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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
New Series Dusts Off Old TNG Script
A lot of disparate characters and uneveness make it hard to make a specific analysis of the new series (really it's because I'm a scatterbrain and can't organize my thoughts) so I'll just give my impressions of the main characters (featuring fictional archetypes) and a bit about the plot and acting at the end.
Pike: Captain of the Love Boat
Cool guy, very laid back, friendly style although not averse to scaring people with ominous remarks like "This mission will not be anyone's last day." or "You've got some pretty big boots to fill." to a fresh replacement Number One. And "Ah yes the prodigy" to Uhura. Is that sarcasm? I mean the the Captain, not me.
Spock: I am not Spock
A new smoochy yet dull Mr Spock, seems like a normal idiot human who simply plays by the book. Don't let the ears fool you, he's not a real Vulcan.
La'an Noonien-Singh: Drummer took a genius pill and The Expanse producers should sue for copyright infringement.
Love her Drummer-like (The Expanse) appearance and personality automatically (because I already love the Drummer character) but her always-correct, super-competence felt forced. The righties and rednecks will call wokeness and they might be right in this case. The Expanse knew how to have a diverse crew without appearing to do so to appear politically correct. Let me make myself clear: I appreciate a representative crew but I dislike it when they are there for the sake of being there and they are contrived as unrealistic heroes. Good heroes have personality flaws and more importantly, while of course competent, they should make mistakes too. That goes for you too, James T. Kirk. See, I am egalitarian.
Nurse Chapel: Hey, that's me!
A bit crazy for her to run off half-cocked to chase a captive alien all over the ship instead of calling for security, but that's okay. It's actually something I might foolishly do in a panic. She's going to be the quirky one judging by the premiere episode.
Uhura: Cardboard Uhura
Seems okay, no real objections to her in the iconic role, but pretty bland. Often, developing slowly by gradually adding more spice from a base of bland is a good thing for realistic characters. That's how I cook by the way.
The Plot: Lacks of both creativity and common sense
Rehash of the episode "First Contact" in Star Trek:TNG. And why send down a Vulcan knowing the genetic gobbledigook disguise wouldn't last. We all knew that would become a problem as soon as they mentioned it. That's flat out illogical (i.e. Ultra-stupid).
Acting: Like the characters themselves but to less extremes, they go from very competent acting to sometimes less than competent. I liked Christina Chong as Noonien-Singh (despite the script and plot flaws) and disliked the shallow, dumb version of Spock (Ethan Peck).
But I mostly blame the unoriginal writing--mostly.
Verdict: a project, needs work!
Von Ryan's Express (1965)
All aboard the Freedom Train!
All aboard the Freedom Train! Von Ryan's Express is an enjoyable, somewhat more than a waste of time prisoner escape movie. While Sinatra's acting was decent, I found his character to be not very believable -- but he did well with what he had in the script. Many of the characters were somewhat stereotypical but not too over the top in that regard, and the supporting cast was competent and entertaining. The story is of course not very credible, although it could have been more plausible had they been trying to fool civilian authorities in peace time rather than Nazi military and Gestapo officials during World War 2, as in the movie.
The movie's strengths include the epic cinematography of a locomotive charging through a variety of genuine Italian scenery (an Italian railroad company was given thanks at the end, but their reward really was the free advertising for tourism and rail travel in that beautiful country), occasional bits of comic relief that worked (such the chutzpah of Sinatra stubbornly negotiating the sale of his shiny American watch with a Gestapo agent, a fact that should have given things away in the real world), and some picturesque air to ground combat scenes.
Battlestar Galactica (2004)
Dark, tense TV science fiction
While I think a few younger sci-fi fans may turn up their noses, the older, more mainstream audience has much to appreciate in this superb TV series. This is my idea of great science fiction though, minimizing the use of speculative technology, but emphasizing human drama in a highly unusual and imaginative situation. No phasers, just guns that fire projectiles, and instead of beaming down to random planets with breathable air and English-speaking aliens, we witness a crash landing on a barren Titan-like moon with poisonous methane (which only adds to the drama and forms the main plot in one episode). They are us, with our complications, with interstellar space travel.
I admit to not liking the shaky hand held camera technique before, but it works perfectly for this gritty and dark epic. All the main characters are flawed in some way, they have there own particular strengths and the actors do a fantastic job in bringing them to life. Despite having admirable strengths, they're really a bunch of lovable losers and they have indeed lost their home worlds and billions of people to the Cylons. Even some of the Cylon clones are likable in a very balanced, even-handed script. Enhancing the illusion, the dialog has real-life touches I've never seen before in a television series (such as a drunken Baltar unnecessarily repeating a successful cover line for talking to his imaginary "companion"--and it's buried in others' dialog). The odd brief fist-fight breaks out, but more typically, understated friction or tensions between characters slowly become apparent.
If you don't like science fiction, think of it as an abused and over-exploited genre, usually aimed at children. With adults in mind, beautiful special effects, and excellent writing, directing and acting, Battlestar Galactica demonstrates to a great extent what the genre is truly capable of doing.