Entertainment
Real Technology Made Sci-Fi’s Scariest Movie A Joke
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
For nerds of a certain age, Logan’s Run (1976) is one of the scariest sci-fi series ever made. The movie features a dystopian future where mankind nonetheless lives in debaucherous harmony, surrounded by automated machinery that takes care of everyone’s needs. But as the opening crawl warns us, there’s a catch: once someone turns 30 (as evidenced by a crystal in their hands), they must kill themselves in a ritual known as “Carousel,” after which they will be allegedly reborn. In reality, there is no rebirth; everyone simply sacrifices themselves in order to forcibly create a society where everyone is young and happy.
Logan’s Run (currently streaming for free on Tubi) is particularly frightening to Millennials because it crystallizes our anxiety about our own mortality. Nothing like a cinematic reminder that death is creeping closer to all of us, day by day. As an added kick to the teeth, the Big Bad of the movie is an evil computer, emphasizing how AI may very well be the ultimate death of humanity. Ironically, though, modern technology has effectively made Logan’s Run a joke. Thanks to social media created by Zoomers and even Generation Alpha, Millennials have long felt shut out of a world driven almost exclusively by the whims and tastes of younger audiences.
Plus, trust me: it doesn’t take an evil AI to make us wish we were already dead!
No Country For Old Men
For longtime sci-fi fans, Logan’s Run will likely feel like a hodgepodge of genre concepts you may be familiar with from other media. The idea of voluntarily turning yourself in for extermination, for example, feels very similar to people flocking to the suicide booths in Soylent Green. This movie also has special agents assigned to hunt and kill those who run, a bit like Deckard hunting down replicants in Blade Runner. Of course, the idea of a computer with possible sinister motives running an entire society is present in multiple episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. On paper, all of this makes Logan’s Run very accessible, even to newcomers.
With all that being said, I can’t help but feel like modern technology has rendered the message and vibe of Logan’s Run largely redundant. I’m not even talking about AI here, though it is notable that our entire economy is propped up by attempts to make tech bros’ collective attempt to make their own evil computer. No, I’m talking about how social media sites such as Twitter and YouTube have made Millennials and older groups feel a bit like the characters in Logan’s Run: essentially dead to anyone over 30.
Never Trust Anyone Over 30 (Because They’re Dead)
In Logan’s Run, separating (permanently, as it turns out) older people from younger people was handled by an artificial intelligence, and the whole thing was baked into their bizarre culture. In the real world, no evil AIs are forcing people to unalive themselves when they turn 30 (at least, not yet). Nonetheless, older groups like Millennials still perceive a vast gulf between their culture and, say, Zoomer culture. Technology plays a major role in this because it destroyed something that older groups once considered indestructible: the monoculture.
Millennials and older demographics mostly grew up watching the same popular movies and breakout TV shows. They read the same newspapers and magazines that were popular nationwide, and they read the same great works of literature. The effect of this was what is now known as the monoculture: when almost everyone read and watched the same stuff, we all had the same cultural touchstones. If a movie had a funny line or two, they became part of our collective vernacular. We knew all the stars, all the quotes, all the pop culture moments. Like those in Logan’s Run, we had a shared culture that we all knew and understood.
A Shocking New Technology
But the internet, originally intended to unify the world, ended up tearing everything apart. Anyone with a camera could become famous, which led to the rise of influencers and micro-celebrities whose content was available at the press of a button. The monoculture was gone, quietly replaced by a series of niche cultures that are confusing and downright impenetrable to anyone outside of them. This leads, inevitably, to cultural isolation: how the heck is a Millennial raised by a television supposed to understand stuff like the looksmaxxing movement, which advocates hammers to the face as a way of achieving beauty?
One thing the fancy computer in Logan’s Run couldn’t predict was that real-world technology would create a faster, more disposable culture. Young people don’t get funny lines from movies or TV shows anymore; they get them from platforms like TikTok and YouTube, and this ephemeral slang disappears as quickly as it appears, replaced by something from the next viral vid. This is why Millennials and Gen X feel like they’re going insane trying to understand Zoomers: by the time you do figure out goofy words like “rizz” or “delulu,” these youngsters have already moved on, and they will point and laugh when you try to insert “gyatt” into the conversation.
In The Digital Age, You’re Already Dead
Obviously, language is used as a cultural signifier, and shared slang is a way of indicating you are part of the group. Hyper-online youngsters keep up with changing slang by constantly watching new videos from their favorite content creators. By the time someone as old as me tries to use outdated terms, it’s abundantly clear I am not part of the in-group. Without understanding something as foundational as the language being used, it becomes subsequently impossible for Millennials and older groups to understand the layered irony and deliberate brain rot embedded in the most popular Zoomer and Generation Alpha memes.
How does this all tie back to Logan’s Run? In that fictional world, technology simplified things by splitting society into two groups: an in-group of living young people and an out-group of 30-year-old corpses. The film is meant to dramatize anxieties about getting older and feeling out of touch and irrelevant over time. But in the real world, algorithms have split people into countless groups whose passions, humor, and even language are inscrutable to audiences born before the World Wide Web. We don’t have to be hunted and killed like in Logan’s Run; instead, Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers just slowly become quietly irrelevant, as if we were never born at all.
Is that bleak and depressing? You bet! But it could be worse: you could be getting actively hunted and murdered because the glowing crystal in your hand told everyone you had entered your dirty thirties. Carousel doesn’t exist in the real world, but you can experience the next best thing by streaming Logan’s Run for free on Tubi. By watching this classic film, you can be reborn as someone who enjoys all of the grace and understanding that comes with age. If that doesn’t work, don’t look to me for a pep talk: as a Millennial and a teacher, I’ve been waiting for young people to rise up and kill me for a long, long time!
Entertainment
The Best New Show Of The Year Is A Supernatural Comedy Horror On AppleTV
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
The 2026 television season has been a little lackluster so far when it comes to original, new series. The Boroughs was a fun binge on Netflix, Margo’s Got Money Troubles was a good comedy, but nothing can compare to the surprising success of Widow’s Bay on AppleTV. It’s a horror comedy, which might be the hardest combination of genres to pull off, that plays out like Twin Peaks meets Parks and Recreation. No show will leave you laughing so hard in one episode, before traumatizing you in the next.
Widow’s Bay Is The Most Original Show In Years
That odd mix of shows makes sense since Widow’s Bay was created by Katie Dippold, a writer for Parks and Recreation. The series takes place in the island town of Widow’s Bay in New England when Mayor Tom (Matthew Rhys) decides to boost tourism to the small community. The catch is that the community, primarily Wyck (Stephen Root) believes the island is cursed.
It’s not a spoiler to say that yes, yes it is cursed, and yes, there are real horrors at work on the island. That’s not surprising. What is surprising is the dry humor and Matthew Rhys’ perfect facial expressions, as the town’s residents will deliver the most absurd lines with a perfectly straight face. If you vibed with the humor of Parks and Recreation, you know what you’re getting into with the odd residents of Widow’s Bay, especially Kate O’Flynn as Tom’s assistant, Patricia. There’s a sequence with her involving a shotgun that is destined to be a social media hit for years to come, and one of those moments that you’ll think, “I’d do the same thing.”
Slapstick Comedy, Horror, And Amazing Sight Gags
Before starting your binge of the first season, avoid as many spoilers as you can. Widow’s Bay sets up mysteries early on with the chained church bell, the strange basement room, a rolling fogbank, and, while it’s not a supernatural mystery, how many Diet Cokes can Town Hall employee Dale consume? His desk is filled to the brim with cans. That can’t be healthy.
Keep your eyes peeled while watching Widow’s Bay as the production team was heavily influenced by The Simpsons usage of sight gags. Some are called out with blatant shots, others exist in the background of a conversation, but put together, they make the town of Widow’s Bay an absurdist version of Twin Peaks.
No one had supernatural slapstick down on their 2026 Bingo card, but here we are. While Netflix pulled the plug on The Boroughs, Widow’s Bay has already been confirmed for a second season, which is good considering the stakes-raising season finale ends by revealing a whole new layer to the mystery of the island. We have a long wait until Season 2 premieres, giving you plenty of time to watch the show of the Summer, and you can still convince your friends you were a fan of Widow’s Bay before it was cool. ]
Widow’s Bay Season 1 is now streaming on AppleTV.
Entertainment
Don’t pay $199 for Windows 11 Pro when it’s currently just $13
TL;DR: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro is down to just $12.97, giving users an easy OS upgrade with advanced security, productivity tools, gaming features, and Copilot AI.
Some upgrades just feel right. This is one of them.
If your PC has been running a little sluggish or you’ve been meaning to bring your system up to speed, Windows 11 Pro is just $12.97 (reg. $199) — a rare, time-sensitive offer that rewards quick, savvy decisions.
Mashable Deals
This isn’t about chasing trends; it’s more about giving your computer the modern foundation it deserves. Windows 11 Pro brings a sleeker UI, better multitasking, and enhanced security — all in a one-time lifetime license.
Think of it as the difference between driving a reliable car and suddenly upgrading to one with a smarter dashboard, smoother handling, and built-in security features.
For professionals, creators, and power users, this upgrade also unlocks features like Hyper-V, Windows Sandbox, BitLocker encryption, and seamless Azure AD integration — tools that make a real difference when you’re working across projects or managing sensitive data.
And yes, Windows 11 comes with Copilot, Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant that can summarize pages, change settings, or even help you generate code on the fly. It’s like having a co-pilot (literally) inside your OS.
Mashable Deals
But you don’t need convincing — you already know a smart upgrade when you see one. Get Windows 11 Pro for just $12.97 (reg. $199).
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Entertainment
Gene Roddenberry Secretly Fixed Star Trek’s Earliest Plot Hole
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Star Trek is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. Part of why that is so impressive is that this franchise has managed to maintain the same continuity for so many years. Sure, the Kelvinverse rebooted everything for a few movies, and we occasionally get glimpses of alternate universes with their own twisted history. But the main Trek timeline, from The Original Series through Starfleet Academy, has remained the same, which is an amazing creative achievement. But it also leads to something as annoying as it is inevitable: plot holes!
There are many seeming plot holes throughout the franchise. Heck, Starfleet Academy introduced more than its fair share in only one season. However, the earliest plothole goes back to William Shatner’s very first episode, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” This episode features a mock grave for James Tiberius Kirk that reads “James R. Kirk.” This weird screwup inspired decades of attempts by fans and creators to explain what happened. However, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a simple explanation from the very beginning. That is, the godlike character who created the tombstone was still fallible, meaning that this would be an in-universe screwup rather than a production error.
A Ghoulish Plot Hole
“Where No Man Has Gone Before” was actually the second pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It’s the episode that sold NBC on this new show, which isn’t surprising, because this is a great hour of television. Strange energy from the galactic barrier gives one of Captain Kirk’s best friends, Gary Mitchell, godlike powers. Those powers are getting stronger by the minute, so Kirk eventually has to make the difficult decision to kill his buddy in the name of keeping the entire ship (and quite possibly the entire galaxy) safe.
At one point, Mitchell uses his powers to summon a tombstone that reads “James R. Kirk.” It makes for a great threat, but there’s just one problem: the character’s name is James Tiberius Kirk. Incidentally, Gene Roddenberry seemingly knew Kirk’s middle name early on, even though it wasn’t officially revealed (outside of The Animated Series) until The Undiscovered Country. In the introduction to Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, Original Series writer D.C. Fontana claimed that once Roddenberry noticed the mistake, he came up with a quick and easy explanation. “Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but at base he was human. He made a mistake.”
Powers Like A God, Mind Like A Human
Unfortunately, Roddenberry kept this plot hole explanation to himself. I say “unfortunately” because this mistake sent fans into a tizzy trying to explain the discrepancy. On top of that, various Star Trek writers tried their hands at providing explanations. One such explanation came from Michael Jan Friedman’s non-canonical My Brother’s Keeper series. In these books, when the future captain meets Gary Mitchell, he claims his middle name is “Racquetball.” Later, when Kirk steamrolls through a discussion, Mitchell says the man’s middle name should be “Rhinoceros.” Therefore, Friedman explained that the “James R. Kirk” on the tombstone is just an in-joke between former friends.
Additionally, the late, great Star Trek writer Peter David tried his hand at an explanation. In his novel Q-Squared, the events of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” take place in a parallel reality in which Kirk’s middle initial really is “R.” In this non-canonical book, we also find out that Mitchell’s powers came from briefly being possessed by Q, who had to pull himself together across all of time and space. Quick side note: while Marvel has really played out the concept of multiverses, Q-Squared is an amazing novel, and every Trek fan should read it at least once.
These writers did their best to explain where “James R. Kirk” came from. On top of this, fans have constantly debated this issue, all trying to one-up each other in coming up with a suitable explanation for this plothole. As it turns out, though, none of this debating and speculating was necessary because Gene Roddenberry had the perfect explanation ready. Namely, that having the power of a god isn’t the same as having the unlimited knowledge of a god. It’s short, it’s simple, and it’s effective. Most of all, it does what Star Trek has always done best: keep the sci-fi storytelling centered around humanity.
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