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Star Trek
John Cho Has Takei’s Blessing
Feb 25th
I like to swing by SciFi.com every so often and read what’s going on in their Sci Fi Wire. They often have some good articles there from time to time.Being a sci-fi junkie, I thought it was fun and interesting to see that George Takei gave John Cho his blessing before taking the roll of Hikaru Sulu.
The article goes on to quote John Cho as saying:
“I had lunch with George before we started filming,” Cho said. “I wrote him a letter, and we met, and he gave me what amounted to a blessing, and in his typically classy way, … I told him I was nervous, and he said, ‘Relax. Pretty soon people are going to refer to me as the guy who played the old version of John Cho.’”
I think it is pretty cool that John Cho takes feels it important to pay tribute to the original character. So far I think the cast for the new Star Trek XI looks like a great bunch. Many of them are excellent actors. If Star Trek XI ends up doing well in the box office, I’m sure there is room for more movies. I will certainly be there in line buying tickets!
Star Trek MMORPG Dead In Space?
Jan 13th
Captain, she gave us all she had! Many people are wondering the same thing. Is the Star Trek MMORPG still going to become a reality? The game “expected to launch in 2007″ is still not a reality. Now 2008, it sounds like the developer, Perpetual Entertainment is having its own share of problems. Apparently too many of the developers were wearing red shirts and have been pronounced DOA.
Now I can’t say for sure if things are really looking that bad, but the former Perpetual Entertainment recently had its assets liquidated and has been acquired by the newly developed Perpetual LLC. The new company claims it is taking the Star Trek MMORPG in a more casual direction. Is that code for “we don’t know what we’re doing?”
Perpetual recently canceled development of Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising to focus more time on Star Trek. This could be good if they really are trying to get the game done, hopefully with quality in mind. It could also be bad being that they are canceling projects. Could Star Trek be next on the chopping block?
The icing on the cake so far is that Perpetual is now being sued for unpaid bills by the PR Firm Kohkne for work done on Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising.
Articles on the lawsuite (Kohnke v. Perpetual):
Kohnke v. Perpetual – The Opening Round
In closing I would like to say that I am a huge fan of Star Trek. I have played MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and enjoy them. A Star Trek MMORPG is a guaranteed sell for me. Although I am still hopeful the game will turn out well, my gut feeling is that the game will either never materialize or will suck like the majority of all the other Star Trek video games. Here’s to hoping! 
**UPDATE**
It looks like our dreams for a Star Trek MMORPG are dead for now. Perpetual Entertainment, also known as P2 Entertainment, seems to have closed its doors for good. You can read more here.
Ultimate Battle: U.S.S. Enterprise vs. A Star Destroyer – Battle Of The Ships
Dec 15th
You really can’t get much geekier than an argument on who would win between Star Trek’s Enterprise D or E and a Star Wars Star Destroyer. I know this is all Sci-Fi and a ridiculous never-ending argument. I am a huge fan of both genres, so when I got into a friendly argument with my friend at work I reluctantly picked the side of Star Trek.
As this argument ensued at work, people around us started laughing, thinking we had both truly lost our minds. Perhaps we did a little. The argument then turned to Star Wars vs. Star Trek. These were our main arguments in a condensed and far smaller format:
Friend: Star Destroyer big, Enterprise small.
Me: Enterprise faster, more maneuverable.
Friend: Thousands of lasers.
Me: Lasers dude?! You’re kidding me. Phasers kick Lasers in any match.
Friend: Super Star Destroyer and Death Star kill the Enterprise.
Me: Agreed. I don’t think the Enterprise D or E would win those two. So I throw in the Borg.
Friend: <Pure silence ensues.>
Me: Nuff said.
I have found in my own observations that there are a lot more casual Star Wars fans than casual Star Trek fans. I have also found, again in my own observations, that there are a lot more die-hard Star Trek fans than there are die-hard Star Wars fans. This means in most “forum” based arguments on this topic, Star Wars will almost always win by sheer numbers.
Many people try to throw The Force into the mixture. I used to think this was a big deal as well, especially when watching the classic trilogy of Star Wars (ANH, ESB, ROTJ). The Force kicks trash in those movies. Then the prequel Star Wars movies came out. TPM, AOTC & ROTS have changed my mind on this. I now think The Force would be a minuscule influence in any such fight.
In The Phantom Menace we discover that Midichlorians actually dictate one’s power with the force. It’s not something you can get stronger with (except training), unless there are synthetic Midichlorians being produced and injected into the blood stream. You will also discover in Revenge of the Sith that a bunch of clone troopers can EASILY wipe out the Jedi. I can’t even begin to tell you how disappointed I was watching the Jedi get seemingly killed in seconds by a blaster!
A lot of the argumentative stats in this epic battle are taken from non-canon books, video games and other non-canon sources. This includes both sides of the argument. And let’s not throw in the Expanded Universe from Star Wars into the argument. The Expanded Universe of Star Wars books contradict themselves on every level.
I have done my own research and have found the following sites to be useful when determining who would win a U.S.S. Enterprise D/E vs. Star Wars Star Destroyer battle.
List of Ultimate Star Wars vs. Star Trek Sites:
ST-V-SW.net (Great arguments in favor of Star Trek <when looking at sheer firepower and defense capabilities>. Well researched data with sources to back it up.)
StarDestroyer.net (Great arguments in favor of Star Wars. Seems to utilize a lot of non-canon data.)
Answers.com also has a nice article on the subject that you can read here.
There are a lot of awesome ships in the Sci-Fi universe not limited to just Star Wars or Star Trek. Let’s throw an Asgard or Replicator ship into the mixture, or perhaps a Battlestar from Battlestar Galactica. The Battlestars look awesome!
TheForce.net has some great Star Trek, Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica specs, although who knows if the sources are accurate. You can find them here.
Again, I realize this argument will never come to an end, but it sure is fun!
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.
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.
Zachary Quinto as Spock – Pictures Leaked – Star Trek XI
Nov 13th
That’s right. Pictures are all over the net now showing Zachary Quinto as Spock in the new Star Trek XI movie. I have been posting as much information as possible regarding the new movie and I think this some great stuff.
Oh…and by the way…if you didn’t know…Zachary Quinto will be playing Spock. You may be familiar with him as Sylar from Heroes.
He looks pretty good in his new robes. It will be interesting to see how well he can act the part.
There are a lot more images available from JFX Online.
JFX Online says about the photos:
The scene taking place appears to be a Vulcan Council meeting in which Spock seems to be on trial. You can see JJ Abrams in a few shots conferring with Quinto. Check out all the images below.
This is of course only their guess about what’s really happening. You’ll all have to stop by and take a look when you get a chance. Let me know what you think is going on in these scenes. Enjoy!
Captain Pike Cast For Star Trek XI
Nov 8th
This will be a short entry, but today a new character was cast for the new Star Trek XI movie. I have already talked about previous cast members in earlier posts, but apparently Captain Christopher Pike, a character from the original Star Trek Pilot and the Menagerie will be in the new Movie. He will be played by Bruce Greenwood.
Although I’ll not dwell on it too much, the writers from the AP that wrote this article weren’t big Star Trek fans. First they say Christopher Pike is the first Star Trek captain when we all know it is Captain Johnathan Archer. They are probably refering to the first Star Trek captain in chronological order as they appeared on TV.
The second error they make is they say Leonard Nimoy’s character Spock is the only character to survive the original pilot “The Cage.” Although this is technically true, Majel Barrett, who also starred in The Cage also went on to play Nurse Christine Chapel, Lt. M’Ress (cartoon), Lwaxana Troi, several computer voices and more.
Also of note is that Leonard Nimoy will be making an appearance in the new movie. Unfortunately it looks like William Shatner will not be in the new movie according to CNN.
I haven’t been this excited for a movie in a while. JJ Abrams will be directing it. Although I am not very familiar with him, he did direct Mission Impossible III which was pretty good. I hope to see you all there come December 25, 2008.
Getting The Most From Your Sci-Fi Movie
Nov 4th
If you’re like me, you probably have wide collection of Sci-Fi DVD movies that are sitting around and collecting dust. You may have watched them once and set them to the side. I even have some movies I purchased, intending to watch them, that are still sitting around in shrink wrap.
There are a few things you can do to give your movie an extended life. The first thing I recommend is to do some research on bloopers in the movie. I love to go to the IMDB and look up a movie and read through the “goofs” as they are called. This is a collection of continuity issues, bloopers and other inconsistencies. This can be fun after watching a movie, or when re-watching a movie that has been sitting around.
A good example of this would be Star Wars. That movie, although a favorite, is filled with continuity issues, errors and bloopers. This is to be expected as many movies are filmed out of sequence and editing often causes a lot of these bloopers to make it to the final cut. There are even people hired to watch for continuity issues, but some errors still seem to make it through.
Just look up Star Wars on the IMDB. Under “Fun Stuff” they have a link called goofs. You can find Star Wars ANH goofs here. I have yet to find a movie that doesn’t have goofs and continuity issues. Look up Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn. Its has goofs as well. Although this may take away some of the “magic” of the movie, I find it fun to print out a list of goofs and re-watch the movie.
The second thing I recommend doing is looking for “Easter Eggs.” Easter eggs are bloopers, trivia and other tidbits thrown into a movie on purpose. Sometimes Easter Eggs are simply bonus features on a DVD that are not obvious to the viewer. An example of this would be the Star Wars DVDs releases a few years ago. To access the bloopers reel, you have to go through a few steps. The steps are as follows:
Put the bonus disk from the original trilogy into your DVD player and highlight “Video Games and Stills Galleries.”
Using your DVD remote, type the following numbers followed by the “enter” button:
11 (enter)
3 (enter)
8 (enter)
This will then take you to a bloopers reel with about 4 minutes of bloopers from Star Wars ANH, ESB and ROTJ. Please note that the remote control numbers are 1138. This is a number seen throughout the Star Wars movies and is the name of George Lucas’s film THX 1138. A similar Easter Egg can be found on Star Wars TPM, AOTC and ROTS.
There are several places you can go to find Easter Eggs for your movies. I recommend going to DVDEasterEggs.com or EEggs.com. There are many sites and forums out there discussing DVD Easter Eggs.
Have fun re-watching your sci-fi movies!
New Star Trek Movie Actors Cast – Star Trek XI
Oct 22nd
I read a while back that a new Star Trek movie was being created. I was very excited when I heard this and later forgot about it. I have always been a huge Star Trek fan. I have gone to the theater for every movie since Star Trek VI – The Undiscovered Country. I have always loved The Original Series (TOS). I especially enjoy watching Star Trek The Next Generation (TNG).
I can still remember seeing the first episode of Star Trek TNG that aired I believe September 28, 1987. I was only 11 years old at the time, but became an immediate fan. I even remember getting a poster of the Enterprise NCC-1701-D by sending in UPC codes into Cheerios. That was pure bliss! I think I’m getting a little nostalgic now.
I now own all seven seasons and went to all the movies. I was pretty sad when Star Trek X Nemesis did so bad in the theaters. I then heard that it was the end of the movies for Star Trek. I was pretty sad.
I am pretty psyched that there is a new Star Trek movie being made about the TOS crew back in Starfleet Academy. This is what the IMDB has to say about the movie:
“A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members during their time at Starfleet Academy.”
I am a little nervous, however. I don’t know many of the guys being cast for the old crew. I just came across an article at CNN talking about how Chris Pine has been cast as James T. Kirk. I have never head of Chris Pine.
They did, however, cast two guys I really like! They cast Carl Urban as Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy. I have been a big fan of Carl Urban since Lord of the Rings. He played Eomer.
Karl Urban has been in a lot of great movies I love to watch such as Doom and one of my favorite Sci-Fi movies Chronicles of Riddick. He plays Lord Vaako in that film. I could go on for hours about the Chronicles of Riddick. I will have to save that for another post!
I am also VERY excited about Simon Pegg playing Scotty. That will be awesome! He did such a great job in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz.
I’ll keep you all updated about this movie as I find out more information. I’m not aware of any trailers being out yet. It appears to be slated for release December 25, 2008. Where can I get tickets?
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