Movies: The 2025 Golden Raspberry Awards

Posted on by onespaceman2000

It is that time of year to look back at the science fiction movies of 2025 and determine which ones were really bad. We might as well go through this process because I cannot remember any that were really good, particularly in the area of space adventures.

The 46th Golden Raspberry Award nominees for Worst Picture in 2025 are:

  • The Electric State
  • Hurry Up Tomorrow
  • Disney’s Snow White (2025)
  • Star Trek: Section 31
  • War of The Worlds (2025)

You may be surprised to see a Star Trek film among the contenders, but you would not be if you actually watched it. It was an embarrassment for the franchise to show something like this. The story line made no sense, the acting was horrendous, the special effects and music were subpar, and the only words that came to mind were “Section 8,” that retired military term for those diagnosed with a psychiatric condition.

Section 31 was originally planned as a spin-off television series from Star Trek: Discovery, but instead it was released as a film. I cannot image any of this as a series. At least with a movie it is once and gone, rather than a continuing open wound.

I am just happy that the Star Trek creative team spent its time and money on the new series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. While the new series is not perfect, it has heart and closely follows the expected story line. In the case of Section 31, I cannot remember anything that tied it to the larger Star Trek story line other than one Starfleet character who was not really much of a character at all.

Of course, one could argue that the Federation entity Section 31 was all you needed as a tie-in, but the role of this group was never properly explained within the overall Star Trek universe. Anyone wandering into this film would not understand the basics and hopefully left the room before experiencing any real brain rot.

But wait, there’s more. If you thought that actress Michelle Yeoh would save the movie, you can forget that idea. In fact, she was nominated for Worst Actress. Section 31 was also nominated for Worst Supporting Actress, Director and Screenplay.

I think it would be best if we all pretend the movie never existed and get on with our lives. Looking back is just too painful.

Image (Credit): Some of the characters from Star Trek: Section 31. (Paramount+)

Sci-Fi Quote: Expect Some Fun with Starfleet Academy

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Image (Credit): Paul Giamatti and Holly Hunter in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy. (Paramount+)

“I was immediately enthralled with reading it. I wanted to see what Paul was going to do next and could I do it with him? That was an unusual opportunity that was presented.”

–Statement by actress Holly Hunter (playing the part of Starfleet Academy’s chancellor) regarding actor Paul Giamatti (playing the part of Klingon and Tellarite villain Nus Braka) in the new Star Trek: Starfleet Academy television series premiering on January 15th.

Regarding the involvement of Hunter in the series, Giamatti stated to his co-star:

I had heard that you were considering the part and that was very exciting to me because I thought it was a brilliant choice…I thought this makes a lot of sense. It’s going to fit right, but it’s going to be different. And I don’t know what she’s going to do with it, but it’s going to be something great. So it was a big selling point for me.

We can only hope that the rest of us have as much fun watching the series as they did making it. The filming of season two of this new series is almost complete as well. Hopefully, the jump to a second season is not presumptuous.

Television: Pluribus and Kepler-22 b

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA provide of Kepler-22 b. (NASA)

We will have to wait for season two of Apple TV’s Pluribus series before learning more about the inhabitants of the fictional Kepler-22 b, which is the source of the “virus” that turned humans in to docile livestock. In the meantime, we can look into facts about the actual exoplanet.

According to NASA, we know that Kepler-22 b is:

  • potentially a rocky world, that is larger than Earth,
  • orbits within the habitable zone of a G-type host star (similar to our sun),
  • the only exoplanet discovered around this host star to date, and
  • about 635 light-years away.

You might also remember this exoplanet from HBO Max’s series Raised by Wolves. It is the exoplanet that the main characters escape to after a brutal war on Earth. Kepler-22 b is a strange world in the series, contained odd vegetation, bottomless pits, and an acidic sea. It is not what space dreams are made of, but at least it is not sending out signals to destroy other exoplanets hundreds of light-years away.

While we may not learn anything more about Kepler-22 b from Pluribus, I suppose it may encourage a few individuals to seek out information on the Kepler mission. Who knows, it may even stimulate more interest in our SETI efforts. Then again, if this is the future of space communications, we may want to reconsider the whole enterprise.

Credit: NASA/Ames/JPL-Caltech 

Note: Under the Kepler numbering scheme, the “22” in Kepler-22 b means that it was the 22nd host star discovered, while the “b” indicates it was the first exoplanet found orbitting that host star.

Television: 2025 Was a Good Year for Sci-fi Space Shows

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Some of the characters from Alien: Earth. (FXNetworks)

Before the year is over, I want to highlight five sci-fi space television series that kept me entertained. I cannot do the same with sci-fi space movies because 2025 lacked exciting, well-made films.

Here are my top five sci-fi space television shows in order of preference.

  1. Andor on Disney+
  2. Alien: Earth on FX/HULU
  3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+
  4. Foundation on Apple TV
  5. Murderbot on Apple TV

While Andor saw its second and last season this year, the remaining four will be returning for another season. When combined with the other new shows to premiere in 2026, such as Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, then we are looking at another good year for sci-fi space television series (assuming we do not need to wait years for the returning seasons).

I wanted to rank Murderbot a little higher, but it still lacks the energy of the books and each episode is too short to leave you satisfied. That said, it has a lot of potential and it is still a solid series.

Overall, great television made up for so-so movies in 2025.

Let’s hope some great sci-fi space movies in 2026.

Happy New Year!

Note: Apple TV’s Pluribus was not considered for this list. While it involves a “virus” from a distant exoplanet, we never learn anything about the distant civilization. Moreover, it is basically an Earth-based drama not involving any travel away from our planet.

Podcast: A Discussion with the Creator of Andor

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You are in for a treat if you are interested in a deeper dive into the world of Andor. Reason magazine’s podcast The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie has a eye-opening interview with Tony Gilroy, the creator, writer, and director of Andor. The series is without doubt the best of the Star Wars television series. The podcast discussion covers bureaucracy and the surveillance state as portrayed throughout the Andor series.

One of the questions discussed the lack of light sabers and the Force in the series, to which Mr. Gilroy noted:

One of my original questions to them, to the experts there, was, “In the galaxy—in this huge galaxy—how many people would have ever encountered a Jedi? How many people would ever know about the Force? How many people know about this family you keep rotating these movies on?” And the answer is: nobody, or almost nobody. If you’re living in the galaxy, if you’re a being in the galaxy, you’ve probably never had any encounter ever with Jedi or even know what it is, or the Force.

This type of thinking was made the series worth watching. The series did not need to be saved by Darth Vader or a Yoda plush toy anymore than a good Star Trek series should need to be saved by the Borg.

Andor also touches on something real happening just outside our windows rather than a galaxy far, far away. Mr. Gilroy notes it in this way:

The parallels to what’s happening in our world right now are even beyond moralistic…There is a giddy rush—you’ll see people cravenly move toward power because it’s gonna benefit them, or it’s warmer there, or they have no spine or moral commitment to really back up…People getting on board something—getting on board a train that’s on fire that they know is heading toward a cliff. It’s just amazing to watch the sort of giddy rush of people stripping off their clothes and jumping onto the fire here. It’s quite amazing.

Andor is the antithesis of getting along. It is about pushing back at the cost of everything so that others may someday have something worth holding. It is something we seem to have forgotten in our current situation even though we know the broken norms will not somehow reassert themselves via some outside Force. If we cannot see that we are the Force, then we are all truly lost.

Andor is possibly the one series that makes Star Wars relevant to a new generation. Gen Z does not need Jawas and Ewoks. It needs a new hope.

Mr. Gilroy understands this and shares all of his insights via the podcast. You will not be disappointed.