Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

Gary Varner

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Beautiful little girl on nature with flowers
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
November 19, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Orville Episode 5: Bad Allegory — But Competent Writing

Competent writing is some compensation for an otherwise tedious exposition of transgender ideology
Gary Varner
November 19, 2022
6
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Last time, we began discussing The Orville, Season Three, Episode 5, A Tale of Two Topas. I mentioned that the episode was an allegory for children undergoing gender reassignment surgery. I suspected that they were affirming this practice because of the political nomenclature they used. However, it’s possible they weren’t. The fact that Topa was transitioned from a female to a male as an infant and now wishes to return to her original state suggests the very opposite of what the transgender movement claims. In this article, I shall discuss the subsequent plot and let the reader decide. I want to start out by saying the writing of this episode is far superior to the preceding ones. I hesitate to Read More ›

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Young couple with eyeglasses pose outdoors
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
November 12, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Orville Episode 5 Is an Allegory Done Right… Accidentally

Gary Varner
November 12, 2022
6
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

I’ll say this for Episode 5 of The Orville Season Three: Regardless of my personal opinions about the show’s message, structurally speaking, this was the most solid story so far. Previous episodes have been plagued by random scenes that don’t seem to correlate with each other and pretentious diatribes that would surely turn off a viewer who did not agree with the writer’s opinions to begin with. In this episode, I felt like I was dealing with a writer who, at least, knew what he or she was doing. And the amazing thing about this is that the higher quality in the writing raised the quality of the actors’ performances as well. Cast members who were stale and boring through Read More ›

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Science fiction scene.
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
November 5, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Episode 4: The Orville Writers Try Their Hand at Woke Messaging

No, it doesn’t work. In Season 3, the plot gently falls apart
Gary Varner
November 5, 2022
11
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Episode 4 of The Orville, Season 3, titled “Gently Falling Rain,” starts out strong and then gradually falls apart, in a way that is almost reminiscent of a frog slowly boiling in a pot of water. For most of the episode, there is only one really glaring plot hole and it’s easy enough to ignore. But then within the last quarter of the show, viewers are pounded with so much idiocy that we barely have time to realize what’s happened. As the episode opens, the hostile Krill are ready to sign a treaty with the Planetary Union. They’ve been taken to a futuristic Broadway production of Annie — it’s good to know that that little overplayed gem of a production Read More ›

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Man with conceptual spiritual body art
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 29, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Relationships, Science Fiction
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The Orville Crew Sails Into Hallucinations From Deathless Beings

The ETs’ Big Message is: Ignore such labels as man, husband, captain, explorer because they are all irrelevant. Embrace loss of individuality and sculpt the cosmos!
Gary Varner
October 29, 2022
10
Arts & Culture, Relationships, Science Fiction

As with Episode 2, Episode 3 of The Orville, Season 3, starts out with a great deal of promise only to completely fall apart at the end. However, I will say that — of all the episodes so far — the beginning of this story felt the most like Star Trek, in the sense that an anomaly shows up on the scanners, followed by a quirky scenario which promises a great deal of mystery to come. The crew detects a civilization on a planet that was previously understood to be desolate. Ed, Kelly, Talla, Bortus, and Gordon all land on the planet to find a lush forest and a high school. They enter the high school and are immediately trapped Read More ›

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male in protective hazmat suit disinfect public isolated spaces, carrying barrels, pathogen respiratory quarantine coronavirus covid-19 concept
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post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 22, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction
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The Orville Episode 2: Bacterial Assimilation? — It Gets Messy

A ship that crew members investigate turns out to be a deadly mixture of mechanical — and organic — material
Gary Varner
October 22, 2022
8
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction

Episode 2 of Season 3 opens with the Orville crew beginning its negotiations with the Krill, an aggressive reptilian species that has joined a temporary alliance with the Planetary Union of flight-capable species to counter the new threat from the Kaylon, an artificially intelligent species. A Krill moment: The Orville group begin by discussing routes through the Krill territory, so the Union can explore the regions of space on the other side. The discussion grows tense when the admiral who has boarded the Orville for the negotiations, Admiral Paul Christie, mentions exploring the Kalarr Expanse (the “Shadow Realm”). The Krill become nervous about this request, telling Ed Mercer and Kelly Grayson, and Christie that demons dwell there. And that they Read More ›

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Mechanized industry robot and human worker working together in future factory . Concept of artificial intelligence for industrial revolution and automation manufacturing process .
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post
Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 15, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Orville Episode 1: We Witness — a Robotic Resurrection!

In this final look at Episode 1 of Season Three, we see how love for a robot, unexamined, entails a loss of sense and meaning
Gary Varner
October 15, 2022
7
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

After I rolled my eyes for what felt like twenty minutes, waiting for the writers to quit wasting time with the whole “Isaac is really dead! We mean it!” routine, somebody finally realizes that there is a way to save the poor robot’s life. Apparently, the robot has a backup, of a backup, of a backup file buried deep inside his brain. The engineer, LaMarr, is fairly certain he can reconstruct Isaac’s programming using this secret backup file. If this sounds lazy and contrived to you, you’ll love this next part. Remember Charly, the girl who was super hateful to the robot at the beginning of the episode? Well, apparently, she is the newest high-ranking member in the crew, despite Read More ›

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White futuristic robot, crossed arms, unhappy face
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 8, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Psychology, Robotics, Science Fiction
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When a Robot Commits Suicide — an Elegy for What?

What’s frustrating about Episode 1 of Orville, Season Three is that robot Isaac’s claim to personhood is not ambiguous so much as confused and contradictory
Gary Varner
October 8, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Psychology, Robotics, Science Fiction

Last time, we began our review of The Orville, Season Three, by discussing the unorthodox relationship between Isaac, the ship’s token robot, and Dr. Claire Finn. The bottom line is that they were romantically involved until Isaac turned out to be a sleeper cell for his race of robots, the Kaylon, who controlled an entire planet. In a climactic moment, Isaac — because of his attachment to Dr. Finn’s son Ty — defeats his programming and saves the Orville. Unfortunately, however, in the battle between the Kaylon and the Union fleet, many Union soldiers were killed defeating the Kaylon — and most in the Orville’s crew have not forgotten it. Dr. Finn and Isaac’s relationship remains somewhat ambiguous. What feels Read More ›

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Thinking robot
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
October 1, 2022
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Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Robotics
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Should We Love or Hate an Intelligent Robot? Or Care at All?

In Season 3 of Orville that becomes a serious question
Gary Varner
October 1, 2022
6
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Robotics

The Orville Season 3 was recommended to me by a reader. I recall seeing a large portion of the first season and enjoying it. I had not watched the second season until preparing for this series of reviews. Unfortunately, I must say at the outset that I found myself very disappointed in Season Three, ironically called New Horizons because it only retreads about half of Season Two. This latest season fell far short of my expectations which were based on my memories of the first season. Still, we’re going to take a look at each episode and see where the problems lie. Before beginning our review of the first episode, a little prologue is required. During the midpoint of the Read More ›

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Abandoned railway tracks in the desert, Namibia
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 24, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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The MacGuffin: Big Fuss About Nothing Is Not Good Science Fiction

A MacGuffin creates a lot of action but doesn’t in any way advance the plot
Gary Varner
September 24, 2022
7
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

As with Time Travel, the MacGuffin plot risk comes in a variety of flavors. People bicker about the term, but Alfred Hitchcock (1863–1942) summarized the gist of it: A MacGuffin is “the thing the characters on the screen worry about but the audience don’t care.” The MacGuffin creates a lot of action but doesn’t in any way advance the plot. The action is not the problem. If the item contributes to the plot in a significant way — the One Ring from Lord of the Rings or the Dragon Balls from the Dragon Ball Series, for example — then it isn’t a MacGuffin. But if the item is inert and chased mainly because the characters want it, then it is Read More ›

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liar
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 17, 2022
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Arts & Culture
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Storytelling: The Liar is Revealed! But Does Anyone Still Care?

Stories where the central character lies about something important often waste audience time without building tension
Gary Varner
September 17, 2022
8
Arts & Culture

If there was one storytelling device (trope) I would call the bane of all good writing and a general waste of everyone’s time, it’s The Liar Revealed. With that trope, the dramatic tension is driven by the fact that the central character (the protagonist) is not who or what the others suppose. Pretty much every other trope can be made to work properly with the proper setup. But if a writer chooses to go with this cliché, just expect the movie to stop until the trope is finished playing out. Everything is on pause until the truth is revealed. What is the Liar Revealed? Well, as a trope, it’s not just whenever a character lies. The lies are not really Read More ›

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The Butterfly Effect - Big Blue Butterfly appearing to create ripples in pink green water surface with plenty of copy space below
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 10, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Science Fiction: Time Travel Can Work — If Clear Rules Are Chosen

I despise the Butterfly Effect in time travel stories because there is simply no way to establish what is at stake
Gary Varner
September 10, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Time travel is such a familiar story element (trope) in science fiction that it has a name, the Time Travel Trope. It annoys me — though much less than others — is the Time Travel trope. These story elements can drive classics such as The Terminator (1984) and utter garbage like A Sound of Thunder. (2005). Establishing the rules for time travel The main reason is that there are many different types of Time Travel stories as well as a variety of rules to go with them. The rules depend on which approach to time travel the writer chooses to take. The writer can chooses to go with the idea that the present and future are fixed, and regardless of Read More ›

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the rainbow colorful multiverse art background
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
September 3, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Madness: Why Sci-Fi Multiverse Stories Often Feel Boring

In a multiverse, every plot development, however implausible, is permitted because we know it won’t affect our return to the expected climax
Gary Varner
September 3, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Filmmakers communicate with audiences using common and accepted story devices (tropes) that viewers identify with — maybe the “average person takes the crown” or “love triangle.” Some tropes are overused or used in ways that undermine the story. In discussing what I think went wrong with Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and some similar films, I’ll use the word trope to refer to any story element that is used to push the plot. I find four tropes particularly annoying: the Multiverse, Time Travel, the Liar Revealed, and the MacGuffin Chase. Because I’ve just finished reviewing Multiverse of Madness, let’s start with the Multiverse trope. Before reviewing the Dr. Strange sequel, I’d written an essay, “Dr. Strange: Can Read More ›

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Futuristic multiverse world concept. Downtown with skyscrapers skyline under and cityscape over. Two parallel worlds. Alternative reality dimension
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 27, 2022
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Multiverse of Madness?: It’s a Letdown for the Marvel Universe

I can’t really recommend it because spectacle trumps any sense of the story hanging together and we can infer nothing from past events
Gary Varner
August 27, 2022
10

The Multiverse of Madness ends with America Chavez training at Kamar-Taj while Dr. Strange and Wong have a final conversation.All the Characters say their goodbyes and Dr. Strange returns home, prepared to move on with his life. Thing’s are looking pretty chipper — that is until a third eye opens on his forehead. This isn’t a big deal but I did think it was a little ridiculous to have a cliffhanger ending followed by a post-credits scene. At any rate, the post-credits scene includes a mysterious woman played by Charlize Theron show up out of nowhere. She tells Dr. Strange that he’s caused an Incursion — a collision between two universes, possibly as a result of multiverse travel. And together, Read More ›

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Planet illustration Earth Apocalypse
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 20, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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It’s the End of the Multiverse — And Yet No One Is in a Hurry?

Until close to the end, everyone continues to behave as if previous events and circumstances have no consequences and vital information is optional
Gary Varner
August 20, 2022
11
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Where were we? After the Mouse decided to disappoint the fans and humiliate a large portion of the Marvel Universe, we find Wanda chasing America Chavez, Christine, and Dr. Strange. She’s bloody and limping because she walked on a bunch of broken glass — and yet, our heroes are terrified of her. The scene looks great, and the concept was terrifying, so long as one forgets the fact that Wanda can fly and doesn’t ask why in the world she’d walk on glass when she could just float over it… At any rate, they reach the door leading to the Book of Vishanti, figure out the combination, and hop onto a platform where the book is resting on an odd-looking Read More ›

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First person perspective shot from a hiker sitting at the edge of a cliff at Angel's Landing in Zion National Park.
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 13, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Multiverse of Madness Skirts the Edges of Story Collapse

Oh well, it IS a multiverse, so maybe, in this reality, all the heroes stink
Gary Varner
August 13, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Just as Wanda Maximoff is about to catch America Chavez, she is met by the Illuminati, a team of superheroes which comprises Captain Carter, Captain Marvel, Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Mordo, and Professor X. Mordo and Professor X are not present, but Wanda must still face four heroes at once. There is only phrase which can describe the ensuing scene and that is missed opportunity. To understand why, we must first look at two major factors at play. First, the actor chosen to play Reed Richards is none other than Jared Krasinski, who is famous for his roles in the TV series (2005–2013) The Office and the film A Quiet Place (2018). Now, anyone remotely familiar with comic book films Read More ›

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Black hole bending the event horizon 3d
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
August 6, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Dr. Strange Finds a Universe Almost Like the One He Left…

But, like Schrödinger’s famous Cat, he is alive in one universe and dead in another
Gary Varner
August 6, 2022
8
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

In the Multiverse of Madness, where were we? Ah yes, Dr. Strange and America Chavez finally find themselves in the multiverse. They teleport through several universes until they land in a reality similar to their own. The first thing Strange wants to do is return to their reality, so he can save Wong, who is still trapped in the temple. However, America reminds him that she cannot control her powers, so they decide to visit the Dr. Strange of this world to see if they can find a way to help America. When they arrive at Strange’s home, they discover that the Dr. Strange of this world is dead. A monument to the fallen hero says he died defeating Thanos. Read More ›

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rock-paper-scissors
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
July 30, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Marvel Universe: Being All Powerful, It Turns Out, Is Very Boring

The Mirror Dimension in Multiverse of Madness dispenses with sharp intellectual conflict, opting for unexplained power plays instead
Gary Varner
July 30, 2022
8
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Last time, we talked abut the absurdity of the way the conflict between Wanda Maximoff and Dr. Strange is set up. That’s the conflict which leads us to the attack on the ultimate fortress of the Sorcerer Supreme, Kamar-Taj. Considering what we’ve been told, the temple and its defenses are lackluster, to say the least. Wanda breaks through them with ease but there is a more fundamental problem with the struggle as a whole: The writers appear to lack a proper of the understanding of how the magical characters in the Marvel Universe operate. Marvel’s original genius in developing superheroes included giving every character different strengths and weaknesses. The game is somewhat like Rock–Paper–Scissors where Superhero A can beat Superhero Read More ›

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Fantasy landscape with fog, water and stone.
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
July 23, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction
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The Only Mad People In Dr. Strange’s Multiverse Are The Writers

We don’t know why Wanda has morphed into a villain or why good and evil have become morally equivalent
Gary Varner
July 23, 2022
8
Arts & Culture, Ethics, Science Fiction

On our last delve into the Multiverse of Madness (2022), we followed Dr. Strange to Wanda Maximoff’s house. As the scene opens, it is clear that, controversially, Wanda has faced no repercussions for the events depicted in WandaVision. (2021). Tragically, Wanda has chosen to follow the words of the Dark hold — and those of us who watched WandaVision on Disney Plus will never get to see her struggle. So we don’t understand why she chose to listen to the words of the book. Nothing is accounted for. Wanda is just bad now, and we must accept it. Except — this is and isn’t true at the same time. On the one hand, the writers want us to understand that Read More ›

doctor-strange-is-coming-stockpack-adobe-stock
Doctor Strange is Coming
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
July 16, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Do Life History or Moral Choices Matter in a Multiverse?

In this third part of my extended review of Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, I look at how characters suddenly alter with no accounting
Gary Varner
July 16, 2022
9
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

Last week we covered the first scene of Multiverse of Madness (2022). This week, we’ll try to move a little faster. After a travesty of an opening scene, Doctor Strange wakes up from his dream about the multiverse just in time for his former girlfriend Christine’s wedding. Strange tries to be happy for her but it’s clear he’s not in a good humor. However, he doesn’t get to brood for long because a sudden attack from a random monster occurs in the city, and he flies off to save the day. During this fight, he discovers America Chavez. With some help from Wong, they manage to slay the monster and lead her to safety at a local restaurant… because, apparently, Read More ›

multiverse-conceptual-illustration-stockpack-adobe-stock
multiverse conceptual illustration
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Author
Gary Varner
Date
July 9, 2022
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Arts & Culture, Science Fiction
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Dr. Strange’s Multiverse of Madness Features Infinite Problems

The extensive edits to Sam Rami’s work as a director have left it riddled with plot holes and inconsistencies
Gary Varner
July 9, 2022
10
Arts & Culture, Science Fiction

In my review last week, I ranted about the multiverse as a concept in storytelling, and how the Mouse has used it an excuse to turn Wanda Maximoff into a sorry shadow of her former self. If I could describe the problems overall with the movie in one word, that word would be laziness. The multiverse is used as an excuse for all kinds of incoherent nonsense. Before going into detail, it is important to note that Multiverse of Madness (2022) went through massive reshoots before its release. Film aficionados have said that, while there are hints of Sam Rami’s directing style, they were very few in number and it is evident that the edits to the film were extensive. Read More ›