ten-episode season – didn’t do these actors and actresses any favors.  The show’s four leads – Iris, Hope, Silas, and Elton – have only mild differences between them; and yet they’re all somehow linked up with backstories too alike to give them much differentiation.  In short, they’ve all got either daddy or mommy issues, and there’s just not enough flavor to the young adults they’re growing into to make them all that interesting.

Unfortunately, this binding tenet even extends into the show’s secondary entries: Felix, Huck, and Percy are also plagued by some of TV’s worst parents!  As the show tore through its first season, I couldn’t help but wonder how many of its screenwriters had undergone family counseling over the years.  What truly hurts about this discovery is that, unlike the four leads, these supporting players are actually more interesting creations, the kind of characters an audience might inevitably root for … but is this show’s core mythology meant to explore the Dead universe or just preach about how all adults are bad?

To the show’s credit, World Beyond has – in a sense – let these kids be kids.

Though they’ve been taught what to do when coming face-to-face with an approaching zombie, they’re all still hesitant about taking a life, even a life that’s already forfeit (like said zombies).  Not a one of them genuinely wants to kill one of the ‘empties’ (this show’s preferred term of the walkers), and the fact that that particular wholesomeness still survives the Apocalypse gives me hope that perhaps a future generation might truly be able to rebuild what’s been torn down with mankind’s collapse.  I won’t say that it hasn’t been frustrating in some instances because it has; I’ve had to bite my tongue for lashing out when these kids just stand there and let the threat get closer.  But I get it.  They’re kids.  Maybe AMC took a long, hard, legal look at depicting kids constantly going for the kill shot or they insisted on kids being kids; whatever the case, I made my peace with it.  It was still occasionally off-putting.

Also particularly troubling for me is the casting of Annet Mahendru: she plays the tough-as-nails former Marine ‘Huck’ whose background does involve more than a fair bit of subterfuge.  (I won’t spoil it, but I will encourage viewers to watch closely as much of the season’s better moments revolve around her, her choices, and her mission.)  Mahendru first dropped onto my radar with her work in FX’s excellent spy drama The Americans (2013-2016) where she played a Russian spy with ever-changing loyalties.  Here, while balancing similar characteristics, she’s also supposed to be cocky, brash, and irreverent … yet, apologies, but it just isn’t working.  All of those moments come across as scripted – performed by an actor in a part.  While some of this may be by design (again, I won’t spoil it, dammit!), it just all feels fake.  Shackling a character with far too many levels of deception with an ensemble of wholesome youngsters is a huge narrative mistake, one that might be too big to overcome.  It worked for The Americans, where her performance was even greeted with award nominations but also surrounded by a cast of characters equally conniving and duplicitous.  Here?  In The Walking Dead universe?  It feels like artifice.
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There are always ways to fix things that are broken, so there’s a chance that The Walking Dead: World Beyond’s creative powers that be can salvage something so woefully conceived and executed with whatever remains of its second season.  However, given that the entire first season was kinda/sorta wasted on a ‘gotcha’ road-trip set-up, I think the question remains: “Do they even want to fix it?”  It’s only a two-season commitment, so maybe they’re all going to remain attached to whatever end game they plotted out from the beginning … which may or may not be better than what they’ve delivered thus far.

​-- EZ

Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein is not only one of the most revered books in literature; it's also recognized by many in critical and academic circles as being one of the books that founded the genre of Science Fiction.  As a consequence, this tale of a scientist delivering life from lifelessness deserves a bit of additional recognition at every available opportunity ... so SciFiHistory.Net has been keeping its eyes peeled for special recognition in our ongoing attempt to highlight the peoples, places, and things we treasure most.

Here are today's citations from Frankenstein history!

Birthdays

Those of you too young to know the name of Ralph Bellamy will have to trust me when I say that he's probably one of the last actors I'd ever associate with any hard core Science Fiction or Fantasy ... but, as Fate would have it, one of the man's earliest appearances of note was in the role of 'Erik Ernst' aboard the Universal Studios' Monster Classic The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942).  (NOTE: Those interested in this sort of thing: the film is available as part of Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection DVD set originally released in 2004.)  This particular movie saw the good doctor's assistant Ygor enlisting the assistance of the doctor's son in bringing the creature back to life; naturally, this does not bode well for all involved. 

Films

A Hammer film, The Horror Of Frankenstein was first screened for audiences in the United Kingdom on November 8, 1970, and it was American audiences who enjoyed this film on this day in 1971.  Essentially, the feature reexamines the original Frankenstein story with a lot of those Hammer sensibilities thrown in for good measure.  Critical response scored it about average (today's IMDB.com shows it with an audience rating just under 6 on the 10-point scale), but SciFi and Fantasy fans might seek it out for another reason entirely: the dreaded creature brought back to life is played by none other than David Prowse who would eventually go on to be a monster of a different sort -- Darth Vader -- in the Star Wars saga.

As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!

​-- EZ

Who among us doesn’t appreciate a good ‘end of the world’ story?

If The Bible is any indication, then these types of yarns have been around for millennia.  (No insult intended to any religion.)  Often tied to thematic examinations of the worst impulses across all mankind, Apocalypse yarns largely serve as parables for what’s waiting for us when God, the Universe, or Whatever Higher Power Might Be Watching decides enough is enough; and Hell itself is loosed around the globe.  Even the survivors want no part of what they’re dealing with, and these stories tend to evoke the darkest fears held deep inside of whatever audience watches on in abject horror.

AMC tapped into the Mother Lode of all Apocalypses when it decided to bring Robert Kirkman’s popular comic book series – The Walking Dead – to life on the small screen.  This original vision of our zombiefied future has been a ratings giant throughout much of its run, though the show has struggled (for a variety of legitimate reasons) to maintain the clout it established in its earliest seasons.  Realizing a good thing when they saw it, the network spawned a second series – Fear The Walking Dead – which promised to take a different look at these End Times, though its critics as of late feel like its little more than the original but located geographically elsewhere.  Apparently, network suits decided enough wasn’t enough, and they greenlit yet one more show: The Walking Dead: World Beyond.

To its credit, World Beyond promised to (yet again) take a different look at the Apocalypse, this one set a bit in the universe’s future wherein a cast of young people – those who grew up only knowing our world turned to crapola – would go about trying to piece normalcy back together.  At the time, I remember debating amongst like-minded fans online, “Well, if they’ve never known a world without zombies, how would they possibly know what a world without them is supposed to look like much less function?”  As can happen, I was accused of ‘reading too much into a press release’ and told to wait until AMC provided a finished product for review.

Well, the finished product is here … well, halfway here, that is.  AMC and World Beyond’s creators have stated categorically that this is a limited-run event, one that will only last two seasons, exploring only a specific set of events and characters in this timeframe.  With the release of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, I guess I can finally tell you what I think about half of the journey … and it may not be what you’re expecting.
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(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters.  If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for my final assessment.  If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)

From the product packaging: “Now a decade into the apocalypse, sisters Hope and Iris Bennett have grown up inside the walls of one of the few remaining first-world communities.  The sisters’ scientist father conducts research over one thousand miles away in a research facility run by the Civic Republic, an ally of Omaha, but one that does not reveal its location to outsiders.  When the sisters receive a message that their father might be in danger, they defy their own community’s rules and enlist their friends Elton and Silas to embark on a cross-country quest to save him.  Leaving their sheltered upbringing behind, these teenagers learn how to fight threats both living and dead as they travel through a beautiful but decaying and dangerous world.”

From everything I’ve read about World Beyond, I can’t help but point out that – while stretched out over multiple episodes – it remains a bottle story.

In other words, those who designed the entirety of the show know that it has a fixed beginning, middle, and ending.  This isn’t to imply that the showrunners know everything about where the tale will take them; rather it’s just an observation that it’s meant to be its own animal – a self-contained piece of fabric woven within a wider tapestry that encompasses all of The Walking Dead universe.  Unlike regular episodic television wherein shows live, breathe, and change from season-to-season dependent upon their performance in the ratings game, World Beyond posits to reach its climax at the end of Season Two.  By design.

Now, this doesn’t mean that were the series a gold mine that AMC wouldn’t find some way to give it a second wind.  As they’ve done before, perhaps showrunners would be pressed to move the popular characters from one show to another, or maybe even studio executives would ask the creatives to come up with yet one more series to feature the elements chosen to longer life (i.e. The Walking Dead: The Civic Republic Strikes Back).  But for the time being, this isn’t the case; and World Beyond is essentially at the midpoint in its broadcast existence as we know it.

Given that reality, I’m finding it hard to make some assessment of it.

Imagine being tasked with reviewing the original Star Wars trilogy but only being provided two of the three films.  For those of you unaware, The Empire Strikes Back – the second feature – ends on a massive cliffhanger, leaving the fate of a primary characters as well as the state of the Rebel Alliance all hanging by a thread.  How do you comment on the entire trilogy without knowing where its all meant to land?
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Sadly, this is the impression I’m left with regarding this show at its season finale.  Where is this heading?  Is it just the worst road trip ever, or is there happiness waiting at the end of the rainbow for these kids?  Have there been clues dropped along the way that reveal some of the big secrets yet to come, and yet I can’t identify them due to the number of missing pieces?  Why does it feel like these characters might be destined to intersect with members of other shows set in this universe?  And why are we spending so much time in flashbacks?  Is there not enough meat to the current, real-time story that the storytellers need to keep filling in where these characters have been before?

Setting aside these structural issues, then I’d have to conclude that – based on its own merits – World Beyond is the weakest entry into the franchise.  Its young cast of characters lack the defining features generally given to adults – by their very nature, they’re still developing, learning who they are, what they plan to be, what they intend to do with their lives – and this deficiency of individuality kinda/sorta blends them together as a unit instead of making them stand out from their peers.  Yes, Iris may be the brain of the group as Hope is its beating heart; but when good, narrative conflict extends from opposites clashing, these two are just far too similar (for my tastes) to make me want to root for either of them.  (Don’t even get me started on Silas and Elton, though I will admit that Elton – flawed as he is – is the only interesting diversion I’ve found on the show.)

When the audience isn’t attracted or drawn in by the characters, the ensemble lacks a cohesiveness; and that’s being generous in my critique of World Beyond.  I’m at a point of suggesting this entire series feels unnecessary …

… but then I remember it’s a bottle story.

Because it has an ending that’s probably already plotted out, I can’t help but wonder if it’ll improve the closer the audience is taken to that final resting place.  There have been some hints – as well as a few good scenes here and there – and still I’m not convinced we’ve seen behind its curtain just yet.

I’m old enough (and wise enough) to remember that some genre shows truly blossom when they get to an impasse where they’re truly centered on a developing mythology.  Fox TV’s stellar The X-Files and their devastating underrated Space: Above And Beyond literally took off when given their true narrative centers; the writers were capable of blending stand-alone episodes alongside mythology arcs brilliantly.  Years later, Fox went back to that well with Fringe, another program exploring paranormal phenomenon that grew a solid cult following once it revealed its biggest secrets.  While it isn’t genre, Starz Network’s Spartacus did much the same, making mountains out of molehills when its writers tapped into the thread tying its various seasons together.

Who knows?  World Beyond may end up doing much of the same.  It may surprise you, me, and all of AMC.

At this point, it’s simply too hard to tell.  Its cast is too young to perhaps handle the gravitas TWD’s audience expected from this one, and I can’t help but wonder if this version wasn’t meant to be for the ‘After School’ crowd as opposed to those of us who’ve followed this world since its TV inception.  It might feel more at home on Nickelodeon than it does alongside The Walking Dead or Fear The Walking Dead … or maybe that’s just the old man in me typing.
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The Walking Dead: World Beyond – Season 01 is produced by American Movies Classics (AMC).  Distribution for this release is being handled via the reliable RLJE Films.  As for the technical merits?  As is the case with the entire TWD universe, there’s a lot of money in them thar zombie hills, and the producers have spared no expense in bringing this particular iteration to life on the small screen.  (I will say that, so far, this is the least ‘technically’ impressive visit to TWD as the make-up effects have kinda/sorta grown a bit passe.  Again, not a complaint, just an honest observation.  The longer these shows go on, I suspect the harder it is to come up with something visually new and exciting.)  Lastly, if you’re interested in special features, this edition is a bit thin, offering up only some behind-the-scenes stuff that feels a bit more like self-promotion than it does the world-building shown onscreen; and I wish there were a bit more to sink my uninfected teeth into.  Again, just being honest.

(Mildly) Recommended.  As much as I enjoy a good zombie story, this one is a hard sell, largely because it just doesn’t do much different than what’s come before in The Walking Dead universe except almost exclusively focus on the young folks … and I’m not a huge fan of ‘Deaderly Hills 90210.’  The cast does okay, and the storylines are occasionally interesting, though a tad predictable.  I give kudos to the storytellers for trying to do something different in this world … I’m just not entirely certain this was the best way to go.  As can happen in limited-run series (its creators announced well in advance this was only going to run by design for two seasons), I’m unsure of what to make of where it could be heading – there are some indications, but good storytelling these days relies on unexpected twists – but dare I suggest that I wish they’d get there more quickly?  I have a gut feeling I may like where they end up as opposed to the trip getting there.

In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at RLJE Films provided me with a Blu-ray of The Walking Dead: World Beyond by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it. 

​-- EZ

In my infinite quest to continue creating new and different 'original programming' for SciFiHistory.Net, I'm keeping an eye on any opportunity to expand what data I've already collected in this space and aggregate it in new and different ways.  The most viable of these is these ongoing 'On This Day In ...' featurettes, and today we've got an incredibly buggalicious one involving the stars of the much beloved and much hated Starship Troopers!

Would you like to know more?
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You wanna serve, Citizen?  Then say hello to Jake Busey, star of the mobile infantry!  Son of Hollywood's Gary Busey, young Jake enlisted to do his part in Earth's campaign against the bugs -- on the silver screen, that is -- and he's continued to stake out territory all of his own in such genre entries as Jeremiah, The Twilight Zone, Charmed, War Of The Worlds (2005), From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Predator (2018), Stranger Things, and Swamp Thing.  That, my friends, is a resume rich in genre.

BOO-YAH, Citizen!  BOO-YAH!
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Plus, our young hero earns extra credit for receiving a 'Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series' nomination for his work in Netflix's Stranger Things from the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards.  Double BOO-YAH!
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And how cool is it to have another big star from our beloved Starship Troopers franchise also celebrating his big birthday on this day?  Star of stage, screen, and social media Neil Patrick Harris -- one time a promising young physician aboard Doogie Howser, MD -- has grown up into a phenomenon all of his own.  Genre fans might recognize his, as well, from work aboard Quantum Leap, Captain Planet And The Planeteers, The Outer Limits, Justice League, Spider-Man, and A Series Of Unfortunate Events ... but what we will always appreciate 'round these parts in the man's psychic powers put to great use in the defend of Earth against that dreaded bug menace.

All kidding aside, we may not agree with his politics, but Harris continues to delight audiences whenever he puts his craft to use; and -- to date -- he's been the recipient of five Primetime Emmy Awards.  He's no slouch when it comes to great work!

BOO-YAH, Citizen!  BOO-YAH!

​-- EZ

For what it's worth, I think that there are a certain number of actors and actresses who endear themselves to the general public not by way of their particular acting skill or prowess in assuming a specific role but rather because he or she simply come across as so damn likeable.

See, the dirty secret about the Average Joe is that we probably couldn't pick out great acting if we saw it in a police line-up.  So far as life goes, we know what we know.  Critics will waste ink and newspaper space lavishing praise on their favorite, but the end of the day all 'the rest of us' are looking for is to be convinced.  Convince us that you're suffering.  Convince us that you're in dire straits.  Or convince us that you're on top of the world.  Whatever it is that the role demands, convince us ... or we're otherwise unimpressed.

But actors and actresses are real people, too, and for a generation of viewers there remains actors who just seem like authentic people outside of the day job they're known for.  For example, Mark Hamill maintains a solid web presence with his fans, and -- outside of the work he's done up on the silver screen -- he seems like a mostly affable guy.  Occasionally, his politics get annoying (such is life), but most of the time he just comes across as this Average Joe -- he could be you or me -- who gets to play in the galaxy far, far away when called upon.

Ned Beatty was one such actor, so far as I ever saw.

His screen roles -- some of them were bigger than life, but much of what I thought to be his best work was very every day -- made a certain impression with the entertainment intelligentsia; but in interviews or in behind-the-scenes snippets he just came across so ... so ... ordinary.  I have seen and read a few bits wherein he talked politics (of a sort), but he didn't 'beat the drum' the way some of our cultural elite feel the need.  And whenever a work he did or a scene he performed courted a bit of controversy, he'd sound off on it in some way that was thoughtful -- not smartspeak or intellectual -- and I could relate to what he was saying even if I didn't agree with the core principle.

He was often cast as a supporting player; and -- in that respect -- he played characters who were less-than-the-best, perhaps even not the brightest.  But he always managed to instill these roles with a sense of humanity: they might be victims, but they retained something of themselves despite whatever they were forced to endure.  Think what you may, not every actor can accomplish what he did; and methinks his work deserves a bit of study for those serious about honing the craft.

Dare I say?  His work in the early Superman films?  Yeah, they were necessarily buffoonish.  That was, of course, the central nature of the bumbling Otis.  Still, it never descended to the level of camp in the hands of a master of his craft; and Beatty was definitely one of those.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of this very talented player.

-- EZ