Television: Space Shuttle Columbia Special on CNN

Posted on by onespaceman2000

NASA’s Space Shuttle Columbia had its maiden flight on April 12, 1981 and continued to fly for another 22 years until its final disastrous flight in February 2003.

More than 20 years after this tragedy, CNN is retelling the story in a special four-episode program titled Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight that premieres on April 7th and ends on April 14th.

In its publicity for the series, CNN states:

Across four episodes, the story of the ticking-clock of Columbia’s final mission is told in dramatic detail, beginning months before the troubled launch, unfolding across the sixteen days in orbit, and concluding with the investigation into the tragic loss of the seven astronauts’ lives. Weaving together intimate footage shot by the astronauts themselves inside the orbiter, exclusive first-hand testimony from family members of the Shuttle’s crew, key players at NASA – some of whom have never spoken before – and journalists who covered the story on the ground, the series paints an intimate portrait of the women and men onboard and uncovers in forensic detail the trail of events and missed opportunities that ultimately led to disaster.

We are certainly in another place as a nation these days, but the end of the shuttle program crippled our human spacefaring capabilities for years until SpaceX came along. We are back to reusable spacecraft again, but in a whole new format – less spaceplane and more Apollo capsule.

I look forward to the look back. I just hope we are done with “missed opportunities” and have a new mindset as we head back to the Moon.

Television: 3 Body Problem Premiering on Netflix

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Credit: Netflix

We live in a time where we have plenty of science fiction options on television and at the theaters. Be it the Apple TV+ remake of Issac Asimov’s Foundation, the current showing of Frank Herbert’s Dune: Part Two at theaters, or the ongoing television series spinning more Star Wars and Star Trek tales.

And now, starting tomorrow, we will be treated to a Netflix series on the 3 Body Problem, one of the more recent science fiction series from the mind of Chinese writer Liu Cixin. The new series based on the Hugo-awarding winning book was created by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss, as well as Alexander Woo from HBO drama series True Blood.

So what is it about? Netflix has a paltry summary, so let’s go to the book summary itself (and the trailer):

Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

The reviews are mixed, though I am sure you will want to judge for yourself. But just in case you want some insights from others, check out these reviews:

Should you want to see the Chinese television series, you can find it here on Youtube. Or you may want to circle back to this version if you don’t care for the Netflix production.

Note: You can also find the Chinese version of the series on Amazon Prime. Rather than 8 episodes, you will find the Chinese version called Three Body has 30 episodes. I am working my way through the Amazon Prime series and so far prefer the slower-paced Chinese original. Netflix seems to rush through the ideas, whereas they are better developed in the longer series.

Credit: Amazon Prime

Television: Spaceman Premiering on Netflix

Posted on by onespaceman2000

When I hear the name Adam Sandler, I do not think of a serious movie, particularly one about a space. And yet that is what Netflix is throwing our way, or at least it might have been a serious movie until they threw in a giant talking spider.

That’s right, Adam and a spider are coming to Netflix on March 1 in Spaceman to entertain you.

Here is the Netflix pitch (and the trailer):

Six months into a solitary research mission to the edge of the solar system, an astronaut, Jakub (Sandler), realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him when he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, Lenka (Carey Mulligan), he is helped by a mysterious creature from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. Hanuš (voiced by Dano) works with Jakub to make sense of what went wrong before it is too late.

Should you want to bypass the movie and go straight to the book, you can look for the novel Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfař.

Like the new series Constellation on Apple TV+, space has become a big canvas to tell the more mundane story about lonely humans. The spaceship and other hardware are simply furnishings in such tales.

All I know is that NASA is recruiting volunteers for its own long-term isolation Mars program and I just hope the agency have sprayed the facility for spiders.

Television: Constellation on Apple TV+

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Noomi Rapace in episode 1 of Constellation. (Apple TV+)

Apple TV+ has a new space station-related drama called Constellation premiering February 21. It sounds pretty eery, but at least this trauma is more at the personal level rather than the planetary level, compared to other recent space station stories.

Here’s the basic story from Apple TV+:

Constellation” stars Noomi Rapace as Jo — an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space — only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing. The action-packed space adventure is an exploration of the dark edges of human psychology, and one woman’s desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel and recover all that she has lost.

You may remember Ms. Rapace from the film Prometheus, which was its own dark warning about the risks of leaving Earth. This may be just as dark. Watch the trailer as well and then decide for yourself.

It certainly is not a recruitment film for NASA, and space travel seems to be more of a device than the main plot, but I have been happy with Apple TV+ series in the past. So I will be watching this one.

Note: The Roger Ebert site has a lot more detail on the plot if you are interested. The site concludes:

Fans of the many quality science-fiction offerings on Apple TV+ will likely be satisfied by “Constellation.” It’s an interesting space drama with standout performances from its cast…But despite these moving performances, “Constellation” spends too much time floating aimlessly. The show likes to believe it’s clever, but the reality is that it often falls flat.

Television: A Murder at the End of the World

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Scene from episode five of A Murder a the End of the World. (Hulu)

If you are looking for a new television series, you cannot go wrong with FX’s A Murder at the End of the World. You can catch it on Hulu.

Here is the paltry description from Hulu:

A young woman accepts a mysterious invitation from a billionaire and his wife.

Fortunately, the FX trailer is better (as is the trailer description):

A Murder at the End of the World is a mystery series featuring a Gen Z amateur sleuth and tech-savvy hacker “Darby Hart.” Darby and eight other guests are invited by a reclusive billionaire to participate in a retreat at a remote location. When one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must use her skills to prove it was murder before the killer takes another life.

However, even this longer description is too minimal and does not encourage an audience. I have watched six of the seven episodes and can say (without spoiling anything) that the retreat itself as well as the underlying purpose of the retreat may remind you of space colonies and their issues. It might also remind you of present day billionaires who want to hide from the world they have helped to create (think Don’t Look Up.)

The series is already on some of the top 10 lists for 2023, and I expect it will be on mine as well, as long as it has a good finale.

If you like murder mysteries, it is for you. If you like love stories, ditto. Technology, ditto. And if you miss shows that touch on space travel, this has enough sci-fi elements in that realm to keep you interested.

Update: I can report that the series had a great ending. Give it a try if you are looking for a new show. You will not be disappointed.