Paul Levinson
Bio
Novels The Silk Code, The Plot To Save Socrates, It's Real Life: An Alternate History of The Beatles; LPs Twice Upon A Rhyme & Welcome Up; nonfiction The Soft Edge & Digital McLuhan, translated into 15 languages. Prof, Fordham Univ.
Stories (742)
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Review of 'The Orville' 3.1
Well, I said in my review of the fifth episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that its attempts at humor paled in comparison to the funny stuff in The Orville. I watched the debut episode of the long awaited third season of The Orville last night, and although there was a funny line here and there, there wasn't much occasion to laugh in this episode which was as profound and philosophically probing as any episode I've ever seen in any Star Trek series.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' 1.5
Well, I said in my review of last week's episode 1.4 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds that what I was most really liking was the way young Lt. Spock was being portrayed in this excellent new series. And sure enough, I was rewarded today with episode 1.5 which was all about Spock.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' 1.3
There was a science fiction story I read a long long time ago -- back in the late 1950s, I think, when as a kid I first began devouring science fiction -- "Enchanted Village" (1950) I think, by A. E. Van Vogt But I remember the story as as clear as day. An astronaut is stranded on a planet with a barely hospitable environment, and struggles to survive. He comes up with all sorts of strategies and fixes. [Spoiler follows for this story.] In the end, he's feeling great. But not because he's come up with ways to make the environment more comfortable for human life. He's in great shape because the environment has changed him into an alien life form happy as a clam in the hostile environment.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' 1.4
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds continues to be the best Star Trek since the original series, even more like TOS than was TNG, even though both had standalone episodes. Indeed, both had great episodes and great characters, but TOS and SNW both have Spock, who is right up there with the great captains as a transcendent character. And Pike increasingly strikes me as Kirk at his best.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' 1.2
A powerful episode 1.2 of The Time Traveler's Wife on HBO last night, because-- [Spoilers ahead ... though, actually, a lot of the story of The Time Traveler's Wife is Henry telling his younger selves, as well as Claire at various ages, spoilers of one kind or another about what's going to happen, and/or what can't happen, regardless of what Henry or anyone at any age may want or not want to happen. So maybe, if I'm being true to this story, I shouldn't warn you about spoilers. Though, come to think of it, you and I live in a world in which there is no such thing as time travel, as far as we know, so what goes on in a time travel story doesn't really apply. Anyway ... ]
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Night Sky'
Just finished binging Night Sky on Amazon Prime Video, another travel to other worlds narrative that does it not through space ships or time machines, but some kind of conduits or portals built by some interstellar or intertemporal civilization. Outer Range did a good job of this with a time-travel hole out on the range. Night Sky does this with a portal to another world in a shack in the backyard. And it's lifted immensely by two peerless lead performances by J. K. Simmons as Franklin York and Sissy Spacek as Irene York, an aging married couple in the fictitious town of Farnsworth, Illinois.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Time Traveler's Wife' 1.1
The Time Traveler's Wife debuted on HBO this past Sunday night. Based on the 2003 novel by Audrey Niffenegger which I haven't read, made into a movie in 2009 which I saw and really liked but didn't review (because I was too busy promoting the first edition my then new book, New New Media), HBO's offering is a brand-new series. I thought the first episode was excellent.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' 1.4
How cool and meta-perfect is The Man Who Fell to Earth new series on Showtime? Well, in episode 1.4, just up last night, we learn that Thomas Newton, who came to Earth all those years ago, in the 1976 movie starring David Bowie in the role, lost his memory,
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' 1 & 2
I saw the first two episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+ late last night and really enjoyed them. More than Picard and a lot more than Discovery, to rank the new Star Treks that Paramount+ has been rolling out. Strange New Worlds brought back a lot of the verve and joy of watching TOS aka the original Star Trek series. And here are some of the more specific reasons why:
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
Review of 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' 1.3
The Man Who Fell to Earth just keeps getting better and better. The last few minutes of episode 1.3 were the best so far in this very fine series. Faraday tells the audience -- assembled in the narrative and whoever's watching the episode on Showtime or Amazon Prime or any way else on Planet Earth -- "I've come with a prototype for a quantum fusion process," and proceeds to make good on his claim by lighting London up in the night. England swings like a pendulum do.
By Paul Levinson4 years ago in Futurism
