Did You Hear? is a weekly examination of headlines in the entertainment industry and a take on what they could mean for the future of the industry and (often), the little geeky bubble that we occupy!
Picard Series Finale Resurrects a Classic Star Trek Bridge
After three years streaming the second series of the NuTrek era, Star Trek: Picard, aired its finale episode this week. I’m going to save commenting on any of the events of the show to give anyone holding out for this weekend the chance to watch, but since Variety broke the news about the Enterprise-D bridge one week ago today I want to get into the reviving of the iconic bridge set – to quote Hamilton – one last time.
Per Variety:
Executive producer Terry Matalas went through hoops to make sure history never forgot the name Enterprise. Speaking with Variety, and sharing photos of “The Next Generation” cast on the ship, Matalas says, “Everyone tried to talk us out of doing this, because financially it’s a nightmare, and the timing was tight. To the moment we started filming, we were still gluing pieces together. But you can’t have a ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ reunion without one of its major characters, which is the Enterprise.”
Said production designer Dave Blass:
“There’s the ongoing rumor that there’s a warehouse somewhere that has all this ‘Star Trek’ stuff, but what exists is not a lot. We went into the deep dive of looking at every photo ever taken and every screencap, and we had a giant wall of inspiration at the back of the soundstage with photos of every single detail, so that everyone could see that we had thought this through.”
Star Trek legends Mike Okuda and Denise Okuda also served as consultants.
“The Enterprise from ‘The Next Generation’ was the first Enterprise on which I was the principal graphic designer. I got to work with [‘Star Trek’ creator] Gene Roddenberry on making that bridge come to life.”
Variety goes into much more detail about how exactly the set was brought back to life in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles, California. However, what I find most interesting is the popularity and media fanfare around the reveal of the Enterprise-D. The online hype has rivaled anything The Mandolorian season 3 put out all year (a show which also had its season finale this week …), and begs the thought experiment: what will NuTrek resurrect next?
This week Star Trek also blessed us with a teaser trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 on Wednesday:
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Series 2 Teaser Trailer | Paramount+
Get ready for a mountain of entertainment from Paramount+, the brand-new streaming service that’s always worth watching. With blockbuster movies, new originals and exclusive series plus a huge variety of iconic drama, action, reality, comedy, documentaries and kids shows, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Of all the series currently airing in NuTrek Strange New Worlds certainly feels the most poised for Easter Eggs on the scale of the Enterprise-D.
In case you haven’t checked out the Star Trek: Picard series finale I want to leave you with this little tease: the legacy of Starfleet Starships is left in good hands!
There’s a new Power Ranger Movie Streaming
Putty Fighters, rejoice! Today streaming giant Netflix debuted Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always:
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always | Official Trailer | Netflix
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The movie features series stars Walter Jones, Steve Cardenas, Catherine Sutherland, and more reprising their roles as Zack, Rocky, Kat, and others in the iconic Power Rangers universe.
While it could be easy to dismiss Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always out of hand by branding it “nostalgia bait”, however this movie has more excitement from the core fanbase than the 2017 Power Rangers reboot.
Reactions are already streaming in on social media (I’ve chosen not to the share them since the movie has only been streaming for a couple hours and I don’t want to spoil anything, despite the website name), and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for future announcements of move Power Rangers movies offerings at Netflix.
American Born Chinese Drops Second Trailer
If you’re like me then the upcoming Disney+ American Born Chinese streaming series, based on Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel of the same name, has been high of the list of things you are looking forward to watching this year! When we got the first full trailer earlier this year I knew I was going to love the adaptation and today we got even more goodness:
American Born Chinese | Official Trailer | Disney+
Two worlds. One destiny. #AmericanBornChinese, an Original series, is streaming May 24 on #DisneyPlus. For more updates, subscribe to Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Disney+ is the streaming home of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, and more. From new releases to your favorite classics and exclusive Originals, there’s something for everyone.
Today’s trailer gives us a deeper look at Jin Wang’s (played by actor Ben Wang), homelife and the divide we are going to see in the show between his reality and the fantasy world as it bleeds over. Michelle Yeoh’s Guanyin and Daniel Wu’s The Monkey King feel poised to run away as fan favourite characters in the show.
This trailer feels as though it is intentionally leaning into the more genre and, dare I write, “comic-book-y” aspects of Yang’s original graphic novel.
American Born Chinese streams on Disney+ May 24th, 2023.
