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Vrian Sinth
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Posts by Vrian Sinth
Galoob’s Star Trek Toys – My Favorites
Dec 11th
I know I may be a little old for toys, but was recently thinking about my favorite Star Trek toys as a kid, which were made by Galoob. Do you remember Galoob? They were around until 1998 when they were bought out by Hasbro. They made some of my favorite Star Trek The Next Generation action figures. Some of them are even considered to be collector’s items now. I also remember sending in some Cheerios UPC codes to get a classic Star Trek NCC1701D poster with it in front of a starry background. It was a slightly smaller version of the poster seen in Captain Picard’s ready room.
I still have that poster, but it has since bent and ripped over the years. I was lucky enough a couple of years ago to get a hold of a new, still in the plastic wrap, poster off the Internet. Isn’t the Internet wonderful? 
On the back of the poster were listed all the Galoob Star Trek TNG action figures. I still have the poster in the plastic, but plan on framing it and proudly hanging it on the wall. What can I say? I am proud to be a Star Trek geek.
Once I had the poster, I of course had to get some of the toys listed on the back. Somehow Santa Clause caught wind of this and I got a Commander Riker and a die cast NCC1701D Star Trek Enterprise for Christmas. The saucer section even separated. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. These toys, unfortunately, are now long gone.
Front of Die Cast Enterprise:
Back of Die Cast Enterprise
So what did I do later on as an adult? I got on e-bay and purchased a bunch of these toys for my own personal collection. I probably have 15 action figures and the die cast NCC1701D all in the box with the blister and card still in good condition. E-bay has tons of Galoob Star Trek toys available, with many of them still in good condition. You can find these Galoob toys here.
Some of the action figures were produced differently, making some of them collector’s items. The first release of these toys, in 1988, had a flat blister. The second release of toys had face paint variations and an indented blister. Data went through the most variations.
The first Data released had an almost blue colored face. This is considered to be the most collectible Commander Data. The face was changed by Galoob to make it look more human. The face turned out very dark. Data was later created with lighter skin and yellow lips, like an android. Quality control was a little lax and some of the Datas produced had a speckled-face look. I actually own one of those. You will also notice that some of the Commander Rikers and Captain Picards ended up with yellow lips. Oops!
I hope you have learned a little about Galoob’s Star Trek line of action figures. This site has some great pictures of the different Galoob Star Trek TNG toy variations.
Is The Gears Of War Movie To Become A Reality?
Dec 8th
Gears Of War is considered to by many to be one of the best video games ever produced. Released in 2006, its stunning graphics on the Xbox 360 make it a high-def must for any hardcore gamer. The storyline is great and the cinematic are awesome. It’s no surprise that New Line Cinema purchased the rights to produce a movie based on this hit game.
So what is the status of this movie? It appears to be scheduled for a 2009 release, according to the IMDB, but many rumors are circulating around the Internet that Gears of War the movie may be going the way of the Halo movie. Enormous budgets, fears of lost money and other issues seem to be plaguing the movie. I’m happy to say that I think the movie will still become a reality, and here’s why.
It all started with the announced back on March 10, 2007 that New Line Cinema had purchased the rights to the movie. Stuart Beattie, one of the best writers in current cinema, was hired to write the movie script. Stuart Beattie has written scripts for movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 30 Days of Night and more. I should also mention that he is currently writing the script for Spy Hunter and G.I. Joe. You can read a lot about what Stuart Beattie has to say about Gears of War here.
Watch what Cliffy B has to say about the movie:
Len Wiseman was to direct the movie, but this appears to still be in limbo. He is a genius, directing Underworld, Underworld: Evolution and Live Free or Die Hard. All three are great movies and are highly recommended. He was going to also direct the remake of Escape from New York, but was recently replaced by Brett Ratner. Perhaps this will free up more time for Gears of War.
LatinoReview managed to get their hands on a 22-page draft of the movie written by Stuart Beattie. They have since leaked the draft and have posted it on their Web site. Be aware that there are spoilers. The ultimate draft will more than likely change quite a bit. You can read the draft here.
When talking about Len Wiseman being replaced as director, IESB.net had this to say about the future of the Gears of War movie and Len Wiseman:
Does this mean Len Wiseman will now be moving forward with the highly anticipated Gear of War film? Nope, the IESB has been informed Wiseman is off Gears as well*** and that New Line Cinema will most likely not move forward with the film at all. Our source is saying that the studio has concerns with ballooning budget of the film.
Video game adaptations are not proven blockbusters the way comic book films have become in the last 10 years. Studios have a hard time gambling $100 million dollars plus to a genre that has not been able to break out of the “Uwe Boll” stereotypes.
The best hope that future video game films may have, and this is totally IMO, is to have Michael Bay make Prince of Persia after he is done with Transformers 2 and prove that a video game movie can make $300-400 million in worldwide box office receipts.
Until then be prepared for less than mediocre video game films with hacks as directors.”
I’m not entirely sure where these guys are getting the idea that video game adaptations are not proven blockbusters. I don’t believe there have been enough video game adaptations to warrant this view. It is also false that Wiseman is “off Gears as well.” Although his position as director appears to be in limbo, it looks like he may still with the project.
According to Cineplex.com, Cliffy B seems to still be optimistic that the Gears of War movie will become a reality. He says in an interview posted on the site:
Slamming the lid on the rumours to the contrary, Clifford Bleszinski (alias ‘CliffyB’) wants fans to know that the ‘Gears of War’ movie is still alive and well. It is in the development phase and moving ahead on all fronts.
“We are currently at the point where we have had a couple drafts of the script and now we are talking to different directors and trying to feel out who would be the best fit for it,” Bleszinski told Cineplex Entertainment while he was in Toronto promoting the Windows PC release of ‘Gears of War’.
I certainly hope this movie becomes I reality. I will try to keep you all posted on the status of this movie as information becomes available.
Starship Troopers: Marauder – A Third Starship Troopers Movie!
Dec 4th
Starship Troopers (Special Edition) is easily in my top 20 Sci-Fi movies of all time. I know the plot is fairly simple and parts of it are just plain stupid, yet it’s awesome! I love watching the troopers in training, the battle with the bugs and the great action shots. I really appreciated Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico and Denise Richards wasn’t too hard on the eyes either.
Not soon after the movie came out I discovered Roughnecks – The Starship Troopers Chronicles – The Complete Campaigns. I ordered a copy of it on Amazon and now have in my Sci-Fi DVD collection. For the time, the CGI was pretty good. All the episodes were pretty fun to watch, if not for anything else it gave more background on the Starship Troopers world.
Soon thereafter, in 2004, came Starship Troopers 2 – Hero of the Federation. What a huge disappointment. That piece of junk wouldn’t even qualify as a bad horror movie. I have seen some pretty bad Sci-Fi movies and this is right at the top. If you haven’t seen it already, don’t even bother. You’ll thank me. Johnny Rico and the others aren’t in it and the acting is atrocious.
Brenda Strong, who played Captain Deladier in the first Starship Troopers, was the only original cast member to come back. The only thing is that she came back as a completely different character.
After ST2 I was pretty bummed out. I have since discovered that a Starship Troopers 3 is being produced. At first I was afraid this would be another direct to DVD piece of garbage, but Casper Van Dien is coming back! This means I will be seeing it regardless of how bad it may be.
Jolene Blalock, known as Sub-Commander T’Pol to my fellow Star Trek buddies, will be co-starring with Van Dien as Captain Lola Beck.
I’m not aware of an official release date, but I have heard that filming has been going on in South Africa. According to the IMDB it is in pos-production. It will be released direct to DVD.
Casper Van Dien hasn’t had anything too big on his plate lately, except some so-so “Made for Sci-Fi” channel movies. This is probably a pretty good career move for him.
The new Starship Troopers 3 movie, known as Starship Troopers: Marauder, is about Johnny Rico who is now colonel. There will supposedly be a new villain bug, similar to the brain bug from the first movie.
You can read some informational interviews over at StarshipTroopers3.net.
Star Wars Holiday Special – Have You Managed To Watch It All?
Dec 1st
The Star Wars Holiday Special is considered to be the “Holy Grail” for Star Wars fans, but many of them admit it is hard to sit through. Who ever thought so many Wookie grunts and groans could be so painful? Being that it is now December, I felt it appropriate to bring this enjoyable piece of TV history back up. Keep in mind that it is 97 minutes long!
As you probably already know, the Star Wars holiday special is not available on DVD or VHS. The only place you are able to find it is on E-bay as a bootlegged copy or by downloading a torrent. Even the copies you find on E-bay are fairly sub-par. It would be fun to be able to purchase a cleaned-up copy of it, but that will never happen.
It is passed down through Star Wars lore that George Lucas himself said at an Australian Star Wars convention, “If I had the time and a sledgehammer, I would track down every copy of that show and smash it. The holiday special does not represent my vision for Star Wars.”
It is believed by most Star Wars fans that the Boba Fett portion of the Star Wars Holiday Special is the best part of the entire show. Luckily this can be seen on YouTube, although the quality is still that of 1978.
My brother-in-law somehow got himself a copy on VHS which I later transferred over to DVD. It still has the old commercials from 1978. That was a blast from the past. Seeing that tape “Star Wars Holiday Special” printed on a label reminded me of the scene from Weird Al’s music video “White and Nerdy” where the two geeks conduct a back-alley transfer of the special on tape.
Good luck in acquiring your own copy. It really isn’t too hard if you know where to look.
Saturn Never Sounded So Good! Space’s Natural Music.
Nov 29th
I know this may not be categorized as fiction, but it is science. I am a huge fan of astronomy. I took some astronomy / physics classes in College and found the topic to be very interesting. I love checking out NASA’s multimedia library and downloading images, backgrounds and movies from space probes, satellites and more. I suspect that most science fiction fans are probably big fans of astronomy and the NASA program as well.
NASA has recently taken radio emissions from Saturn, radar echoes from Titan and other strange phenomena picked up by the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft and have converted this data to sound. NASA goes into great detail on their Web site as to the origins of each sound. It is really quite interesting and makes for great reading.
I have taken these sounds and have put them on my own site for your listening pleasure. I have also included links to each sound file where you can read more about how the sound was generated. My favorite is the last one. Here you go!
Sounds of Enceladus (.mov)
Read about this sound here.
Radar Echoes from Titan’s Surface (.mp3)
Read about this sound here.
Speeding Through Titan’s Haze (.mp3)
Read about this sound here.
Bizarre Sounds of Saturn’s Radio Emissions (.wav)
Read about this sound here.
Eerie Sounds of Saturn’s Radio Emissions (.wav)
Read about this sound here.
Burn this to a CD and crank it up in your car! Some of the sounds are eerie enough that they could even make good sound effects for a sci-fi movie or thriller.
Billie Piper’s Back As Rose Tyler In Doctor Who!
Nov 27th
Dr. Who has to be one of the most innovative Sci-Fi TV series on TV. For you Dr. Who fans you there, there is some great news! Billie Piper, who plays Rose Tyler, will be back for the fourth season of Doctor Who! This was just announced today on the BBC.
Following a series of unconfirmed reports across the media this morning, we’re delighted to officially confirm that Billie Piper will return as Rose Tyler in Series Four of Doctor Who.
Anything you may read elsewhere about when, how or for how long Rose returns to Doctor Who should be treated as pure speculation at this point.
According to the Sci-Fi channel’s Web site, the BBC decided to make the announcement today after a fan managed to take pictures of Billie Piper in costume and on set in Cardiff, Wales.
I was sad to see Billie go in season two, and although I don’t think Freema Agyeman did a bad job as Martha Jones, the chemistry was much better between Rose Tyler and the Doctor.
You Know You’ve Been Watching Too Much Battlestar Galactica When:
Nov 25th
I just finished watching Battlestar Galactica: Razor and came up with a fun list of things that let you know when you have been watching too much Battlestar Galactica. Here’s my list. Enjoy!
You know you’ve been watching too much Battlestar Galactica when:
- You find yourself yelling “frak” at every idiot while driving to work.
- You say “so say we all” after your boss asks you to do something.
- You suspect your friends of being Cylons.
- You wonder why you can’t get your car to “jump” to the grocery store.
- You call your computer a “toaster.”
- You ask your friends if they want to go play a mean game of “Pyramid” after work.
- You ask how many “centars” there are until lunch.
- You call the competing sports team a bunch of “chrome jobs.”
Just for laughs I thought I would also show you this picture of a PUR Cylon water filter. This is another good example of watching too much Battlestar Galactica. Things start turning into Cylons. I found this picture on the Web.
Have a great day! So say we all!
Logan’s Run – A Great Sci-Fi Movie – Remake Coming?
Nov 23rd
It is funny what PG movies were able to get a way with back then. I had no idea about the nudity when watching it on TV (being that it was edited) and was a little surprised watching it with my wife for the first time on DVD, especially being PG.
I have never read the book itself, and probably should. I have read online and elsewhere that the movie only loosely follows the book. Roger M. Wilcox has created a great side-by-side comparison between the book and the movie which you can find here.
I had no idea that there was a TV series about the book/movie until I was talking about it with some friends and one of them asked me what I thought about the TV series. I’ll have to see if I can get a hold of it. I suspect the TV series was pretty low budget, especially since they supposedly recycled clips from the movie for the TV show.
You’ll notice that the 1976
Joseph Kosinski is now signed up as the current director of the remake. I have no idea what credentials this guy has and there appears to be nothing on him in the IMDB. The movie now appears to be scheduled for release in 2010. Who knows if it will ever really happen. I sure hope it does, but with the juggling act that has gone on so far I really don’t know for sure.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – Coming Soon!
Nov 19th
I heard about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles several months ago and completely forgot about it. Yesterday, while watching TV, I saw a trailer for the new TV series slated for January 14, 2008. Upon seeing the TV trailer I just about starting giggling like a little girl. I have loved the Terminator Movies since T2 came out while I was in high school. What’s not to love? A story that mixes the future with present times. Classic!
I am also VERY excited to see Summer Glau in the new TV series. You may know her from her short-lived TV series FireFly, of which I am a huge fan. I am certain she will do a great job playing Cameron Phillips. Could that name be a small tribute to James Cameron who directed the first two films?
The TV series has some serious potential, but could seriously be bad. Perhaps it is because I am so used to seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger as the terminator (although T3 had Kristanna Loken as the T-X), but seeing that new guy as a male terminator just seemed out of place. There is also the HUGE possibility of the new TV series going completely outside the “canon” series of events set by the three movies. All that aside, it looks pretty fun and could be the biggest sci-fi TV series since Battlestar Galactica. Fox TV, the people bringing this to us, have this plotline posted on their site:
At the end of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” Sarah vanquished the liquid metal Terminator sent from the future to kill her teenage son, John. Sarah and John now find themselves alone in a very dangerous, complicated world. Fugitives from the law, they are confronted with the reality that still more enemies from the future, and the present, could attack at any moment.
THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES reveals what happens when SARAH (Lena Headey, “The Brothers Grimm,” “300”) stops running and goes on the offensive against an ever-evolving technological enemy bent on destroying her life, and perhaps the world. Her son, 15-year-old JOHN CONNOR (Thomas Dekker, “Heroes”), knows that he may be the future savior of mankind, but is not yet ready to take on the mantle of leadership that he’s told is his destiny. John finds himself inextricably drawn to CAMERON (Summer Glau, “Serenity,” “The Unit”), an enigmatic and otherworldly student at his high school, who soon proves to be much more than his confidante – she assumes the role of Sarah and John’s fearless protector. On their trail are not only threats from the future, but an intelligent and tough FBI agent, JAMES ELLISON (Richard T. Jones, “Judging Amy”), who soon becomes a powerful ally.
You can watch the trailer for The Sarah Connor Chronicles right here!
Only time will tell if this will pan out to be a good series. I am certainly willing to give it a chance. Can I program my DVR two months in advance?
Riddick Revisited: The Chronicles of Riddick – Possible Sequel?
Nov 18th
There are few movies that get my sci-fi blood pumping more than The Chronicles of Riddick and Pitch Black. Both of these movies have great plots, lots of great action and hold true to the way sci-fi should be. The entire universe of Riddick is rich and not only includes the two movies, but also a hit video game (The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay) and an animated short film called The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury.
Sadly (chuckling) I own three copies of The Chronicles of Riddick on DVD including the The Original Release, the The Unrated Director’s Cut and the Riddick Trilogy. I even purchased the animated film The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury before I discovered it was bundled with the Riddick Trilogy. Surely I’ve spent enough money to fund a third Riddick movie!
A sequel would be nice. Unfortunately the movie The Chronicles of Riddick bombed in the theaters, temporarily holding back the reigns on a possible sequel. The movie also got mixed reviews, which I still don’t understand. The movie cost $105 million to make and only made $115 globally. Luckily it appears that DVD sales, video game sales and merchandise have helped make the movie profitable.
There hasn’t been much information for a possible sequel, but I feel pretty good that it will happen. I’ll explain why. Back in 2006 ComingSoon.net featured an interview from Vin Diesel where he briefly talked about the possibility of a sequel. This is an excerpt from ComingSoon.net:
The ever so accommodating and entertaining Diesel was rather amusing and answered all of our questions without hesitation until I asked about “Riddick.” Oops, guess I unknowingly touched a nerve. Sorry about that Vin. But, he was very gracious and finally talked about it but only after he put his head in hands and sighed for a couple of minutes.
“My God. You know, now that you said that… I haven’t… Right before I did ‘Riddick,’ I would look in the mirror and I’d see two blue eyes staring back at me. So I haven’t seen that for a while. [laughs] But it’s coming. It took me five years to make ‘The Chronicles of Riddick,’ and [I'm] very precious about it. It went through many, many, many writers. Hopefully it won’t take five years for the next one. But when I was in the process of creating this mythology for ‘Chronicles of Riddick,’ the idea was to create a story, a trilogy, that would start at the end of ‘Pitch Black’ in the same way that ‘Lord of the Rings’ is a trilogy that starts at the end, essentially, of ‘The Hobbit.’ So I wanted ‘The Hobbit’… I wanted ‘Pitch Black’ to be ‘The Hobbit’ to ‘The Chronicles of Riddick.’ I wrote a storyline, essentially, that covered three pictures, so where Riddick goes in the next two pictures is already mapped out. It’s not in script form, but it is being all developed, and it is going to surface when you least expect it.”
It is rumored that The Chronicles of Riddick sequel will cover the Underverse and that the third Chronicles movie will feature a return to Furya.
Those comments aren’t the only reasons I suspect their will be a Riddick sequel. In Hollywood it all boils down to money. Will a sequel be profitable? I mentioned earlier in in this post the video game The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay. This game was reviewed well and became an Xbox platinum hit. I enjoyed playing the game apart from the language being too strong for my taste.
There appears to be enough interest in the Riddick world/games that a second game is being released for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. This new Riddick game is called The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. The new game even has it’s own site up from Sierra Games (www.riddickgame.com). This game is also to include a cleaned up version of Butcher Bay.
Gamespot.com says about the game:
“This isn’t a case when we took the old-gen game and up-rezed it,” said Wanat. “All the textures are being redone so it truly looks like a next-gen game.” The producer also confirmed that developer Starbreeze, Universal Pictures, and Tigon Studios–Vin Diesel’s game company–are all collaborating on the new game. Diesel himself is also doing new voice work for the expanded storyline.
Wanat also confirmed that the PS3 version of the game will take advantage of the console’s motion-sensing Sixaxis controller. He called the controller “totally perfect” for the game’s shiv-based prison combat, but did not elaborate. Wanat also dodged questions about whether or not Assault on Dark Athena would have a multiplayer component, saying only “it would be beneficial if it did in the era of Xbox Live.”
[UPDATE 2] Early Wednesday, Sierra formally announced Assault on Dark Athena–and answered some of the questions Wanat left hanging. The game will indeed “for the first time in the Riddick universe, take action in intense multi-player combat.” Sierra clarified that said MP mode would be online-enabled. Both the 360 and PS3 editions of Dark Athena will be released later this year.
Sierra also revealed some plot details about the game. “The game introduces the ominous Merc-ship Dark Athena, which sits silent like a marauding spider, awaiting helpless prey in the dark reaches of the galaxy,” the publisher said in a statement. “Players must face a large, bloodthirsty operation led by the dreaded Captain Revas and her slaves-turned-controllable combat drones, storm though death-defying events and fight fierce enemies in a battle of malice and gore.”
In conclusion, I think the stars may be aligning themselves in favor of the Riddick universe. Here’s to hoping there’s a sequel in the very near future!
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