You can never get enough Hornblower.
My dream Star Trek series is basically Horatio Hornblower In Space. Start out with a couple recent Federation academy graduates and follow those cadets as they work their way up the ranks of Starfleet. Kill off a couple eventually, have some leave the show, but eventually one becomes captain of their own ship.
Ironic that you are asking for Hornblower in space, given how thatâs how Gene Roddenberry pitched Star Trek to NBC back in the 60âs.
I always thought Roddenberry pitched it as Wagon Train in Space.
I think this is the correct pitch.
Hornblower in space would be amazing though. I had hoped thatâs what Star Trek Discovery would be, but it turned into something different.
I think Iâve mentioned before, but I want Hornblower in Star Warsâ Space.
Honor Harrington? Itâs not Star Trek but it is explicitly Horatio Hornblower in space.
Iâve heard good things about this series, but I can never get past how hideously ugly the book covers are. I know, I know, but come onâŚ
The first book is utter garbage. I canât comment on the series as a whole. Also it doesnât start off with the main character as a young midshipman who has to work their way up, instead we follow the story of an ultra competent ship captain who works their way up to⌠ship captain.
Aw man whyâd you spoil the ending, I was hanging out to find out if sheâd ever become captain.
He kinda pitched it as both:
Gene Roddenberryâs original pitch for Star Trek described the shipâs proposed hero (Robert April) as a âspace-age Captain Horatio Hornblowerâ . Both tales shared major themes centering on the captain of a ship far from home, depending on his vessel, a loyal crew, and his own considerable wits to resolve military and diplomatic crises threatening his countryâs interests. While clearly bearing Roddenberryâs stamp, the spirit of Hornblower and the age of sailing ships was evident throughout the franchise, and most prominent in original series episodes like âThe Corbomite Maneuverâ, âBalance of Terrorâ, âArenaâ and âThe Doomsday Machineâ, as well as the films Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .
About the âWagon Trainâ part, that was there too, of course:
The draft included the famous faux-Drake equation. It also described âStar Trekâ as a " âWagon Trainâ concept," referring to the long-running western television series Wagon Train. This reference was recrafted by a writing pal from Roddenberryâs early TV days, Samuel A. Peeples, who saw the draft proposal at a private dinner and coined the immortal phrase "Wagon Train to the Stars.
Hornblower didnât start that way either. They publish them now in chronological order of Hornblowerâs career but the first book is actually a short story collection. The stories were published at different times throughout Foresterâs career, thereâs no full novel about Hornblower as a midshipman. Also itâs not high literature but itâs a fun read, I definitely recommend it. The cover art is atrocious I will admit.
Iâm currently on book 14 of the Honor Harrington Series (Not counting the side novel series and various short story anthologies. Theyâre 30 Hour Audiobooks so they provide good return on credits.
Technically sheâs not Hornblower in space, sheâs Lord Admiral Nelson in space.
If you ever wanted explanation of why bluewater navy traditions exist, but just have it happen in space this is the series for you.
The rest of the book go something like this:
Book 2: Honor defend planet of the Weeby Space Mormons from the neighboring planet of the Extremist Weeby Space Mormons aided by the Space French.
Book 3: Space France delcares war against Space England, meanwhile the Space French Revolution happens.
Book 4: Honor shoots a couple of assholes in pistol duels. Is forcibly retired to her estate on Space Utah which she obtained at the end of book 2.
Book 5: Life on Space Utah running her estate, Space Utah isnât quite as civilized as Space England. They still only have sword duels instead of pistols.
Book 6: Out of retirement. Secret mission to the Space Barbary Coast which is adjacent to Space Germany.
Book 7: Honor and her ship are captured by âReign-of-Terrorâ Space France and send to Space Devilâs island.
Book 8: Honorâs escape from Space Devilâs island and various events having to do with the wider war.
Book 9: The fallout from âHonor was declared dead but isnâtâ, also the Space French have had enough of the âReign of terrorâ bullshit.
Book 10: Nobody wants another war but itâs happening because people are idiots. Space England is expanding into another area of space. One of the planets is literally named Montana and was settled by cattle ranchers.
Book 11: Honor loses a battle, and one of her friends (soon to be a series of her own) gets captured, the universe gets new military toy to play with. Honorâs relationships get more complicated.
Book 12: Secret attack on Space England Shipyards as the result of events of 4 seperate side novels that features Honorâs friend and Space Montana in one, and Space Haiti versus the Space Genetic Illuminati. Basically âGo read the side novel series or be somewhat lostâ.
Although hearing the exact same scene in three different books was kinda of annoying. You do find out that âSpace Germany doesnât put up with crapâ though.
Book 13: The Space Genetic Illuminati has managed to engineer war between Space Italy (which includes the actual planet Earth) and Space England. Space England, France, and Germany realize theyâre getting setup by the Space Genetic Illuminati, but Space Italy is the 4000 Super Dreadnaught Gorilla of Space so war is inevitable.
Book 14: Still in process of that one. So far Space Italy is beginning to realize they missed out of 70+ years of military technical development and refinement that was the result of Space England and France beating the crap out of each other.
These are very broad brushstrokes and Iâm not even mentioning even half the insanity that happens along the way.
Ok I donât know how I feel about having Space Hornblower be so literal as to have pistol and sword duels, and other obvious trappings of the age of sail simply âin-spacedâ
But might be worth one audible credit at a minimum.
The âPhysicsâ of the Universe favor was definitely crafted to mimic âAge of Sailâ (2-D combat, Broadsides, and Bow and Rear shots are especially deadly) However over time new technologies emerge that make âSpace Carriersâ practical, and giant Super Dreadnoughts become obsolete by more modern battlecruisers and missile cruisers.
Also the way Space France as it was written in the early was particularly annoying. Everyone had a guaranteed living stipend so 60% of the population didnât feel the need to work.
âGet Outâ. Itâs like I knew all the characters personally. The heiress hasâŚâuntowardâ desires.Her family, which is âacceptingâ of his differences, to a degree. The only differences was that his friends were able to get him out before any truly bad things happened.
George C. Scott in Patton reminded me of Dr. Strangelove, so I rewatched that classic. To finalize the Scott-a-thon, I watched The Changeling (1980), which is apparently a classic horror movie. I would guess itâs one of those early horror movies, alongside say The Exorcist, that defined a bunch of what are now horror tropes. Not much in the way of jump scares, refreshing to see a competent protagonist work through some shit, an actor who can act, and horror that plays by a consistent set of rulesâall good stuff!
The Changeling also partially set in Seattle, and includes a recognizable exterior shot of Rainier Tower and a shot ostensibly from the tower that has the Space Needle in the background. Why do I remember this tower from wandering through Seattle during PAX West? Itâs the one with the weird inverted base!
I even took a picture of it last PAX!
Hereditary was good. Lots of VVitch vibes.
Kung Fu Panda
Wow, this still looks amazing now even after 10 years of new CGI technology. Itâs also just a solid kung fu movie, with all the same tropes and stories. The fight sequences are truly spectacular, even as they avoid outright violence.
A minor quibble was all the unnecessary-seeming slapstick from the main character, but itâs all paid off in the final battle where every single clumsy thing he does in the rest of the movie becomes a fight move.
The voice acting for most of the main characters is great, except for Viper, Crane and Mantis. They cast big-name actors, but is Seth Rogen really the person you want to voice a kung fu expert with 20 years of training? Nope.
The first Kung Fu Panda is still the greatest Kung Fu Panda tbh.
