Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress

reviewing 3 Body Problem; Black Doves; Bosch; Citadel; Criminal Minds; Dark Matter; Dexter: Original Sin; Dune: Prophecy; For All Mankind; Foundation; Hijack; House of the Dragon; Luther; Outlander; Presumed Innocent; Reacher; Severance; Silo; Slow Horses; Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; Surface; The: Ark, Day of the Jackal, Diplomat, Last of Us, Way Home; You +books, films, music, podcasts, politics

George Santayana had irrational faith in reason - I have irrational faith in TV.

Monday, July 31, 2023

Outlander 7.7: A Good Argument for the Insanity of War

A deeply powerful and disturbing episode 7.7 on Starz this week -- indeed, one of the most disturbing in the series, for several reasons, which I tell you about, after I warn you about spoilers.

[And here's the Spoiler alert again ... ]

Ok, there was one one really enjoyable scene in this episode -- Brianna and Roger in bed. Good to see them so together and happy. Of course, that happiness would be very short lived, since they discovered a few hours later that their little boy had been kidnapped by Rob, who was taking their son somewhere else in time ...

And that wasn't the most upsetting. For me that was the 1st Battle of Saratoga, and the sheer depravity of war that it so graphically displayed. There's always a discrepancy between the nobility and the insanity of war -- the wanton killing of people. And watching that battle unfold on the screen was almost enough to make me a pacifist. (But I always also think about Bertrand Russell, a dedicated pacifist until Hitler and the Nazis changed his mind.)

And then, in the end, there's Jamie, lying on the ground, unconscious. I'll restate my standards for whether or not a character has been killed in a television series: if you don't see a head blown off or literally severed, there's always a chance the character survived. So, Jamie passes that test, even though we didn't see him move at the end of this episode, and there was no sign of him in the next episode.

We'll find out for sure (I assume) in the next week's mid-season finale. I'll will say it's been a really enjoyable season, and I especially like the time travel as talked about and enacted by Roger and Brianna.

Friday, July 28, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.8: Ethically Wrenching

After last week's episode 2.7, which had almost as much good comedy as "The Trouble with Tribbles," Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returned with episode 2.8, about as deadly serious and ethically complex and wrenching as it gets.

[Spoilers ahead ...]

The set-up: a Klingon General, Dak 'Rah, who slaughtered many humans including babies, has apparently had a change of heart, has defected from the Klingons and decided to pursue a path of peace, and has boarded the Enterprise with Pike's cautious approval.

Not everyone on board is comfortable with Pike's decision. In particular, M'Benga and Chapel were in the place where Dak'Rah did his worst work. We see most of their horrendous story down there, and come to understand their unremitting antipathy to Dak'Rah. (As an important sidenote, we also see that Chapel's turmoil about this runs so deep that she pushes Spock away when he tries to get Chapel to talk about this. Which is completely understandable, but I was not happy to see that.)

There's some question, at first, about whether Dak'Rah is sincere in his pacifism, but we eventually learn, in one of the more shocking developments in this series, that M'Benga, feeling guilty (to say the least) about how that battle with Dak'Rah's Klingon years ago changed him from a doctor to a killer, kills Dak'Rah as the two are arguing about war and peace. Chapel sees this, and she and M'Benga lie to Pike about what happened, telling the Captain that it was Dak'Rah who turned violent on the Enterprise, and M'Benga killed the not-so-repentant Klingon in self-defense.

I'm not sure that Pike believes M'Benga, and I don't like that Chapel and M'Benga lied to the Captain. What would have happened had they told Pike the truth? Were they concerned that Pike would have had no choice but to suspend them from theirs posts, and bring M'Benga up on charges? I can't see Pike doing that. But maybe M'Benga lied so as not to put Pike in that position. In addition to saving his own neck? Well, he's only human.

As I said at the beginning, an ethically wrenching and complex story, and the makings of another very different hour of great television.

Foundation 2.3: Bel Riose and Hari

Bel Riose and Hari Seldon don't meet in Foundation 2.3, but they are accorded the most compelling treatment in the latest episode up on Apple TV+, so I thought I'd focus on them in this review.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Let's start with Bel Riose. In Asimov's trilogy, he was a Belisarius of his future time, that is, the last great Roman general, who in our reality under Justinian's rule reconquered a lot of Roman territory lost to the Vandals and other barbarians. He hasn't yet done the equivalent of that in the TV series, but in episode 2.3 we get a powerful backstory, including an agreement to help Empire in return for being reunited with his husband, the love of Bel Riose's life. In addition to that, the character benefits from being played by Ben Daniels, a perfect actor for this role.

Meanwhile, here's the story with Hari: Instead of appearing after his death in pre-recorded holograms -- a pretty bold move when Asimov was writing this in the 1940s -- he instead appears in digital form after he orchestrates his own murder and Gaal locks his mind and his essence in the Prime Radiant, which contains in both Asimov's novels and its adaptation on television all of Hari's equations. I was beginning to think, before tonight's episode, that maybe substituting the digitality of the radiant for the holographic recording was a good move, after all, since the digitally living Hari provided more possibilities for the character than the pre-recorded holographs.

But now at the end of episode 2.3, we get Hari literally turned back into a living presumably flesh-and-blood being by some apparently hocus pocus.. Certainly a surprise. And this feels like an improvement over imprisonment in the radiant, which has more possibilities (maybe he'll replace Ebling Mis?) but we'll just have to see.

And I'll conclude with with one more character who shows up from the novels as a very different person. Hober Mallow. I didn't put his name in the title of this review because I by and large didn't like him in this episode. Foundation doesn't need a Han Solo character. But, again, we'll just have to wait and see, and one out of three for a great development (Bel Riose) and one out of three as a very likely good development (Hari), makes two, and two out of three ain't bad,

Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Great Video Review of "Robinson Calculator" in Robots Through the Ages

Sunday, July 23, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.7: Pike, Spock, and Boimler

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds from its inception was a boundary-breaking Star Trek, daring to launch a whole series about a character who had appeared in a crucial two-part episode in the original Star Trek, in the 1960s, after re-introducing him in one season of Star Trek: Discovery in 2019. Strange New Worlds has succeeded in this admirably, not only telling us stories about Pike, but about younger Spock, Chapel, Uhura, and James T. Kirk, as well as introducing a whole passel of admirable new characters, including M'Benga, Noonien-Singh, Ortegas, Chin-Riley, and Sam Kirk (James T's brother). Episode 2.7, put up on Paramount Plus just a few days after 2.6, continues that pathbreaking storytelling, with a time-travel tale that combines Strange New Worlds with the animated Lower Decks.

Lower Decks takes place more than a hundred years in the future of Strange New Worlds. I haven't watched a single episode of the three seasons that have been up so far -- I really prefer live action to animation -- but I may well give it a try in my not-so-distant future.

I should also mention that time time travel has always been my favorite fiction to read, watch, and write, and the time travel in Star Trek: TOS and TNG have been among the best I've seen on any screen. While I can't say that "Those Old Scientists" (the title of SNW 2.7) was as stellar as "City on the Edge of Forever" or "Yesterday's Enterprise," it's right up there, and provides a great mix the intelligent humor and banter that apparently typifies Lower Decks and the gravity of most time travel stories and Strange New Worlds.

The biggest source of that gravity in SNW is, of course, the terrible disfigurement of Captain Pike and the end of a life as a Starfleet Captain that we first saw back in "The Menagerie" on TOS back in 1966. Boimler, coming from Lower Decks and the future, of course knows that, and in one of the best scenes of SNW 2.7 or any Star Trek episode he and Pike discuss that.

We also know about Spock's future -- in particular, his keeping his emotions so strictly in check, including the feelings he's now displaying for Chapel in SNW. Episode 2.7 does a fine job with this complex relationship, too. (And I would add here that I hope Boimler's conversation with Chapel doesn't dissuade her from furthering her relationship with Spock. Right, I'm a hopeless romantic.)

You may have noticed I haven't warned you about spoilers at the top of this review, because I haven't really revealed much of the specific plot of this episode. But I will tell you that it's outstanding and thoroughly enjoyable, not only for its time travel, but for its liberation of characters from animation to live action.

So, will I start watching Lower Decks, and its appealing characters, still unliberated from animation? I just looked at a list of animated science fiction movies -- a Top 50 list of such movies, on IMDb. I haven't watched a single one of them, and have no urgent desire to do so. Time is precious, in our real world as well as in science fictional worlds with time travel, and I'd rather watch real people on the screen. But the Star Trek saga has branched out in the past few years, with some splendid results, and I don't want to miss any part of that. So, yes, I just may give Lower Decks at chance.

Saturday, July 22, 2023

Talking about Robots Through the Ages

Here's a list (which I'll be adding to) of all the places I've been talking about Robots Through the Ages, the new anthology which has my story, "Robinson Calculator":

Captain Phil's Planet on WUSB Radio, 2 June 2023
Detroit Today, WDET Radio, NPR (last 15 mins of the show) 17 June 2023
Being Frank podcast, 20 July 2023
Space Midrash podcast, 21 July 2023
New Forms of Science Fiction as McLuhan, YouTube video, intermittent discussion of Robots Through the Ages, 21 July 2023
The Human Voice podcast, 7 August 2023, Levinson Returns! Should Robots Have Rights?The Future of AI

Friday, July 21, 2023

Foundation 2.2: Major Players

Well, I thought Foundation 2.2 was much better than 2.1. Here's why:

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

It introduced, at this very early stage of the story -- by the standards of the Asimov trilogy -- both the Second Foundation and the Mule. And just for good measure, Bel Riose.

The Second Foundation, as described by Hari in this episode, is much the same as it is in the novels. It keeps track of how the Plan is faring, and makes amends, if possible. The big question, at first in the novels, is where it's located. In this episode of the TV series, the location is revealed, and it's not the same as in the novels. We'll have to see how this works out.

The Mule in this episode is just as evil as the Mule in the novels, but very different. There's nothing pathetic about him. He's just a monster. reminiscent of Sauron. I'd say that makes him less interesting and original than the Mule in Asimov's pages, but we'll have to see how this works out, too.

We don’t really know too much about Bel Riose at this point, except that Day doesn’t like him. That’s pretty much consistent with how the Emperor feels about the Empire’s last great general in Asimov’s novel. Of course, in the novels, the Bel Riose story happens before the Mule, and is indeed the last great triumph of the First Foundation in the Seldon Plan. The Mule is actually future to Bel Riose in episode 2.2 as well -- Gaal's mind travels to the future and encounters the Mule -- but this makes him present in her mind, and therefore in our, the viewers' minds, at the same time that we learn about Bel Riose and the Second Foundation.

Meanwhile, we have some profound developments on Trantor with the Cleons in episode 2.2. Brother Day wants to make babies the old-fashioned way -- well, not completely old-fashioned, they'll be created in test tubes not via sex, but at least they won't be clones. I have feeling that, whatever Demerzel is telling Day about this now, she may not let that happen. We also get a glimpse of the Emperor before the Cleon clones. And in the painting, I'm not sure, but it looks like Demerzel was there. She can live forever without cloning, because she's an android. I'm also thinking that, for this reason alone, sooner or later, the Cleons may come to regard her as a danger, because she in fact has more ultimate power than they do.

And how do I feel about the introduction of the Second Foundation and the Mule so early? It's ok. As long as major characters have some resemblance to their origins in the novels, I don't mind if they're changed or appear at different times. And in this second episode, even Hari seems more like himself.

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.6: Jimmy Kirk

An excellent episode 2.6 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+ tonight, in which we get to see much more of James T. Kirk, introduced in this episode as Jimmy, as he helps Uhura save an intelligent life form that lives in deuterium, an essential fuel for starflight.

That's a good story in itself. But the real payoff comes in seeing young Kirk and Uhura work together, capped off with Kirk meeting Spock for the first time, and the threesome sitting at a table as the camera pulls away and the credits roll.

This is really what Strange New Worlds is most about: giving us precious knowledge about what our heros in the original Star Trek were all doing before we met them on the Enterprise in the TV sets in our living rooms in the 1960s. Last week, we got a tender, powerful episode featuring Spock and Nurse Chapel. Two weeks before, we saw James T. Kirk and La'an Noonien-Singh. These episodes are carefully constructed, and build upon each other.

Tonight we briefly saw James and La'an together again, in conversation. There's clearly some romantic energy between them. But the greater thrill was seeing James Kirk and Nyota Uhura. And then Spock joining them at that table at the end.

And all of this takes places, of course, on a ship captained by Christopher Pike, whom we also know from Star Trek: TOS and that iconic two-part episode. I can't recall a prequel series that does this as well at Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. It's on its way to providing a priceless foundation to what we grew up watching all those years ago, when The Beatles were playing on AM and then FM radios, Marshall McLuhan's books were brand new, and NBC had this extraordinary series, starting a story that, like The Beatles and McLuhan's work, is still very much with us today.

Friday, July 14, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.5: Chapel and Spock

Last week's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.4 was about forgetting, and it's not that I forgot to review it, I was just a little too busy, and I just saw 2.5, and that was so good, so special, that I'll say definitely see 2.4, it's excellent and you'll like it, but I'll get right to my review of 2.5. It was outstanding.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Chapel and Spock were already my favorite couple -- they've been that since the first episode of this second season -- and it was great to see their relationship start to flourish in 2.5. The vehicle for that was a clever piece of science fiction, with a rich human payoff -- Chapel and Spock are in a shuttle accident in which Chapel is not hurt but Spock is, and an advanced alien species "repairs" him, but mistakenly makes him completely human. Chapel finds out that Spock deliberately diverted the damage from her to him, because she was more vulnerable, and of course that makes her love Spock more.

Spock starts this episode still betrothed to T'Pring -- I thought they broke up last season -- and in addition to the humor of Spock pretending to be at least half-Vulcan to placate T'Pring's mother, I was glad to see T'Pring tell Spock near the end of the episode that they should take some time off. This set up the kiss between Chapel and Spock at the end perfectly.

About that kiss: good to see and, although their story ultimately will be limited by what we saw of the characters in their future and our past in Star Trek: TOS, I'm hoping for as much of that as possible in Strange New Worlds, including, who knows, maybe even a kid or two who could pop up in some new Star Trek series in years to come.

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Foundation 2.1: Once Again, a Tale of Two Stories

Foundation is back on Apple TV+ with the first episode of its second season. Here's a review, with no big spoilers.

Here's what this first episode of the second season is most like: the first season of Foundation on Apple TV+. Here's what it's significantly not much like: Isaac Asimov's novels, upon which this series is supposed to be based. But you knew that, and I said that, already. In fact, I just did, when I said the first episode of the second season is most like the first season.

And, to be clear. as I said in my reviews of the first season back in 2021, the dissimilarity of this TV series to Asimov's novels doesn't mean that it's all bad. But nor can I help not being disappointed, not missing the trilogy that I read and loved three times, and the sequels which I read once and loved not as much but well enough.

Once again, my favorite part of the TV series are the Cleon clones and Demerzel -- Cleon wasn't cloned in the novels and Demerzel was very different, but their rendition in the TV series is often superb. This continues in episode 2.1. Lee Pace as Brother Day is once again a powerhouse. Same for Laura Birn as Demerzel. And Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk is simmering and outstanding, and Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn is memorable. All told, they tell an exciting, high intellect, high octane story vividly. And, yeah, they're the bad guys (I guess).

The good guys, who are supposed to be Hari Seldon and the Foundation, are not nearly as impressive. Jared Harris is a great actor, but he's been put in a box in this TV series, and even when he screams and yells he barely breaks through. And as for the rest ... Gaal and Salvor, well, I don't think I'd mind at all if they were almost unrecognizable from the characters with their name in the novels, if they'd been given a riveting story. Instead, we get mental gymnastics and proclamations of profundity with not much substance or appeal.

But I'll keep watching, because I enjoy the clone story, and I still have some hope somewhere that the TV series will deliver some of what I most enjoyed in the novels.

Sunday, July 2, 2023

Outlander 7.3: Time Travel, the Old-Fashioned Way

Well, not time travel, but communication from the past to the future, was a central -- and endearing -- part of Outlander 7.3.

[Spoilers follow ... ]

Of course, if you think about, written messages from the past show up and inform the future all the time. That's what happens every you read one of Plato's dialogues, a Charles Dickens novel, etc. And of course it happens any time someone brings one of Mozart's works to life -- and, more recently, you can hear the Beatles singing as if they made the record just yesterday.

But Brianna and Roger getting that box of letters from Claire and Jamie was just wonderful, and in some important ways very different from Plato and Dickens. Brianna and Roger didn't know whether Claire and Jamie had survived -- indeed, there had been an obituary in the papers which said that Claire and Jamie had perished in a fire. The box of letters proved what I think it was Ian who aptly said -- you can always believe what you read in the papers.

Of course, where time travel is involved, that unreliability of newspapers is especially true. Every drop of the time travelers hat can change what a future looking at a newspaper from the past is proclaiming. Time travel can supplant what that newspaper is saying with something much better or much worse.

I'm very glad the change was for the much better in Outlander 7.3. Claire and Jamie deserve it. The episode was also a great proclamation of their deep love, and that was also so good to see.

And I'll see you back here next week with my review of the next episode in this so far splendid seventh season of this classic.

"challenging fun"
- Entertainment Weekly

e-mail received from a reader:
Dear Paul, I just dreamed of airships flying between raindrops. I just returned from 2042 CE, where I sold my hardcover copy of The Plot to Save Socrates for seventy million Neo-Euros, because it had your response to this e-mail from way back in 2007 scotch-taped onto the inside of the cover. A Paul Levinson collector paid top Neo-Euro, because of the authentic archaic e-mail printout from you. It turns out that not many of your e-mails from before your tenure as CEO of HBO/Cinemax and terms as United Nations Secretary General will survive that far into the future. So, please respond to this e-mail, to help found my great-grandchildren's fortune. My Will will stipulate that they must share with your great grandchildren. Thanks! Tom

I of course happily replied...

42 reviews of The Plot to Save Socrates!