In the new Syfy series "Incorporated," it is the year 2074 and global warming has had its way with the world, 90% of which is controlled by multinational corporations who war over "dwindling resources." Some would say that this is already the case. Premiering Wednesday, it is a sometimes clever, just as often clichéd mix of dystopian tropes, with performances ranging from nicely modulated to almost over the top, and some sly design that, along with some twisted PSAs, also accounts for most of the story's humor. It is quite watchable and nothing special. Science fiction, it has often been noted, is all about the present and, besides the full-bore climate disasters we're rehearsing now, there are references to Canada building a fence to keep the Americans out, a declaration that "the system was rigged" (meaning the insurance business, but still), and midterm elections to which only 22% of voters turn out.

It could be the start of a Steven Spielberg sci-fi film: A boy walks into a shimmering, aluminum garden pavilion surrounded by lush palms and succulent-lined footpaths. There's a massive crater in the ceiling, open to the blue sky, and the boy cranes his neck backward to gaze at the heavens as puffy white clouds sail past. NASA's 19 earth science satellites, which are quietly circling the planet, seem to be communicating with visitors of the pavilion, their combined "voices" creating a cacophonous concert that now echoes inside the domed chamber. This is the West Coast debut of NASA Orbit Pavilion, on view at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino through Feb. 27. The structure, in the shape of a giant seashell, houses a sound installation that tracks the movement of the International Space Station and NASA's satellites as they make 90-minute trips around the Earth.

Leon Russell called his best-known composition "A Song for You," but a better title might've been "A Song for You -- and You and You and You and You." The heartfelt ballad, instantly recognizable from its opening cascade of delicate piano notes, first appeared on Russell's self-titled debut album in 1970. That's a decade after this singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist -- who died Sunday at age 74 -- moved to Los Angeles from his native Oklahoma and quickly established himself as a go-to session player. Since then, though, "A Song for You" has been recorded and performed hundreds of times by artists as diverse as Donny Hathaway, the Carpenters, Willie Nelson, Amy Winehouse and the rapper Bizzy Bone. In 1994, Ray Charles won a Grammy for his moving rendition of the tune.

The new science-fiction film, it says, has created word-of-mouth, wowed audiences and earned a 100% Fresh rating on the movie review website Rotten Tomatoes. Denis Villeneuve's latest work, starring Amy Adams as a linguist chosen to communicate with alien visitors, may well be that. But it isn't easy to market a masterpiece -- especially a sci-fi masterpiece with spaceships that don't engage in dogfights, aliens who don't fire lasers and protagonists who don't throw punches. When "Arrival" touches down at 2,200 theaters this weekend, it will do so not only as one of the most well-regarded science-fiction movies in some time but as one of the greatest marketing puzzles in recent memory. The Paramount release is quiet, subtle and patient -- an artisanal offering in a time of studio fast food.

Can a sci-fi-themed, classic rock musical stand measure to measure with Shakespeare? "Return to the Forbidden Planet" at the Rubicon Theatre in Ventura seeks to boldly go where no outer space retelling of "The Tempest" has gone before, and it even has the rhyming pentameter to prove it. Blasting off to the spirited live band's pulsating, guitar-twangy strains of "Wipe Out," this zero-gravitas parody is a rockin' homage to the extraterrestrial tropes embodied in the 1956 classic movie "Forbidden Planet." After a meteor storm diverts a rocket ship to planet D'Illyria, the crew encounters the exiled mad scientist Prospero (James O'Neil), whose mind-over-matter formula unleashes a green-tentacled monster from his own id. Quickly making up for the absence of men in her life by turning the heads of the entire crew with her entrance to "Good Vibrations," Miranda and her suitors (Harley Jay and Caleb Horst) tunefully explore their emotional roller coasters in "A Teenager in Love," "Young Girl," "She's Not There," "Tell Her" and other hits.

Close to 350 actors took their grievances to Electronic Arts in Playa Vista on Monday, marching and chanting for more pay and better working conditions for performers who do voice-over and motion-capture work on blockbuster video game titles. The picket line was the latest signal from SAG-AFTRA that it is preparing for a long fight with several prominent game companies, as both sides have failed to agree on the union's demand for residual-like payments that are commonplace in film and TV but not in the gaming industry. SAG-AFTRA also wants employers to reveal the titles of games when hiring actors, but companies including Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive are arguing that level of transparency is impossible and could put them at a competitive disadvantage. On Monday, the video game companies hit back, accusing SAG-AFTRA negotiators of failing to communicate the most recent proposal to its members before officially calling the strike Friday. "If I was a performer, I would want the opportunity to say yes or no," said Scott Witlin, a lawyer at Barnes & Thornburg and chief negotiator for the gaming companies, during a news conference Monday afternoon.

Race, religion and terrorism: In the prescient 2015 drama "Bars and Measures" at the Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena, playwright Idris Goodwin hits the trifecta of incendiary headline topics, overlaid with rich musical inflections. In the captivating opener, music takes center stage as two men seated across a table launch into an intricate skat and bebop routine. Through the efficiently crafted dialogue that follows, we learn they are brothers who hold opposing faiths. And the reason this performance is a cappella: Inmates are not permitted musical instruments. Loosely based on a 2005 domestic anti-terrorism case, the play has classically-trained pianist Eric (Donathan Walters), a Christian, visiting his imprisoned brother Bilal (Matt Orduña), a stellar jazz upright bassist and converted Muslim who's been arrested in a sting operation.

Walt Disney Studios is returning to its storied vault yet again to adapt one of its popular animated titles into a live-action movie. On Tuesday, the studio announced that it would release a new version of "Mulan," a musical about a young woman who disguises herself as a man so she can enlist in the army. The original film, which was released in 1998, grossed 304 million worldwide. Disney has begun to transform a number of its beloved cartoons into live-action films over the past few years. Both the princess tales "Maleficent" and "Cinderella" clicked with audiences, and a remake of musical "The Jungle Book" was a massive hit, collecting nearly a billion dollars worldwide earlier this year.

In what may be one of the year's easiest renewal decisions, FX announced Tuesday that "American Horror Story" would return for a seventh season in 2017. The horror anthology series from co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk has won 15 Emmy Awards, and its latest iteration -- "American Horror Story: Roanoke" -- has seen a 25% leap in audience over Season 5 -- "American Horror Story: Hotel" -- growing to 6.89 million viewers from 5.52 million. "Ryan, Brad and their team of remarkable writers have done an amazing job of keeping'American Horror Story' endlessly inventive, shocking and entertaining and we are honored to move ahead with them on the seventh installment," said John Landgraf, chief executive of FX Networks and Productions, in a statement Tuesday. "'AHS' confronts our deepest fears with unmatched suspense and style. Each new installment is a cultural event, hotly anticipated for its theme, imagery, cast and twists," Landgraf continued.

Though best known for his ability to make audiences laugh, actor, writer and director Ben Stiller is hoping his latest effort will make people stop and think. Stiller published an essay Tuesday morning revealing that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2014. He was declared cancer-free in September of the same year. "The three months in between were a crazy roller coaster ride with which about 180,000 men a year in America can identify," Stiller wrote of the time. The publication of the essay was released in connection with Stiller's appearance on "The Howard Stern Show" where he first spoke of his diagnosis.