Tag: Space Movies & Shows

The 1990s was a time of firsts in the sci-fi genre – the beginnings of much-loved franchises, an exploration of new technologies, and a chance for directors to create new worlds like never before. It was a decade of risk-taking and trendsetting that still to this day continues to inspire the movie landscape from reboots to remakes, to sequels and prequels. Whether they’ve been successful or not, there’s no doubt that the 1990s most certainly thrived.  Big A-List stars were invested in the genre, much like the best 80s sci-fi…

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The Star Wars vs. Star Trek Food Fight – Vulcan Launches, Voyager 2 Powers Down, the Sun Powers Up – YouTube Watch On On Episode 131 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik tackle a question that rivals the meaning of life itself: which is better, Star Trek or Star Wars? Of course, they are very different, and that’s really the core of it–one is a sweeping fantasy adventure incorporating the “Hero’s Journey,” while the other is a science fantasy wrapped around a morality play. In the…

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Dogs on Mars, Snakes on the Moon – Mars Sample Return and VIPER – YouTube Watch On On Episode 130 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Dr. Jim Bell about the Mars Sample Return program and VIPER mission to the moon. NASA’s planetary exploration program is in trouble. The Mars Sample Return program is verging on cancellation, and the VIPER mission to the moon already has been. Both are critical precursors to human exploration of these places, as Dr. Jim Bell of Arizona State…

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Back From Mars! – Dr. Pascal Lee Returns to Discuss Recent Work at His Mars Simulation Base – YouTube Watch On On Episode 129 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Dr. Pascal Lee about his Mars Simulation Base in the Arctic. Devon Island, a polar desert in the High Arctic, is one of the most convincing Mars analogs on Earth. That’s why Pascal Lee built his NASA-affiliated research base there. On this episode he returns to discuss his summer field work, Martian volcanoes, and…

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Starliner is Back! What Now? – Can Boeing Compete with SpaceX’s Dragons? – YouTube Watch On On Episode 128 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk about what’s going on with Boeing’s Starliner CST-100 spacecraft. Starliner is back and, by all accounts, could have returned with its crew had it been necessary. However, with NASA’s “safety forward” approach prevailing, the spacecraft landed uncrewed on September 6, three months after it docked with the International Space Station. Now, the work begins to try to solve the problems-…

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When it comes to the best 70s sci-fi movies, the decade grabbed the baton passed by the decades that came before and ran away with it, ten-fold. It’s the decade where franchises were born – from deadly xenomorphs to intergalactic adventures and it was also a time where technology offered new possibilities to cinematic endeavors.  While it was a solid decade for filmmaking in general, the sci-fi genre really got a chance to expand to new heights. In the 1970s, directors were given the chance to test out some other-worldly…

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Space Stations Inc. – A Visit With Max Haot of VAST – YouTube Watch On On Episode 127 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Max Haot of VAST about his company’s first space station. We all know the ISS is living its last days and will be deorbited sometime around 2030… but what’s coming up next? Max Haot of VAST joins us to discuss his company’s first space station, called Haven-1, set to launch in 2025. For a company just just a few years…

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‘The Acolyte’ had a bumpy journey through marketing and release on the small screen, to say the least.  With a number of sites and permanently disgruntled fans that decided ages ago the series would be terrible, (likely false) cancellation rumors started to pile up even before its season 1 premiere. Now, roughly one month after a strong season finale that capped a notable second half of the season, Deadline and Variety are reporting that Disney and Lucasfilm have decided not to move forward with season 2. No matter how you…

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In the vast sphere of multinational global conglomerates operating with honesty, trust and transparency, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation of the “Alien” franchise would rank at the absolute slimy bottom. This fictional megalomaniacal enterprise had its greedy tentacles into everything from robotics, biotechnology, cybernetics, AI, and interstellar mining, to terraforming, off-world colonization, medical research and developing weapons using extraterrestrial DNA gathered around the galaxy.   But what are the ambitious beginnings of this notorious San Francisco-based company, how have its personnel, facilities, spaceships and machines been integrated into the “Alien” universe and…

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