Whatever 1I/2017 Oumuamua and now 3I/Atlas are, they fired my imagination. These intersolar voyagers are cloaked in mystery and possibilities. David Wellington’s novel, The Last Astronaut, takes that idea and runs with it giving us a cross of Crichton, Clarke and Lovecraft. A combination of science and wonder with unnerving horror. Sally Jansen was the…
Tag: mars
Red Planet (2000) – Anthony Hoffman
I remember Mission to Mars and Red Planet seemed to come out around the same time, and I found myself more interested in the De Palma film because it had to do with the ‘face on mars’ and the possibility of life on that distant planet. And who doesn’t love that idea? Red Planet, despite…
Capricorn One (1977) – Peter Hyams
Moon landing conspiracies didn’t really have any traction until Peter Hyams wrote and directed Capricorn One. Citing the fact that the most important event in mankind’s history had taken place, and the only witness was a television camera sparked his imagination about what could and couldn’t be done with that idea. The Apollo missions were…
Star Trek: Picard (2020) – The End is The Beginning, and Absolute Candor
Picard (Patrick Stewart) attempts to make amends with Raffi (Michelle Hurd) as he seeks a ship to take him in search of Burce Maddox and Soji (Isa Briones). We see how their relationship fell apart when the synthetic attack on Mars disrupted and caused the cancellation of Starfleet’s aid to the Romulan Evacuation, causing Picard’s…
Star Trek: Picard (2020) – Remembrance, and Maps and Legends
Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) returned to the screen on 23 January, 2020 with the launch of Star Trek: Picard. Set some twenty years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, the pilot episode, Remembrance, was written by Akiva Goldsman and James Duff from a story by Goldsman, Micheal Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, Alex Kurtzman and Duff….
Ad Astra (2019) – James Gray
James Gray delivers one of the most authentic looks at space travel since Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, throw in a little of Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and you have the basic groundwork for this science fiction drama that sees astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travelling to the outer reaches of our solar system, all…
Invaders From Mars (1986) – Tobe Hooper
I remember when Invaders From Mars came out in 1986. I knew it was a remake, having read about it in Starlog magazine, and while I didn’t recognize the names of those involved as I grew they would become very familiar to me. What I remember most is reading the novelization when I grabbed it…
The Expanse (2022) – Why We Fight, and Babylon’s Ashes
Here we go, the last two episodes of the epic series, The Expanse, and it’s not going to let up until the last second. Why We Fight was written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, known collectively as James S.A. Corey, the authors of The Expanse novel series. It first dropped on Prime on 7…
The Expanse (2021) – Force Projection, and Redoubt
Dan Nowak pens Force Projection which upon its end, will place us halfway through the final season of The Expanse. It first dropped on Prime on 24 December, 2021 and saw tensions rising up all over the system, as well as some interesting things happening on Laconia. The family we’ve been checking in on has…
The Expanse (2021) – Oyedeng, and Hard Vacuum
We are racing towards the conclusion of season five of The Expanse, and Oyedeng, written by Dan Nowak and first airing on Prime on 13 January, 2021, is an emotional rollercoaster. Alex (Cas Anvar) and Bobbie (Frankie Adams) are continuing their hunt for information and can prove that Martians are selling weapons to Inaros (Keon…
The Mind Reels 