By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 5 minutes ago

One thing you’ll notice when you’re (re)watching Stargate SG-1, is that Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) dies a lot. By the time he dies in Episode 12, “Fire and Water,” his death count is up to three (the movie, and “Nox”), which is a little high for a regular human. Then again, he doesn’t really die in “Fire and Water,” so should that even count? Stargate Command gives him a full funeral with military honors so to my mind, it counts as another notch for “Daniel Jackson is Dead.”

Daniel Jackson Is Dead. Again. For The Third Time.

“Fire and Water” opens with SG-1 coming back earlier than expected from their latest mission, looking all sad and dejected as Hammond asks what went wrong, and learns that “Jackson is dead.” Before the opening credits we see the whole military funeral, O’Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) giving a touching eulogy where he admits that Jackson is the heart of the team. Out of anger, O’Neill, likely a little drunk off of Molson’s, takes out the window of a car with a hockey stick (look quick and you’ll note it says “Anderson” on the stick) and angrily demands they movie it. It’s Hammond’s car, prompting a suddenly much calmer O’Neill to tell his boss that he needs to replace that window. 

The SG-1 team slowly realizes that Daniel isn’t dead. Something messed with their minds to make them think he was. Turns out, Daniel’s alive, underwater in the lair of the aquatic merman Nem to help solve the thousand-year old mystery of what happened to his mate, Omoroca. We learn that Omoroca and Nem helped teach the ancient Babylonians until she was murdered by Belus, who of course, was a Goa’uld System Lord. It all goes back to the Goa’uld. 

The Math Ain’t Mathing

The merman like Nem is played by Gerard Plunkett, who first appeared on Stargate SG-1 as Councilor Tuplo in “The Broca Divide,” starting the trend of actors playing multiple aliens during the show’s decade-long run. Nem never reappears, nor is he or Omoroca mentioned again, perhaps because someone behind the scenes did the math and realized the pair’s involvement with the ancient Babylonians and also the Goa’uld broke the timeline.

Jackson tells Nem that Omoroca helped inspire the Tau’ri rebellion against the Goa’uld. That took place in 3000 B.C.E. in Egypt, yet Jackson says Nem was on Earth 4,000 years ago working with the Babylonians. That maths out to roughly 2000 B.C.E., or a thousand years after the rebellion. Goa’uld being active on Earth and acting as Gods past that point doesn’t work with the timing of the burial of the Stargate. 

“Fire and Water” is another in the long line of episodes that introduces an advanced species with deep ties to the roots of human civilization that we never see again. Get used to it, even Stargate Atlantis does this years later. It’s also not the last time that Jackson is killed in the line of duty. On its own, it’s a bit of an empty episode that alludes to bigger things, though it does get a little credit for Nem’s planet Oannes not looking like the woods of Vancouver for once. 

Hip-hop legend Jermaine Dupri is taking Sony Music Entertainment to court, alleging that the music distributor has withheld millions in royalties from him and his team. Dupri, known for his work with music titans, including Usher, Ludacris, TLC, and Xscape, filed a lawsuit against the company in early July 2026.

Dupri is taking Sony Music Entertainment to court, alleging that the music company has withheld millions from him and his label, So-So Def Recordings, and blasted them in legal filings for their alleged “deceitful actions.”

In the filing, reported by PEOPLE, Dupri said he’s helped produce some of the industry’s biggest songs, which have ultimately brought in over $200 million. However, over the years he and Sony have worked together, Dupri alleged that the company had repeatedly altered documents by underreporting and failing to report royalties.

“[Sony Music Entertainment] intentionally failed to account to Plaintiffs to avoid paying millions of dollars to the Plaintiffs,” the filing reads.

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Jermaine Dupri Reworked His Contract With Sony Music Numerous Times Between 1992 And 2006

The legal documents claim that Dupri, who entered into a contract with Sony Music Entertainment in 1992, has reworked his agreement with the company “at least seven times” between ’92 and 2006.

Elsewhere in the filing, it states that the music icon began to believe something unsavory was occurring at the company in 2023 when So-So Def Recordings realized they allegedly hadn’t been paid for “multiple releases” over a “substantial” period of time.

As for the records, Dupri is alleging in the lawsuit that he is owed nearly $1 million for his work on Xscape’s “Hummin’ Comin’ at ‘Cha,” and $2.2 million for two Kris Kross albums.

Overall, Dupri is seeking $18 million in royalties from Sony and has referenced additional works he’s allegedly missing royalties on by artists such as Mariah Carey, Usher, and Bow Wow.

Jermaine Dupri Broke His Silence On Why He Believed Xscape Split

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While Dupri has worked with a plethora of stellar artists over the years, fans can never overlook his role in shaping Xscape into one of the most dominant R&B quartets of the early ’90s. Hits like “Who Can I Run To” and “Just Kickin’ It” are just a few of the timeless records that helped cement the group’s legacy.

However, the band split in 2000 before reuniting briefly in 2005. Speaking with Ebony in 2019, Dupri got candid about how he felt some of his work with the group actually led to their demise, stating that the songs he wrote caused friction amongst the ladies.

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“They meet Jermaine Dupri, and Jermaine Dupri writes a song and he gives the song to Kandi [Burruss] because Kandi’s voice sounds like mine. It’s no other reason that I gave it to her besides the fact that I wanted her to sing the way I was having T-Boz sing. That created friction from jump,” he said.

While the group has since reunited and performed together, they proved their drama remained when they appeared in the Bravo docuseries “SWV & XSCAPE: The Queens of R&B.”

Dupri Took The Super Bowl Stage With Usher In 2024

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In addition to Xscape, Dupri worked with Usher on some of his biggest hits, including “Burn,” “Confessions Part II,” and “My Boo.” So, it only made sense for the music staple to appear alongside him during his 2024 Super Bowl performance.

Dupri opened up about the special occasion while speaking with Entertainment Tonight, saying, “It’s amazing to be up there with your friends and to be up there with people that you basically started.”

According to Dupri, Usher’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 was one they completed together, so sharing the stage with the superstar was “definitely, definitely amazing.”

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Dupri’s Legacy Continues!

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For those who might’ve missed it, Usher’s Super Bowl performance featured Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Lil Jon, and H.E.R. The show also featured Usher and his dancers gliding across the stage in roller skates, something Dupri said paid homage to Atlanta. Dupri described Usher’s performance as “the most electrifying thing I’ve seen on TV” before giving the 47-year-old his props for putting on a brilliant performance.

As the interview was concluding, Dupri reflected on his career, saying his first No. 1 album was with Kris Kross in 1993. Then, he shifted to reflecting on his current work, specifically with Muni Long. “I got the hottest record on the streets right now with Muni Long [“Made for Me”] and it’s the biggest sensation on TikTok, and I just performed at the Super Bowl,” he said.

Netflix is home to some of the most popular shows in streaming history, including its originals like Stranger Things or adaptations of beloved animated series like Avatar: The Last Airbender or One Piece. It’s also notorious for how it treats certain shows, with breakout hits often canceled without warning. Some Netflix subscribers have also expressed their frustration that certain shows get canceled while others seem to continue without any issue (read: Emily in Paris). However, Netflix is now facing another major issue with its shows, and it’s entirely the streamer’s own making.

A new report from Bloomberg shows a stark difference in viewership between the debut season of a Netflix original and its second season. Season 2 of One Piece lost over 30% of its audience, while Season 2 of Beef fell a staggering 70%. Perhaps the biggest indicator that Netflix’s status isn’t what it used to be is Avatar: The Last Airbender, which saw a 60% drop in viewership just a week after its premiere. The problem isn’t quality, as most of these series have received higher ratings in their second seasons than in their debuts. So what’s causing these massive drop-offs in viewership? The answer is simple.

The Delay Between Seasons Is Affecting Netflix’s Viewership Numbers

Image via Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

After Bloomberg’s report dropped, writer/director Matthew A. Cherry ​​​​​​laid out a simple truth on Twitter: the years-long gap between seasons is eroding people’s interest in Netflix’s shows. It’s not hard to argue Cherry’s point, as new installments of Netflix originals seem to be taking longer to come out. Both Beef and One Piece premiered in 2023, meaning that it took three years for a new season to drop. While other elements like the SAG-AFTRA/WGA strike of 2023 impact production, Netflix is also relying solely on the faith of its subscribers for viewership, and that faith is starting to wear thin.

Another side effect of the seasonal gap is that audiences’ opinions on certain series begin to shift, and sometimes not for the better. Stranger Things is a great example of this, as the gap between seasons widened, resulting in a re-evaluation of what was once a beloved series. Many felt Stranger Things would have been better served as a miniseries, while others felt that its embrace of ’80s pop culture was stagnating actual pop culture. Other fans felt that the show extending its episodes to feature length didn’t do much for the story, leading to a mixed reception for the series finale, “The Upside Down.” In many ways, this was a harbinger of things to come for Netflix.

Netflix’s Binge Model is Outdated

Netflix has another issue to contend with beyond its lengthy production gaps: its binge model has grown outdated. When it first launched, the idea of watching a single season of television in a day was a great hook. Now, most people are championing longer seasons rather than the 8 episodes Netflix usually allots for its original series. Other streamers like Prime Video and Disney+ have made a habit out of weekly releases and ended up edging Netflix out of the limelight. Cosmopolitan entertainment editor Tamara Fuentes also pointed out in an interview with TheWrap that while other streamers have found a clear identity, Netflix remains hard to pin down.

“Netflix often found its identity via the hit show at the time. It is like they are trying to figure out that formula again — trying to see what the next big thing can be — but they don’t often lean into what they find as success.”

If Netflix wants to reclaim its crown in the Streaming Wars, it needs to switch up both its production strategy and its approach to releasing original television. Netflix is still capable of making hits, as anyone who’s seen KPop Demon Hunters or The Boroughs can confirm. But it’s clear that time is not on its side, and those in charge should embrace change rather than remain on a sinking ship.

Russell Wilson and Ciara have been going strong since they first started dating in 2015.

Ahead of their July 2016 nuptials, the couple spoke candidly about their decision to remain celibate until marriage.

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“We’re hanging in there. I’m not gonna lie. I’m human, so it is not easy,” Ciara, who was already the mother of son Future Jr. from her previous relationship with ex-fiancé Future, told Cosmopolitan in February 2016. “Especially when I look at him and I think he is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen — that I’ve ever laid my eyes on, to be honest. I’m like, ‘Look the other way! Look the other way!’”

After tying the knot, Ciara and Wilson went on to welcome daughter Sienna in 2017 and son Win in 2020. Their third baby, and Ciara’s fourth child, daughter Amora was born in December 2023.

Scroll down to relive Wilson and Ciara’s sweetest relationship moments:

Surveillance video reportedly shows the moments when gunfire struck a Lamborghini carrying DreamDoll Bri and two others.

RELATED: UPDATE: Autopsy On Body Of Nolan Xavier Wells Reportedly Scheduled As Internet Users Send Support To His Mom & Family

Surveillance Video Reportedly Shows Moments Gunfire Struck Lamborghini Carrying DreamDoll Bri & Two Others

According to TMZ, the drive-by shooting that claimed the life of influencer DreamDoll Bri and injured two others was reportedly captured on surveillance. Footage obtained by the outlet shows a Green Lamborghini Urus driving down what appears to be a residential street. As the truck nears a stop sign, another car swiftly pulls up alongside it. And speeds past the stop sign, making a left turn.

Per the outlet, it was in these moments that bullets from that additional car struck the Lamborghini. This, ultimately killing Bri and reportedly injuring two others.

ALERT: Influencer gunned down as she was driving her lime green Lamborghini in South Florida.

Brianna Johnson, who went by DreamDoll Brii, was shot in an apparent drive-by shooting as she was driving her green Lamborghini Urus in Miramar.

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Johnson and the 2 other passengers in… pic.twitter.com/CPBctFidqJ

— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) July 6, 2026

At this time, it’s being reported that the additional car was a white sedan, and authorities are looking for the occupant(s).

Social Media Continues To React

Social media users continued to share their thoughts on the fatal shooting of DreamDoll Bri in the TSR Teens’ comment section.

More On Gunfire Striking Lamborghini Carrying DreamDoll Bri & Two Others

As The Shade Room previously reported, the shooting that claimed the life of DreamDoll Bri occurred during the early hours of Sunday, July 5. The 21-year-old was traveling with two others when the shooting reportedly rang out around 5:30 a.m. Furthermore, Bri and the two males inside the vehicle were rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital in critical condition.

Ultimately, it appears that Bri was the only individual to pass away. To note, the motive behind the attack remains unclear. However, footage has since been shared of an apparent scuffle at a gas station hours earlier.

Per RollingOut, authorities believe the white sedan seen in the surveillance footage may be a BMW. The outlet adds that “anyone with information is asked to call the Miramar Police Department or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.”

RELATED: Prayers Up! Influencer DreamDoll Bri Passes Away After Early Morning Shooting Into Lamborghini SUV (UPDATE)

When it comes to superhero films — especially ones that are part of a larger cinematic universe — conversations about casts and plots are usually quickly followed by a very familiar conversation about expectations: Is “superhero fatigue” real? Has the audience moved on from comic books? Will this movie do well enough at the box office to keep the franchise going?

Supergirl, the newest movie in James Gunn‘s fledgling DCU, has inevitably found itself under this exact same microscope. Starring Milly Alcock, featuring Jason Momoa as Lobo and directed by Craig Gillespie, the film — which took inspiration from the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic — had a lot of the ingredients it needed to succeed as an entertaining film. But in a summer full of blockbusters like The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, there was an expectation that Supergirl would be a hit for the studio, on the order of last year’s Superman. Supergirl was expected to validate the DCU long-term strategy of building a larger cohesive ecosystem for all these characters to flourish, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Unfortunately, audiences and critics alike were not all that receptive to Supergirl. The film underperformed at the box office, opening at around $68 million globally against a $180 million budget. And despite near-universal praise for Alcock’s performance as Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl, the film hasn’t connected with fans on the level that DC was hoping for.

But while there has been much speculation about why Supergirl didn’t meet expectations (including a report of creative problems behind the scenes between Gunn and Gillespie), the reality is that those expectations may have been an impossible burden to place on the film to begin with, no matter what the finished product was.

‘Supergirl’ Was Never Going to Be Judged on Quality Alone

Modern superhero movies are no longer evaluated by whether they are entertaining. Instead, they have become progress reports for billion-dollar franchises. Every opening weekend is examined on a molecular level, and viewed as evidence that these franchises are succeeding or failing. In the case of Supergirl, much of the discussion has shifted from the film’s qualities to what the box office means for the future of the DC Universe.

It’s also impossible to discuss Supergirl‘s performance at the box office without acknowledging that, like many female-led blockbusters, discourse expanded well beyond ticket sales, as topics like feminism and “wokeness” inevitably became talking points for those who wished to see the movie fail. Despite this, the film’s failure at the box office was not because it starred a woman, even if some people online wished it was.

None of this discussion focused on whether Supergirl tells a compelling a story. Instead, much of the online conversation is fueled by speculation about franchise momentum, and how much of an impact it will have on the DC Universe. But this was an impossible standard for Supergirl, or any film, to meet. No single film will convince everyone that a cinematic universe will work. For every Avengers: Infinity War, there exists a Thor: The Dark World.

Privileging box office discussions over whether films have memorable performances or strong emotional storytelling is the movie equivalent of evaluating athletes purely by their box scores rather than on-the-field impact.

Have Shared Universes Worn Out Their Welcome?

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Supergirl found itself at a very interesting flashpoint in the superhero movie ecosystem. It’s not just DC that is in a precarious position. Even with all the goodwill Marvel built over the years, they are facing an uphill climb when it comes to generating excitement for some of their biggest releases, like the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Regardless of individual strengths or weaknesses, Supergirl wasn’t just a summer blockbuster, it was expected to reassure the fans and silence the doubters. It did not do that; instead, it raised concerns about long-term viability.

For a casual audience, it can be harder to invest the time necessary to fully understand a shared cinematic universe. It was an issue that Marvel struggled with, but eventually found its path to massive success. But most moviegoers are less concerned with overall studio strategy and how faithful movies are to their source material; they simply want to know if they’re spending money to be entertained for around two hours. If this gets lost in discussions of box office numbers and cohesion between movies, even well-made superhero movies will struggle.

Shared universes aren’t going away, and nor should they, because when done in a way that is constructive and entertaining, audiences resonate with them. One only needs to look at the cultural impact that was made by Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel, Avengers: Endgame. However, as with the Avengers films, they only work if the individual movies can stand on their own. If there’s a lesson to be learned from Supergirl‘s disappointing box office, it’s that audiences have grown cautious of investing time in a film that is seen as the next building block of these universes.

While Supergirl struggled, DC and Warner Brothers do not seem to be worried about the future. Supergirl isn’t going to sink anything, and the character is set to be a major player in the DC Universe going forward. Nevertheless, it can serve as an example of what studios need to do differently to ensure their films succeed.

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Release Date

June 26, 2026

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Runtime

108 minutes

Writers

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Ana Nogueira

Producers

James Gunn, Lars P. Winther, Nigel Gostelow, Peter Safran

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 20 seconds ago

For years, anyone who criticized shows like Star Trek: Discovery or Star Trek: Picard was labeled as a narrow-minded bigot who just couldn’t appreciate all of the progressive signaling from the writers. In reality, that signaling was just jangling keys to hide how unprogressive these new shows often were (seriously, when they weren’t killing their gays, they were tokenizing them). Eventually, though, the culture war stuff stopped really mattering. Starfleet Academy got canceled after only one season, and it wasn’t alone; under the leadership of Alex Kurtzman, all NuTrek shows (minus Picard, which was always planned as three seasons) received early cancellations. The reason? Simple: not enough people were watching!

Whether you loved or hated NuTrek, this led to a grim development. Paramount has ceased all Trek TV development and is pivoting the franchise to the big screen. Now, fans of all stripes are returning to the shows of yesteryear and rediscovering the best series of them all: Deep Space Nine. DS9 achieved greatness largely thanks to showrunner Ira Steven Behr, who always pushed the franchise in new directions. Of course, he learned the hard way what does and does not work for the franchise. Case in point: despite it having a nearly perfect script, Behr later declared the TNG episode “A Matter of Perspective” to be the worst Star Trek episode he ever worked on!

Make It “No”

In Season 3, Star Trek: The Next Generation brought us “A Matter of Perspective,” which was a sci-fi murder mystery. When a lab blows up and kills a sketchy scientist, Riker is the chief suspect. Why? Because he was the last person to talk to the deceased and maybe had an inappropriate relationship with the guy’s wife. I say “maybe” because this episode uses the holodeck to recreate different characters’ events of what really happened. Eventually, Riker is exonerated, and in a shocking twist, we discover that the dead scientist accidentally blew himself up trying to kill Riker.

On paper, “A Matter of Perspective” has only a single writer: Ed Zuckerman. However, staff writer Ronald D. Moore (who would later serve as showrunner for the Battlestar Galactica reboot) claimed in a later AOL chat with fans that all of the staff helped with an uncredited rewrite for this episode. One of those writers was Ira Steven Behr, who had a rather elliptical relationship with Star Trek. He started writing for The Next Generation in Season 3, brokering peace between older writers and Michael Piller, the new showrunner. Piller eventually offered Behr the job of showrunner; instead, Behr left the show entirely. 

When It All Blows Up In Your Face

However, Piller really liked Behr and later brought him in to work on Deep Space Nine. After three seasons, Behr replaced Piller as showrunner for DS9. There, he oversaw some of the greatest sci-fi episodes ever created and wrote quite a few himself. Today, DS9 is rightfully remembered as the best Star Trek show ever made. How did Behr maintain such high quality when it came to storytelling? One way was by learning what not to do. For example, on the TNG Season 3 special features, he dubbed “A Matter of Perspective” a “disaster” and his least-favorite Trek episode that he had ever worked on. 

What made this so surprising is that “A Matter of Perspective’ was not a badly-written episode. As recorded in Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, showrunner Piller declared that he was “very, very, happy with the script,” one that was “the best murder mystery I’ve been involved in developing…because every detail falls into place, every line comes together…it really worked from a mystery standpoint.” Furthermore, the story was “very complicated, yet if you take that script apart, nothing falls out of it.” However, he felt “it didn’t translate properly” and ultimately “didn’t think it was great television.” Behr and Moore both agreed, though they were harsher in their criticisms.

“A Matter of Perspective” is a solid hour of Star Trek: The Next Generation, one that uses futuristic technology to tell a very captivating story. Still, Ira Steven Behr was one of many writers who thought they dropped the ball when it came to bringing this tale to life. At the time, this was a minor blip in a career that would eventually be defined by the greatest sci-fi franchise ever made. Once he became showrunner for Deep Space Nine, though, his ability to tell whether a script would work onscreen helped him craft the best Star Trek series ever made. 

As the Department of Temporal Investigations might put it, the rest is history!

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 21 seconds ago

In the world of Obsession, the One Wish Willow is an obscenely powerful artifact that you can buy over the counter. With a single wish, you can achieve fabulous wealth, get your crush to obsess with you…anything you want, really, though your desires are likely to backfire. Despite its fantastic premise, Obsession is relatively grounded, so we never see the One Wish Willow grant anyone kung-fu fighting skills, a la The Matrix. Despite this, however, Obsession just managed to inexplicably defeat the greatest martial arts master who ever lived: Bruce Lee!

Recently, Curry Barker’s horror film, which was made for a measly $750,000, reached an astounding new record by earning over $400 million worldwide. For context, that’s far more than The Mandalorian and Grogu, which has earned $334 million against a budget of $165 million. Now, Obsession is officially the highest-grossing movie that was made for less than a million dollars. To achieve that record, it had to earn more than the most beloved kung-fu film in Hollywood history: Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon.

A Bloody Great Achievement

It’s kind of astounding to think that Obsession came out eight weeks ago. It only took this horror film two months to become the biggest film of the summer (at least, until Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes out), despite some heavy competition. Like, who could have imagined a micro-budget spooky film from a virtually unknown director could trounce everyone from Supergirl to He-Man? Now, eight months after its release, Obsession has passed an important landmark, earning $400 million worldwide against a budget of $750,000. Now, it’s officially the highest-grossing movie ever made for under a million dollars.

Previously, that record was held by the Bruce Lee kung-fu classic Enter the Dragon. That martial arts masterpiece was made for $850,000; after it came out in 1973, it earned a total of $400 million at the box office before it left theaters for good. For over half a century, no film managed to beat this ratio of low budget and high box office earnings, though a few movies deserve honorable mention. For example, Rocky earned $225 million against a $1 million budget, and The Blair Witch Project earned $248.6 million against the same budget Obsession had: $750,000.

Bruce All Fighty

At the risk of glazing Curry Barker too much, the comparison to Blair Witch really highlights what a cinematic achievement Obsession is. Back in 1999, $750,000 was enough to create a found footage horror movie with amateur actors and bad cameras. Now, that same budget can be used to create a polished film with amazing cinematography and professional acting. Does that make breakout star Inde Navarette the new Bruce Lee, though? It depends on your perspective. Obsession earned more than what Enter the Dragon earned pre-inflation; if we account for inflation, Lee’s own breakout film earned over $2 billion in today’s dollars.

Regardless of inflation, however, surpassing a beloved ‘70s Bruce Lee movie is another amazing accomplishment for Obsession. The little horror film that could continues to prove that you don’t need a huge budget in order to make a successful movie: you just need a good script, talented actors, and a director with a genuine vision. Those have always been the ingredients for great movies, and as Barker recently reminded The Hollywood Reporter, younger audiences in particular are “tired of slop” and are “hungry for movies that are original.” Now, if only the studios pumping out endless sequels, prequels, remakes, and reboots would get the freaking memo!