104 posts tagged with space.
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Movie: Transformers One
The untold origin story of Optimus Prime and Megatron, better known as sworn enemies, but who once were friends bonded like brothers who changed the fate of Cybertron forever.
Planetes: Outside the Atmosphere Season 1, Ep 1
It is the end of the 21st century, and with the colonization of near-Earth space expanding, the threat of space debris is a threat to the advancement of space exploration - especially in light of incidents where debris strikes have caused the deaths of people there. As such, the governments of the world have mandated that the corporations spearheading efforts in near-Earth orbit work to clear debris - but just because a job is important doesn't mean it's valued, as one young salarywoman is about to find out... [more inside]
Movie: Enemy Mine
1985 film about an alien and a human who crash land on a dangerous planet after a space battle, then continue their war one-on-one until they realize they have to work together to survive. With Louis Gossett Jr. under 4 hours of makeup and gargling his own spit to give the alien language that extra....something, Dennis Quaid as the jerky human who must learn to live with The Other, and a fun biological twist. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen soon after Das Boot and The Neverending Story. [more inside]
Movie: Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
[TRAILER] Captain William "Buck" Rogers (Gil Gerard) is a jovial space cowboy who is accidentally time-warped from 1987 to 2491. Earth is engaged in interplanetary war following a global holocaust, and Buck's piloting skills make him an ideal starfighter recruit for the Earth Defense Directorate, where his closest colleagues are Dr. Huer (Tim O'Connor), squadron leader Col. Wilma Deering (Erin Gray), the wisecracking robot Twiki (voiced by cartoon legend Mel Blanc), and a portable computer-brain named Dr. Theopolis. Produced as a television pilot, but released theatrically in advance of the TV show. [more inside]
For All Mankind: Glasnost Season 4, Ep 1
Eight years later, a new mission begins: Capture an asteroid. Aleida and Danielle are still haunted by events from the past. [more inside]
Movie: Ikarie XB 1
Awesome 1963 Czech scifi film directed by Jindrich Polák about a spaceship crew bound for Alpha Centauri, based on an early Stanislaw Lem novella. It's been called an influence on 2001 (we know Kubrick saw it) and Star Trek. It includes eerie encounters with alien spacecraft, fantastic sets and costumes, a wonderful experimental electro-acoustic score by Zdeněk Liška (who later scored Jan Svankmeyer shorts), and the 2nd best outer space dance scene ever, complete with casual drug-sniffing. Available in a beautiful 2016 restoration from Second Run DVD with neat extras, and currently up at YouTube. [more inside]
Movie: Viking
A sly, deadpan Canadian comedy about a team of non-astronauts sent into isolation in a desert on Earth because their personalities match the members of an actual ongoing Mars mission that's having interpersonal conflicts. The earthbound team is tasked with mirroring the real astronauts' behavior and coming up with solutions to the Martian team's psychological problems. 100% on RT with 9 reviews, free on Tubi and other options, mostly in French with English subtitles.
Avenue 5: Season 2 Season 2, Ep 0
5 months after the end of season one, we rejoin the stranded ship and her passengers on their epic journey. [more inside]
Movie: Gravity
[TRAILER] Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), a brilliant medical engineer on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space. [more inside]
Book: Waypoint Kangaroo
Kangaroo isn’t your typical spy. Sure, he has extensive agency training, access to bleeding-edge technology, and a ready supply of clever (to him) quips and retorts. But what sets him apart is “the pocket.” It’s a portal that opens into an empty, seemingly infinite, parallel universe, and Kangaroo is the only person in the world who can use it. But he's pretty sure the agency only keeps him around to exploit his superpower.
After he bungles yet another mission, Kangaroo gets sent away on a mandatory “vacation:” an interplanetary cruise to Mars. While he tries to make the most of his exile, two passengers are found dead, and Kangaroo has to risk blowing his cover. It turns out he isn’t the only spy on the ship–and he’s just starting to unravel a massive conspiracy which threatens the entire Solar System.
Movie: Outland
A federal marshal stationed at a mining colony on the Jupiter moon of Io uncovers a sinister conspiracy, and soon finds himself marked for murder.
For All Mankind: New Eden Season 3, Ep 6
The astronauts move quickly to build Martian bases. [more inside]
For All Mankind: Game Changer Season 3, Ep 2
A commercial spaceflight company makes an announcement. The choice over who’ll command the Mars mission leads to a shift in personnel. [more inside]
Book: The Fated Sky
Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but there's a lot riding on whoever the International Aerospace Coalition decides to send on this historic -- but potentially very dangerous -- mission? Could Elma really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family to spend several years traveling to Mars? And with the Civil Rights movement taking hold all over Earth, will the astronaut pool ever be allowed to catch up, and will these brave men and women of all races be treated equitably when they get there? [more inside]
Top Chef: Dinner in Zero Gravity Season 19, Ep 10
The chefs get an early start as they head to the Houston farmers market to meet Padma and Quickfire guest judge Claudette Zepeda. For this Quickfire Challenge, the chefs have to put their own fresh take on fajitas, a Houston classic. The best fajita dish will win $10,000 courtesy of a sponsor. Next, the competition reaches new heights in the Elimination Challenge as the chefs voyage to the Houston Space Center to meet up with Melissa King and a few experts in space cuisine. If they want to blast off to victory, they’ll have to create a stellar new menu item that they would crave if they were on a multi-year mission to Mars that meets both NASA and guest judge Marcus Samuelson’s culinary standards. [more inside]
Book: XX
Drawing on Dada, punk and the modernist movements of the twentieth century, XX is assembled from redacted NASA reports, artwork, magazine articles, secret transcripts and a novel within a novel. Deconstructing layout and language in order to explore how idea propagate, acclaimed designer and artist Rian Hughes's debut novel presents a compelling vision of humanity's unique place in the universe, and a realistic depiction of what might happen in the wake of the biggest scientific discovery in human history. [more inside]
Movie: Apollo 13
The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy. [more inside]
Legends of Tomorrow: Bishop's Gambit Season 6, Ep 6
After moving in with John, the Earth-bound Legends pick up his styling cues. It's red and black for everybody. [more inside]
Book: Victories Greater Than Death
First in a planned series of YA Space Fantasy novels about Tina Mains (secretly a clone of an alien space-hero), her crew of teen smarty pals, and their adventures aboard an intergalactic spaceship in their battle against evil. Swashbuckling space battles, romance, evil space fascists, and friendship above all!
Movie: Stowaway
A stowaway on a mission to Mars sets off a series of unintended consequences. This 2021 Hard Sci-Fi film is a modern retelling of Tom Godwin's 1954 The Cold Equations, a "needlessly cruel" short story that likely "got the equations themselves wrongs" in order to pose a moral dilemma for the characters. In the film, once the ship docks with the Aldrin Mars Cycler (named for its inventor, astronaut Buzz Aldrin) and leaves Earth's gravity well, there are no other voices or characters, enhancing the feeling of isolation ahead of the crew on their two year mission. The very realistic spacecraft spins the habit module on a tether to create artificial gravity and was mocked-up for the film by Scott Manley in Kerbal Space Program, while the claustrophobic interiors look like they were shot on a real space station.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: 12 TO THE MOON Rewatch Season 5, Ep 24
Rewatch! At least I think it is, this is one of those movies it's easy to forget exists for some reason. This is another of those movies where half of the time amounts to: "Gee whiz! Space!" There's a lot of preparing and rocketry and interviews with intrepid scientists and getting ready to let's all go to space. With cats. Then we get to space and meet aliens. Who want our cats. The short, however, is Design for Dreaming, and it's terrific, just completely crazy, bonkers, nutso, a highlight of the show's entire run. Previously.
For All Mankind: Triage Season 2, Ep 9
The rivalry between American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts intensifies as last-minute changes impact the Pathfinder mission plan. [more inside]
For All Mankind: The Weight Season 2, Ep 5
Ed's reckless behavior at NASA shakes the foundation of the Baldwin family; Tracy attempts to readapt to life in space. [more inside]
Book: The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
The fourth and final book in Becky Chambers' Wayfarers series.
With no water, no air, and no native life, the planet Gora is unremarkable. The only thing it has going for it is a chance proximity to more popular worlds, making it a decent stopover for ships traveling between the wormholes that keep the Galactic Commons connected. If deep space is a highway, Gora is just your average truck stop. [more inside]
Movie: Sputnik
In 1983, a cosmonaut is involved in an incident in space and crash-lands back to the Soviet Union. A nervy psychiatrist (Oksana Akinshina, Lilya 4-ever) is recruited to help him recover from his amnesia about the incident in this sci-fi horror movie. [more inside]
Movie: WALL-E
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. [more inside]
Space Force: Season 1 - all episodes Season 1, Ep 0
A four-star general begrudgingly teams up with an eccentric scientist to get the U.S. military's newest agency — Space Force — ready for lift-off. Starring: Steve Carell, John Malkovich, Ben Schwartz. Creators: Steve Carell, Greg Daniels. (Netflix) [more inside]
Mystery Science Theater 3000: ROCKETSHIP X-M Rewatch Season 2, Ep 1
Rewatch! Operator error sends the Earth's first ship to the moon, 828 thousand miles away, instead to Mars, which is at best 33.9 million miles away and usually much further. That's some error; some scientists would give multiple limbs to be able to make errors like that. It's the first episode of Season Two, considered the point where Mystery Science Theater 3000 started to become really good, although the movie here is kind of dull. Next time.... Previously. Remember: for the time being we're also doing Sunday shows, so if you want to watch this one you'll want to show up tonight. [more inside]
Mystery Science Theater 3000: MOON ZERO TWO Rewatch Season 1, Ep 11
Rewatch! On Thursday [4/16]: It's class warfare on the moon! A working-day moon savager is hired by rich-guy "Hundred Percent" Hubbard to help them crash a meteor made of gemstone on the moon. Problem is, the plot on which they crash is already claimed by a miner, Wild West style. Nefarious schemes are afoot up there in no-atmosphere zero-G. An okay movie made ridiculous by things like scantily-clad moon dancers and a board game called (groan) "Moonopoly." It's still Season One, but the riffing has improved a lot by this point. Three more episodes until Season Two! Previously.
Mystery Science Theater 3000: PROJECT MOONBASE Rewatch Season 1, Ep 9
Rewatch! Poor Commander Brietis has the misfortune to be a women space officer in a man's (specifically, Robert Heinlein's) world. Her peers all casually call her "Bright Eyes," and her commanding officer actually threatens to spank her at one point. But in the end she and a fellow astronaut get stranded together on the moon, and Madame President (whose existence I guess was supposed to make up for how badly Brietis is treated) demands that they be married to avoid a scandal, which they agree to because they're sweet on each other. A disheartening movie, which make wisecracks from an orbiting human and his automated mocking machines all the more welcome. Previously.
Avenue 5: Eight Arms But No Hands Season 1, Ep 9
After recent events, Matt goes into in hiding with a guilty conscience, and he has the airlock codes. Chaos ensues when a narrow window for escape on a rescue shuttle suddenly becomes available. [Season finale; renewed for Season 2] [more inside]
Avenue 5: This Is Physically Hurting Me Season 1, Ep 8
There's a new hope for Avenue 5, but it involves an effort to jettison non-essential items. Meanwhile, Billie tries to teach an inattentive Ryan how to dock the ship, and the passengers suspect all is not as it seems with the journey. "I'm around movie sets a lot. I work in VFX. Stands for visual effects." [more inside]
Avenue 5: Are You a Spider, Matt? Season 1, Ep 7
Judd enlists Ryan to help charm Harrison Aimes, an uber-wealthy passenger who has a strange effect on Judd. Meanwhile, the passengers become transfixed by a divine image circling the ship and Rav deals with the fallout when the ship's moral quandary hits the media. [more inside]
Avenue 5: Was It Your Ears? Season 1, Ep 6
As Avenue 5 celebrates the birth of a space baby, Ryan and Billie try to identify the source of an incessant beeping, and Judd shares his latest grand idea at Karen's passenger-crew liaison meeting. In the nation's capital, Rav appeals to the President for rescue funds but, in exchange, is faced with an ethical dilemma. [more inside]
Avenue 5: He's Only There to Stop His Skeleton from Falling Over Season 1, Ep 5
Leaks are closed, heroes are celebrated (and ignored), and a comedian is anxious. It's the halfway home party! Well, it would be, if .... [more inside]
Avenue 5: Wait a Minute, Then Who Was That on the Ladder? Season 1, Ep 4
With Judd worried about his reputation, Iris arranges a meet-and-greet with several passengers in his luxury suite. Ryan and Billie bond with the engineers, before Ryan steps up and to earn the title Mr. Wetsuit. Matt encourages Frank to become the man he always wanted to be. "Fly safe!" "Fly drunk!" [more inside]
Avenue 5: I'm a Hand Model Season 1, Ep 3
With Avenue 5 staff slacking in their customer service, Ryan offers Karen the opportunity to channel her unique talent for speaking the passengers' language. Judd outlines a new plan and tasks Iris with organizing an effort to raise the money to fund it. Rav endures a barrage of messages from the ship and handles an unruly press conference. "Oh, come on. My door's always broken." [more inside]
Avenue 5: And Then He's Gonna Shoot Off... Season 1, Ep 2
As Avenue 5 sails on, there's optimism! And coordination! And a memorial. And advocacy. And marital counseling. [more inside]
Avenue 5: I Was Flying Season 1, Ep 1
Space captain Ryan Clark of the Avenue 5 tries to get along with others in the space tourism industry. (HBO US broadcast premiere) [more inside]
For All Mankind: A City Upon a Hill Season 1, Ep 10
The consequences of Ed's actions and the Apollo 24/25 mishap unfold.
(NB this is not Apple TV+'s plot description, which has spoilers!)
For All Mankind: Nixon's Women Season 1, Ep 3
After the USSR lands the the first woman on the Moon, NASA scrambles to assemble a crop of women astronaut candidates, known as ASCANs. The candidates endure months of extremely difficult training, steadily winnowing their number. Women around the world are inspired by the Soviet cosmonaut and the NASA ASCANs.
For All Mankind: He Built the Saturn V Season 1, Ep 2
Director von Braun opposes President Nixon's directive, with dire consequences. [more inside]
For All Mankind: Red Moon Season 1, Ep 1
NASA is in crisis as the Soviets land the first man on the moon in 1969, the beginning of an alternate history. [more inside]
Book: To Be Taught, If Fortunate
A stand-alone science fiction novella from Becky Chambers, the author of the Wayfarers series. Like her other books, it's an intimate, character based story. No concrete antagonists, some tech, a simpld, quiet and thoughtful space opera.
Another Life: Across the Universe Season 1, Ep 1
After saying goodbye to her family on Earth, Niko wakes in space to find the Salvare off course and divided loyalties among her young crew. (Netflix Original) [more inside]
Movie: High Life
Monte and his baby daughter are the last survivors of a damned and dangerous mission to the outer reaches of the solar system. They must now rely on each other to survive as they hurtle toward the oblivion of a black hole.
Claire Denis's latest. In space. In English. Insane. Monte (Robert Pattinson) and his baby daughter, last survivors on a spaceship, hurtle to the oblivion of a black hole. Sounds simple, maybe depressing, maybe tense, right? Oh but it's so much more. Or maybe not. Or maybe not happening at all. Or it's the ultimate reduction of humanity's destiny, contained in a box for us to watch. For fans of all-things-Denis, Pattinson, or Binoche. Similar in feel to some 70s slow dystopian space-thingy. Think Tarkovsky, Silent Running, Man Who Fell To Earth crossed with Trouble Every Day, and/or Bastards
Archer: ARCHER 1999: Dining With The Zarglorp Season 10, Ep 4
Deep in space, Archer and the crew encounter a terrifying cosmic beast. Even deeper, they encounter a self-aggrandizing life coach.
Archer: ARCHER 1999: Bort the Garj Season 10, Ep 1
Archer and the crew of the Seamus wake up to the smell of shepherd's pie and see a business opportunity in their new guest. [more inside]
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Fear and Loathing on the Planet of Kitson Season 6, Ep 3
While Fitz and Enoch try their luck at the casino, Daisy and Simmons find themselves in a much more exciting situation. [more inside]
Mystery Science Theater 3000: STAR FORCE: FUGITIVE ALIEN II Rewatch Season 3, Ep 18
The crew of Earth spaceship Bacchus III deals with various problems, culminating with showdowns with Ken's old girlfriend out of a murder vendetta against him, and the kabuki leader of the Star Wolves himself. Two-fisted Japanese pseudo-Star Wars space adventures with surprisingly great music that was edited into near incomprehensibility by Sandy Frank Productions. It's the sequel to Fugitive Alien, which was slightly more lucid. Previously.