Wormholes and Swords is a blog dedicated to Science Fiction and Fantasy, with a bit of real world technical stuff thrown in from time to time. It is managed by T.D. Wilson, author of the Science Fiction book series, The Epherium Chronicles.
That's right. Willow is back. Disney+ will host a new Willow series based on the character Willow Ufgood from the 1988 film Willow. Willow was a great fantasy movie. You had trolls, hydras, brownies, sorceresses, wizards, great swordsmen, powerful armies, an evil queen, and the greatest warrior of them all, Madmartigan (played by Val Kilmer). I have probably watched this film over thirty times.
Now, the new series begins later in Willow's life, about 30 years since the events in the movie. He is already an accomplished wizard. The Evil Queen Bavmorda is gone, banished to the Netherworld by her ruined spell and the future empress Elora Danan saved. She was to be raised by Sorsha (Bavmorda's daughter who rebelled against her mother) and Madmartigan, under the watchful eye of the sorceress Fin Raziel.
The new trailer is out for the series. It doesn't show us much in terms of Willow's old life. A woman that looks to be a queen could perhaps be Sorsha, but its not clear. Also, Sorsha's voice is the one narrating the trailer. but there is strong speculation we could see Madmartigan as well. I imagine Elora Danan as a grow woman who is preparing to take her place in the world will be featured in some way.
Here is the new trailer. The series is scheduled to air on Disney+ November 30, 2022.
Friday, May 6, 2022
Star Trek For a New Generation
During my childhood in the 1970s, I remembered watching the re-runs of Star Trek, now affectionately called Star Trek: TOS (The original series). Follow the adventures of the USS Enterprise and its crew was captivating. Later, the released a cartoon series based on the show and for a kid that made it even more fun.
The new movies provided a larger perspective. Star Trek: The Motion Picture was a good first start in the movie endeavor. I enjoyed the special effects, but the story was fair, not great. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, often viewed as the best TOS film, really galvanized the movie future for Star Trek. I usually tell people to watch the even numbered TOS films. I still think Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country was a decent film. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was flat out garbage, followed closely by Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
But, I'm digressing. In the fall of 1987, my first year of college, Star Trek: The Next Generation appeared on the scene. A new crew, decades after TOS, a new captain, new races, new allies (an alliance with the Klingons), new adversaries (Q notably) and new enemies (The Borg and the Cardassians) and new perspectives for the Federation. The series spawned more movies and spinoffs, Deep Space Nine and Voyager.
In recent years, we experience a reboot of the original series with new movies based on a different timeline. The new movies captivated a new younger audience, my kids included. Paramount also release new Star Trek series with Discovery and Picard. Not to confuse matters, but Discovery and Picard are based in the original timeline. I know, it sounds like a long discussion of comic book realities, but not as complicated.
Discovery set the stage for a new series released yesterday, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Star Trek returns to the original Enterprise, but focuses on the years it was captained by Christopher Pike, the captain before James T. Kirk.
In Discovery, Pike and Mr. Spock were heavily involved in the 2nd season of the show, with the Enterprise only partly so. With Strange New Worlds we will get to experience more of Pike's adventures.
I like the transition they made from Discovery to Strange New Worlds. In two episodes in TOS (called the Menagerie), we learned that Pike had been exposed to delta radiation, his body crippled and reduced to using a life support chair to sustain his life. In Discovery, Pike is a given a glimpse of his future, he sees the event and aftermath that leads him to that future fate. He continues to see visions of his future self, and that rattling experience makes him consider leaving Star Fleet and the Enterprise forever.
In true Star Trek fashion, impending doom isn't something that can keep a Starfleet Captain down. When he learns his first officer is missing on a mission of her own, Pike rejoins Enterprise as her captain and races to find his friend. The new series is a great launching point for a new generation of Star Trek viewers, filled with characters based in the original series: Spock, Uhura (a cadet servicing aboard as the communications officer), and Nurse Chapel (originally played by Majel Barrett, Gene Roddenberry's wife).
As a tease, Pike had invited Lieutenant Kirk to join the crew. Many hoped this would be the introduction of the famed James T. Kirk to the Enterprise, but we later learn that this is George Samuel Kirk, James T. Kirk's brother, who is a science officer attached to the life sciences department. Fans of TOS will recognize the name and his fate from episodes in that series where James Kirk and Enterprise answer a distress call to the colony Sam was stationed, only find him and his wife dead.
I am excited about this new series. I think it will entice a whole new generation of fans to the Star Trek franchise and allow them to explore some of the previous movies and series as well. I leave you will the opening credits to the new series. A great opening to what I hope will be a terrific new series.
