Television: PBS Documentary on Space Travel

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Greenwich Entertainment)

If you are looking for a television show on the hazards of space travel, PBS has created a worthwhile documentary titled Space: The Longest Goodbye. It is playing on your local PBS station as well as online.

Here is a little more about the series:

NASA’s goal to send astronauts to Mars would require a three-year absence from Earth, during which communication in real time would be impossible due to the immense distance. Meet the psychologists whose job is to keep astronauts mentally stable in outer space, as they are caught between their dream of reaching new frontiers and the basic human need to stay connected to home.

The series covers various attempts to understand the human mind when constrained to a small place, be it a rocket, a space station, or a planetary/moon base.

The PBS website also has more information on the series as well as comments from the participants. For example, the story “How Science Fiction Confronts the Real Isolation of Space” touches on our favorite movies and television shows to see what they say on the issue, from Black Mirror and For All Mankind to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien.

We still have a lot to learn about the human mind before we go any real distance into space or simply sit in place on the Moon or Mars. We may find that equipment challenges are the easiest challenges to resolve in future Artemis missions.

Movie: Alien: Romulus Colonizes Our Summer

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: 20th Century Studios

So far it has been a pretty boring summer in terms of space-related movies, but that will change in August with the release of next Alien film. That’s right, the Alien franchise is still alive and kicking.

Alien: Romulus will be released on August 16th. It will be the seventh film in this series, and set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). Yes, more backstory, but we know what to expect going forwards or backwards with this series. Plenty of stomach-popping surprises for all.

20th Century Studios provides this storyline:

The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

Check out the trailer, which hits on all the fun bits we expect with any Alien movie.

While we are now 45 years into this series, it is still nice to have something interesting playing this summer. It is always a spectacular view of space travel until everything goes to hell.

TV: “Dune: Prophecy”

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Max

You knew it was coming, just as you knew Game of Thrones would be more than a single series.

That’s right, the Dune movies will have a new spin-off on Max (formerly HBO Max). It is called Dune Prophecy, and it starts long before the time period of the movies. About 10,000 years earlier when two sisters start the Bene Gesserit.

It is inspired by the book Sisterhood of Dune, written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The trailer tells you what you need to know, yet here is a little bit from the book if you want to dig a little deeper:

It is 83 years after the last thinking machines were destroyed in the Battle of Corrin, after Faykan Butler took the name of Corrino and established himself as the first Emperor of a new Imperium.

The war hero Vorian Atreides has turned his back on politics and Salusa Secundus. The descendants of the disgraced Abulurd Harkonnen have sworn vengeance against Vor, blaming him for the downfall of their noble family.

Raquella Berto-Anirul has formed the Bene Gesserit School and, through a terrible ordeal, has become the first Reverend Mother.

The descendants of Aurelius Venport and Norma Cenva use mutated, spice-saturated Navigators who fly precursors of Heighliners.

And Gilbertus Albans, ward of the hated thinking machine Erasmus, is teaching humans to become Mentats…while hiding an unbelievable secret.

Led by the fanatic Manford Torondo, the Butlerian movement, fiercely opposed to all forms of “dangerous technology,” sweeps across the known universe in mobs, millions strong, destroying everything in its path.

The 6-episode series will premiere this fall.

Original U.S.S. Enterprise Reappears

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The original Enterprise model, which is made from solid wood. (Heritage Auctions)

You may have thought the original USS Enterprise from the Star Trek series was at the Smithsonian Museum, and you are right. Mostly.

In 1974, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum became the proud owner of the 11-foot long USS Enterprise model used in the television series. However, there was another model that was used in the opening credits. This other model was only three feet long and made of wood. And, most importantly, it disappeared year’s ago when it was loaned to the studio making the first Star Trek movie (see letter below).

The smaller model then reappeared recently, but this time priced at $1,000 on eBay. After a lot of questions (the model was said to have been in a storage unit that was auctioned off) , it was eventually returned to Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry Jr., the son of the creator of Star Trek.

All is well that ends well. The USS Enterprise model is back with the Roddenberry family and a piece of science fiction history can be shared with public. Mr. Roddenberry said he plans to display this smaller model at the Smithsonian as well:

…I firmly believe that a piece of such importance should not be confined to any private collection. This iconic artifact should be enshrined along side the 12-foot shooting model at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, where it can serve to help tell the story of television history, the history of space exploration and ultimately, a beacon of hope for the future.

Image (Credit): Letter from Gene Roddenberry to Paramount Studios regarding his lost USS Enterprise model (therpf.com)

Movie: Rebel Moon, Part Two: The Scargiver

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Poster for Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. (Netflix)

If you enjoyed part one of Netflix’s Rebel Moon, then you will be happy to hear that part two will premiere this Friday (April 19). If you are not a fan, then you can simply ignore this announcement.

The full name, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, follows last year’s Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, which I previously noted was not completely terrible. From the trailers, it appears to be about as crazy and violent as the first one, but this time with light sabers, of course.

Given that Part One scored only 21 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the second film has a lot of room to improve, as noted in the comments below:

—While watching this first Rebel Moon, you can’t help but wonder if Snyder’s specific idea was to do “Star Wars” but without any of the fun. – Mark Meszoros, The News-Herald (Willoughby, OH)

—With enormous scope to innovate, Snyder has instead gathered together a painfully obvious collection of- I hesitate to write ‘influences’, as that seems to give Snyder too much credit. ‘Things to photocopy and then mash together’ feels more appropriate. – Grant Watson, Fiction Machine

—Rebel Moon is an entertaining but flawed space opera with some great action and cinematography that would have been better as the first part of an R-rated trilogy. Hopefully Part 2 builds on the opening film’s strengths. – Erik Kain, Forbes

If you have a free night this weekend, you might want to take a look. And don’t worry, if you still don’t care for this one, there may be a part three coming soon (even though that was not the original plan).