‘Umbrella Academy,’ Trek, ‘Upload,’ and ‘Space Force’
I just finished re-watching Season 1 of the Netflix series “The Umbrella Academy” and I’m happy to report there’s finally a release date for Season 2! The adopted sibling superheroes will be back July 31, for 10 episodes.
If you haven’t seen Season 1 yet, this is a great time to get caught up. It’s a great based-on-a-comic-book series. I won’t go on and on about that – if you want to read my review, go here: https://earthtoshawna.com/2019/03/05/watch-umbrella-academy-update-your-film-calendar/
There’s a funny scene in Season 1 of the characters dancing by themselves in their rooms, and the cast did a little quarantine-style re-enactment for the announcement of the Season 2 premiere.
‘Space Force’ and ‘Upload’
It was nice to get some fresh sci-fi comedy from Greg Daniels, creator of “The Office” and “Parks and Recreation.”
“Upload,” on Amazon Prime, has an intriguing premise. The idea of uploading your consciousness into a virtual “afterlife” instead of taking your chances with whatever happens after you die, is original and interesting. My one gripe is that it leans more toward rom-com than sci-fi, but it’s still addictive enough that I binge watched it.
Nathan’s digital “heaven” has been paid for by his girlfriend, so things get a little weird when he falls for Nora, the tech in charge of his avatar. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with Season 2.
On “Space Force” (Netflix), Steve Carell is perfect as the four-star general suddenly tasked with putting “boots on the moon.” I thought they would just put Carell’s “Office” personality in a different situation, but it’s not like that at all. Instead, Carell’s Gen. Naird is a curmudgeonly but good-hearted pilot, who may not know anything about technology, but is, in the end, the best man for the job, which is, unfortunately for everyone involved, to send a team of astronauts to the moon before they’re ready, in order to compete with China.
I was just as confused as anyone else during the first episode – are we supposed to take this seriously, or is it a satire? It turns out to be a weird mix of the two – but just go with it. It’s downright ridiculous at times, but it’s also witty, and surprisingly touching.
It’s Carell’s show, but the supporting cast is great too. I especially love John Malkovich as Naird’s science adviser, Dr. Mallory; pilot Angela Ali, played by Tawny Newsome; and Lisa Kudrow as Naird’s wife, Maggie.
(FYI: Neither of these series is appropriate for children.)
Trek news
At the end of “Star Trek: Discovery,” Capt. Pike, Spock, and Number One blast off in the Enterprise, setting the stage for a potential spin-off? It turns out yes.
CBS All Access (the streaming service which also carries “Discovery” and “Picard”) has officially ordered “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” it was recently announced. Anson Mount will reprise his role as Capt. Pike, and Ethan Peck and Rebecca Romijn will reprise their roles as Spock and Number One. The series will take place in the decade before Capt. Kirk takes over.
I’m looking forward to “Strange New Worlds,” as well as the next seasons of “Discovery” and “Picard.” And there is also talk of another spin-off – Michelle Yeoh may soon star in a series as her character from “Discovery,” Philippa Georgiou. Georgiou, at the end of the second season of “Discovery,” is an agent for a “black ops” organization called “Section 31.”
It will be great to have another female lead on a Trek series, and especially interesting considering the background and arc of this particular character. I also like that the creators are branching out from just doing captain-centered series, first with “Discovery,” and now with “Section 31.”
Yeoh, who has starred in such films as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” often does her own stunts. I love that she’s bringing her badassery to more sci-fi stuff, and I’m hoping she’ll have a bigger role in the next “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Other planned series set in the Star Trek universe include a Starfleet Academy-themed show for young adult viewers; “Lower Decks,” an animated comedy for adults; “Ceti Alpha V,” based on Khan Noonien Singh; and an animated series for kids.
Credits: “The Umbrella Academy” and “Space Force,” Netflix; “Star Trek: Discovery,” CBS Television Distribution; “Upload,” Prime Video.
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After getting CBS All Access so I could watch “Star Trek: Picard,” I finally got around to watching “Star Trek: Discovery.” It exceeded my expectations. Admittedly, my expectations were somewhat low, due to the online hate for the series, which is part of the reason I took so long to watch. The other reason: I didn’t want to subscribe to yet another streaming service. My opinion is it’s totally worth it. You get “Picard” and “Discovery,” and the other Trek series are available as well.
This Facebook Watch series is a remake of a podcast. It stars Jessica Biel as a journalist whose uncle (Stanley Tucci) mysteriously disappeared, along with 300 others, from an experimental town. I enjoyed Facebook’s offerings “Sorry For Your Loss” and “Sacred Lies,” so I decided to try this one, which was a little creepier than I would have liked, but it was addictive and made me want to keep watching to see what new secret would be revealed in the next episode. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after the first season, so the 10th episode is a cliffhanger and we never get to see how the story ends.
You may remember a 2014 novel called “The Girl With All the Gifts,” by M. R. Carey. If you’re into zombie apocalypse stories, you’ll love it. It has since been made into a movie, which I haven’t seen. I can only tell you the book was crazy.
Netflix suspended filming on all productions including Season 2 of “The Witcher.” The fourth season of “Stranger Things” has been postponed. Filming wrapped on Season 2 of “The Umbrella Academy” in November, but post-production was affected by the shutdown. Release dates are still in limbo.
“Space Force,” which is being described as “The Office” in space, will premiere on Netflix on May 29. It stars Steve Carell, and is created by Greg Daniels (“The Office,” “Parks and Recreation”).
Earth to Shawna 