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Author: Steven Birkner

· by Steven Birkner · Jul 16, 2019

The Jedi Order must reinvent itself after The Rise of Skywalker

Story arcs that go from decline and fall to rise and redemption are common in fiction that operates on a grand scale. The Star Wars franchise operates on a large enough scale to do it twice in three trilogies, as…

Agonizer / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Apr 11, 2019

Comparing the sci-fi bars

A bar or tavern in a sci-fi space opera setting can be a lot of things. It can be a place of potential danger, as in the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars. It can be a place of opportunity…

Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Jan 11, 2019

Comedy Meets Horror: When blending genres works

It seems incongruous at first glance to bring together the genres of comedy and horror, and to have this recipe be a success. The blending of the two genres can go very much awry if the execution isn’t done in…

Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Oct 22, 2018

Solo, and the appeal of smaller storylines

What do you get when you take away the usual ingredients of a Star Wars movie, such as lightsaber duels, the Jedi, and the Force? What happens when you tell a more prosaic, character-driven story that delves into the background…

Movie Review / Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Feb 5, 2018

5 burning questions about Star Wars: The Last Jedi

In a review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I wrote that it turned out that one of the least interesting questions about The Force Awakens was “is it a good movie?” The reason is that it was so…

Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Nov 21, 2017

5 ways to make The Last Jedi great

Let me start by explaining where I’m coming from with respect to Star Wars: The Last Jedi. First, it’s a sequel to a movie that I had a mixed reaction to. I found The Force Awakens enjoyable and some of…

Text / TV

· by Steven Birkner · Oct 5, 2017

Top 6 metafictional TV episodes

Metafiction in TV and movies is a technique or style that’s getting a lot of attention these days. Whether writers feel comfortable going meta due to audiences demanding increasingly sophisticated material, or due to the way that new forms of…

Text / TV

· by Steven Birkner · Jul 11, 2017

Exploring Star Trek's spiritual side

Star Trek’s relationship to the subjects of religion or spirituality has been complicated. Star Trek’s creator, Gene Roddenberry, was known for being a secular humanist with a skeptical attitude toward religion, and few of Star Trek’s main human characters delve…

Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · May 23, 2017

Wolverine, Hulk, and Raphael: When rebellious loners struggle to go solo

Wolverine from X-Men and Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have a surprising amount in common. Both are hot-tempered and quick to turn to violence to deal with problems. Both characters are mutants. They both have weapons that are sharp,…

Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Apr 4, 2017

Why movie villain schemes have gotten ridiculously complicated

If the Joker’s plan from 1989’s Batman is an obvious called strike right in the middle of the plate, The Dark Knight’s Joker’s plan is the equivalent of the infield fly rule.

Movie Review / Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Jan 19, 2017

Rogue One: A mediocre EU novel on the big screen

While watching Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, I noticed that I was feeling something that I was unaccustomed to experiencing while watching a Star Wars movie. That feeling was boredom, which is an understandably unusual reaction to movies famous for space battles, blaster shootouts, and lightsaber duels.

Text / TV

· by Steven Birkner · Dec 2, 2016

Star Trek’s best time travel episodes, part 2: DS9, VOY & ENT

Last time, I looked at the best time travel episodes from the first three Star Trek television series: TOS, TAS, and The Next Generation. In this article, I'll look at what are, in my view, the best time travel episodes from the next three series, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise.

Text / TV

· by Steven Birkner · Oct 20, 2016

Star Trek's best time travel episodes, part 1: TOS, TAS & TNG

Within the six Star Trek TV series, there are dozens of episodes that involve time travel, and I'll be looking at the ones that did it best.

Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Aug 25, 2016

10 reasons Pee-Wee's Big Adventure has aged so well

Why was this fairly modest mid-'80s comedy enough of a hit to be the auspicious start of so many creative careers? And how has it enjoyed such a lasting impact?

Movies / Series Review / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Jul 18, 2016

The Matrix, Revisited: 50% of a great trilogy

“...By which I mean the greatness rests in the first one and half of Reloaded. Matrix: Revolutions contains 0% greatness, 40% stupidity, and 60% boredom.”

Movie Review / Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · May 18, 2016

Masters of the Universe (1987)

“The movie deserves a reappraisal. Leaving aside the association with the cartoon and toy line, it’s a decent but not great sci-fi movie of the ‘80s.”

Agonizer / Comic Book Review / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Mar 30, 2016

Marvel’s Civil War: How not to do a “heroes in conflict” story

“Unfortunately, what you often end up with is one side representing a ludicrous, straw man position either out of the laziness of the author or as a result of the author clearly choosing a side and letting that choice dictate the direction the story takes.”

Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Feb 11, 2016

Lightsabers make movie posters better

“Take that satisfaction and multiply it by a coolness factor of ten if we’d heard the snap-hiss of a lightsaber activated in George McFly’s hand as he prepared to confront Biff.”

Movie Review / Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Jan 6, 2016

The Force Awakens is a surprisingly dark new vision of Star Wars

“For all of the criticisms of what the prequel trilogy did to the backstory of the original trilogy, it didn’t wipe away the accomplishments of the original trilogy in the way that The Force Awakens does.”

Movie Review / Movies / Text

· by Steven Birkner · Dec 21, 2015

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)

“This movie got a pretty good reception, but I think that’s just the result of looking good in comparison to Batman & Robin, in the same way that a mediocre baseball team looks good compared to the 1899 Cleveland Spiders.”

Author: Steven Birkner

The Jedi Order must reinvent itself after The Rise of Skywalker

Comparing the sci-fi bars

Comedy Meets Horror: When blending genres works

Solo, and the appeal of smaller storylines

5 burning questions about Star Wars: The Last Jedi

5 ways to make The Last Jedi great

Top 6 metafictional TV episodes

Exploring Star Trek's spiritual side

Wolverine, Hulk, and Raphael: When rebellious loners struggle to go solo

Why movie villain schemes have gotten ridiculously complicated

Rogue One: A mediocre EU novel on the big screen

Star Trek’s best time travel episodes, part 2: DS9, VOY & ENT

Star Trek's best time travel episodes, part 1: TOS, TAS & TNG

10 reasons Pee-Wee's Big Adventure has aged so well

The Matrix, Revisited: 50% of a great trilogy

Masters of the Universe (1987)

Marvel’s Civil War: How not to do a “heroes in conflict” story

Lightsabers make movie posters better

The Force Awakens is a surprisingly dark new vision of Star Wars

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1998)

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