You know a kid is special when the internet collectively says, “Wait… how is he already this big and adorable?!” That’s exactly what happened when New York mom Lauren Wilson shared a video of her nephew, Jaxson, at just 7 months old. The clip has racked up millions of views as social media users couldn’t get enough of the chunky little star.

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Jaxson Had Us Stopping Mid-Scroll

In the video, Jaxson shows off his 25 pounds and 26-inch frame—a tiny package with big personality. Lauren tells PEOPLE she was simply “obsessed with him” and wanted the world to see just how cute he is. And the internet delivered, stopping mid-scroll to gush over the baby boy everyone was suddenly talking about.

This Baby’s Growth Game Is Strong

But while fans were shocked at his size, Jaxson’s mom, Adrienne Wilson, 29, explains that he’s always been a little on the chubbier side. “Jaxson was born 7 lbs. 14 oz., [but] was always on the chubbier side,” she claims. “Jaxson just turned 1 this January! He weighs 33 pounds now!” The proud mom shares that while they get attention in public for his size, the reaction from over 9.4 million online viewers has been a whole new level of wild.

From Big Baby To Viral Star

Doctors aren’t concerned about Jaxson’s weight, especially since he’s tall and growing evenly. In fact, Adrienne says he’s practicing walking with support and is already showing signs of being a little daredevil. He’s “happy and very silly,” and a total “risk taker,” she shares. Apparently, the baby “let’s nothing hold him back” from what he wants to do!

Beyond the milestones and viral fame, Adrienne says the journey into motherhood has been a transformation. “My favorite thing has honestly been seeing me change from who I was into full mama bear mode. I enjoy motherhood and [am] excited for the journey ahead as Jaxson continues to grow,” she revealed.

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Movies with non-linear plots are relatively rare. After all, it’s typically easiest for filmmakers to tell stories that follow a single chronological thread from start to finish, and it’s definitely easiest for audiences to understand such traditional stories. When done right, though, non-linear films like Pulp Fiction and The Godfather Part II can be among the greatest ever made. But when done poorly, non-linear films can be absolutely insufferable.

There aren’t many examples of a non-linear narrative going south, but the ones that do exist range from lackluster-though-watchable to insufferably abysmal. These movies are proof that it takes a tremendous amount of effort to pull off a non-linear narrative that audiences can follow and care about, and when that effort isn’t enough, the result can be utterly incomprehensible.

10

‘The Last Five Years’ (2014)

Image via Lucky Monkey Pictures

Richard LaGravenese‘s The Last Five Years is based on Jason Robert Brown‘s beloved stage musical of the same name. It stars Anna Kendrick as Cathy, a struggling actress, and Jeremy Jordan as Jamie, her novelist lover. The story of their romance is told out of chronological order, and the result is one of the weakest movie musicals of the last 25 years.

In all fairness, The Last Five Years is by no means awful. The casting is great (Kendrick in particular delivers a strong performance, as per usual), and the tunes are catchy enough. However, the lyrics can sometimes be a bit on-the-nose, and no matter how creative, the structure makes it difficult to truly connect with these characters or care what happens to their bland relationship.

9

‘Vantage Point’ (2008)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Directed by Pete Travis, Vantage Point is proof that a star-studded cast doesn’t necessarily equal a great movie. Travis wastes actors of the stature of Oscar winners Forest Whitaker and Zoe Saldaña in this political thriller that follows the attempted assassination of a fictional President of the United States from different perspectives.

The premise is interesting, but Travis mostly squanders it. As if the wooden acting and mindless action weren’t reason enough to look away from the screen, the non-linear structure of the narrative makes matters worse. Vantage Point never fully commits to it, constantly talking down to its viewers—and coming across as painfully predictable and needlessly chaotic as a result.

8

‘The Grudge’ (2004)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

In 2002, Takashi Shimizu made one of the best Japanese horror films of the 21st century, Ju-On: The Grudge. Two years later, he took it upon himself to helm the Hollywood remake The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as an American nurse living and working in Tokyo who’s exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse.

The fact that the gap in quality between these two versions of this film is so abysmal is made all-the-more astonishing by the fact that they were both directed by the same man. One of the scariest Japanese horror movies ever made turned into one of the least scary Hollywood horror flicks of the 2000s. Non-linear plots are a common characteristic of the Grudge series, but here, it simply doesn’t work. The story feels disjointed and mismatched, and as a result, it’s hard to care about any of it.

7

‘The Number 23’ (2007)

Image via New Line Cinema

The Number 23 is proof that Jim Carrey is one of those actors used to starring in both perfect and terrible movies. This one’s easily one of the comedian’s worst, a thriller about a man who becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as similarities between him and his alter ego seem to keep mounting on top of each other.

The only attraction here is the fact that it’s Carrey playing one of his precious few dramatic roles, though, talented as he may be, he’s not even particularly good in it. Virtually everything about The Number 23 is a hot mess, a clumsy disaster that believes its non-linear approach to its story is really clever. Instead, it’s mostly just confusing and frustrating.

6

‘Premonition’ (2007)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

A year before she starred in her Oscar-winning role on The Blind Side, Sandra Bullock starred in the supernatural horror thriller Premonition. In it, she plays a woman who’s experiencing precognitive visions of her husband’s death in a non-chronological order and attempting to save him from his impending doom.

Premonition is an absolutely ridiculous film that takes itself way too seriously for its own good, a dreary, poorly-written thriller that somehow manages to be both clichéd and unprecedentedly silly. Its excess of flashbacks is meant to be mind-bending, but instead, it’s as dull as it is muddled. Twisty and chaotic in every negative sense imaginable, this mess of a film can’t even say it has a redeemable Sandra Bullock performance, as the actress seems to be just phoning it in for a paycheck throughout the entire runtime. Can anyone blame her?

5

‘The Loft’ (2014)

Image via Open Road Films

2014’s The Loft is another instance of a director remaking his own movie. Erik Van Looy took his exceptional Dutch-language Belgian erotic thriller Loft and turned it into one of the laziest, least sexy Hollywood erotic thrillers of the 2010s. It has a stellar cast: Karl Urban, James Marsden, Eric Stonestreet, and Wentworth Miller, four of the biggest film and television stars available in 2014. They play men who share a penthouse loft where they can have secret affairs, but their fantasy becomes a nightmare when they find a dead woman in the loft. They’re all playing unpleasant characters that make the movie insufferable to sit through.

It’s one of those thrillers that are simply the worst from start to finish, a ridiculous whodunnit whose non-linear narrative makes it all the easier for it to have enough plot holes to make its every scene ludicrous. The acting is awful, the writing is dumb, Von Looy’s direction is lifeless, and the trashy tone doesn’t even have the decency to be trashy enough to make this a modern “so bad it’s good” classic.

4

‘Shorts’ (2009)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Robert Rodriguez is a legend and champion of low-budget filmmaking, but his filmography isn’t exactly stellar or consistent. He’s capable of delivering some truly excellent movies, but he’s also capable of delivering low-brow junk like the fantasy comedy Shorts. In it, a young boy discovers a colorful, wish-granting rock that causes chaos in his hometown.

It’s not even Rodriguez’s worst outing, though it’s certainly up (or down?) there. There was absolutely no reason at all to make this movie have a non-linear plot, and it suffers as a result. It’s chaotic, messy, overstimulating, and a pain for anyone over the age of 10 to try to keep up with. Hyperactive cinema can be really fun, but only when made with the ability to know when to exercise restraint. For Shorts, Rodriguez acted as though he had never heard the definition of the word.

3

‘9 Songs’ (2004)

Image via Optimum Releasing

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Michael Winterbottom‘s British erotic art film 9 Songs follows an American college student and a British scientist who share intense sexual encounters in London. Upon release, The Guardian called it the most sexually explicit mainstream film up to that point, and that may still be the case. Hugely controversial due to its sexual content, which includes several unsimulated sexual activities between leads Kieran O’Brien and Margo Stilley, it’s one of those films that blur the line between experimental cinema and straight-up pornography.

The problem? 9 Songs just isn’t good to begin with. The non-linear jumps between the two main characters’ relationship aren’t confusing, but they aren’t exactly compelling, either. O’Brien and Stilley don’t really have the necessary chemistry to make the film feel erotic, and Winterbottom’s direction is more tedious than it is titillating.

2

‘The Snowman’ (2017)

Image via Universal Pictures

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Based on Jo Nesbø‘s 2007 novel of the same title, the Tomas Alfredson psychological thriller The Snowman is one of the worst movies of the last 50 years. It follows Michael Fassbender‘s Detective Harry Hole as he investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf was found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.

The premise sounds more than interesting enough, and the Hitchcockian source material is, indeed, fantastic. It’s just the film that fails to live up to those standards. Its non-linear approach to the story is incomprehensible at best, a scattered mess that goes downhill pretty soon into the runtime and never picks itself back up. A fine cast can’t exactly save this film, and justifiably, The Snowman became one of 2017’s most infamous flops.

1

‘Gotti’ (2018)

Image via Paramount Pictures

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Gotti is one of the most iconic so-bad-they’re-good movies in recent memory, an absolute travesty of a film with a John Travolta lead performance that’s just as much of a travesty. It’s one of the worst-ever movies based on true stories, a biopic that gives biopics a bad name, a disaster that had been stuck in development hell since 2010, where it probably should have stayed.

Gotti tells its story non-linearly for… no good reason at all, really. Its 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes is well-earned, as it’s a laughably terrible cinematic tragedy that shows just how awful gangster films can be when placed in the wrong hands. No element of it works, and as one of the most terrible movies of the 21st century so far, it’s easily the worst non-linear-narrative movie ever made.

Prince William has kept his late mother, Princess Diana, close to his heart in the decades since her tragic death.

“Remembering my mother, today and every day,” William, 43, wrote via social media on Sunday, March 15. “Thinking of all those who are remembering someone they love today. Happy Mother’s Day.”

Mother’s Day is celebrated across the United Kingdom in March. For the Prince of Wales, he marked the occasion with a rare family photo.

In the upload, Diana wore a pink sweater as she played with a toddler-aged William in a rose-filled field. The image is reportedly from William’s “private collection,” according to royal reporter Rebecca English.

“This picture is from Prince William’s private collection and is not believed to have been seen before,” Daily Mail columnist English tweeted. “He was aged 2 when it was taken.”

Diana tragically died in an August 1997 car crash when she was 36. She is survived by sons William and Prince Harry, who were 15 and 12 at the time. (Diana shared her children with her ex-husband, King Charles III.)

In the years since her death, William and Harry have both honored her legacy.

“I have taken some guidance from what my mother did,” William, for his part, said in his We Can End Homelessness documentary in 2024. “When I was very small my mother started talking about homelessness, much like I do now with my children on the school run.”

William, who shares three kids with wife Princess Kate Middleton, further recalled how Diana would take both him and his brother to visit local shelters.

“When you’re [that] small, you’re curious, and you’re kind of trying to work out what’s going on,” he said of the experience. “You just ask the question, like, ‘Well, why are they sitting there?’ And my mother would talk to us a bit about why they were there. It definitely had a really big impact.”

According to William, he was particularly “anxious” the first time Diana took him to London’s The Passage charity.

“I’d never been to anything like that before and I was a bit anxious as to what to expect,” he said in the doc. “My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone.”

In addition to William’s poignant Mother’s Day tribute, the official royal family X account also honored the likes of Queen Elizabeth II, her mother and Queen Camilla on Sunday.

“Wishing Mothers everywhere, and those who might be missing their Mums today, a restful Mothering Sunday,” a social media statement read, alongside throwback family portraits.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 2 minutes ago

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is considered one of the most revolutionary shows in television, and rightfully so: it ushered in a new era of quippy genre superheroism, essentially paving the way for the later rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On top of its whip-smart writing, the show was also filled with amazing and hilarious characters that you couldn’t help but love. This included Cordelia Chase: she was written to be a vapid mean girl, but fans loved her so much that she helped launch Angel, Buffy’s very successful spinoff.

However, if the Buffy producers hadn’t dubbed over a line from one of the show’s most infamous episodes, Cordelia wouldn’t have been such a fan-favorite; in fact, she would have been canceled altogether! The episode in question is “Go Fish,” which has a scene in which Cordelia makes fun of the idea that all humans are inherently equal. That’s bad enough, but in a line eventually dubbed over, she appeared to defend the practice of slavery!

Cordelia Like You’ve Never Seen Her Before

In “Go Fish,” Buffy and her friends have several run-ins with Sunnydale High School’s swim team, who seem especially aggro (even by the standards of jocks). It turns out that their coach has been giving these athletes something much worse than steroids: he and a crazy nurse have altered these swimmers’ DNA, which periodically transforms them into gill monsters straight out of Creature From the Black Lagoon. Eventually, the monstrous team kills both the nurse and their coach; most of them (including a recently transformed Xander) are given healing treatments, while the swimmers past the point of no return swim out to the ocean, their humanity fully lost.

Relatively speaking, Cordelia doesn’t play a major role in “Go Fish,” but she does have a memorable exchange with Willow and Xander. Willow (who has been teaching the computer science class after Jenny Calendar’s death) complains about a student asking her to change his grade, which Xander gripes is “wrong” because “It’s a slap in the face to every one of us that worked hard and studied long hours to earn our D’s.” That’s when Cordelia mocks Xander for “being the voice of the common wuss” and archly tells him that “certain people are entitled to special privileges. They’re called winners. That’s the way the world works.”

Cordelia Nearly Got Canceled

Instead of backing down, Xander asks her “about that nutty ‘all men are created equal’ thing,” which she deems “Propaganda spouted by the ugly and less deserving.” Xander says he thinks Lincoln said that, and after Cordelia insults Lincoln’s appearance, Willow clarifies that the quote came from Thomas Jefferson. Cordelia replies, “Kept slaves, remember?” But if you watch the screen carefully at this moment, you will see that her lips keep moving after she finished talking.

That’s because actor Charisma Carpenter had to redub her original dialogue. When filming the episode, she originally said, “Kept slaves. Got any more?” The script says that she poses this question as “a challenge,” which may imply she was challenging Willow to produce more factoids about Jefferson, or maybe challenging her friends to cite more problematic people who spouted virtuous things. However, I believe the line was dubbed over for a more sinister reason: the producers realized that it sounded as if Cordelia was actually supporting slavery.

Asking “got any more?” after mentioning that Jefferson “owned slaves” may have made the audience think that Cordelia wanted to have slaves of her own. That might sound crazy, but keep in mind that she is a spoiled rich girl (daddy hasn’t been busted for tax fraud yet) who likely did have the modern equivalent of servants helping around her house. Plus, it’s far easier to believe that Cordelia was making a pro-slavery comment when her previous dialogue had her openly mocking the idea that everyone is created equally.

The Producers Quietly Saved This Fan-Favorite Character

By having Charisma Carpenter redub the line, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer producers removed the challenge from her voice; now, she simply reminds everyone that Thomas Jefferson was a bad man who owned slaves. This helps make Cordelia’s prickly mean girl a far more tolerable character and keeps her from getting canceled by the fandom. Which is good, because it would only be a little over a year later that Cordelia departs Sunnydale to go start a new life in Los Angeles as part of the Angel spinoff, whose titular hero she helps solve cases and fight crimes.

“Go Fish” is already an infamous episode because the fish monsters nearly assault Buffy in a very intimate way while the coach leeringly says, “boys have other needs.” Fortunately, this Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode dodged another scandal by redubbing a line that would have made Cordelia Chase a fan of slavery. Now, without that problematic dialogue, we can enjoy Cordelia for who she really is: the head b*tch in charge of any situation who isn’t afraid to put fellow students in their place!

Even though Don Toliver released his latest album, “OCTANE,” in early 2026, he’s already got his mind on the next project. During a recent interview, the “Body” rapper discussed the transformation he’s undergone since releasing the 18-track project, why being in the studio at this moment is important to him, and his collaboration with Justin Timberlake.

Don Toliver Opens Up About Working On His Next Album Just Weeks After The Release Of ‘OCTANE’

Speaking with Billboard, Toliver revealed that he’s already been in the recording booth working on his next project. For those who may be unaware, “OCTANE,” which features hits “Gemstones” and “ATM,” was released in January 2026 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 162,000 equivalent units.

During the conversation, Toliver said that the rush to make new music stems from his genuine connection with the process. The 31-year-old further shared that capturing what he’s currently experiencing is paramount to him.

“To be honest, bro, I just realized within myself that I just love music and I just feel like right now if I don’t put out anything, I just need to capture this moment because it’s a lot going on in my life when I was making this album and when it came out and it’s just fueling me to be as creative as I can possibly be,” he said.

How Don Toliver Ended Up With A Justin Timberlake Sample On His Album

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Elsewhere in the interview, Toliver discussed his hit single “Body,” which includes a sample from early-2000s icon Justin Timberlake. Toliver explained that, growing up, he often listened to Y2K stars like Pharrell and Outkast with his mother, creating lasting memories.

“I got a lot of fond memories of that. Justin Timberlake is always one of my favorites. ‘Justified,’ that album is literally in my top 10 favorite albums of all time,” Toliver shared.

Unfortunately, though, mixing his single with Timberlake’s 2002 single “Rock Your Body” wasn’t as sentimental as it may sound. “I didn’t think that deep into it,” said Toliver.

“As I sat with it for like a week, I was like, ‘Hold on, this is literally one of my favorite songs of all-time.’ ‘Rock Your Body’ is one of those songs that triggers an endorphin in my body. To put those two together was so iconic for me,” he added.

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Don Toliver Opens Up About His Relationship With Rapper Travis Scott

“OCTANE” also featured rapper Travis Scott, one of Toliver’s longtime friends and music mentors. In a previous interview, Toliver shared the story of how the two met, explaining that Scott appeared at one of his shows after he’d been hustling to make a name for himself as an underground artist.

Safe to say, Scott means the world to Toliver, who told Billboard that he tries to keep their relationship as far from music as possible. “At the end of the day, we are human beings,” he said.

And when it came time to record his part for “OCTANE,” Toliver said he just wanted Scott to understand his “journey” through the music.

“He just caught a vibe for ‘Rosary,’ and he understood my idea for it. It was crazy, I really love his verse on the song,” he continued.

Toliver Describes The Mood Of His Latest Album

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For those who might not have heard Toliver’s “OCTANE,” the father of one opened up about the inspiration behind the project during an interview with VIBE.

“The inspiration behind the title is another phrase for more fuel consumption. It’s really what it is,” he said. “It started out being about luxury vehicles and what I want to say about camping or outdoor living. With that, there are a lot of people who camp at night. The cars and nature are where this album began for me. I wanted it to be a luxury outdoor living experience where I could connect through a studio out there.”

As he continued, Toliver described the “mood” of the project, calling it “an experience” that gives him a lot of energy.

“The vibe of it just feels very adventurous when I listen to it. It just makes me want to start my day. When I get in my car and play the record, it makes me want to just go wherever I need to go,” he continued, adding that it puts him in a “‘Mission Impossible’ mindset.”

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Speaking Of Mission…

Speaking of his mission, Toliver shared what he hopes to accomplish as a performer.

“To be one of the greatest artists to ever live is honestly my end goal. Of course, it’s to be successful in whatever I do within this, but more so, just to be pronounced as one of the best. I’m fine with that,” he said.

Roommates, Blueface has the internet popping off with reactions after he stepped in the ring with streamer Chibu at Adin Ross’ Brand Risk event in Miami on Saturday, March 14. The card featured several influencer and streamer matchups, but viewers were locked in on Blue and Chibu. Now that the fight is over, folks online are sounding off about the judges’ unanimous decision on the winner.

RELATED: Whew! Social Media Is Goin’ IN On Clips Of Blueface Showin’ Off His Boxing Jabs (WATCH)

Blueface’s & Chibu’s Fight Has The Internet Buzzin’

Clips from Blueface and Chibu’s fight are taking over timelines. One viral moment that has everyone talking is when Chibu appeared to knock Blue out of the ring. Blue said it was a push, but viewers aren’t buying it — they are standing ten toes down on the fact that Chibu knocked him down. Chibu landed a few more hits, and the judges unanimously called him the winner. Fans are split on the decision, while others believe Blue was robbed.

@clipsourceex The MOMENT Blueface REGRET Fighting Infront 500k Live Viewers After getting Embarrassed 😳🥊 #adinross ♬ In Essence (Slowed) – Ka$tro

The Internet Can’t Agree On Who Really Won The Fight

Folks in The Shade Room’s comment section kept going back and forth, debating who they think really won the fight.

Instagram user @ooohletstalkaboutit wrote, “Blueface lost that fight. That man punches were landing. And he boxed him out, the ring not pushed.”

Instagram user @forever_cocoa23 wrote, “The ones saying he won what fight were they watching. The man got knocked out the ring 🥴” 

While Instagram user @napoleonsledge wrote, “He won the whole fight. Real talk 💯 he got robbed.” 

Another Instagram user @thatgirlhennyreviews wrote, “Lies .. blue did not win that fight. How you win and you got knocked out the ring.” 

Then Instagram user @getsauceee wrote, “I like Blueface but he needed to be humbled.” 

Instagram user @a.peculiar.ppl wrote, “Chibu whoooed Blue…I was surprised but he definitely did.” 

While another Instagram user @uniquely__yourz wrote, “Y’all cut the shhhhh Blueface lost! Chibu was rocking that dome!!!” 

Then another Instagram user @uwahtiiyf wrote, “He lost fair and square 😂😂😂” 

Finally, Instagram user @mrs_remix wrote, “Once you get knocked out the ring you Lose😂”

Blue Speaks On Unanimous Decision

Right after the fight, Blueface jumped on his stream to talk about losing to Chibu. He told fans he planned to watch the fight again to see who actually landed more punches. “It’s not about how you win, it’s how you lose.” The rapper continued, “We’re going to watch the fight back and see who landed more punches.” 

@clipzsisters Blueface After Losing To Chibu in Boxing match #blueface #chibu #bluefacebaby #fyp #viral ♬ original sound – ClipzSisters

RELATED: It’s A What? Blueface & Nevaeh Akira Reveal Their Baby’s Gender & Name During Livestream Celebration (VIDEOS)

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 8 seconds ago

Starfleet Academy proved to be a very controversial Star Trek show when it first launched, but the show has won fans over with several healthy doses of nostalgia bait. This includes an entire episode dedicated to Captain Sisko and multiple episodes that follow up on Voyager storylines like the Doctor’s daughter and the Omega molecule. Arguably, though, the most popular bit of nostalgia bait is the relationship between Caleb and Tarima, one which echoes the most famous Star Trek relationship of them all.

Caleb is a tall, hunky human and future captain, while Tarima is a powerful Betazed mind reader and the daughter of a powerful family. To many fans of The Next Generation, this is a clear echo of the relationship between William Riker (the first captain of the Federation flagship Enterprise) and Deanna Troi (the Betazed ship’s counselor who dated him many years ago). However, what you may not realize is that Starfleet Academy’s best relationship echoes a pairing created for the franchise’s worst movie: Star Trek: The Motion Picture.  

It’s Not Just A Phase

Despite multiple fan campaigns saving the show from earlier cancellation, Star Trek: The Original Series ended after only three seasons. However, the show proved popular with college students during syndication, leading to Trek getting its own animated series. With the franchise in the popular zeitgeist once more, Paramount and Trek creator Gene Roddenberry teamed up in 1977 to work on Star Trek: Phase II, a live-action spinoff of The Original Series. 

Various deals fell through, and the immense success of Star Wars meant that Phase II got scrapped, and its creative DNA was cannibalized for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. That movie brought in two characters originally created for the canceled show: Will Decker, the ambitious human first officer, and Ilia, the exotic alien who can read minds (sort of). While the film offered an abbreviated version of their relationship, the Phase II writers had created an elaborate backstory about how they fell in love when they were younger, but Decker called things off to pursue his career; tension rises years later when they are stationed on the Enterprise. 

Imzadi: Star Trek’s Cutest Couple

If that sounds familiar, it should: Decker and Ilia were the template that would become Riker and Troi. Riker, like Decker, was a handsome and confident human Starfleet officer who put his career first. Troi, like Ilia, had special mental abilities and came from a race of sexually liberated aliens. Riker and Troi also had a shared romantic history, one they had to navigate throughout the entirety of The Next Generation before getting married in Star Trek: Nemesis.

In Starfleet Academy, Caleb and Tarima are the latest iteration of this idea: he’s the gifted human cadet with no shortage of confidence, and she’s the Betazoid princess who falls in love with him. From the beginning of their relationship, fans have clocked that this was clearly an homage to Riker and Troi. It certainly didn’t escape the notice of Riker actor Jonathan Frakes, who (as reported by ScreenRant) told Caleb actor Sandro Rosta, “You’re dating a Betazoid princess…You’re a lucky man. I know what it’s like.”

Young, Dumb, And Full Of Numb

Obviously, this fan-favorite Starfleet Academy relationship wouldn’t exist without Riker and Troi from The Next Generation, and those characters wouldn’t have existed without Decker and Ilia, who made their onscreen debut in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Many hated this movie, calling it “the motionless picture” and declaring it the worst in the franchise. There’s some galaxy-sized irony for you, though: the worst Star Trek movie just inspired the best thing about the latest Star Trek spinoff!

Young Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) wants to prove his worthiness to his father, Njohrr (Reuben de Jong), who thinks he doesn’t have what it takes to be an alpha predator. That’s why he travels to the “death planet” Genna to slay a supposedly unkillable beast, Kalisk. But he soon finds himself way over his head, and he’ll need the help of an unlikely ally, the damaged android Thia (Elle Fanning), to survive. With Thia by his side, can Dek kill Kalisk and win his father’s approval?

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the architect behind the rebooted Predator films Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator: Badlands is arguably the best movie in the long-running franchise. Instead of a muscle-bound human protagonist, the film commits to centering on the physically slight Dek, who shows emotions every human can relate to — frustration, fear, anger and, yes, even love.

The film’s not-so-secret ingredient is Fanning’s friendly, peppy android, who makes Dek a better predator by showing him his heart. (Not literally — I have to add that due to the nature of this movie.) Badlands is the rare franchise movie that improves on what came before it and makes you excited for what’s next. (Marvel, please take notes.)