Tag Archives: Star Trek

Sep 8 2025

Star Trek As It Approaches Its 60th Anniversary

As Star Trek celebrate Star Trek Day and commemorate the 59th anniversary of the famous sci-fi TV show, it is important to reflect on the state of the Star Trek franchise and where it is going as it soon approaches its 60th anniversary.

Star Trek has had its highs and lows throughout the decades in terms of popularity, cultural relevance and quality with its glory years arguably being during the 1990s. After the franchise took a forced hiatus in the mid 2000s, a comeback was attempted with the reboot film Star Trek (2009). The film did well and was popular but a significant number of fans did not appreciate director J.J. Abrams attempt to turn the franchise about space explorers, noted for its thought-provoking plots, into a more simplistic shoot-em-up space adventure that emphasized action and explosions over nifty plots and character developments.

The reboot film franchise came to an end nine years ago with Star Trek Beyond, which did not perform well in theaters, though its tone was more of a throwback to the original TV shows and films. Since then, there have been many failed attempts to produce a fourth film featuring the cast of the reboot films, but none have succeeded and that franchise is now essentially dead. Or is it?

Meanwhile, Star Trek returned to its TV roots in 2017 with the debut of Star Trek: Discovery, a prequel series to the original show that streamed on the app CBS All Access (later renamed Paramount+). Now, while the TV show ran a respectable five seasons and spawned another prequel spinoff, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as well as additional Star Trek TV shows, Star Trek: Discovery wound up being divisive among fans. Many complained about the storylines and the characters, with more conservative fans being outright hostile to the show’s featuring of non-heterosexual characters. It did not matter. In this day and age of toxic fandom where cynical content creators are more interested in clicks and views, any iteration of Star Trek would have received scorn.

Right now, Star Trek is at a bit of a crossroads. Its parent company, Paramount Pictures, is undergoing a merger and the fate of the franchise is unknown with many rumors flying around as to its final fate. But there are many reports that the bigwigs at Paramount are bullish on Star Trek and want to continue with the franchise. The question remains is how will it continue? As of now, the only currently streaming Star Trek TV show (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) will come to a conclusion after its fifth season (the fourth season is currently filming while the third season will complete streaming new episodes this week). After that, a new TV show Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will stream in early 2026, while a sitcom set in the world of Star Trek is in development. Who knows if that comedy will ever see the light of day or even generate any laughs if it comes to fruition.

There are other pitches for Star Trek TV shows, including a prequel series based on a young James T. Kirk, which will be a sequel to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and would star Paul Wesley reprising the role of Kirk. The show has been tentatively titled Star Trek: Year One and would be about Kirk’s early days as the starship Enterprise captain. Meanwhile, Scott Bakula, the star of Star Trek: Enterprise is involved in a pitch for a show that would take place years after Bakula’s show and feature his character as the president of the United Federation of Planets. Unlike other Star Trek shows, this one would not be a show about exploring worlds but have a political slant more akin to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Then there is the fan-favorite idea of Star Trek: Legacy, which would be a sequel to Star Trek: Picard, specifically its popular third season and be about the adventures of the crew of the Enterprise-G. It has been pitched in the past, but so far, Paramount has not shown interest in pursuing Star Trek: Legacy.

Regarding films, there are still plans to produce a fourth film set in the Abrams reboot universe with directors and writers coming and leaving the project. Then Paramount recently announced another film will be produced that will feature all-new characters and situations. That actually sounds interesting but as of now, we have no definite information.

Given all that, there are not any concrete plans for Star Trek TV shows or films aside from the Academy show, which is a bit concerning given that the 60th anniversary is under a year away. You would think Paramount would have something concrete in production. Some of the ideas noted above are interesting and even if they don’t end up as TV shows they can at least become limited series or TV films, just better executed than the hot garbage Star Trek: Section 31. One thing to consider is that 2026 will be a celebration of the original Star Trek, not its sequels and films, and there are three remaining cast members from the original show. Aside from a standard documentary/retrospective, maybe Paramount can find some way to involve William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Koenig in some kind of new Star Trek production. The only limits are time, money and more importantly, imagination. Here’s to boldy going 59 years strong.

Jan 25 2025

A Look Back At Star Trek: Voyager

It has been 30 years since the first episode of Star Trek: Voyager debuted, yet it is still fondly remembered today, especially when it is compared to many modern Star Trek TV shows. Let’s take a look back at Star Trek: Voyager as its 30th anniversary is celebrated.

Flagship Show

Star Trek: Voyager was the flagship TV show of the fledgling United Paramount Network (UPN) that launched on January 16, 1995, with the airing of “Caretaker” the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager. When the TV show premiered it was largely anticipated though many fans had reasonable reservations about yet another Star Trek TV show. After a decades-long drought, fans were inundated with TV shows starting with Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), which was followed by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), and then Star Trek: Voyager. It was supposed to address complaints Paramount Pictures executives had about DS9 for straying too far from standard Star Trek.

Showrunner Rick Berman, who also ran TNG and DS9, was reportedly hesitant to produce another Star Trek TV show that would run concurrently with DS9. However, the Paramount Pictures executives were adamant about creating another Star Trek TV show that more closely followed the standard starship-visiting-planets formula to help launch UPN. Given this task, Berman and his associates sought to differentiate Star Trek: Voyager from other Star Trek TVshows.

A Lost Crew in Space

The premise was fairly simple, a starship called Voyager from the United Federation of Planets and Earth is flung to the far corner of the galaxy (the Delta Quadrant) with a crew made up of Starfleet officers and renegade Maquis freedom fighters (more on them later). With limited resources and on their own, the Voyager crew has to find a way back home while exploring on the side and encountering strange new worlds, yada yada.  

Kate Mulgrew starred as Captain Kathyrn Janeway, who commanded the Voyager and was dedicated to upholding Starfleet’s ideals while protecting her crew. At the time of her casting, there was a lot of hoopla and celebration because the main character of a Star Trek TV show was a woman. Other characters included the ship’s first officer, Chakotay (Robert Beltran), the leader of the Maquis and a former Starfleet officer, Tuvok (Tim Russ), the ship’s stoic Vulcan security officer, Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill), a disgraced former Starfleet officer who gets his chance at redemption by serving as Voyager’s helmsman, B’Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), a half-Klingon Maquis member who became Voyager’s chief engineer, Harry Kim (Garrett Wang), a young Starfleet ensign on his first assignment, and the Doctor (Robert Picardo), a holographic medical program that performed the duties of the ship’s chief medical officer.

At the end of “Caretaker”, Voyager picked up two alien shipmates who are native to the Delta Quadrant and bring needed knowledge about the local space. They are Neelix (Ethan Phillips), a Talaxian drifter who ends being the ship’s cook and ambassador of sorts, and his girlfriend Kes (Jennifer Lien), an Ocampan who operates as the Doctor’s medical assistant and helps the program develop a personality. As the series progressed, it added Jeri Ryan to the cast as the former cybernetic Borg drone called Seven of Nine while Lien departed the series. Seven of Nine became the show’s breakout character thanks in part to the performance of Ryan as she served as the show’s version of Spock. In other words, a stoic outsider who questioned humanity while discovering her own.

Essentially, the TV show combined aspects of the original Star Trek and Lost in Space, and it worked for the most part. Yet, there was glaring issues with the TV show which turned out to be a harbinger for the creative drought the Star Trek franchise was beginning to suffer from at that time.

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Jan 5 2025

Top Ten Most Anticipated Films & TV Shows

Aside from the fact that the year 2025 means that this century is now 25 percent complete, this year promises many great genre films and TV shows for our enjoyment. Here is the list of the most anticipated films and TV shows for 2025. But note that as always, some of the projects listed will either be delayed to another year or turn out to be hot garbage and/or won’t necessarily be among the best films or TV shows when the year is complete. With that, let’s check out what 2025 has in store for us.

Films

10. Predator: Badlands

The film Prey turned out to be a great surprise as it jumpstarted the Predator franchise. The director of Prey, Daniel Tracthenberg, returns with a fresh new premise as the new film is told from the point of view of the Predator.

9. Jurassic World: Rebirth

The Jurassic Park/World franchise starts off with a new premise and cast as dinosaurs have become an endangered species. Calamity ensues (as always) when humans try to gather genetic material from the last remaining dinosaurs on an island.

8. Sinners

Black Panther Director Ryan Coogler teams up again with actor Michael B. Jordan in a horror yarn featuring vampires. Jordan plays a dual role as troubled twin brothers who return to their hometown only to discover a deadly evil waiting for them.

7. How to Train Your Dragon

While the idea of adapting beloved animated classics into live-action films has run its course, looking at you Disney, the trailer for this film looks great. It captured the look and tone of the original film from DreamWorks Animation, so let’s hope the film will turn out to be as great as the animated classic.

6. Captain America: Brave New World

The first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for 2025 would have been more anticipated if not for the unsettling and continuous reports about constant reshoots and poor reactions from screenings. The trailers look great, especially with Harrison Ford playing the Red Hulk and Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson fully embracing the legacy role of Captain America. In any event, we’ll see in a few weeks.

5. Thunderbolts*

At first, this loose adaptation of the Marvel Comics anti-superhero team seemed like a poor MCU knockoff of the Suicide Squad. What gave this impression was the lineup of the team of supervillains forced into servitude by the U.S. government. Unlike the comic books, the team is made up of the MCU’s lesser-powered characters. But the interplay among them as seen in the trailers was amusing and could be the highlight of the film.

4. 28 Years Later

The creative people behind the first film, 28 Days Later, return for the third film in the British “zombie” apocalypse film franchise which is set…28 years after the first film. Being that the original director, Danny Boyle, is back, this film should be as tense and horrifying as the original classic. There are many questions about what has happened to the world after the Rage Virus has decimated it or what happened to the main protagonist from the first film since Cillian Murphy will return, but it’s not clear in what capacity.

3. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

After so many flawed live-action versions of Marvel Comics’ First Family, Marvel Studios finally has creative control over the property. The new version of the famed superhero team/dysfunctional family promises to be more faithful to the spirit of the comic books that launched Marvel Comics. A lot is riding on the success of this new Fantastic Four film for the MCU and Marvel Studios because the team will be pivotal players in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga and due to the involvement of the studio’s president, Kevin Feige, to ensure the film’s success.

2. Superman

Filmmaker James Gunn formally launches the rebooted DC cinematic universe with his version of the Man of Steel. Superman promises to veer away from the dark and maligned version of Superman seen in the failed DC Extended Universe. This version of Superman will go back to its optimistic comic book roots and once again serve as a beacon of hope and justice in our world, and lord knows we need someone like Superman now. Superman must be well received, and its chances are high thanks to the talented Gunn fresh from the success of his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.

1. Avatar: Fire and Ash

Never underestimate filmmaker James Cameron. He is a truly gifted and imaginary film auteur who has immersed audiences with his past films, including the first two Avatar films. Despite the complaints about the simplistic nature of the Avatar films, they are very immersive thanks to groundbreaking special effects and 3D technology. These aspects helped elevated Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water into event films that were very popular. Cameron will continue this immersion into an alien world with the third film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, as it further explores the verdant moon of Pandora, the continuing fight against human invaders and has the main characters encountering an evil tribe of Na’vi.

Notable Mentions:

Ash; The Black Phone 2; Companion; Elio; The Electric State; Five Nights at Freddy’s 2; Frankenstein; The Gorge; The Last Battleship; The Legend of Ochi; Lilo & Stitch; Love Me; M3GAN 2.0; Mickey 17; The Monkey; Planet Gliese; Presence; The Running Man; Star Trek: Section 31; Tron: Ares; Wolf Man; Zootopia 2

TV Shows

10. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

This third series set in the world of A Game of Thrones looks very engaging with its rich production as seen in clips and its premise about a wandering knight and his squire in the land of Westeros.

9. Peacemaker

The super violent super soldier from DC Comics was portrayed to great comic effect by John Cena, He will reprise his role for the second season with episodes written by James Gunn, who will also direct at least one episode.

8. It: Welcome to Derry

The infamous fictional Maine town of Derry featured in many of Stephen King’s literary works is the setting of this Max series that zeroes in on the evil influence of the malicious entity Pennywise.

7. The Last of Us

The second season of the acclaimed adaptation of the video game continues its story of Joel and young Ellie, survivors of the apocalyptic fungal pandemic that devastated the world. What is not known is if the series will continue to be as faithful to the game as it progresses.

6. Alien: Earth

Noah Haley writes and directs the first TV series based on the Alien franchise. Little is known about this prequel to the original film, other than it involves a ragtag group of soldiers dealing with a deadly threat to our planet after the alien xenomorphs arrive on our planet.

5. Severance

The horrors of the modern office workplace take an even more macabre turn in the second season of Severance. Adam Scott returns as Mark the employee of the mysterious Lumon corporation that erases the memories of its employees each time they go to and from work. The second season should answer many burning questions about Lumon and deepen its mystery.

4. Stranger Things 5

The Stranger Things saga comes to an epic conclusion with its fifth and final season. It has been a couple of years since the last season of Stranger Things, but the talented cast and crew of the popular ode to ‘80s sci-fi/teenage films will be able to pick up where they left off and conclude the show’s storylines. Fingers crossed that it can defy trends and be able to stick the landing with its final episodes.

3. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Captain Pike, Spock and the rest of the first crew of the starship Enterprise return in the third season. Thankfully the first episode of the season will conclude the cliffhanger thread that left us screaming at our TV screens when the second season concluded. The rest of the episodes should be able to continue to evoke the adventurous spirit of the original Star Trek with fresh, modern stories as the characters explore strange new worlds.

2. Andor

What set Andor apart from the typical Star Wars fare was its more mature and grounded tone with ambiguous characters and complex situations that fully fleshed out the Star Wars universe. The second and final season of the acclaimed Star Wars TV show about the conflicted Rebel spy Andor (Diego Luna) will lead directly to the classic film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Andor’s second season should be just as complex and mature as the first and continue to set the bar not just for Star Wars but sci-fi TV shows in general.

1. Daredevil: Born Again

The best Netflix Marvel TV series is revived for Disney + and returns many of the beloved actors from the original series starting with Charlie Cox as the blind lawyer/superhero, Matt Murdock/Daredevil, and Vincent D’Onofrio as the evil crimelord Wilson Fisk, who is now the Mayor of New York City. Initially there was some trepidation about the direction of the series as it supposedly strayed from the gritty tone of the Netflix TV show, but Kevin Feige corrected course and had the series reshot nearly from scratch. The result should be a superhero TV show that matches or exceeds the standards of the original Daredevil, which is still considered one of the best superhero TV shows.  

Notable Mentions:

Batman: Caped Crusader; Black Mirror; Doctor Who; Eyes of Wakanda; For All Mankind; Gen V; The Handmaid’s Tale; Invincible; Ironheart; Marvel Zombies; The Sandman; Wednesday; Win or Lose; Wonder Man; Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man; Zero Day

Dec 31 2024

Top Ten Films & TV Shows Of 2024

2024, as with previous years, provided some wonderful and imaginative sci-fi, fantasy and horror films and TV shows, which were quite memorable. Here are the best films and TV shows that came out in 2024, many of which took everyone by surprise. Feel free to comment with your own choices.

Films

10. Sonic the Hedgehog 3

The third film in the Sonic film franchise fully embraces its video game lore with its colorful characters and their engaging backstories. As usual, Jim Carrey stole the film with his performance, as wells as Keanu Reeves who voiced the fan-favorite Shadow.

9. Late Night With the Devil

David Dastmalchian shined in this found footage horror film that took the guise of recordings from a broadcast of a 1970s late-night talk show. The film was genuinely creepy and disturbing as the show’s host, Jack Delroy (Dastmalchian), cameto grips with the realization that the occult-themed episode of his show had unpleasant connections to his own life.

8. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

George Miller directed one of his finest films ever with an intense origin story about the breakout character from Mad Max: Fury Road. Anya Taylor-Joy was simply perfect as the younger version of Furiosa, who navigates her way through a brutal post-apocalyptic world overrun by vicious gangs and extreme car chases throughout barren deserts. It’s a Mad Max world at its best.

7. Alien: Romulus

The Alien franchise rightfully returned to its horror roots with this entry that takes place in a claustrophobic space station swarming with alien xenomorphs hunting down the main characters. Even though a lot of the material was familiar and had callbacks to the other films, Alien: Romulus was fresh and inventive with its back-to-basics approach.

6. Nosferatu

The latest remake of the classic German silent horror film version of Dracula was genuinely creepy and disturbing. Director Robert Eggers has emerged as a true master of film horror with his version of Nosferatu that fully utilized disturbing sounds, eerie shadows, dark cinematography and an overall unsettling atmosphere that will keep you up at night.

5. Civil War

This is one of the most disturbing recent films to be released due to its subject matter of a near-future civil war in the United States and its ramifications. While the choice not to explain what caused the war and its apolitical stance may not satisfy everyone, this approach allowed director Alex Garland to focus on the cruelty and insanity of war and its impact on modern-day society. The film was also a powerful and cringe-inducing war film that ramped up intensely in the final act with a distressing, yet pulse-pounding battle in Washington, D.C.

4. A Quiet Place: Day One

The third film in the A Quiet Place franchise, was a prequel that chronicled the early days of the alien invasion that devastated the Earth and brought it to a silent standstill. The film had the smarts to introduce new characters and a new setting which was a terrifying location for the invasion: a noisy New York City that could not help but attract the deadly alien creatures that murder anyone making sounds. Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn were outstanding as two misfit survivors trying to reach the home of Nyong’o’s character while avoiding the aliens. Their personal stories were the heart of the film and set the template for future installments.

3. Deadpool & Wolverine

The fourth-wall-breaking Merc with a Mouth (Ryan Reynolds) teamed up with everyone’s favorite X-Man (Hugh Jackman) in a violent and humorous road/buddy trip throughout the multiverse. As the sole film release from Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) for the year, Deadpool & Wolverine had a lot riding on it given the fact that recent MCU films have struggled. Fortunately, the film delivered a funny and entertaining romp that both serviced the grand MCU plotline about the multiverse and was a love letter to the now-defunct Marvel films from 20th Century Fox.

2. The Wild Robot

Arguably DreamWorks Animation’s greatest film, The Wild Robot is a heartwarming and beautifully animated adaptation of Peter Brown’s novel about a service robot in the future that was stranded on an island populated by animals that distrusted her. Over time, she gained their trust as she adopted and raised a young goose and befriended many of the animals. At the same time, the robot began to develop sentience and emotional attachments to her companions, especially her adopted child, who she must raise and protect.

The Wild Robot was surprisingly engaging with its themes of parenthood, friendship, environmentalism, and empathy. It is too bad that this will be DreamWorks Animation final in-house film since the company has proven it can deliver genuine animated classics as it did with The Wild Robot.

1. Dune, Part Two

Director Denis Villeneuve concluded his grand adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi epic novel about political and religious machinations and war in the distant future. Dune, Part Two actually adapted the second half of the novel and it was a wise decision to split the novel into two films since it allowed Villeneuve the time to fully explore the intricacies of the distinct human cultures across the universe.

While the film was wide-sweeping and bursting with glorious production values and effects, at its core, Dune, Part Two, focused on the burden of its main protagonist, Paul Atreides, who unwillingly became the messianic leader who leads the inhabitants of the desert world called Dune in a holy war. Any viewer could empathize with Paul’s struggle as he faced his destiny despite his doubts about his actions as he sought vengeance for his father’s death and freedom for his adopted people.

Dune, Part Two is a true cinematic epic that demonstrates once and for all, the validity of a solid sci-fi story being successfully adapted into a cinematic masterpiece. The film also establishes that Villeneuve is a true master of sci-fi films who has the bold vision needed to undertake such an adaptation.

Noteworthy Mentions:

Abigail; Beetlejuice Beetlejuice; Elevation; Flow; Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire; Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire; IF; Inside Out 2; Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes; The Substance; Transformers One; Venom: The Last Dance

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Nov 22 2024

William Shatner Reunites With Leonard Nimoy For One Last Time In 765874: Unification

There have been numerous fan-made and unofficial Star Trek shorts and films made throughout the years that celebrated the legacy of Star Trek. Some of the more memorable efforts featured the actual actors from the Star Trek TV shows who reprised their famous roles. The latest effort, 765874: Unification, stands out from the rest not just for its production values or topnotch CGI special effects, but because it stars William Shatner in what will most likely be his final performance as Captain James T. Kirk as he reunites with the late Leonard Nimoy as Spock.

Directed by Carlos Baena, 765874: Unification is produced by the VFX studio OTOY in conjunction with the Roddenberry Archive and was released on the heels of the 30th anniversary of the film Star Trek Generations. It serves as a bookend or an epilogue or a post-credits scene to that film as it finally shows us Kirk and his best friend Spock reuniting after their deaths. It is also a sequel of sorts to OTOY’s previous short film, 765874: Regeneration, which featured Leonard Nimoy as Spock reacting to the death of Captain Kirk.

Taking place in the afterlife, moments after Kirk died in Star Trek Generations, the film stars Shatner and Sam Witwer as Kirk, who is jaw-droppingly rendered with CGI and live-action performances. Basically, Kirk wanders through a heavenly afterlife that is similar to what he experienced in the Nexus from Star Trek Generations. During his journey, he comes across many people from his life including Saavik (reprised by Robin Curtis who was digitally aged into an old woman). The film also features numerous Star Trek Easter eggs and characters such as Gary Mitchell (reprised by Gary Lockwood in a performance that was obviously rendered through CG), who plays a role in guiding Kirk during his first moments after his death.

Eventually, Kirk encounters the alien Starfleet officer Yor, who was briefly featured in the Star Trek: Discovery episode “Terra Firma”. For anyone who hasn’t seen that episode, it was revealed that Yor was originally from the Kelvin Universe (the alternate reality where the J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek films take place in) and was stranded in the Star Trek Prime Universe until his death.

As Trek fans know, Spock (as portrayed by Leonard Nimoy) was stranded in the Kelvin Universe and remained there until his death of old age (as noted in Star Trek: Beyond).

Yor serves as a conduit for Kirk to enable him to crossover into the Kelvin Universe. In the final moments of 765874: Unification, Kirk appears at the deathbed of Spock as the two old friends silently watch the sun set with the promise of a new adventure awaiting the both of them in the afterlife.

Aside from the nearly perfect special effects, what made the film stand out was its lack of dialogue, aside from a brief voiceover by Kirk taken from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. But words were not necessary, Shatner and Witwer were able to convey genuine emotions as Kirk explores the afterlife filled with wonder and surprise.

Still, the special effects are just amazing and feature the best use ever of de-aging and CGI to render Kirk as we last saw him in Star Trek Generations and as the more youthful version of the starship captain seen in the original series. The only times the effects falter are in two shots where Kirk walks awkwardly in profile. But other than that bravo to OTOY for their work!

Yes, the use of CGI to bring Spock back to life (through CG and a live-action performance by Lawrence Selleck) and de-aging Shatner and others is controversial for some. But for others, this film is a fitting tribute to the brotherly bond between Kirk and Spock that spans time, space and life itself. Afterall, death cannot destroy relationships or bonds.

More importantly, the short film is a love letter to Star Trek fans, especially those who still appreciate the older more iconic iteration of the sci-fi franchise and have fond memories of those early films and TV shows. After so many years, it feels great to see these two Star Trek legends together for one last time.

Needless to say, whether or not it’s official or canon, 765874: Unification finally gives us the opportunity to say farewell to these two characters as we see the Shatner and Nimoy versions of Kirk and Spock have a final performance together. Using the afterlife as the vessel for their unification is an appropriate and dare say, logical, way to close this chapter of their existence and the landscape for their next great adventure.

José Soto