After a long hiatus of interruptions, disturbances and distractions I was finally able to complete some more Chapters. Hurrah!
But enough with the excuses. There will be more Chapters coming soon, as well as something special.
So stay tuned.
I feel that I can safely say, I’m excited. More so than I have been in a long time for an upcoming new series. On April the 13th Netflix is launching a new reboot of Lost in Space. One of my very early, favourite childhood shows.
The original Lost in Space series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, ran for three seasons, from 1965 to 1968 on CBS. Season one was my favourite, starting off on a serious tone with the characters developing over time. It was also the only one filmed in black and white. But I never knew that at the time, since our TV set was black and white throughout the entire three seasons. Maybe another contributing factor as to why I prefer the first season nowadays.
In 1998 we had a film of Lost in Space released in cinemas, with a plot adapted from the 1965–1968 original series. It debuted at number one at the box office, ending Titanic‘s 15-week-long hold on the first-place position. However, critics were generally negative towards the darker tone of the film. I didn’t mind it.
With the new reboot we also get surprising new changes, one is of the robot. No longer part of the crew, the robot is an alien machine that is discovered by Will Robinson by chance on a distant planet. Gender unknown and who is playing the robot is also unknown. We’ll have to wait for the series to start before we find out. All we have for now is an amazing looking alien machine and the voice of the robot warning of an impeding threat with the original “Danger Will Robinson.”
Most of us who have seen the original series fondly remember the character of Dr. Zachary Smith (Jonathan Harris). Whom Bill Mumy, playing the role of Will Robinson, referred to him as “This man we love-to-hate, a snivelling coward who would cower behind the little boy, ‘Oh, the pain! Save me, William!'”
Well, in the reboot, the role of Dr Smith is taking on a gender switch, making Dr Smith a woman. Parker Posey spoke of her role at WonderCon. She explained:
“I love the original (series) and I certainly love the original Maureen,” Posey said (via Deadline). “But we live in a different time of gender dynamics.
“The women (on the show) could do whatever the men do – it isn’t even a question. It’s just the reality. It’s incredible to play a woman as smart as she and at the same time, has these flaws and has to connect with her kids.
“It’s 30 years into the future and we have imagined a reality we would like to see. We will hopefully be in a place where we want to be in terms of class, race and gender.”
She added: “When I heard they were going to offer me the part it was really touching for me. I loved that they made her into a woman.
“You’re going to see over 10 episodes how this new Dr Smith evolves.”
Well, I for one will be watching that development closely.
Honestly, when I first heard they were making a sequel I wasn’t thrilled, but once I learnt Denis Villeneuve was involved, I was curious to see what he would manage to produce.
Having watched his previous film, Arrival—based on the original short story, “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang—I felt he had the skill to create an outstanding adaptation. And while listening to an interview, I learnt Denis Villeneuve also happened to be a passionate fan of the original, which was a plus. Of course, I loved the original, for the obvious reasons I reiterated in the Blade Runner review I posted here in the blog. Still, I was skeptical.
I saw Blade Runner way back in the 80s. It was a time when a lot of us were scared and excited about the future. But that was then, and today that future seems partially here. So, while watching 2049 I didn’t share the same emotions I had back then. The foreboding of what was to come, had been replaced with, it’s here, now. Well, somewhat.
Fortunately, after viewing Blade Runner 2049, it turned out to be a splendid sequel, leaving me pleasantly surprised. Denis Villeneuve pays homage to the original, and does so admirably. I can’t wait to see what he does with Dune.
However, some found it to be a long film. And to be truthful, it’s much longer than the original. Two hours and forty-three minutes long to be exact. The original had a running time of under two hours. I didn’t mind the length. It actually gave me ample time to relish in the spectacle, the soundscape and the visually stunning sights, which were staggering. But the film’s length might have accounted for the less than stellar box office performance, possibly hampering a further sequel.
Set 30 years after the original Blade Runner, the earth has waned into a dystopian quagmire. With technology no longer the answer to all our prayers, nor humanities savior from ourselves; but a cold, clinical enslaver.
Due to persistent poverty, only the few—I suppose the rich and powerful—have access to more advanced devices and luxury, and even they seem misplaced from their empathy on a world plagued with mass extinction. Where the distinction between humans and replicants is blurred by a shared ‘quasi-alive’ subsistence. So, in retrospect both films share the same gloomy outlook Philip Dick had for humanity, when he wrote Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep. Exploring what it means to be human and the moral distinctions made between life and simulated-life.
Looking out from ‘K’ Ryan Gosling’s shabby apartment, all one sees is an endless night awash in constant rain against a backdrop of lost hopes. Those hopes play like mirrors in the form of corporation logos and giant holographic images, which tease and tempt at what’s left of our addiction to consumerism.
The film’s soundtrack fails to reach the original’s greatness, one that is often described as mythical, evocative and pristine. But it has its moments of brooding beauty and seismic immersion, and manages moments of subtle ambience. Finally, towards the end, it pays homage to Vangelis’s “Tears in the Rain” with an emotive redux.
As a soundtrack, it’s full of echoes and haunting as hell. Zimmer and Wallfisch did a commendable job, and they were well aware of the fact that it would never match Vangelis’s magnum opus, so they decided not to even try. Though listening to the sweeping suites of “Sea Walls” and “Blade Runner”, one feels they captured ambient elements of the original. And that’s an opinion coming from an amateur soundtrack buff like myself, who also is a huge fan of Vangelis’s work.
The critical response was positive, general consensus calling it an instant classic. Quite an interesting difference in retrospect, if one compares the change of attitudes over the years in relation to the originals initial mixed reactions from film critics of the 80’s.
As a sequel, I would highly recommend it. As does a rewatch, which I intend to do in the not too distant future.
Life Luminescent is a short story, originally an entry submission to the XPRIZE competition, exploring a unique vision of the not too distant future.
While en route from Tokyo to San Francisco on board ANA Flight 008, Kaira Winters is woken by a strange sensation. From her window she catches a glimpse of a shadow veiling the stars. Unaware that anything has changed, she will soon discover her world is no longer the same.
You can read the story here: Life Luminescent
Utopian Tide is a little poem I wrote a long time ago when I was younger, and felt that this world was a forbidding place with little empathy. Well not much has changed, but for the fact the world is how you perceive it and what you do with your life.
So, even though the poem was about escaping to find Utopia in some other life, I prefer to see it now as a metaphor to finding truth and strength in your mind. You are your world, and the world is what you make of it. You can read it by clicking here.
A Seasonal Endeavor is a fictional account concerning the unknown author of the mysterious Voynich manuscript.
The story takes place in the rural countryside of 15th Century Northern Italy, during the Italian Renaissance. The tale begins when a stranger arrives, out of the blue, at an isolated farmstead to offer his services to the poor owner and his family. During his sojourn, he continuous to work on his manuscript, unaware of the fate it will play on all of them.
You can read the story here: A Seasonal Endeavor
Ode to a Lost Explorer will be a free novel created in the science fiction universe of No Man’s Sky. The story will be suitable for fans and non-fans alike.
I’ll be updating here to let you know when the ebook will be posted. Stay tuned!
Come join the adventure!
In Alien: Prometheus we have one human character still alive, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), whose uncertain fate rests with the next film—or so we thought.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
In Covenant, her role inconsequentially vanishes in a dialogue towards the end, which left me irritated with the protagonist’s character as unfulfilled… ‘What! That’s it? She’s dead!?’ Alas, it would seem humans are destined to be pawns on the celestial stage. But if that’s the case, who then is the true protagonist?
The first thing Covenant hints at is that people are no longer the core of this story, being merely inefficient and good at making poor decisions, with resulting deadly consequences. Take for example the way the crew blundered about on the Engineer’s planet, like irresponsible children, sniffing this, touching that, without any concern for their actions… who was leading them? Even that seemed uncertain.
This is an issue that might trouble the audience, which needs to relate to a hero of sorts. We are apparently offered one in the form of Daniels (Katherine Waterston), but she is not the protagonist, nor was Elizabeth Shaw for that matter; that title I feel goes to David, who has become more than human, created by the humans, who in turn were created by the Engineers—he serves to outdo them all. In Covenant, it comes full circle and is revealed in the prologue as David arrives on the Engineers’ planet. We see him standing perched from the alien ship looking down at the Engineers, who have amassed in an immense square in the heart of their city, rejoicing the return of their ship, and blissfully unaware of the doom about to befall them. David triumphantly quotes Shelly’s sonnet “Ozymandias”: “Look on my works ye mighty and despair.” And then proceeds to release pods of black goo on them, (which he most likely has been studying & tampering with, while on the way to their planet), wiping them out and giving rise to the xenomorphs.
We see this event before we even see the film, in the Alien: Covenant Prologue: The Crossing. With more cultural references when we finally do get to see the movie.
I’ve noted the more prominent ones below:
All these cultural fragments help to wedge some mythological personality into Scott’s Alien horror saga, which no doubt is substantial. Unfortunately, it can feel muddled and unclear, an obvious issue when you are constrained to formulate such complex themes into a story inside two hours, while trying to accommodate a heritage of horror.
Eventually, we are led to the finale of Alien: Covenant, in a showdown between the Alien and Daniels, but instead of originality, Scott retreads familiar territory reminiscent of Aliens finale with Ripley, with Daniels facing the alien’s jaws, (maybe a gesture to his Alien horror fans). With a final twist, which unfortunately proved all too predictable.
Ending, we are left with David again, who has a mission, what that mission is will be revealed in the sequels Scott is preparing. For now, however, we are once more left without answers to a lot of questions, and a mystery that spans our own history as a species and that of our creators.