The Ark, “Hoping for Forever”, Review!

The Ark is tense with a muutinous crew, a confrontation with the Ark-15, and an even greater threat with its captain! Re:Cap, “The Painful Way”, the Trusts scheme to take over Ark-1 when the crew agreed to change course to a new planet. It has resulted in Lt. James Brice and Felix Strickland put to sleep by their colleagues. At Cat’s quarters, Lt. Sharon Garnet takes a drink, uh oh, as the knock out drops take effect, Cat says she’s wrong. Garnet tries to head over to get checked by Dr. Kabir. She realizes that Cat drugged he, she stumbles to the door saying she didn’t account for her enhancements, and Cat injects her with a tranqulizer syringe. The Trusts and their loyalists; Cat, Lt. Spencer Lane, Eva Markovic, and Jelena Griff, enter the bridge. This surprises Alicia who is ordered to her station by Lane. Eva takes the ship out of FTL and recharges it. Lane makes an announcement saying there was an error in judgment with Garnet, Brice, and Strickland. Also, that they are headed to Proxima B. Griff says to the other crew can be reassigned. It is kinda good that the loyalist stay in a good position, but also I would go to my quarters and not take part in the mutiny. 

William Trust says Lane should have the command chair. Helena Trust in her arrogance takes the chair. Brice revives trapped in the helmet room with Strickland and Garnet. Garnet updates him and the situation and he rages! He worries about everyone dying and angrily says he has Klampkins! Garnet hugs him. She promises that once free, Brice has permission to knock out Trust! In Cat’s quarters, Helena is happy at the bounty of strawberries and fruits, she thinks they will thank them. William enters for a session, Cat tries to cover about the matchmaking, so love is off the table for this genetic obsenity. Helena asks who is Cat’s match and she tries to say he died with the command crew. Kelly meets with  for help with her device. He easily fixes the comms system and sees a message from Ark-15! She snaps his neck, um, the actress who plays Kelly is kinda slight, so I’m not certain if that would be possible. Kelly sends him out of the space ejection chamber. William asks for Helena and sees Cat who wants to continue their affair, he is worried about Helena’s suspicion, Cat doesn’t realize that being the other woman is short career. 

THE ARK - - “Hoping for Forever” - - CHRISTIE BURKE, TIANA UPCHEVA, RICHARD FLEESHMAN, STACEY READ, SHALINI PEIRIS - - Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

Angus is trying to destroy the crops, Kelly wants him to reconsider about Trust, and kisses him. Cat runs into the medbay with a painkiller for Dr. Kabir. She needs to use it on a wounded Ensign Selander. Afterwards, Dr. Kabir realizes that there are no sedatives, Cat is the key to the conspiracy through William Trust. Dr. Kabir wants to help Garnet. In the locked room, Garnet second guesses her decision. Eva reports that the FTL is recharged, but then finds it locked out. Alicia says she’s innocent. Helena wants William to threaten the prisoners and purges the oxygen from their cell!  The trio start to panic, Griff reports the situation to the bridge, Trust makes an excuse. They can’t use the helmets without the compression suits. Strickland and Brice fall and then Garnet. William still threatens Alicia and when Lane tries to argue, Helena backs him down. Alicia breaks down and activates the FTL. Trust restores the oxygen. Helena wants her husband to make an example of Alicia! Griff opens the cell and Garnet poses to her about loyalty to the vicious Trust. Alicia defies Trust, Helena knows she can hack out of any cell, and says she will be sent out of an airlock. 

Eva stands up and Helena wants both of them taken away.  Our heroes take back the bridge in a fight and Brice gets his right cross to Trust. Then, she knocks out Lane. Helena tries to escape, but Strickland has his security prod on her. The traitors are seated at the command room. Alicia defends Eva, Garnet says she did the right thing, and then sends her away. She has spared Eva and Griff since they helped at the end, Eva is about to speak, but Strickland reminds her to speak when told by her commander, yes! When it is Eva’s turn, an alarm sounds, Brice takes his station and says there is an approaching ship! Ark-15! Garnet orders Trust’s shield to activate, Eva starts to use the shield, but it fails! Alicia says he failed to take into account quantum tunneling. Kelly enters the cell with the traitors, dropped the body of the guard, and then contacts Ark-15! “Hoping for Forever” picks up with Kelly holding the gun on William Trust. In a struggle, Lane is knocked back, and Kelly coldly shoots Helena Trust in the stomach. The crew, Garnet, Brice, Strickland, and Griff, watches the approaching ship. Garnet asks about the intentions of Ark-15. 

THE ARK - - “Hoping for Forever” - - RICHARD FLEESHMAN, CHRISTIE BURKE, TIANA UPCHAVEA - - Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

A shuttle heads towards Ark-1. Eva says it will take 82 minutes to charge up the FTL drive. Brice goes to watch the woman who betrayed him. Strickland also goes with Griff, but he leaves without her. Garnet sends away Griff. She makes an announcement to seal off their bunks for a possible hostile takeover. Angus with a lunch tray goes to find Kelly and has her gun on him. She goes in and painfully sets Lane’s broken nose. They want to take Helena Trust to medbay, but Kelly only wants Angus’ expertise. Eva tries to seal the hatch, but the hatch is blown. Garnet sees they have body armor and guns. She lures them with a friendly call, but actually has them sucked out of the airlock! Strickland and Brice pull out a body from the hatch. Garnet wants to find out how they reached the hatch from the shuttle. A man, Marko (Vahidin Prelic), in a compression suit in EVA reaches an airlock and enters the ship, armed like the other soldiers. Marko has found Kelly’s signal and joins her. Kelly says Lane knows the DNA vault. They want William to go or the gunman will shoot Helena. Kelly takes Angus. They tape Angus and Lane’s mouths and head out. Cat tries to console Helena who says her husband should be with her best friend! 

Kelly says that the crew is locked down. The gunman says that Ark-15 is gone. Strickland suddenly appears with his katana fighting with the gunman. Lane tries to kick away Kelly’s gun, but she recovers it. They struggle on the floor and Felix kills the gunman, Marko. Strickland asks if she told the truth about his family, but of course it is a lie. She shocks him with a prod. Griff slaps Strickland conscious and he is about to hit her. He sees the body of Marko. He warns Garnet. Kelly takes Lane, William Trust, and Angus, she wants Lane to fly the shuttle to Ark-15. He agrees when she threatens to shoot Angus. Trust also sits at the controls. She says only Angus is needed, she kisses him. Helena says she always knew Cat loved William. She dies. I don’t have too much sympathy for either of them. Griff finds Cat crying over her friend’s body. Strickland reaches the bridge. The Ark-15 fires, but they go to FTL in time! More soldiers cover the crew and of course Evelyn Maddox (Jelena Stupljanin) appears. Kelly greets her mother. I’m getting vibes from season 3 of The Outpost, Yavalla the new villain who searches for something important. Also, she has a daughter who falls for the geeky science boy. Still, there is enough twists, tension as we have a mutinious crew (are the rest still stuck in their bunks?) and two forces that may be the hope for life on Proxima B!  

Five Compression Suits out of Five! 

 

#TheArk, #ChristieBurke, #RichardFlesshman, #StaceyRead, #PavleJerinic, #RyanAdams, #ShaliniPeiris, #TianaUpcheva, #ReeceRitchie, #ChristinaWolfe, #TamaraRadovanovic, #PaulLeonardMurray, #MercedesDeLaCruz, #SamanthaGlassner, #JelenaStupljanin, #VahidinPrelic

 

The Mandalorian, “Guns For Hire”, Part II Review!

The episode of “Guns For Hire” began with Quarren and the re-introduction of Axe Woves and Koska Reeves. This mirrored director Bryce Dallas Howard’s episode 11, “The Heiress.” Din Djarin was traveling with Bo-Katan Kryze to find her fleet on Plazir-15. This also debuted The Duchess and Captain Bombadier. The Head of Security, Helgait sent them to the lower levels to find the list of rogue droids from the Ugnaughts! A droid problem in the deep part of a city? An Empire Strikes Back (1980) call back! Spoilers ahead! Bo-Katan and Mando reach the basement level with the high-tech workers like Moss and Roy from The IT Crowd. This workroom is seriously industrial with sparks falling out of an 80’s metal band. Bo-Katan introduces herself, but the Ugnaughts ignore her, continuing to solder Super Battle Droids, and other work. She continues saying they will help with their “droid problem” and then gives up. Din Djarin introduces himself as “friend of Ugnaught Kuiil”, he forcefully asks them for help, and ends with of course, “I have spoken”! 

The Ugnaughts stop work and look at him. At a table, all of the Ugnaughts sit with the two  Mandalorians. Their leader is Saifier (Dale Dickey) and his performance artist is Misty Rosas who also the artist for Kuiil! She is also a singer so I would really like her singing on the new DJ Rex playlist and the song to show up in an episode! He says there is no malfunctions with the droids they built. Din tries to save the conversation saying the Ugnaught work on droids is legendary. The others nod. He says like them they have a task and need their help. Saifier hands over a data pad with the rogue droids. They take the hyperloop pod to the city. Din explains he had “spent time” with Ugnaughts, one in particular, Kuiil from season one! He says Bo-Katan insulted them saying their work was malfunctioning. I do like the investigation like a twist on Obi-Wan tracking down Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones (2002). Then, he says they predicted a malfunction with a droid at the loading docks. 

At the dock, super battle droids march, this would be terrifying during the Clone Wars. The B-1 Series Droid Foreman (battle droid voice, Matthew Wood), stops them, Bo-Katan tells him, they were sent by The Duchess to find the rogue droids. Din starts to wave his hand in front of the droids walking out carrying cargo. The droid foreman warns Mando. Then, Din starts kicking the droids! One stumbles and then punches The Mandalorian sending him back! The droid runs and Bo-Katan tries to blast it, before starting the chase! Din has to leap over containers spilled by the droid, but Bo-Katan has her jetpack take her over in a mini-burst. The chase leads into a crowded city street. This causes screams from citizens. The battle droid hurls a container dodged by Din and Bo-Katan does a spinning jet pack boosted twist! The super battle droid goes into an alley and then leaps on a landspeeder crushing it. The droid next hurls a post that causes an explosion. It passes by a speeder bike store, Gray Scooters?, like the ones ridden by the gang in The Book of Boba Fett, but all white models. I still say they rode swoop bikes, more snub-nosed than the longer speeders, the term was in the Han Solo Legends novels by Brian Daley. 

They split up, Din makes his way through stores, and then crashes through a window to tackle the Super Battle Droid. He blasts it, but when it falls, we also see on the other side, Bo-Katan with her blasters! Tiny constable droids float around them projecting yellow crime scene beams. Bo-Katan studies the droid and takes out a spark pad. She reads from it “The Resistor” which Din says could be a droid bar. A droid bar? There was a droid spa in Clone Wars, “Evil Plans” (2010). Bo-Katan wants to enter the bar her way. Through an alley, they enter The Resistor, and we see a multitude of droids like the group in the Jawa Sandcrawler. Including a few RX-series pilot droids! The appearance of the Mandalorians make them all pause. So this is like two scenes, Sandcrawler and cantina, combined from Star Wars (1977), love it! They are greeted by the Bartender Droid (Seth Gabel). Din throws the spark pad on the bar. He threatens to rip out the droid’s memory circuit with a device. A protocol droid tries to walk away until stopped by Mando. Bo-Katan takes him aside and the bartender droid interrupts that he wants the situation resolved. He fears that the droids will be replaced by humans! This is the sci fi reverse of the current A.I. situation, topical! 

The bartender droid says that they have all been reprogrammed, spared by Plazir-15, instead of scrapped by the New Republic. The droid bartender says he just wants to help them which gets a droid cheer, first time we’ve heard it?, from all of the bar patrons.  In a side room, the bartender says that droids are served Nepenthe, this is the name of the “drug of forgetfulness” in Greek mythology. The bartender explains it is a droid lubricant that uses “refreshing” particles. They are like an update from the mainframe. He quickly selects and scans through a box of spark pads and detemines that the rogue droids all took the same Nepenthe. A Lab Tech (Jen Kobert) pulls out the super battle droid like a body on a morgue slab. It is being examined by the lab tech and the duo. A lab droid like a white version of the interrogator droid withdraws fluid from the super battle droid. The lab tech takes the fluid in a vial to be analyzed for particles. Suddenly, the lab droid sends out lasers that cut the lab tech’s shoulder!  It begins cutting apart the lab! Din Djarin slices it in half with the Darksaber! 

Now back to analyzing the fluid, the lab droid didn’t use its lasers to destroy the evidence, and finds that the particles are nano-droids. We know about nano tech. If there are nano-droids, only one droid needs to infected before it spreads to all systems and droids like a Butlerian Jihad in Dune. Din spots something and Bo-Katan finds that it is writing. The lab tech finds that it is a chain code, she finds out that it was built by the Techno Union, and it arrived by security leading to one individual! At the security office, Commissioner Helgait is working, he is told abou thte evidence with the Nepenthe and nano-droids. He leaps up and activates a large red button that will turn the droids into battle droids!  Helgait says he’s survived the Republic and the Empire. He admires Count Dooku, but then hit by Bo-Katan’s electroshock dart and falls! Captain Bombadier has a giant Pill Bug fold into a “ball” to be used by The Duchess in a game. She throws it through holographic hoops aided by Grogu using the Force! The rest of the party goers cheer for her. Din and Bo-Katan bring in Commissioner Helgait. The Duchess is shocked. He doesn’t like the changes made by Captain Bombadier. The Duchess is disappointed in Helgait who served her family, but supports her husband. She exiles him to the moon of Paraqaat. Constable droids take him away. 

The Duchess gives them both permission to speak with the Mandalorian privateers and also the Key to Plazir. For Grogu, The Duchess knights him in the Ancient Order of Independent Regencies, awesome! She waves goodbye to Grogu and he waves back, I don’t think this is the last we see of them. On the way to the landing field, Bo-Katan admits that she doesn’t have a plan. Crossing a field, the trio reach the line of Gauntlet fighters with the Class 546 Cruiser behind them. Behind Bo-Katan, Din Djarin, and Grogu is the Plazir-15 moon, Paraquaat? Axe Woves is there with Koska Reeves and other Mandalorians. Bo-Katan says she is there for her fleet. Axe says he is in command of it. She challenges him as a warrior. He fires a wrist rocket, but Bo-Katan leaps up with her jet pack and strikes him with both boots! They get up and he wields a vibro knife. She unsheathes a vibro blade from her gauntlet. It’s back and forth punches between them. Axe leaps at Bo-Katan using an assist from his jetpack he slams her into the side of a Gauntlet figher. He fires a wrist rocket that the others dodge. She in turn uses a jet pack assist to thrown Axe down and then has her vibroblade to his throat asking him to yield. 

Instead, he grabs hold of her arms and does a short flight with his jetpack to the wing of a Gauntlet. Bo-Katan is kicked back, but wraps Axe in a fibrocord whip to slam him down! He uses the flamethrower from his gauntlet, but she blocks it with her personal combat shield. Again, Bo-Katan has Axe down with her viboblade to him. He says that she will never be a leader by not taking the Darksaber from Din. Bo-Katan stands and says that the strength of Mandalorians is being together. Axe says that the “religious zealot” doesn’t have any Mandalorian blood, but Bo-Katan declares he is Mandalorian. Din Djarin holds the Darksaber to give to Bo-Katan. He explains that he was defeated and lost the Darksaber to the cyborg in “The Mines of Mandalore.” Bo-Katan rescued him and defeated the cyborg so he poses the question that she had earned the Darksaber in battle. I had thought this at the time especially that she easily used in combat, but this Mando took back the Darksaber. Axe Woves agrees and there are head nods from the other Mandalorians. Din hands the Darksaber to Bo-Katan and stands by her side. Bo-Katan Kryze activates the Darksaber blade, the true heiress to Mandalore! All of the Mandalorians united? I think we might be missing one on Tatooine and bring in Fennec Shand (and Cobb Vanth?) while you are it! A great The Mandalorian episode with twists on Star Wars, a mystery, and the question of Bo-Katan's destiny resolved! 

Five Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five! 

#TheMandalorian, #GunForHire, #PedroPascal, #KateeSackhoff, #Grogu, #Lizzo, #JackBlack, #ChristopherLloyd, #SimonKassianides, #MercedesVarnado, #JenKober, #DaleDickey, #SethGabel, #MatthewWood 

Happy Birthday Katee Sackhoff!

Happy Birthday Katee Sackhoff! Her first role was in the television drama film, Fifteen and Pregnant (1998). Her first theatrical film was the drama, My First Mister (2001). She was college student, Jennifer “Jen” Danzig terrorized by Michael Myers in Halloween: Resurrection (2002). Then, she look the iconic sci fi role of Kara `Starbuck’ Thrace in the mini-series, Battlestar Galactica (2003) developed by Ronald D. Moore. This was a reboot of the 1978 series. She continued as Starbuck in the Battlestar Galactica series (2004-2009) on the Sci-Fi Channel for three seasons. Sackhoff won the Saturn Award for Best Actress in 2006. The tv movie, Battlestar Galactica: Razor (2007) followed. Then, Sackhoff completed the role in the fourth season. Also in 2007, she played Sarah Corvus in the reboot of the Bionic Woman (2007) show. In 2012, the actress voiced the part of Bo-Katan Kryze the Star Wars: Clone Wars episode, “A Friend in Need.” 

The Western drama, Longmire (2012-2017) featured the actress as Victoria `Vic’ Moretti. Sackhoff continued to voice Bo-Katan including “The Lawless” which had the death of her sister, Satine Kryze (Anna Graves) by Maul. Sackhoff played Dana Walsh in season eight of action series, 24 (2010). She voiced Detective Sarah Essen in the animated movie, Batman: Year One (2011). The comedy, Sexy Evil Genius (2013) starred Katee Sackhoff as Nikki Franklyn and she was also one of the producers. Another horror movie followed with Marie Russell played by Sackhoff in Oculus (2013). The two part episodes of “Heroes of Mandalore” (2017) was the fourth and last season of Star Wars: Rebels. It featured Bo-Katan (Katee Sackhoff) who helped Sabine Wren take Mandalore. It was held by Imperial forces led by Governor Tiber Saxon. Bo-Katan accepted the Darksaber from Sabine. 

Sackhoff played the villain the Blacksmith in The Flash (2017-2018). Niko Breckenridge was played by Katee Sackhoff in the Netflix Sci Fi drama, Another Life (2019-2021). She was also one of the producers. Sackhoff was in the seventh season of Clone Wars with “Shattered” (2020) with Maul brought to Mandalore by Ahsoka Tano. Bo-Katan appeared in live action played by Katee Sackhoff in 2020 episodes of The Mandalorian. In "The Heiress", Bo-Katan appeared with Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) and Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado). They are looking for the Darksaber which will return rule of Mandalore to Bo-Katan. "The Rescue" had Din Djarin defeat Moff Gideon who held the Darksaber. In 2022, Sackhoff voiced Poison Ivy in the Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two. Currently, she is playing Bo-Katan Kryze in season three of The Mandalorian! Happy Birthday Katee Sackhoff! 

#KateeSackhoff, #FifteenAndPregnant, #MyFirstMister, #HalloweenResurrection, #BattlestarGalactica, #BattlestarGalacticaRazor, #BionicWoman, #StarWarsCloneWars, #Longmire, #TheLawless, #24, #BatmanYearOne, #SexyEvilGenius, #Oculus, #StarWarsRebels, #TheFlash, #AnotherLife, #TheMandalorian, #BatmanTheLongHalloween  

 

Exclusive: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Centennial Open House!

Today, April 7th, was the open house for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. for its 100 year anniversary! Edgar Rice Burroughs' first story, “Under the Moons of Mars” (1912), was printed in The All-Story magazine. It was made into a novel, A Princess of Mars (1917). Mars was also called Barsoom. His next creation was a sensation, “Tarzan of the Apes”, also published by The All-Story. Then, it was a novel in 1914. The first screen Tarzan was played by Elmo Lincoln in Tarzan of the Apes (1918). It was noted in the pamphlet that it was “one of the first films in history to gross over one million dollars.” The character was a media sensation in radio, the 1932 program featured Joan Burroughs, the daughter of ERB. Johnny Weismuller was well known for the role starting with Tarzan the Ape Man (1932). He was also paired with Maureen O’Sullivan as Jane. Also, television played by Ron Ely in the series that started in 1966. An animated Filmation show, Tarzan, Lord of Jungle, started in 1976. 

Outside of the Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. offices, photo by the author. 

Other notable Tarzans include Christopher Lambert in Greystoke, The Legend of Tarzan (1984), Wolf Larson in the 1991-1995 Tarzan series, and The Legend of Tarzan (2016) starring Alexander Skarsgård. There was also the Disney animated film, Tarzan (1999), voiced by Tony Goldwyn and the Broadway production based on the movie, Tarzan, in 2006. Josh Strickland originally starred as Tarzan in the Broadway cast. The other worlds of Burroughs include Pellucidar expored in the novel, At the Earth’s Core (1914). It became a film in 1976 starring Doug McClure as David Innes. Dian the Beautiful was played by Caroline Munro.  McClure also explored another Burroughs lost world with The Land That Time Forgot (1974). It was based on the 1924 novel. The film adaptations are almost full circle with Burroughs’ first novel turned into John Carter (2012) that had Taylor Kitsch played the lead role. Lynn Collins portrayed Dejah Thoris. Daryl Sabara played John Carter’s nephew, a fictional version of Edgar Rice Burroughs. 

Burroughs in 1919 bought an estate that was renamed Tarzana Ranch. The Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. offices are still at the bungalow on the property. Los Angeles had houses around the ranch in 1923 and ERB sold some of his land for houses. Also, that year, Edgar Rice Burroughs “became the first author to incorporate himself.” The citizens in 1930 voted on a name for their community and it became the city of Tarzana. The company approves adaptations from novels including new, authorized titles in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe. One of the latest is Victory Harben: Fires of Halos (2022) by Christopher Paul Carey. There are also comic books including the adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes with DC Comics’ Tarzan starting with #207 (1972) by Joe Kubert. There was also a Marvel Comic, Tarzan: Lord of the Jungle started with #1 (1977) by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. The latest is from Dynamite Comics that begun with Lord of the Jungle #1 (2022) by Dan Jurgens and Benito Gallego. There have been comics on the adventures of Jane including this year’s Jane Porter and the City of Fire graphic novel. It was written by Mike Wolfer with art by Miriana Puglia. 

                                                                Jane Porter protecting the garden of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., author’s photo. 

At the offices, there was also an appearance of Jane Porter in the form of cosplayer, Charlotte Kay, who was also at WonderCon. There was a presentation that I unfortunately missed and also a number of special guests. One of them was Wolf Larson from the 90’s tv series, he autographed photos of himself as as Tarzan for guests and also had many stories of filming the show. His Tarzan show streams on peacock and Roku. There was also Mark Rahner who wrote the limited series; Dejah Thoris and the White Apes of Mars (2012) and Dejah Thoris and the Green Men of Mars (2013) from Dynamite. Current plans for the ERB company is an option agreement for a live action Tarzan film with Columbia Pictures. This year, is a Dejah Thoris novel by Ann Tonsor Zedies, and entitled Princess of Mars: Shadow of Assassins! Also this year, Tarzan’s son, Korak finds himself in Pellucidar in Korak: At The Earth’s Core by Win Scott Eckert. It is the first part of the Dead Moon super-arc!  All of the personnel at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. and the guests were very helpful to me currently using a knee stroller to move. I will add an extra thanks to Christopher Paul Carey who helped and showed me around the offics. The 100th anniversary event was an incredible experience to see the offices where Edgar Rice Burroughs created so many worlds and characters. 

#EdgarRiceBurroughsInc, #CentennialOpenHouse, #APrincessOfMars, #TarzanOfTheApes, #ElmoLincoln, #JohnnyWeismuller, #MaureenOSullivan, #RonEly, #GreystokeTheLegendOfTarzan, #ChristopherLambert, #TheLegendOfTarzan, #AlexanderSkarsgard, #Tarzan, #TonyGoldwyn, #AtTheEarthsCore, #DavidInnes, #DougMCClure, #DianTheBeautiful, #CarolineMunro, #TheLandThatTimeForgot, #JohnCarter, #TaylorKitsch, #LynnCollins, #TarzanaRanch, #VictoryHarbenFiresOfHalos, #ChristopherPaulCarey, #TarzanOfTheApes, #JoeKubert, #TarzanLordOfTheJungle, #RoyThomas, #JohnBuscema, #LordOfTheJungle, #DanJurgens, #BenitoGallego, #JanePorterAndTheCityOfFire, #MikeWolfer, #MirianaPuglia, #JanePorter, #CharlotteKay, #WolfLarson, #MarkRahner, #DejahThorisAndTheGreenMenOfMars, #PrincessOfMarsShadowOfAssassins, #AnnTonsorZedies, #KorakAtTheEarthsCore, #WinScottEckert, #DeadMoon 

The Mandalorian, “Guns For Hire”, Part I Review!

The latest episode of The Mandalorian is the best with the original Star Wars style and a host of guest stars! Re:cap - The Pirate King, Gorian Shard, had his ship damaged was by the ships of Din Djarin and Bo-Katan Kryze. His damaged Corsair opened fire on Nevarro City in a final action! Bo-Katan unloads massive fire on the pirate ship’s engines sending it falling into the hills. The citizens cheer and later Greef Karga thanks the Mandalorians. He declares that the hot springs land to all Mandalorians! Great, but next they have to work on planet defenses. Paz Viszla tells Bo-Katan that The Armorer asked for a meeting. She walks to the location of the former Forge that was in season one. It is an interesting call back to the Mandalorian’s past home, now dark and empty. The Armorer notes the Great Forge of Mandalore which Bo-Katan knows as well. She asks Bo-Katan to take off her helmet! Bo-Katan pauses at this breaking of The Creed. The Armorer says there only a few who follow it and says that all Mandalorians should come together! She has taken Bo-Katan’s encounter of the Mythosaur as a sign of the next age of Mandalore. The other Mandalorians by the ships can only watch as Bo-Katan unhelmeted walks with The Armorer. Paz Viszla notes her face is revealed which is good thing, Katee Sackhoff’s face should never be hidden. 

The Armorer says she “walks both worlds” and can unify the Mandalorian tribes! She announces that together they can return to Mandalore! Captain Carson Teva’s X-Wing flies through the emptiness of space. He finds a Lambda-class shuttle adrift. Carson contacts Lieutenant Reed who patrolled Tatooine with him. He was last seen in The Book of Boba Fett, “Return of the Mandalorian” (2022). Reed tells him there was a lost ship, but records of it are classified, records like those Elia Kane might access? Carson asks his astromech, R-7, to launch a probe, very cool accesory to the Swiss Army knife droids. He is part of the Adelphi Rangers patrolling space. Carson sends Reed the transponder signal to find the ship’s record. Reed tells him that it is a New Republic Prison Transport, I thought Imperial material was not used by the New Republic, a mystery. He identifies that it took custody of Moff Gideon. Carson has the probe scan the ship, it is like the laser looking for salvage in Aliens (1986). He has the probe get in close to examine something in the cabin wall, a piece of beskar steel!, Moff Gideon took over the planet so he could have access to it and use the metal to set up Mandalorians! “Chapter 22: Guns For Hire” features the return of fan favorite director, Bryce Dallas Howard, she had directed “Return of the Mandalorian” (2022)! 

We see the stars and move to a starship, this is the most Star Wars scene in all of The Mandalorian! On board, a door opens to a Quarren bringing a drink, they are Squid Head-like aliens who co-exist on Mon Cala. He pours it and a fish into a tank with the Quarren captain. Her name is Captain Shuggoth (Christine Adams), a Shoggoth is a creature from Cthulhu mythos! The female captain gulps it down and says she found a way around the trade routes to Task. I don’t think we have heard the Quarren language before. An Imperial ship is detected, but is found to be too powerful, the female captain orders the ship to be contacted. This draws down the tank to the captain’s chair. The ship is pursued by a Class 546 Cruiser, the type used by Moff Gideon, it is a reverse angle to the classic Star Destroyer opening! The captain says they are peaceful heading to the Mid Rim on business. She is very diplomatic communicating with the light cruiser captain. We see his bridge, there are Mandalorians on board, and the captain is Axe Woves (Simon Kassianides) and by his side is Koska Reeves (Mercedes Varnado)! Both Nite Owls were with Bo-Katan!  He says they were commissioned to track her down and the Quarren ship is taken into the cruiser. Axe says a Mon Calamari Viceroy hired them to find her son! 

He knows that the son has fallen in love with Captain Shuggoth. The Mon Calamari Nobleman (Harry Holland) enters and doesn’t want to go. It is great to see that not only do the former enemies have ended their war, but we also get a Romeo and Juliet situation. Axe doesn’t care and sends Koska since they already have to Plazir-15. They pledge their love to each other. Koska enters and takes the prince away. I’m already thinking this is my favorite episode. Bo-Katan’s Gauntlet fighter appears from hyperspace and heads to a green planet with thin clouds, Plazir-15, she heads toward several domes. Din Djain is in a rear cockpit seat and Grogu watches next to Bo-Katan. She heads towards a Class 546 Cruiser that has landed. Then, she notes that she assembled her fleet partly from the Empire. Bo-Katan knows that Axe Woves has taken over as leader. She reasons that it is an independent world and lands away from the fleet. A planetary greeting is heard, it sounds like a Nintendo game!, and directs them to a docking slip. The ship is locked into automated guidance. The city, unnamed, looks like the futuristic utopia of Tomorrowland (2015), clean, with vibrant greenery. 

They are greeted by a black version of a protocol and astrodroid pair, the clever nods to the original Star Wars is on point. Protocol droid, RA-7, welcomes them to the planet. He is the insectoid-eyed droid seen on the Death Star. They are directed to a hyperloop pod. The name refers to the ultra high-speed transportation project developed by Elon Musk. Mando wonders about the Imperial tech. Inside, Bo-Katan requests to travel to a bay next to the Mandalorian fleet. They hear from the p.a. that the Coruscant Accords requires authorization from the High Council to reach self-defense forces. Bo-Katan and Din have their gauntlets out for their chain codes to be scanned. The p.a. notes that they are ordered to meet with the planetary leaders. So Din Djarin’s name is known by the government? The pod flashes away faster than any landspeeder! Then, it enters the city, this scene is right out of Logan’s Run (1976)! They enter a party, guards at either side have stormtrooper armor, and they are greeted by one of the leaders. He is Captain Bombadier (Jack Black!) and next to him is The Duchess played by Lizzo! I feel happy that Lizzo is in our universe and also the Star Wars universe. 

At the table are a host of well-dressed aliens, almost a reverse of Jabba the Hutt’s palace, and we also see the Frog Lady! Captain Bombadier says he was a former Imperial officer, but the New Republic Amnesty Program sent him to the planet to restore it. So the New Republic restored the planet, but it is independent? Something wrong here. The Duchess is Plazir-15 royalty and married Captain Bombadier. She asks to hold the baby and Grogu leaps into her arms. The Duchess replies to Mando’s question about the fleet and says that they are hired because the New Republic won’t allow such ships. Bo-Katan asks to see the privateer and the couple takes it as an excuse to leave with them. The Duchess has an elegant dress with a train behind her is like a decorative kite resembling a decorative peacock, stunning! They explain that Imperial droids were re-programmed for peace by Captain Bombadier, but malfunctioned. The battle droids became hostile. I wonder if one of the droids is an IG-11? Bo-Katan says the Mandalorian garrison can take care of the battle droids. The Duchess says their charter prevents them from entering the city. So they can only protect outside and not the city itself? Captain Bombadier notes that they will recognize Mandalore as a soverign system to the New Republic. This is so important if true, that it is worth the risk. 

Bo-Katan asks Din’s opinion and he is ready to take on battle droids, the same force that eliminated his family! At the control room, they are debriefed by Head of Security, Helgait played by Christopher Lloyd! This episode is so perfect! There is a Hellgate: London (2007) video game. He mentions that the battle droids were meant to sent to Karthon for the scrap yards. Helgait shows them the first malfunction with a Short-Range Transport Droid goes berserk smashing a refuse container against its transport. Then, other malfunctions that threaten the citizens. This is like the comic book, Magnus, Robot Fighter, with a utopia threatened by out of control robots. Bo-Katan suggests the droids be shut down and Helgait explains that the citizens voted against it since they just relax now, similar to the lazy humans of Wall-E (2008). He says he wants them to take out any rogue droids until they can deal with the droid’s programming. Helgait says the list of the droids is with the Ugnaught in the lower level! This is a love letter to Star Warriors. The episode has such important content that it will be continued in the next part! A flawless episode of The Mandalorian with stunning guest stars that don’t feel like stunt casting, and a complicated situation that will lead Bo-Katan to her forces! 

Five+ Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five! 

#TheMandalorian, #GunsForHire, #PedroPascal, #KateeSackhoff, #Grogu, #JackBlack, #Lizzo, #ChristopherLloyd, #SimonKassianides, #MercedesVarnado, #ChristineAdams, #HarryHolland 

The Ark, “The Painful Way”, Review!

The Ark is in danger with the potential conflict of Ark-15 and even more the scheming of the Trusts! William Trust using a computer screen notes that the negative energy used during their FTL jump refueled the ship for another jump! This is a fascinating energy source for a sci fi vessel. The bridge crew claps, but Lt. James Brice wants Eva to check the new drive. Lt. Sharon Garnet agrees with him. Alicia Nevins runs in and says she knows the location of Ark-15 that attacked Ark-3. From the Ark-3 data, she plotted its trajectory and also noted Ark-1’s position. Alicia follows its path and Brice notes that it is headed towards Proxima B!  I love seeing a graphic of Proxima B, we really don’t have an idea about the planet at this point. So they will have to encounter the Ark-15 when reaching Proxima B! I wonder if they can make that proposed shield to block the weapon?  It looks the show’s opening has changed now that we have the FTL drive ready! At the conference room, Felix Strickland notes the hostility of the Ark-15 ship, Alicia that they have to defend against the “Aliciainium weapon”, she says she has given up trying to fight it!  I love this show! Garnet says they will have to change course. Alicia says the other habitable planet is Ross 128B. 

Eva Markovic is opposed to the idea that will take years and with the ship’s condition. William states that it is not acceptable, to be honest he’s not part of the crew, and not a commander. Garnet tells the Trusts that they are at the meeting as a courtesy and can’t make decisions for the ship. Helena Trust tells her husband to show the crew his plan. Dr. Sanjivni Kabir can’t tell what is the plan. Eva says it looks like a shield. William explains that the FTL’s “space distortion bubble” forms the shield. Alicia notes that it will form after arrival. Markovic says it could work. Garnet is uncertain. William says he will risk his life on his plan. Brice brings up he risked the lives of the North Euro District to attempt decarbonization. I like that the Earth’s sectors are identified in part here. William angrily says he didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Helena says the Klampkins disease was unforeseen by anyone. Brice sides with Garnet and then Strickland, both of whom have issues with William Trust. Helena says this is all a popularity contest and William agrees, they should be confined to quarters, at least sent from the conference room. William uses his tablet to enter codes. Dr. Kabir wonders what he has done. Trust has locked the FTL drive with a security protocol. Again, they should have been sent out well before that point. 

THE ARK -- “The Painful Way” --  STACEY READ, PAUL LEONARD MURRAY, MERCEDES DE LA CRUZ, TIANA UPCHEVA -- Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

The Trusts walk out and William says he will unlock it once they travel to Proxima B. Brice asks Garnet permission to give William a thrashing! Maybe Strickland will join him! Markovic says the FTL drive still has to fully recharge. Garnet says she has a job for Alicia. At the dome, Angus is trying to impress Kelly with watering a pumpkin. She asks if his plants will work on Proxima B and he says it is uncertain. Kelly notes that his agriculture knowledge is the most important on the planet to survive. Brice joins Eva at the mess hall.  It is his attempt to kind of apologize to her about being angry of her attempt to find his Klompkins cure. A lover’s quarrel and this is the make up. He says they can just be friends, um, with benefits? William Trust returns to the bridge thinking Garnet made a mistake. She shows him the Ross 128B course. Garnet also corrects him that it is not his Ark, it’s their Ark, I like her asserting her authority. No comprimise. So Garnet calls in Alicia!, she broke his code to stop the Ark-3 self-destruct and found out how to hack the lock out from his usual pattern. The person Trust called a child just schooled him! Garnet then sends him out of the bridge for good! Another great scene! William vents back in his room and Lt. Spencer Lane says that Garnet wasn’t humilating him, no he did it to himself. 

William says that more crew will die in the two years it will take to reach Ross128B. His wife supports him, says he did it the nice way, and instead it is time for her to use the “painful way.” Lane should stop them right there, maybe he will get back the friendship he lost keeping the Trust secret, but again this could be a lie of omission that could compromise the ship! By the way, Strickland is in charge of security, and the greatest threat is the Trusts which he knows by experience. They should always be guarded for their safety, kinda, but also what William already did locking the FTL drive. At the bridge, Brice reassures Garnet on changing course, she makes a shipwide announcement explaining the situation. This is heard by Kelly who looks like she has sinister plans of her own. Garnet notes that they will make a FTL jump. She tells Eva to make the jump, but the engineer is hesitant. Eva starts the FTL, love the perspective of the bridge screen, Brice leaves and Eva follows him. In a corridor, Brice tells her is worried that he will never reach Ross128 even though he agrees with Garnet. 

Cat is talking with Lane who says they have been traveling a week at light speed. She brings up the shield which is information out of her pay grade. Plus, she says she knows William Trust designed it, which should set off alarm bells. Garnet did say they didn’t have a “reliable defense” in her announcement. Cat and Lane sowing mutiny on the Ark!  The episode’s lesson: never trust an over privileged influencer! The strange thing is that the crew members immediately believe gossip. Kelly is working on a device, a WD?, and Angus says she can just get another one. She says it is from Ark-3, and tries flatter him, but he admits only an engineer could fix it. By the way, he wasn’t at the conference room, and didn’t work with Alicia on breaking Trust’s lock out. Negligent with his duties, focusing on your crops is not really being part of the crew, plant boy! Eva is at the engine room when William enters, a high security area!, is Strickland on a break? He tries to flatter her, but then boasts that he is “the best engineer in the galaxy.” William tries to plant seeds of doubt that the ship will last the trip to Ross128. This is not reported to Garnet? 

THE ARK -- “The Painful Way” -- RICHARD FLEESHMAN, TIANA UPCHEVA -- Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

At the mess hall, Helena is having lunch with Griff who is starstruck, even though Helena warned her husband about having an affair with her. She is testing Griff’s loyalty. Then, Helena asks about Strickland. Griff told her not to mention him to Helena, but… Helena brings up his family including his daughter, Katheryn. She says Strickland is making “emotional decisions.” If Griff takes part of the mutiny, she should join the others in the airlock. The suspicous crew members ask Brice and Garnet about the shield. One tries to confront her and Brice is backing her up. The ensign says the crew doesn’t want to head to Ross128, but Garnet says she is making the best possible decision. Great that she is bringing up this officer’s low rank. His bully colleague slams Garnet into a bulkhead! They are both knocked out by Garnet and Brice! She calls and security and remarks that they can’t reach the planet with a mutinous crew. Her head wound is checked by Dr. Kabir in med bay. I think the priority is to lock out the bridge with codes known only to the current personnel, also the engine room, and sensitive areas. Dr. Kabir is about to sew up the wound, but Garnet notes that instead she can rest, shaky hands! So Sharon Garnet sews the wound herself in a mirror! This woman is tough. 

Dr. Kabir notes that Cat is helping by holding her pills. Lane joins his former friend in a corridor. He tries to convince Brice about William Trust’s plan. Not the way to go rebuilding a friendship. Brice questions why Lane has “blind faith” in Trust. True, this takes away a person’s decision making. Lane admits that he only got to the academy through a scholarship from Trust Industries. He says Trust is why he is in the GSA and Brice counters with Trust is why he is now a civilan. Blind faith wouldn’t see that reality. Lane is alone in the corridor as the door closes before him. Great shot! Almost alone in the mess hall, Griff tells Strickland about talking with Helena, and brings up her comment about him and emotional decisions. Stickland replies unemotionally to the assessment. He says the first weeks will be difficult and then loses focus. Griff drugged him! He notices that the mess hall emptied out, she tries to apologize, and Strickland passes out! Brice and Eva are in his bunk again, I wonder what she means by last time?, he drinks a bottle of water, and she tries to apologize! Another drugged! He passes out and Eva says drugging him was the only way to protect him. I don’t know who the crew recovers from betrayals all in the Trusts desperation to get to Proxima B. The senior members don’t have a council with Brice and Garnet. The Ark is on a dangerous course to get to Proxima B and face the Ark-15!    

Five Compression Suits out of Five! 

#TheArk, #ThePainfulWay, #ChristieBurke, #RichardFleeshman, #TianaUpcheva, #ReeceRitchie, #StaceyRead, #ShaliniPeiris, #PavleJerinic, #PaulLeonardMurray, #MercedesDeLaCruz, #ChristinaWolfe, #TamaraRadovanovic, #SamanthaGlassner

The Ark, "Every Single Person Matters", Part II Review!

“Every Single Person Matters” has such an eventful story that here is the second half! Tensions on The Ark are ramped up when the Trusts join the crew. Lt. James Brice had given William an upper cut for the Klampkins disease, the result of his experiments, this makes me think of a real life rocket launch that was feared to explode and cover the atmosphere, it didn’t. Still, I wonder if Trust’s experiments made The Arks and the later advancements by his rival Maddox possible or that she sabotaged his experiments?  I don’t trust the Trusts, but there may be more to what happened. At the conference room, Felix Strickland is angry that Helena put him on The Ark-1. He had no option to protect his family. Helena says he saved their lives so she in turn saved his life. It seems so clear cut to her. Strickland is haunted by the memory. There is a crowd of protestors outside of the Trust headquarters, Strickland watches them, escorting the Trusts. A gun man aims at the Trusts, but Strickland takes the bullet! He says he regrets saving their lives and turns over guard duty to Jelena Griff. She comes and thanks William Trust, but this already raises Helena’s suspicions. 

THE ARK -- “Every Single Person Matters” -- PAUL LEONARD MURRAY, MERCEDES DE LA CRUZ, CHRISTIE BURKE, PAVLE JERINIC -- Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

Alicia Nevins sees Angus Medford at the mess hall and takes a seat by him. She updates him on her productive day, then they are joined by Kelly who says they were experimenting with the crops. Angus is suddenly perked up. No matter what happens, if Alicia is interested in Angus’ work, but he has no interest in her work, that’s not a friend. Hopefully, Alicia finds someone better. Nevins notes his change and Kelly says she changed his hairstyle. Eva Markovic asks for Alicia to return to engineering and tells her to bring her food. At the bridge, Lt. Sharon Garnet and Brice call over Lt. Spencer Lane. He explains that Trent gave him the secret of the Trusts and Garnet he says he lied by omission. True. Also, that he didn’t not confide in Garnet as the second officer. Lane also broke his friendship with Brice keeping the secret. Garnet takes away his duties and rank as lieutenant! This is backed by Brice and Strickland walks up to them. Strickland has his hand out for Lane’s i.d. It may be necessary, but not in front of all of the bridge crew. Markovic and Alicia are hooking up the Maddox retrofit. One of the engineers is confused at what Alicia said, but she knows her theoretical physics! 

Markovic says that The Ark-3 worked fine, yes, but what happened when it stopped and ended up with all of the crew lost except Kelly?  Also, Angus is basically the science officer, but did not have any input?  There should be conferences, back-up plans if the jump goes wrong, and what to do with an Ark-3 situation. They are ready to go Faster Than Light, but engineer, Sasha Novak asks about the possiblites of dying. Helena wonders why they were not honored and William notes human nature, I sense a little Steve Jobs there, but also a kind of arrogance. He notices the arrival of Alicia and Markovic. William gets an update about the retrofit from Alicia and he says it is dangerous. She counters that they are running out of fuel necessary to make a FTL jump. William notes that the fuel will be replaced in FTL and also that Maddox liked to use shortcuts! Garnet asks for feedback and Brice seconds Alicia and Markovic. She makes the decision to go FTL! They take their stations, no shipwide announcement, and go FTL! A bubble envelops The Ark-1, and then energy crackles, sending the ship in warp. This kinda makes me think of the Stargate.  We see surges of white energy in the bubble. Markovic reports that it is stable, but there is a distortion like her face is pulled to the side. This is similar to the effect on Ellie Arroway in Contact (1997). 

THE ARK -- “Every Single Person Matters” --  TIANA UPCHEVA, STACEY READ, PAUL LEONARD MURRAY -- Photo: Aleksander Letic/Ark TV Holdings, Inc./SYFY

Garnet is shocked that words from the past and future are combining including the warning by William Trust. Garnet asks if they can drop out of FTL, Markovic starts typing, then we see her running. She is back at the station and reports they can’t shut it down. William says they have to reach the engine room, he turns and sees himself, Alicia, and Markovic walking towards it! I love the surreal nature of the FTL’s effect on the crew. He says to follow their “future selves”, makes sense since they safely reached a certain point. They do so and William says to “focus on the destination”, then the women see William do the same action. They flash into the engine room and William tells them to remember. Then, he appears entering the engine room, everything fragments, moments ahead, Alicia about to activate the EMP, her arriving. They have a distorted conversation, Markovic worries that the EMP will destroy Ark-1, and William Trust says it is a fail-safe that will only hit the engines and not the other systems! Markovic never heard about it and William says the info on the EMP was for the commanding officers. Eva Markovic is to disconnect the retrofit and Trust activates the EMP.  They tossed to the floor, but out of FTL! The bridge crew pick themselves up, out of breath, Brice remarks that he thought FTL would be fun. Garnet meets with the Trusts who have returned to their room. 

She is there to apologize. William says about leadership that you have to trust your gut and if a mistake is made to own up to it. He says the right things sometimes. Garnet says she wants his help with the Maddox retrofit and Williams replies that their goal is to survive. In the helmet room, Brice and Markovic put on their clothes, their relationship is not perfect, but their attraction is evident. He compliments her for the engine room save and she says it is the last time. Sure. Whatever happens, I think they will always be passionate about each other, there was a hint when Brice backed her FTL decision that maybe this was influenced by their relationship. He is smiling when he says he is just a “slip-up”, she mentions that there may be a cure for Klompkins in The Ark-3 archives. Brice has accepted his fate and given up finding a way to survive. He doesn’t want her to fall in love with a man who will die like Harris. Brice walks away. Cat has been waiting for someone to see her, it’s William Trust!, they kiss, yeek! Just when I was leaning towards Cat being a valuable member of the crew, rug pulled out! He says Helena doesn’t now about their affair or she wouldn’t put them on the same Ark. William brings up the mysterious Juno Project, the Roman goddess was connected to childbirth, hmm. He asks about her loyalty before they fall to the bed! The Ark makes a risky FTL jump, tensions run high with the Trusts and Kelly?, plus another mystery with a Juno Project!   

Five Compression Suits out of Five! 

#TheArk, #EverySinglePersonMatters, #ReeceRitchie, #RichardFleeshman, #ChristieBurke, #TianaUpcheva, #StaceyRead, #PavleJerinic, #TamaraRadovanovic, #RyanAdams, #ShaliniPeiris, #ChristinaWolfe, #SamanthaGlassner, #PaulLeonardMurray, #MercedesDeLaCruz.