This is one of those promotional interviews that I'd strongly caution all serious Star Trek enthusiasts to take with a few grains of salt, but -- according to the piece on ScienceFiction.Com -- Star Trek: Discovery producer Alex Kurtzman alleges that his show will respect canon.  (For those unaware, 'canon' refers to the already previously established history and/or fictional mythology surrounding a universe's characters, places, and events.)

​One of the strongest criticisms of Paramount Pictures' big budget Star Trek reboot masterminded by JJ Abrams has been that Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek Beyond (2016) have played fast and loose with the established facts of the Gene Roddenberry franchise.  In fact, I think it was JJ Abrams who has publicly admitted that he was never a fan of the space saga set in the twenty-third century, and it was his intention to "boldly go" wherever he wanted to go with these characters.  I do know that both Kurtzman and screenwriter Roberto Orci have gone on record with their open disdain for Star Trek's most loyal fans, essentially thumbing their nose at the very people who helped make the starship Enterprise the institution it once was and remains today.

​In any event, Kurtzman was one of the creative crew who long insisted that popular British actor Benedict Cumberbatch would not be appearing as 'Khan' in Star Trek Into Darkness -- a bold-faced lie if there ever were one -- so I'm not encouraging anyone to take the producer at his word.  My suspicion here is that Discovery possibly isn't polling well online or some such phenomenon -- loyalists are upset at having to subscribe to CBS All Access in order to experience this next incarnation of their franchise (as well they should be) -- so studio suits are trying to create a buzz the only way they know how: telling half-truths to dupe fans they've already dismissed a 'rubes.'

​If that sounds a bit cynical on my part, then so be it.  I've already said that because of CBS's insistence on taking Star Trek only into the realm of streaming and for-pay viewing that this is probably the only series in Trek's pantheon I won't be watching as it unfolds: once it releases on home video or the like I'll check it out for posterity's sake.  Still, I'm finding it hard to get excited about it as it all looks like so much more of the same ... despite Kurtzman's insistence that it isn't.

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

I have a vague recollection of seeing a video recently wherein long-time Star Wars collector and fandom expert Steve Sansweet had discussed the theft of some highly-sought-after collectibles from the Rancho Obi-Wan Museum, and this article reports that the suspected guilty culprit indeed turned out to be not-to-innocent after all.  The man pled guilty to having absconded with over $100,000 worth of items.  Who would've guessed that trying to sell something so inconceivably rare that there might only be two or three of them in mint condition could've led to so relatively easy a discovery?  Perhaps this is a case of the mastermind not being so smart after all ...

​Let this be a lesson to you, peeps: the weed of crime bears bitter fruit.

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

I've never been one to make too much of legal allegations in the press.  This isn't to say that they're unimportant: rather, I do believe that intellectual property issues need to be respected.  It's just that I've lived long enough to know that most of these "issues" end up getting settled behind-the-scenes with the exchange of money, meaning there's just not much to be made of it creatively in the press.

​In any event, I saw this article the other day regarding Jared Leto being sued by Penthouse Magazine (yes, THAT Penthouse Magazine) over the possible theft of materials belonging to Omni Science Fiction Magazine, a publication sadly lost to the ages and not a part of any SciFi enthusiast's monthly reading diet.  As always, take it with a grain of salt, but I (for one) would love to see more anthologies on television (be they regular cable or pay), and I applaud anyone resolving this snafu so that we can get more scifi instead of less.

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

I don't know if it's safe to say that "we've all been there" because I know that even I -- with my strong opinions regarding various SciFi properties -- have never served a night in jail over claiming A was better than B; but I guess it is safe to say that it happens.

​In any event, I thought this 'Fandom Fail' was worth sharing if for no other purpose than to remind fellow geeks, nerds, and enthusiasts that it IS just a movie, after all.  Yes, if pushed to the limit then I'd probably admit I've enjoyed more Star Trek than Star Wars; still I'm not going to jail over it.  Check out the kinda/sorta humorous story right here.

​As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper so long as the Force is with us all!

Recently, I figured out a way to sign up and receive some various News Alerts relating to the general world of Science Fiction, and one of the very first blurbs received was this interested story I thought worth sharing here on SciFiHistory.Net's MainPage: it would seem that the SciFi genre of Steampunk might very well owe a nod to a relatively curious development relating to the city of Newark, New Jersey.  If you're so inclined, then follow the link right here and check out the particulars.

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

Happy Monday, peeps!

​I saw this article last week on Deadline.com (link), and I thought it worth a mention on SciFiHistory.Net's Mainpage.  Certainly, it's always an interesting development when folks from one incarnation of a superhero program jump aboard another one: the always lovely Erica Durance -- formerly known as Lois Lane aboard Smallville -- is taking over the role of Alura (aka Supergirl's Kryptonian mother) for the show.  As it would appear, the lovely Laura Benanti has had to bow out due to commitments back in the States (for those unaware, production on The CW program shifted from the U.S. to Canada when the actioner switched from CBS).

​It's hard to tell what developments this may mean for Supergirl's ongoing storylines, but let's hope it's all positive.  While I wasn't thrilled with Season 2 in all respects, it's hard to argue that the showrunners didn't deliver a measure of excitement before all was said and done.

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

Still want to know more?  Then feel free to check out SciFiHistory.Net's small collection of screencaps from Star Slammer right here.

​The central problem with reviewing features with ‘twist endings’ is that it’s damn near impossible to discuss it without spoiling something along the way.

Think of trying to tell someone the plot behind 80 percent of The Twilight Zone’s best episodes without mentioning any element of the climax whatsoever, and you get what I mean: you end up letting something slip that ruins the surprise should he try to go and check it out on his own.  This isn’t to say a critic can’t wax on about how good a script is or how great a performance might be; it’s only to underscore that concealing what’s beneath gets harder and harder the more one says.

And – rest assured – Scott Free Productions’ Morgan does have a ‘twist ending.’  It may not be all that original, and it may not be all that well veiled; but it still presents the challenge of what to do once you know where it’s all headed … which just might be the film’s biggest problem.

(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 minor hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
​

​From the film’s IMDB.com profile:
“A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.”

Mark my words: that clever li’l synopsis is probably all one can truthfully divulge about Morgan’s one-note plot without fully revealing what screenwriter Seth Owen and director Luke Scott tried to hide until the last reel, but even film aficionados might see right through that wrapper on second blush.  Without mentioning it myself, I will say that (yes) it was pretty clear to me early on that the sign posts shouting “watch over here and not over there” weren’t secreted away well enough to make the film work on all levels.  Still, what ended up being mostly predictable was thankfully watchable thanks largely to the strength of its players.

The always reliable Kate Mara ably carries the weight of the film on her shoulders: her Lee Weathers obsesses over the kind of crispness long assigned to corporate bean counters right down to the stiffly pressed shirts, emotionless attachments, and black-and-white ensembles.  She’s sent in to do a job, and she’ll let absolutely nothing stand in her way of achieving the results desired of her superiors, even if it means ruffling every feather along the way.  Mara’s Weathers only hints at a potential humanity buried far beneath, and she brushes off any hints of sentimentality with the ease of a corporate villainess.

Joining Mara in this cautionary SciFi film, relative newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy carries almost equal weight as Morgan, the genetic hybrid who’s not quite Pinocchio much less a little boy.  (FYI: she’s a girl, but I couldn’t resist the play on words.)  Morgan’s problem is that she’s ‘evolved’ beyond the scope of her inbred emotions allow, and let’s just say the young experiment has some serious anger issues.  Taylor-Joy handles the spectrum here quite well – while spending large chunks of the film appearing sedate, her explosive fits of rage are delivered with equal thematic intensity.

​That said, Morgan does share a lot of ideas in common with 2014’s Ex Machina, an effort arguably vastly superior for many reasons.  Both motion pictures center in on not only how a living Artificial Intelligence might evolve but also how we (as humans) might respond and adapt to such evolution.  Whereas Ex Machina’s approach centered more on an intimate exploration (one-on-one), Morgan takes a team approach, giving its humanoid an extended family and (thus) potentially more complicated relationships to resolve.  Therein, however, lies one serious drawback: audiences eventually discover that the young mind’s attachments were never all that complex to begin with.

It's at this point that Owens’ script takes the somewhat easy way out, diverting an otherwise clever film into a relatively traditional (and bloody) thriller, giving Morgan basically a chance to kill each of her successive victims a bit more creatively than the last.  Unfortunately, such a turn compressed into what was largely a one location shoot also opened the door to previously intelligent characters doing downright stupid things only so that they each could end up yet one more victim of technology gone wrong.  You’d think by now such brainiacs would think twice about messing with Mother Nature, but it just wasn’t in the science.

By that last reveal (and, trust me: most of you will see it coming), I’m not sure whether or not I’m supposed to care about these characters or merely loathe their cookie-cutter circumstances … but I do know that it was well enough put together that I didn’t mind it.

(MODESTLY) RECOMMENDED.

​The downside to Morgan is that there’s far too much weight invested in its seemingly dramatic twist ending, one that I suspect most folks will see coming a mile away.  That said, it does what it does fairly efficiently, and – while there’s always something to be said for that – all involved still deliver a story which feels far too much like we’ve been here before.