Daniel Tessier
Bio
I'm a terrible geek living in sunny Brighton on the Sussex coast in England. I enjoy writing about TV, comics, movies, LGBTQ issues and science.
Stories (46/0)
TNG: "The Outcast"
In 1992, Star Trek: The Next Generation featured an episode that was designed to finally explore LGBT issues through Star Trek's allegorical lens, something which had been virtually unexplored in all the seasons of Trek before. Well-intentioned as it was, "The Outcast" missed its mark and muddled its message, but in the process, managed to become something else that was ahead of its time.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Star Trek's Bisexuality Problem
As a bisexual man, I take notice when a bisexual character appears on film or TV. Bisexual characters are still uncommon, male ones particularly. It's something I've looked at in other articles lately, and there has been some positive bi-representation in recent years, but it's still a rarity. When a bisexual person appears on our screens, more often than not, their sexuality is presented as an indication that there's something wrong with them. Bi characters are more often than not villains, creeps and weirdos, in sf media especially. Frank N. Furter is, although a pop culture icon, a corrupting alien force. Sharon Stone plays a cruel, manipulative bisexual in Basic Instinct. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy's relationship is portrayed as positive, but they're still a pair of murderous villains. On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow progressed from straight relationships to exclusive lesbianism, but only her evil vampire parallel universe counterpart was bi (of course, prime Willow went evil for a bit as well, so I guess she was just bi enough).
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
SPANDEX lives!
There's a long history of LGBT comics hiding out in the small presses. For a long time, the big American publishers banned any mention of homosexuality under the Comics Code, and even after the code was ended, Marvel had a blanket ban on such things into the early nineties. British comics had a bit more leeway in theory, but since comics here were still viewed mainly as a kids' medium throughout the twentieth century they were affected heavily by the government's Section 28, which banned any positive depictions of homosexuality in schools but which had knock-on effects in any kid-focused media.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Geeks
- Top Story - August 2020
7 LGBT Superheroes for the MCUTop Story - August 2020
While DC/Warner Bros. have made strides including LGBT superheroes into their TV properties (albeit not such a great record on the movie front), Marvel/Disney is lagging behind. Things have been a little better at Fox, who've given us hints at Deadpool's bisexuality and paired him with the lesbian Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and made a series for the LGBT-friendly Runaways. Now that Disney has the rights to the Fox/X-Men characters, it's time they moved forward and gave us some serious LGBT representation on the big and small screens.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Geeks
REVIEW: Star Trek: Lower Decks 1-1
The first episode of the new animated comedy series Star Trek: Lower Decks has now been released for streaming on CBS Access, beginning a run of new Star Trek episodes that will last twenty-three weeks (the full first season of Lower Decks and the third season of Star Trek: Discovery). Lower Decks is, remarkably, the ninth full Star Trek series (tenth if you count the companion series Short Treks). The return of Star Trek to an animated format is a pretty big deal. Short Treks had a couple of very good animated episodes which experimented with different styles, but when most people think of a Trek cartoon, they'll think of the 1970s Star Trek: The Animated Series. This is definitely worth a look if you're a Trek fan, but it conjured up images of cheap, jerky animation and simplistic morals for kids.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Where No Man Has Gone Before?
The hot gossip in Star Trek circles is that James T. Kirk, the legendary captain of the USS Enterprise, will be appearing in the upcoming series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and that, in a big change to the character, he will now be bisexual. This has, unsurprisingly, sent some corners of fandom into apoplexy. But do those of use who want a more LGBT-friendly Trek universe want this change to Kirk's character?
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Five characters for Discovery season three
The third season of Star Trek: Discovery is due to hit sometime this year, and promises some big changes for the core characters. Having spent the first two seasons in the pre-Original Series 23rd century, the next season takes place in 3187, far further into the future than any of Star Trek's previous main settings.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Review: Red Dwarf: The Promised Land
You've got to admire Red Dwarf's ability to continually come back from the brink. The series has appeared to be dead so many times over the years, only to pop up again a few years later. The fifth, sixth, eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth series all looked like they could easily have been the last, and yet, here we are again, with a thirteenth installment of the long-running show.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Review: 'Star Trek Short Treks' 2-4 & 2-5
After three live action vignettes, the second set of Short Treks presents a double bill of animated shorts, the first animated Star Trek episodes for forty-five years. It's surprising that the franchise hasn't explored the animated medium more often. After all, it's much easier to create alien life forms, spectacular ships and strange new worlds in cartoon form than live action. However, while Star Trek: The Animated Series has experienced a reassessment in recent years, it's long had a poor reputation, and this has likely put the blocks on animated Trek for years.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Review: 'Star Trek: Short Treks' 2-1 & 2-2
The Short Treks format proved successful in its first run, with four short adventures that tied into Discovery. Of these, three were really very good, with only the opener “Runaway” seeming rather throwaway, and even that turned out to be surprisingly important for the resolution of Discovery's second season. The far future setting of “Calypso” laid hints for the finale of the second season and will doubtless tie in to the third, while “The Brightest Star” acted as a prequel to very important developments for Lt. Saru. Only the Harry Mudd episode “The Escape Artist” seem to be a completely standalone adventure, and even that may turn out to be more important later on.
By Daniel Tessier4 years ago in Futurism
Review: "The Escape Artist" - 'Star Trek: Short Treks' Episode Four
“The Escape Artist” rounds off a very mixed bag of mini-episodes that make up the first set of Short Treks. After a fun but wonky character piece with “Runaway,” an excellent sci-fi short with only tenuous links to the main series in “Calypso,” and a decent but unoriginal flashback in “The Brightest Star,” Short Treks explores one of the best received guest characters of Star Trek: Discovery.
By Daniel Tessier5 years ago in Futurism