Star Trek SNW- Started Strong, Then Lost Me
I was impressed with Strange New Worlds as I watched the first episodes. Yes, it’s hokey in many ways, but it does pay homage to the original. There are times you can literally hear the screenwriter typing out dialogue that is repeated, usually by a secondary character. Ensign Ortega, the helmswoman is the bearer of many of these cracks.
While the plots had galaxy sized holes in them, there were enough interesting twists and foreshadows that it kept you engaged.
Episode 7, The Serene Squall, with the quadrant’s deadliest space pirate was a head scratcher. How did a handful of pirates capture the entire crew of the Enterprise, pretty much without a fight, it appeared. I mean, really? This is the Federation’s Flagship? No security? Just everyone surrendering?
And then Pike gets the pirates to mutiny by cooking for them? Ha ha. Not. It was insulting.
And the identity of the pirate, which was supposed to be the big twist, was obvious from the start. At least to me it was. She was good, well-acted, but there wasn’t much reason for her there other than to be who she was. And somehow Spock’s love can show up with the prisoner, but Starfleet can’t send help? Don’t they have a check-in process? Hell, if an A-Team missed two scheduled contacts everyone begins to take notice.
Then they went into a fantasy episode 8 with everyone breaking out the Shakespearean garb from costume. That one lost me, but I tried picking up the next.
Episode 9: With the Gorn on a planet. First, the reaction to another starship landing on a planet in distress and then finding blood trails and body parts didn’t seem to worry anyone overly much. No “send down the marines”—BTW, wouldn’t they have some form of Marines? Even send down a bunch of people in red shirts so that can get killed? No, they kill the newly promoted ensign.
And the security chief forgetting to tell anyone that the acid actually impregnates until it’s far too late didn’t make sense, but did make for the dramatic end of the chief engineer.
What really as in your face though was the blatant Alien ripoff. I mean they didn’t even try to come up with anything new.
Some of the dialogue is simply awful. When Pike makes the crack about driving the station wagon—it’s centuries in the future. Now, in 2022, there are a lot of younger people who don’t get it. Where did he get it from? It made no sense and was jarring. Sometimes they’re trying too hard for a laugh.
I feel like they made a great choice for Captain Pike with Anson Mount. Cecilia Rose Gooding is excellent as LT Uhura, who gets a larger place than in the original series.
Which brings me to the final thing. The original ST was goofy in places, but mainly this was a by product. The tone was consistent. It was overall serious.
The tone of SNW became inconsistent as the episodes went on, particularly inside the episodes. Deadly serious one moment, then going for a one-liner in the next.
I know the show has been well received and that’s great. I think some of what I see comes from being a writer where tone is important. It’s something I consciously decide on before writing a novel. And for me, the tone has to be consistent and when it isn’t, it jumps out at me and takes me out of the story.
Westworld: Still Going Strong
I’ve watched the first three episodes of the new season (4) and am happy to report the show is still running strong with solid writing and the exploration into what it means to be human—and sentient machine.
This season, the writers have flipped the entire story quite brilliantly. I won’t go into spoilers but the proverbial shoe is on the other foot.
One thing I love is that I feel they are still holding a big card up their sleeves from the very beginning. That map on the inside of the skull has yet to be revealed. Although it seems we are getting closer as Bernard goes to the desert to hook up with the rebel humans.
The Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) thread is moving slowly, but Maeve (Thandiwe Newton @ThandiweNewton ) more than makes up for that. Aaron Paul has grown from his Breaking Bad role and is excellent.
My wife and I bonded over Julian Jaynes The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind so we are big fans of exploring consciousness. I do feel we are on the verge of either advancing to another level or collapsing. The surge in dogmatic cultism is very scary. It’s a step backward in human evolution. I explore some of what is reality in The Fifth Floor, which is probably my wildest books given the switches in POV and the moving in time.
If you’ve not experienced Westworld and think it’s just some cheap scifi ripoff of a Michael Crichton story I highly, highly recommend you watch the Season One pilot. It is one of the best pilots ever made for television in my opinion. So much is introduced so brilliantly. We’re still reaping that first episode.
Gaslit: Great Writing. Great Acting, and A Story For Our Time
This 10 part series on Starz featuring Martha Mitchell, the wife of the once Attorney General for Richard Nixon. tells the story of Watergate from multiple perspectives, not just Martha’s. James Dean takes perhaps an even more central role.
Julia Roberts does a great job as Martha. Sean Penn is unrecognizable as her husband. Shea Whigham is Emmy worthy playing a truly crazy G. Gordon Liddy. It was the role of a lifetime and he knocked it out of the park.
While you may have lived through Watergate and think you know the story, this is worth watching not just for the acting but the applicability to our time as we have a twice-impeached former president getting ready to run for office once more and tearing apart our Republic by never conceding and baselessly claiming election fraud. The fact Nixon wasn’t criminally held accountable for what he did has helped bring about what we are facing now. We had a coup attempt in plain sight and those that should take action are questioning whether they can hold the people behind that attempt criminally liable. They MUST be held accountable.
There are many great moments in this series, but if you could only watch one hour, it would be Episode 9, the Year of the Rat. G Gordon Liddy in prison takes up a good part of it, but it also focuses on Martha’s marriage falling apart. Julie Robert’s fight with Sean Penn is stunning and gut-wrenching. The vicious words and the physical abuse show no restraint. It’s brutal and real.
What struck me was the reflection of those who did Nixon’s bidding and the growing realization that he totally did not give a damn about any of them. Nixon wasn’t a man worthy of loyalty because he gave nothing back. This is even more true of Trump. As a malignant narcissist, no one else exists in his world except him. The millions running around with Trump flags (since when does a president have a flag?) matter nothing to him except as he can use them and fleece them for their money. We needed to learn the lesson of Nixon and we did nothing to stop it from happening again.
I don’t think we will survive another. We may not have survived this one.
Well worth watching.
Independence Day. FREE. Area Study Work and Survival Guide .99
As we head into the holiday weekend, I hope everyone has a fun and safe time.
In celebration, Independence Day (Time Patrol) is free until 5 July.
My two main book on preparation and survival are both either .99 or Kindle Unlmited:
The Green Beret Area Study Workbook
The Green Beret Preparation and Survival Guide
The workbook came out this year and everyone who has gotten has benefited greatly. Writing it forced me to do some work I hadn’t done before and I discovered things about the area I live in that I didn’t know. I think everyone could benefit from it and doing an Area Study can be great family project.
Independence Day has one of my favorite Time Patrol missions when Roland goes back to Gettysburg in 1863; the day after Pickett’s charge, where there is pressure for Meade to counter-attack across the very same ground that so many Confederates died on the previous day. If you’d like to listen to it for free, you can do so here on Soundcloud.
If you’re going out on the water this weekend, a reminder that always wearing a life vest is like always having your seat belt. The very nature of the word accident means it’s unexpected. While a life vest might be within arm’s reach that might not help in an emergency. I wrote about my own experience kayaking on the Little River in TN here.
I wish everyone the best.
As a side note, after exhaustive study over the decades, I’ve come to the conclusion that dogs sleep a lot.
Bob
The Old Man”: Episode 3. I was Wrong
So I made some predictions in my last post and, of course, I wrong. I love being wrong when following story. It means the writers are providing good twists and turns.
Episode 3 certainly provides that. It also dealt with some of my concerns. The antagonist does show up in flashbacks.
The twist with the daughter is great.
I do think if the assassin was that good, really? He was that bad? But I liked the way he was introduced. About halfway through that opening scene, I asked my wife: is the the assassin? But it was nice twist on character and the phone call about pain pills with grandma lightened things.
I also liked the M21 dialogue. When she said 200 yards as the range for those rifles, which we also used at that time as our sniper rifle on the teams, I was like: Wait! But, of course, the protagonist answered her correctly. I like when they get technical details right.
Here’s my next prediction which seems glaringly obvious to me: the CIA liaison is Jeff Bridge’s daughter’s half brother. Same mother. Different father. In this case the Afghan warlord.
The ending with him looking in the trunk is somewhat suspenseful. We kind of assume he didn’t kill her, but then again that was the sort of ‘dream’ sequence at the traffic stop. Who knows?
Tune in next week. Same bat channel. Same bat station,
The Old Man: Two Episodes In. Reactions and Prediction
Jeff Bridges is The Old Man in this new series. A former CIA agent who is targeted now well into retirement, because he did something many years ago that upset someone who wants him brought in now.
If it feels like an idea that’s been used before, it is. I loved RED with Bruce Willis. Not only was it funny and entertaining, but it was obvious someone who knew about the covert world was advising. You could tell by little things, such as the Swedish K submachine gun in the underground lair.
There are no new ideas out there. I know there are writers who think they’ve come up with one. Trust me. It’s been done. There are new ways of writing stories based on the same idea.
The Old Man is well done so far. Jeff Bridges vs. John Lithgow. Two old war horses who were buddies once in the Agency, back when we were on the side of the terrorists in Afghanistan vs the Russians.
Now Lithgow is supposed to take Bridges out because he knows “something”. Actually, it appears some Afghan warlord still nudges a grudge and wants him. Revenge is a dish served really cold it appears.
Through flashbacks we learn Bridges married an Afghan woman. Warlord’s daughter? We don’t know yet. She died of dementia some years back. Someone might want revenge because of that.
I do get tired of old, retired people who suddenly have all their old skills back when they’re not working out or practicing or training. Muscle memory only goes so far. I’ve got a couple of black belts but do not currently train. The biggest thing that stays with me is knowing how to fall. After all, that’s the first thing you’re taught and it’s pounded into you. That has served me well. I’d probably be able to do some blocks. But forget about the old spinning back kick. Nope. Then again, Bridges doesn’t do those either. His big fight scene is pretty realistic because it’s brutal.
I haven’t been to the range in months and while I could still hit something, I’m not shooting the wings off gnats any time soon. It is pointed about by Lithgow that Bridges does make a couple of mistakes, so there is that.
If nothing else, the two dogs are worth watching.
Bridges does matter to get the better of the younger guys after him, mainly because they underestimate The Old Man. And he is in pain, although I imagine he heals fast as everyone in the movies and TV does. My back still hurts from loading a printer in my truck last week and turning the wrong way when I did it. I’m a snowflake.
I do like how no one is too dumb to live. I hate when there are characters who seem clueless. People know their jobs and they know what’s going on.
I really like it so far and recommend it.
An interesting aspect is Bridges talking to his daughter on the phone. It’s weird right from the start.
So.
Spoilers ahead. Stop here if you don’t want them and what I think is really the plot.
Turns out his daughter committed suicide years ago. It’s all in his head. The voice struck me as strange immediately. And the lack of security talking on a cell phone while being chased didn’t make sense for such an experienced operative.
The story appears to be about getting Bridges for this Afghan warlord who is mentioned but never shown. Not even in the flashback where a young Bridges (excellent casting whoever found the guy) rides up on horseback to a young Lithgow in Afghanistan asking for more rifles. Of course, Lithgow looks ready to go golfing far out in the middle of nowhere Afghanistan. Even the Fobbits usually try to dress more appropriately for war.
Why not show the antagonist?
Because I don’t think that’s the whole story.
The real antagonist is Joel Grey. Another Old Man. And the inciting incident for all of this accident is some reporter from the Times calling him to check on what she’s prepared for his obituary.
Do they really do that?
He wants both Bridges and Lithgow, who he considers as sons, off the table so his legacy isn’t tarnished by whatever they did so long ago. Now, the Afghan warlord could have resurfaced after all these years. But really, so what? What do we owe this guy?
There really wasn’t much need for the Joel Grey scene except that he gives Lithgow the number of a top notch assassin. My take is the assassin is supposed to take out both Bridges and Lithgow.
I could be wrong.
But that scene with Grey really resonated.
it’s sort of like the movie The Outfit which I reviewed earlier. If you watched it, did you really understand that most of what you were seeing wasn’t real? It was the tailor’s mind making it up. Because, as he said, in his voiceover, a good tailor has to understand his customer to do a bespoke suit. There were no shootings and the tailor shop wasn’t actually on fire the next morning. He made up that mental story so he could make the suit.
Regardless. It’s well done and well acted.
The Writer’s Little Black Book Published Today
In celebration of the publication today of The Writer’s Little Black Book, the first book in the series, Life’s Little Black Book is only .99 on Kindle and in Kindle Unlimited.
The Writer’s book contains over 100 mistakes writers tend to make and how to fix them, in short, bite-sized takes. From the idea through writing the story to selling the book to being in the publishing business, it covers the gamut I’ve learned in over 3 decades making a living as a writer.
More Little Black Books are in process, including one I’m having fun researching on New York City, my hometown.
I’m wrapping up the first draft of Phoebe and the Traitor. I’ve started writing Shelter from the Storm, the next Will Kane book and it’s action from page 1 with Kane in a gun battle in the first sentence. It’s a thriller set high in the Colorado Rockies in winter as Kane is on his road trip after leaving New York City at the end of No Quarter.
Other deals today include a bundle, Special Operations 2, which is two books for only $2.99 or Kindle Unlimited.
People often ask me what they can do to be prepared as there is so much confusing information out there. As far as gear goes, if you don’t have the time to do an Area Study and research and put one together yourself, there are pre-packaged Grab-n-Go bags. I bought this one for my son and grandsons just so he could have it in the trunk of his car. I also have it in the back of my wife’s car. It’s a solid collection of needed basics. I’m also big on carrying water, especially now as summer hits us. 2 cases for each person in your house and carry some in your car.
Stay safe out there!
Bob
Survivor Bias: How We Look For Solutions With The Wrong Data
During World War II, researchers examined planes that were damaged on missions but managed to return. In essence, they counted bullet holes.
The thought was that these places that got hit needed to be strengthened and protected.
Seems to make sense.
Except these are the planes that made it back.
What happened to the ones that didn’t?
This is called survivor bias.
The planes that were damaged and made it back did so because the places with the bullet holes either weren’t vital to survival or adequately built.
It was the places that weren’t hit that needed to be looked at. Because that’s where the planes that didn’t come back had been hit.
I sometimes read a survival story of someone who claims they drank their urine. People use that to say one should do that in an extreme emergency. Except we know for certain that it is harmful to do that. Your body has already cycled that water. You’re just imbibing waste product that your body must waste more energy on recycle. But they survived, so . . .
But how many died who did this?
Survivor bias is one of the key terms in The Green Beret Guide to Great Disasters. It’s one of the things we need to understand in order to prevent future disasters.
Memorial Day
I think of lost team-mates on this solemn day. Two in particular: Master Sergeant David Boltz and Chief Warrant Officer James O’Callaghan. Great soldiers, great men and the best team-mates one can hope for.
Take a moment on this holiday to spare some thoughts for those who served and died because of that service
Dave is top left. Jim is bottom right.
New York Minute is Free Today through 1 June
Burners, which I believe is one of my most interesting books, is free through 2 June.
Stay safe, enjoy the day and look forward to summer!
Bob
Moonfall: A review. What Is It?
I watched Moonfall because my wife had rented it.
It had some good moments.
But. It missed the mark because it couldn’t decide what tone it was setting. It seemed targeted to be a tongue in cheek take up on disaster movies.
Right away, as a writer, there’s a big hurdle to clear: how do you show cities being wiped out and millions killed with a humorous angle? Maybe you don’t show it? But the writer, producer, and director, Roland Emmerich, also did Independence Day and is known for destroying things. So we got to see that, over and over, in a very inconsistent way. There was “gravity waves” that did strange things, although always what the families of the heroes needed in order to escape. Certain places were wiped out. Others weren’t. It was a hodgepodge of special effects.
The premise, that the moon itself is an alien artifact, was a stretch. But okay. I’ve got planet sized spaceships in my Area 51 series. Not only are Swarm Battle Cores, planet-sized, they are mostly alive. But they aren’t the moon which has been around for more than a few years and we’ve actually been to.
Apparently when Neal Armstrong stepped on the moon they found this out. What’s inconsistent though is that no one really thought this was an important enough thing to study further. Rather they deep-sixed the info. Okey-dokey. And we sent more missions there?
The twist of an AI battling whatever built the moonship is interesting, but seemed to just be a plot device.
Actually, this was a movie where logic can be tossed away. So, they should have gone with that. But, too often, it veered into a very serious mode. It was as if Emmerich couldn’t quite decide on the tone of the movie.
This is something writers understand. Tone is the over-riding emotion for a story. We were supposed to care about the characters and the fate of the world, or find humor in this as a farce? I don’t know and I don’t think he did either. I believe it was pitched as a farce. But they couldn’t pull it off.
Recommendation: Watch it if your spouse rents it.
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