By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 54 seconds ago

As a franchise, Star Trek has always faced an interesting creative paradox: it must balance the human storytelling of the present day with the science of the far future. Some writers prefer stories that are driven by hard science, and some prefer those driven by emotion. In The Original Series, these extremes were represented by Spock (who had to explain the cold logic of what was going on) and Dr. McCoy (who constantly espoused the values of passion and emotion).

In the Golden Age of Star Trek, the technical side of storytelling was represented by “technobabble,” the catch-all term for the confusing blather of scientific and technological terms often blurted out by characters like Data. Many fans (even those who prefer stories more in the vein of traditional science fiction) came to hate technobabble because it felt forced and out of place, often disrupting otherwise excellent stories. One of the best examples of this is the Next Generation episode “Pen Pals,” which one iconic Trek director thought was ruined by technobabble.

Reach Out And Touch Someone

In case you’ve forgotten, “Pen Pals” is the episode where Data makes contact with an alien child on an underdeveloped world. He discovers that her world is in danger and implores Captain Picard to violate the Prime Directive in order to save her people. Picard reluctantly does so, and Dr. Pulaski mind-wipes the alien kiddo to prevent her from remembering that time her entire planet was saved by aliens with what she would consider godlike abilities.

The episode was directed by Winrich Kolbe, a Star Trek icon (he dated Kate Mulgrew, for God’s sake!) who directed some of the best episodes of the franchise. For TNG, this includes such bangers as “Darmok” and “All Good Things…”, the series finale. On DS9, he directed some personal favorites, including “Through the Looking Glass” and “The Siege of AR-558.” For Voyager, he directed the premiere episode “Caretaker” and the ambitious two-parter, “Basics.”

They Blinded Us With Science

As his resume indicates, few people understand Trek like Kolbe, someone who quickly developed an instinct for what can make or break a potentially excellent episode. In an interview with The Official Star Trek Magazine, he described “Pen Pals” as “one of those cases where I felt the original script… the first draft, was very, very nice. It was a very personal story.”

He said it was a personal story, so what changed? Winrich Kolbe claims that someone very high up (he couldn’t remember if it was Rick Berman or Gene Roddenberry) “felt we needed more of a technical surrounding story.” The storytelling change was swift: “Suddenly, out went more and more of the character issue, and in came more and more tech talk.”

Putting Star Trek Under The Microscope

Kolbe wasn’t a fan of adding so much technobabble to a very personal story, and he didn’t mince words when discussing what went wrong with “Pen Pals.” He called the infusion of the distracting space lingo “a problem” and said that he disagreed with the prevailing staff assessment “that more technical jargon enhances the stories.” The director believes “these stories should be left alone” and summarized his thoughts on this particular episode quite bluntly: “I think ‘Pen Pals’ could have been a better show than it was.”

Most fans would agree with this assessment; after all, “Pen Pals” is a good episode that falls far short of its potential. Even controversial showrunner Maurice Hurley agrees. According to Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, he said the script “kind of got muddled around, mucked up and lost its purity.” He ultimately decided that the finished episode “worked okay,” but he generally echoes Kolbe’s argument that the jargon-ridden additions to this script made the episode far worse than it should have been.

Technobabble Never Left The Franchise

Sadly, the rest of the writing staff didn’t see it that way: “technobabble” became an ever-present feature in the franchise, one that was often used as a writing crutch to explain how our heroes suddenly turn the tables on their enemy. It could often be grating for fans whenever an episode of The Next Generation or Voyager ground to a halt so someone could explain the plot in the most confusing way.

Still, the scientifically accurate (more or less) technobabble of Old Trek will always be preferable to the breezy stupidity of NuTrek, where a single supernova can threaten the entire galaxy! 

After The Beatles broke up, Paul McCartney‘s next projects had a hard time taking off at first. McCartney’s first two solo albums, McCartney and RAM, were disparaged by critics and fans, and the first album from his next band, Wings, titled Wild Life, didn’t do much better. When he first formed the band, McCartney was determined to build it from the ground up. He took the band on tour around England, but instead of playing stadiums or theaters, they visited university halls. McCartney shared in his documentary, Man on the Run, that they would show up with no notice and offer to play, charging only 50 pennies at the door. At the end of the day, they had bags of change as payment for their hard work.

In 1973, a little over a year after the release of Wild Life, the band put out Red Rose Speedway, which did considerably better. It was a commercial success, though it received mixed reviews. Seeing how his effort was paying off, McCartney decided to change things up for the next album. But he couldn’t have known how many obstacles he’d have to face.

The Unconventional Process of Making This Iconic Album

In 1973, Paul McCartney wanted to shake things up for Wings’ next album. So, he asked for a list of all the studios that EMI had around the world. He saw that there was a studio in Lagos, Nigeria, and thought it was the perfect place to record a groundbreaking album. He imagined being surrounded by African musicians, being inspired by their rhythms, and immediately booked studio time there. The troubles began before they even arrived in Lagos.

The night before they were supposed to depart, McCartney received a call from drummer Denny Seiwell and guitarist Henry McCullough. They informed him that they were leaving the band. Immediately, McCartney was incensed. They had no time to find replacements, so they either had to postpone or make the record with only three members: McCartney, his wife Linda, and guitarist Denny Laine. McCartney decided to go to Lagos just the three of them, and make “the best album you’ve ever heard,” to show Seiwell and McCullough what a mistake they had made.

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When they arrived in Lagos, McCartney quickly realized that it wouldn’t be as glamorous as he’d imagined. The studio was only half-built, and the place where they were staying wasn’t very safe. Still, they made the best of it, recording during the week and immersing themselves in Nigerian culture and music on the weekends. Musician Fela Kuti in particular made a huge impact on McCartney, although at first, Kuti was wary of McCartney’s band, thinking he was in Lagos to exploit African music. However, once McCartney showed him the tracks, he realized it wasn’t the case, and they had a good relationship.

The Band on the Run Demos Were Stolen From Him

After getting through the complications of losing almost half his band, they settled into a nice dynamic. Paul McCartney took over playing drums for the entire album, and Denny Laine and Linda McCartney supported him, playing as many instruments as needed. They only brought in session musicians for a couple of tracks, managing most of the songs between just the three of them. But during the first few weeks of recording, the band encountered yet another big setback. In Man on the Run, Paul McCartney shares that one night, while he and Linda were walking back from the studio (through a zone that they were warned wasn’t safe at night), they saw a car pulling up next to them. The couple were robbed at knifepoint, and while they didn’t have that many valuables on them, Paul McCartney was carrying the demo tapes and the handwritten lyric sheets of the early Band on the Run tracks.

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McCartney shared that they later realized how lucky they were to make it out alive, especially because Linda McCartney started arguing with the muggers, yelling at them not to hurt him. When they made it back into the studio, McCartney was, of course, very upset about the situation, but it was just another one of the many hurdles they had to overcome since deciding to make the album. So, they quickly got back to work, redoing the demos from scratch, and the result was one of McCartney’s most iconic albums. Band on the Run was released in November 1973, and to this day it’s Wings’ most successful album. It made it to number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom, but ironically, although it was the first album since the breakup of The Beatles to receive critical acclaim, in Man on the Run, Paul McCartney can be heard saying that, for the first time in his career, he didn’t care if people liked it, because he loved it.

Man on the Run premieres on Prime Video on Feb. 27.

Whew, Roomies! Folks online are scratching their heads after rapper Diamond spilled tea on Benzino’s status after rumors circulated online claiming that she allegedly hit him with her car. Diamond set the record straight and mentioned that Benzino and Althea Heart had been clashing over their son’s safety. Diamond claimed the tension between them is what led Benzino to pop off while he was next to car.

RELATED: Yikes! Benzino Seemingly Closes Comment Section After Social Media Roasts His D’Angelo Tribute (VIDEO)

Diamond Addresses Rumors About Alleged Car Incident With Benzino

Recently, Diamond spoke exclusively with The Shade Room after rumors accused her of allegedly hitting Benzino with her car. She shut down the claims and explained that she was present while Benzino and Althea Heart got into a heated disagreement. Diamond said Althea had been stressed out over a friend she trusted to handle her property, who allegedly sold a million-dollar home behind her back, wiping out Althea financially. The situation reportedly led Althea to get a mental health evaluation, so she left her son, whom she shares with Benzino, in his care even though she has primary custody. Althea then tried to reach Benzino to see their son, since she allegedly hasn’t seen in him in two months, but Benzino was allegedly dodging her calls. Eventually, Althea found out what school their son was attending and showed up with Diamond. Authorities allowed her to speak to her and spend time with him near Diamond’s car.

After seeing her son, things escalated between Althea Heart and Benzino. Diamond said he started cursing at Althea and started banging on her car door, which led her to drive off immediately since she had her 1-year-old son with her, but she claims she did not hit him. Rumors about Diamond hitting the former ‘LLHATL’ start started circulating online after photos showed Benzino in what looked like the hospital with a neck cast on.

“My car was still in drive. I drove off, because you’re not about to be hitting and screaming and hitting my baby.” She continued, “I was actually shocked he acted that way, because the police were there. If I did him I would be in jail right now.”

Social Media Weighs In After Diamond Clears The Air About Benzino

The internet didn’t waste any time weighing in on Diamond’s claims in The Shade Room’s comment section. Some folks said they were shocked to see Althea and Benzino still going at it, while others were side-eyeing why Diamond was spilling the tea instead of the former couple.

Instagram user @latyraa wrote, “Althea and Benzino been going at it for YEARS. They should be TIRED!” 

Instagram user @_nowucme wrote, “So he jumped in front of the car during her attempted escape? That’s what I hear 😆 😂” 

While Instagram user @toyiaaa.__ wrote, “I believe Diamond💯”

Then Instagram user  @jxoxo716 wrote, “All I heard was 2 months! If she has primary custody then I’m all confused on how she could find out where he was with her son. 🥴” 

Another Instagram user @brieyajanelle wrote, “They been beefing since I’ve been in middle school, this is crazy. 😭” 

Instagram user @neeshnickk__ wrote, “Ok why is this being told lol and by her at that.” 

Then another Instagram user @akeiraivy wrote, “If this happened in the past why does this news matter like fr 😂” 

Finally, Instagram user @zay.thekingbee wrote, “So basically Diamond needed another story line to get green screen. Got it 😂” 

Apparent Photos Of Benzino In Neck Brace Has The Internet Buzzing With Questions

Right now, Benzino hasn’t responded to Diamond’s claim, and Althea hasn’t share her side of the story either. Still, photos started circulating online, leaving fans to ask questions especially after rumors suggested that he was rocking a cast and lying down after getting medical attention because Diamond allegedly hit him with her car.

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By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 11 seconds ago

An article about Starfleet Academy has faced backlash from fans who were misled by its headline. The drama caused by the headline is almost worthy of its own Star Trek show, especially with Alex Kurtzman at the helm. The piece was a response to recent statements made by a Star Trek insider about the state of the show and its fandom.

Last week, franchise veteran Christopher Cushman made a post on X in which he implied that negative reviews of Starfleet Academy were made by a coordinated effort to sabotage the show. He also threatened that “negative review bombing of Academy likely to end the possibility of shows like Legacy as well put Star Trek into 10-15 years hiatus [sic].” By thus indicating that criticisms of the show are being made in bad faith, his claim is that all fans will be punished with no Star Trek at all.

In a That Park Place article by Marvin Montanaro, titled “Star Trek Artist Warns Fans That ‘Review Bombing’ Starfleet Academy Could End the Franchise,” the site called Cushman’s bluff, making the counterclaim that maybe a hiatus wouldn’t be so bad. He pointed to the long break between the original series and The Next Generation as evidence that a hiatus can give a franchise time to refresh while avoiding the fatigue of too much content from a single universe. He also highlighted that the show’s viewership reflects these negative reviews, despite its acclaim from critics.

The backlash stemmed from the use of the term “review bombing” in the title. Although it is in “scare quotes,” suggesting that the article is skeptical of this claim, many Star Trek fans dissatisfied with Alex Kurtzman’s guidance of the franchise and this show in particular thought the article agreed that the show was being review-bombed.

Creators Declare War On Their Own Viewers, Fans Revolt

This couldn’t be further from the truth, but the reaction is understandable. Starfleet Academy is not the only property to have accused dissatisfied fans of artificially inflating a show’s bad reviews, rather than acknowledging that maybe viewers don’t like the show.

After taunting Star Wars fans that The Acolyte would “make them cry,” show creator Leslye Headland blamed sexism and homophobia for the show failing to draw audiences. This ignored criticisms of significant changes to franchise lore that diminished the struggles of established characters. The show was also criticized for what viewers felt was forced inclusivity and overpowered female characters.

Legitimate Examples Of Review Bombing

In 2019, a review-bombing war broke out between fans of Battle Angel: Alita and Captain Marvel. Fans who liked the anime movie better were accused of sexism and attempting to artificially deflate the Marvel movie.

There is even a current review bombing war taking place between fans of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Breaking Bad. When Breaking Bad fans left bad reviews of an episode of the Game of Thrones spinoff, so many Westeros fans review-bombed the older show that its IMDB rating for its pinnacle episode, “Ozymandias,” was reduced from a perfect 10 to a 9.5. The episode had held that rating for over a decade.

Review Bombing Accusations Are Used To Shield Creators From The Consequences Of Their Actions

It’s not that fans can’t be petty and leave bad reviews, but the idea that modern shows that perform badly are not being watched because of bad-faith reviews is a way of dismissing criticism rather than admitting a property isn’t connecting with fans. It’s a lazy way of handwaving what fans want, becoming increasingly common as more shows become about “the message” and “representation” than about story or characters. Many video games, books, and even music albums have also used the tactic of blaming negative reviews on bigotry rather than on fan dissatisfaction.

Cushman himself stated that he’d rather ignore dissatisfied fans. He finished his two-post tweet on X with, “…if you don’t like it, don’t watch!” Apparently, fans are supposed to simply stay silent about what they don’t like about a show rather than offer feedback about franchises and properties they love.

Fans Misunderstood That Park Place

However, the knee-jerk reaction of long-abused fans got it wrong when it comes to That Park Place. The site was not supporting Cushman’s notions about review bombing and listed several other reasons the show hasn’t succeeded. The backlash they received was from people who believed otherwise and criticized the site’s X account for allegedly claiming that the negative reviews were made in bad faith. It was clear these naysayers hadn’t read the article and only judged it by its title.

This reaction is an example of how sensitive viewers have become since their criticisms of unpopular properties are dismissed by producers and showrunners. Slop eaters will always enthusiastically promote their favorite bad shows, and plenty of entertainment is being served to them by creators who want their easy money. But viewers who are tired of slop are being decried, so studios can continue developing the content they want, not what audiences want.

It’s no wonder people reacted badly to a headline that sounded like it supports this callous view. Most fans are not reviewing these shows in bad faith, as their viewing numbers demonstrate. It’s condescending to be told that if we don’t like something, it’s because of our moral character and not a lack of quality in the product.

The Survivor 50 cast know a thing or two about what it takes to play the game — so no one was taking their comeback preparations lightly.

Many contestants relied on the usual training methods prior to returning to the show, like going to the gym, practicing their fire-making techniques and time spent swimming in a pool. Others, however, opted for some, shall we say, out-of-the-box techniques. Survivor 46 alum Quintavius “Q” Burdette, for example, exclusively tells Us Weekly that he “stood on nails” to “train” his body “to deal with pain.”

“The pain tolerance version of it, it speaks to your brain so you can teach your brain to deal with pain. Like a bed of nails — you walk across the bed of nails. I just stood on [them for] 26 minutes,” Q explains. “It doesn’t pierce your foot, but it hurts. I mean, it hurts like crap.”

Genevieve Mushaluk, for her part, prepared for her time on Survivor island by eating all her favorite foods, bulking up in the process. The Survivor 47 alum tells Us that her go-to treat was “pierogies.”

Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans premieres with a three-hour episode on Wednesday, February 25, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The series will then go to its normal 90-minute format beginning March 4.

Keep scrolling to see how the Survivor 50 stars prepared for milestone season:

Rick Devens

Rick Devens exclusively tells Us that he did “lots of swimming training” before traveling to Fiji for season 50. The Edge of Extinction alum adds that making sure his family, which includes wife Becca and their two kids, were “squared away.”

Charlie Davis

Charlie Davis, surprisingly, took the opposite approach for Survivor 50 by preparing “a lot less” compared to season 46.

“I was just out there, and I think with that experience, I learned what was helpful and what wasn’t helpful or just something maybe I don’t need to do again,” the Survivor 46 runner up tells Us. “I think, before 46, I memorized, like, 10 different puzzles and that was useless.”

While Charlie jokes that it would be “hilarious if some of those puzzles” ended up making an appearance on season 50, he wanted to spend his time focusing on the bigger tasks at hand.

“My basics for getting ready for Survivor are: make sure you’re in decent enough shape, make sure you’re comfortable with being uncomfortable and just watch some Survivor seasons,” he says. “Listen to a few podcasts, get yourself in the right headspace, and that’s all you can really do.”

Angelina Keeley

Angelina Keely tells Us that becoming a mother to her two daughters was a “transformative” experience that helped her prepare for Survivor 50.

“I’m more patient, I’m more aware, I’m more just everything. I’m even more confident,” the David Vs. Goliath alum explains. “I just feel like everything in my life right now is aligned.”

Aubry Bracco

Aubry Bracco is no stranger to returning to Survivor, but the multi-time player tells Us she’s been putting in the work since her last appearance on 2019’s the Edge of Extinction.

“I’d say I’ve been preparing since the Edge of Extinction ended. I’ve done a lot of work on myself,” she says. “I’ve had a baby. My perspective on life … I’m a lot more grounded. I’ve done a lot of self reflection.”

On top of the mental preparation, Aubry has also hit the gym and did her research on the competition.

“I’ve been working out, meditating, listening to a hell of a lot of podcasts about all these characters,” she explains. “I’ve been studying. I’ve been [doing] my survivor homework. It took a little break, but I caught up and I’m ready to go.”

Christian Hubicki

Christian Hubicki did a “fair bit” of physical preparation for Survivor 50 in case any grueling tasks from the New Era were thrown his way.

“I did a lot of running. I hate running normally, but I did it for this damn show,” the David Vs. Golliath alum tells Us. “My concern was that they were gonna do some kind of Sweat or Savvy thing they’ve been doing the past few seasons and we have to run around and get endurance.”

The robotics professor jokes that Survivor’s New Era can get “strange” and “very complicated.”

Cirie Fields

While getting ready for Survivor 50, Cirie Fields knew what would be the best use of her time.

“What’s the only thing I could do differently? I really don’t know that it would affect my game as much, or it might make me a little more threatening. Is to be more physically fit, right? I can’t. I’m never going to be an Olympic swimmer. I do know how to make fire better than I ever had before,” she exclusively tells Us. “So outside of that, I don’t really know how to prepare.”

Benjamin ‘Coach’ Wade

After Benjamin “Coach” Wade ended his Survivor retirement to return for season 50, his first move was to watch some of the eshow’s previous seasons. Coach shares that he started with Borneo during the pandemic and after completing Winners at War he “stopped.” Once he got the call for Survivor 50, he started “cramming” the New Era, which kicked off with season 41.

“So I really started cramming, and then I was just overwhelmed. And I was, like, just let me look at the Cliff Notes on these players so I can understand them,” he tells Us. “I did watch season 46 because a friend of mine, Ben Katzman, was on that season. I started watching 48, didn’t watch the home stretch, [I] tried to catch up on the other players. So, yeah, I had to do a little bit of homework.”

Dee Valladares

Dee Valladares’ preparation for Survivor looked a little different compared to her last time around. Instead of studying “the game,” the Survivor 45 winner wanted to prioritize “mentally prepping” and putting on some weight.

“I gained 10 pounds, but because of life, not because of one month [that] I had to prep,” she tells Us, adding that she was also “working out a lot” because she was “about to be in the most uncomfortable position in [her] life.”

Colby Donaldson

Before Colby Donaldson got confirmation he made it on Survivor 50, he knew he “needed to prep” by studying the seasons he “missed.”

“I’m still just as big a fan as I was when I sent in my first [Survivor] application, but there were some years that I missed, and I need to go back and study tape on that,” he tells Us. “But in preparation, if you’re gonna scout a team and prepare yourself for battle, you need to know your opponent, but you also have to go back and watch tape on yourself and look at some of the mistakes you’ve made.”

Colby adds that he knows what went wrong during his last appearance in Heroes Vs. Villains, which aired in 2010. Just like Survivor, Colby is in a new era himself.

“That’s what’s exciting about getting a chance to come back and play again. Not only has the game evolved, but I’ve also evolved,” he explains. “I’m not gonna play the same game that I did the last time.”

Genevieve Mushaluk

One thing that Genevieve Mushaluk focused on before returning to Survivor 50 was “bulk up.”

“I did a lot of eating, all the things I love,” the Survivor 47 alum tells Us, adding that she wasn’t focusing on the vanity elements that she did in her previous season. “The first time I came out, I was so, like, worried about the cellulite on my thighs and my unibrow growing in. And this time, I’m like, ‘What the hell? I’m just here to play and I’ll look how [I look.]’ But you know, a million dollars [is] gonna look great on me, so I’m not gonna worry.”

In addition to eating, Genevieve worked on her puzzle skills.

“One of the challenges, I got zero pieces on a puzzle. It’s like, I think a new record of horrible. So I have practiced puzzle making,” she says. “But I think the real kicker is gonna be, can my brain still work when I’m stressed, over-tired, starving? … And I’ve been working out, obviously, not as much as, like, Joe [Hunter] and Jonathan [Young] have been.”

Jenna Lewis-Dougherty

Jenna Lewis-Dougherty tells Us that she typically stays “in shape” but added more Survivor elements to her workout routine.

“I have some balance beams now built in my backyard,” she says. “I practiced my fire making.”

Joe Hunter

Joe Hunter’s biggest priority for season 50 was working on his “weaknesses.”

“I think a lot of people come into this game focusing on what they can do well and certain strategies. I try to break down my weaknesses, emotionally and mentally,” he tells Us. “Focus on that and don’t hide behind it, but try to improve those weaknesses. So I really just spent a lot of time in my own growth of what I need to improve on as a person.”

Jonathan Young

Jonathan Young tells Us that he didn’t need to do much “physically” to prepare for his return, because he works out “almost every day.” He did, however, study his fellow competitors.

“I’ve studied the players. I know what they’ve done, why they’ve done it, at least as much as I can,” he says, adding that listening to host Jeff Probst’s “On Fire” podcast was part of his study material. “I’ve been listening to ‘On Fire with Jeff Probst’ and three of [the previous cohosts] are here. There’s Rick Devens, Charlie [Davis] and Dee [Valladares,] all three of them are here, and all three of them are big targets.”

Kamilla Karthigesu

Kamilla Karthigesu hasn’t stopped preparing for her comeback since she wrapped season 48.

“I did not stop going to the gym since coming back from 48,” she tells Us. “That was mostly because I found out that I enjoyed lifting things and putting them down.”

Kamilla adds that while she decided to forgo running prior to the show, she used that time to focus on fire making.

“I even made fire [at], like, 11 p.m. the night before I flew out,” she quips.

Mike White

Mike White shares that working on his fitness was his top priority before starting Survivor 50.

“I think I’m in better shape than I was last time. I feel like I had to get in good shape because [Survivor is] just so physically draining,” the White Lotus creator tells Us. “I was like, ‘I gotta figure this out. I gotta prepare like an athlete prepares for an athletic event.”

Ozzy Lusth

While Ozzy Lusth has spent most of the time “opening a restaurant in Mexico,” he knew he needed to cut back on his vices — like “drinking and smoking” — and take his training seriously before his Survivor return.

“Once I heard from Jeff [Probst,] I got back on the program and started running up mountains, doing push ups and mentally preparing for the games ahead,” he tells Us.

Quintavius ‘Q’ Burdette

Quintavius “Q” Burdette took extreme measures to get ready for Survivor 50 after not putting in any preparation prior to his debut on the show.

“The first time I played, I didn’t work out, believe it or not … I didn’t do anything, puzzles, anything Survivor related. I just kind of lived my life until the day we left, and I left, and I came out here and I was in for a treat. So this time around, I started to work out,” he tells Us. “I worked out every day. I ran, I jogged, I [lifted] weights, I did puzzles. I stood on nails.”

Not only did Q stand on nails, he also “sat in 35 degree water for eight minutes every single day” and had daily sauna time.

“It does nothing for the challenge, right? It’s just all the mental — tapping into my mental, knowing when things will start to go away up here,” he explains. “And how do I control that? How do I just sit through it? How do I fight? How long can I go feeling pain? How long before pain stops? Because a lot of folks don’t understand when something hurts, when you’re standing on nails, yeah, eventually it gets to a point where it just doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Rizo ‘Rizgod’ Velovic

Unlike the other competitors, Rizo “Rizgod” Velovic had less than two weeks to get ready for Survivor 50. However, the Survivor 49 alum tells Us that being a “super fan” helped him get in the right mindset.

“I live, breathe Survivor and all that. So when it comes to, like, mentally preparing and emotionally preparing,I’m 100% ready to go,” he said, adding that the physical effects of playing Survivor 49 wouldn’t stop him. “I lost a lot of weight, and I was already a pretty skinny guy, so I didn’t gain my weight back in nine days, but I feel physically fine. I just weigh a lot less than I did when I started 49.”

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HBO Max’s global charts are usually crowded with franchise comfort watches and fresh-release momentum, but this one is different. Genndy Tartakovsky’s brutal, nearly dialogue-free survival saga plays like a prestige animation dare with minimal exposition, maximum visual storytelling, and long stretches where emotion is carried by movement, sound design, and raw violence. The show has been trending continuously since November, and the streaming come-up seems to be the strongest now that Season 3 is airing.

The show premiered in 2019 and has built its reputation as one of adult animation’s boldest genre hybrids. It amalgamates fantasy, horror, and action into something far more intense than its caveman and dinosaur team-up premise suggests.

As per FlixPatrol, Primal is holding around the sweet spot of #8 position and enjoying consistent placements across countries from Australia and Armenia to Spain, Ukraine, and much of Latin America (including repeated top-10 holds in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Panama). That kind of stability matters more than a one-day spike. And even when it’s not hitting #1, it’s refusing to fall off. In Germany, Primal was recently trending at #7 and #8 on the Apple TV Store in Germany.

‘Primal’ Has Grown to Become an Animated Cult Heavyweight

The key context behind the surge is that Primal is now a 3-season modern cult heavyweight, with 27 episodes total and a third season that premiered in January 2026. It also carries an 8.7/10 on IMDb and a 100% Tomatometer / 89% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes — and that’s critical and audience validation that helps explain why this dark sci-fi fantasy masterpiece keeps clawing its way back into the conversation.

Primal Season 3 picks up after Spear’s apparent death, bringing him back in a darker, supernatural turn as an undead version of himself. The new season follows Spear as he regains fragments of memory and fights through brutal new threats while searching for Fang. It’s still the same visual-first, dialogue-light storytelling, but with a bigger mythic edge, death, resurrection, and vengeance now shaping the journey as much as raw survival.

Primal is currently trending on HBO Max. Primal Season 3, Episode 8 will air on March 1, 2026. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date

October 8, 2019

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Network

Adult Swim

Showrunner

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Genndy Tartakovsky

Directors

Genndy Tartakovsky

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Writers

Genndy Tartakovsky, Darrick Bachman, Bryan Andrews, Nagisa Koyama

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  Laëtitia Eïdo

  Mira (voice)

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  Aaron LaPlante

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  Spear (voice)

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 minute ago

Pop quiz: Who do you think is the most boring character in Star Trek? The franchise is filled with annoying characters like Wesley Crusher and Neelix, but those characters were at least grating in memorable ways. Unfortunately, Voyager had one character whose lines, line deliveries, and plotlines were guaranteed to put you to sleep.

We’re talking about Chakotay, the former Maquis rebel leader who has all the personality of an unsalted cracker the moment he becomes Captain Janeway’s first officer. However, Voyager did their best to correct the problems with this character very early on. For example, the forgotten Season 2 episode “Initiations” was written largely to make Chakotay more interesting to audiences.

The Most Boring Man In Starfleet

Some quick context about the episode: “Initiations” begins with Chakotay (played by Robert Beltran) taking a shuttlecraft out to conduct a ritual honoring his father’s death. But he takes custody of a young Kazon before both are captured by a larger Kazon vessel. There, they are forced to escape in a rollicking adventure that gives these two very different characters plenty of time to discover more about each other’s respective cultures.

Incidentally, exploring Kazon culture was one of the goals of “Initiations” and Season 2 as a whole. But the episode was also written in large part to make Chakotay a more interesting character. As revealed in the sixth issue of Star Trek Monthly (remember magazines, kids?), the producers felt that Voyager had underutilized Chakotay in the first season.

Rebranding Chakotay As An Action Star

Episode writer Ken Biller understood the assignment because he agreed with the producers that Chakotay was a pretty weak sauce character in the rest of Season 1 compared to how he was portrayed in “Caretaker,” the series premiere. Biller told the Official Star Trek Voyager Magazine that Chakotay is “like a real action hero in the pilot” and that “I think we need to give him some action stories,” something he was hoping to do with “Initiations.” That’s why the episode features this first officer getting into multiple fights, escaping captivity, and even offering to let his newfound ally kill him.

Why was it necessary for the writers and producers to make Chakotay a more interesting character? The short answer is that early Voyager, like The Next Generation before it, was hesitant to feature much conflict between characters. Therefore, even though the show’s premise was that Starfleet officers would be forced to work with Maquis terrorists, everyone mostly acted like one big, happy family after the first episode thrust them together.

Facing Off Against The Entire Delta Quadrant

In “Caretaker,” Chakotay is a Maquis leader who tries to help his crew escape the pursuing Voyager. After both ships are transported to the Delta Quadrant, he proves himself in and out of battle, eventually becoming Captain Janeway’s first officer. This was a practical choice because of Chakotay’s skills and Starfleet experience, but it was also a symbolic choice that underscored the need for both crews to work together to survive.

This was a recipe for juicy conflict between these two very different characters, but that never happened; Chakotay quickly became little more than Janeway’s yes man in Season 1. The writers tried to make him more interesting in subsequent seasons, but this led to mixed results because Voyager increasingly relied on the fraudulent Native American consultant Jamake Highwater to craft Chakotay stories. At any rate, Chakotay actor Robert Beltran came to hate how his character was written, and he reportedly began phoning in his performances later in the show due to what he saw as poor scripts.

While Chakotay never became a very interesting character, “Initiations” remains a very solid episode full of action, adventure, and a cameo from Deep Space Nine’s Aaron Eisenberg. In helping to flesh out the Kazon, this episode lives up to the Star Trek mandate to seek out new life and new civilizations. Unfortunately for the fans and Beltran alike, though, Voyager would soon run out of strange new worlds to explore with Chakotay, who soon cemented himself as the most boring character in the entire franchise.