In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase was completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.
In 1808, the original Garden Theatre in London was destroyed by a fire, along with most of the scenery, costumes, and scripts.
In 1939, actress Kathryn Joosten was born. She was the absolutely magnificent Mrs. Landingham in The West Wing.
In 1946, the popular Christmas film It’s a Wonderful Life was first released in New York City.
Also in 1946, director, producer, and screenwriter Dick Wolf was born. Among other properties, he is best known for the immense Law & Order franchise.
In 1950, Harvey premiered.
In 1951, the EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho became the first nuclear power plant to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs. (Captain Jean-Luc Picard could not be reached for comment.)
In 1952, actress Jenny Agutter was born.
In 1955, Cardiff was proclaimed the capital city of Wales, United Kingdom.
In 1970, actress Nicole de Boer was born.
In 1989, the United States invasion of Panama deposed Manuel Noriega.
In 2007, Elizabeth II became the oldest monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years and 243 days.
December 20th is International Human Solidarity Day, an international annual unity day of the United Nations.
The observance was established under the influence of the U.N. Millennium Declaration that determines the civil and political rights of an individual in the modern era by establishing the foreign relations between the member states and the United Nations. It promotes the importance of sharing and the culture of solidarity to combat poverty and to encourage governments, NGOs, and almost every individual to organize programs and debates, on either a national or international level, so that poverty can be reduced by spreading the awareness.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
December 19th is the 354th day of the year. It is Goa Liberation Day, commemorating the Indian Army’s invasion of Portuguese territories on the Indian subcontinent that they refused to surrender after India gained independence from British rule in 1947. On December 19, 1961, Operation Vijay resulted in the annexation of Goa and of the Daman and Diu islands into the Indian union. On May 30, 1987, the union territory was split, and Goa was made India’s twenty-fifth state, with Daman and Diu remaining a union territory.
In 1606, the ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery departed England, carrying settlers who founded, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.
In 1714, astronomer and educator John Winthrop was born.
In 1825, violinist and composer George Frederick Bristow was born.
In 1924, the last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was sold in London, England.
In 1932, BBC World Service began broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service.
In 1961, English actor and author Matthew Waterhouse was born. He played Adric in Doctor Who.
In 1963, model and actress Jennifer Beals was born.
In 1972, actress Alyssa Milano was born.
In 1974, the ninth James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun, premiered.
In 1975, Canadian composer Jeremy Soule was born.
In 1980, actor and producer Jake Gyllenhaal was born.
In 1986, Platoon premiered.
In 1995, the United States Government restored federal recognition to the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Native American tribe.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton was impeached by the United States House of Representatives, becoming the second President of the United States to be impeached. Andrew Johnson was the first, and Donald Trump was the third (and latest).
In 2013, spacecraft Gaia was launched by European Space Agency.
December 19th is National Heroes and Heroines Day in Anguilla. It is a day to celebrate and remember all those who have made important contributions to the nation.
As a British overseas territory in the Easter Caribbean, Anguilla was joined to St. Kitts and Nevis as an associated statehood in 1962. Resentment against this political decision festered, and in May 1967, the people of Anguilla marched on the Police Headquarters and evicted the Royal St. Kitts Police Force from the island.
On December 19, 1980, Anguilla fully seceded from the association. This date was marked by a public holiday called Separation Day, but in the years since, the Government of Anguilla has renamed the holiday to National Heroes and Heroines Day. The holiday became a general celebration of the people who have played an important role in the history of Anguilla and made significant sacrifices for the prosperity of this small but proud island nation.
The holiday also honors the revolution in 1967, including memorial services for those involved. The services are accompanied by parades and music performances and the whole day is observed as a joyous celebration rather than solemn remembrance.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
December 18th is the 353rd day of the year. It is United Nations Arabic Language Day, established by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010 seeking “to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six of its official working languages throughout the organization”. The date was chosen since it was the “day in 1973 when the General Assembly approved Arabic as an official UN language “.
In 1271, Kublai Khan renamed his empire “Yuan” (元 yuán), officially marking the start of the Yuan dynasty of Mongolia and China.
In 1499, a rebellion broke out in Alpujarras in response to the forced conversions of Muslims in Spain.
In 1734, French conductor and composer Jean-Baptiste Rey was born. He remains the longest-serving conductor of the Paris Opera, with a tenure spanning from the last years of the monarchy to Napoleon’s Empire (1776–1810).
In 1777, the United States celebrated its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the American rebels over British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga in October.
In 1833, the national anthem of the Russian Empire, “God Save the Tsar!”, was first performed.
In 1865, United States Secretary of State William Seward proclaimed the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment, thus prohibiting slavery throughout the country.
In 1892, The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky premiered in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
In 1898, Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat set the first officially recognized land speed record of 39.245 mph (63.159 kph) in a Jeantaud electric car.
In 1938, actor Roger E. Mosley was born.
In 1946, director, producer, and screenwriter Steven Spielberg was born. He co-founded Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures, where he has also served as a producer or executive producer for several successful film trilogies, tetralogies and more including the Gremlins, Back to the Future, Men in Black, and the Transformers series.
In 1950, movie critic Leonard Maltin was born.
In 1958, Project SCORE, the world’s first communications satellite, was launched.
In 1963, actor and producer Brad Pitt was born.
Also in 1963, the first film in The Pink Panther series premiered.
In 1964, The Pink Panther cartoons premiered.
In 1966, Saturn’s moon Epimetheus was discovered by astronomer Richard Walker.
Also in 1966, Dr. Seuss’ “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” aired for the first time on television.
In 1968, actor Casper Van Dien was born.
In 1969, the sixth James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, premiered.
In 1973, Soyuz 13, crewed by cosmonauts Valentin Lebedev and Pyotr Klimuk, was launched from Baikonur in the Soviet Union.
In 1974, artist and television personality Kari Byron was born.
In 1976, Wonder Woman premiered on television.
In 1978, actress Katie Holmes was born.
In 1999, NASA launched the Terra platform into orbit. It carried five Earth Observation instruments, including the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES), the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT).
In 2006, the United Arab Emirates held its first-ever elections.
In 2009, Avatar premiered, eventually becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. It would eventually be pushed into third place by Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
In 1990, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, establishing the foundations for International Migrants Day.
The day highlights the contributions made by the roughly 272 million migrants worldwide, including more than 41 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and the challenges they face. In 1997, Filipino and other Asian migrant organizations began celebrating and promoting December 18t as the International Day of Solidarity with Migrants. Building on this initiative, with support from Migrant Rights International and the Steering Committee for the Global Campaign for Ratification of the International Convention on Migrants’ Rights and many other organizations, the observation’s supporters began campaigning for an official designation, which was finally proclaimed on December 4, 2000.
That was an important step for the migrant community and a rallying point for all those concerned with the protection of migrants. The United Nations invited all member states and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to observe this day by disseminating information on human rights and fundamental freedoms of migrants, sharing experiences, and undertaking action to ensure the protection of migrants.
International Migrants Day is seen as an opportunity to recognize the contributions made by millions of migrants to the economies of their host and home countries promotes respect for their basic human rights.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
December 17th is the 352nd day of the year. It is International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Originally conceived as a memorial and vigil for the victims of the Green River Killer in Seattle, Washington, the event has since evolved into a call to attention against hate crimes committed against sex workers worldwide, as well as the need to remove the social stigma and discrimination that have contributed to violence against sex workers, indifference from the communities they are part of, and the customs and prohibitionist laws that perpetuate such violence.
In 497 BC, the first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. Saturnalia was a festival in honor of the god Saturn. It was held on December 17th of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to December 23rd, with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, a public banquet, private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms complete with gambling and masters providing table service for their slaves. It was seen as a time of liberty for both slaves and freedmen alike, and is believed to have influenced the later western European traditions associated with Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and Epiphany.
In 1777, France formally recognizes the United States during the American Revolution.
In 1862, during the American Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. Grant issued the anti-Semitic order in an effort to reduce Union military corruption and to stop an illicit trade of Southern cotton, which Grant thought was being run “mostly by Jews and other unprincipled traders.” Jewish community leaders protested, and there was an outcry by members of Congress and the press. President Abraham Lincoln countermanded the General Order on January 4, 1863.
In 1865, the first performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert was conducted.
In 1892, the first issue of Vogue was published.
In 1903, the Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
In 1908, chemist and academic Willard Libby was born. He was noted for his role in the 1949 development of radiocarbon dating, a process which revolutionized archaeology and paleontology. For his contributions to the team that developed this process, Libby was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960.
In 1938, Otto Hahn discovered the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.
In 1940, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter María Elena Velasco was born.
In 1944, English actor Bernard Hill was born.
In 1945, actor Ernie Hudson was born.
In 1946, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter Eugene Levy was born.
In 1953, actor Bill Pullman was born.
In 1957, the United States successfully launched the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In 1964, the third James Bond film, Goldfinger, premiered.
In 1971, the seventh James Bond film, Diamonds are Forever, premiered.
In 1973, director, producer, and screenwriter Rian Johnson was born.
In 1974, actress Sarah Paulson was born.
In 1975, Ukrainian-American actress Milla Jovovich was born.
In 1989, The Simpsons premiered on television with the episode “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”.
In 2014, the United States and Cuba re-established diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.
December 17th is Pan American Aviation Day, a United States Federal Observance Day that, according to According to 36 USC § 134, calls on “all officials of the United States Government, the chief executive offices of the States, territories, and possessions of the United States, and all citizens to participate in the observance of Pan American Aviation Day to further, and stimulate interest in, aviation in the American countries as an important stimulus to the further development of more rapid communications and a cultural development between the countries of the Western Hemisphere.”
The date commemorates the first successful flight of a mechanically propelled heavier-than-air craft, accomplished on this date in 1903 by the Wright brothers near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
It’s no disc on four elephants on a turtle, but it’s still home.
Behind-the scenes: Because Series Five started a franchise trend of related mini-episodes and prequels for certain stories, I’ll start including them where appropriate.
Meanwhile in the TARDIS, Part I
Shortly after departing Leadworth, Amy bombards the Doctor with a stream of non-stop questions. How does the TARDIS retain its air supply? Why did he label a time machine “police box”? Where are the other windows which are on the exterior of the TARDIS? What is a police box and is the Doctor a policeman? Has he seen his haircut? Does he ever need to change the bulb on top the TARDIS?
She also considers the bow tie to be a cry for help.
The Doctor answers most of the questions, which Amy follows with one more question: Is the Doctor an alien? He tells her that she’s the alien and that this is what he really looks like. He also opens the doors and shows her the depths of space.
When she says that they look more like a Hollywood special effects display, he throws her into the dark.
The Beast Below
On the Starship UK, children sit in class waiting to be graded by their instructor, a Smiler. A boy named Timmy doesn’t want to join, but when he does, he gets graded as a failure. Students who have a zero grade aren’t allowed to take the Vator lift with their classmates. Not wanting to take the stairs to the London deck, he sneaks onto the other elevator car, but this car takes him to Level 0 and a bottomless chasm into which the Smiler tosses him with an evil sneer.
Back at the TARDIS, Amy is floating in space with the Doctor holding her by a single ankle. He has extended the air shield so they can breathe while watching the cosmos. He spots the Starship UK, a refuge for humanity after the Earth was burned by solar flares, and sets a course.
While Amy watches the monitor, the Doctor appears on the screen and beckons her to join him. She’s surprised, but exits the TARDIS and wanders the starship in her nightgown. The Doctor takes a glass of water and sets it on the deck, proclaims that he’s looking for an escaped fish, and tells Amy to keep an eye open for secrets, shadows, and lives lived in fear.
As they wander, a cloaked figure calls a man named Hawthorne, who then relays the information about the Doctor’s presence to a woman surrounded by glasses of water. Meanwhile, the Doctor explains that they’re looking for a girl named Mandy, points out the Smilers as peculiar, and leaves Amy to pursue Mandy (Timmy’s friend) while he tries to stay out of trouble.
Amy finds Mandy, who tells her that they’re path is blocked by a hole at Magpie Electricals. Amy tries to pick the lock guarding the hole while talking to Mandy about herself. When Amy takes a peek inside, a nearby Smiler turns to the evil face as Amy finds a tentacle with a stinger on the end. When she leaves the tent, she’s surrounded by cloaked figures who gas her.
The Doctor descends into the engine room and finds the mysterious cloaked woman and a glass of water. When pressed, he explains that an engine the size of that needed to propel the ship would cause ripples in the water, but the surface is still. Additionally, there are no couplings in the electrical boxes and no engine whatsoever. The woman, Liz Ten, asks for his help before providing him with Amy’s whereabouts and vanishing.
Amy regains consciousness in a booth where her name (Amelia Jessica Pond), age (1,306), and marital status (unknown) are displayed before she’s offered the truth about the starship and two options: Protest or Forget. Should only one percent of the population protest, the project will be discontinued with consequences for all. She views the video and presses Forget, but then sees a video from herself begging her to find the Doctor and get off the ship immediately.
The Doctor opens the booth with Mandy on his heels and reveals that her recent memories were erased. They discuss the similarities between Time Lords and humans, as well as the remnants of his people. The Doctor decides to bring down the government by slamming the Protest button. The deck opens to the chasm below and he and Amy are dropped into a slimy pit full of biological refuse.
It turns out that it’s a mouth, as pipes have been surgically implanted they can use the normal path to escape, but the mouth is closed. To prevent being swallowed, the Doctor triggers the vomit reflex and the pair land in an overspill pipe. They find a Forget button, but when they refuse to press it, two Smilers approach menacingly. A maskless Liz Ten bursts in with Mandy and shoots the robots, but when they start repairing themselves, the group moves on.
Liz Ten muses about the Doctor and his history with royalty, revealing that she is Elizabeth the Tenth, the Queen. They spot more of the roots (the tentacles) behind barriers and retreat to Liz’s quarters. The Doctor muses to Amy that they shouldn’t be here. They are interrupted by the cloaked figures, Winders who are half-human and half-Smiler, and taken to the dungeons (the Tower) to meet with Hawthorne.
In the Tower, they find evidence that the starship is being propelled by a large, captive creature that is being tortured to keep them moving. Liz Ten demands that they release the creature with her authority, but Hawthorne doesn’t budge. The Doctor shows her the mask that she wears, noting that it’s an antique, and proving that her body clock has been slowed. She’s been on the throne for hundreds of years, forced over time to either Forget or Abdicate.
She watches a pre-recorded video of herself explaining that they lacked the resources to build a suitable ship, but they found the last of the star whales and decided to ride it to safety. Despite being heartbreaking, the choice saved them all. To abdicate would mean destroying the ship and killing humanity to save the creature.
This is what Amy chose to forget, a choice that makes the Doctor furious.
The Doctor is faced with three options: Leave the star whale in captivity, kill all of humanity, or turn the creature into a vegetable to save them all. The Doctor starts setting up option three while Amy sees Mandy reunited with Timmy (who doesn’t recognize her) and then caress one the tentacles like a pet.
Amy decides to force Liz to abdicate, but instead of destroying the ship, the vessel speeds up. Amy recognized that the creature had volunteered to save the children of humanity, comparing the star whale to the Doctor. Later, the Doctor gazes out at the stars as Amy arrives with Liz’s mask. There will be no more secrets on Starship UK, and the Doctor and Amy make amends to each other.
They return to the TARDIS, and Amy starts to reveal the reason that she needs to get back tomorrow morning, but they are interrupted by the console phone. On the other end is British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, asking for help as the shadow of a Dalek is cast on the wall of his office.
The Doctor sets a course, leaving the star whale and her wards to sail the stars, unaware of a glowing crack on the hull similar to the one that graced Amy’s wall at home.
We see an evolution of the Doctor in his first outing in this incarnation. Growing from the trauma of the Time War, we finally see hints of acceptance and resolve to never be cowardly or cruel, to never give up, and to never give in. In fact, when the resolution to this story seems to be the mental death of a magnificent creature to save everyone, he is ready to sacrifice the name of Doctor as a result.
In a similar story twist as The Doctor Dances, doing the thing that was supposed to end the world actually saves it. It was so good to see Amy take command of the situation based on what she’s observed. Smart companions are a winner with me. It’s also an extension of The Runaway Bride as a companion pleads with the Doctor to find another solution. In this case, the companion is successful.
Steven Moffat does take a serious shortcut here with easy entry points for the franchise: This story echoes The End of the World with a new Doctor taking a new companion to the distant future where they muse about the fall of Earth, the future of humanity, and talk about mothers while standing in front of large windows staring into space. Is it cheap? Sure, but it works.
I did love the rapid fire rush through the history of the Doctor and the monarchy, from Queen Victoria to Queen Elizabeth II and even a bit more of the story about a marriage to Queen Elizabeth I. I also got a kick out of some current events getting a nod with a discussion of Scottish independence, and I’m amused by the Doctor’s personality as he tries to be hip and modern. It’s very much “How do you do, fellow kids?”.
All of these things combined made for an exciting adventure that showcases the strength and abilities of Amy as a companion.
The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.
December 16th is the 351st day of the year. It is National Day, celebrating the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from Bahrain, making Bahrain an independent emirate in 1971.
In Christianity, it is also the beginning of the nine-day celebration, spanning December 16 to December 24, that marks the trials which Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born. This includes Las Posadas in Latin America and the Simbang Gabi novena of masses in the Philippines.
In 1773, members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dumped hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act. The event became known as the Boston Tea Party.
In 1775, English novelist Jane Austen was born.
In 1907, the Great White Fleet began its circumnavigation of the world. The fleet, tasked to demonstrate growing American military power and blue-water navy capability, consisted of 16 United States Navy battleships divided into two squadrons along with their escorts. The nickname came from the stark white paint job on the ship’s hulls.
In 1913, Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week.
In 1917, British science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke was born.
In 1928, philosopher and author Philip K. Dick was born.
In 1929, Egyptian-English actor Nicholas Courtney was born. He was best known as Brigadier General Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart from Doctor Who.
In 1937, Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempted to escape from the federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. Neither was ever seen again.
In 1941, journalist and actress Leslie Stahl was born.
In 1943, television producer Steven Bochco was born.
In 1944, the Battle of the Bulge during World War II began with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest. It lasted for approximately one month.
In 1947, William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain built the first practical point-contact transistor.
Also in 1947, actor Ben Cross was born.
In 1950, child star Shirley Temple announced her retirement from films at the age of 22.
Also in 1950, actress Caroline Munro was born.
In 1963, actor Benjamin Bratt was born.
In 1967, actress Miranda Otto was born.
In 1971, the ceasefire of the Pakistan Army brought an end to both the Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. This is commemorated annually as Victory Day in Bangladesh and as Vijay Diwas in India.
In 1981, actress, musician, and model Krysten Ritter was born.
In 1985, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti were shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumed leadership of New York’s Gambino crime family.
Also in 1985, The Color Purple, the film by Steven Spielberg based on the novel by Alice Walker, premiered in New York City.
As mentioned earlier, December 16th is unofficially observed as Barbie and Barney Backlash Day, a day for parents to take a vacation from repetitive sing-a-longs and storytelling of children’s programming.
Of course, Barbie and Barney aren’t the only toys and television show of childhood, but the fashion doll and the sing-song dinosaur were the ones to strike a nerve when this day was created. It gives parents a reminder that turning off the television can be a good thing, replacing them with activities like reading and use of constructive toys.
Where did it come from? Who knows. But someone cared enough to make it a thing.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
December 15th is the 350th day of the year. It is International Tea Day in tea producing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania. Not to be confused with the United Nations day of the same name, International Tea Day aims to draw global attention of governments and citizens to the impact of the global tea trade on workers and growers, and has been linked to requests for price supports and fair trade.
In 1025, Constantine VIII became sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, 63 years after being crowned co-emperor.
In 1791, the United States Bill of Rights became law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
In 1832, French architect and engineer Gustave Eiffel was born. He co-designed the Eiffel Tower.
In 1852, French physicist and chemist Henri Becquerel was born. He was the first person to discover evidence of radioactivity. For work in this field he, along with Marie Skłodowska-Curie (Marie Curie) and Pierre Curie received the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics. The SI unit for radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq), was named after him.
In 1906, the London Underground’s Great Northern, Piccadilly, and Brompton Railway opened.
In 1923, English-American physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson was born. He was known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, and engineering.
In 1939, Gone with the Wind premiered at Loew’s Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. The theater was extensively damaged as the result of a fire on January 30, 1978, and the Georgia-Pacific Tower now stands on the site. The film is the top-grossing movie in history (when adjusted for inflation) in the United States.
In 1948, Australian actress Cassandra Harris was born.
In 1949, actor Don Johnson was born.
In 1963, actress Helen Slater was born.
In 1965, Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, was launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieved the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.
In 1968, actor Garrett Wang was born.
In 1970, Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully landed on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet.
Also in 1970, Canadian actor, screenwriter and director Michael Shanks was born.
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association voted 13-0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.
In 1981, English actress Michelle Dockery was born.
In 1982, English actor Charlie Cox was born.
In 1983, English actress Camilla Luddington was born.
In 2001, the Leaning Tower of Pisa reopened after 11 years and $27,000,000 spent to stabilize it. The famous lean was maintained.
December 15th is Koninkrijksdag (Kingdom Day), the commemoration of the signing of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands on December 15, 1954 in Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten.
The charter was signed by Queen Juliana and deals with the relation between the Netherlands and the overseas territories, the Netherlands Antilles, Netherlands New Guinea and Suriname. The charter governs the relationships between the Netherlands, Aruba (since 1986), Curaçao (since 2010), and Sint Maarten (since 2010).
Since 2005, the Koninkrijksconcert (Kingdom Concert) is annually held on December 15th to celebrate the relationship between Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, and Aruba. At the concerts, that were held in respectively Dordrecht, Amersfoort, Nijmegen, and Curaçao, musical artists from all over the kingdom have performed.
In 2008, Naturalisatiedag (Naturalization Day) in the Kingdom of the Netherlands was moved from August 24th, the day on which the Constitution of the Netherlands was signed, to December 15th, which has a symbolic meaning for all constituent countries of the kingdom. On Naturalization Day, newly naturalized citizens officially receive their Dutch citizenship.
When December 15th falls on a Sunday, the commemoration takes place on December 16th.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
Culture on My Mind Disney Investor’s Call 2020
December 18, 2020
This week, I’m thinking Disney.
It’s been a weekend since the Disney Investor’s Call, but it’s taken a few days to parse all of the news from the four-hour long presentation on all things Disney, including Star Wars and Marvel Studios.
It was almost like a mini-D23 Expo to close out a troubling year. But it did come with news that the Mouse House was planning on expanding their streaming offerings within the next few years, including around 10 Marvel series, 10 Star Wars series, 15 additional series under the Disney banner (Disney animation, Pixar, and live action), and 15 completely new movies under those same banners.
There will be a price hike on Disney+ to cover it. The service is going to $7.99 a month in the United States, coming from the 86 million subscribers they picked up in the first thirteen months as well as anyone else who wants in on what the House of Mouse has in store.
Raya and the Last Dragon
Long ago, in the fantasy world of Kumandra in ancient Asia, humans and dragons lived together in harmony. But when sinister monsters known as the Druun threatened the land, the dragons sacrificed themselves to save humanity. Now, 500 years later, those same monsters have returned and it’s up to a lone warrior, Raya, to track down the last dragon in order to finally stop the Druun for good. However, along her journey, she’ll learn that it’ll take more than dragon magic to save the world—it’s going to take trust as well.
This computer-animated adventure film stars Kelly Marie Tran as the titular Raya and Awkwafina as Sisu, the last dragon. It is directed by Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, co-directed by Paul Briggs and John Ripa, produced by Osnat Shurer and Peter Del Vecho, written by Qui Nguyen and Adele Lim, and scored by James Newton Howard.
This film was originally set for a November 2020 theatrical release, but due to COVID-19 it was pushed back to late March 2021. The investor call revealed that it will be released to Disney+ on March 5th alongside a theatrical release. The streaming release will be on the Premium Access side of Disney+, meaning that it will require an additional fee to access. If it follows the Mulan model, it will likely become widely available around three months afterward.
Star Wars
The Star Wars news started with what might have been a no-brainer after this season of The Mandalorian.
There are a lot of dark clouds surrounding Rosario Dawson at the intersection of Star Wars fandom and the LBGTQ+ community, and she has a lot of work to do to regain trust given the allegations against her. I don’t discredit anything that the LBGTQ+ community has to say about it. Disney has made many strides forward in representation and diversity, but the casting of both Rosario Dawson and Gina Carano has told many people that there is still a long, long road to travel.
That said, given her status, I would have been very surprised if Disney had let Dawson go after a one-shot appearance as one of the most famous modern characters in the franchise.
There are not a lot of details surrounding the Ahsoka Tano limited live-action series, but Dave Filoni is slated as showrunner. Which, of course he is, because she is his creation.
I am excited about this for many reasons. I’ve loved Ahsoka since her premiere in 2008’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars, even if my fellow fans were not. Trust me, despite what franchise detractors claim now, they were certainly not fans of her twelve years ago. But in that time, she has expanded the philosophy of the Force beyond the Skywalker films, and has been an avatar for Dave Filoni to take the reins of the Star Wars universe after literally studying at the feet of George Lucas for the animated series that followed the 2008 film.
I just wish someone else was in the lead acting role, y’know?
The Ahsoka series is apparently going hand-in-hand with Star Wars: Rangers of the New Republic, a live-action series from executive producers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni that will intersect with future stories and culminate into a climactic story event.
Whatever that means, anyway. I’m guessing that either we’ll get some clues as The Mandalorian wraps its second season, or maybe we already have with that golden badge that Cara Dune received from the New Republic.
Last August, Lucasfilm and Disney announced that Ewan McGregor was returning to his prequel trilogy role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in a series set on the Tatooine dunes. We found out from the call that the series will take place approximately ten years before A New Hope, or effectively halfway into his self-imposed exile after Revenge of the Sith. The series will be helmed by Deborah Chow, who directed in season one of The Mandalorian.
The big news here is that Hayden Christensen is returning to the role of Darth Vader for the series. It’s only been relatively recently that Christensen has warmed up to Star Wars fans after the fire and venom they flung at him after the prequels. Seriously, if you want to see how bad some supposed fans can be, read up on the troubles that Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, and Hayden Christensen have had in light of the nastiness of fan letters.
It’s not clear if Christensen will be in flashbacks or in the Vader suit, but I’m eager to see how the story goes because I loved Ewan McGregor’s interpretation of Kenobi.
After that, they talked about the next feature film.
Patty Jenkins, director of Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984 will be directing a Rogue Squadron film.
Coming to theaters in December 2023, this film will follow the next generation of starfighter pilots in the Star Wars universe. It also fulfills a dream since Patty Jenkins, the daughter of a fighter pilot, has always wanted to make a fighter pilot movie. She’s also a Star Wars fan. It’s a match made in heaven.
We’re also getting a film directed by Mandalorian and Marvel alum Taika Waititi, but no details are available.
Finally, we have a last bundle of television series.
Lando Calrissian’s getting a show, but we have no idea if it’s Billy Dee Williams, Donald Glover, or another actor in the svelte capes.
The Cassian Andor (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) series is finally being talked about. The Tony Gilroy spy thriller will star Diego Luna as Cassian Andor with Stellan Skarsgard, Adria Arjona, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Kyle Soller, and Genevieve O’Reilly as Mon Mothma.
Leslye Headland, Emmy Award-nominated creator of Russian Doll, is in charge of a Dark Side mystery-thriller called The Acolyte, which is set in the final days of the High Republic era. That’s well before The Phantom Menace.
Star Wars: Visions will present ten short films in an anthology from the world’s best anime creators.
A Droid Story will take us on an epic journey with a new hero guided by R2-D2 and C-3PO.
And, last but not least, The Bad Batch will continue the Clone Wars story with the elite and experimental clones introduced in The Clone Wars: Season Seven as they navigate the turbulent times just after the fall of the Republic. This one might be the hardest for me to watch since I’m not a fan of the clones who executed Order 66. It all depends on what happened to the Bad Batch as Palpatine gave the order and what happens to them afterward.
I have seen people complain already that it’s too much, too soon. First, this is a plan for years, not months. Second, everything but Rogue Squadron and Taika Waititi’s film will be behind a paywall so you need to pay to play. Third, this is nothing compared to Marvel Studios.
Marvel Studios
The investor call brought the final trailer for WandaVision, a series dealing with Wanda Maximoff, Vision, the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, and the dawn of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It premieres in January.
The series will also include Teyonah Parris as a grown-up Monica Rambeau (Captain Marvel), Kat Denning as Darcy Lewis (Thor and Thor: The Dark World), and Randall Park as FBI agent Jimmy Woo (Ant-Man and the Wasp).
We also got a first look at The Falcon and the Winter Solider, a post-Avengers: Endgame and post-Spider-Man: Far From Home series with the new Captain America (played by Anthony Mackie) and Sebastian Stan’s Winter Soldier as they take on Baron Zemo (Daniel Bruhl, Captain America: Civil War).
They briefly addressed Chadwick Boseman and the Black Panther legacy: Black Panther 2 is definitely happening with Ryan Coogler back at the helm, but they will not recast the role of T’Challa. I’m still pulling for Letitia Wright’s Shuri to become the new Queen of Wakanda.
Disney also announced a few new surprise titles for Phase Four.
Secret Invasion will star Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury as he battles a (ahem) secret invasion of Skrulls with shapeshifting Skrull ally Talos (Captain Marvel, Spider-Man: Far From Home). This is probably going to be loosely based on the comics event of the same name.
Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams, a young black girl from inner city Chicago who reverse engineers Tony Stark’s armor to become the protector of her neighborhood. I am definitely onboard for this.
Don Cheadle will return as War Machine/James Rhodes in Armor Wars as Marvel explores what happens when Iron Man tech falls into the wrong hands. We got a taste of that in Iron Man 2.
We’ll also get a “live action holiday special” with the Guardians of the Galaxy cast (written and directed by James Gunn) and a series of shorts featuring new characters in the Marvel universe via I am Groot.
Ready for another surprise? Just over a year after regaining the rights to Marvel’s First Family, director Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming,Spider-Man: Far from Home, and the third Spider-Man MCU film) will be in charge of Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four have been notoriously difficult to capture on film, but with Watts in charge, I’m expecting about the same level of levity and charm as he’s shown through the two Spider-Man films so far.
We got a first look at What If…?, which explores stories of alternate Marvel Cinematic Universes where one little thing changed the whole world. What if Peggy Carter was the super soldier instead of Steve Rogers? What if T’Challa was taken by Yondu, thus becoming Star Lord? What if…?
There’s also a first look at Loki, a series that looks like a ton of multiverse-bending madness. It also features Atlanta’s famous Marriott Marquis hotel. I’d know those elevators anywhere.
Oh, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania! Peyton Reed is returning to direct, Kathryn Newton is taking over the role of Cassie Lang, and Jonathan Majors is Kang the Conqueror.
Is that enough? Of course not. Marvel still has Black Widow on May 7th, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on July 9th, The Eternals on November 5th, and the third MCU Spider-Man film on December 17th.
Thor: Love and Thunder (enter Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which just announced newcomer Xochitl Gomez to portray America Chavez!), the Black Panther sequel, the Captain Marvel sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and a Blade movie are still in the wings for 2022 and beyond.
We also have Hawkeye (Hailee Steinfeld is Kate Bishop), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani is Kamala Khan), She-Hulk (Tatiana Maslany in the title role with Tim Roth and Mark Ruffalo returning as Abomination and Hulk), and Moon Knight being developed for Disney+.
And… breathe.
Disney Live-Action
Love ’em or hate ’em, Disney’s still revamping their back catalog in live-action/computer animated form. However, given the tumult presented by COVID-19 on the motion picture industry, the upcoming remakes of Peter Pan and Pinocchio will join Lady and the Tramp and Mulan on Disney+ instead of theaters.
Peter Pan and Wendy will star newcomer Ever Anderson (the daughter of Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson, who also plays a young Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow) and Alexander Moloney. Yara Shahidi will play Tinker Bell and Jude Law will play Captain Hook.
Yes, a black Tinker Bell. Prepare yourself for a whole new crop of close-minded bovine excrement from that particular sector of the internet.
One of Disney’s all-time classics is coming to #DisneyPlus with the new live-action retelling of Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks and directed by Robert Zemeckis. ✨ pic.twitter.com/44bHbFRhMe
Pinocchio will star Tom Hanks as Geppetto and Alan Cumming as Honest John, with Robert Zemeckis at the helm. Tom Hanks is a universal treasure, so I’m excited to see what he does with this.
Jungle Cruise and The Little Mermaid will still be released in theaters, and we’re also getting sequels to Enchanted and Hocus Pocus. I get the former, but I’m hesitant about the latter.
Disney Animation
On the success of the DuckTales reboot, Disney is breathing new life into Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, this time in the hybrid live-action/computer generated format. John Mulaney and Andy Samberg are the chipmunk brothers in a world where cartoons live side-by-side with humans. So, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? style?
Lin-Manuel Miranda is coming back to Disney animation with Encanto, a new animated film set in Colombia dealing with “the dangerously wonderful chaos of family” combined with elements of magic. Encanto will be the studio’s 60th animated feature film.
Princess Tiana (The Princess and the Frog) and Moana will be returning in their own respective musical animated series, and Baymax (Big Hero 6) and the characters of Zootopia will also be getting their own shows. Disney also announced that they’re teaming up with the Pan-African entertainment company Kugali to develop a science fiction animated series called Iwájú, which showcases a gorgeous, Afro-futuristic world.
In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, @DisneyAnimation and Pan-African entertainment company Kugali will team up to create an all-new, science fiction series coming to @DisneyPlus in 2022: Iwájú. Check out a first look at visual development art from the series. pic.twitter.com/x46dreKcu0
We’re also getting another crack at A Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this time as a 3D computer animated series. Not my cup of tea exactly, but it will probably work for the fans. Blue Sky Studios is working on an animated sequel to Night at the Museum, which was a fun and chaotic trilogy.
Pixar also has some dishes for the table: We also get a Buzz Lightyear origin story and a Cars series. I’m skeptical about both of those, but they’re still working on feature films too, including Luca and Turning Red.
Blasting into theaters June 17, 2022, Lightyear is the definitive story of the original Buzz Lightyear. Voiced by @ChrisEvans, get ready to go to “infinity and beyond” with Lightyear. 🚀 👨🚀 pic.twitter.com/LdYXlN33sP
Director of the Academy Award-winning short Bao, Domee Shi, brings us Turning Red. Meet Mei: she experiences the awkwardness of being a teenager, with an added twist: when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda. Turning Red comes to theaters March 11, 2022 pic.twitter.com/2s5NgzqBHP
Lucasfilm also chimed in with news of a fifth Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford back in the fedora, James Mangold in the driver’s seat, and a target date of July 2022.
They added a Willow television series to the mix, including Warwick Davis returning as the great sorcerer Willow Ufgood in a story set decades after the 1988 Ron Howard film.
Finally, Lucasfilm will be adapting Tomi Adeyemi’s New York Times bestselling novel Children of Blood & Bone, which features a young African girl in a coming-of-age adventure to restore magic to her forsaken people, the Maji.
Untitled Alien Series
To wrap this all up, the call also contained news of a television series coming to Hulu via FX based on the Alien film series.
Noah Hawley, the writer and producer known from his work on Fargo and Legion, has been tapped to run this series. Rumors abound that Ridley Scott, director of 1979’s Alien and sequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, is being courted as executive producer.
All we have so far is that this series will take place on Earth, a first in the franchise if you ignore the two Alien vs. Predator films. And, honestly, most people do.
That’s a lot to cover, but it’s also a bright future for Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney/Fox properties. Keep an eye out because the next few years are going to be packed.
I know I’m excited. If my social media feeds are any indication, I’m not the only one.
Culture on My Mind is inspired by the weekly Can’t Let It Go segment on the NPR Politics Podcast where each host brings one thing to the table that they just can’t stop thinking about.
December 14th is the 349th day of the year. It is Monkey Day, an unofficial international holiday celebrating monkeys and “all things simian”, including other non-human primates such as apes, tarsiers, and lemurs.
In 1650, Anne Greene was hanged at Oxford Castle in England for infanticide, having concealed an illegitimate stillbirth. The following day, she revived in the dissection room and, being pardoned, lived until 1659.
In 1782, the Montgolfier brothers first tested an unmanned hot air balloon in France. It floated nearly 2 kilometers (1.2 miles).
In 1851, novelist and short story writer Mary Tappan Wright was born.
In 1896, the Glasgow Underground Railway was opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company.
In 1900, Max Planck presented a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law.
In 1902, the Commercial Pacific Cable Company laid the first Pacific telegraph cable, spanning from San Francisco to Honolulu.
In 1911, Roald Amundsen’s team, comprising of himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, became the first to reach the South Pole.
In 1918, the first United Kingdom general election in which women were permitted to vote occurred.
In 1940, Plutonium, specifically 238Pu, was first isolated at Berkeley, California.
In 1948, Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann were granted a patent for their cathode-ray tube amusement device, the earliest known interactive electronic game.
Also in 1948, actress Dee Wallace Stone was born.
In 1954, actor James Horan was born.
In 1962, NASA’s Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
In 1965, actor, director, and screenwriter Ted Raimi was born.
In 1969, English-Irish actress Natascha McElhone was born.
In 1985, Wilma Mankiller took office as the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
In 1988, actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens was born.
In 1993, Philadelphia, one of the first mainstream films about AIDS, premiered.
In 2012, twenty-eight people, including the gunman, were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
In 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode in the Skywalker Saga, premiered.
In 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced that it would acquire 21st Century Fox, including the 20th Century Fox movie studio, for $52.4 billion.
December 14th is Forty-seven Rōnin Remembrance Day in Sengaku-ji, Tokyo, Japan.
The revenge of the forty-seven rōnin, also known as the Akō incident or Akō vendetta, is an 18th-century historical event in Japan in which a band of rōnin (leaderless samurai) avenged the death of their master. The incident has since become legendary.
The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless after their daimyō (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was compelled to perform seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. After waiting and planning for a year, the rōnin avenged their master’s honor by killing Kira. They were then obliged to commit seppuku for the crime of murder.
This true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that people should display in their daily lives. The popularity of the tale grew during the Meiji era, during which Japan underwent rapid modernization, and the legend became entrenched within discourses of national heritage and identity.
Fictionalized accounts of the tale of the forty-seven rōnin are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays, including in the genres of bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names were changed. While the version given by the playwrights may have come to be accepted as historical fact by some, the first Chūshingura was written some 50 years after the event, and numerous historical records about the actual events that predate the Chūshingura survive.
The bakufu’s censorship laws had relaxed somewhat 75 years after the events in question in the late 18th century when Japanologist Isaac Titsingh first recorded the story of the forty-seven rōnin as one of the significant events of the Genroku era. To this day, the story remains popular in Japan, and each year on December 14th, Sengakuji Temple, where Asano Naganori and the rōnin are buried, holds a festival commemorating the event.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
In 1577, Sir Francis Drake sets sail from Plymouth, England, starting his round-the-world voyage.
In 1636, the Massachusetts Bay Colony organized three militia regiments to defend the colony against the Pequot Indians. This organization is recognized today as the founding of the National Guard of the United States.
In 1769, Dartmouth College was founded by the Reverend Eleazar Wheelock, with a royal charter from King George III, on land donated by Royal governor John Wentworth.
In 1816, German engineer and businessman Werner von Siemens was born. He was the founder of the Siemens manufacturing company.
In 1925, actor, singer, and dancer Dick Van Dyke was born.
In 1928, George Gershwin’s An American in Paris was first performed.
In 1929, Canadian actor and producer Christopher Plummer was born.
In 1934, film producer Richard D. Zanuck was born.
In 1958, actress Lynn-Holly Johnson was born.
In 1961, English composer, conductor, and producer Harry Gregson-Williams was born.
In 1962, NASA launched Relay 1, the first active repeater communications satellite in orbit.
In 1972, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt began the third and final extra-vehicular activity (EVA) or “Moonwalk” of Apollo 17. To date they are the last humans to set foot on the Moon.
In 1989, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress Taylor Swift was born.
December 13th is Republic Day in Malta.
This public holiday celebrates the anniversary of the creation of the Republic of Malta in 1974. On that day, the constitution of Malta revised, which resulted in the transforming the State of Malta into a republic. This effectively abolishing the role of Reġina ta’ Malta (the Queen of Malta) in the country.
Later that same year, Sir Anthony Mamo was named as the first president of the country. British troops did not leave the country until March 31, 1979.
The Thing About Today is an effort to look at each day of 2020 with respect to its historical context.
The Star Wars news started with what might have been a no-brainer after this season of The Mandalorian.
Finally, we have a last bundle of television series.
Ready for another surprise? Just over a year after regaining the rights to Marvel’s First Family, director Jon Watts (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and the third Spider-Man MCU film) will be in charge of Fantastic Four.
Lucasfilm also chimed in with news of a fifth Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford back in the fedora, James Mangold in the driver’s seat, and a target date of July 2022.
To wrap this all up, the call also contained news of a television series coming to Hulu via FX based on the Alien film series.
Creative Criticality 