'House of the Dragon' vs. 'Paradise' for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy TV nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards

As I promised twice, I'm examining the science fiction and fantasy TV nominees as the next installment of my series on the Critics Choice Super Awards. That's because "House of the Dragon and Paradise each earned four nominations apiece in the television categories" to quote the press release, tying them for second.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MADE-FOR-TV MOVIE

Alien: Earth
For All Mankind
House of the Dragon
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Paradise
Pluribus
Silo
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

As written above, House of the Dragon and Paradise lead with four nominations apiece, followed by Alien: Earth and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms tied at three, Pluribus and Silo tied at two, and For All Mankind and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with just one each. The odd thing is that Paradise has two nominations as a science fiction/fantasy series and two as an action series, which could act as a tiebreaker. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if Pluribus wins; it's that good.

Follow over the jump for the acting categories.

'Star Trek' Easter eggs on First Contact Day

Happy Easter and First Contact Day! No one responded at all, let alone no, to my parting question, "Star Trek Easter eggs, anyone?" I'm taking that as a tacit yes for the topic of today's Sunday entertainment feature.

I begin with ScreenRant asking Did You Catch Dr. Kovich's Easter Eggs in Star Trek: Discovery?

Dr. Kovich's office in Star Trek: Discovery is full of Easter eggs referencing the entire franchise of Star Trek. From a vintage bottle of Chateau Picard wine and Geordi's VISOR, Dr. Kovich's office reveals a lot about his mysterious role in Star Trek: Discovery.

Those are the serious Easter eggs in a dramatic series. Now for some funny ones in a comedy, Star Trek: Lower Decks. Watch as Rodenberry BEAM asks Can You Spot These Hidden Star Trek Jokes?

Every episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks is FULL of easter eggs, references, and inside jokes about the franchise... but did you catch them all? It's time to rank some of our favorite inside jokes from STLD, especially from season 4... from the most obvious to the most obscure.

Those are some deep cuts! The writers of Star Trek: Lower Decks were willing to go a long way for a laugh.

I close this section with Every Star Trek: VOYAGER Easter Egg in Starfleet Academy (So Far) Explained by The Sci-Fi Feminist.

In this video, I dive deep into the 32nd-century Academy to find every callback to the Delta Quadrant. From the return of Robert Picardo as the EMH Doctor to the long-awaited promotion of Admiral Harry Kim, Starfleet Academy is full of Star Trek: Voyager lore. We also look at hidden references to Janeway, Neelix’s lung maggots, and the legal legacy of the 'Author, Author' court case.

That was worth watching, even though I'm not optimistic about The Sci-Fi Feminist uploading a part two. My wife and I enjoyed Starfleet Academy, but it was canceled after season two. Darn.

Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the most read entries about holidays from the back catalog during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.

'Andor' vs. 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' and 'Severance' for Best Science Fiction Television Series at the Saturn Awards

I told my readers to "stay tuned for this year's version of Star Trek vs. Star Wars at the Saturn Awards as I examine the nominees for Best Science Fiction Television Series" twice, so I'm following through with the nominees in this category.

Best Science Fiction Television Series:

Andor
The Ark
Foundation
Severance
Silo
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

As Deadline Hollywood reported, Andor leads this category with five nominations, followed by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with four, Severance with three, and The Ark, Foundation, and Silo with just this one. Both Andor and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are previous Saturn Award winners, the former Best New Genre Television Series in 2024 and the latter Best Science Fiction Television Series in 2022, making both fan choices. Andor would also be a professional choice, as it earned five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. Of course, the real professional choice is Severance, which won eight Emmy Awards this season, so I voted for it. I'd be pleasantly surprised if it wins; I think Andor and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are more likely to take home the trophy of the planet with film for its rings.

There are two more categories with Star Wars nominees. I'll get to them after horror and fantasy. Stay tuned.

Previous posts about the 53rd Saturn Awards

• 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' leads Best Science Fiction Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Thriller Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Fantastic Four: First Steps' vs. 'Superman' for Best Cinematic Adaptation Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Wicked: For Good' leads Best Fantasy Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Frankenstein' leads Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards for Friday the 13th
• 'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' leads Best Action/Adventure Film at the Saturn Awards
• 'Dust Bunny' leads Best Independent Film at the Saturn Awards
• Animation and International Film nominees at the Saturn Awards
• 'Dexter: Resurrection' leads television nominees at the Saturn Awards

'Dexter: Resurrection' leads television nominees at the Saturn Awards

I promised coverage of the television nominees at the Saturn Awards as this week's Sunday entertainment feature, but technology didn't cooperate twice, then the router arrived today and my wife set it up while I was at work — thanks! — so I'm uploading it today.

I begin by returning to Deadline Hollywood, which reported "Among the TV nominees, Showtime/Paramount+’s Dexter: Resurrection led the way with six nominations, followed by Andor, It: Welcome to Derry and Stranger Things with five apiece." This list, which passed my accuracy check, sets my agenda for the first four posts examining the television nominees, so I begin with Dexter: Resurrection and the shows nominated against it.

Best Thriller Television Series:

Dark Winds
Dexter: Resurrection
The Lowdown
MobLand
The Rainmaker
Your Friends and Neighbors

As Deadline Hollywood reported, Dexter: Resurrection leads both all television nominees and the nominees in this category with six nominations, while the rest of the nominees in this field have only this one nomination, so it's the favorite. It helps that at least two accounts on Twitter are mounting an awards campaign for Dexter: Resurrection. I didn't vote for it. Instead, I voted for Dark Winds, which my wife and I are fans of. I won't be disappointed if it loses to Dexter: Resurrection. In fact, I expect it.

I won't complain about the quality of the field, but I'm making a note to myself to submit my own list of thriller and mystery TV series next December. If I had done so last year, it wouldn't have changed my vote or the likely winner, but I might at least know who the other nominees are.

Follow over the jump for the actors from Dexter: Resurrection nominated at the Saturn Awards.

'Snow White' and 'War of the Worlds' tie for most Razzie nominations ahead of 'Star Trek: Section 31'

I promised an examination of the Golden Raspberry (Razzie®) Nominations twice, so I'm following through with The 46th Razzie® Nominations.

Thank you to our fearless Razzie® Voting Members who picked through a vast amount of solid sludge to extract these fine pearls of mediocrity! And giving a special callout to Travis Morrow!

Go to Razzies.com for the full list of nominees as they duke it out for the $4.97 Razzie Statuette!

HOLLYWOOD, WE NEED TO TALK!

Where is that safer, happier and more inspiring place - Disneyland? Well, even Disney bungled that!

46th Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie®) Nominations

Among the 2026 titles competing for the $4.97 gold spray-painted Worst Picture Statuette are:

The $320 million production of a well-regarded graphic novel, that despite the highly touted talent involved, fell flat on originality, execution and heart - The Electric State

A vanity project that doesn't move fast enough towards the ending - Hurry Up Tomorrow

A slow-paced unnecessary re-imagining of a classic, filled with drawn-out musical numbers, dopey CGI dwarfs, and enough mediocrity to leave the audience in a very unhappy place - Disney's Snow White (2025)

A convoluted mess beaming its audience to a frontier that could finally bring this once inspiring franchised journey to a screeching halt - Star Trek: Section 31.

And if butchering an H.G. Wells classic by stringing together video chats, surveillance cams and FaceTime with panic attacks makes for a compelling film experience - please allow the robots to attack and get it over with! - War Of The Worlds (2025)

For more, including checking their math, follow over the jump.

'Star Trek: Lower Decks' and 'Dune: Part Two' win Hugo Awards

Today's Sunday entertainment feature compares my predictions for dramatic presentation and game at the Hugo Awards to the actual winners.


Just like the Critics Choice Super Awards, where I predicted Dune: Part Two would win and it did, I wrote "the fans will vote for Dune: Part Two." They did and it won. Congratulations!

I completely blew the next two categories.

While Doctor Who “Dot and Bubble” and all of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 earned nominations at the Nebula Awards, since both franchises have two nominees, they might suffer from vote splitting. If so, it will open the door for either Agatha All Along or Fallout, winners of Best Superhero Television Series and Best Science Fiction Television Series at the Saturn Awards, respectively, to walk through and claim the rocket trophy. If so, I think it will be Fallout. If not, then I predict it will be the Doctor Who episode, “Dot and Bubble.”

Nope, the fans not only rallied around Star Trek: Lower Decks, they picked a favorite episode. Star Trek: Lower Decks: "The New Next Generation" may not win an Emmy Award — I still expect it will be Love, Death & Robots or Arcane, both of which have won juried Emmy Awards already — but it won a Hugo Award. This is another case where I'm glad to be wrong.


 I blew the next category by completely missing it. Comics Beat reported "Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio‘s choose-your-own-adventure book Lower Decks: Warp Your Own Way won Best Graphic Story or Comic" in STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS bows out with two Hugo Awards. Congratulations!

I also blew game or interactive work.

1000xRESIST was the only game nominated at the Hugo Awards also nominated at the Nebula Awards, but I don't think that will sway the fans because they probably weren't playing it. Instead, they'll vote for a game they actually played. Based on watching streamers on Twitch, I think the most played games in this field were Dragon Age: The Veilguard and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Between those two, I'd vote for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, as popular and fun as the Zelda games are.

I was right that 1000xRESIST wouldn't win, but neither of my choices won. I may be following the wrong Twitch streamers, but I don't recall any of them playing Caves of Qud, which won. Surprise and congratulations!

I stated my preferences for one last category.

I'm making an observation on Best Related Work before I conclude this entry. I suspect r/Fantasy’s 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge will win, but I'm rooting for “The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel” by Jenny Nicholson. It's her second Hugo nomination, and it examines an experiment that apparently succeeded critically but definitely failed commercially. Since Disney is in business to make money, it closed.

Neither won. Instead, Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right by Jordan S. Carroll did. I'm not surprised. The Hugo Awards successfully fought off the Rabid Puppies, but they have infected the rest of society. File that under winning the battle, but (so far) losing the war. Sigh.

That's a wrap for today's post. I already have educational entries planned for Monday and Tuesday, followed by World Mosquito Day on Wednesday. Stay tuned.

'Rebel Ridge' leads Gold Derby odds to win Outstanding Television Movie at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

I'm resuming my Emmy nominations coverage with the nominations for television movies at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Television Movie

• Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (Peacock)
• The Gorge (Apple TV+)
• Mountainhead (HBO)
• Nonnas (Netflix)
• Rebel Ridge (Netflix)

The Gorge is the only television movie with a second nomination, but it's in last place in Gold Derby's odds. Every expert and editor along with 85.6% of users prefer Rebel Ridge. The remaining users are split among Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy with 8.6%, Mountainhead with 2.2%, and Nonnas and The Gorge tied at 1.8% each. The Gorge probably has a better chance of winning an Emmy in the next category.

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special

• Adolescence: "Episode 1" – James Drake, Michele Woods, Emma Butt, Rob Davidson, Jessica Watkins, Oli Ferris, and Sue Harding (Netflix)
• Black Mirror: "USS Callister: Into Infinity" – Tom Jenkins, Alex Sawyer, James Hayday, Rob Davidson, Arthur Graley, Poppy Kavanagh, Oliver Ferris, and Sue Harding (Netflix)
• The Gorge – Ethan Van der Ryn, Erik Aadahl, Paul Hackner, Darren Maynard, David Farmer, Frederic Dubois, David V. Butler, Stephanie Brown, Jonathan Greasley, Jason W. Jennings, Nolan McNaughton, and Sally Boldt (Apple TV+)
• The Penguin: "After Hours" – Rich Bologna, Larry Zipf, Michael McMenomy, Angela Organ, Tony Martinez, Wyatt Sprague, Diego Perez, Matt Haasch, Ben Holiday, Luke Dennis, and Gareth Rhys Jones (HBO)
• Star Trek: Section 31 – Matthew E. Taylor, Michael Schapiro, Austin Olivia Kendrick, Sebastian Sheehan Visconti, Sean Heissinger, Andrew Twite, Alex Pugh, Kip Smedley, Deron Street, Clay Weber, Moira Marquis, Alyson Moore, and Katie Rose (Paramount+)

In addition to this being the second nomination for The Gorge, it's also the only nomination for Star Trek: Section 31, which means I plan on recycling this category in this year's edition of Star Trek vs. Star Wars - futuristic politics and government at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and Star Trek vs. Star Wars at the 2024 Emmy Awards for Star Trek Day. That written, I think the fake Star Trek of Black Mirror's "USS Callister: Into Infinity" is most likely to win because the original "USS Callister" won this award in 2018.

That's a wrap for today's post. Stay tuned to see if I continue this series tomorrow, likely with the nominees for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).

Previous posts about the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards

• No PSAs among nominees for Outstanding Commercial plus winners for Outstanding Promotional Announcement at the Emmy Awards
• 'I Am: Celine Dion,' 'Patrice: The Movie,' and 'The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,' Emmy nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking
• 'Asia' and 'The Americas' lead nature documentaries at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• 'Pee-wee as Himself' vs. 'Will & Harper' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special on Tequila Day
• '100 Foot Wave' leads Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in nominations, but could lose to 'SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night'
• 'The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
• Emmy nominee 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains the Epstein Files' plus the rest of the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards
• John Oliver examines 'Gang Databases' plus 'Last Week Tonight's six Emmy nominations
• Colbert, Lydic, and Meyers take closer looks at the EPA and Epstein and Kimmel goes down the rabbit hole on 'windmills'
• 'Jeopardy!' favored to win Game Show categories at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• 'Welcome to Wrexham' vs. 'Love on the Spectrum' for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards
• 'Shark Tank' vs. 'Queer Eye' for Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards
• 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win again
• 'Arcane' leads Gold Derby odds to win Outstanding Animated Program at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

'Arcane' leads Gold Derby odds to win Outstanding Animated Program at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

I changed my mind since I wrote "I might examine the remaining nominations for the singing and dancing talent shows next" in the conclusion to 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win again. I wasn't feeling it. Instead, I'm looking at animation, a genre I don't always cover. Here are the nominations for animation and voice-over at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Animated Program

• Arcane: "The Dirt Under Your Nails" (Netflix)
• Bob's Burgers: "They Slug Horses, Don't They?" (Fox)
• Common Side Effects: "Cliff's Edge" (Adult Swim)
• Love, Death & Robots: "Spider Rose" (Netflix)
• The Simpsons: "Bart's Birthday" (Fox)

Arcane, Love, Death & Robots, and The Simpsons all have two nominations, while Bob's Burgers and Common Side Effects have just this one. Gold Derby's odds break the tie at the top as all experts, three-quarters of editors, and 88.2% of users have chosen 2022 winner Arcane to return to the podium next month. The other quarter of the editors and 6.3% of users picked 2023 winner The Simpsons to walk off with the statuette. The long-shot picks are Bob's Burgers with 2.8% of users, Common Side Effects with 1.7% of users, and Love, Death & Robots in last with 1.0% of users. Love, Death & Robots will have to get its Emmy elsewhere.

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance

• Julie Andrews – Bridgerton: "Into The Light" as Lady Whistledown (Netflix)
• Hank Azaria – The Simpsons: "Abe League of Their Moe" as Moe Szyslak (FOX)
• Maya Rudolph – Big Mouth: "Why Do We Go Through Puberty?" as Connie the Hormone Monstress (Netflix)
• Alan Tudyk – Andor: "Who Else Knows?" as K-2SO (Disney+)
• Jeffrey Wright – What If...?: "What If... 1872?" as The Watcher (Disney+)
• Steven Yeun – Invincible: "What Have I Done?" as Mark Grayson / Invincible (Prime Video)

Gold Derby expects Maya Rudolph to win for the fifth time since 2020 with the support of 85.7% of experts, all editors, and 72.2% of users. Alan Tudyk, who would be one of two nominees who would win a game of "one of these things is not like the others" because he's in a live-action show, sits in second with 14.3% of experts and 13.2% of users. Julie Andrews would be the other contestant in "one of these things is not like the others" and has 8.3% backing her. Steven Yuen has the support of 4.9% of users, while Hank Azaria and Jeffrey Wright are tied at 0.7% of users apiece.

Outstanding Sound Editing for an Animated Program

• Arcane: "The Dirt Under Your Nails" – Brad Beaumont, Eliot Connors, Stephen P. Robinson, Janet "PJ" Pascual, Dan O'Connell, and John Cucci (Netflix)
• Love, Death & Robots: "400 Boys" – Brad North, Craig Henighan, Dawn Lunsford, Jeff Charbonneau, and Alicia Stevens (Netflix)
• Secret Level: "Warhammer 40,000: They Shall Know No Fear" – Matt Yocum, Brad North, Nolan McNaughton, Ryan Sullivan, Joseph Fraioli, Christopher Battaglia, Harry Cohen, Matt Manselle, Matt Tesley, and Brian Straub (Prime Video)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks: "The New Next Generation" – James Lucero, Drew Guy, Konrad Piñon, James Singleton, John Wynn, Michael Britt, and Amber Funk (Paramount+)
• What If...?: "What If... 1872?" – Mac Smith, Vanessa Lapato, Alyssa Nevarez, Steve Bissinger, Derek McGinley, Anele Onyekwere, Carl Sealove, Andrea Stelter Gard, and Sean England (Disney+)

Gold Derby does not have odds for this category, which is new, having been split off from comedy. My pick is the last animation winner, Love, Death & Robots, although both Arcane and Star Trek: Lower Decks are previous nominees.

Expect me to repeat the last two categories in this year's edition of Star Trek vs. Star Wars - futuristic politics and government at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and Star Trek vs. Star Wars at the 2024 Emmy Awards for Star Trek Day, which might feature updated odds for voice-over. In the meantime, expect another evergreen educational entry tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Previous posts about the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards

• No PSAs among nominees for Outstanding Commercial plus winners for Outstanding Promotional Announcement at the Emmy Awards
• 'I Am: Celine Dion,' 'Patrice: The Movie,' and 'The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,' Emmy nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking
• 'Asia' and 'The Americas' lead nature documentaries at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• 'Pee-wee as Himself' vs. 'Will & Harper' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special on Tequila Day
• '100 Foot Wave' leads Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in nominations, but could lose to 'SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night'
• 'The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
• Emmy nominee 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains the Epstein Files' plus the rest of the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards
• John Oliver examines 'Gang Databases' plus 'Last Week Tonight's six Emmy nominations
• Colbert, Lydic, and Meyers take closer looks at the EPA and Epstein and Kimmel goes down the rabbit hole on 'windmills'
• 'Jeopardy!' favored to win Game Show categories at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• 'Welcome to Wrexham' vs. 'Love on the Spectrum' for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards
• 'Shark Tank' vs. 'Queer Eye' for Outstanding Structured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards
• 'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads nominations for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, but 'The Traitors' will likely win again

'Dune: Part Two' vs. 'Wicked' and 'Star Trek' vs. 'Doctor Who' among Hugo Award nominees for dramatic presentation

As I promised yesterday, I'm covering the Hugo Award nominees for dramatic presentations and video games as the first Sunday entertainment feature of August. Here are the nominees for those categories from Twitter/X and the Hugo Awards website.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

• Dune: Part Two, screenplay by Denis Villeneuve and Jon Spaihts, directed by Denis Villeneuve (Legendary Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures)
• Flow, screenplay by Gints Zilbalodis and Matiss Kaža, directed by Gints Zilbalodis (Dream Well Studio)
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, screenplay by George Miller and Nick Lathouris, directed by George Miller (Warner Bros. Pictures)
• I Saw the TV Glow, screenplay by Jane Schoenbrun, directed by Jane Schoenbrun (Fruit Tree / Smudge Films / A24)
• Wicked, screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, directed by Jon M. Chu (Universal Pictures)
• The Wild Robot, screenplay by Chris Sanders and Peter Brown, directed by Chris Sanders (DreamWorks Animation)

I'm going to be a good environmentalist and recycle from 'Dune: Part Two' at the Critics Choice Super Awards: "Picking the winner is trivial; it will be Dune: Part Two." It's won the Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation over I Saw the TV Glow and Wicked, which answers my gripe about Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Movie at the Critics Choice Super Awards that "This could have been a more interesting contest if the Critics Choice Association (CCA) had nominated Wicked." At least some of the writers will vote/have voted for the Hugo Award, too. Electorates matter, and I'm not expecting a different fan choice to win like last year.

[T]he Hugo Awards staged a revenge of the nerds by awarding Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves the rocket trophy. This reminded me of the Saturn Awards voters voting for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny over Barbie for Best Fantasy Film. I guess Barbie was too much of a normie movie for the nerds' and geeks' tastes.

I think the fans will vote for Dune: Part Two.

Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form

• Fallout: “The Beginning” written by Gursimran Sandhu, directed by Wayne Che Yip (Amazon Prime Video)
• Agatha All Along: “Death’s Hand in Mine” written by Gia King & Cameron Squires, directed by Jac Schaeffer (Marvel, Disney+)
• Doctor Who: “Dot and Bubble” written by Russell T Davies, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, Disney+)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks: “Fissure Quest” created by Mike McMahan and written by Lauren McGuire based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Brandon Williams (CBS Eye Animation Productions for Paramount+)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks: “The New Next Generation” created and written by Mike McMahan, based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry, directed by Megan Lloyd (CBS Eye Animation Productions for Paramount+)
• Doctor Who: “73 Yards” written by Russell T Davies, directed by Dylan Holmes Williams (BBC, Disney+)

This category poses more of a challenge. While Doctor Who “Dot and Bubble” and all of Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 earned nominations at the Nebula Awards, since both franchises have two nominees, they might suffer from vote splitting. If so, it will open the door for either Agatha All Along or Fallout, winners of Best Superhero Television Series and Best Science Fiction Television Series at the Saturn Awards, respectively, to walk through and claim the rocket trophy. If so, I think it will be Fallout. If not, then I predict it will be the Doctor Who episode, “Dot and Bubble.”

Best Game or Interactive Work

• Caves of Qud, co-creators Brian Bucklew and Jason Grinblat; contributors Nick DeCapua, Corey Frang, Craig Hamilton, Autumn McDonell, Bastia Rosen, Caelyn Sandel, Samuel Wilson (Freehold Games); sound design A Shell in the Pit; publisher Kitfox Games
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard produced by BioWare
• The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom produced by Nintendo
• Lorelei and the Laser Eyes produced by Simogo
• Tactical Breach Wizards developed by Suspicious Developments
• 1000xRESIST developed by sunset visitor 斜陽過客, published by Fellow Traveller

1000xRESIST was the only game nominated at the Hugo Awards also nominated at the Nebula Awards, but I don't think that will sway the fans because they probably weren't playing it. Instead, they'll vote for a game they actually played. Based on watching streamers on Twitch, I think the most played games in this field were Dragon Age: The Veilguard and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. Between those two, I'd vote for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, as popular and fun as the Zelda games are.

I'm making an observation on Best Related Work before I conclude this entry. I suspect r/Fantasy’s 2024 Bingo Reading Challenge will win, but I'm rooting for “The Spectacular Failure of the Star Wars Hotel” by Jenny Nicholson. It's her second Hugo nomination, and it examines an experiment that apparently succeeded critically but definitely failed commercially. Since Disney is in business to make money, it closed.

That's a wrap for today's Sunday entertainment entry. I plan on following through with "something...historical" tomorrow by embedding Bright Sun Films video on TGI Fridays bankruptcy. Stay tuned for the Retail Apocalypse!

'Severance' leads Science Fiction/Fantasy Series but could lose to 'Andor' at the Super Awards

I closed 'The Last of Us' leads TV nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards by telling my audience "The next day I could continue this series would be Tuesday the 15th, but that's when this year's Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy nominations will be announced, and I might prioritize those." The Emmy nominations won't be announced until 11:30 A.M. EDT and I don't want to wait that long to start blogging, so Super Awards it is.

The next category with series that have the most nominations is Science Fiction/Fantasy, where there are two shows with four nominations each, Severance and Fallout. All of Severance's nominations are in Science Fiction/Fantasy, while three of Fallout's are in Superhero, where video game properties also reside, so Severance wins the tiebreaker. Besides, Fallout isn't even nominated in this category, just Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie. Andor and Black Mirror both have three nominations, followed by Doctor Who and Fantasmas tied at two, and Dune: Prophecy with just this one. I think this is between Severance and Andor with Black Mirror as a spoiler.


Walter Goggins is having a moment — I expect he will earn a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the Emmy Awards for his role in The White Lotus by the time I post this (ETA: he did) and he has a second nomination for this role at these awards in Best Actor in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-for-TV Movie — but I don't think he's going to win this award. Instead, I think it's between Diego Luna and Adam Scott.


I'm sharing this image not because I think Caitriona Balfe will win — she might and I would be happy if she did, although I think a couple of actresses have a better shot — but because she appears to have the one campaign going for this award. It's from her fans, not the studio, but at least they believe in her. I think Cristin Milioti, who has another nomination for The Penguin (and she just got an Emmy nomination for it), Kathrin Hahn, and Britt Lower have better odds to win. Michelle Yeoh is an Oscar winner, but I'm not sure Star Trek: Section 31 is the best vehicle for her.

No science fiction or fantasy show earned a nominee for its villain, so on to what these nominations mean for the Saturn Awards. Severance, Andor, Black Mirror, Doctor Who, Dune: Prophecy, Outlander, and Star Trek: Section 31 should all earn nominations, although not all as Best Science Fiction Series. Season One of Severance landed in Horror / Thriller Series, Outlander moved from Fantasy to Action/Adventure/Thriller, and Star Trek: Section 31 could be a Science Fiction Film or Presentation on Television. It wouldn't surprise me if Superman & Lois competed in Science Fiction again. It has and it won.

I have one more genre to cover, Action, which I expect will be a sweep or nearly so for Shogun. Now excuse me while I watch the Emmy nominations announcement.

Previous entries about the 5th Critics Choice Super Awards

• 'Deadpool & Wolverine' and 'Thunderbolts*' lead movie nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• 'Dune: Part Two' at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• 'Sinners' leads Best Horror Movie nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards
• Drink to the action movie nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards on National Piña Colada Day
• 'The Last of Us' leads TV nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' for First Contact Day, a holiday special

Happy First Contact Day, when I celebrate Star Trek! Like last year, I'm looking forward to an upcoming season of the latest series on the franchise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Watch the SyFy Sistas Inc. wishing their viewers Happy First Contact Day _Season 3 Teaser Star Trek SNW.

[Paramount+] released the teaser trailer for the upcoming third season of its hit original series STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS, coming this summer to the platform. Paramount+ previously announced the series has also been renewed for a fourth season, which is currently in production in Toronto.

In season three, when we reconnect with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, still under the command of Captain Pike, they face the conclusion of season two’s harrowing encounter with the Gorn. But new life and civilizations await, including a villain that will test our characters’ grit and resolve. An exciting twist on classic Star Trek, season three takes characters both new and beloved to new heights, and dives into thrilling adventures of faith, duty, romance, comedy, and mystery, with varying genres never before seen on any other Star Trek.

Other than the preview image, this is exactly the same as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds | Season 3 Official Teaser | Paramount+, but the preview image was exactly what I wanted for today, so SyFy Sistas win. Just the same, here is the official upload's description.

One show. Infinite Adventures. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds returns this summer exclusively on Paramount+!

Join the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise as they discover new civilizations, test their resolve and dive into thrilling adventures.

SyFy Sistas even have a more comprehensive description.

The trailer looks like fun, so I watched First Look | Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 3.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is based on the years Captain Christopher Pike manned the helm of the U.S.S. Enterprise. The series follows Captain Pike, Science Officer Spock, Number One and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, in the years before Captain Kirk boarded the starship, as they explore new worlds around the galaxy. The new season is set to debut in 2025.

That's an interesting premise entertainingly executed. I'm looking forward to seeing how the crew gets out of this situation, as well as the rest of the ten episodes that will stream this summer.

It turns out that First Contact Day is only one of at least ten special Star Trek days on the calendar. Trek Culture describes them in 10 In-Universe Star Trek Holidays (And When To Celebrate Them).

Let's look at every holiday from Star Trek that we can celebrate in 2025.

Hearing that Frontier Day is April 13th reminds me that I already celebrate a space day that I declared in 2012, Apophis Day. Now I have two holidays to celebrate in eight days!

I'm not done with today's holiday celebration. Follow over the jump for a retrospective of the rest of the most read holiday entries that I didn't cover in Ig Nobel Prizes for April Fools Day 2025, a holiday special.

'Fallout' leads TV nominees plus 'Star Trek' vs. 'Star Wars' at the Saturn Awards

Time to return to the Deadline report that the Saturn Awards excerpted.

On the TV side, Amazon MGM Studios’ video game adaptation Fallout was tops with five nominations: Best Science Fiction Television Series, Best Actor on Television (Walton Goggins), Best Actress on Television (Ella Purnell) and Best Guest Star on Television (Kyle MacLachlan). Amazon MGM had a leading 17 TV noms among the studios, while Disney was second with 11.

Here are Fallout's nominations.

Best Science Fiction Television Series:
3 Body Problem
The Ark
Dark Matter
Fallout
Star Trek: Discovery
Star Wars: Ahsoka

Deadline already listed four of Fallout's five nominations, the fifth being Aaron Moten for Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series. It's followed by two nominations each for Dark Matter and Ahsoka, and one each for 3 Body Problem, The Ark, and Star Trek: Discovery. My personal favorite is 3 Body Problem, which I definitely thought was the best science fiction on television this year — sorry, Fallout, Star Trek, and Star Wars — but I'm sure Fallout will win.

Now for a category I covered in 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' 'Agatha All Along,' 'The Penguin,' and 'X-Men '97' — superheroes at the Saturn Awards plus more 'Star Trek' vs. 'Star Wars' at the Saturn Awards.

Best Animated Television Series or Special:
Batman: Caped Crusader
Gremlins: The Wild Batch
Kaiju No. 8
Star Trek: Lower Decks
Star Wars: The Bad Batch
X-Men '97

Both Batman: Caped Crusader and X-Men '97 earned Critics' Choice Award nominations for Best Animated Series, but X-Men '97 earned an Emmy nomination and won a Gold Derby TV Award, so I think it has an advantage in this field, although Star Wars: The Bad Batch is the defending winner. I'll get to its chances, along with the TV acting nominations, when I cover science fiction TV nominees.

I may be voting for X-Men '97, but I still have Star Wars: The Bad Batch penciled in to continue the streak of Star Wars television animation winning this category.

Follow over the jump for Fallout's acting nominations.

Star Trek vs. Star Wars at the 2024 Emmy Awards for Star Trek Day

Happy Star Trek Day! Seeing today on the calendar reminded me of a possibility I described at the end of 'Barbie,' 'Poor Things,' 'Doctor Who,' and 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' among Hugo nominees for dramatic presentations.*

Seeing Star Trek and Star Wars nominated at the Hugo Awards is inspiring me to update Star Trek vs. Star Wars — futuristic politics and government at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for this year's awards. Stay tuned to see if I follow through.

I decided to postpone posting about last night's nonfiction winners, which I suggested yesterday as the topic of today's Sunday entertainment feature, until tomorrow. Without any further ado, here are the nominations of Star Trek and Star Wars shows at the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour)

• Avatar: The Last Airbender: "Legends" – Tim Kimmel, Luke Gibleon, John Matter, Bradley C. Katona, Justin Helle, Micha Liberman, Stefan Fraticelli, Jason Charbonneau, and William Kellerman (Netflix)
• Fallout: "The Target" – Sue Gamsaragan Cahill, Daniel Colman, Joseph Fraioli, Jane Boegel-Koch, Sara Bencivenga, Jonathan Golodner, Karen Triest, Randall Guth, Christopher Kaller, Clint Bennet, Nancy Parker, and Katie Rose (Prime Video)
• Shogun: "Broken to the Fist" – Brian J Armstrong, Benjamin Cook, James Gallivan, John Creed, Ayako Yamauchi, Mark Hailstone, Ken Cain, Melissa Muik, Matt Salib, and Sanaa Kelley (FX)
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: "Hegemony" – Matthew E. Taylor, Michael Schapiro, Sean Heissinger, Kip Smedley, Ian Herzon, Deron Street, Clay Weber, John Sanacore, Rick Owens, and Jesi Ruppel (Paramount+)
• 3 Body Problem: "Judgment Day" – Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, John Matter, Tim Hands, Bradley C. Katona, Justin Helle, David Klotz, Stefan Fraticelli, Jason Charbonneau, and William Kellerman (Netflix)

Look at all the genre series nominated — science fiction, fantasy, and action/adventure! These are all shows I expect to see nominated at the Saturn Awards. That makes me happy. Unfortunately for the only live-action Star Trek series nominated at these awards, it's not likely to win. I think that's because I think it's between 3 Body Problem and Shogun, the former on merit (I watched the entire first season and was impressed) and the latter because it's likely to achieve a sweep or near-sweep. Shogun won the one category it was contending in last night, Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series for Shogun – The Making of Shogun. I thought it would be between Hacks: Bit by Bit or Saturday Night Live Presents: Behind the Sketch. Nope. Watch for the broom as Shogun tries to pull off a sweep tonight and next Sunday.

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation

• Ahsoka: "Part Four: Fallen Jedi" – Matthew Wood, Bonnie Wild, David Acord, James Spencer, Vanessa Lapato, Stephanie McNally, Trey Turner, Kimberly Patrick, Tim Farrell, Joel Raabe, Chris Tergesen, Ronni Brown, Heikki Kossi, and Shelley Roden (Disney+)
• The Bear: "Forks" – Steve "Major" Giammaria, Andrea Bella, Evan Benjamin, Jonathan Fuhrer, Annie Taylor, Jason Lingle, Jeff Lingle, Leslie Bloome, and Shaun Brennan (FX)
• Blue Eye Samurai: "All Evil Dreams and Angry Words" – Myron Nettinga, Paulette Lifton, Sam Hayward, Jared Dwyer, Andrew Miller, Johanna Turner, Justin Helle, Iko Kagasoff, Stefan Fraticelli, and Jason Charbonneau (Netflix)
• Only Murders in the Building: "Sitzprobe" – Mathew Waters, Danika Wikke, Taylor Jackson, Meredith Stacy, Erika Koski, Micha Liberman, Sanaa Kelley, and Iris Dutour (Hulu)
• Star Trek: Lower Decks: "The Inner Fight" – James Lucero, Drew Guy, Mak Kellerman, John Wynn, and Michael Britt (Paramount+)>

This is the one category where Star Wars and Star Trek are competing against each other. I think the advantage goes to Ahsoka, but I'm not confident it will win here, as The Bear won last year and I expect it will win this year, too, as part of a near-sweep of its nominated categories. As a genre television fan, I find that a bit disappointing, as The Bear would also win a game of "one of these things is not like the others" in this field full of science fiction, animation, and thriller/mystery nominees. At least Blue Eye Samurai isn't walking away empty-handed; it won four Emmy Awards last night, one for Outstanding Animated Program and three for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation. Congratulations!

Follow over the jump for the rest of Ahsoka's Emmy nominations plus a combined brag and whine about my picks for the Hugo Awards.

'Barbie,' 'Poor Things,' 'Doctor Who,' and 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' among Hugo nominees for dramatic presentations

I'm returning to Wombats and pizza for Souther on Detroit-style Pizza Day and Pink Day, when I wrote "Barbie won the Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation — congratulations! — and is nominated for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form at the Hugo Awards — good luck!" I promised more awards coverage in today's Sunday entertainment feature; I just didn't say which awards!

Just like the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA), my pick to win is Barbie. I would be surprised if the science fiction fans follow the movie makers and vote for Poor Things. I think they'd be more likely to vote for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse or even Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. I enjoyed the latter and think it was the best movie about Dungeons and Dragons ever made. It's still not better than Barbie, which I think will get one final award next week.

I'm not worried about Nimona; it's not better than Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The Wandering Earth II would only have a chance if a lot of Chinese voted. Honestly, I think either of the Oscar winners The Boy and the Heron or Godzilla Minus One should have been nominated in its place. I expect to see both of them at the next Saturn Awards.


The Last of Us was the only television program nominated by the SFWA at the Nebula Awards. I also thought the nominated episode was the most moving hour of television I can remember watching, so it's my pick to win. That doesn't mean it will. Two powerhouse franchises, Star Trek and Doctor Who, both have two episodes nominated. Unless their fans consolidate on a single episode, they'll split the vote allowing either The Last of Us or Loki to win. Speaking of Loki, I have it penciled in as my vote for Best Superhero Television Series at the next Saturn Awards. It might just win, as previous winner Superman & Lois aired no episodes last year because of the SAG and WGA strikes. I also expect to see Doctor Who on the next Saturn Awards ballot for Best Science Fiction Television Series.


I close with a category I haven't seen before at the Hugo Awards, video games. The SWFA nominated four of these titles, Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Chants of Sennaar, and DREDGE and voted Baldur’s Gate 3 the winner of Best Game Writing. I've watched my wife and a bunch of Twitch streamers play this game and I agree. It deserves to win. I've also watched streamers play The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and think its a worthy nominee. It's certainly fun to watch. As for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, I'm glad the Star Wars franchise has at least one nominee at the Hugo Awards!

Seeing Star Trek and Star Wars nominated at the Hugo Awards is inspiring me to update Star Trek vs. Star Wars — futuristic politics and government at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards for this year's awards. Stay tuned to see if I follow through.

'Star Trek: Discovery' trailers for First Contact Day

Happy First Contact Day! I was so confident that either Star Trek: Picard or Star Trek: Strange New Worlds would win at least one reward that my planned post today was "Star Trek winners at the Critics Choice Super Awards." Neither Star Trek show won anything. Instead, Black Mirror: Joan Is Awful won two awards for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actress in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie for Annie Murphy, Kurt Russell won Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Melanie Lynskey took home Best Villain in a Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie in The Last of Us. So much for that idea, at least for today.

Instead, I'm taking my inspiration from watching the first two episodes of Season 5 of Star Trek: Discovery last night, which is the final season of this series. Watch Star Trek: Discovery | Season 5 Official Trailer | Paramount+.

The fifth and final season will find Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery uncovering a mystery that will send them on an epic adventure across the galaxy to find an ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries. But there are others on the hunt as well… dangerous foes who are desperate to claim the prize for themselves and will stop at nothing to get it.

The first sentence of the video description for This Season on Star Trek: Discovery | Season 5 Sneak Peek | StarTrek.com hints at the nature of the "ancient power whose very existence has been deliberately hidden for centuries."



Power of creation, here we come!
"Power of creation" refers back to Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Chase."

The argument is silenced when the tricorder begins projecting a holographic image of a humanoid. She explains that her civilization existed alone in the galaxy, billions of lonely years before any of the others developed. They decided to spread their genetic material to other planets, in the hopes of creating a rich ecosystem of humanoids who could fulfill the joys of finding and integrating with alien cultures that these first beings never had.

What the Progenitors, the species of ancient humanoid in the referenced holographic image, also shown in the video above, did was a form of exogenesis or panspermia, which I called "a fringe scientific idea." That written, it works much better in science fiction than science fact and helps explain (away) why there are so many humanoid aliens in science fiction shows and movies, which has a real-world practical reason, using human actors in makeup to play aliens. Only recently has CGI been able to affordably and convincingly create non-humanoid aliens, such as the Gelatin and Katrudian from The Orville. Those don't need the same in-universe rationale for existing that humanoid aliens do.

My wife and I are looking forward to the rest of the final season. I hope the writers do as good job of sending off Discovery's crew as Star Trek: Picard did for the crews of Enterprise-D, Enterprise-E, and, to a lesser extent, Voyager.

Television nominees at the Critics Choice Super Awards

I told my readers "I plan on continuing this with the TV nominees on April 4th, the day the CCA presents the awards" at the conclusion of 'Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning' and 'The Last of Us' lead nominees at the fourth Critics Choice Super Awards, which means I'm continuing a streak of examining awards shows honoring speculative fiction on television that I began with My Saturn Awards votes vs. winners for Wayback 'Wednesday'. Time to recycle the relevant paragraph from the movie nominees post.

“The Last of Us” leads this year’s television nominees with seven nominations including Best Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. Pedro Pascal received nods for both Best Actor in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actor in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie, while Bella Ramsey earned a nominations for both Best Actress in a Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actress in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. Melanie Lynskey was also nominated for Best Villain in a Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. (Superhero categories also include Comic Book and Video Game Inspired series.)

Follow over the jump for the nominees and my opinions of them.

'SNL' opens with a Trump victory party after the South Carolina Republican Primary

I wondered what I would do today at the end of PBS Terra explains 'How An Ancient Ocean Shaped US History'.

Stay tuned for the final Sunday entertainment feature of February. I could still compile a highlights post of tonight's Saturday Night Live, but I'll see if I'm feeling it tomorrow.

I'm feeling it. Watch Trump Victory Party Cold Open.

Senators Tim Scott, James Risch, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio (Devon Walker, Mikey Day, James Austin Johnson, Marcello Hernandez) discuss Donald Trump over a meal.

It's enough to make me feel a bit sorry for the actual politicians, as much as I've made fun of them, particularly Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio. Then I remember what they did for party unity and discipline — party over country — and I don't feel so sorry for them anymore.

The cold open was ostensibly a victory celebration of Donald Trump winning the 2024 South Carolina Republican Primary, so it's time to watch Weekend Update: Trump Wins South Carolina Primary, Biden Raises $56 Million For Campaign.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the Alabama Supreme Court ruling frozen embryos are children.

I was wondering if the South Carolina Republican Primary would be called early enough for it to be the lead story on Weekend Update. I shouldn't have been concerned; it was called just after 9:00 P.M. EST. On the one hand, that's not great for Trump; he's not getting the numbers Joe Biden got. I'm recycling my comment from George Santos sues Jimmy Kimmel and Trump sells sneakers for the other hand.

Nikki Haley is staying in for the same reasons Liz Cheney is opposing Trump: "As I wrote in July 2022, 'In Liz Cheney's case, she'd like her pre-2015 Republican Party back. I doubt she'll get it any time soon, so she'll settle for damaging TFG instead. I wish her luck.' She's certainly doing her best." Too bad her best won't be good enough to win the nomination.

But it might be enough to damage Trump. I hope she's happy with that. I know I am.

Weekend Update continued with Zombie Deer Disease, Red Lobster’s Endless Lobster Experience.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week’s biggest news, like a study showing women benefit from exercise more than men.

"Zombie deer disease" is formally known as Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a prion disease. That's as bad, if not worse, than COVID-19 in deer. Cooking deactivates viruses, but not prions. Yikes!

The joke about putting Romeo and Juliet where no one would see it on Paramount+ is a funny version of a whine I wrote six years ago and repeated the next year: "'The Good Fight'...only seems to earn Emmy nominations for its music. At least the musicians are watching the show; other branches of the Television Academy don't seem to be watching." Something similar has been going on with the Star Trek shows, as the hair and makeup artists are nominating it, including two Emmy nominations for Star Trek: Picard last year and five nominations for Star Trek: Picard in 2020 including two for makeup, one for hairstyling, and two for sound. At least the the Saturn Awards committees were watching and nominated the franchise for a bunch of awards and people like me voted for them. Let's see if the next season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fares any better with the entertainment professionals.

SNL hasn't uploaded the interviews from Weekend Update yet, so I'm ending this post with Trump Sneakers.

Things turn around for a struggling man (Shane Gillis) when he's gifted a pair of magical sneakers from Donald Trump.

"White Men Can Trump." Unfortunately, a lot of us can. Sigh. Also, SNL couldn't resist a "Biden is old" joke. Double sigh.

Enough topical humor. Stay tuned for a more evergreen post tomorrow.

Marching music for the 2024 Nevada Primary from University of Nevada, Reno, and UNLV

It's time for this year's edition of Marching music for the Nevada Primary! This is a continuation of my marching music for presidential primaries series — songs to listen and watch as my readers and I wait for results for results from the primary tonight and the Republican caucuses on Thursday. There are no competitive drum corps in Nevada, so I'm featuring the Silver State's top marching bands, beginning with SPACE - University of Nevada Wolf Pack Marching Band.

The University of Nevada Wolf Pack Marching Band performs SPACE. Musical selections include Also Sprach Zarathustra, Mars, Star Trek, and Space Oddity.

That's a pretty conventional selection of space-themed music, which reminds me that the Saturn Awards were Sunday night and Star Trek: Picard won four awards, while Star Trek: Strange New Worlds won one. I'll get to that in a future post, maybe as early as this weekend. In the meantime, I'm sharing UNLV 2015 LVI Performance.

UNLV's Star of Nevada Exhibition Performance at the Las Vegas Invitational at Las Vegas High School 11/7/15

This is the second best and second most recent complete performance I could find on YouTube. As I wrote four years ago, "The Star of Nevada Band could use better videographers among its fans!" The university could also record more of the band's shows!

I close with Joint Halftime by University of Nevada and UNLV #NevadaStrong from College Marching Productions.

Watch as the University of Nevada and UNLV combine at halftime to honor those lost in the Las Vegas Shooting

As I wrote about 11 Minutes in 'Retrograde' about the final 9 months of the U.S. in Afghanistan earned 6 nominations at the News & Doc Emmy Awards: "I took one look at the title and preview image and suspected this series was about the 2017 Las Vegas Massacre, coverage of which earned eight nominations and three awards at the 2018 News and Documentary Emmys. Nearly six years time hasn't made the incident any less horrific." That's still true today.

I'm skipping the Virgin Islands Caucus on Thursday, February 8, so watch for this series to return on February 27, 2024 for the Michigan Primary. Stay tuned.

Previous marching music for 2024 primaries and caucuses posts.

• Colts, Hawkeyes, Cyclones, and Rose Parade bands, marching music for the 2024 Iowa Caucuses
• The Spartans for a drum corps New Hampshire Primary
• Marching music for the 2024 South Carolina Primary — Carolina Crown, South Carolina, Clemson, and South Carolina State

My Saturn Awards votes for National Science Fiction Day 2024

I closed DC vs. Marvel on television and home entertainment at the Saturn Awards by telling my readers "I'll return to reveal my votes on National Science Fiction Day...Now off to vote!" Here are my votes.


FILM AWARDS
Best Action / Adventure Film: My vote — The Woman King
Best Actor in a Film: My vote — Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer)
Best Actress in a Film: My vote — Margot Robbie (Barbie)
Best Animated Film: My vote — Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Fantasy Film: My vote — Barbie
Best Film Costume Design: My vote — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Ruth E. Carter)
Best Film Direction: My vote — Greta Gerwig (Barbie)
Best Film Editing: My vote — Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker, Dirk Westervelt)
Best Film Make Up: My vote — Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 3 (Alexei Dmitriew, Lindsay Macgowen and Shane Mahan)
Best Film Music: My vote — Barbie (Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt)
Best Film Production Design: My vote — Barbie (Sara Greenwood)
Best Film Screenwriting: My vote — Barbie (Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach)
Best Film Visual / Special Effects: My vote — Avatar: The Way of Water (Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon, Daniel Barrett)
Best Horror Film: My vote — Renfield
Best Independent Film: My vote — Pearl
Best International Film: My vote — Speak No Evil (Denmark)
Best Science Fiction Film: My vote — Avatar: The Way of Water
Best Superhero Film: My vote — Guardians of the Galaxy - Volume 3
Best Supporting Actor in a Film: My vote — Ryan Gosling (Barbie)
Best Supporting Actress in a Film: My vote — Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Best Thriller Film: My vote — Oppenheimer
Best Younger Performer in a Film: My vote — Halle Bailey (The Little Mermaid)


TELEVISION AWARDS
Best Action / Adventure / Thriller Television Series: My vote — Outlander
Best Actor in a Television Series: My vote — Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us)
Best Actress in a Television Series: My vote — Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law)
Best Animated Television Series or Special: My vote — Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
Best Fantasy Television Series: My vote — Wednesday
Best Guest Star in a Television Series: My vote — Nick Offerman (The Last of Us)
Best Horror Television Series: My vote — The Last of Us
Best New Genre Television Series: My vote — The Last of Us
Best Science Fiction Television Series: My vote — Star Trek: Picard
Best Superhero Television Series: My vote — She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law
Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series: My vote — Ethan Peck (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)
Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series: My vote — Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Picard)
Best Television Presentation: My vote — Black Mirror
Best Young Performer in a Television Series: My vote — Jenna Ortega (Wednesday)


HOME ENTERTAINMENT AWARDS
Best 4K Home Media Release: My vote — Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Director's Edition 4K
Best Classic Film Home Media Release: My vote — The Manchurian Candidate 4K
Best Film Home Media Collection: My vote — Universal Classic Monsters: Icons of Horror, Volume 2
Best Television Home Media Release: My vote — Loki (Season 1) – 4K Steelbook

The awards will be presented on February 4th. Until then, happy National Science Fiction Day!

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
• 'Star Trek' vs. 'Star Wars' at the 51st Saturn Awards
• Horror, Fantasy, and Action/Adventure/Thriller TV nominees at the 51st Saturn Awards
• DC vs. Marvel on television and home entertainment at the Saturn Awards

'Star Trek' vs. 'Star Wars' at the 51st Saturn Awards

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.