On 6 August, 2020, we were introduced to the USS Cerritos, a California-class Starfleet vessel, in the Star Trek franchise’s second animated series, Lower Decks. Written by the series showrunner, Mike McMahan, we are introduced to the crew as they go about conducting a Second Contact with the inhabitants of the planet Galar. Ensigns Boimler…
Tag: first contact
Elio (2025) – Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi
It’s been awhile since I settled in for a Pixar movie. In fact, I’ve fallen behind on them, and have a nice list to catch up on for the blog. Elio (Yonas Kibreab) has gone to live with his aunt, Olga (Zoe Saldana), after his parents die. Olga works for the space administration, but with…
Stargate: Atlantis (2008) – Tracker, and First Contact
Tracker first airs on 19 September, 2008. It was written by Carl Binder from a story by Binder and David Schmidt. McKay (David Hewlett) is looking forward to some alone time with Keller (Jewel Staite) when he accompanies her on a medical mission. He’s a little bummed when they are joined by Ronon (Jason Momoa)….
Stargate SG-1 (2003) – The Changeling, and Memento
Christopher Judge writes this episode, The Changeling, which first aired on 28 February, 2003. Teal’c (Judge) is being plagued by strange dreams in which he is human and where he is haunted by Apophis (Peter Williams) and the rest of SG-1 join him as firefighters. In the dreams, he is worried about an upcoming kidney…
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022) – Strange New Worlds, and Children of the Comet
Akiva Goldsman wrote and directed the series opener for Strange New Worlds, which was first broadcast on 5 May, 2022. It had to tie in with the established canon of The Original Series, and what had happened in Star Trek: Discovery during season two. It also riffs on The Day The Earth Stood Still, which…
Three Miles Down (2022) – Harry Turtledove
I hadn’t picked up a Turtledove book before. He’s made a name for himself telling tales of alternate histories, picking a historical event and letting it play out differently. I was never too worried about those things, though I do like a good alternate timeline. This time, however, I was intrigued as it set a…
Star Trek: The Return (1996) – William Shatner with Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Judith Reeves-Stevens
William Shatner with the Reeves-Stevens at his side, pens the second volume of his Shatner-verse Star Trek novels, and while a little too self-indulgent in some aspects, it’s not a terrible tale, and hints at some cool Borg ideas that don’t wholly conflict with what was later established by Star Trek: First Contact, and events…
Paradise 1 (2023) – David Wellington
Orbit Books takes the reader to a far-distant solar system and exposes them to fear in the new novel, the first in a series, by best-selling author David Wellington. An officer of the Firewatch, Petrova, and a doctor, Zhang, who may not be all there, are shipped off on an AI-controlled ship, accompanied by a…
Star Trek: The Next Generation 4K Movie Collection
Space, the final frontier… I can remember each and every time I saw a Star Trek movie in the theatre, and much like the 4K release of the Trek films featuring the cast of The Original Series, Paramount Picture’s release of the four films featuring The Next Generation cast in 4K has let me see…
The Mote in God’s Eye (1974) – Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
I’ve been getting more and more into some classic science fiction books, layering out a lot of the modern science fiction I’ve been finding myself reading, and I recall a friend of mine proclaiming that The Mote in God’s Eye is one of the best first contact books they’d ever read. I trust his opinion…
The Mind Reels 