William Shatner disses ‘Star Wars,’ says ‘Star Trek’ is better: Who wins the intergalactic debate?

In this article, he goes on to say that George Lucas borrowed everything from Star Trek. He even says the new Star Trek movie by JJ Abrams has better special effects than Star Wars. He also says Star Trek has a better story line. He also says that Star Trek had better heroines than Leia in Star Wars.

While it was a lot of tongue in cheek, it was pretty funny. I love both, so I don’t really consider one to be better than another. I really like Bill Shatner, so I really enjoyed the interview.

You can view the video here:

You can read the entire article on Fox by going here. Enjoy!

I have to say that I was surprised, for the better. The movie was a stunning success. There are certainly holes in the plot, and even areas that bugged me a little when compared to the original series (Spock and Uhura?). Overall, however, it was really fun to watch. I really enjoyed Karl Urban, Pine and Quinto as the three main characters.

Although I really like the actor that plays Scotty, especially in Shawn of the Dead, I don’t think he made a good fit for the character. I also really didn’t like the boiler-room appearance of engineering. It looked like they didn’t have enough money to complete the set and went with a nearby factory for on-site filming. When they ejected the core at the end of the film, it looked like there were 4-6 cores that were ejected.

I’m iffy about Vulcan being destroyed. That was a jaw dropper. All I could think was, “I’m sure they’ll fix this at the end of the film.” I suppose Tuvok from Voyager will probably never come to be. I have had several conversations with people about weather this was an alternate timeline or the same timeline, now altered. What did you guys get from it?

Anyway, I would give the movie 4.5 out of 5 stars. I still have to say, however , that I still put the Wrath of Kahn and First Contact above this movie in my list. It has been a great summer for movies.

I can’t even begin to tell you how bad some of the podcasts out there are, many of them with volume levels all out of whack and hard to understand. Many of them sound like a frat group got together and decided to throw something together on their mother’s computer.

I did a few searches for Star Trek, Star Wars and Stargate and came upon a podcast by a few people out of Las Vegas, Nevada. The podcast is Trekcast. I have to say the podcast is enjoyable, informative and great listening during work. Best of all, the sound levels are just right.   Trekcast also seems to be overall work safe. They also give some good updates on the progress of the new Star Trek the Experience. Dang I miss that place!

When you all have time, you should go check them out and subscribe, that is if you like all things Star Trek.
You can find their site here: Trekcast

All I can say is that I offer my sincerest condolences to the family. Hopefully she is up there chilling out with Gene Roddenberry. Thanks for all you brought us Trekkers! I appreciate it all! You will be missed.

I read this on www.roddenberry.com and thought I should post it.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry passed away this morning, December 18, 2008, at 12:27 AM in her Bel Air home. She died peacefully, in her sleep, and was surrounded by family and loved ones.

“My mother truly acknowledged and appreciated the fact that Star Trek fans played a vital role in keeping the Roddenberry dream alive for the past 42 years. It was her love for the fans, and their love in return, that kept her going for so long after my father passed away.” – Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, Jr.

Feel free to post your own condolences in the “comments.”

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Well, it has been picked up by Cryptic Entertainment, and from their site it is looking pretty good. It already looks better (based on the site) than Perpetual Entertainment ever had it looking. You’ll have to swing by the site and take a look.

Official Star Trek Online Site

Do you guys recognize all the races in the above picture? I see a Vulcan, a Human and an Andorian. I have no idea who the other races are! Do Vulcans now come in bald Reptile and Night Elf flavors?

They even have a forum where you can go chat about it. Hopefully they will take a little advice from the fans when developing it.

Star Trek Online Forums

You can find wallpaper based on the new video game here:

Star Trek Online Wallpaper

There appears to be no release date set yet and they are not yet to the stages of Beta testing the game yet. Pricing has not been established either. It sounds like they scrapped all previous development and are building the thing from the ground up.

Here are a couple of excerpts from their FAQ section that I find interesting:

Q: When does the game take place?
A: Approximately 30 years after the events in Star Trek Nemesis. The game starts in 2409. Technology has advanced and the galaxy is a much more volatile place.

Q: What races will I be able to play?
A: The plan is Human, Vulcan, Andorian, Klingon, Orion, Gorn, and several others. You will also be able to create your own race with its own custom look and attributes.

Hopefully they don’t stray too much from the what little there is of Star Trek canon. I hate it when non-fans develop games and it ends up being a poorly developed “B” sci-fi game. I’m keeping my hopes up!

I looked on E-bay initially, but didn’t like what I saw. A lot of the costumes were simple jumpsuits that looked really cheap. I think the manufacturer of my least favorite costumes were by Rubies.

I want the real pips & pins, including an authentic looking com badge. I want to get a TNG Season 3+ uniform. I decided the only way to do this was to make one myself. I found a couple of sites where you can get the pips & pins and a pattern to make a nice looking uniform.

You can get your pips, pins & badges here:

Roddenberry.com
Starland.com

You can get your patterns here:

Roddenbery.com
Exscapeprops.com
Starland.com

Please be aware that I have never actually purchased from these sites, so I cannot verify their credibility.

Enjoy making your Star Trek costume this year!

I decided, since this would be the last time, to go ahead and fork out the 80+ bucks for the latinum pass. This included the pictures in the Borg Chamber, Captain’s Chair and the backstage pass. It all ended up being very fun, yet very sad at the same time.

The place was packed! It was fun to remember the previous experiences I had there. They had a nice memorial set up, which consisted of sheets of paper taped to the wall. Each sheet of paper had notes and memories from visitors. There were even a few e-mails that they had printed out and hung on the wall. It was nice to see I wasn’t the only one who was sad about it leaving.

Contrary to many rumors, Gretchen, our backstage pass guide, told us there were no plans to move the exhibit anywhere else. She informed us that it would probably be going away for good. She said this was especially sad because many of the actors who dressed up as aliens had been there for years. This was their life. By the way, the backstage pass was well worth the money!

She also told us that nobody knew for sure what was going to happen with all the props. The owners of Star Trek The Experience (Cedar Fair Entertainment) own the props, but Paramount owns the rights. She said everything was still very much up in the air. I personally hope they auction off some of the stuff as souvenirs.

While my wife, child and I were getting our Star Trek caricatures drawn, the artist told us that the Las Vegas Hilton was planning on replacing the exhibit with a Michael Jackson exhibit. Can you believe that! What a bunch of garbage.

To finish, I got to eat one last time at Quark’s Bar & Grill and got to get my picture taken, with my two-month old son, on the captain’s chair! That will be a great memory. I am raising this kid to appreciate Sci-Fi and Star Trek!

According to TrekToday.com, the fate of Star Trek The Experience has been shaky at best. Apparently the Las Vegas Hilton changed ownership, which helped lead to its demise. Apparently the contract between CBS and Cedar Fair (currently run The Experience) were not renewed. This is after cost reductions were implemented.

If you have time in the next two months, pay it a visit. The restaurant is great, gift shops are fun and the rides are blast. Also be sure to do the Backstage Tour. I got my picture taken on a replica of the NCC1701D bridge and in a Borg drone chamber. Great stuff! I think I will try to head down in August. It will probably be very busy.

You can read a copy of the press release here:

A few excerpts of the news release are as follows:

Las Vegas – Star Trek: The Experience, Las Vegas’ premier interactive attraction will conclude its historic 11 year run at the Las Vegas Hilton on September 1, 2008….

Asked if there is any final transmission he’d like to convey from the Enterprise bridge, Chad Boutte, Operations Manager and Director of Marketing said “Hailing frequencies open. We’d like to thank all the fans and friends of Star Trek, whose constant and amazing support we’ve enjoyed throughout our tenure at the Las Vegas Hilton. As we boldly go into the futures that await, know that we take your love of Star Trek: The Experience with us. We share the memories of time spent in the most unique place in the Galaxy, and we carry those memories into our futures with us. Live long, and prosper.

Hailing frequencies closed.”

Hopefully they auction off some of the stuff there. I would love to own a piece of that history. Perhaps I will go to the convention being held there August 6-10. It will be the last convention held there.  You can read more about the convention here. Go check it out while you can!!!

This is unfortunate news for Sci-Fi geeks like me who consider themselves Trekkies and would love a Star Trek MMORPG. The Perpetual Entertainment site no longer features any of their projects and appears to display a static page.

Hopefully somebody else will take on this project. We need to have a Star Trek MMORPG!