Paul Levinson's Blog: Levinson at Large, page 55
June 18, 2022
Podcast Review of For All Mankind 3.2
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 319, in which I review For All Mankind 3.2 on Apple TV+.
Written blog post review of this episode
Podcast reviews of prior episodes and seasons: 3.1 ... Season 2 ... Season 1
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The Orville 3.3: What Do Bill Barr and Ed Mercer Have In Common?
Ok, here's a question: What do former US Atty General Bill Barr and Captain Ed Mercer of The Orville have in common?
Answer: They both said "bullshit" on television in the past week.
Good thing, then, for at least that reason, that The Orville moved from Fox to Hulu.
[Spoilers ahead ... ]
As for the story in 3.3, it was a little bit of a hodge podge. Mercer and some of his team land on a planet that has no life signs, only to find an American high school in a clearing with a literally monstrous bully. And it gets worse from there, as our heroes find themselves on a plane without a pilot, and in all kinds of situations where they apparently get really hurt, and their lives are in danger.
They begin to get clues, though, that they're not really there in those dangerous situations, and of course it turns out that they're experiencing a series of illusions. The reason provides the first really interesting element in this story: an alien species has immortality, and they want to feel what it's like when you're about to die.
Mercer, for my money, has the best take on this. To the obvious lesson that immortality has its drawbacks, Mercer says that he would still indeed like to live forever. Why? Because he wants to see what will happen.
Works for me. See you back here next week with my review of the next episode.
See also The Orville 3.1: Life and Death ... 3.2: "Come and Get Me ..."
And see also The Orville 2.1: Relief and Romance ... The Orville 2.2: Porn Addiction and Planetary Disintegration ... The Orville 2.3: Alara ... The Orville 2.4: Billy Joel ... The Orville 2.5: Escape at Regor 2 ... The Orville 2.6: "Singin' in the Rain" ... The Orville 2.7: Love and Death ... The Orville 2.8: Recalling Čapek, Part 1 ... The Orville 2.9: Recalling Čapek, Part 2 ... The Orville: 2.10: Exploding Blood ... The Orville 2.11: Time Capsule, Space Station, and Harmony ... The Orville 2.12: Hello Dolly! ... The Orville 2.13: Time Travel! ... The Orville Season 2 Finale: Alternate History!
And see also The Orville 1.1-1.5: Star Trek's Back ... The Orville 1.6-9: Masterful ... The Orville 1.10: Bring in the Clowns ... The Orville 1.11: Eating Yaphit ... The Orville 1.12: Faith in Reason and the Prime Directive
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For All Mankind 3.2: Dmail
My favorite alternate history detail in For All Mankind 3.2 on Apple TV+ yesterday is "dmail" -- that's the name in 1992 for what we call email in our world. I guess "d" comes from digital -- digital mail, just as the "e" in ours comes from electronic mail. I like details like that.
[Now for some bigger spoilers... ]
I had a feeling as soon Marge fired Molly and removed Ed from the Mars mission that he would wind up on what Dev was doing. He's a great character. An Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, or Richard Branson mega-rich titan with the cosmic visionary quality of Steve Jobs. And he's played by Edi Gathegi, who was just iconic in StartUp.
And I like the way Ed got there. I said in my review of last week's 3.1 that I thought Sam's death was good for the narrative, freeing up Karen to maybe get back with Ed and who knows else. In 3.2, we learn that Ed has split with his wife (good), and Karen and Ed are indeed much closer. But, most importantly, she pitches Ed as the leader of Dev's mission (pitch is his apt word), he takes a vote of his people in the room (his company is at least this far a democracy), and Ed is commanding the mission.
This sets up a heated rivalry between Ed (Helios) and Danielle (whom Marge has chosen to lead the first Mars mission for NASA) and who knows who the Soviets might send up there. And to up the ante, and increase the pressure, Dev is moving up the date of the mission.
It's an easy prediction that Ed and Danielle will be on Mars at the same time, and one will likely save the other. But that's getting ahead of the story, and I'll see you back here next week with my review of 3.3.
See also For All Mankind 3.1: The Alternate Reality Progresses
And see also For All Mankind, Season 1 and Episode 2.1: Alternate Space Race Reality ... For All Mankind 2.2: The Peanut Butter Sandwich ... For All Mankind 2.3: "Guns to the Moon" ... For All Mankind 2.4: Close to Reality ... For All Mankind 2.5: Johnny and the Wrath of Kahn ... For All Mankind 2.6: Couplings ... For All Mankind 2.7: Alternate History Surges ... For All Mankind 2.8: Really Lost in Translation ... For All Mankind 2.9: Relationships ... For All Mankind 2.10: Definitely Not the End
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June 17, 2022
Podcast Review of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.7
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 318, in which I review the seventh episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+
Written blog post review of this episode
Podcast reviews of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.1-2 ... 1.3... 1.4... 1.5... 1.6
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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.7: The Kiss
An exceptional Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.7 on Paramount+ yesterday because--
[Spoilers ahead ... ]
That was a quite a good kiss between Spock and Chapel. Never mind that it was planned and feigned to fool Captain Angel. Spock and Chapel clearly both enjoyed it. They got a lot out of it.
Now, if you compare that with the way Spock and T'Pring later kiss, well, that was pale in comparison. I suppose that could be explained as when Spock was kissing Chapel, he was kissing with his human side, whereas when Spock was kissing T'Pring, he was Vulcan. That would be the logical explanation. But since I'm only human, I found Spock and Chapel much more powerful than Spock and T'Pring.
Of course, Chapel has to tell Spock the kiss didn't really affect her. But we saw her face after the kiss, and she clearly was affected. But she knows and we know and very likely Spock knows she's lying -- Spock knows because he's likely feeling the same way -- so we're left with a simmering erotic attraction and that's a fine place to be.
Meanwhile, Captain Angel is a clever character (good job Jesse James Keitel), and I hope and assume we'll be seeing her again. She and Spock's half-brother have the makings of important long term characters, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him, too.
About the only thing that I thought was dumb in 1.7 was the successful mutiny that Pike instigates on the pirate ship over ... food? Look, eating is certainly important, but it just didn't work in that context, and the whole segment was another example of why humor isn't Strange New Worlds' strong suit.
But the kiss made this a highly memorable and important episode, and I'm looking forward to next week.
See also Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.1-1.2: Great Characters, Actors, Stories ... 1.3: "Instead of terraforming planets, we modify ourselves ..." ... 1.4: The Gorn and the Wub ... 1.5 Going to the Chapel ... 1.6: Two Stories
June 16, 2022
June 15, 2022
Captain Phil interviews Paul Levinson about the House Jan 6 Hearings
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 317, in which Captain Phil on WUSB-FM Radio (Stony Brook, New York) interviews me about the January 6 House Committee Hearings. (This interview was conducted the Sunday after the first hearing on June 9, 2022, but we discussed issues pertaining to the continuing hearings. We talk for the first 13 minutes about science fiction on television -- one of our usual topics of discussion -- and then begin to discuss the House Committee Hearings).
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June 13, 2022
Podcast Review of The Man Who Fell to Earth 1.7
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 316, in which I review the seventh episode of The Man Who Fell to Earth on Showtime.
Written blog post review of this episode of The Man Who Fell to Earth
podcast reviews of The Man Who Fell to Earth 1.1 ... 1.2... 1.3... 1.5-1.6
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
Podcast Review of The Time Traveler's Wife 1.5
Welcome to Light On Light Through, Episode 315, in which I review the fifth episode of The Time Traveler's Wife on HBO.
written blog post review of this episode
Podcast reviews of The Time Traveler's Wife 1.1... 1.2... 1.3... 1.4
Paul Levinson's books ... Paul Levinson's music
The Man Who Fell to Earth 1.7: Game Changes
A game-changing episode 1.7 of The Man Who Fell to Earth on many fronts on Showtime last night.
[Spoilers ahead ... ]
The biggest reveal is Faraday's realization that Newton's ultimate plan is not to get help to the inhabitants of Anthea back home, but rather to bring the Antheans here to Earth. This sounds like the makings of an interstellar invasion, which would completely change the contours of this story.
We also learned a lot more about who Spencer is. He's the son of a Russian terrorist -- his mother -- here in the United States, and he was brought up and raised under the wing of Finch, whom Spencer now turns on in a crucial scene. Suddenly, Spencer seems and indeed has become more much powerful. He's more than the CIA. I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere down the line he's had more to do with the Antheans than we already know.
Meanwhile, Josiah is in the process of becoming an Anthean. And this provides a significant counterweight to Faraday, who in effect is becoming human. He's now come to believe that his best defence against the CIA is to become famous. In a vivid moment, he realizes that the CIA thrives in darkness, and the light of publicity is the best defense. That's a human insight, if ever there was one.
I really like the fact that, at this point in the story, the end of the seventh episode, I really have no idea how this story is going to turn out. That's an indication of a carefully crafted narrative, with complex characters and agendas, that is being unpacked with precision.
I'll see you back here next week, with my review of the next episode, and my sense of where we then stand in this fascinating story.
See also The Man Who Fell to Earth 1.1: Great Provenance and Excellent Start ... 1.2: The Ending We Needed ... 1.3: "I've come with a prototype ... " 1.4: "Tell my wife I love her very much ... " ... 1.5: Co-Mingling ... 1.6: Music of the Spheres
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