This spring has not been as active, scifi-wise.
I finished the Sense8 rewatch before going to the Sense8Con3.
The Fringe rewatch continues, and by the end of April seasons 1 – 3 were completed, and season 4 is in progress. One episode per day when time allows.
The spring is in full swing, and some garden activities are necessary.
I have made a very modest start with setting up a set of two solar panels to power some of my amateur radio activities.
In the past week end I went to the third Sense8Con in Paris.
The convention was, of course delayed 2 years due to the COVID-19 situation. While restrictions have largely been lifted, The convention did, however, require mask wearing at the convention activities, with the exception of photo ops.
Tis convention was much smaller than the previous one 3 years ago, as some people could not afford to go, and others had previous appointments at the convention days.
This made the convention even more close-knit than the others I have attended, and I got to meet some attendees from the previous one, and got to meet some new ones.
The (actor) guests this time were:
Tina Desai (once more) who played Kala in Mumbai.
Purab Kohli who played Rajan
Toby Onwumere who played Capheus in Nairobi, and
Paul Ogola who played Jela.
All of them were quite entertaining at the panels/Q&As, and responded to fan questions with very lively answers.
At the previous con I had asked about their relations to writers – evryone had been talking mostly about Lana Wachowski, so I put the focus on the co-creator J. Michael Straczynski (JMS).
All were appreciative of the writer’s, no surprise, because without a writer there will be no story. At the con 3 years ago Tina told how she tried to get JMS to open up to her, and how she was happy to break through, as they had much in common.
Tis time she told us how JMS would always be available to fill in back story for the characters, as he was the only one who had the time during the filming/production, as he was, of course, very involved in the creation of the characters and the story.
Paul Ogola had a special appreciation, as he has done some writing himself.
At the autograph sessions there was ample time for the guests to chat a bit with the fans, due to the small size of the convention.
I managed to make a few photos with the phone, and here is one. I may add more later. Tina Desai at the special panel:
After the convention I made a visit to one of the filming locations. In the series it is named The Lacuna, a place which is “in this world, but not of this world”. This is filmed at the ruins of an abandoned abbey in a village near the city of Brussels, the initial building of this started in the mid 12th century.
If one is interested in old architecture and ruins, this is definitely a site to visit, and for a fan of Sense8 it is well worth standing in The Lacuna, which is in the remains of the church of the abbey. Here is the one illustrating The Lacuna:
Both pictures in this post are right out of the camera (my phone), completely un-edited.
I may try to find time to look at, and edit a few more of the pictures from the convention, but this is all for now.
Got to watch a bit this month:
Films:
A drama-documentary about Einstein and Eddington – 7/10
A new Netflix original scifi: Don’t Look Up A political satire around a comet hitting Earth – 7/10
TV:
Season 4 of the Karate Kid spin-off Cobra Kai. Quite enjoyable – 8/10
The Expanse series finale An excellent series, and an excellent season 6 – 9/10
The Torchwood mini-series in 5 parts: Children of Earth. While I did not find the Torchwood seres in general all too enjoyable, this is an excellent piece of TV – 9/10
Season 1 of Fringe rewatch. Still excellent, the first season is a good introduction to the characters and the universe as such – 8/10
Started a rewatch of Sense8. Just about mid-season 1, and running.
The Fringe watch was a bit too fast, so the next season will probably be a bit less than 1 episode per day. Sense8 will just continue, probably with about one episode per day.
The days are getting longer, and some other activity is needed, indoors and outdoors.
This month I have started a rewatch of two of my high ranking series:
Sense8:
I am now mid-season 1. The story is as good as I remembered, enjoying it a lot.
The filming/cinematography is excellent, the “visiting” scenes filmed in two or more places is so well done, it feels seamless, and we are now getting to know the characters better.
Fringe: Just watched season 1, episode 7 “In Which We Meet Mr. Jones”.
John Noble is wonderful as Walter Bishop. It does not detract from the other actors, but his performance really shines all from the beginning.
I am taking both series in a moderate tempo, no big binging with many episodes per day. Sense4 has a total of 24 episodes, and I go for one every one or two days, maybe with short breaks. Fringe has 100 episodes, so one or two per day will be the norm, also with possible breaks.
After this I would like to do a Babylon 5 rewatch, but I want to see the remastered version, and it is not yet available on physical media, and I have not yet found it included in the streaming services I have. I may have to wait for a while.
While the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood did not really catch me, there was one season/event that did.
Living in Holland at the time I could watch BBC TV on the cable, and that means that I could catch the 5-day event that was Torchwood: Children of Earth.
5 episodes, each about one hour long, broadcast over 5 days, this strikes me as an excellent science fiction story.
Suddenly children all over the world simply stop for a while, and all saying “We are coming!” An older man also does that. A government official Mr Frobisher is ordered to handle the situation, and it turns out that something strange happened to the older man – he escaped an alien abduction back in 1965, but apparently the connection is still there.
When Torchwood is destroyed by a bomb Jack Harkness is blown to bits and the surviving members escape, but are hunted. The mystery deepens. Of course, Jack is immortal , so he survives anyway.
The children stop once more, saying “We are coming – tomorrow”. Later again: “We are here”
All the while the government builds a glass container for hosting the alien visitors – filled with poisonous gases – for humans, at least … and the hunt for Torchwood (and others) continues. The aliens “beam” down and negotiations begin. The aliens want 10% of the children from all over the Earth. Ouch! The government wants to negotiate, but the aliens refuse and threaten to destroy all human life on Earth..
From the older man we find out that the one bringing the children to the pick up point was none other than – Capt. Jack – at the order of the government agency – no wonder they wanted him (and Torchwood) out of the way.
In the end Capt. Jack resolves the problem with the aliens, but at great (personal) cost.
The children of Earth are saved.
During this rewatch I very much enjoyed the story telling and the acting, and I rate this excellent story 9/10.
Today I watched the series finale of the TV series.
I have not (yet) read the book series by James S.A. Corey, so I cannot compare the two.
I like the series, even if the final (6th) season was too short. Lots of threads were closed, but some are still open, should the series get a continuation at some stage.
I cannot fully recall the first seasons, so at some stage a re-watch of the series is in order I think getting and reading the book series may be a good idea.
For the first time since February 2020 it was possible to go to a convention. The Sense8Con3 is still awaiting information, but Fedcon went ahead in October 2021.
It was very good to meet old friends, even if some could be hard to recognize due to mask wearing when walking around. When sitting in a fixed place that was not mandated. The convention had what in Germany is called a 3G policy. You had to be either 1) vaccinated 2) tested negative or 3) documented recovery within the past 6 months.
This was, of course not ideal, but it beats having no convention at all.
– and now for some media stuff:
October:
I finished the Watchmen TV series (HBO) 7/10
November:
Film:
Dune (part 1) I like what they did, and I am looking forward to seeing part 2 in about two years – 8/10
TV:
Finished season 6 of Supergirl (HBO) 7/10
December:
Film:
Re-watch of the full and extended edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I love this 10/10
TV:
Finished Wheel of Time, season 1 (Amazon) I like it 7/10
Finished The Witcher (Netflix), season 2. I like it. 8/10
Still not too much, but other activities have taken precedence.
Not too much this time, but updating some TV series, and 3 films:
Finished season 2 of Cloak and Dagger. Works nicely for me. 8/10.
Films:
Das Boot. A classic WW2 movie. 7/10
The Godfather. A classic, Interesting watch – I like the cinematography. 8/10
Spiderman: Far From Home. Good fun, 7/10
A few days ago, Straczynski answered a query from a fan about the possibilities of new Babylon 5, saying (quoted from memory) “This may not be as far fetched as you might think”.
Yesterday the news broke via several sources:
The CW channel, owned by Warner Bros, now has a re-boot of the Babylon 5 series in development. The new show will have J. Michael Straczynski (JMS), the creator of the original series, at the helm. JMS is busy writing the pilot episode.
When hearing about re-boots of older series I am usually a bit of a skeptic. Hearing that JMS will be running the show makes me optimistic and excited to see what he can do with his much larger writing experience and modern techniques of production. Having followed a good deal of his other work over time, I get the sense that we will not get just a re-hash of the original story, but taking into account all that JMS has learned over timr, about what works and what doesn’t. I think that the experience of working together with the Wachowskis on Sense 8 has further added to this.
Additionally, he said in a Twitter thread that he is not just just going to tell the old story all over again – we have seen that story already – but that it should be fresh water in the river of story telling. I have faith in his ability to craft stories that catch many people.
The reactions in the fan community is understandable very diverse, from people simply saying no, don’t want a re-boot, to people saying I’m all in. For me I will watch and then judge the new series on its own merits, even if I see it in the light of the original series that I have seen several times (I lost count).
When it comes to JMS, expect the unexpected. Exciting times ahead!
There has been limited activity on the scifi realm this month, well it is summer time, and outdoor activities have taken precedence, but this bit was done:
July:
Read:
J.M. Straczynski: Together We Will Go.
Not a genre book, but very well written and very unusual. tears, laughter, a mystery and very complex characters make this an excellent read. 9/10.
Film:
Theory of Everything (about the life of Stephen Hawking). 8/10
TV:
Superman & Lois:
S01 continued.
Modest, but a bit more will happen in the fall/autumn.