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'Star Trek: Discovery' season two trailer shows plenty of Spock
Now that Star Trek: Discovery's second season is almost here, CBS All Access has released a full trailer to drum up hype -- and to no one's surprise, the stakes are high this time around. The season will see the Discovery crew partnering with Captain Pike to investigate seven unusual signals and the arrival of the mysterious Red Angel, who apparently brought warnings that "someone or something" is going to wipe out sentient life in the galaxy. And naturally, Spock gets ample screen time. He's a vital ally to the crew, but clearly at odds with Commander Burnham's tendency to shoulder everything herself. We wouldn't be surprised if there's more friction to come.
Recommended Reading: The reality of sci-fi's AI immortality obsession
Are Hosts, Replicants, and robot clones closer than we think? Jayson Greene, The Ringer Black Mirror already uncomfortably aligns with the real world, but we might be even closer to more advanced concepts from that show and others, like Westworld and Altered Carbon, becoming reality. The Ringer offers a look at just how far away we could be from Hosts, Replicants and robotic clones following a new trailer release for Keanu Reeves' long lost Replicas movie.
Twitch is hosting a seven-week 'Doctor Who' viewing event
If you're a die-hard Doctor Who fan, Twitch is about to make your summer. The livestreaming service is teaming with BBC Studios on a seven-week Doctor Who viewing event on May 29th that will show more than 500 classic episodes of the Time Lord's adventures, dating all the way back to the first black-and-white season in 1963. It's not the usual marathon -- the company will air a batch of episodes every day on its TwitchPresents channel starting at 2PM Eastern. The Yogscast team will produce shows to introduce each Doctor, so you'll hopefully know the differences between Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy (hint: there are many) by the time all is said and done.
'Sense8' finale trailer is full of bonding and bullets
Netflix has posted the trailer for Sense8's long-in-the-making series finale, and it's clear the mysterious sci-fi show isn't going to go gently into that good night when it wraps up on June 8th. The promo emphasizes the bond between the Sensates ("we are more human than any other human will be,") and makes clear that the stakes are extra-high -- our heroes are not only in a race to save Wolfgang, but are edging ever closer to tracking down BPO's Chairman. And this being a Wachowski production, you can be sure that will involve plenty of martial arts and gunplay.
Netflix's 'Lost in Space' doesn't look like the show you remember
Netflix has released the first full trailer for its Lost in Space remake, and it definitely isn't a retread of the 1960s TV show... or the 1998 movie, for that matter. While the core premise remains intact (the Robinsons have been stranded following a colonization mission gone wrong), much has changed in the past few decades. It's not just the modern special effects or the grittier (if still family friendly) tone -- the show is tinkering with important characters.
Netflix renews 'Black Mirror' for fifth season
Would it surprise you to hear that Netflix's Black Mirror series is popular enough to justify more episodes? No? Well, we're going to let you know regardless: Netflix has confirmed that Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones' technology-gone-wrong anthology show has been renewed for a fifth season. It's not offering a release window or further details, but it's safe to presume that Black Mirror will continue to explore new concepts and formats. Brooker has been adamant about wanting to avoid rehashing familiar ideas.
Amazon reportedly wants Alexa to be a real-time, universal translator
We've been dreaming of universal translators throughout the history of science fiction; Star Trek has only popularized the concept. As computing power and AI improves in real life, we're seeing the possibility of an actual real-time translation system become more of a reality. Products like Samsung's Bixby and Google's Pixel Buds and Assistant are early examples of the technology. Now, according to a report at Yahoo Finance, Amazon is looking to turn its ubiquitous Alexa digital assistant into a real-time universal language translator.
Netflix lands sci-fi movie from 'Planet of the Apes' director
Netflix's sci-fi adaptations are about to expand beyond the likes of Altered Carbon and Lost in Space. Deadline has learned that Netflix has secured the rights to Life Sentence, a movie take on a Matthew Baker short story about a future where authorities wipe the memories of criminals instead of sending them to prison. Matt Reeves, the director of the two most recent Planet of the Apes movies, is producing the title. It's not known when the movie would premiere, but apparently that's not the big story -- there was reportedly a fierce bidding war.
Netflix's 'Lost in Space' reboot premieres April 13th
Netflix's Lost in Space remake has been a long, long time in coming (word broke of it back in 2015), but it's finally here... almost. The streaming service has revealed that the sci-fi show will debut on April 13th, 2018, and has offered a teaser trailer to whet your appetite. Not surprisingly, this promises to be a thoroughly modern retelling of the Robinsons' wayward mission. It appears to take a more serious tone, and reflects much of what we've learned about space in the roughly 50 years since the original TV series. The family is out to colonize Alpha Centauri, for starters.
Netflix rescues sci-fi movie 'Extinction' from oblivion
The Cloverfield Paradox isn't the only sci-fi movie Netflix has saved from Hollywood purgatory. Variety has discovered that Netflix bought the worldwide rights to Extinction, a sci-fi thriller from Universal starring Lizzy Caplan and Michael Pena. The studio was originally slated to have released the alien invasion flick on January 26th, but took it off its release schedule just two months prior -- not exactly a resounding vote of confidence. The title is expected to premiere on Netflix sometime later in 2018.
Duncan Jones' sci-fi movie 'Mute' debuts on Netflix February 23rd
Duncan Jones' next movie won't be coming to theaters -- it's going straight to streaming. The Moon and Warcraft director has revealed that his long-in-the-making sci-fi film noire, Mute, will premiere on Netflix February 23rd. The movie is set in a future Berlin where a mute bartender (played by Alexander Skarsgård) has to trust a pair of American surgeons (led by Paul Rudd) as he tracks down a disappeared woman. Justin Theroux also stars. There's no trailer yet, but in many ways the effort taken to release the movie is the hook -- Netflix is giving Jones a chance that might not have come up through conventional formats.
Apple orders sci-fi drama from 'Hunger Games' director
Apple is pulling out all the stops when it comes to landing original shows. Deadline has learned that the tech firm has ordered an "epic, world-building" sci-fi drama series that would not only be written by Steven Knight, the creator of British crime drama Peaky Blinders, but would be directed by The Hunger Games' Francis Lawrence. It's not known who would star or even how long the initial run would be (it'll "likely" consist of eight episodes), but it would come from the same scripted series unit that gave Apple the Octavia Spencer thriller Are You Sleeping?
'Black Mirror' season four is here to ruin your holiday spirit
At some point during Christmas and New Year, the days just sort of blend together. Sat silently in your parents' living room, you're already bored of your gifts, permanently spaced from 'round-the-clock imbibing, and you can't possibly eat any more cheese. But snap out of it, because it's finally time to sink your teeth into season four of Black Mirror. All six episodes of everyone's favorite dystopian reality check are available to binge on Netflix right this second -- and let's be honest, you are going to binge it, because spoilers will be lighting up the group chat by dinner time. To celebrate the new series (and the end of 2017), Netflix has also released a lovely New Year's message. Not the trailer you may've already seen teasing the latest episodes, but a mosaic of footage taken from previous seasons and the real world, which suggests the line between show and the other side of the glass is growing ever thinner.
'Black Mirror' season four hits Netflix on December 29th
After months of hype, Netflix has finally set a release date for the fourth season of Black Mirror. A trailer for Charlie Brooker's technology-gone-wrong anthology has revealed that the six new episodes will premiere on December 29th. You already have an inkling of what to expect through previous trailers: "Arkangel" (directed by Jodie Foster) shows the perils of overprotective parenting, "Crocodile" explores recovering memories from a car crash and "USS Callister" reflects a Star Trek gone horribly wrong. Other episodes include "Hang the DJ" (about a system that finds love matches), "Black Museum" (a museum of terrifying tech) and "Metalhead" (a terrifying robotic hound, from the sounds of it).
Designing the technology of ‘Blade Runner 2049’
This article contains spoilers for 'Blade Runner 2049' There's a scene in Blade Runner 2049 that takes place in a morgue. K, an android "replicant" played by Ryan Gosling, waits patiently while a member of the Los Angeles Police Department inspects a skeleton. The technician sits at a machine with a dial, twisting it back and forth to move an overhead camera. There are two screens, positioned vertically, that show the bony remains with a light turquoise tinge. Only parts of the image are in focus, however. The rest is fuzzy and indistinct, as if someone smudged the lens and never bothered to wipe it clean. Before leaving the room, K asks if he can take a closer look. The blade runner -- someone whose task it is to hunt older replicants -- dances over the controls, hunting for a clue. As he zooms in, the screen changes in a circular motion, as if a series of lenses or projector slides are falling into place. Before long, K finds what he's looking for: A serial code, suggesting the skeleton was a replicant built by the now defunct Tyrell Corporation. Throughout the movie, K visits a laboratory where artificial memories are made; an LAPD facility where replicant code, or DNA, is stored on vast pieces of ticker tape; and a vault, deep inside the headquarters of a private company, that stores the results of replicant detection 'Voight-Kampff' tests. In each scene, technology or machinery is used as a plot device to push the larger narrative forward. Almost all of these screens were crafted, at least in part, by a company called Territory Studios.
Recommended Reading: The 'Blade Runner' effect on electronic music
Do Androids Dream Of Electronic Beats? Al Horner, FACT After months of teases, trailers and short films, Blade Runner 2049 is now in theaters. FACT takes a look at the original film's impact on music, including comments from electronic music legend Gary Numan on how he was influenced. There's also a 12-minute documentary to accompany the written portion, and it's well worth your time.
Sci-fi author and tech advocate Jerry Pournelle dies
The science fiction and technology worlds are poorer off this weekend, as author Jerry Pournelle has died at 84 after a sudden illness. He was best-known for collaborating with Larry Niven on classic novels like The Mote in God's Eye, but he's equally known as a strong advocate for technology and spaceflight. Significantly, he's widely credited as the first major author to write a published novel entirely on a computer. He bought an extremely expensive ($12,000 in 1977 dollars) machine anticipating that it would let him edit and correct mistakes far more quickly than with a typewriter. While it's virtually a given that authors will write with computers these days, Pournelle spurred many of his peers to buy PCs and ultimately usher in an era of digital writing.
Seminal sci-fi magazine 'Galaxy' is now free online
The next time you watch a big blockbuster sci-fi film like Alien: Covenant, you can thank the original pulp magazines. The written form of the popular genre got its start in comic book-sized magazines like Amazing Stories, Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. These publications, under the direction of influential editors like John W. Campbell, Jr., helped improve the genre from basic adventure stories to more thoughtful, well-written speculative fiction by authors like Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur C. Clarke. It's not an overstatement to say that these magazines created the current science fiction craze. Now, Galaxy Science Fiction, a magazine that published Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451" and Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man," is available for free online.
Xprize enlists sci-fi authors and filmmakers to map our future
Science fiction has been instrumental in creating the future from the very beginning. Real-life manipulator hands, originally created for the nuclear industry, were named after Robert Heinlein's short story, "Waldo." It makes a lot of sense, then, that when the Xprize program partnered with All Nippon Airlines (ANA) to "imagine a bold vision of the future," it would look to celebrated science fiction novelists, writers, filmmakers, producers and screenwriters. The collaboration has produced the Science Fiction Council, a group comprised of high-octane sci-fi storytellers from nine countries, including luminaries like Margaret Atwood, Cory Doctorow, Andy Weir, Charles Stross, Ernest Cline and Nancy Kress.
Inside the Barbican’s sci-fi movie wonderland
The best science fiction movies use costumes, models and physical props to sell their vision of the future. Alien, for instance, would be nothing without the compression suits worn by its ill-fated crew outside the Nostromo. From June 3rd, the Barbican Centre in London will be celebrating these movies and the staggering work that went into them through a new exhibition called 'Into the Unknown.' Walk down its dark, curving corridor and you'll find original spacesuits from Alien, Moon, Sunshine and Star Trek, as well as original Darth Vader and Stormtrooper helmets from Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.