tv review
Reviewing insightful and thought provoking science fiction TV and technology.
Review of 'Y: The Last Man'
I just finished watching Y: The Last Man on Hulu, about a year after I should have watched it in the first place. Why am I saying that? It's because Y is a breathtaking, one-of-a-kind daring one season of a series, which I would have enjoyed thinking about now for a year rather than just a few hours. It certainly warranted multiple seasons, but was inexplicably cancelled in October 2021 before the first season was over (all ten episodes are now up on Hulu). To be clear, I get that the viewership sagged, as widely reported, and Hulu had other reasons for not continuing the series. But given how groundbreaking the narrative was (based on a comic book I haven't read), it eminently deserved much more story and screen time. Or, to be less courteous, I think the cancelation was one of the most clueless moves in all of television history, rivaling the cancelation of Star Trek (the original series) by NBC after three seasons back in the 196os.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Mosquito Coast' 2.8
Those of you who have been reading my reviews of science fiction TV series here, even for just the past year, will know who Hari Seldon is. In case you don't, he's the protagonist in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, and I think his original trilogy from the 1950s is the best science fiction ever written. Seldon is able to statistically predict the future. He invents a method called "psychohistory," which comes from LaPlace's Demon in philosophy (though LaPlace is not mentioned): if you were able to know everything about human behavior, capture it and put it all in mathematical form, you could see what people will be doing tomorrow or even a century from now. Pretty head stuff, right?
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Kindred'
Just binged Kindred on Hulu the past two nights. It's a time travel story unlike anything I've ever seen or read (I haven't read the Octavia Butler* novel from which it's adapted). And it's powerful, beautiful, tender, and tough, and altogether superb.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Why the "Flowers Never Bend" Performance in The Orville 3.9 Will Last Forever
This sweet soulful rendition by Lt. Gordon Malloy (Scott Grimes) and Ensign Charly Burke (Anne Winters) of Simon & Garfunkel's "Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" this past July on the 9th episode of the 3rd Season of The Orville certainly wasn't the first vocal performance in a TV drama or comedy that wasn't a musical. It's not even the first sustained singing in a Star Trek or Star Trek inspired TV show. Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) sang "Beyond Antares" in a memorable scene with Spock (in "The Conscience of the King,” episode 1.13 of the original Star Trek series in December 1966) and a couple of other times on the USS Enterprise on network television back then.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Peripheral' 1.4-1.5
Who took Lev's tea? The disappearance of his tea in episode 1.4 of The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video was an another signalic moment, just like the coffee container materializing in thin air in what now seems like a much earlier episode. The tea gone and the coffee appearing just like that symbolize the immense forces at play in this so far delicately powerfully rendered series, which as far as I can tell so far hasn't missed a step. (Reminder: I haven't read the book.)
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Peripheral' 1.1-1.2
I saw the first two episodes of The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video last night. It's an adaptation of the 2014 novel of the same name by William Gibson, the veritable godfather of cyberpunk who practically invented the genre with his novel Neuromancer in 1984. It was made by the creators of Westworld on HBO. So, The Peripheral has to be good, right?
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Quantum Leap' (2022) 1.1-1.3
The new Quantum Leap sequel debuted on NBC two weeks ago. I was prepared not to like it, though recently, I've very much enjoyed the sequel of The Man Who Fell to Earth on Showtime, and, for that matter, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount Plus. And turns out I did enjoy this first episode of the new Quantum Leap, for all kinds of reasons, which I'll tell you about after I warn you about spoilers ahead.
By Paul Levinson3 years ago in Futurism
Elon Musk's Life - Childhood, Wealth, Personal Life, And Other Rumors
Who is Elon Musk? Elon Reeve Musk (born June 28, 1971) is an American entrepreneur and businessman of South African descent who founded X.com in 1999 (which later became PayPal), SpaceX in 2002, and Tesla Motors in 2003. Musk became a multimillionaire in the late 1920s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. Musk made headlines in May 2012 when SpaceX launched a rocket that would send the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station. Elon Musk Net Worth bolstered his portfolio by acquiring SolarCity in 2016 and cemented his position as an industry leader by taking on an advisory role in the early days of President Donald Trump's administration.
By Viorel Secareanu3 years ago in Futurism
