Assignment: Trek begins new journey into time and space

posted by Tygrrius @ 6:40 AM

Not that I'm counting, but there are now 41 weeks until the release of Star Trek in theaters on May 8, 2009. Though that's a mere 287 days, it feels like an eternity. How's a lifelong fan to bide his time?

Today, I am launching a new series of reviews and features on The Film Frontier. Assignment: Trek invites you on a journey into time and space.

We will make stops in the future by looking ahead at the eleventh Star Trek film. We will also go into Star Trek's past by exploring the previous movies of 1979 to 2002. We'll even make a stop or two in the Psychedelic '60s to see the best and worst of classic Star Trek.

Who knows where we will end up?

Our human adventure begins today, with a look at Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Eureka! The Big Bang Theory Of Hourly Trips

posted by Tygrrius @ 4:22 PM

I often make the mistake of falling asleep with the TV on. This means that in the middle of the night, it subjects my ears to an onslaught of advertising. For only $19.95, it seems, infomercials offer solutions to any and every problem.

Twice in recent weeks, one particular infomercial has actually woken me up. This infomercial sells a product that supposedly makes you go to the bathroom on a regular, healthy schedule. If this infomercial is to be believed (and they wouldn't put it on TV if it wasn't true, right?), we should take an hourly trip to the restroom.

Hourly. This was a selling point, mind you. Of course, flip the channel, and there's another infomercial that sells a product that will stop your persistent urges to use the restroom. I wonder if the same company makes it? If so, they have both ends of the market covered.

Speaking of infomercials, check these out.

Okay, okay, so they're fakes, but I'd be much more inclined to purchase these items than that once-an-hour solution. They're part of a marketing campaign to promote the third season of Eureka, a Sci Fi Channel series.

Eureka is about a small town full of geniuses that create wacky inventions, like the tooth bomb. Thanks to Izzy over at 360i for sending the infomercials over. (And, sorry for mentioning them right after that whole go to the bathroom once an hour bit.)

Though I found the infomercials amusing (especially the line underneath them noting that "most products are fictional" -- most???), I've never actually seen Eureka, due to my long standing and previously mentioned inability to obtain the Sci Fi Channel. To make a long story short, whenever I upgrade my cable package to one that includes Sci Fi, the cable company bumps Sci Fi up to the next higher package. The third season premiere of Eureka is July 29. Be sure to check it out.

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Speaking of geniuses, one show I have been watching a lot of lately is CBS' Big Bang Theory. If you enjoy a lot of the things I write about on The Film Frontier, you are likely to love this series as much as I do. My wife tells me that the show reminds her of me. The show features geeks who also happen to be geniuses. Now, since I'm no genius, I'm not sure what she's trying to say about me.

Of course, the fact that I recited Spock's dying words right along with one of the characters on this week's rerun might have something to do with it.

"The needs of the many outweigh . . . (the needs of the few) . . . or the one."

I pointed out to her that she gets many of the geek-themed jokes on the show, but she claims that is all my fault. She even recognized that one of the characters was wearing a Green Lantern t-shirt. The poor woman. What have I done?

Well, it's been about an hour and when you gotta go, you gotta go.

The Essential Star Trek

posted by Tygrrius @ 10:46 PM

Last year, I started a list of the must-see episodes of the original Star Trek. Today, I present the final installment of that four-part series. Before we get started, though, here is a quick review for those of you just now tuning in.

Episodes are listed in production order—which I recommend for best understanding the evolution of the series and characters. Disc references are to the DVD season sets released in 2004.

#1 "The Cage" (Restored Version) [Season 3, Disc 7 (bonus feature)]
#2 "Where No Man Has Gone Before" (Season 1, Disc 1)
#3 "The Corbomite Maneuver" (Season 1, Disc 3)
#5 "The Enemy Within" (Season 1, Disc 2)
#7 "The Naked Time" (Season 1, Disc 1)
#9 "Balance Of Terror" (Season 1, Disc 4)
#12 "Miri" (Season 1, Disc 2)
#14 "The Galileo Seven" (Season 1, Disc 4)
#15 "Court-Martial" (Season 1, Disc 5)
#16 "The Menagerie" (Parts I & II) [Season 1, Disc 3]
#18 "The Squire Of Gothos" (Season 1, Disc 5)
#19 "Arena" (Season 1, Disc 5)
#24 "Space Seed" (Season 1, Disc 6)
#25 "This Side Of Paradise" (Season 1, Disc 6)
#26 "The Devil In The Dark" (Season 1, Disc 7)
#27 "Errand Of Mercy" (Season 1, Disc 7)
#28 "The City On The Edge Of Forever" (Season 1, Disc 7)
#31 "Metamorphosis" (Season 2, Disc 3)
#34 "Amok Time" (Season 2, Disc 1)
#35 "The Doomsday Machine" (Season 2, Disc 2)
#39 "Mirror, Mirror" (Season 2, Disc 1)
#40 "The Deadly Years" (Season 2, Disc 3)
#42 "The Trouble With Tribbles" (Season 2, Disc 4)
#44 "Journey To Babel" (Season 2, Disc 3)
#47 "Obsession" (Season 2, Disc 4)
#48 "The Immunity Syndrome" (Season 2, Disc 5)
#49 "A Piece Of The Action" (Season 2, Disc 5)

And now, the conclusion.

#53 The Ultimate Computer
Season 2, Disc 6
When an experimental computer system installed aboard the Enterprise malfunctions, the vessel begins firing real shots against four other starships in a war games training exercise. Will Kirk and crew find a way to disable the computer before the rest of the fleet is forced to turn on them?

William Marshall turns in a notable performance as the creator of the faulty computer, Dr. Richard Daystrom. Daystrom is one of the original Star Trek's best examples of a significant, non-stereotypical role for an African American.

"The Ultimate Computer" originally aired in 1968, less than a month before the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I think it's difficult for those of us who were born after the civil rights movement to truly comprehend how much the United States has changed since then. Television is often a reflection of the times, but Star Trek was on the cutting edge in more ways than just technology.

#54 The Omega Glory
Season 2, Disc 6
You read that right, I'm including "The Omega Glory" on a "Best Of" Star Trek list. As a red-blooded American, I find it impossible not to love an episode that features James T. Kirk reciting the Constitution of the United States—even if William Shatner is Canadian.

The Enterprise investigates a loss of contact with the USS Exeter and she is found adrift in orbit around a very Earth-like planet. White, crystal-like particles inside otherwise empty uniforms are all that remain of those aboard. The Exeter's captain is still alive on the planet below, where he's playing loose with the Federation's Prime Directive of non-interference with native cultures.

#58 The Paradise Syndrome
Season 3, Disc 1
Some people turn their noses up at all of Star Trek's third season episodes. However, there were some unique adventures that season, including "The Paradise Syndrome." Aside from a couple of cringe-worthy moments, this has been one of my favorites for years. I am, after all, a sucker for sad endings.

On their way to divert an asteroid the size of Earth's moon, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to scope out a planet directly in its path. They find a large, pyramid-shaped obelisk, created with technology that may be greater than that of the Federation.

The planet's inhabitants turn out to be Native Americans of Earth descent. Without advanced technology, they could not have built the obelisk so the trio avoids contacting them. Kirk goes off alone to take one more look at the structure. As he calls the ship on his communicator, a trap door opens and he falls through. Grasping a computer console within to get up, Kirk accidentally unleashes a beam that wipes out his memory.

When a search turns up nothing, the Enterprise is forced to depart without her captain in order to intercept the asteroid. Meanwhile, the beautiful Miramanee—tribal priestess—and one of her handmaidens have made their way to their temple, the obelisk.

From out of the temple, walks Kirk. Both immediately confirm what we have all suspected for years, that Kirk is a god. The women bow down to recognize him as such, but Kirk still has no idea who he is, much less who they are.

This episode also contained some of the best special effects of any season. The shot of the Enterprise shown from the aft as she moves in reverse within the path of the asteroid was beautiful. The effect was later re-used several episodes later in "For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky."

#59 The Enterprise Incident
Season 3, Disc 1
"The Enterprise Incident" starts with a foreboding medical log by Dr. McCoy. Captain Kirk seems to be buckling under the pressure of command, like so many others before him. An angry Kirk orders the Enterprise into the Romulan neutral zone and Romulans soon surround the vessel. To the astonishment of the crew, the Romulans are now using Klingon battle cruisers.

The Romulans order the Enterprise to stand down and demand that Kirk and Spock beam aboard the flagship. They do so and meet the Romulan commander (Joanne Linville), a woman who seems to share an instant attraction with Spock. The increasingly erratic Kirk blames the encroachment of the Enterprise on equipment failure, while Spock tells the Romulan commander that Kirk alone is responsible.

#63 The Empath
Season 3, Disc 3
"The Empath" is one of Star Trek's great morality plays. It features yet another "test" by a supposedly superior species. However, this episode has a unique feel compared to any other in the entire series. The biggest factors are Kathryn Hays' top-notch performance as the mute Gem and the simple yet effective sets. "The Empath," in fact, does feel like a play and is one of the best examples of high quality work being possible with a small budget.

#64 The Tholian Web
Season 3, Disc 3
The Enterprise finds the USS Defiant adrift in space. Her crew has gone insane and killed each other. While investigating aboard the vessel, Kirk and company find that the ship is phasing out of existence. With minimal transporter power, everyone but Kirk safely returns to the Enterprise.

Before the Enterprise can beam Kirk back aboard, the Defiant vanishes. Spock assumes command and Kirk is eventually presumed dead. I love most of the ship-based episodes, and this is one of the best of the lot.

Though he probably has less screen time here than any other episode, I still consider this one of the most important Kirk episodes. The captain manages to become omnipresent in his absence. Nichelle Nichols also turns in one of her best performances here. Uhura sees a ghostly image of Kirk after his death and everyone believes she has gone insane.

"The Tholian Web" also offers insight into the character development of Spock. Contrast his behavior here with "The Galileo Seven" from a couple years before. The once-cold Vulcan actually displays some warmth to his human colleagues. "Welcome back, Lieutenant," he tells Uhura. "Your absence was keenly felt, Mister Chekov," he tells the navigator.

To top all of this off are some terrific effects of the truly alien-looking Tholians and the energetic webs they weave.

#73 The Lights Of Zetar
Season 3, Disc 5
Scotty is always annoying when he's in love (or featured for more than two or three minutes in an episode), so you'll have to ignore that aspect of "The Lights Of Zetar" in order to find one of Trek's best-kept secrets: This is a terrific episode! Featuring a great opening scene and the dark ambiance of a horror movie, "The Lights Of Zetar" is an often overlooked treat.

The Enterprise encounters a group of "light beings" (that, oddly, can apparently travel faster than light—we'll let that one slide) which "possess" Lieutenant Mira Romaine (Jan Shutan), the object of Scotty's unfortunate affections. Sure, these light entities are aliens on a budget, but at least they feel alien rather than looking like nose jobs of the week.

Incidentally, this is the first Star Trek episode to feature a scene in 0g—weightlessness. Really cool!

#78 All Our Yesterdays
Season 3, Disc 6
Though it is essentially an inferior remake of "The City on the Edge of Forever," there's something oddly compelling about "All Our Yesterdays," which was the second-to-last episode to air of the original Star Trek.

Maybe it's the librarian with the perfect name, Mr. Atoz (Ian Wolfe). Or perhaps it's Zarabeth (Mariette Hartley), a political prisoner exiled into an Ice Age solitary 5,000 years in the past by an evil dictator who was apparently blind. There's also a strong performance by Leonard Nimoy, in perhaps his most convincing display of emotions as Spock. (There's no crying in Star Trek!)

Okay, it's Zarabeth. Without her, this episode probably wouldn't have made this list.

Arriving just before a planet's sun is about to explode, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy find that most of the inhabitants are missing. The only ones left are Mr. Atoz and several duplicates of him. When Kirk hears a woman screaming for help, he naturally runs off to assist and accidentally steps through a time portal. Don't you hate when that happens?

Seeing their captain vanish, Spock and McCoy of course run after him and vanish, too. Fortunately for them, it wasn't a vaporizer ray. Anyway, Kirk arrives just in time to save an annoying woman in the past. She soon accuses him of being a witch, since he keeps talking to an unseen voice named Bones. The captain is imprisoned as such and, worse, so is the annoying woman.

Spock and McCoy arrive in a different time period, much farther back, during the planet's Ice Age. McCoy nearly freezes to death and tells Spock to leave him behind. The Vulcan refuses, but soon a mysterious person dressed head to toe in fur appears and takes them to safety in a nearby cave.

The mysterious person turns out to be Zarabeth. She heats up the cave so much that she has to strip off most of her garments. Back in 1969, the NBC censors, in their infinite wisdom, went after "All Our Yesterdays" because Hartley's costume was originally too revealing. They demanded that shocking and disturbing imagery of Hartley's bare . . . belly button not be shown.

The rest of the actresses' body remained relatively unclothed through most of "All Our Yesterdays," though. Who says that Star Trek lost the vision of Gene Roddenberry in the third season?

As Zarabeth, Hartley heats up the cave, the screen, and Spock. "It is agreeably warm here," he tells her. Zarabeth's navel is kept safely hidden, though, so it's okay for the kids to watch this one.

In all seriousness, "All Our Yesterdays" would have made a much better series finale than the mediocre "Turnabout Intruder." It's unfortunate that Star Trek had to leave the air with such a weak finale, but at least Nicholas Meyer's Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991 eventually gave Star Trek the sendoff it deserved.

* * *

So, there you have it, the Essential Star Trek. If you only watch 35 episodes of Star Trek in your lifetime, make them these installments.

* * *

BONUS
Star Trek: The Film Frontier—The Essential Movies

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Tales Of A Couch Potato In The Wii Jungle Of Doom

posted by Tygrrius @ 8:31 AM

I've had a crazy-busy summer so far. Class is winding down, though. Plus, I'm now working ten-hours-a-day Monday-Thursday with Fridays off until September. This means that I can finally devote some time to The Film Frontier again.

I've missed this place. I did manage to blog a bit for my class. Setting up a blog, making posts, and commenting on others' posts were actually part of one of our class projects. It was fun and also gave me a chance to try out a different blog provider, WordPress. I will probably stick with Blogger, but I think the ideal would be a combination of the two.

I'm planning to add two or three new features to the site in the coming weeks. Nothing Earth-shattering, really, just filling some gaps. I will probably phase out the News section in favor of spending the time on the more original Reviews and Proverbial Galaxies (PGX) entries. Any future news that I want to comment on, I could just as easily post as a PGX entry.

* * *

It hasn't been all work this summer, though. Once I was gainfully employed again, my wife suggested that we buy a Nintendo Wii. I don't think a lot of wives out there suggest that kind of thing, so I was not about to nix the idea. Of course, she is also looking forward to seeing The Dark Knight next weekend. She even watched the first five minutes online somewhere. What can I say? I'm a lucky man.

The thought of buying a Wii had never crossed my mind, though. To the extent that I've played home video games at all, I've always been more of a PC gamer. The PC game market seems to be almost gone, though.

I also enjoy playing 1980s arcade-style video games, like 1942. My first and only video game console purchase was in 1999. I bought a Star Wars Racer version of Nintendo 64. That's right, the high of seeing Star Wars: Episode I-The Phantom Menace (which, call me crazy, I actually enjoyed) convinced me to buy a Nintendo just to play a podracing video game.

It was a fine game, but I never finished it. I also never bought another game so the unit mostly collected dust over the years. My brother-in-law took pity on me and donated a few of his old games, though, which helped rekindle my interest for a bit.

The Wii is another story. After all of the effort that it takes to actually find one to buy (sorry eBayers, I'm not taking part in your speculation attempts), you pretty much have to play it. I was lucky in that the hot item at Best Buy that morning was actually the Wii Fit rather than the console itself. They still had one or two consoles left after my purchase, and I didn't even make it to the store until five minutes after they opened.

Included with the console is Wii Sports, a collection of five sports-themed games on one disc. Wii Sports is much more active than your typical video game. I'm a guy who blogs about movies, DVDs, TV shows, and the occasional comic book. I'm a couch potato if you ever saw one.

Despite this status, I always seem to favor sports video games. Perhaps it's my way of living vicariously. In fact, of the games I have loaded on this computer right now, the one that I've played most over the years is Madden NFL 2004.

Anyway, the Wii actually has a wireless remote/controller. I thought perhaps this was to make it easier to sit on the sofa while playing the game, but actually you have to stand up and swing this thing like a bat if you're playing Wii Baseball. That was definitely my favorite game in Wii Sports. It is limited to only three innings, though. Another drawback is that though you ostensibly "pitch" the ball by winding up and swinging the remote forward, the pitching aspect is very rudimentary.

Wii Bowling is also a favorite. You can actually bowl a full ten frames. Again, you use the Wii remote as the "ball" and swing your arm down and release a button to "throw" it. Like all of the Wii Sports games, it has a multi-player option. My wife is extremely competitive, so this offers a bit of fun for me. She claims it's not fair if I "practice" too much on the Wii when she's not around because it makes it easier for me to beat her. Sure, that's what it is, honey.

If you really want to work up a sweat, Wii Boxing is the way to go. For this game, you actually hold the Wii remote in one hand, and the supplied Wii nunchuck in the other. Trust me, this is the perfect game after a stressful day at work. It is limited to three rounds, but that's about all this Rocky-wannabe can take! The better you get at it, the tougher your opponents. I've gotten so good that I'm afraid to play anymore for fear that I will lose my undefeated status. Yo, Adrian! I did it!

My quest for a more intense baseball game led me to purchase Major League Baseball 2K8. I made the mistake of buying this game without checking for reviews. As a Wii game, it is disappointing. The controls are cumbersome, requiring both the remote and the nunchuck - making for an uncomfortable bat-swinging experience. For 2008, the graphics are also less than stellar. As baseball games go, I pretty much hated it.

However, all was not lost in my quest for a Wii baseball game. Based on great reviews, I next bought MLB Power Pros. Though made by the same company (2K Sports), this game is tons better. It's a 2007 game, so I paid about $30 less than I did for 2K8. Maybe it evens out.

Power Pros has a Wii mode where you can bat and pitch using just the Wii remote. This is limited to exhibition games and a homerun derby. To use most of Power Pros' features, though, you will still need to hook in the nunchuck or a classic controller (sold separately) which facilitate play while sitting down.

For me, Power Pros' game play options strike a great balance. I can pretend that I'm a great baseball player and swing and hit home runs without leaving our family room or I can play seasons and seasons' worth of baseball in the old-style, classic controller mode on the comfort of my native environment, the couch. No matter the mode, control of the game is much smoother than the extremely clunky Major League Baseball 2K8.

Power Pros features cartoony versions of the various baseball stars, which is one of the reasons I avoided it at first. They grow on you quickly, though. I'd love to see an add-on where you can field a team composed of the Peanuts gang and a particularly strong hit back at Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound will knock his socks off.

Also from the budget rack, we've tried out Hot Wheels: Beat That--using a snap-on steering wheel for the Wii remote. We've actually found it easier to steer using the standard controls rather than the wheel, though. I guess they'll improve that sort of stuff for the next generation of Wii. Hot Wheels is entertaining, though I will probably be seeking out cheat codes soon in order to unlock upper levels and try out some of the different environments. I just don't have the patience to earn points by accomplishing various mission objectives. I'm horrible at video games. I just want to race, man.

In my quest to ensure that Steven Spielberg remains a rich man, we recently purchased his first video game, Boom Blox. We've only scratched the surface of this game (the repetitive action of flinging the Wii remote gets tiring after awhile), but it's definitely a lot of fun so far.

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Well, I hate to cut this entry short, but all this talk of baseball makes me want to play a game or two. Have a happy Friday!