DISNEY PLUS RELEASES PREMIERE DATE FOR WILLOW TV SERIES

The success of Star Wars allowed George Lucas to bring another fantasy tale that he had envisioned to the silver screen. In 1988, the film WILLOW, produced by Lucasfilm and directed by Ron Howard, was released. It is the story of Willow (played by Warwick Davis), a small in stature want to be sorcerer who gets entangled with a baby princess that he attempts to save from death at the hands of an evil queen leading to an adventure through a war-torn land of magic and monsters. While not considered a blockbuster film at movie theaters, WILLOW still made more than a hundred million dollar profit at the box office which is impressive for a 1980s era film and has remained a popular flick that generations of families have now enjoyed watching thanks to its release on home video. 

Now Davis is returning to the role of Willow for a new adventure in an upcoming live action series that people can enjoy watching on their television sets via the Disney Plus subscription streaming service. The "Willow" TV series debuts November 30, 2022 on Disney Plus. Produced by Ron Howard, this new TV show will star Warwick Davis along with a diverse international cast.

The story began with an aspiring magician from a Nelwyn village and an infant girl destined to unite the realms, who together helped destroy an evil queen and banish the forces of darkness. Now, in a magical world where brownies, sorcerers, trolls, and other mystical creatures flourish, the adventure continues, as an unlikely group of heroes set off on a dangerous quest to places far beyond their home, where they must face their inner demons and come together to save their world.

Who else is geeked about joining in on a new "Willow" adventure?!

NICKELODEON LAUNCHES KIDS INTO SPACE WITH THE ASTRONAUTS

Ron Howard who made a name for himself as an actor playing the wholesome All-American teen Richie Cunningham on Happy Days and has evolved his career to become recognized as one of the best directors in Hollywood (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Solo: A Star Wars Story) is now venturing into the realm of producing children's entertainment. His new production company Imagine Kids + Family is releasing its first project, THE ASTRONAUTS which is debuting on Nickelodeon with the first two episodes of the family-friendly series airing back-to-back on Friday, November 13 2020 at 7pm ET/PT. This brand-new live-action series follows a group of kids who embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they are mistakenly launched into space.

From the looks of this trailer, while aimed for a kids audience this looks like a show that I'd really enjoy watching myself along with my son and daughter. THE ASTRONAUTS at first glance looks like the perfect show for a family to enjoy together. It has a youthful starring cast but the imagery for this show looks out of this world.

In the hour-long premiere of THE ASTRONAUTS, spacecraft Odyssey II is set to launch on a mission to retrieve a foreign object that could potentially save mankind. The plan quickly goes awry when five untrained kids use their parents’ security clearances to sneak onto the empty ship. Soon after they board, the onboard AI system triggers the launch sequence. Unable to stop the ship from blasting off, the kids must assume their new role as astronauts and brave harrowing tasks, as their parents rush to find a way to take control of the situation.

Yes the premise may seem unreal, but hey it is a TV show! Just sit back and enjoy the ride. And it looks like these astronauts are going to take us on an interesting trek through outer space.

Check out this behind-the-scenes look at the new Nickelodeon series with THE ASTRONAUTS director Dean Israelite:

NEW MOON MISSION PLANS

My family has been having a blast with lots of space themed fun recently. We participated in an Apollo 13 movie viewing party on Twitter live chatting with with Director Ron Howard and Scott Kelly from NASA, my kids tried out Tang for the first time to experience the type of beverages people drink in space, interviewed real life astronaut Mike Massimino and watched the blast off of the first manned space mission to be launched from U.S. soil since the shuttle fleet was retired. Yes this dad blogger is a space geek!

This week we added to these activities by watching a new animated presentation released by NASA that shows how it plans to send astronauts to the moon. Called mission ARTEMIS this ambition plan will not only have people walking on the moon again but will serve as a gateway for sending astronauts to explore mars, the asteroid belt and onward to the rest of our solar system. This ambitious plan not only involves sending rockets to land on the moon but includes a space station that will be continuously orbiting it.

Wow! Who wants to go on an adventure to the moon?! Take a journey there by watching this animated short video that highlights the plans for the upcoming ARTEMIS missions.



Who else is geeked about the next generation of space exploration?!

APOLLO 13 MOVIE WATCHING TWITTER PARTY

Houston … we have a Twitter Party! To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ron Howard's APOLLO 13 and its recent release in 4K Ultra High Definition on digital and disc, I've partnered with Universal Home Entertainment to participate in a movie watching Twitter Party at 4pm ET / 1pm PT on Saturday May 24, 2020.

Hit play on your digital, 4K, Blu-ray, DVD or maybe even VCR tape of Apollo 13 exactly at 4pm ET/3pm CT/2pm MT/1pm PT on May 24th. As we watch the movie together, astronaut Scott Kelly will be live chatting about his own experiences in outer space using the hashtag #Apollo13AtHome. Scott has had an awe-inspiring career with NASA that has included piloting a space shuttle and spending a year on the International Space Station. Enjoy his insights about the movie from his own experiences in space travel.

Join in the #Apollo13AtHome Twitter Party by asking Scott Kelly questions and sharing your own thoughts and commentary about the movie during this virtual watch party as everyone is viewing the show in real time. If you are jumping on Twitter to watch the movie and live tweet with us, make sure to give @Geekdad248 a shout out. Hope to see you on Twitter for this movie watching party!

Can you believe Apollo 13 is twenty-five years old? It seems like just yesterday that I was in college going to see the movie with a bunch of my buddies at a theater near the campus. The engineers in our crew of friends were really geeked about this movie which I was pretty wowed by myself watching it on the big screen. Now I'm looking forward to having my kids watch the movie for the first time along with me during this Twitter party.



This Hollywood drama is based on the events of the Apollo 13 lunar mission, astronauts Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks), Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) and Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) find everything going according to plan after leaving Earth's orbit. However, when an oxygen tank explodes, the scheduled moon landing is called off. Subsequent tensions within the crew and numerous technical problems threaten both the astronauts' survival and their safe return to Earth.

If you don't have the movie on hand, it is available on digital from online services including Apple TV, Google Play, Movies Anywhere and Vudu. It is also available on 4K and Blu-ray from Best Buy. If you buy Apollo 11 from Best Buy using an affiliate link within this post ageekdaddy.com will receive a small commission at no additional expense to you. This dad blogger appreciates your support!

5...4...3...2..1...the countdown to this weekend's #Apollo13AtHome Twitter Party has begun. Looking forward to traveling to the moon and back with Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton while chatting with real life astronaut Scott Kelly. Remember to tee up Apollo 13 and be ready to blast off at the designated take off time.

National Geographic: MARS Blu-ray Giveaway

What would it be like to venture and live on Mars?  What would you pack and take with you on your journey from Earth to the fourth planet from the sun?  Is there a chance one day in the future that in addition to humans celebrating Earth Day there will be colonists also be commemorating Mars Day?  National Geographic explores this topic with its six-part television series MARS produced by the Academy Award-winning production duo of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard which merges a sci-fi drama with an educational documentary by interspersing interviews with real life astronauts, engineers, scientists, and other space experts within a scripted fictional story about a journey to the Red Planet.

Ask your kids what they think it would be like to be an astronaut on a trek to Mars. Share with them the informative fact sheet and packing list sheets below.  What would they pack along with them on a journey to Mars? I'm sure some of their answers will be quite interesting!





Share a picture of your completed inventory list on Instagram and/or Twitter by 11:59 pm on Monday, April 24, 2017 for a chance to win National Geographic: MARS Season 1 on Blu-ray.  Tag @Geekdad248 on either Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtag #MarsDay when sharing your picture on social media.  One winner will be randomly selected to win the Blu-ray courtesy of National Geographic and Fox Home Entertainment. One entry per social media account with a maximum of 2 entries allowed per household.

The television series tells the story of a multi-national effort to send astronauts to explore Mars set in 2037.  It revolves around the crew of the Daedalus, which includes mission commander Ben Sawyer (American), systems engineer Hana Seung (American), physician Amelie Durand (French), roboticist Robert Foucault (Nigerian), geochemist Javier Delgado (Spanish), and geologist Marta Kamen (Russian), who will be the first people to set foot on Mars.  As they engage in their adventure, viewers are shown flashbacks of the characters preparing for the mission from four years before lift off.  Interview segments with actual modern day experts are also incorporated into the fictional story explaining how today's technology will be utilized or enhanced to make such a mission feasible in the future.

In the first episode, as the Daedalus prepares to land on Mars a critical system on the space ship malfunctions.  Attempting to avert a disaster, the mission commander is critically injured.  While Commander Sawyer's efforts get his crew's boots on the ground, they find themselves 75 kilometers away from where automated rockets from Earth had previously dropped supplies waiting for them.  How will they survive with limited resources and no easy way to get to their planned landing site where all their vital supplies are stored?  And how do they treat Sawyer's serious injuries when the closest hospital is more than 200 million kilometers away?  You'll have to start watching to find out!

Disclaimer & Rules:  A Geek Daddy has not been financially compensated for this endorsement or hosting the giveaway but was provided the same items being provided as a prize for personal use. The prize is provided by Fox Home Entertainment and A Geek Daddy is hosting the promotion as a benefit to our readers. Must be a US resident over the age of 18 to participate.  One entry per mailing address and winner will be randomly selected from all eligible entries.  If you have already won this prize through another blog participating in this promotion, your entry will be disqualified if that prize has already been awarded by Fox Home Entertainment.  By participating in this promotion you waive any liability of any kind against the publisher of this blog. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. No P.O. Boxes allowed for delivery of the prize. Fox Home Entertainment will be responsible for shipping the prize to the selected winner.