While Star Trek is generally a better fit for an astronomy site, I did not want to ignore the release this week of Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. As with the other similar releases in the last few years, including The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, Disney is mining the Star Wars stories for new angles. Of course, Paramount has also been doing the same with Star Trek.
Disney has been spending quite a bit of time on the planet of Tatooine in all three new series, be it bounty hunting in The Mandalorian, taking over Jabba the Hutt’s old business in The Book of Boba Fett, and now Obi-Wan watching over young Luke Skywalker’s formative years in Obi-Wan Kenobi. I hope you don’t mind sand. Here is a preview of what you can expect with this latest series.
So far I have enjoyed The Mandalorian and suffered through The Book of Boba Fett. Too often Star Wars seems to be mostly a vehicle to sell toys (think of Baby Yoda), and yet the creators kept it fun in The Mandalorian. Adding Amy Sedaris to the mix of characters was brilliant.
Maybe The Mandalorian worked because the main character said so little and Baby Yoda said basically nothing. I know Mr. Lucas is gone, but dialogue has not been the strongest part of the Star Wars universe. We can only hope the creators have finally learned how to use the talents of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen in the latest series.
And yes, there’s more. Stay tuned for the next Star Wars series, Andor, coming out on August 31st. Season two of this new series is already in the works. It takes place 28 years after the film Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and five years before the events of the film Rogue One. I think this one will stay away from Tatooine, thankfully. Diego Luna will be playing the role of Cassian Andor. Here is a teaser for Andor.
Tonight is the premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. If you are a Trekkie, then there is nothing strange about Captain Pike and the earlier adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise. We have been waiting for the rest of the story since Star Trek appears in 1966.
You probably already saw Captain Pike in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery, but now it will be all Pike all the time. The most recent trailer is proof that you an expect a return to the fun early days was more like James Bond than the more serious captains that came later. The actors engaged with this series are top notch: Anson Mount as Captain Christopher Pike, Rebecca Romijn as Number One, and Ethan Peck as Science Officer Spock.
Yes, there are multiple Star Trek series now playing on Paramount, as one could also say about the Star Wars series on Disney+. And yet, with Star Trek each one has its place and time that makes plenty of sense without any overlapping confusion. I am not sure whether we really needed a movie on the origins of Han Solo, but the original adventures of Captain Pike seems like a void that needed to be filled.
I would even forgo more Star Trek movies as long as we can have quality television series. Beside, the movies blew apart the time line (creating the Kelvin Timeline), so I have less interest in what they have to say these days even though that bastardized timeline has infected the timeline in Star Trek: Discovery. Don’t get me started.
Image (Credit): The pre-Kirk crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. (Paramount)
Image (Credit): William Shatner on the stage a few years ago. (Newsweek)
Time for a little more about our friend William Shatner. You may be aware of his various recordings over the decades where he speaks rather than sings the lyrics of the songs. Some of his albums include The Transformed Man and Has Been. One noteworthy song is his version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” from his album Seeking Major Tom. It’s all a lot of fun.
It gets even better with last night’s show in Washington, DC at the Kennedy. He joined singer Ben Folds, his friend and the organizer of the evening, and the National Symphony Orchestra to sing some of his new songs, including one for Earth Day and another about his adventures into space last year aboard a Blue Origin rocket.
In this premiere show, Mr. Shatner was relaxed and playful throughout the performance, which was impressive for this 91-year-old man who never seems to run out of energy or have enough projects. He came back for multiple standing ovations.
Even with all of the fun, he had a serious message about the need to protect this Earth of ours. He pointed out that sometimes you need to see its fragility from space to understand what is at stake.
One last note. Check out Mr. Shatner’s 1978 version of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” He has been at this for quite some time, and I hope we can see much more of him in the years to come.
Image (Credit): Pete Davidson in a Saturday Night Live skit. (NBC)
Okay, I can understand shooting actor William Shatner into space on a Blue Origin rocket given his work with Star Trek and his interest in space itself, but Pete Davidson from SNL fame? Really? Luckily, his part in the mission was scrubbed.
So who will go up into space tomorrow on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket? You may even ask if there will be a launch given the lack of media interest. And now we know why actors are key to the success of these private rocket missions unless they are doing something useful, like testing new scientific ideas or pushing to boundaries of space. Anything else is like listing the names of people flying to China on Delta Airlines.
I do not really care about celebrities in space (unless we leave them there), so I will provide the upcoming launches full crew manifest (in alphabetical order) without such hype:
Marty Allen
Marty Allen is a turnaround CEO and angel investor. During his tenure as CEO of Party America, he transformed the company from a broken California retail chain into a large nationwide retailer, leading the company through a bankruptcy restructuring and the acquisition of several competitors. He is also the former CEO of California Closet Company, leading the company to record sales and profitability. Marty also mentors CEOs through his board activities.
Sharon Hagle
Sharon Hagle founded SpaceKids Global in 2015, a nonprofit whose mission is to inspire students to excel in STEAM+ education with a focus on empowering young girls. SpaceKids hosts several annual challenges designed to inspire kids to pursue careers in the space industry, including national essay competitions and a partnership with the Girl Scouts of Citrus County. SpaceKids also participates in Club for the Future’s Postcards to Space program. To date, Sharon has reached nearly 100,000 students globally.
Marc Hagle
Marc Hagle is president and CEO of Tricor International, a residential and commercial property development corporation. Under his direction, the company has developed and owned more than 17.4 million square feet of properties across the United States, including shopping centers, warehouses, medical facilities, recreational facilities, drug stores, and office projects. Marc and his wife, Sharon, are avid philanthropists for numerous arts, sciences, health, and education-related charities.
Jim Kitchen
Jim Kitchen is a teacher, entrepreneur, and world explorer who has visited all 193 U.N.-recognized countries. He’s been a space dreamer since watching NASA’s Apollo rocket launches in Florida as a child. As a college student in the 1980s, he promoted low Earth orbit space trips for a startup. Since 2010, Jim has served on the faculty of University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, teaching students to create world-changing for-profit and nonprofit ventures.
Gary Lai
Gary joined Blue Origin in 2004 and was among the first 20 employees. He is currently Senior Director and Chief Architect of New Shepard, responsible for all next generation designs, upgrades, and new product development for the New Shepard business. His prior positions include Senior Director of Design Engineering, System Architect, Crew Capsule Element Lead, NASA Commercial Crew Development Program Manager, Lead Systems Engineer, and Pathfinding Lead with responsibility for advanced research and development. Gary has been involved in product development, strategic planning, and business development for all Blue Origin product lines, including the New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, rocket engine programs, and Blue Moon.
Dr. George Nield
Dr. George Nield is the president of Commercial Space Technologies, LLC, which he founded to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space activities. He previously served as associate administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation and was responsible for licensing and regulating all commercial launch activities. Earlier in his career, he held engineering roles at the Air Force Flight Test Center and the Orbital Sciences Corporation, and he was an assistant professor and research director at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Dr. Nield also served as the manager of the Flight Integration Office for NASA’s Space Shuttle Program.
Of course, I am not so interested in space tourism either, but I listed these names for fun this one time. If these flights lead to greater confidence at Blue Origin and something new that advances space travel or science, then I am fine. If these are just grandiose trips to the stars, then I am not so impressed.
Source/Credit: The crew of the USS Orville from 20th Television.
Season three of The Orville was supposed to return this week, but is has been pushed off until June 2nd. Hence, it will have been more than three years since the last episode on April 25, 2019.
Seth McFarlane, also known as Captain Ed Mercer, tweeted that the delay relates to COVID, indicating that the long tentacles of COVID reach many years into the future as well.
I am not sure why it needs to be re-branded The Orville: New Horizons, except that it is now part of Hulu rather than Fox. Regardless of the name, this parody of Star Trek took some time to grow on me (not until season two, in fact), but I now look forward to this new season. Where else can you see the words of Dolly Parton being used to inspire a new society on a distant planet?
As Star Trek gets darker, this warped version (not pun intended) remains lighter, though this sneak peak of season three may seem to say otherwise. Maybe The Orville will be somewhat darker going forward.
If you need your space fix now, check out the second season of Star Trek: Picard. It premiered just last week.
Our Awesome Universe 