1640 – Tales from the Loop (TV Series 2020-)

timespace coordinates: 1955 > early 1980s Mercer, Ohio. Mercer is home to the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics, an underground facility known as the Loop. It is there where researchers attempt to “make the impossible possible”.

Tales from the Loop is an American science fiction drama web television series based on the art book of the same name by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag (536). The series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on April 3, 2020. All eight episodes of the first season were released simultaneously. (wiki)

David Baird from the B.C. Catholic characterizes the series as “a set of loosely interrelated meditations upon ephemerality, the impact of technology, and human vulnerability infused with a mild science fiction savour” and considers it “a beguiling fusion of forward-looking nostalgia”.

imdb   /   rottentomatoes

1639 – Unhinged (2020)

timespace coordinates: road rage incident, summer of 2019 in New Orleans

Unhinged is a 2020 American thriller film directed by Derrick Borte. The film stars Russell Crowe, Caren Pistorius and Gabriel Bateman. (wiki)

imdb

1634 – The Glorias (2020)

timespace coordinates: 40’s >70’s America, late 50’s India

The Glorias is a 2020 American biographical film directed and produced by Julie Taymor. It is based upon My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem. It stars Julianne Moore as Steinem, with Alicia Vikander portraying a younger Steinem, from ages 20 to 40. Timothy Hutton, Lorraine Toussaint, Janelle Monáe, and Bette Midler complete the cast. (wiki)

imdb

1631 – Star Trek: Picard (TV Series 2020-)

timespace coordinates: year 2399. various locations

Star Trek: Picard is an American web television series featuring the character Jean-Luc Picard, created for CBS All Access by Akiva Goldsman, Michael Chabon, Kirsten Beyer, and Alex Kurtzman. It is the eighth series in the Star Trek franchise, and was launched in 2020 as part of Kurtzman’s expansion of the franchise. Picard begins 20 years after Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and sees a retired Picard deeply affected by the death of Data in that film as well as the destruction of the planet Romulus in the film Star Trek (2009).

Patrick Stewart executive produces the series and stars as Picard, reprising his role from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as other Star Trek media. Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, and Harry Treadaway also star. The series was designed to be slower and more character-focused than previous series in the franchise. (wiki)

imdb   /  Tie-in media

1627 – The Mandalorian (TV Series 2019-)

The Mandalorian, also known as Star Wars: The Mandalorian, is an American space Western web television series created by Jon Favreau and released on Disney+. It is the first live-action series in the Star Wars franchise.

Set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, it follows the title character, a Mandalorian bounty hunter named Din Djarin, and his exploits beyond the reaches of the New Republic. (wiki)

Themes   /  Future   /  Tie-in media

imdb   /   rt

1623 – Raised by Wolves (TV Series 2020-)

timespace coordinates: 22nd century. two androids — Father and Mother — are tasked with raising human children on Kepler-22b after the Earth was destroyed by a great war.

Raised by Wolves is an American science fiction drama television series created by Aaron Guzikowski that premiered on HBO Max on September 3, 2020. The first two episodes were directed by Ridley Scott, who also serves as an executive producer for the show. In September 2020, the series was renewed for a second season. (wiki)

Scott responded to a question about the link between Alien and Raised By Wolves during a Reddit Ask Me Anything: “Interesting question but, no, the first Alien story feels like it may be some time before Raised By Wolves, in that the Nostromo was probably financed by an organized global economy. Wolves is about post-global war chaos.” (newsweek)

imdb   /   Podcast

1617 – Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020)

A look at the final moments of a Las Vegas dive bar called ‘The Roaring 20s’. (fictional non-fiction)

Depicting the final day of a hangdog hangout called the Roaring 20’s, located well off of the plastic fantastic glitz of the Las Vegas strip, the film makes you wonder if gentrification is even the right term for whatever is going on here. Diving into this doco is a bit like hanging around in Star Wars’ Mos Eisley cantina long after Luke, Han and the gang have gone, leaving a slain bounty hunter and a severed arm behind them. (timeout)

“Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” might have been inspired by 2016, but it embodies 2020. (indiewire)

“The perfect distillation of bar life.” (spectrumculture)

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imdb   /   rottentomatoes