And The Beat Goes On [Honkai Star Rail]

Some more thoughts on Honkai Star Rail:

I've played for a couple of years now, with some breaks - still playing through the Amphoreus storyline. Initially I was put off by the Ancient Greece-inspired setting but I've warmed to it over time, and what's really impressed me is the depth of the story. On several occasions I thought I was approaching the end of this chapter - how silly of me to think that completing the Flame Chase Journey would be the end! instead of reaching any kind of finale, the player is thrown backwards and forwards in time, and whole new layers of reality are uncovered, Matrix or Inception style, with new storylines and characters. 

The story also involves themes of death, loss and self-sacrifice explored in a deeper and more emotional way than storylines earlier in the game, although there are still plenty of comedic elements too.

For no particular reason I'll end this post with a video from the recent Honkai Star Rail concert livestream - a performance of one of the in-game songs, Sway To My Beat In Cosmos, by @chevyha , the voice of Robin.

 

Global Superpower [Review: The WONDERfools episode 1]

Started the first episode of The WONDERfools this week and was completely gripped. The episode opens on Eun Chae-ni (Park Eun-bin, star of Extraordinary Attorney Woo) who lives and works in her grandmother's restaurant, dreams of travelling, has a severe heart condition, no money and lots of punk attitude. Within the first 1-2 minutes there's a fantastic, character-defining scene where she takes on a group of street evangelists announcing the end of the world.

This opening episode is about establishing characters - in addition to Chae-ni, her family and friends, we also meet Lee Un-jeong (Cha Eun-woo), a very junior official in a government complaints office. Where Chae-ni is comically loud and punk, Un-jeong is the opposite, facing down the angry complainant that terrorizes everyone else in the office with a calm, deadpan response. It's early in the series but I feel like it isn't going to be a coincidence that these two have complementary personalities. 

The episode also establishes that there are links between several of the character, and that pretty much everyone is hiding something. This also applies to the setting, Haesong City, on the surface a regular mid-sized modern town but there are hints of mysterious goings on in the past and the present.

Although I've been looking forward to this series for a long time I didn't know what to expect, apart from a superhero TV show with a different tone from the MCU. I'm now fighting the urge to binge-watch and looking forward to wherever this series takes me.

The Visitor - theremin version

"The Visitor" Sienna Spiro

Theremin cover version played at Queen's Head Open Mic, 7.5.2026 on Lost Volts LV4. Accompaniment John Drummond. Thanks to Neil Dennis for the video.

Happy March 7th

A blessed March 7th to all those who celebrate!

Summertime (George Gershwin) - theremin version

Summertime by George Gershwin, performed on Lost Volts LV4 theremin at Cricketers Open Mic Night, 28th August 2025. Thanks to John Drummond johnsopenmics.uk for accompaniment.

Lost In Your Eyes - theremin version

Happy birthday Debbie Gibson! 

"Lost In Your Eyes" by Debbie Gibson (and the song fairies), performed on Lost Volts LV4 theremin.

Everybody Was Mok'Bara Fighting [Review: Star Trek Section 31]

A team of Section 31 special agents on the hunt for a rumoured superweapon must persuade space pub landlord, ex-Section 31 agent and even-more-ex-Mirror Universe evil dictator Phillipa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) to ally with them. It turns out this is not the only thing linking Georgiou and the weapon.

In Star Trek history, Section 31 is the Federation's secret service, sent to carry out covert, deniable missions that might be seen as clashing with the Federation's ideology or laws - a lot like Special Circumstances in Iain M. Banks' Culture novels, or perhaps the secret services of our own world. Section 31 first appeared in Deep Space 9 episodes. They have cropped up in Enterprise, Picard, Lower Decks and some of the recent films, and were central to the plot of Discovery, which also introduced Emperor Georgiou.

The Section 31 movie was in many ways not what I had expected. The films and episodes above give an impression of a sinister and super-efficient spy agency, possibly with a mild black leather fetish. It's a little surprising that the team of special agents in this movie, supposedly Section 31's elite, are actually a bunch of comical, clumsy, arguing misfits. How do they ever actually get anything done? And how did powered-armour-obsessive Zeph and work experience girl Rachel, in particular, qualify for the Star Trek equivalent of 00 status?

However this description misses the point of Section 31, which is really all about Georgiou - and about Michelle Yeoh. I first saw Yeoh in action in the mind-blowing martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yeoh is a talented actor who has appeared in a wide range of roles, not least Everything Everywhere All At Once, but Section 31 is designed to put her martial arts talents centre stage. This is an action-heavy movie in which no opportunity is missed for fantastic, joyous hand to hand combat - unusual in the phaser-heavy world of Star Trek.

Section 31 may not be the best Star Trek movie (obviously that's Galaxy Quest) but it's certainly the best Star Trek martial arts movie.

Score: Three stars out of five.

All movies reviewed on The Sci-Fi Gene blog are awarded three stars out of five.