The Wondrous Dimension Of Imagination

posted by Tygrrius @ 8:40 AM

Last year, I had a Twilight Zone mini-marathon to celebrate Halloween night. Since I enjoyed it so much and Halloween is still in the middle of the week, I'm having one again this year. In 2008, Halloween is on a Friday so I'll probably revert to my traditional triple feature of horror movies.

Here are the episodes I've selected for this year's journey into that land of both shadow and substance known as The Twilight Zone.

"Spur of the Moment"
Aired: February 21, 1964
Written by Richard Matheson
Starring: Diana Hyland
Directed by Elliot Silverstein

Young Anne Henderson (Diana Hyland) is terrified when a black-clad woman on horseback pursues her across the countryside screaming her name. Anne does not know who the woman is or why she is after her.

"Soon enough, she will be given the solution to this twofold mystery, but in a manner far beyond her present capacity to understand, a manner enigmatically bizarre in terms of time and space, which is to say an answer from the Twilight Zone."

Though legendary writer Richard Matheson penned over a dozen of the best Twilight Zones, he apparently did not care very much for the execution of this episode. Nevertheless, I chose this one for its dark, almost gothic visual quality.

"Little Girl Lost"
Aired: March 16, 1962
Written by Richard Matheson
Starring: Charles Aidman
Directed by Paul Stewart

Six-year-old Tina vanishes from her house, but her parents still hear her cries.

"Present location? Let's say for the moment, in the Twilight Zone."

Another top-notch episode from Matheson, the chilling "Little Girl Lost" surely inspired parts of 1982's Poltergeist--which Zone fan Steven Spielberg co-wrote.

"The Hitch-Hiker"
Aired: January 22, 1960
Written by Rod Serling and Lucille Fletcher
Starring: Inger Stevens
Directed by Alvin Ganzer

While driving alone cross-country, Nan Adams (Inger Stevens) keeps encountering the same, strange hitchhiker on the side of the road beckoning to her.

"Nan Adams' companion on a trip to California will be terror. Her route: fear. Her destination: quite unknown."

(I bet you thought Serling would say, "Her destination: the Twilight Zone.") Masterfully directed, this is a frightening take on the hitchhiker urban legend.

"Elegy"
Aired: February 19, 1960
Written by Charles Beaumont
Starring: Cecil Kellaway
Directed by Douglas Heyes

"The time is the day after tomorrow. The place, a far corner of the universe."

Nearly out of fuel, three lost astronauts land on an asteroid that is amazingly Earth-like--except that all of the people are frozen in place.

Though they are dated in terms of accuracy, I always enjoy Twilight Zone's space exploration stories. This is one I haven't watched as often as, say, "I Shot Arrow Into The Air" or "And When The Sky Was Opened," so I'm looking forward to seeing it again.

"The Masks"
Aired: March 20, 1964
Written by Rod Serling
Starring: Robert Keith
Directed by Ida Lupino

Knowing that he is near death, a rich old man summons his greedy family members to his home on the night of Mardis Gras. He forces them to wear specially made masks indicative of their inner selves until midnight or be disinherited.

"This is New Orleans, Mardis Gras time. It is also the Twilight Zone."

Many people feel uneasy about wearing masks and perhaps this episode, one of the best, explains why.

Whether you're in Haddonfield, IL, Springwood, OH, Camp Crystal Lake, NJ, or somewhere in the Twilight Zone, try to have a safe and happy Halloween.

(Source for episode info and quotes: The Twilight Zone Companion: Second Edition by Marc Scott Zicree, 1989.)

Galloping Around the Cosmos

posted by Tygrrius @ 9:18 AM

Wow, I can still hardly believe it. Star Trek has a new cast.

I know, it may not seem like such a novel concept anymore to announce a new Star Trek cast. In the last twenty years, we've had four new casts prior to this one.

This is different, though. This cast simply isn't playing previously unknown characters in the Star Trek universe. We're not talking inventing roles like Picard, Sisko, Janeway, or Archer here.

We're talking about reinventing true legends now. After 41 years, we have a new James T. Kirk.

A new Spock. A new McCoy.

And new faces for Scotty, Uhura, Chekov, and Sulu as well.

Now that director JJ Abrams has found his Kirk, Star Trek XI is finally real. After twenty years of occasionally entertaining but more often nauseating sequels and prequels featuring other characters, Star Trek is going back to its foundation.

Not everyone is happy about this, of course. TNG fans are understandably disappointed that their franchise has been put on hold. To them, I say, be patient. I still do not think we have seen the final TNG adventure. Let us TOS fans take the ol' girl out for a few spins around the block first, though.

In the comment sections of Star Trek mega-sites like TrekWeb.com and TrekMovie.com, some extremely vocal William Shatner fans are disappointed that he apparently will not be in the new movie alongside Leonard Nimoy--who will appear in an integral role as an older Spock. Some have so narrowed their stance on this issue that it won't even be enough for Shatner to be in the movie, but his appearance also has to somehow undo Kirk's 24th century death in Star Trek Generations.

Anyone who spends any time on The Film Frontier knows that I'm a William Shatner fan. Kirk is my favorite character and Shatner is, of course, a huge part of that. Though Gene Roddenberry may have created the character, William Shatner is the man whose talents breathed life into Kirk and gave him a soul.

That's why it's hard for many of my fellow fans to let go. They want Shatner's Kirk to live forever, and I understand that feeling.

Here's the thing, though. For the first time in twenty years, we have an entirely new creative team working on Star Trek XI. Abrams and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have a story to tell.

As fans, rather than thrusting pointless ultimatums in their faces, let's give them room to tell their story. It is not up to Abrams, Kurtzman, and Orci to fix what some perceive as the mistakes of the past. They did not, after all, kill Kirk in Star Trek Generations.

Unless undoing Kirk's death is the story they intend to tell, and I doubt it, I am against wedging this sort of fan-demanded subplot into the movie. If this recasting of legends is to work, the Star Trek XI creative team has to tell the very best story possible. It has to be one that they believe in. Let's give them a chance to do that. Sit back and allow their movie to entertain you (or not) based on its own merit.

The original Star Trek series and movies take place in the 23rd century. Star Trek: The Next Generation, its movies, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager all take place in the 24th century. The more recent Star Trek: Enterprise takes place in the 22nd century.

Though official plot details are few, it is probably safe to assume, based on the characters and ages of the cast, that Star Trek XI will shift the focus of the Star Trek timeline back to the 23rd century. Will we be in the same universe or an alternate one? Only time will tell.

The point is, though, what does it matter anymore if Kirk is alive at the end of the 24th century? He's very much alive in the 23rd century, his most interesting adventures take place in the 23rd century, and that's where Star Trek is once again focused.

Those who have fought for so long for the return of Kirk have won, and they don't even realize it.

* * *

The legacy of Shatner's Kirk is firmly established in 100 live-action and animated episodes, seven movies, and hundreds of novel, comic book, and other tales. In less than a month, Star Trek: The Menagerie will even hit theaters for a limited engagement--though tripled due to higher than expected ticket demand.

No matter what happens in Star Trek XI or any other movie, Shatner's Kirk will live forever.

This Contest Cannot Be Decided By Our Knowledge Of The Force

posted by Tygrrius @ 4:53 PM

Those of you who pay attention might note that this entry is coming a bit later in the week than normal. I usually try to publish Proverbial Galaxies on Sunday or Monday. I have class on Mondays now, though, so it's becoming more and more difficult for me to find the time.

So, you'll get a Tuesday entry this time around with no promises of what day the next entry will escape. I have another problem, too, though. For the first time in a long while, I don't have a topic for today's post.

When I started this blog way back when, one of the first things I did was write down 26 topic ideas so that I would have a year's worth of topics to fall back on in case nothing came to mind on a particular posting day.

The only flaw in my plan was that I promptly lost the list. It was an incredible list, too. Full of all sorts of wonderful topics of the kinds you never read elsewhere. I, of course, was not able to re-create this list. It is lost forever to history.

Instead, I made a new list of so-so topics and it has managed not to get lost. I've only pulled it out once or twice, though, as I usually think of something to write about just in time. But not this time.

So, let's see what we have here from the list of ready-made blog topics....

"Write about an old TV show that really should become a new movie or rebooted TV series." The answer is Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, but I don't feel like writing about that today. Would require a lot of thinking and argument building. Next.

"Write about the top lightsaber battles in the Star Wars saga." Hmm... maybe. Doesn't require a lot of effort or research. Can be written at one sitting. We have a winner.

Top lightsaber battles. Yeah, I'm a geek. I've admitted this before. I don't mind telling you that. These are the kinds of things I spend time thinking about.

Before I can determine the top lightsaber battles, though, I'll make a list of the key battles from each movie. I'll go in release order, just because my brain works better that way. When it's working at all.

Star Wars (1977)
Well, just one battle here. Obi-Wan versus Vader. Compared to later productions, not the most exciting lightsaber duel but it does earn extra points for being first. (Related: Star Wars: Unaltered DVD review)

Star Wars: Episode V-The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Again, just one battle here. Unless you count Luke in the cave tree versus the Vader apparition. But I don't. Luke versus Vader in Cloud City is easily the best lightsaber battle of the classic trilogy and a real contender for best ever. (Related: The Empire Strikes Back: Unaltered DVD review)

Star Wars: Episode VI-Return of the Jedi (1983)
I don't count the Luke versus Jabba's henchmen stuff as a lightsaber battle. Granted, I loved this sequence as a kid. I reenacted that skiff battle on an old couch with the cushions thrown off many, many times. I haven't done that recently, though. Been at least a week. Again, we have Luke versus Vader in the end, this time on the Emperor's new Death Star. Though this does feature my favorite Star Wars lightsaber (Luke's green-bladed one, with the hilt similar to Obi-Wan's from Star Wars), the Death Star battle just wasn't as compelling as the one from Empire. Part of the reason may be that it was confined to the throne room. (Related: Return of the Jedi: Unaltered DVD review)

Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace (1999)
As we get into the prequel trilogy, the duels start getting harder to keep track of. I'll probably leave some out. In The Phantom Menace, the first real saber vs. saber action we get is Qui-Gon versus Darth Maul on Tattooine. It's so brief that it's barely worth mentioning, though. Later, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan double-team Maul on Naboo. Say what you will about The Phantom Menace, but you have to give credit to the brilliant "Duel of the Fates" lightsaber battle. For me, this proved that Star Wars was back in a big way. (And yes, I could probably split this battle into several smaller ones but though geek I may be, I'm just not quite that anal.)

Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones (2002)
In Episodes II and III, it seems the lightsabers are nearly always ignited. The key battles in Attack of the Clones, though, are Obi-Wan and Anakin versus Tyranus (Dooku) and, of course, Yoda versus Tyranus. The Obi-Wan/Anakin portion is reminiscent of my problems with Return of the Jedi. It's just not all that compelling, again I think because it's so confined to the hanger deck. It's interesting to see how Yoda uses a lightsaber, but I just can't classify his duel with Tyranus as one of the best ever. (Related: Attack of the Clones movie review)

Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith (2005)
(Related: Revenge of the Sith movie review) Lots of saber battles here. Let's see if I can remember the main ones...

Obi-Wan and Anakin versus Tyranus: With its epic space battle, Revenge of the Sith had the best opening since, well, Star Wars, and it culminated in this top-notch lightsaber battle in which Anakin showed his dominance. Just writing about this movie makes me want to go watch it again...but, blah, it's not scheduled for awhile. And I've actually been sticking to my schedule.

Obi-Wan versus Grievous: Another exciting battle, though General Kenobi makes quick work of the cyborg.

Mace versus Sidious (Palpatine): Yeah, and some other Jedi, too, but they are killed so easily that they might as well have stayed home. I was hoping for a bigger battle here, I have to say, especially after seeing Mace's work in Star Wars: Clone Wars. Hard to complain too much, though, given the bounty of lightsaber battles offered in Revenge of the Sith.

Yoda versus Sidious: The lightsaber portion of this battle felt like a rehash of Attack of the Clones. There's only so much a little CGI green guy and a CGI old guy can do. Then they started throwing the senate pods around and never got back to the lightsaber battle proper.

Obi-Wan versus Vader: This, of course, was the lightsaber set piece of the movie. The legendary battle I'd heard so much about since I was a kid. Surely, it would fail to meet my expectations, yet, somehow, it exceeded them. "You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you." Easily the best lightsaber battle of Revenge of the Sith, but how does it rank within the saga?

Now, after carefully considering each of the above lightsaber battles from all of the Star Wars movies, I offer you my ranking of the top three lightsaber battles of all time.

#3
Qui-Gon & Obi-Wan versus Maul, The Phantom Menace

#2
Luke versus Vader, The Empire Strikes Back

And the #1 lightsaber battle of all time
Obi-Wan versus Vader, Revenge of the Sith
Really, there was no contest here. Beautiful sequence.

Agree? Disagree? Don't care? Feel free to click the Comment link below and let your opinion be known to dozens of readers!

Besides, you might say something that will inspire a topic for next time as I just used up one of my backups. And I really don't feel like writing about Buck Rogers yet.