Entertainment
Netflix Adding A Fantastic Alternate Reality Series Where Germany Won World War 2
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
It will always be a little strange to see a high-profile original series move from one streaming service to another, but as more and more discover the real money is in licensing out their productions versus streaming them themselves, it’s going to become more common. Amazon’s deal with Netflix involving the MGM catalog includes not only all of the James Bond films, but also 2015’s The Man in the High Castle, an alternate-history take on the world in which the Allies lost World War 2. The four seasons series is coming to Netflix on March 11 where again, the Netflix effect is going to turn the decade old show into another hit.
An Alternate World Where The Allies Lost World War 2
The Man in the High Castle might be worth the effort. The series loosely adapts the book by Philip K. Dick, very loosely, the two take place in the same world but the book goes further into mysticism, philosophy, and presents a far scarier world where the Nazi control of half the world has been completely normalized. By contrast, the television adaptation has a significantly larger cast with more of a focus on individualism, depicting a far more divided world, and it includes a guy by the name of Adolf Hitler.
The less you know about The Man in the High Castle when you go into it, the more you’ll be able to appreciate the wild twists and turns that the dystopian story takes in a world where no one is safe. It starts off with Joe Blake (Luke Kleintank) in New York, offering to drive a truck into the Neutral Zone (the Rockies) for the Resistance, while on the opposite coast, under rule of the Japanese, Juliana Crane (Alexa Davalos) is escorting a box of film to the Neutral Zone for the Resistance. Those films show a different world, one where the Allies won World War 2. Our world.
A Decade Later Man In The High Castle Is Going To Be A Hit
As far as hooks go, it’s a pretty good one. Fans and critics agreed that the first season was, at the time, a high point for an original streaming series weith a 95 percent fresh rating. The Man in the High Castle wobbles a bit under the weight of the story, and its cast of dozens of characters (including Rufus Sewell as an American officer who accepted the Third Reich’s offer to join them) to keep track of, but it levels out towards the end and finishes strong. Don’t worry, there’s no sudden cancelation cliffhanger here.
It will be interesting to see the response to The Man in the High Castle a few months after Peacemaker Season 2 tackled a similar plot. What if the Nazis won World War 2 is one of the most common thought experiments in the world of alternate history, but it’s never been done on the same scale and production budget as it was in the Amazon original series. On March 11, thanks to the power of Netflix, it will feel like the show, over a decade old at this point, is being discovered for the first time. Stay away from social media to avoid the spoilers, but more importantly, the inevitable “hot takes” that will do nothing but raise your blood pressure.
Entertainment
Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
SAVE 15%: As of April 22, you can get the Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $339.99, down from $399.99, at Amazon. That’s a 15% discount or $60 savings.
$339.99
at Amazon
$399.99
Save $60
Working off a laptop is great until you realize you only have two ports and need to plug something in. If you’re hooked up to an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you’re pretty much out of luck on the rest. Not only that, but your previously uncluttered desk will most likely look like a Best Buy exploded (a rat’s nest of cords isn’t cute or helpful for anyone getting work done).
If you literally hate mess and cords as much as I do, you need a docking station to hide all that chaos and protect your aesthetic. Right now, Anker’s Prime TB5 Docking Station is on sale for $339.99 at Amazon, down from $399.99. (That’s a $60 price cut.)
Mashable Deals
Are you going to use all 14 ports at the exact same time? Probably not, but you’ll never have to dig through your bag for a specific adapter again. You just plug a single cable into your laptop, and the dock handles the rest. It features a Thunderbolt 5 upstream port, two Thunderbolt 5 downstream ports, two USB-C ports, three USB-A ports, SD and TF card readers, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, an audio jack, and your choice of HDMI 2.1 or DisplayPort 2.1. It’s also fast enough to transfer a 150GB file in 25 seconds.
Entertainment
How I scored ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents
SAVE $26: As of April 22, returning subscribers can score two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for only 99 cents per month with the code N8C27L. Usually $13.99 per month, that’s $26 in savings. Just note that your mileage may vary.
$0.99/month for 2 months (save $13/month) with code N8C27L
If you’re looking to save some money on your streaming lineup, my number one recommendation is to cancel your subscriptions. While it doesn’t work for every streamer, many will offer you a special discount to come back. Not to mention, you’ll be eligible for any new deals that may appear that are marketed to “new and returning customers.” Case in point: as of April 22, returning subscribers can get two months of ad-free Paramount+ Premium for just 99 cents per month.
I’ve tested this out myself, so I can vouch for it. When you navigate to Paramount+ and sign in to your existing account, you’ll be prompted to pick a plan. Select the Paramount+ Premium monthly plan for $13.99 per month. On the “Welcome back!” page, scroll down to the box that says “Have a promo code?” and enter N8C27L. Once you hit “apply” the price should drop to just 99 cents per month.
Credit: Paramount+
That’s all, folks. You can take advantage of two full months of ad-free Paramount+, Showtime, BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, CBS live TV, UFC fights, and more for less than two bucks. That’s $26 total in savings.
Mashable Deals
Paramount+ has a surprisingly hefty library. Subscribers can enjoy Paramount+ Originals like Landman and RuPaul Drag Race All Stars, Showtime series like Dexter Resurrection and Yellowjackets, CBS hits like Survivor and NCIS, and nostalgic shows from Nickelodeon and MTV. Not to mention, there’s a lineup of movies that’ll keep you fully entertained for your two-month promotional period. Just be sure to cancel again before the second month is over if you want to avoid paying full cost. You can always sign up again when another deal arises. I know I will.
Entertainment
How Stargate SG-1 Used A Classic Trope To Emotionally Wreck Its Fans
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Garfield and Friends said it best: “Oh no, we’ve resorted to an evil twin storyline.” Star Trek: The Original Series did it the best with Mirror Universe Spock, and ever since, it’s been a lazy excuse for every series to use when they run out of ideas. The exception is Stargate SG-1’s sixth episode, “Cold Lazarus,” which plays with the trope by making the twin less evil and more confused.
When fans say they skip this episode when rewatching, it’s not because it’s a lazy, poorly written episode. In fact, it’s the opposite. The ending of “Cold Lazarus” is a pivotal character moment for Jack O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and a gut punch to the audience.
Stargate SG-1’s First Evil Twin
“Cold Lazarus” opens with the SG-1 team on a planet that doesn’t look like Vancouver (it was a giant pile of sulfur at the port of Vancouver). The desert landscape is dotted with shattered blue crystals that look like the remnants of a civilization until we see a crystal eye-view of O’Neill, a mysterious light knocks him out, and all of a sudden, a second O’Neill is looking down at the first. Turns out, the crystals are the civilization.
Fake O’Neill is trying to figure out who O’Neill is and what SGC is all about. When he pulls out photos of his family, it takes Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) by surprise. O’Neill’s never mentioned his wife, Sara, or his son, Charlie. Confused, the Fake O’Neill goes to the home, where Sara is disgusted he’d come by and thinks it’s a sick joke that he’s asking about Charlie. If you’re wondering if you missed a key part of O’Neill’s backstory, don’t worry, this is the first time that either Sara or Charlie is mentioned, and tragically, we soon learn why.
No One Ever Dies
Charlie shot himself with O’Neill’s gun. Fake O’Neill starts to piece this together when he goes into Charlie’s old room and breaks down, prompting Sara and him to finally have the conversation about their shared grief. Back in SGC, the crystal’s nature is revealed to be an energy alien calling itself Unity, which accidentally killed a Jaffa, and the Goa’uld shattered them in retribution. That’s when O’Neill stumbles back through the Stargate, and the team realizes the mistake they made.
The Fake O’Neill is soon captured at a local hospital, suffering from Earth’s radiation, where he explains that he sensed O’Neill’s pain after he took his form and wanted to help ease the suffering, as nothing ever truly dies to Unity. To prove its point, Unity transforms into Charlie, giving O’Neill and Sara one last chance to see their child. Fans who haven’t lost a child can understand the emotion, but for fans who have, this scene is emotional torture, in the best way possible.
Jack knows this isn’t Charlie, but he talks to him like he is, and then they walk together through the Stargate back to Unity’s planet. It’s a beautiful moment that explains so much about O’Neill’s throwing himself into work and how even his friendships remain professional. “Cold Lazarus” may have started out with the “evil twin” trope in full effect, but the ending is proof that even early during its run, Stargate SG-1 was going to be the greatest.
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Get Ankers 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock for $60 less at Amazon
