"We've all done terrible things."

Some of us - well, most of us - we've all done terrible things on behalf of the Rebellion. Spies, saboteurs, assassins. Everything I did, I did for the Rebellion. And every time I walked away from something I wanted to forget, I told myself it was for a cause that I believed in. A cause that was worth it. Without that, we're lost. Everything we've done would have been for nothing. I couldn't face myself if I gave up now. None of us could.  

Cassian Andor, Rogue One

There's an unspoken assumption in the first Star Wars trilogy that the Rebellion are the good guys, that the Empire can't win because their opposition has the high moral ground, to slightly misquote Obi-Wan Kenobi. 

2016's Rogue One was the first time that we saw that the Rebellion was guilty of its own sins; that there had been times when it was decided that the end would justify the means. We learned about Saw Gerrara's extremist cell, and watched Rebel agent Cassian Andor, capably portrayed by Diego Luna, callously kill an informant to prevent his capture by the Empire - no question here of who shot first.

Based on the previews, Andor, the upcoming Star Wars series on Disney+, will lay out the path by which Cassian Andor became the person that we meet in Rogue One, and presumably show us some of the "terrible things" that he did in the name of the Rebellion.  One of my criticisms of Rogue One was that I wanted to see more depth in the characters, and I'm hoping that the new series will answer the question of exactly how much Andor has sacrificed for the sake of his cause.

The trailers suggest a desperate struggle by an oppressed minority against a brutal foe that has become complacent in their power and invincibility, a more intimate struggle than the one we see played out in the space combat and ground battles of the Rebellion's future.  Generally this sort of resistance relies on deceit and subterfuge rather than valor and courage: the silent knife in the back, the anonymous blaster bolt that comes from nowhere.

To support this, the characters shown in the trailers all seem to be leading double lives: Andor disguised as a member of the Imperial forces; Luthen Rael, dramatically performed by the versatile Stellan Skarsgård, playing the convivial party host then attempting to recruit fighters for the Rebellion; and Genevieve O'Reilly's Senator Mon Mothma attempting to hide in plain sight.

All in all, it looks promising, and it gives the impression of having more depth and maturity than the space opera origins of the franchise - more Game of Thrones than Flash Gordon, if you will. 

There are already two seasons planned: the first season takes place five years before the events of Rogue One and deals with the start of the Rebellion and Andor's transition from cynical thief to idealistic rebel. The second season will be split into four three-episode blocks, each of which will take place in a different year and which will presumably document how Andor's idealism falls prey to expediency.

It's a sobering indication that the road to Hell is still paved with good intentions, even in a galaxy far, far, away.

- Sid 

Sunday morning with Karli and Sid.

Feminist tea...and...science fiction tea.

- Sid

Updates.

"Welcome to Britbox!"

And so, in the fullness of time, I subscribed to Britbox.  It was a bit puzzling, given that the service at the Airbnb in Whistler was more of a TV channel than a streaming service, but I have access to all the content, and all's well that ends well.

Given the vintage status of some of the shows that I've watched (gosh, Blake's 7, remember Blake's 7?) they're quite soft compared to the crisp 4K images that I've gotten used to, but that's a minor criticism given the comprehensive nature of the library.  My more serious complaint is that, unlike most of the other streaming services that we subscribe to, the app doesn't have a filter for science fiction content.  Surely by now the company that produces Doctor Who must realize that those fans might well be interested in similar content.

Missed one (insert Stormtrooper accuracy joke here).

In my post addressing Star Wars "space guns", I neglected to include the Imperial T-21 light repeating blaster  - also known as the Lewis gun, an iconic vintage WWI era machine gun.  

As with most of the repurposed weaponry from A New Hope, they left off the magazine, and in the case of the Lewis, kind of just stopped there.  But the real question is, why in the world is the Stormtrooper on the left side carrying his DL-19 upside down?

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

Speaking of space guns, the rebuilt Han Solo blaster prop from A New Hope brought a winning auction bid of $1,057,500 USD.  Take THAT, Captain Kirk!

They knew the job was dangerous when they signed up.

After discovering a hydrogen leak in a quick disconnect linkage between the launch system and the SLS, NASA has delayed its Artemis I launch again, this time until September 23rd.  We appreciate their commitment to safety, even though the only passengers on the rocket are a mannequin named Commander Moonikin Campos and two dummy torsos named Helga and Zohar.

Can we start calling it the OASIS yet?

It's rumoured that Meta is going to release a new VR headset in 2023 - originally there was going to be an upgraded Quest 3, but apparently now there will be a whole new product line, which is currently being developed under the code name Project Cambria.  The new Quest Pro headset will reportedly have higher resolution, mixed AR/VR features, and include feature tracking to accommodate avatar expressions, all at a significantly higher price point than the Quest 2.  In fact, that may be why the Quest 2 has recently gone up in cost - what a strange strategy for making a new product seem less expensive by comparison!

- Sid