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| Star Trek : 5 of 5 | |
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2.15.2010
7:07 AM | Link0 comments |
 After watching this incredible reboot of the Star Trek universe that I enjoyed so much in the theater, now I feel like I've truly experienced the glory of Blu-ray (thanks to my pal Ryan's birthday gift)! Although the number of bonus features wasn't overwhelming, there were still hours and hours and fascinating material to dig into, and I learned so much about the filmmakers and their enthusiasm for this movie. JJ Abrams seems like just a wonderful geek (which gives a fan like me a good feeling since he's at the helm), and I thought it was interesting how they graphed the fandom of the five major guys behind the development of the movie, which helped make the new adventures of the Enterprise something that newcomers could enjoy as well. I was pretty amazed that Star Trek was shot on film (rather than digital), and that the signature flare effect was done in camera buy shining off-screen lights into the anamorphic lens! I love the fact that Abrams really tried hard to shoot in as many real world locations as possible (rather than creating everything with CG), using iconic spots like Vasquez Rocks and even a power plant and a brewery! Even the fantastic console displays on the Enterprise bridge were live computer monitors, simply shot right along with the actors (it's fun to watch these screens go through their paces during the behind the scenes shots). The deleted scenes were better than expected, including Spock's birth (which was better cut, since I just don't like Winona Ryder as Spock's mom) and a new twist on Kirk's Kobayashi Maru hack (using his green Orion girlfriend as an unsuspecting pawn). Blu-ray wise, there's a pretty incredible Starship Simulator feature that lets you inspect different angles of the Enterprise as well as the Romulan Narada, beautiful menus with super-detailed schematics, and a semi-lame use of BD Live that accesses NASA news over the web. Of course, the movie itself looks fantastic. I loved discovering new details (like Scotty's tribble), and watching it a second time with the commentary track was a pleasure, since the filmmakers are just so excited that they step all over each other trying to spout their favorite trivia! Star Trek could seriously become one of those movies that I watch almost as often as the Star Wars saga, so I'm thrilled to have it in my fledgling Blu-ray collection!
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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 4 : 3 of 5 | |
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2.09.2010
6:56 AM | Link0 comments |
 I love Star Trek and I love old comic books, so this series is just perfect for me, and I've been enjoying reading volume after volume for the past few years! This collection contains eight issues from 1974-75, and although they aren't quite as good as some of the past volumes, I still really enjoyed following the Enterprise crew through crazy adventures that couldn't be produced for TV, yet feel very much like actual episodes if you step back and admire them. Of course, there are lots of outlandish situations, but that's part of the fun (like Scotty getting shrunk down so small that he has to fight a microbe)! It's interesting that several of the plots involve political or moral themes this time (something Star Trek has always dealt with), such as a war between red and blue races on an ice planet, or a cloned Samurai society that keeps the people in the dark about their origins. There's even a story that mimics Romeo and Juliet, right down to the lovers' suicide and memorial statue that brings peace to two feuding factions. But along with these somewhat serious stories, I get a kick out of finding hilarious details that always crop up in these comics. In one episode, Uhura is unmistakably drawn as a Caucasian, and in another Spock gives a lecture on the Big Bang by using an old school movie projector (reels and all)! There are some great lines, too, such as Kirk calling someone a "warp four looney", and once Uhura calls McCoy "Leonard" out of the blue (rather than "Dr. McCoy"). The artwork is pretty much the same as usual, with some nice shuttlecraft renderings and even a pod that looks like it was copied from 2001: A Space Odyssey! I could read these comics all day, so of course I'm getting the next volume (after I finish a huge pile of other books)!
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| Christmas Toys 1976 | |
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12.03.2009
12:23 PM | Link0 comments |
 Although every Christmas I've written about so far was fantastic (and we haven't even got to Star Wars toys yet), I think if I had to pick one Christmas morning to live again it would have to be 1976. Every toy I received that year was simply spectacular, and I'm not the only one who thinks so, judging from all the fond memories other people have written on the web! I guess I'll begin with the biggest LEGO set I've ever owned (I remember it included lots of large green bases which were so useful), followed by the absolutely huge Earthquake Tower (a very strange toy when you think about it, but I liked it because it was almost as tall as me!). To add to my Star Trek collection, I got a cool Controlled Space Flight toy so I could fly the Enterprise (with a propeller!) around in circles, plus the magnificent Mission to Gamma VI playset for my Mego Star Trek action figures! It was such a beautiful set with a giant mouth (which reminded me of the episode The Apple), with a rubber band trap and a "living" plant monster (a green glove!). Next was practically a whole collection of Six Million Dollar Man toys in one shot, including the Steve Austin figure himself, the incredibly-named Bionic Transport and Repair Station (which was a big rocket), and the awesome Mission Control Center, with its cleverly designed inflatable dome structure! I had so much fun putting these together, applying decals and attaching tubes. But there's still more! This same year I also received the Space 1999 Eagle (definitely a Holy Grail for many collectors), which was so giant you had to fly it around with two hands. I was crazy about Space 1999 as a kid (I even drew my own comics of the show), so I really enjoyed this toy, and every time I'm in my parents' garage I am taunted by the original box (which is being used for storage)!But even with all of these great gifts, the best was yet to come with my beloved Star Trek Tricorder. This was the one toy I wanted the most that year, and my parents decided to pull the same trick from A Christmas Story by hiding it until the very end of Christmas morning. I can remember pulling back the drapes and seeing Kirk and Spock on that box, and I can't express how much I loved that souped-up cassette recorder! Throughout the year I began to record my own pretend radio shows (with lots of help from Dad), and of course I had a lot of Star Trek adventures as well. I'm kind of overwhelmed just writing about all this fun. What a Christmas! |
| Christmas Toys 1975 | |
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11.30.2009
11:51 AM | Link0 comments |
 I think the toys I remembering playing with the most throughout my childhood would be my Mego 8-inch action figures, which had incredible cloth clothing and plastic accessories. I had so many of these I can’t even begin to count, including almost all of the super heroes and villains, as well as characters from Star Trek and Planet of the Apes! In fact, I loved them so much, I’ve recently been collecting reproductions of these classic toys) In 1975, Santa brought not just one, but two gigantic Mego playsets to use with my figures, starting with the USS Enterprise. This representation of the bridge included control panels and the captain’s chair, changeable view screen images, and the totally creative Transporter effect (which let you spin a figure around quickly, then press a button to make them disappear!). Next was the Batcave, which was so much fun to play with since it provided an official garage for my Batmobile. Mego worked so many details into this set, such as the Batpole and Batsignal, and there was even a collapsing road sign on the secret entrance! Santa also brought a rare and interesting piece of Disney park memorabilia that year, since I got the Haunted Mansion Board Game that so many collectors are after today. I remember really enjoying this game, and the artwork was really cool (now if I only knew where it went!). Along with other smaller toys, I also got a simple little game called Bas-Ket which let you launch ping pong balls into nets (which I just discovered can still be bought today). I remember playing this one with Dad, but the main reason it deserves mentioning is because I think it’s been buried in my parents’ garage for years, so someday I may get to play it again!
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| Star Trek / Mirror Images : 3 of 5 | |
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9.22.2009
7:15 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've been reading a lot of Star Trek comics this year, especially anything set in the era of the Original Series, and I'm pretty impressed with the great stories out there! Star Trek comics are great because they can include scenes that would have been impossible to film or too expensive back in the Shatner/Nimoy days, and they can also tell obscure tales that only fans would adore. This comic collection is set in the alternate universe of the episode Mirror, Mirror (which everyone knows as the "Spock with a beard" episode), where the Federation is known as the Empire and all the characters are ruthless cutthroats! The plot takes place prior to the TV episode, while evil Kirk is only second-in-command under evil Captain Pike. The story is full of backstabbing and deceit, even from evil Spock (who is cruel in the name of logic, of course), and beautifully rendered with fantastic, moody artwork with great use of shadows and dramatic lighting. Most of the story involves the building of Kirk's spying device in his quarters (which he uses in Mirror, Mirror), which Scotty has to secretly build from parts smuggled in by green Orion slave girls wearing the components as their sexy outfits! The book also includes a short interlude story set in the Next Generation timeline (but still in the alternate evil universe), in which a young Picard kills a Vulcan captain to rise in rank. There are several fight scenes and lots of brief dialogue, which makes this book a quick read overall, but I still totally enjoyed this tribute to one of the most popular and unique episodes of the Original Series. I'm looking forward to buying more Star Trek graphic novels soon!
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| Star Trek / Alien Spotlight Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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8.05.2009
12:35 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've really been getting into Star Trek comics lately, focusing mainly on the Original Series characters. Thankfully, there seems to have been a lot of great graphic novels produced recently that fit the bill (possibly anticipating the success of the Star Trek movie), and there are so many that I want to buy and read! I decided to check out Alien Spotlight mainly because it was from the same publisher as the excellent Star Trek Year Four books, and even though it includes stories from all over the Star Trek timeline (all the way back to Captain Pike and forward to Picard and Janeway), I really enjoyed each of the six stories that focus on a different alien race and culture. The best one by far is about the Romulans, which is actually an insightful prequel to Balance of Terror (the best Original Series episode), providing an amazing look into life on Romulus, the unveiling of the first Bird of Prey with a cloaking device, and even revealing Klingon involvement in the Romulan/Federation war! As a bonus, this story is illustrated by the incredible John Byrne, who was one of my favorite artists back when I was a serious comic collector. The story on Vulcans is wonderful as well, since it's about Spock's early days on the Enterprise under Captain Pike, and shows the various conflicts among the crew when dealing with an emotionless officer. The other stories are all interesting (but definitely not as good as the Romulan and Vulcan tales), and I enjoyed the various styles of artwork and use of color. The chapter on the Gorn was fun since they try to assist after a shuttlecraft accident (in reverence to Kirk's sparring the Gorn's life in Arena), but of course things don't go exactly as planned. The Borg story is well-executed, but I'm not really a Borg fan, and the complex time-travel plot was more confusing than interesting. The final chapters covering Andorians and Orions (green girls!) were both fun, especially since they are set in interesting places, such as Babel from the Original Series. Overall this is a really cool series that I'm glad I picked up, and I'm looking forward to Volume 2. Until then, I'm going to scratch my Star Trek itch with the other graphic novels available!
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| Star Trek Year Four: Enterprise Experiment / DC Fontana : 4 of 5 | |
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6.12.2009
12:50 PM | Link0 comments |
 Since I really enjoyed reading the previous Star Trek Year Four graphic novel, I was excited to discover this new five-part saga, actually written by DC Fontana, one of the most popular screenwriters for the original series! She does an incredible job of weaving together an incredible tale that works as a kind of sequel to no less than three original series episodes: The Enterprise Incident (where they steal the Romulan cloaking device), Errand of Mercy (where the Organians halt the Klingon/Federation war), and even The Paradise Syndrome (where Kirk loses his memory and becomes an Indian). DC Fontana really knows her stuff, making sure all the parts of the plot fit together nicely, and including classic characters such as the Klingons Kor and Koloth, as well as animated series characters like Mr. Arex (who plays an important role). I loved the character insight (especially in McCoy's flashback memory of his daughter's graduation), as well as the small details like the old space suits they wore in The Tholian Web. The awesome story is the real star of this book, but the artwork is also spectacular (even better than the previous collection)! All of the main characters really look like the actors (even the Klingons), and the use of colors really has the feel of the original series. As a bonus, the text of Fontana's story proposal is also included, which is really interesting to read to see how she developed the plot. More than any other Star Trek comic book, the Enterprise Experiment really captured every aspect of the original series perfectly. I only wish there were more books in this series for me to enjoy!
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| Star Trek : 5 of 5 | |
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5.03.2009
12:34 PM | Link3 comments |
 I can hardly believe it myself, but yesterday I got to see a sneak preview of the new Star Trek movie (thanks to my pal Melinda and her lucky free passes again)! I promise this will be a spoiler-free review (even though it will be tough!), but I want to get my thoughts down while they are fairly fresh, since this is such an important movie to Star Trek fans like me. The best thing I can say about the film is that I want to see it again right now! I don't know how they did it, but JJ Abrams managed to create an awesome story that should make long-time fans happy, while brilliantly (and simply, I might add) making possible an entirely new future of Star Trek adventures in the years to come. Although the other Star Trek series were all enjoyable and fun to watch, nothing will ever top the original series characters for me, so even though this is an entirely new, younger cast, they immediately became the Enterprise crew that I know so well. Their youth (Chekov is only 17!) is pretty cool, but even though they can be wild and full of fire, there's no mistake that they are also brilliant scientists and serious about Starfleet! I was happy with the entire cast, except for Winona Ryder's small role as Spock's mom, just because it was jarring to see a well-known face. It was a blast to catch the many references to the series and previous movies, but also fun to see the updated Enterprise, which looks cool both inside and out. There's hardly a need to mention the special effects, since everything looks amazing these days, but I will say that I really enjoyed the glimpses at Starfleet Academy in future San Francisco as well as the Vulcan city where Spock grew up, just because I have a thing for sprawling futuristing cities. I'm sure more demanding Star Trek fans will be more negative than me, but I'm totally into this movie as both a satisfying trip with my Enterprise friends, as well as a starting point for new movies I can get excited about!
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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 3 : 3 of 5 | |
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4.03.2009
6:44 AM | Link0 comments |
 I took a little break from this series (since I read Volume 2 last summer!), but once I started this volume I finished it pretty quickly! There's just something about the original Star Trek characters that none of the other series can capture, so I love reading these cheesy comic book adventures. This volume includes eight stories from 1972-1974, but comic books were fairly long back then, so the entire book is over 200 pages thick! Each story includes the amazing cover art (and it's cool to see the original 15 cents price), and the overall look of the characters is much better than the earlier volumes. The Enterprise and the shuttle Galileo look especially good (but they manage to get a Romulan cruiser all wrong), and there are plenty of alien monsters with interesting designs (although most of the other cultures are humanoid in this collection). I'm always impressed by how these crazy plots actually feel like real Star Trek episodes, except for a few bizarre scenes that seem a little out of place (like the crew playing baseball in space suits floating outside of the ship, or transferring brain waves into robots!). The dialogue isn't as silly as it was back in Volume 1, but there are some choice phrases, such as Spock saying, "Have you ever heard of a black hole, Captain?" to which Kirk replies, "I'm afraid not, Mr. Spock. Please explain!" You would think starship captains would know about such things! A similar situation happens when Spock has to explain to McCoy what a cyborg is. But don't get me wrong - all of these humorous situations are fun to point out, but didn't stop me from totally enjoying these stories. I'm really looking forward to continuing with the next volume - anything to keep enjoying the Star Trek universe!
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| Gorn hunting in Los Angeles | |
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2.25.2009
8:40 PM | Link0 comments |
 I'm back from my fantastic Los Angeles trip, and I had an incredible time! Of course, I took several hundred photos (and so did my pal Dae), so I'm going to have to break down the adventures into individual days and Flickr sets. Dae, Ernesto and I started the first day with breakfast at a classic Bob's Big Boy (built in 1949), then hit the road to Vasquez Rocks! I was totally amazed by the rocks - not only were they beautiful and fun to climb around on, but it really had a Star Trek feeling, and it was cool thinking about the original episodes that were shot there (which I commemorated by photographing my Captain Kirk retro Mego action figure!). After that we went to Hollywood for martinis at Musso & Frank's, which was built in 1919, making it one of the oldest bars in Hollywood. The drinks were great, and it was amazing to walk around during all the bustle of the Academy Awards red carpet and bleachers at the Kodak Theater (we were there the day before the show). Finally, Dae and I enjoyed a huge dinner of Korean BBQ (with plenty of soju, which knocked me out quickly!). It was an awesome day, and that was only the beginning! Enjoy the photos, with thanks to Dae for all the really good ones! View photos: Los Angeles 2009 Day 1
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| Star Trek view screens | |
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1.27.2009
12:54 PM | Link0 comments |
 Another bit of nostalgia I discovered over Christmas was the view screen cards from my Star Trek Enterprise Bridge playset for my Mego Star Trek action figures. My Star Trek figures were some of my favorite toys (back before Star Wars toys took over), which is why I've been enjoying buying the new reproductions recently! The bridge playset, which I got for Christmas back in 1975, was mostly vinyl-covered cardboard for the walls, along with some plastic consoles and the captain's chair, plus the cool Transporter feature that was pretty ingenious. It's hard to explain, but you could spin a figure around in a chamber and push a red button to make them "disappear" or a green button to bring them back!The view screen had two pegs that you could use to hang a card to represent what the crew was seeing on their latest adventure, and even though my playset is long gone, for some reason I saved a couple of these two-sided cards. The quality of the artwork is downright appalling, but I never gave it a second thought back in 1975! Actually, the same toy company making the reproduction figures is coming out with a reproduction bridge playset very soon. I wasn't planning on buying it, since it requires a lot of display space, but every time I look at the picture the temptation is overwhelming! View photos: Mego Enterprise View Screen Cards
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| Star Trek / Year Four : 4 of 5 | |
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9.08.2008
8:10 AM | Link0 comments |
 Every fan knows that the original Star Trek was supposed to be a five-year mission, even though the show was only on the air for three seasons. This comic book series continues right where the show left off (even referencing Turnabout Intruder, the last episode of the TV show) and continues the journey of the Enterprise and her crew! Although I was tempted to buy the individual comics, I decided to wait for the trade paperback (I just don't collect individual issues much anymore), and it's a nicely bound book with a fantastic cover. Speaking of covers, each issue's amazing cover painting in also included, spotlighting different characters, and they look incredible! The stories themselves really keep the spirit of the original series (although some of them are way too short), with disembodied creatures traveling home, black hole experiments, gathering Dilithium crystals, and even an "entertainment planet" that wants to put the Enterprise crew on TV. The artwork changes from story to story, but even the worst of it is still enjoyable (and interiors such as the Enterprise bridge are all drawn to perfection with exact colors!). Kirk, Spock, Bones and the rest of the crew are all here, and they even included Mr. Arex from the animated series, which was a surprise. I had a fantastic time reading these six stories - I love the concept and I totally can't wait for more!
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| Dancing Barefoot / Wil Wheaton : 3 of 5 | |
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8.15.2008
7:54 AM | Link0 comments |
 I've always thought it's amazing how Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation, re-invented himself as a prolific internet celebrity. Back in the early ays of blogging, Wil was there churning out story after story, showing everyone the "real Wil" and becoming a champion for geeks everywhere. That's part of what makes him so interesting - even though he was a popular child actor, in many ways his childhood was focused around the same things as the rest of us geeks, and so his completely honest writing style makes him seem like a friend and all around nice guy. Wil writes so much on his blog and on Twitter that I can never keep up with it all, so it was nice to finally start reading his published work and take the time to really enjoy it. Dancing Barefoot is a collection of stories from his blog - four of them are super short, recalling memories of a dear aunt and happy times with his wife, and the last story is long and truly fantastic. The Saga of SpongeBob VegasPants begins with a hilarious look at the first time Wil met William Shatner (including some touching moments with Gene Roddenberry), and then covers Wil's experiences at a huge Star Trek convention in Vegas. There are tons of priceless moments here, little glimpses into the personalities of other Trek celebrities, and lots of genuine openness into Wil himself. The story finishes with Wil's recollection of the Star Trek attraction at the Vegas Hilton, which was fun to read since I remember it so well, and it's incredible how he weaves this memory into such a poignant moment. Dancing Barefoot was really fun and relaxing to read, and now I'm really looking forward to reading more of Wil's books!
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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 2 : 4 of 5 | |
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6.19.2008
7:12 AM | Link0 comments |
 I really enjoying reading this collection of Star Trek comics from the 1970s, even more than the first collection that I got for Christmas! This volume includes the next eight issues of the series, and the writing is really excellent. There are much fewer totally ridiculous lines, and the stories themselves really have the feel of the original TV show, because even though there are goofy plots about space buccaneers and so on, there are many original episodes that were just as silly. Of course, it's fun to spot all of the bizarre visual mistakes - Scotty is still blonde at first (they finally correct this in the later issues), Klingons are often shown as bald, one story has an Enterprise shuttlecraft looking like a ship out of Buck Rogers (and then in another story it's drawn perfectly), and the bridge interior is so inconsistent that it's hilarious. I also love reading anachronisms, such as when an evil scientist claims he has "captured the thought waves of history on punch cards"! The covers of each issue are fantastic, too, since they switched from using publicity stills from the show to amazing color paintings, depicting awesome Star Trek action in a pulp sci-fi style! At the end of the book, there are a couple bonus short features, including Captain Kirk's "psycho-file", which is like a Starfleet account of his career and history. The best part is a recollection of his first meeting with Scotty, who he wins over by knowing how to fix their broken down vehicle! I can't wait to get the next volume of stories - there's nothing like cheesy (yet honestly great) Star Trek comics to keep my fandom alive!
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| Star Trek stands | |
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4.12.2008
5:17 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've slowed down just a wee bit on my toy collecting, but I'm still buying all of the reproduction Mego Star Trek figures as they are released! I can't even begin to count all the fantastic, 8-inch Mego action figures (with real clothes!) I had as a kid - lots of super heroes, Planet of the Apes, and of course, Star Trek. I love watching home movies of me playing with the Transporter on the Enterprise bridge playset! These new reproductions are incredible, right down to the accessories and packaging, and even though I know I shouldn't open them, holding them in my hands again really makes me feel young. I've been buying mine from BigBadToyStore, and I have six so far, so I decided I should get some stands to display them. I spent forever digging around Google looking for "action figure stands", but I couldn't find anything for 8-inch figures! Finally I stumbled upon a place that had "doll stands", and when I discovered that was the correct term, they were easy to find. When I was a kid I always hated it when people called them dolls instead of action figures, so I guess the term "doll stand" never occured to me! I actually found the perfect stand from an Amazon seller, and they work perfectly. The waist clamp holds the figure snuggly, and it's so nice being able to arrange them without spending an hour getting them to balance. I wish I had these stands when I had all my original figures - but actually, I wish I had still had my original figures even more! View photos: Mego Star Trek
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| Star Trek / The Key Collection Vol 1 : 3 of 5 | |
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12.31.2007
7:09 AM | Link0 comments |
 This was the first book I got for Christmas this year, and it was so much fun to read that I finished it before I left Oklahoma City! I've been a Star Trek fan since I was super-young, and I used to love reading these old cheesy comic book adventures of the Enterprise crew (I even remember buying a big book of them at a Star Trek convention with Dad!). This volume contains eight stories that were originally published from 1967 (when the show was still on) through 1970, but even though they could easily be compared to the series itself, they still have all kinds of hilarious errors! Scotty has blonde hair, the Transporter is called the Teleportation Chamber, and of course the Enterprise has huge rocket flames coming out of the engines. I love these goofy mistakes, but on top of that, these are really enjoyable plots, too! My favorite in this volume is called Invasion of the City Builders, about a society that's been taken over by machines that continuously build city after city, threatening to cover the entire planet. The artwork definitely has a classic charm (Kirk and Spock are drawn very well), and the dialogue has some truly incredible exclamations that are simply priceless ("Suffering solar showers!" comes to mind). All of the original covers are included as well, which featured great production stills from the actual TV show, and I swear I can remember some of them exactly. Reading stuff like this is so much fun for me, not only because I'm still a Star Trek fan, but also because I love reliving my childhood!
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| Star Trek / The Animated Series : 5 of 5 | |
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2.01.2007
10:28 PM | Link0 comments |
 After watching all three seasons of the original Star Trek during the past year or so, I was thrilled to see this sometimes forgotten 1973 cartoon masterpiece was finally being released! This was another one of my Christmas gifts, and the set comes in a beautiful futuristic plastic case. Even though it was far too "intellectual" for a Saturday morning audience, the best thing about this series is that it truly is Star Trek! Gene Roddenberry was involved in its development, several writers from the original show contributed scripts, and most importantly, nearly the entire original cast does their own voice work! It doesn't matter if you're watching Filmation's inexpensive "limited animation" style - when you're hearing Shatner, Nimoy, and everyone else speaking their lines, these definitely feel like newly discovered lost episodes! Actually, the character designs and Enterprise interiors are very well done, and it's fun to see the crew encounter alien cultures that would have been impossible to produce with live action. There are tons of references to live action episodes, and many of the animated shows are actually sequels (revisiting planets and characters, and of course there's a reappearance of Tribbles!). This four DVD set includes some nice bonus material, treated with the same respect as the original series sets. There are a few "text commentaries" that I enjoy so much, as well as an excellent half-hour documentary on the making of the show. It's been a great experience to watch this series as an adult fan, and appreciate the way this show bridged the gap to future Star Trek series!
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| The new old Trek | |
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12.07.2006
9:54 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've been enjoying checking out the new remastering of Star Trek: The Original Series, even though I'm not exactly sure how this project got approved (probably so they can resell everything on DVD again!). Since I only recently finished watching all 79 episodes, I'm not actually sitting through them again - I just fast-forward with TiVo and stop and the scenes with new effects. The results are pretty interesting - all of the space exteriors are now CG, which means the ships can make more complex maneuvers and the camera can shoot from more dramatic angles, plus the "planet of the week" actually changes in each episode. These shots look cool, but they are still a little jarring, only because I know there's no way these effects were possible back in the 60s. For interiors, most of the changes involve windows (adding moving stars and so on), and generally they have left phasers and the transporter alone (though I'm sure they were tempted!). Sometimes the windows are really impressive - in The Menagerie, the main window on Starbase 11 features a beautiful view of the skyline that actually moves in perspective as the camera pans. Pretty impressive!
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| Star Trek / The Original Series / Season Three : 4 of 5 | |
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9.05.2006
11:08 PM | Link0 comments |
 I've finally finished watching the 30 hours of episodes included in this DVD set, which means I've watched the entire Original Series over the past year and a half. The third season of Star Trek is famous (or infamous!) for several reasons. First, the series was basically cancelled after Season Two, but a huge letter writing campaign by the fans almost forced the studio to continue with another season. Next, Gene Roddenberry generally didn't participate in this season (besides being executive producer), and their budget was dismal. And so, this season is full of cheese - think of the goofiest Star Trek episode you can remember, and it's probably from Season Three! The all-time silliest plot is Spock's Brain (which was actually the season premiere!), where alien hotties steal Spock's brain to run their computers. The Way to Eden is a classic because of its hilarious "space hippies" (complete with folk songs), and I always laugh like crazy at The Savage Curtain when I see Abraham Lincoln flying through space (although that episode does have many merits). On the flip side, some of my favorites are in this season, including The Tholian Web (such a cool idea) and Day of the Dove (with great Klingon tension). Just like the other sets (Season One and Season Two), there's some fun bonus material (including a nice restored version of the original pilot The Cage), but my favorite feature is the text commentary, which is only included with two episodes. I would buy these sets again if they had text commentary on every episode - it's so entertaining! I really enjoyed seeing the original series again, which makes me want to watch all the movies next!
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| Star Trek / The Original Series / Season Two : 4 of 5 | |
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7.13.2005
11:34 PM | Link0 comments |
 At last I've finished all seven DVDs of Season Two of Star Trek! I've been wanting to finish this set so I can get to the really crazy episodes in Season Three (such as Spock's Brain), but I really enjoyed seeing all of these episodes again, several of which I had forgotten almost completely! This season has a great mix of fantastic, quality episodes that are absolutely essential, plus a few total duds that are fun for their total silliness. How could they start with Amok Time, one of the best episodes ever, and end with Assignment: Earth, which practically starts the teaser by saying, "This is a stupid time-travel episode - get ready!"? However, I like to focus on the good stuff, like Mirror, Mirror, which is completely creative and amazing, or The Doomsday Machine, which has always been one of my favorites (in spite of the fact they are fighting the "Carrot of Death"). Of course, I love The Trouble with Tribbles, and A Piece of the Action seemed to be a favorite at the Star Trek convention I attended many years ago. My favorite feature of these DVD sets is the text commentary, which unfortunately is only included for two episodes (I'd buy these sets again if they would include them for every episode)! The other bonus material is good, especially the featurette on Matt Jeffries, who talks about the crazy stuff they did to build sets with practically no budget at all. Watching all of these just confirms to me that I'm really a die-hard fan, and now I can't wait to buy Season Three and enjoy the insanity!
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| Tiny Trek | |
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6.23.2005
8:39 PM | Link0 comments |
 Lately I've been moving through Season Two of Star Trek (the original series) on DVD. I just watched one of my favorite episodes, The Trouble with Tribbles. It's so ridiculous and full of comedy, and I met Bill Campbell (who plays the Klingon commander) at a Star Trek convention when I was just a young Trek fan. I also bought my own tribble that day! On my recent trip to Oklahoma City, I was able to watch three Star Trek episodes on the flight there and back, thanks to the incredible Pocket DVD Studio, which is software that rips DVDs into Palm-sized files that you can watch on the go! I can fit about four hours of video on a 512 MB SD card, and the quality is excellent! The sound is great, too, especially with headphones. Carrying around a Palm full of Star Trek episodes can come in handy - yesterday I was stuck in a car wash line for almost 20 minutes, but I was able watch a third of The Gamesters of Triskelion while I waited!
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| Tholians, buttons and bellies - oh my! | |
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5.11.2005
9:35 PM | Link0 comments |
 The latest two-part episode of Enterprise, In a Mirror, Darkly, was simply bizarre and amazing on so many levels. (Yep, this was broadcast a few weeks ago, but I'm behind on TiVo!) I guess they just wanted to go crazy since they've been cancelled, and taking a new spin on the classic Mirror, Mirror from the old show probably seemed like a dream come true to the writers. I had a ton of fun watching the show, but there were definitely some bad decisions made. Even though it was awesome seeing exact duplicates of the old show sets (since they were on the USS Defiant, they even created the same hallways and the captain's quarters), it was just a little silly seeing them go from the "past", with realistic looking devices, to the "future", with flashing lights and unlabeled control panels! The story was worth it, though, just to see Hoshi and T'Pol with their incredible bare bellies exposed - Hoshi was especially amazing as the captain's cortesan! Yowza! I thought the temporary "empire" intro was a nice touch (much better than the usual crappy theme song), and seeing the Tholians make their web with modern special effects was nice, but why, oh why did they have to bring back the Gorn? I guess he looked OK in CG, but that definitely seemed like a goofy stretch to me!
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| Star Trek / The Original Series / Season One : 5 of 5 | |
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2.24.2005
7:27 AM | Link0 comments |
 I've been a Star Trek fan for as long as I can remember - I've been to conventions, and I even put little rubber bands on the top of my ears to play Spock when I was a kid! So when these ultra-cool complete DVD sets were released, I knew I had to buy them, and I got Season One from my parents for Christmas. Eight DVDs later, I'm still a huge fan! It was really great to see these episodes again, looking as sharp as possible, and without commercials. Watching these as an adult, I saw all kinds of things I never really noticed before, such as how often the crew is drinking coffee (and the "coffee girl" who keeps circling around the bridge with fresh brew). I also developed a new appreciation for those short skirt uniforms! There are some awesome episodes in Season One, such as Balance of Terror (everyone's favorite), and classics like Arena (everyone loves the Gorn!). The bonus materials aren't the greatest, however (I don't really care about Shatner's affection for horses), but some episodes have a "text commentary" that is simply fantastic, revealing secrets such as when equipment from other episodes is reused and when sets are redressed to look like someplace else. The packaging is really amazing, looking very Tricorder-like, and each season is a uniform color (gold, blue, and red). I can't wait to continue watching with Season Two, which I got for my birthday!
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| Meco / The Best of Meco : 4 of 5 | |
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8.02.2004
6:00 PM | Link0 comments |
 Back when I was raking in the Star Wars figures and wearing an R2-D2 necklace, a guy named Meco Menardo was jumping on the disco bandwagon by jazzing up movie soundtracks with plenty of horns and bass. I had at least three albums that I can remember, and I listened to them over and over (in fact, I remember practicing my drums by playing with these tunes, when I should have been working on my double-stroke roll!). I recently stumbled upon this collection at the iTunes Music Store, and I just had to get it. As soon as I heard those TIE fighters scream and Chewie growl, the memories came flooding back! There are several Star Wars tunes here, like Cantina Band, the Imperial March, and even the cool Asteroid Field music, but my favorite is the giant Star Wars medley - it's over 15 minutes long (and that's a long time to hear a disco beat!). This CD also includes the awesome themes from Star Trek and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, plus The Wizard of Oz! The middle of the album has several original compositions - some are vaguely interesting, but they don't compare to the genius (can disco be genius?) of those great soundtracks!
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| Star Trek: Nemesis : 2 of 5 | |
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10.27.2003
5:25 PM | Link |
 I used to be a big fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation - I only use the past tense because I don't really watch the reruns anymore, but the show was always excellent. Now I watch old Voyager and the new Enterprise without fail, so I'm definitely a Star Trek fan in general. Anyway, I decided to rent Nemesis, since I missed it in the theaters, but it definitely didn't rekindle any of my former fandom. It starts with a pretty goofy wedding for Riker and Troi, including a classic Data-being-stupid moment, and then gets into the plot fairly quickly, involving a clone of Jean Luc and the Romulans. Overall, I have to say it was pretty boring - I definitely wasn't on the edge of my seat. There are some great effects moments - the Enterprise full-on ramming the enemy ship was fantastic. In case you didn't know, this movie includes the end of Data, but it doesn't hold a candle to the death of Spock in The Wrath of Khan!
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| Depressing Enterprise | |
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4.30.2003
9:26 PM | Link | I just watched the most depressing episode of Enterprise yet. I couldn't believe they ended with an alien suicide, then a huge reprimand from Archer that went on and on to pound the tragedy into Trip's skull. Sheesh! I guess they really want to provide some background into why the Prime Directive is so important in the later shows. (If you don't keep up with Star Trek stuff, none of this will make sense. Please continue to the next exciting post.) |
