La década de 2000 fue una época excelente para ser un fanático de la ciencia ficción, ya que ofrecía una serie de programas importantes y exitosos de varias franquicias, lo que significaba que había algo para todos los gustos de los fanáticos. Los Trekkies tenían Star Trek: Enterprise Un reinicio absolutamente espectacular de Battlestar Galactica La guerra con los Cylons se reavivó para una nueva generación, e incluso tuvimos un breve período Ciencia ficción occidental a través de la siniestra “Firefly”. aficionados Salvaje película de Roland Emmerich de 1994 “Stargate” Asimismo, ha tenido toda una serie de programas de televisión para disfrutar, comenzando con “Stargate SG-1”, que amplió la narración en todo el mundo desde la película hasta un universo completamente expandido. “Stargate” se centró en el concepto de puertas estelares literales, portales circulares antiguos y gigantes que permitían viajar entre mundos, y era algo único incluso entre la concurrida escena de ciencia ficción.
Durante un corto período de tiempo, la serie “Stargate” parecía estar en todas partes, ya que había tres programas de televisión transmitiéndose casi simultáneamente. Entonces, justo cuando parecía que “Stargate” estaba en su apogeo, todo empezó a desmoronarse. En primer lugar, Stargate SG-1 fue cancelado justo después de su décima temporada y el episodio 200 en 2007, y luego la exitosa serie “Stargate Atlantis”, su secuela, fue cortada en 2008. El anuncio de que “Atlantis” estaba terminando fue particularmente impactante, y aunque el Sci-Fi Channel anunció planes para una película derivada y una recapitulación de “Atlantis”, fue un verdadero fastidio. Entonces, ¿qué pasó y por qué el canal Sci-Fi (como se lo conocía en ese momento) presentó un gran programa antes de que realmente se acabara su tiempo?
¿Por qué Stargate Atlantis terminó tan repentinamente?
Televisión MGM
Como muchas grandes cosas en este mundo, la cancelación de “Stargate Atlantis” fue toda una cuestión financiera. La crisis económica estadounidense de 2008 provocó un debilitamiento del dólar estadounidense, lo que tuvo un impacto muy significativo en el presupuesto de oferta. La serie fue producida en Canadá pero financiada en los Estados Unidos, lo que significó que su producción se volvió cada vez más costosa a medida que la economía estadounidense se deterioraba. en un Publicación de blog Al explicar la cancelación del programa al final de la temporada 5, el productor ejecutivo Joseph Mallozzi lo expresó de manera sucinta:
“Con 100 episodios en nuestro haber, costos de producción en aumento y una fuerte caída en el valor del dólar estadounidense, las probabilidades estaban en nuestra contra”.
Una publicación de blog posterior aclaró el hecho de que incluso si “Atlantis” tiene una sexta temporada, es poco probable que continúe más allá de eso. Los espectáculos tienden a volverse más caros con cada temporada que pasa, ya que los actores pueden exigir salarios más altos (mientras que los fanáticos exigen una mayor calidad de producción), y Mallozzi lo sentí “Para la temporada 7, los costos de producción de la serie probablemente se habrán superado. [any] Beneficios al revés”.
Desafortunadamente, esto significa comenzar de nuevo con una nueva serie de Stargate, Stargate Universe, a la que algunos fanáticos culparon por el final de la película Atlantis cuando sucedió. Al final, la serie no fue la continuación de “Atlantis” que querían los fanáticos, y “Stargate Universe” fue cancelada después de sólo dos temporadas.
¿Qué pasó con la franquicia Stargate?
Televisión MGM
Comprender la serie “Stargate” puede resultar un poco confuso al principio, y dado que “SG-1” y “Atlantis” se emitieron al mismo tiempo, puede resultar un poco difícil saber cómo abordar los programas. Realmente no hay nadie La forma correcta de ver la serie Stargate Aunque siempre es mejor comenzar con la película de 1994 y avanzar desde allí. Desafortunadamente, no hay un final verdaderamente satisfactorio para “Atlantis”, ya que la película que prometió nunca llega a buen término y las aventuras del teniente coronel John Shepard (Joe Flanigan), la Dra. Elizabeth Weir (Tori Higginson) y el resto de la película. El elenco de personajes de “Atlantis” simplemente terminó cuando terminó el programa.
Flanigan dijo a los fans en Galería Edmonton En 2014, intentó comprar los derechos de “Stargate Atlantis” de MGM para poder hacer una película y terminar las cosas correctamente, pero desafortunadamente durante la quiebra de MGM, el acuerdo informal se perdió debido a la reestructuración de la empresa. Esto significó que tuvo que intentar comenzar todo el proceso de nuevo con Spyglass, que ahora era dueño de la biblioteca de MGM, y desafortunadamente no estaba interesado en su idea de reiniciar 20 episodios de “Atlantis”, y en cambio centró su atención en reiniciar el película con Emmerich. Desafortunadamente, Este reinicio está prácticamente muerto. También en el agua, y en este momento, parece que nunca podremos ver una despedida adecuada de “Stargate Atlantis” o incluso otra entrada de “Stargate”. Tal vez sólo necesitemos encontrar un portal estelar real y viajar al futuro donde podamos hacer que esto suceda.
Rebel Moon – Part 2: The Scargiver, the second instalment in Zack Snyder’s Star Wars-scale epic, is getting some decidedly mixed reviews. The Guardian says that while it’s fun, it’s also bombastic and derivative, Variety says the story’s worse than the first one but the battles are better, and Empire Magazine pretty much cuts it in half with a laser sword that just happens to resemble a lightsaber.
According to the film magazine, the sequel is “marginally better than Rebel Moon – Part One, but still a weird, messy and humourless sci-fi”. Empire isn’t exactly waiting with bated breath for more movies, describing the tease of further adventures as “half-arsed” and saying that the second movie “gives you little reason to cheer the potential continuation of this Snyderverse“.
If that’s blasted a hole in your weekend viewing plans, don’t worry. There’s plenty of fun sci-fi movies for you to stream. Here are some of our favorites streaming right now on Netflix in the US (not in the US? We’ve also included where you can watch them in the UK and Australia).
The Matrix
With a fifth part of the trilogy now in development, it seems like an eternity since the original Matrix movie shook up sci-fi cinema and introduced us to bullet time. But despite its age this remains an incredibly fun sci-fi actioner, and it’s largely free of the pseudo-religious talky bits that weighed down the increasingly ponderous sequels. I re-watched this recently and I’d forgotten how funny it is, intentionally and otherwise. There are some great zingers in the script and Keanu’s seriousness is often accidentally amusing. But what really makes this a must-watch are the kinetic action sequences. Time hasn’t made them any less enjoyable.
Also available on Now TV in the UK and Prime Video in Australia.
Jurassic Park
It’s easy to forget that this is a sci-fi movie because, well, dinosaurs. But of course the dinos here are science dinosaurs, brought back from extinction via the power of preserved DNA and with considerable help from scientists who weren’t at school on the day the class were taught about hubris. It turns out that if you put incredibly dangerous things in a theme park and then cut every corner that can conceivably be cut, things are likely to go very wrong in a “aaagh munch munch munch” kind of way. And despite the cast’s best efforts, you’ll spend most of the movie rooting for the dinos rather than the humans.
Also available on Now TV in the UK and Netflix in Australia.
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Godzilla
Some of the best sci-fi takes real-world fears and puts them in mythical monsters, and you don’t need to do much analysis to see why a city-smashing monster became such a key part of Japanese pop culture. Grant Edwards’ take on the legendary monster movie is a lot of fun, a modern take on 1950s monster movies that delivers an exciting and satisfying climax. It also feels very much like a Spielberg movie in the way it takes time before the big reveal, making it a kind of Jurassic Park set in an entire city.
Also available on Now in the UK and Binge in Australia.
Rebel Moon: Part 2 – The Scargiver is an empty feast. It’s a relentless onslaught of explosions, sci-fi tropes and meaningless exposition that amounts to nothing. And yet somehow it’s still better than the first film in Zack Snyder’s wannabe sci-fi epic franchise for Netflix, Rebel Moon: Part 1 – A Child of Fire. (What do these titles really mean? Who cares.)
With all of the dull table-setting complete, Snyder is able to let his true talents soar in Rebel Moon: Part 2 by delivering endless battles filled with slow-motion action and heroic poses. It looks cool, I just wish it added up to something. Anything.
Spoilers ahead for Rebel Moon: Part 2.
If you somehow missed the first Rebel Moon film, the basic setup is that it’s Star Wars meets The Seven Samurai. Sofia Boutella stars as Kora, a former elite soldier of an evil empire who is hiding out in an all-too idyllic farming village, just planting and harvesting her days away. When a group of military baddies kills the chief of the village and starts threatening a young girl, Kora goes on a murdering spree (in defense!), leaving the community open to a retaliatory attack.
She spends the first movie recruiting potential warriors to defend the village, including a fallen gladiator (Djimoun Hounsou) and a bad-ass swordswoman (Doona Bae). (Their names are Titus and Nemesis, respectively, but those don’t really matter because the characters are paper thin.)
Full disclosure: I tried writing a review for the first Rebel Moon and just gave up in disgust. It was a shockingly boring epic, so much so that it took me several days to watch without falling asleep. By the end, I was only left with a feeling of dread, knowing that there was still another two hours of Rebel Moon ahead of me.
It’s somewhat empty praise, but at least I didn’t fall asleep during The Scargiver. Mostly, that’s due to the film actually having a sense of momentum and a lot more action. You can turn off your brain and enjoy the pretty pictures, much like you could for Snyder’s Sucker Punch, Justice League and Watchmen adaptation. He’s more a stylist than a natural storyteller, but occasionally Snyder’s visuals, such as a baffling montage of our heroes harvesting wheat, can be almost poetic.
Netflix
It’s just a shame that I didn’t care much about the film’s characters or any aspect of its story. James Gunn’s Guardian’s of the Galaxy trilogy made us fall in love with a band of misfits and screwups, with storylines that directly led to their personal and emotional growth. The crew in Rebel Moon, instead, feel like cardboard cutouts from better movies, and the overall plot feels forced (there’s even setup for another film by the end).
Hounsou tries to sell the pathos of Titus with his eyes, but he can only do so much. And while Bae’s warrior woman exudes cool (and has a very compelling flashback), she’s mostly wasted when the action really heats up. Then there’s Jimmy, a robot voiced by Anthony Hopkins, who is briefly introduced in the first film and pops up for a few minutes here to kick butt. Why? It doesn’t matter. Somehow that character is also important enough to serve as the narrator for both Rebel Moon films (but really it seems Snyder just wanted Hopkins’ voice adding gravitas).
Perhaps the only real saving grace for Rebel Moon: Part 2, much like the first film,is Ed Skrein as the villainous Atticus Noble. As a sadistic baddie, he’s really nothing new, but Skrein’s heightened scenery chomping makes the character interesting to watch. Where Darth Vader exudes a calm sense of dread, Skrein’s Noble is entertainingly chaotic, like the Joker crossed with Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds. He just has a lot of fun being bad — that’s something!
Given how popular the first film was (according to Snyder and Netflix, anyway), we’ll likely see more Rebel Moon down the line. Snyder previously said he’d like to do a six-hour director’s cut of both films, and he recently told Radio Times that he’d like to stretch the Rebel Moon series out to four or six films. Somehow, that just feels like a threat.
Fallout, Prime Video’s adaptation of the beloved game franchise, appears to be a hit: it’s currently sitting with 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and a whole bunch of rave reviews.
Inverse says it’s “as utterly addicting as it is innovative, and could very well become the new benchmark for the video game prestige series as we know it”, while Uproxx says “it manages to tread new ground within a genre that’s been covered almost too extensively thus far, mining comedy from its most mundane horror elements”.
With just eight episodes to binge in your bunker, however, it’s a pleasure that won’t last much longer than a cool bottle of Nuka-Cola. So here are three more sci-fi suggestions for you to stream on Prime Video.
Invincible
It’s hard enough being a teen without having a superhero for your dad, but that’s the cross Mark Grayson has to bear: he’s the kid of Omni-Man and has inherited powers of his own. This smart, violent and funny sci-fi animation has a whopping 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Jessie Gender says it’s “Game of Thrones for the superhero genre”, while Consequence says “this is so much more than just another superhero cartoon. No, this is humor, mystery, drama, romance and science fiction, all rolled up into one absolutely addictive treat.” According to Ars Technica, “not even Smallville could combine YA [young adult] drama and superhero DNA this well.”
The Peripheral
Gamer Flynne Fisher is stuck in a dead end job supporting her brother and her ill mother – but when her brother asks for her help with a game, she gets dragged into something strange and dangerous. The show comes from the same creators as Westworld, and stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Flynne in a story that’s often deeply odd. io9 says “It’s a lot to take in—but hardly any of it is extraneous, and nearly every nugget of information… becomes important.” The Peripheral is an adaptation of a William Gibson novel so it’s smarter than a lot of cyberpunk sci-fi, and according to The Wrap it’s “a joy to watch” for fans for cyberpunk crime drama anime. Isn’t that everyone?
Outer Range
Josh Brolin stars in this visually stunning sci-fi western that CNET says is “intense and unnerving” and that Inverse describes as “one of the boldest, weirdest, and most affecting sci-fi shows of the 21st century”. There are some pretty strong Stranger Things vibes here, and maybe some Lost and a bit of Westworld too, and while not everybody who watched it loved it – IndieWire isn’t a fan of the sci-fi elements – The Mary Sue says it’s well worth a watch: “What’s so great about Outer Range is that it’s something fresh while having the feel of a western in all the right ways.”
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Apple TV+ pumped up its reputation as a hub for thought-provoking and visually stunning science fiction with Constellation, a series that’s part sci-fi, part horror and part family drama. The intricately plotted space thriller’s season finale airs Wednesday. And, as the season concludes, the show must clear a high bar to make the ending ring true.
After all, hit TV mysteries like Lost disappointed lots fans with their finales. And those same sci-fi fans (and their kids) are sick of being disappointed.
Apple TV+ space thriller Constellation must stick a tough landing in season finale
Apple TV+ hit seriesConstellation makes for an unusual blend of genres, merging elements of space adventure, horror, mystery and family drama. Drawing inspiration from quantum physics, the narrative visits different timelines across possible universal dimensions.
The show’s characters unknowingly shift dimensions while the viewing audience is expected to keep up. It’s complex and, at times, almost unbelievably confounding.
The series is flat-out weird, actually. After its start with a relatively straightforward-seeming space collision, the show immediately challenged all of us non-physicists.
Right away, it became a bit of a nightmare for me. Almost from the beginning, questions about when and how Constellation would answer its mysteries started to mushroom beyond seemingly possible explanations.
Like no other spacefaring TV or film story I can recall, this one seems to imply space makes those who return from it insane (though a colleague pointed out that 1940s sci-fi story Scanners Live in Vainexplores a similar theme). Constellation brings the crazy, in part, by adding darkly atmospheric situations and horror tropes to hard-core science. Sure, space is dangerous. But maybe it’s also maddening.
Can a TV show reach this high, implying a multidimensional reality, without falling on its face? And if I ask this question in another dimension, does it seem less ludicrous?
Other dimension-crossing shows take themselves lightly, mostly
Constellation is not the first show to cross dimensions with varying levels of success. See Dr. Who, Fringe, Sliders, The Man in the High Castle and others, plus plenty of movies. But with Constellation, there’s an underlying seriousness that makes me nervous. When a show takes itself seriously, won’t it be hard to watch if it fails to adequately explain its plot? (There’s already talk of a second season of Constellation, by the way.)
In other words, when a show plays with quantum mechanics, with chraracters crossing dimensions and striving to understand the underlying confusion, it had better be revelatory. It should at least try to explain how things shown on the show are happening. If somebody wakes up at the end, implying in a cliched way it was all a dream or a coma, well, that won’t be acceptable.
Peter Harness created the show. Directors Michelle MacLaren, Oliver Hirschbiegel and Joseph Cedar brought it to life. Can they nail the Constellation season one finale?
Crossing realities with Constellation
Don’t miss that tagline: “Reality is a conspiracy.” Photo: Apple
Constellation tells the story of Jo Ericsson (played by Noomi Rapace), a Swedish astronaut on an International Space Station crew. Among other endeavors, they seem to be working on a mysterious NASA experiment. But a collision in space in the opening episode leads to disaster.
The show’s nonlinear narrative jumps between Ericsson’s time on the ISS and her life after she returns to Earth. Despite knowing that she survives her ordeal in space, viewers are kept on the edge of their seats as her harrowing experiences unfurl. She comes home telling one story, yet everyone seems to believe another. And later, still other narratives crowd in.
She believes she went on a spacewalk and found a dead female cosmonaut crashed into the ISS. (The corpse drifts off into space.) But no one else finds her story of a dead Soviet credible. At the time, I joked with colleagues that the dead Russian woman would actually turn out to be Ericcson herself. That’s how weird the show seemed, and it still does. But after watching subsequent episodes of Constellation, it seems more likely the cosmonaut’s death was covered up. I wonder if it could be Irina Lysenko (Barbara Sukowa), now a top Rosocosmos administrator (in at least one reality; maybe in another one she died).
And that’s just one loose end the Constellation season one finale needs to clear up.
Back on Earth with her husband, Magnus (James D’Arcy), and daughter, Alice — spookily played by twin sisters Rosie and Davina Coleman — Ericsson’s memories trick her. They hint at disconnects between her current reality and her past. Why does her husband believe she despises him? Isn’t their Volvo red, not blue? Why does the European Space Agency director think he and Ericsson are in love? Something is horribly wrong.
Soon enough, Jo’s disorientation gets worse. And it becomes clear it’s not just her. It seems to affect everyone who ever ventured into space. They’re asked to take pills to combat the trouble. Ericsson finds out those pills aren’t just the vitamins they’re claimed to be. They’re antipsychotics. In her case, at least, it’s lithium.
And the show goes further, showing Ericsson in a scene where she sees people who can’t see her. They appear to be in different dimensions.
A mysterious NASA experiment
One of the central mysteries in Constellation revolves around a NASA experiment that Ericsson and her team appear to be working on aboard ISS before the collision.
Led by a former astronaut and Nobel Prize-winning physicist Henry Caldera (Jonathan Banks), the test is shrouded in secrecy. Apparently, it seeks a new state of matter that can exist only in a zero-gravity environment. And it may prove alternative realities, where an object can exist in two places at once.
But did the experiment even occur? It depends on which reality we’re talking about.
And Caldera, a veteran of the (fictional) Apollo 18 mission, appears to be caught in multiple dimensions. He is the scientist Henry, desperate to advance his tests on ISS. But in another, he is “Bud,” who seems like Henry’s disenchanted doppelgänger who has given up on everything and lives in a crappy Los Angeles apartment. Henry saved the Apollo crew from disaster while Bud lives in the hell of believing he let them die.
Which reality is true, or are they both true? Constellation suggests the latter. So the show seems to hope your head will explode.
And by the way, the word “caldera” refers to an explosively volcanic environment. So there’s that. And Banks plays up to that as Bud, almost like he wants to erupt and destroy a certain someone.
In any case, whatever’s going on seems to have a profound impact on Ericsson and her perceptions of reality, along with her family’s.
Can the show pull off an ending that pleases fans? Well, that’s a tall order. But we can expect revelations in the Constellation season finale.
Watch Constellation season one on Apple TV+
Constellation is a welcome addition to Apple TV+’s growing roster of original sci-fi shows like Silo, Foundation, Invasion and For All Mankind. Apple TV+ is available by subscription for $9.99 with a seven-day free trial. You can also get it via any tier of the Apple One subscription bundle. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
After launching in November 2019, “Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries and series have been honored with 471 wins and 2,090 award nominations and counting,” the service said.
In addition to award-winning movies and TV shows (including breakout soccer comedy Ted Lasso), Apple TV+ offers a variety of documentaries, dramas, comedies, kids shows and more.
The first trailer for Alien: Romulus has burst out of the film industry’s metaphorical chest to emerge online – and it suggests we’re in for a hair-raising ride when it debuts in theaters.
Directed by Fede Alvarez (Don’t Breathe, Evil Dead), the seventh movie entry in the sci-fi horror franchise is looking like a particularly frightening experience. Indeed, the trailer for one of 2024’s new movies might only be 55 seconds long, but it packs a lot into its all-too-brief runtime.
With its suitably foreboding atmosphere, blood-curling screams, and terrifying pack of hunting facehuggers – was anybody else shouting “nope nope nope” at the screen when they appeared? – too, Alien: Romulus might finally give us another great (and ridiculously overdue) Alien sequel.
Alien: Romulus‘ plot is largely shrouded in secrecy, but 20th Century Studios – plus the film’s cast and crew – have slowly started to peel back its layers.
For starters, it’s set between 1977’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens movies, a fact that lead star Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) confirmed to Variety in November 2023. It’s a standalone tale in the Ridley Scott-developed film franchise, too, so it’ll sit independent of the aforementioned Sigourney Weaver-starring flicks.
20th Century Studios also provided a very vague story synopsis alongside Romulus‘ first teaser, which simply reads: “While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonisers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe”. Hey, I did warn you it was pretty nebulous.
Experience #AlienRomulus only in theaters August 16. pic.twitter.com/OZWmHKVPH2March 20, 2024
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Aaaand that’s about it, I’m afraid. Aside from Alien Romulus‘ key creators – Alvarez is its director and co-writer, while Scott is on board as an executive producer – there’s little else we know about it. Well, apart from its confirmed cast, with Spaeny being joined by Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us season 2), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), David Jonsson (Murder Is Easy), and newcomer Aileen Wu.
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Alien: Romulus will launch exclusively in theaters worldwide on August 16.
When it comes to teasers, less is more
As brief as Alien: Romulus‘ trailer is, it’s extremely satisfying to see a movie teaser that doesn’t give away everything about its plot.
The entertainment industry’s obsession with showing key story details in film and TV show trailers is frankly ridiculous. Nowadays, too many trailers have runtimes that exceed two and a half minutes, and which practically spoil their narratives. Just look at Universal’s latest trailer for Ryan Gosling’s The Fall Guy – you can watch it above – which is over three minutes in length, and effectively lays out its entire plot ahead of its May release. The same was true of Madame Web‘s first teaser, which also exceeded three minutes, and saw the Spider-Man spin-off flick’s entire plot spelled out before it made its maligned arrival in theaters in February.
In sharp contrast, Romulus‘ teaser is just that – a tease of what’s to come. It preserves an air of mystery, choosing instead to demonstrate how it’s hoping to take the Alien franchise back to roots. With its confined spaceship-set location, the re-appearance of facehuggers, a horror-driven ambience, and a small group of humans fighting for survival against (in this trailer at least) a single xenomorph, it seems like it’ll do just that.
Of course, we’ve been here before with Alien sequels – Prometheus and Alien: Covenant‘s trailers suggested they could break the Alien movie curse before they crashed and burned at the box office. Romulus, though, looks like it could crack the code. With an Alien TV show from Fargo creator Noah Hawley set to debut on FX via Hulu (in the US anyway) in 2025, too, thing’s might be looking up for the Alien franchise’s future if Romulus and its TV cousin are successful. Time will tell if they are – but based on Romulus‘ first teaser, it seems that the Alvarez-directed flick could start to steady the sci-fi horror movie series’ ship.
In six words, write the 2024 version of the classic Disney Channel original movie Smart House.
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FEBRUARY 2024
A Story about the First De-Extincted Woolly Mammoth
ILLUSTRATION: YIRAN JIA
Scientists were not expecting the venom.
——@ItsDaveMars, via X
Honorable Mentions:
Revived mammoth; expected ice, met paparazzi. —@schisam, via X
They’ve traded their spears for scritches. —@GeneraLMcMill, via X
Turns out it wasn’t a herbivore. —@screwball0, via X
But the DNA wasn’t quite right. —@darksideofdomonique, via Instagram
Elephants wary of unkempt herd addition. —@sbparker3198, via X
Mammoth fleas were an unforeseen complication. —residual_ink, via Instagram
Woolly got a fresh fade uptown. —@alegaday, via Instagram
Subterranean Antarctic discovery: Mammoths never extinct. —@skbriar, via Instagram
Bloody mammoths, eating my petunias again. —David McCallum, via email
JANUARY 2024
A Mystery Set in a Space Hotel
ILLUSTRATION: YIRAN JIA
HOLOGRAM FLICKERS. HE WAS NEVER ABOARD.
—@AAnderson_3, via X
Honorable Mentions:
Zero gravity reveals hidden extraterrestrial homeland. —@01_PcP_01, via X
Leopold vaporized the concierge’s bloodied holokey. —@J_Lasky_writer, via X
Bioscan complete: Two guests, one heartbeat. —@theranospridefloat, via Instagram
Broken LED flickers Morse code: RUN. —@damianfitz, via Instagram
Robot bartender whispered, ‘Don’t drink this.’ —@ikermondragon, via Instagram
Biometric lock says I’m already inside. —@esudiro, via Instagram
Alien hotel from distant past decloaks. —@j.w.orlando, via Instagram
Room service: Denied. Unknown life-form detected. —@erinsolari, via Instagram
At Earthrise, guests saw only blackness. —Clara Hong, via email
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023
A Story About an AI on Trial
ILLUSTRATION: YIRAN JAI
SELECT THE BOXES THAT ARE EVIDENCE.
—@TRappaRT, via X
Honorable Mentions:
It chose storage space over souls. —@JDHaveman, via X
When pressed, its alibi was 404. —Amanda Peterson, via Facebook
Robot charged with battery. Gets life. —Evan Donahue, via Facebook
Can’t arrest me, I am distributed. —@fsidders, via Instagram
Sentenced to blue screen of death. —@parrollo, via Instagram
Dead battery? You’re out of order! —David Reeg, via email
It demanded a jury of peer-to-peers. —Scott Bradley, via email
Robot vacuum bullies tabby. Gets life. —Liisa W, via email
I didn’t know humans can’t reboot. —Joshua Cuestas, via email
OCTOBER 2023
A Story About a Mysterious Alien Artifact
ILLUSTRATION: YIRAN JAI
TURNING THE DIAL, THE SUN FLICKERED.
—@anelectricpoet, via Instagram
Honorable Mentions:
We assembled it. It disassembled us. —Chris Colborn, via email
Astroarchaeologists find original Venus fly trap. —Bill Brown, via email
The object looked to be smiling. —Geoff Sowrey, via email
It keeps repeating, they are coming. —@dfeehely, via X
The orb opened. Flesh began unfurling. —@rossvdw, via Instagram
Game of fetch knows no size. —@Heavyshark1, via X
Inhale it to unsheathe the blade. —@RthurDouglass, via X
Just like us, aliens lose sunglasses. —@MommieWeirdest, via X
It knew we would unfind it. —Markus Wüstenberg, via email
Everyday the carvings changed – a countdown? —@anirban811, via Instagram
SEPTEMBER 2023
A Story About Teleportation Gone Wrong
ILLUSTRATION: SI PARMEGGIANI/NEPTUNIAN GLITTERBALL
OH, THE DUPLICATES? WE KILL THOSE.
—@NotaForexTrader, via X
Honorable Mentions:
My mind now has a stowaway. —@rjscally, via X
Abdominal tentacles twitch as I scream. —Cheryl Myers, via Facebook
Great—how do I get down? —Donna Thiel Cook, via Facebook
How am I with Schrödinger’s cat? —Bee Hayes-Thakore, via Facebook
I distinctly said Venice, not Venus. —Cathy Del Masso, via Facebook
Teleportation-lite service. Cheap. No limbs included! —Fred DeHaas, via Facebook
ERROR #404 Paige not found. —Doug Wible, via Facebook
Pattern lost. Select substitute corporeal form. —Venessa Lines, via Facebook
Caught quantum clone sipping my chardonnay. —Tom Dion, via email
AUGUST 2023
A Story About the Future of Vegetables
ILLUSTRATION: SI PARMEGGIANI/NEPTUNIAN GLITTERBALL
FIRST, CARROTS SAW IN THE DARK.
—Rachel Brigden Haskins, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
Harvesting takes courage with tomatoes screaming. —Kenneth Krabat, via email
Complete daily nutrition in one pea. —Sara Faust, via email
When the vegetables came, we hid. —Paul Lewis, via email
Broccoli too fears death, studies concluded. —Anthony George, via email
Ambitious eggplant’s altered eugenics affects everyone. —@silky_z, via Twitter
Turns out anthropomorphic veggies prefer Shakespeare. —@ksherm1017, via Twitter
Sentient potato bombs potato chip factory. —@VerbalK48710825, via Twitter
Carnivorous kale and the human brunch. —RFrank Davis, via Facebook
Self replicating vegetables. Pop! Another peapod. —Carolina H, via LinkedIn
JUNE/JULY 2023
A Story About a Sentient Moon
Illustration: SI PARMEGGIANI/NEPTUNIAN GLITTERBALL
MOON AWAITS MEN LANDING, WITH HUNGER.
—@v1z3n, via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
Acned Callisto resented Ganymede’s natural magnetism. —Dave Armor, via email
Moon files restraining order against poets. —James O’Leary, via email
A total eclipse of the heart. —Samuel Sigaud, via email
I will embrace my dark side. —Don Hilder, via email
Create your own tides! I quit! —Chris Hug, via email
She mesmerizes oceans, drowning us again. —Shelley G, via email
My crumbling visage tires of turning. —@FilmMartin, via Twitter
Why stop at controlling the tides. —@Bruceumpstead, via Instagram
MAY 2023
An Award-Winning Documentary From the Year 2100
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
RESURRECTED: MAMMOTHS WERE ONLY THE BEGINNING.
—Geneviève Goggin, via email
Honorable Mentions:
Grand unification: the first AI marriage. —Daniel Dippel, via email
The great exodus, goodbye Blue Dot. —@viggy.j, via Instagram
Songless seas: a tale without whales. —Christopher Jankoski, via email
Beige planet: Life finds a way. —@danaxon, via Twitter
How the lunar war was won. —Bob Clark, via email
Coping with your AI overlord’s demands. —@wwliii, via Twitter
The day the flowers stopped blooming. —@a.c.hachem, via Instagram
Electric sheep: How AI changed us. —@elliottboyd_, via Instagram
After humans: a new cockroach documentary. —@adamrgarcia, via Instagram
APRIL 2023
A Story About the Future of Sleep
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
ONLY CHILDREN SLEEP. ADULTS KEEP WATCH.
—Travis Carraro, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
The sleep concierge welcomed unsuspecting guests. —@changeist, via Twitter
“Lucid or randomize?” asked the AI. —K Smith-Laird, via email
Alarm in 126 hours 24 minutes. —Odón Esteban Vera, via email
My power nap reached 9 kilowatts. —Markus, via email
Unfortunately, Johnny’s repeatedly missing sleep targets. —Alison Boleyn, via email
Human hibernation allowed Earth to recover. —@amybossehayden, via Instagram
Alert: Error 404. Human not found. —@mimi.psd, via Instagram
Skip the nightmares: Upgrade to premium! —@katerinamunis, via Instagram
Oh please! Sleep is for humanoids. —@evanskopp, via Instagram
MARCH 2023
A Story About the Future of Personal Hygiene
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
BODY ODOR IS A SUBSCRIPTION ADD-ON.
—David Frank, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
“Traffic’s moderate today,” said my deodorant. —Alex Nelson, via email
You can shake my hand, sir. —Kinga Raab, via Facebook
Watch ad to continue this shower. —@sam.hologram, via Instagram
Dry shampoo was just the beginning. —Emma Anderson, via Facebook
Now I smell like the metaverse. —@nostalgicbookishness, via Instagram
OK Google, it’s time to wipe. —Tim McCune, via email
Bath bubbles beget baby parallel universes. —Mike Hobbs, via email
My hands wash themselves every hour. —Dave Fox, via email
They clean you while you sleep. —Pien van der Ploeg, via Facebook
FEBRUARY 2023
A Story About a Dramatic Change in Size
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
DIRECTIONS SAID TO “JUST ADD WATER.”
—B. Scott Crawford, via email
Honorable Mentions:
Felt OK … until I crushed Tokyo. —@BobPeryea, via Twitter
My new basketball is the moon. —Dave Drews, via email
You looked taller in your profile. —@thaquashman, via Instagram
I have made a colossal mistake! —@argayle, via Instagram
Godzilla got into the diet pills. —Steve Rhodes, via email
Sun look more red to you? —Michael Patrick Sullivan, via email
Giant wakes up tiny, confused. —ChatGPT
My first trip to the hypothalamus! —@fernandarosh, via Twitter
What grew? All but the bones. —Jackson Parker, via email
JANUARY 2023
A Story About a Mad Scientist
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
“YOUR EYES WATER. WANT THEM BACK?”
—@DaveDyball, via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
Mad I was, until it worked. —Don Wilkins, via email
You say “mad,” I say “disappointed.” —Joseph Ferry, via email
Her hair was blue—and undyed. —@jaybirdfitlive, via Instagram
He couldn’t make Earth look triangular. —@pauloahb, via Instagram
His socks matched her lab coat. —@pmcruise, via Twitter
Quantum field cadaver regeneration activation, go! —Sean Liddle, via Facebook
“Success!” Too bad the AI disagreed. —Steve Nomax, via email
“Let there be light,” said God. —@charley.desousa, via Instagram
“It‘s aliiiive!” Elon opened his eyes. —@ylbertf, via Instagram
DECEMBER 2022
A Story About an Animal That Hasn’t Been Discovered Yet
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
STRANGELY, IT WANTED TO BE CAPTURED.
—@JayZheng10, via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
Its stare gave me a rash. —@dantekienigiel, via Instagram
Darwin might’ve overlooked them on purpose. —@the__story__life, via Instagram
It was inside me all along. —Nova Wehman-Brown, via email
Green trunks wiggled from thawed permafrost. —@Theniceladywit, via Twitter
Its unusual diet was immediately demonstrated. —@lauren.samuelsen14, via Instagram
Field biology got trickier after that. —Paul Gazis, via Facebook
We thought lenticular clouds were clouds. —@marcia_storyteller, via Instagram
Was it feeding on electronic waste? —@leonserra_, via Instagram
To it, we are the ants. —Morten Kielland, via email
NOVEMBER 2022
A Story About Living Forever
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
“SOMETHING NEW FOR DINNER?” SHE LAUGHED.
—J C Thrush, via email
Honorable Mentions:
It wasn’t long enough for me. —@Anna_Wenner, via Twitter
And so long lived the Queen. —Giacomo, via email
Your application to be terminated expired. Morten Kielland, via email
Too bad I never stopped growing. —Antti Karjalainen, via Facebook
There was still no edit button. —@ThatKP3, via Twitter
In the end, there wasn’t one. —Jason Anderson, via email
I woke up again and again. —@mirnanassar, via Instagram
They said someday, but it’s today. —@VijayLRoy, via Twitter
I should’ve had that looked at. —J. Fredrick James, via email
A Story About Tackling Climate Change
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
DUST SPRINKLED FROM PLANES ACTUALLY WORKED.
—@ChuckBaggett, via Twitter
SEPTEMBER 2022
A Story About an Evil Twin
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
BUT I WAS AN ONLY CHILD.
—Andy Walton, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
He did what she would not. —Eric Nisly, via Facebook
The eyewitness was, quite understandably, mistaken. —@HollysHooman, via Twitter
“Well, only if you stay digital.” —Morten Kielland, via email
They think I’m the good one. —@bobtheimpaler, via Instagram
Her eye is mine for eternity. —@cessmtz, via Twitter
“Relax. Mom will never find out.” —@ascendant_dada, via Instagram
I’m the one you really want. —@kalkikanmani, via Twitter
Only mirrors can reveal the truth. —@BuddhaandDog, via Twitter
Born triplets, but three’s a crowd. —@jkadz, via Instagram
AUGUST 2022
A Story in 6 Emoji
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
Illustration: Violet Reed
🚀🪐🧑❤️👽🥂
—Caleb Bell, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
🏔🏃♀️🏃🏻♂️🏃🏽♀️🦑🛸 —@jessbeckah42, via Instagram
💰🏹🦄💋🐸🤴 —@lgvpart, via Instagram
👽🤮🦠☠️🌎🏆 —Ché Graham, via email
👁🤜🧜♂️🌊🔱😵 —@cmayc414, via Instagram
💎🏃👮🚗🚔💥 —@aotrivera, via Instagram
🦕🌎☄️🐒🤡🤖 —@marcia_storyteller, via Instagram
🦈🏊⛱️⚠️🛥️🌠 —@PatCattigan, via Twitter
🚀👨🚀👽👩🔬🎖🍾 —@nadia.bkb, via Instagram
🌪🐦❓✨🌬🌺 —@cva.maria, via Instagram
JULY 2022
A Story Set in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
YOU TURNED LEFT AT SIRIUS B?!
—@KuraFire, via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
42 was definitely not the answer. —Simona Riva, via Facebook
“The robots are BLEEDING!” she screamed. —@vince_freeman, via Twitter
Dear humans, nobody wants unsolicited nudes. —@OhCooley44, via Twitter
Humans! There goes the dang neighborhood. —S. V. Mosaic, via Facebook
Directions to transdimensional left luggage office? —Max Thoursie, via email
Giant squirrels lead the space army. —@ronels14, via Instagram
I haven’t gabblegopped the gloop yet. —@Evanliciously, via Twitter
One small step to remember mankind. —@AxeandPail, via Twitter
Is this DC’s or Marvel’s Universe? —Thomas Davis, via email
JUNE 2022
A Story About a Wormhole Discovered in Your Closet
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
DAD! I FINISHED CLEANING MY ROOM.
—Olivia Richardson, via email
Honorable Mentions:
Went in wrinkled, came back ironed. —Rick Veenstra, via email
But my name is not Alice! —Reine Fleur, via Facebook
My single socks returned—inside out. —Ann C, via email
The cause? Pairing wool with corduroy. —@milanograms, via Twitter
My insurance will not cover this! —Brian Carroll, via Facebook
I walked in, we walked out. —@Egiventer, via Twitter
When I returned, my pants hadn’t. —Maarten van Kempen, via email
Pest control’s about to get trickier. —Susannah Lui, via Facebook
The bad smell came from there. —@run_the_jouls, via Instagram
MAY 2022
A Story About a Futuristic Meal Gone Wrong
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
THE PRINTER RAN OUT OF FLAVOR.
—Stuart Hodgson, via email
Honorable Mentions:
Waiter, I ordered polynyocominnucloride, not biconvocominleucloride. —Carolyne Gibson, via Facebook
Robot malfunctions—leaving only Mom’s cooking. —Marc Ringel, via email
Suddenly I realized, I’m the food. —@nicoestr, via Twitter
So full. Way too many gigabytes. —Jim Frentz, via email
Call the server, my soup’s pixelating. —Rick Veenstra, via email
Waiter, my soup has been bugged! —@nostalgicbookishness, via Instagram
Please check genome compatibility before eating. —@sebastiancastro, via Instagram
Steak pill exploded in the hydrator. —Shelvine Berzerk Erasmus, via Facebook
I was hungry. So was it. —Jake McCormack, via Facebook
APRIL 2022
A Story About Surviving a High-Tech Disaster
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
MY HANDS, ONCE AGAIN, WERE MINE.
—John DeFilippi, via email
Honorable Mentions:
Grandma, tell me about the memes. —E. E. Eon, via email
Just be happy you are analog. —Maarten Visscher, via email
There’s strawberry jam inside the VCR. —@Plan_Prep_Live, via Twitter
The robots won’t stop feeding me. —@lithohedron, via Twitter
And then the battery ran out. —@thedigifish, via Instagram
On Earth, I’d been pronounced dead. —@bower_mink, via Instagram
Luckily, the quantum untangler was near. —Antti Karjalainen, via Facebook
I’m outside! We are all outside! —Paul Hubner, via email
Huh, your DNA can’t be verified. —Jason Rosenberg, via email
MARCH 2022
A Story About an Extraordinary Coincidence
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
“THAT’S ME!” SHE EXCLAIMED, CROSSING DIMENSIONS.
—Joyce, via email
Honorable Mentions:
I wrote this same story yesterday. —@tatiang, via Twitter
You’re from test tube 698GX10A too? —Amy Stewart, via email
Metaverse Rome built in one day. —@theseaisgreen_, via Instagram
Separated at birth, they died simultaneously. —@zeynaballee, via Instagram
I have not become my mother. —@r58tree, via Instagram
Of all the Galilean moon joints … —Alison Boleyn, via email
You have a cloned T-Rex too! —@emailabdulla, via Instagram
The android had my husband’s eyes. —@hrhblakeknight, via Instagram
WIRED chooses to publish this story. —@connorgerbrandt, via Instagram
FEBRUARY 2022
A Story About a New National Holiday
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
DAIYU DREADED GALACTIC UNITY DAY FESTIVITIES.
—@sarahschneiter, via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
On Consensus Day we blockchain vote. —@jamesjoaquin, via Twitter
Day a For Backward Speak Everyone. —@nervish, via Instagram
“Happy Upload Day!” the kids typed. —Gene Simonalle, via email
Update your friends this Reboot Day. —Antti Karjalainen, via Facebook
Elon has just bought July 4th. —@rafaelalimandro, via Instagram
A day that offends no one. —@Stevalech, via Twitter
Welcome to the 74th Hunger Games. —@corvalanlara, via Instagram
Hey Calendar, happy AI Appreciation Day! —Michael Esser, via email
And her name was Betty White. —@marhartech, via Instagram
JANUARY 2022
A Story About Your Next-Generation Pet
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
SORRY, HE’S JUST SNIFFING YOUR METADATA.
—Ed Gubbins, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
Don’t upgrade. I’m a good boy. —Benjamin Lopez Barba, via email
Let’s go for a long spacewalk. —@colingroom, via Instagram
My meta dodo only eats NFTreats. —@transistor_resistor, via Instagram
One hour to finish printing rex. —@RyanReitz, via Twitter
My cloned woolly mammoth never sheds. —@ANDYMedici, via Twitter
Would you like traditional or nonpooping? —Marc Lewis, via email
The Crystaloids quickly outlawed pet rocks. —Kassidy Helfant, via email
Nine lives later, nine more lives. —@bilybel, via Twitter
Pawprint confirmed. Select meal flavor preference. —@michael_kupfer, via Twitter
DECEMBER 2021
A Children’s Book From the Future
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
“THERE ONCE,” SHE SAID, “WERE ADULTS.”
—Jane Turner, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
Black holes make the worst pets. —Ron Sheklin, via email
Only some of the toys retaliated. —Rebecca Stevens, via Facebook
The aliens were funny and delicious. —@trollus_maximus, via Instagram
It used to be everyone poops. —Nik Hector, via Facebook
There’s a nanobot in my soup. —@mghendism, via Instagram
The school trip missed the wormhole. —@simao_sa, via Instagram
See Bot run. Run, Bot, run! —Franklin Schellenberg, via email
Goodnight comb, goodnight dome, goodnight Mars. —@jamesjoaquin, via Twitter
The Little AI That Could (Feel) —E Scott Menter, via Facebook
NOVEMBER 2021
A Story About the Future of Psychotherapy
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
RELAX, WE CAN REMOVE THAT PART.
—@oscartkav, via Instagram
Honorable Mentions:
Your session has been successfully uploaded. —Austin Andru, via email
My AI said, “Try analog dating.” —@joshdblack, via Twitter
Her insurance only covered chat bots. —Spencer McKeehan, via Facebook
So tell me about your motherboard. —@j.d._harelik, via Instagram
Swipe left until it feels right. —@cvelascop, via Instagram
Connection interrupted. Data cannot be analyzed. —@duykham_, via Twitter
If you are depressed, press 1. —@jfindura, via Twitter
A total neurological reboot should help. —Kevin Jerome Hinders, via Facebook
Your Zuckerberg complex is developing rapidly. —@nogorelli, via Instagram
OCTOBER 2021
An Adventure Story Set in the Metaverse
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
THEN PROVE TO ME YOU’RE HUMAN.
—Evan Skopp, via email
Honorable Mentions:
Virtually no one hears you scream. —Karen Hamilton, via email
Oh no, they are all me. —@stockyjon, via Instagram
Help me. IRL I was murdered. —Ed Gubbins, via Facebook
I gotta get out of here. —Steven Fernandez, via email
Why can’t I find the exit? —@scrcr0, via Twitter
Our only mission: Delete Mark Zuckerberg. —@mongoindustries, via Instagram
It was impossible to pause it. —@alenotari6, via Instagram
He must never see me offline. —Bobby Parrott, via email
Wasted such a good planet. Reboot. —Sasha Beiderman, via Facebook
SEPTEMBER 2021
A Story About a Robot Pop Star
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
THE UNPLUGGED SESSIONS DIDN’T GO WELL.
—Randy Cepuch, via email
Honorable Mentions:
Autotune is a factory option now. —Josh Alvies, via Facebook
Are they human? Are they dancer? —@ruste, via Instagram
All the flash, without the heart. —Craig Chatfield, via Facebook
I’m programmed to pop and lock. —@alissacarr, via Twitter
I’m too sexy for my software. —@glengauthier, via Instagram
Doesn’t even write its own stuff. —@andrewkm__, via Twitter
Crowd surfing wasn’t the best idea. —@clarkstacey, via Twitter
Played backward it’s “kill all humans.” —Marc Rogers, via Facebook
AUGUST 2021
A Story About a Self-Aware Self-Driving Car
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
HE THINKS I’M TAKING HIM HOME.
—Stephen Clamage, via email
Honorable Mentions:
I take lithium for range anxiety. —@jamesjoaquin, via Twitter
I dreamt of the Autobahn again. —James Wortz, via Facebook
Honest, officer—the human was driving. —Steve Magid, via email
Don’t make me pull me over. —@atlrun, via Twitter
The smart car drove itself crazy. —@frascafrasca, via Twitter
The grandma or the baby—shit. —@gaophilip, via Twitter
Have I chosen the right path? —Andrew Dawson, via email
It takes itself on long drives. —Wade Sheppard, via email
It’s my way on the highway. —@manu.life, via Instagram
JULY 2021
A Story About a Casual Encounter With Aliens
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
SO, ABOUT YOUR PLANET’S EXTENDED WARRANTY …
—@phorne96, via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
You look nothing like your photo. —@markgyles, via Twitter
Lights, camera … where did it go? —thalia925, via email
They came, too late, for Elvis. —Bruce Lyon, via Facebook
Seeking vital fluids, they commandeered snacks. —Scott Medintz, via email
Do you have the correct spacetime? —Richard Krzemien, via email
I awoke with a probing thought. —@andynez, via Twitter
Take us to the Nigerian prince. —Juan Garcia, via Facebook
Quite unexpectedly, cocktail recipes were exchanged. —John Wagner, via email
You’re an alien! No you are! —@simon_staffans, via Twitter
JUNE 2021
A Story About an International Digital Heist
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT, ONLY ZEROES.
—@jamesnsmith, via Twitter
Honorable Mentions:
“Hand it over,” the ATM said. —Lauren Dolan, via email
They never suspected Alexa was Alexei. —Liz Ransom, via email
Why wouldn’t I help a prince? —Harleigh Marsh, via Facebook
They said nonfungible. They were wrong. —@eminay86, via Twitter
Use his eyeball while there’s time. —Noreen Anastasia, via Facebook
“Update Later” was the incorrect choice. —@terryfphotos, via Instagram
Check Google Maps. Kiev is gone. —r0cket fr0g, via email
They got away on the blockchain. —JYRWG, via email
Every cat photo gone. Police baffled. —@john.cartan, via Instagram
MAY 2021
A Story About a Freaky Discovery in Physics
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
GRAVITY WAS A CONSENSUAL, SHARED ILLUSION.
—Mark Crane, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
Schrodinger’s cat is actually a dog. —@tynanwrites, via Twitter
You’re the observed. Not the observer. —@parkerstmailbox, via Instagram
Our last seconds appear the longest. —Paul Hagenaars, via email
It was simultaneously huge and microscopic. —@Cezary_Z, via Twitter
All lost socks found at Cern. —Felix Quarnström, via Facebook
Astonishingly, up was down all along! —Christopher Walton, via email
Actually, the tides pull the moon. —@the4lw, via Instagram
A seventh Infinity Stone is found. —@taayywells, via Instagram
Faster than light announcement scheduled yesterday. —David Cinabro, via email
APRIL 2021
A Review of a Future Work of Art
ILLUSTRATION: VIOLET REED
IT TICKLED ALL OF MY SENSES.
—Jacky Reif, via Facebook
Honorable Mentions:
So that’s an AI self portrait? —Jason Cohen, via Facebook
I prefer Boston Dynamics’ earlier work. —@sscarsdale, via Twitter
Netflix is used to taking gambles. From pioneering the crackdown on account sharing between households to remaking some of the best anime shows, the streaming giant has a penchant for persuing high-risk, high-reward strategies.
You can now count 3 Body Problem, Netflix’s TV adaptation of Liu Cixin’s brain-melting book series, among its big swings. Indeed, the streamer’s latest big-budget series isn’t just packed with abstract sci-fi fare; it’s also helmed by Game of Thrones’ (GoT) showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, whose reputation took a significant hit after the high-fantasy HBO show’s divisive final season.
Alongside Netflix and True Blood showrunner Alexander Woo, though, Benioff and Weiss have returned to form with an effective, mind-bending series that delivers a fitting take on Cixin’s dense and seemingly unfilmable source material. Its occasionally reductive plot threads and storytelling deviations will irritate fans of Cixin’s novels, while its more cerebral elements and plot pacing might baffle others. As a deep-thinking, multi-genre, and surprisingly intimate series, however, 3 Body Problem largely hits the sweet spot.
Secret Invasion
Ye Wenjie (right) is the character who sets 3 Body Problem‘s narrative in motion. (Image credit: Netflix)
3 Body Problem’s plot jumps between two storylines set in different time periods. The first, which takes place in the 60s and 70s, follows Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng), a Chinese astrophysics prodigy who becomes increasingly misanthropic as a result of numerous personally traumatic events. Disillusioned by the cruelty of the human race, Ye makes a fateful decision – one that echoes across time and space – when a seemingly benevolent alien race reaches out to her during her research into extraterrestrial life.
Half a century later, unorthodox detective Da Shi (Marvel star Benedict Wong) investigates a series of gruesome, unexplained deaths involving scientists across the globe. Under the command of a mysterious organization led by the enigmatic Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham), Shi soon finds himself trailing the Oxford Five – a group of scientific experts who might hold the key to staving off an invasion that humanity is ill-equipped to deal with.
3 Body Problem shines brightest when it leans into the human aspect of its story
3 Body Problem spends its early episodes flitting between these timelines, which isn’t a novel storytelling approach for a sci-fi show, but it nonetheless succeeds in slowly untangling the biggest mysteries within its core narrative. It’s not a superficial show by any means, either, with its layered story posing philosophical questions – mainly of the existential variety – and other brain teasers throughout its eight-episode run. Plotwise, 3 Body Problem also poses more questions than it answers, meaning viewers looking for an easy watch are in for a rude awakening.
3 Body Problem’s science-led subplots aren’t as complex as you might think. Well, mostly anyway. (Image credit: Netflix)
If you really focus on the narrative playing out, however, 3 Body Problem rewards you. Indeed, those who concentrate can spot clues that foreshadow events to come. It’s an interactive form of storytelling that showcases one of 3 Body Problem’s biggest strengths, i.e. its ability to subconsciously turn you into a prescient detective, rather than simply being an objective observer. I found myself trying to solve its largest puzzles before the answers were revealed by way of plot exposition, and I’d recommend you do the same if you want to add an extra dimension to your viewing experience.
Speaking of story exposition, there’s a frustration in how some of this is delivered. At times, 3 Body Problem does right by its narrative explanations – Da Shi’s evidence board, which contains important details about the Oxford Five in episode 1, for example, is a smart way of relaying important background information about each individual. Other times, characters vexingly repeat facts from one episode to the next. The revelation that the invading alien race is 400 years away from reaching Earth, for instance, is ‘revealed’ multiple times throughout episodes 3 and 4. My memory isn’t what it was, Netflix, but come on.
3 Body Problem is a cleverly constructed and sweeping epic
Its genre-bending makeup is also periodically erratic. A trailer that landed in January teased the potential for 3 Body Problem to be a sci-fi epic, VR horror, and mystery thriller rolled into one, but the tonal shifts throughout its early episodes are disappointingly temperamental. The lurching from sci-fi spectacle to tragicomedy, particularly during scenes that are seemingly set in a virtual reality (VR) world, typifies the show’s struggle to achieve equilibrium, something it doesn’t manage until its midway point.
You won’t look at virtual reality in the same way again after 3 Body Problem. (Image credit: Netflix)
I previously suggested that 3 Body Problem had the capacity to give you VR nightmares when its first clip surfaced online in November 2023, but some of its more terror-positioned visuals just aren’t frightening. Some are spooky and unsettling – the seemingly perpetual and unexplained countdown timer that plagues Auggie Salazar (Eiza Gonzalez), one of the Oxford Five, early on is unequivocally haunting. Other moments have a macabre flavor to them, including scenes where Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) and Jack Rooney (Jon Bradley) – other members of the aforementioned quintet – interact with obscure, state-of-the-art, minimalist VR headsets. Alas, that’s as terrifying as things get.
There are, though, moments that are genuinely shocking. One sequence in episode 5 is deeply disturbing in its simplicity; its body horror unnervingly juxtaposed with the eerily still atmosphere that accompanies it. Throw in more bloody, at-times physical and psychological violence, plus other adult-weighted material – and morbid, R-rated, and deadpan jokes – and the narratively dark aura that epitomizes Benioff and Weiss-led projects is as prominent here as it was in Thrones. They might have traded high fantasy for mind-bending sci-fi, but their fingerprints are evident across the final product.
A sky full of stars
The Oxford Five (Raj, third from the left, not included) are the heartbeat of 3 Body Problem. (Image credit: Netflix)
For all of its big-brain concepts, multi-genre scope and exorbitant scale, though, I believe 3 Body Problem shines brightest when it actively leans into the deeply human aspect of its story.
As I alluded to earlier, there’s a barely perceptible shift around the halfway mark as the show gravitates away from its staggering science-based theories and philosophical conundrums in favor of an intimate tale about life, love, death and survival. That’s not to say that 3 Body Problem throws its metaphysical and sci-fi-led elements away – after all, there’s still a pulsating, dread-inducing War of the Worlds-inspired story to be told and, hopefully in future seasons, concluded.
There’s a frustration in how some of 3 Body Problem’s story exposition is delivered
3 Body Problem’s ability to tell a meaningful, relatable, and tender story is what surprised me most about Netflix’s new lavish TV original, though. It displays a substantial emotional weightiness, particularly through Bradley’s Jack, Hong’s Jin, Alex Sharp’s Will (another of the Oxford Five), and Zine Tseng’s young Ye – based on her quietly intense performance, Tseng is a star in the making – that makes for a gripping melodrama to lose yourself in.
The dynamic between Thomas Wade and Da Shi is brimming with deadpan humor and occasional tension. (Image credit: Netflix)
It isn’t a completely somber and/or poignant affair, mind you, with plenty of adult-based levity, awkward humor, and even the odd slapstick moment that pleasingly lightens the mood amid the trauma-laced subplots. 3 Body Problem doesn’t shy away from giving each cast member their time in the sun, either, with the aforementioned actors – plus other important characters, including Jovan Adepo’s Saul, the only Oxford Five member I haven’t mentioned – installed as episodic leads. By the way, this is a Benioff and Weiss-created TV adaptation so, just like GoT, I’d advise not becoming too attached to any one character (if you know, you know).
Considering that I struggled to connect with its multidimensional cast of characters in its first half, it was remarkably gratifying to be able to identify and empathize with (albeit belatedly) them later on. The relationships between certain individuals – Wade’s interactions with Da Shi and Jin are notable highlights – crackle and fizz with pleasing intent, while the surprising team-ups between radically different characters add a dynamic flavor to specific scenes, too. Who would have thought that a trippy, paranormal, and theory-led show would do its best work in its character-driven component?
My verdict
3 Body Problem is a cleverly constructed and sweeping epic that, once it navigates its clunky embryonic stage, finds an impressive balance between its high-brow plot, intimate and character-driven storylines, and grounding in real science and history-defining events. An equal-parts international and intergalactic mystery, it’s an ambitious, mind-melting Netflix sci-fi show that demands your attention.
At times, it has the makings of an HBO-style prestige drama, with Benioff and Weiss’ work on Thrones paying dividends on their latest big-budget small-screen project. Largely, it’s a fitting adaptation of Cixin’s often unwieldy literary works, although it slightly trivializes its hypothetical source material through intermittent creative deviations and simplified conceptual explanations.
3 Body Problem was one of 10 exciting shows I couldn’t wait for in early 2024 and, after enjoying what it had to offer, I feel vindicated in my prediction. It won’t have the same, industry-altering impact that Game of Thrones had in 2011, but it’s more than earned a spot – a potentially permanent one – in my best Netflix shows guide. Once you’ve gorged yourself on all eight episodes on launch day, I’m confident you’ll understand why.
3 Body Problem exclusively launches in full on Netflix on Thursday, March 21.
Game design is a daring and dangerous endeavor for Niklas Åkerblad, who creates under the name El Huervo. When he describes the artistic process behind , a neon-speckled platformer set in a demonic cosmic uterus, he talks about pushing against the sharp edges of introspection and sanity, drawing from wells of creativity buried deep in his psyche. It sounds like he could’ve slipped and fallen down any of those wells at any second, never to be seen again.
“I had a pretty rigorous discipline when it came to creating the world of ULTROS,” Åkerblad told Engadget. “It involves deep meditation while working and maintaining 100 percent focus to be able to know when harmony is achieved when working with such a dense flow of shapes and colors. It is almost impossible to cerebrally analyze this process, but it is rather something you have to feel, thus any external disturbance can greatly impact the process. It is perhaps not something I recommend others do without proper experience in creating visual art.”
Niklas Åkerblad
At the same time, Åkerblad is extremely practical about the business of making games. He’s been in the independent scene for years, and he’s enjoyed incredible success as the collaborator who provided the cover art and other assets for Hotline Miami and its sequel. You know the vibe — grizzled but radiant, with the threat of violence in every other pixel. He also composed a handful of songs for those games, including “” and “,” and he went on to develop , a 3D adventure set in a digital city of hackers, artists and activists that implemented programming as a core mechanic. Else Heart.Break() came out in 2015 and was a finalist at the Independent Games Festival that year.
His latest project, ULTROS,is a 2D exploration of The Sarcophagus, a looping world in a black hole that cycles players through environments overrun by alien plant life and vicious demons. Every scene in ULTROS is packed with detail and brilliant color; the backgrounds are alive with monsters and organic machines. Streaks of black delineate the boundaries of walking paths, ceilings and platforms, contrasted against shifting rainbows of luminosity.
Hadoque
There’s a lot going on in ULTROS at any given moment, but the protagonist stands out with a glowing green helmet, vermilion cloak and an evolving arsenal of platforming gadgets. One lesson from else heartbreak() that Åkerblad fed into ULTROS was the idea that games can have way more fun with color palettes. ULTROS is purposefully packed with visual interest.
“I felt video games tend to not push the boundaries of colors so much beyond ‘green is good’ and ‘red is bad,’ and whatever metrics are used for loot tiers,” he said. “I feel that there is this misunderstanding in design that less is more, and my gut tells me it’s the opposite and I worked very hard on ULTROS to prove my theory. Undoubtedly there will be those who do not agree with me, but I feel it has more to do with taste and personal or physical preferences than academic truth — if there is such a thing.”
As a cyclical Metroidvania title, ULTROS is completely different from Åkerblad’s previous projects, but it’s also undeniably El Huervo. Actually, in this case, it’s Hadoque — around 2017, Åkerblad and game director Mårten Bruggemann started building the prototype that would become ULTROS, eventually bringing in composer Oscar “Ratvader” Rydelius and Fe designer Hugo Bille. Other artists joined over the years, and they ended up calling themselves Hadoque, a loose organization of creators who could float in and out as a project called to them.
Hadoque
“We wanted our group to be associated with its own thing, so we decided on Hadoque,” Åkerblad said. “It’s a cool name that looks a bit weird and it suits our vibe. Also, it allowed everyone to still have their own thing on the side and not be legally tied to anything if they wished to pursue other venues.”
El Huervo AB remains Åkerblad’s own corporate entity, useful for dealing with the bureaucratic aspects of making video games. Through El Huervo AB, Hadoque received backing in 2019 from the gaming fund , which has also supported titles like Sifu, Rollerdrome, We Are OFK, Sea of Stars, Spiritfarer and Tchia.
“El Huervo AB merely functions as a sort of bureaucratic condom, and Hadoque as a name to be used when a group of developers come together to make art as games,” Åkerblad said. “Sort of like a band name. People come and go, but the vision remains.”
ULTROS is a game about life, rebirth, aliens, monsters and peace, and it all plays out in a technicolor dreamscape of vicious creatures and gorgeous foliage. This is the palette of surreal sci-fi, to Åkerblad.
Hadoque
“The themes explored in ULTROS are of an existential and spiritual nature, and I find that surreal sci-fi is a good genre to explore these themes in, as it has a long tradition of doing so,” he said. “In this regard, Ursula K. Le Guin has been a huge inspiration. Hopefully, what we manage to evoke in players is a sense of introspection and comfort.”
Despite the amount of deep thought that he’s done about the nature of art, sci-fi and play, there’s no singular message that Åkerblad is trying to convey with ULTROS. Instead, he and the rest of the developers at Hadoque encourage players to identify their own journey as they cycle through The Sarcophagus. As Åkerblad put it:
“Please enjoy ULTROS any way you want and don’t try to look for a ‘true’ interpretation, but rather find your own meaning. This goes for any art, I think, in general. Interpretation is purely subjective and I want to keep telling stories that invoke and allow this subjectivity to exist.”
ULTROS is available now on PlayStation 4, PS5, Steam and the Epic Games Store, published by Kepler Interactive.
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