As I promised twice, it's time for this year's version of 'Star Trek' vs. 'Star Wars' at the Saturn Awards as I begin examining the television nominees in earnest. I begin with the relevant paragraph from Deadline.
In the TV categories, the final season of Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard leads all nominees with seven, while universe mate Star Trek: Strange New Worlds had six. Lucasfilm/Disney’s Andor and HBO/Max’s The Last of Us had five apiece including acting noms for stars Diego Luna and Pedro Pascal, respectively.In addition, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: The Motion Picture earned a nomination each for the total of 15 in the preview image above, which should really read "'Star Trek' Franchise Picks Up 15 Saturn Awards Nominations." Also, The Mandalorian earned three nominations and Star Wars: The Bad Batch earned another for a total of nine for the franchise. This is a muted mirror image of the Emmy Awards, where Star Trek: Picard earned two Emmy nominations for the entire Star Trek franchise, while the Star Wars franchise earned 23 Emmy nominations, nine for The Mandalorian, eight for Andor, and five for Obi-Wan. Even after throwing out Obi-Wan, which the Saturn Awards recognized at their 50th ceremony, it's still seventeen to two. Talk about a contrast between the two academies! This exemplifies the difference between fan and entertainment professional opinion that I summarize as "entertainment over art, not into subtle, and sticking it to the experts."
Follow over the jump for the nominees, my opinions of them, and my likely votes.
Best Science Fiction Television SeriesDetermining which show is the professional choice yields a split verdict that leans towards Andor. Based on the Emmy Awards, it's The Mandalorian and Andor over Star Trek: Picard. Andor also earned nominations at last year's Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Hugos, but didn't win any of them. Based on the this year's Critics Choice Awards, it's Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with two nominations. Out of those four, my favorite is Star Trek: Picard, the least nominated of the bunch at the major awards but the most nominated here, so I'm voting for it. I wouldn't be surprised if it won, too.
Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Foundation (Apple TV+)
The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
The Peripheral (Amazon)
Silo (Apple TV+)
Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)
Gold Derby interviewed the creators of several nominated science fiction series since the 50th Saturn Awards and I'm showcasing five of them today, three for this category and two for the next, beginning with Making of 'Star Trek: Picard': Roundtable with showrunner Terry Matalas and 4 crafts wizards.
Making of 'Star Trek: Picard': Fascinating roundtable with showrunner Terry Matalas and 4 crafts wizards. Our panel includes Michael Crow (costumes), James MacKinnon (makeup), Vincent Van Dyke (prosthetics) and Jason Zimmerman (VFX). Gold Derby editor Daniel Montgomery hosts this special event for 2023 Emmy contenders.The result of their work was my favorite season of Star Trek: Picard. Congratulations!
Apple TV+ has two nominees, Foundation and Silo, making for a third side in addition to Star Trek and Star Wars. During Foundation's first season, Gold Derby interviewed David S. Goyer ('Foundation' showrunner): 'The scope of the show is massive; as big as the galaxy'.
David S. Goyer ('Foundation' showrunner): 'The scope of the show is massive; it's as big as the galaxy and as narrow as the human soul.' The Apple TV+ drama stars Lee Pace, Jared Harris, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Laura Birn, Terrence Mann and Cassian Bilton. Gold Derby senior editor Rob Licuria hosts this special webchat for our 'Meet the Experts' panel featuring TV showrunners.Foundation is the oldest property and one that finally got the adaptation it deserved after about 80(!) years.
The odd nominee out is The Peripheral from Prime Video. It got this one nomination. Watch Making of ‘The Peripheral’: Lively roundtable with the sci-fi world builders from Gold Derby.
Making of ‘The Peripheral’: Lively roundtable with the sci-fi world builders. Our discussion is with Oscar-nominated production designer Jan Roelfs and Emmy-winning costume designer Michele Clapton. Gold Derby senior editor Matt Noble hosts this special webchat for 2023 Emmy contenders.Congratulations on being nominated.
Now on to the next category, which includes two of the nominated science fiction series.
Best New Genre Television SeriesTwo nominated series in the previous category, Andor and Silo, have nominations in this category, which is new. Joining them is science fiction series The Ark, which has only this one nomination that isn't even acknowledged on the show's IMDB page. I'm not voting for any of them. Instead, I'm voting for The Last of Us, which I'll examine when I get to horror series. In the meantime, I'm sharing the Gold Derby interviews of the creators of Andor and Silo, beginning with Sanne Wohlenberg ('Andor' exec. producer) on playing '3-dimensional chess' for 'Star Wars' series.
Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
The Ark (Electric Entertainment/Syfy)
The Last of Us (HBO/Max)
Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power (Amazon)
Silo (Apple TV+)
The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC)
Wednesday (Netflix)
Sanne Wohlenberg ('Andor' executive producer) on playing 'three-dimensional chess' to bring 'Star Wars' into serialized storytelling. The Disney+ series takes place years before “Star Wars” and follows Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in the early days of the Rebellion. Gold Derby's Sam Eckmann hosts this webchat.Next, Graham Yost ('Silo' creator and showrunner): 'Grounded on characters in a world we could believe in'.
Graham Yost ('Silo' creator and showrunner): 'This is a mystery show, grounded on characters in a world that we could believe in.' He says, 'the big thing for me is, why is this happening? Why are they living underground? That kept me going through the three books.' Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria hosts this webchat.I haven't finished the season yet, so I found out things I didn't know by watching this interview. Spoilers!
Best Actor in a Television SeriesDiego Luna, Anson Mount, and Patrick Stewart are the nominees from the Star Trek and Star Wars franchises here, but I'm not voting for any of them. Instead, I'm voting for Pedro Pascal. He's the professional choice who is also my personal favorite. That written, I wouldn't be surprised if Patrick Stewart wins, as he won two years ago. Watch him in the Gold Derby interview Patrick Stewart ('Star Trek: Picard') on reuniting the 'TNG' cast: 'Should I really do this at all?'
Tyler Hoechlin, Superman & Lois (Warner Bros. Television)
Sam Heughan, Outlander (Starz)
Diego Luna, Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Anson Mount, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us (HBO/Max)
Harold Perrineau, From (MGM+)
Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Patrick Stewart ('Star Trek: Picard') on reuniting the 'TNG' cast: 'Should I really do this at all?' One of the emotional highlights of the series is the return to the bridge of the Enterprise-D, the flagship of the "Next Generation" series. Gold Derby's Tony Ruiz and Daniel Montgomery host this webchat.I'm glad he and the producers decided the answer was yes.
Now for his Star Wars counterpart, Diego Luna ('Andor') on his love for 'Star Wars' and bringing 'something different to this universe'.
Diego Luna ('Andor') on his love for 'Star Wars' and bringing 'something different to this universe.' He stars in the fourth Disney+ live-action series in the franchise (after "The Mandalorian," "The Book of Boba Fett" and "Obi-Wan Kenobi"). Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria hosts this webchat.And the show has been renewed for another season, so he will have more chances at nominations and awards.
Best Actress in a Television SeriesRebecca Ferguson has the third and final nomination for Silo. While I think this is the show's best chance of winning, I'm not planning on voting for her. Instead, I'm defaulting to Caitriona Balfe of Outlander, who I voted for last year. She might win, but I expect Lauren Cohan, who won Best Supporting Actress in a Network/Cable Series last year, will win this award instead.
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander (Starz)
Lauren Cohan, The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC)
Emma D’Arcy, House of the Dragon (HBO/Max)
Rebecca Ferguson, Silo (Apple TV+)
Tatiana Maslany, She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law (Marvel/Disney+)
Rose McIver, Ghosts (CBS)
Elizabeth Tulloch, Superman & Lois (Warner Bros. Television)
Best Supporting Actor in a Television SeriesThere are four Star Trek actors in this field, Jonathan Frakes, Ethan Peck, Ed Speleers, and Todd Stashwick. My choice is between the once and future Number Ones, Frakes and Peck. Frakes is a better director than an actor, while Peck has won this award before. I'll vote for Peck as Spock.
Jonathan Frakes, Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Harvey Guillen, What We Do in the Shadows (FX/Hulu)
Ernie Hudson, Quantum Leap (NBC/Universal)
Ethan Peck, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)
Ed Speleers, Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Matt Smith, House of the Dragon (HBO/Max)
Todd Stashwick, Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Gold Derby caught most of the Star Trek: Picard cast in 'Star Trek: Picard' finale: Red carpet interviews with stars and producers, which is the best I can do with the supporting cast.
‘"Star Trek: Picard" held its series finale event at AMC The Grove in Los Angeles Wednesday night. Lucky fans saw an early screening of the final episode which will be available to stream on Thursday, April 20th, exclusively on Paramount+.It sounds like the cast had as much fun making the show as my wife and I had watching it.
Gold Derby’s associate editor Latasha Ford was on the carpet to chat with leading cast members Patrick Stewart, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Mica Burton, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner and Jeri Ryan, as well as executive producer Alex Kurtzman and showrunner/executive producer Terry Matalas.
Best Supporting Actress in a Television SeriesI voted for Jeri Ryan as Best Guest Starring Performance on Television two years ago. She lost, but I'm happy to vote for her again.
Jess Bush, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)
Celia Rose Gooding, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)
Genevieve O’Reilly, Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Jeri Ryan, Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Katee Sackhoff, The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Sophie Skelton, Outlander (Starz)
Rebecca Wisocky, Ghosts (CBS)
Having featured Ryan in the image above, I'm happy to share Gold Derby's interviews of the nominees from Star Wars shows, beginning with Genevieve O'Reilly ('Andor'): 'Walking to the edge of the set and just bursting into tears'.
Genevieve O'Reilly ('Andor'): 'I remember at the end of that day, walking to the edge of the set and just bursting into tears.' She plays Mon Mothma, a wealthy Imperial Senator who navigates the politics of the Empire while secretly funding the Rebel Alliance. Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria hosts this webchat.Mon Mothma needed more fleshing out, so I'm glad Genevieve O'Reilly got to do it.
I haven't featured anyone from The Mandalorian yet, so I'm pleased to share Katee Sackhoff ('The Mandalorian') uses her history with Bo-Katan to enrich her performance.
Katee Sackhoff ('The Mandalorian') uses her history with Bo-Katan to enrich her performance: 'Backstory comes into play in the quiet moments.' Two decades after 'Battlestar Galactica,' she is starring on another sci-fi series which is a critical and commercial hit. Gold Derby's Sam Eckmann hosts this webchat.Sackhoff has quite the history with the Saturn Awards electorate, which I think might help her.
Best Guest Star in a Television SeriesAmanda Plummer made a great adversary on Star Trek: Picard, just as Giancarlo Esposito did on The Mandalorian. On the other hand, Andy Serkis and Paul Wesley played great helpers on Andor and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I don't know if the Saturn Awards electorate can resist a good James Kirk, and Wesley makes a good Kirk. I can, though, as I'm voting for Nick Offerman from The Last of Us. To make up for that, I'm sharing two Gold Derby interviews of the nominees, beginning with Giancarlo Esposito on chaos as bad guy on 'The Mandalorian' and good guy on 'Godfather of Harlem'.
Gael Garcia Bernal, Marvel’s Werewolf by Night (Marvel/Disney+)
Giancarlo Esposito, The Mandalorian (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Nick Offerman, The Last of Us (HBO/Max)
Amanda Plummer, Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+/CBS)
Andy Serkis, Andor (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
Paul Wesley, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+/CBS)
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Wednesday (Netflix)
Giancarlo Esposito 'controls the chaos' as a bad guy on 'The Mandalorian' and a good guy on 'Godfather of Harlem.' The recent Emmy nominee also discusses 'The Boys' with Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria.When Esposito shows up, I know things are going to get real, get scary, and get really scary, really fast.
That's the recurring villain. Now for the guest-starring hero, Andy Serkis ('Andor'): 'Gift of a role' to play charismatic revolutionary Kino Loy.
Andy Serkis ('Andor'): 'Gift of a role' to play charismatic revolutionary Kino Loy. Star Diego Luna reprises his “Rogue One” role as the interplanetary titular thief-turned-Rebel spy Cassian Andor. Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria hosts this webchat.I'm happy to see Serkis get recognition for a role that isn't motion-capture or hidden under prosthetics.
I mentioned Best 4K Home Media Release in 'Renfield,' 'John Wick 4,' 'Jules,' and 'Pearl' lead horror, action, and independent films at the Saturn Awards because John Wick, Chapter 4 - 4K earned a nomination. So did Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition 4K. I was planning on voting for one of the two, but I could easily imagine The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 4K winning because of the reputation of Criterion. I'll return to this category in my last post.
I close with a category I examined in 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3' leads Best Superhero Film nominees at the Saturn Awards and wrote that I might return to.
Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Wars: The Bad Batch are a rematch from last year. The Bad Batch won that match and might win again, but they'll do it without my vote.Best Animated Television Series or SpecialSpeaking of animated features, last year's Oscar winner for Animated Feature, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, is among the nominees for Best Animated Television Series or Special. I think it's a ringer, but it's not any worse than Prey being nominated for Best Science Fiction Film. Given the competition, it's also the best choice, so I'm voting for it.
Chainsaw Man (Crunchyroll)
Gremlins: Secrets of Mogwai (HBO/Max)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix)
Harley Quinn (HBO/Max)
My Adventures with Superman (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim)
Star Trek: Lower Decks (Paramount+)
Star Wars: The Bad Batch (Lucasfilm/Disney+)
I plan on examining the horror nominees tomorrow after another retrospective of 2023. Stay tuned.
Previous posts about the 51st Saturn Awards
- 'Avatar: The Way of Water' leads Saturn Awards with 12 nominations
- 'Oppenheimer' leads thriller films at the Saturn Awards with 11 nominations
- 'Barbie' vs. 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny' for Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards
- 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3' leads Best Superhero Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
- 'Renfield,' 'John Wick 4,' 'Jules,' and 'Pearl' lead horror, action, and independent films at the Saturn Awards
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