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Category: Movies and Television

  • Sublime Star Trek episodes: “Yesterday’s Enterprise” and “The Offspring”

    Yesterday on sci-fi’s TNG block I caught the ending of Yesterday’s Enterprise, which was then followed by The Offspring. These are two of the best TNG episodes ever. It struck me that TNG as a series remains unmatched even by DS9 in terms of how many truly great episodes there were that really explored the human condition in such powerful ways.

    Yesterday’s Enterprise handled Trek nostalgia brilliantly though subtly – the uniforms worn by the Enterprise-C crew were directly taken from the Trek movies from Khan onwards, for example, and the shape of the Enterprise-C was far more evocative of the iconic Enterprise from TOS than the Enterprise-D (I always felt that the Enterprise-D was flat and curvy in exactly the wrong places). But the way the story retconned Tasha Yar’s character was the real lodestone – and the scene with Picard where she argues to be transferred to the doomed ship was perfection, especially Picard’s final almost-refusal resigned-approval. Plus Castillo’s simple statement, “I don’t want you here.” – superb.

    The Offspring, meanwhile, is remarkable for how it explores father and daughter love, using emotionless androids, and manages to convey the essence of that relationship in a simple scene where Data and Lal hold hands. This is the fundamental purpose of science fiction – to explore the human condition by using non-humans, and Data is the personification of science fiction itself, making the literary genre a character in its own right. The final scene with Lal and Data, where she tells him she will feel for the both of them, is one that moves me every time. And the scene with Riker in Ten-Forward never fails to make me laugh out loud.

    There’s no way around it – I need to get myself a full set of these as soon as possible. Even Firefly can’t match TNG as far as its literary science fiction credentials go – and while I wish the new Trek movie franchise all the best, the Star Wars-ification of Star Trek is not science fiction anymore, but just space opera.

    If anyone has a favorite episode of TNG to share, please comment! lets get sentimental.

  • The glory of Fez, and That 90s Show

    Sometimes, when you’re looking for something on YouTube, you end up finding hilarious material from fans that you’d never have been able to find otherwise. I was looking for video of Fez’s awesome “rule with an Iron Fist” comment from That 70s Show and came across this paradoy by a bunch of high school kids which is so hilarious it deserves some highlight. Fans of That 70s Show will appreciate this; everyone else, move along 🙂

    Since my original intention was to put some Fez up, here’s Fez versus the ninjas, enjoy:

  • Episode 1: a long, long time ago, in a fandom far, far away

    Today, May 19th marks the ten year anniversary of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

    It’s been ten years. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe the excitement and the thrill and the magic of anticipation I felt back then. My friend Eric and I waited in line, for how long I don’t even recall, to get in on opening day at the Cinemark Theater in Katy on I-10, which will forever be my Star Wars theater. The months leading up to the release were amazing, with tidbits and screen shots leaking out from sites like TheForce.net, sites I reloaded obsessively. To this day, this teaser image still gives me the chills:

    Episode One: The Phantom Menace
    Episode One: The Phantom Menace

    And of course the pod race and the final battle with Darth Maul – the greatest star wars villain ever – were pure-adrenaline amazing enough to make all the annoyances worthwhile – even Jar Jar. Mostly.

    In a lot of ways Episode One let us all down, but the anticipation was something special, and an experience in and of itself. So, rock on Star Wars, with your Clone Wars and your CGI and your toy lines and your Anakin backpacks. Someday someone is gonna come along and pull a JJ Abrams on you, too.

  • new trek for Star Trek: a contrarian view

    I’ve been cautiously optimistic about the new Trek reboot movie until now, but the final product let me with a bit of a “meh” response. Don’t get me wrong – I didn’t dislike the film, nor do I think they have ruined Trek or or committed any blasphemies. In a lot of ways I agree with the generally positive reviews that the movie seems to capture the essence of the 60s original series (TOS) in some way, only amped up and refreshed for modern sensibilities (i.e. more sex, more violence, more explosions. I’m not complaining).

    However I do still feel surprisingly un-invested in the outcome and direction that this new trek is taking us. I think this is because in a lot of ways, TOS was not “true” Trek for me – it was more of a backstory to the real Trek, namely the Next Generation (TNG). Not to say I didn’t like TOS either – it’s one of my favorite series of all time, up there with Galactica, Firefly, and yes, TNG. What made TOS great was not Kirk’s hypermasculinity or the short skirts. It was about the relationship between the three main characters, of whom Spock really stood out as the defining icon. The three of them formed a Holy Trinity of Science Fiction and every episode was ultimately as much about them as anything else. Others have written about how TOS was shaped by its Cold War conception and how it represented a positive vision for humanity unlike anything else ever written, but to me as a child, I didn’t really get all that. It was just simply a great show because it was cool.

    But while I loved TOS, it was the first set of movies that really sealed the deal and ignited my fandom. For anyone watching the series and then the first three movies in particular, there’s a gigantic disconnect. The reason is because the movies were where Trek grew up and embraced its science fiction heritage identity. Instead of social issues like racism or war, which were staples of the TV series, the movies delved into concepts like humanity, sacrifice, duty, identity, intelligence, and even destiny. The screen was bigger and the story expanded to match. And there were at last real consequences, with Spock and the Enterprise both sacrificed so that the others may live. Yes, they brought Spock back, but not without cost.

    When TNG started, it started out a bit schizophrenic, trying in some ways to evoke TOS (remember the male miniskirt? ugh) but also cognizant of the movies’ style too. Ultimately, in terms of both style and tone, TNG evolved beyond the movies and became something wholly new in its own right. TNG went for seven seasons – more than twice as long as TOS – and explored science fiction themes in incredible variety and depth. Just off the top of my head – Dharmok. Data’s trial. The Enterprise-C. “There are four lights!” And everything with Lt. Barclay. I’ve barely scratched the surface here – TNG had an incredible versatility and maturity to it, which I think helped reinvigorate science fiction as a whole genre, in both TV and literary forms.

    and now? (spoilers follow)

    (more…)

  • Terminators are Cylons

    I haven’t actually put to pen my thoughts on the closing of the BSG story, though I have a few healthy drafts awaiting completion. In the meantime, though, in the grand geek tradition of Unification Theory, we can play the game of trying to merge our favorite universes. A while back someone posited that Firefly and BSG were the same universe, starting with a genuine screenshot of Firefly flying over Caprica City (an easter egg by the animators). The TOS-era Enterprise also made an appearance in the ragtag fleet, but tying the Trek continuity to BSG is a stretch even for me (though, with the reboot movies, anything is technically possible…)

    Of course, knowing what we know now about how BSG ended, the connection to almost any scifi series can now be made. (spoilers follow) (more…)

  • Firefly: “darn”

    This short video pretty much explains exactly why Firefly was the greatest science fiction show on television – even more so than Battlestar Galactica.

  • after Galactica: what to watch next?

    somewhat inspired by Mark’s list of games, movies, and anime he intends to watch next, I wanted to list some of the upcoming (and older) series on television that I am going to sample to try and replace the gaping void that Batttlestar Galactica’s ride off into the sunset (literally) has left behind. In no particular order:

    • Stargate: Universe. This takes the Stargate franchise into a fresh direction, into the unexplored universe far beyond the scope of the previous series (SG1 and Atlantis). The plot premise sounds like a cross between Quantum Leap and Star Trek Voyager – but wit the Stargate writers, the extreme suckage and wasted potential of ST:VOY will hopefully be avoided. This is,however, the Stargate franchise, so expecting the series to take actual risks or bold storylines is probably wishful thinking indeed. Unlike BSG, Stargate plays it safe – characters never die, there are never any major changes to the status quo, and the series prefers technobabble exposition to simple character interaction (a failing it has inherited, though to far less degree, from the Star Trek-ification of science fiction).
    • Caprica. This prequel series to BSG is styled as a soap opera/drama rather than an action and adventure series. Still, it will be interesting to see how they respect/extend/desecrate the BSG canon. One thing that worries me off the bat is the insinuation that we will be seeing humaniform cylons instead of toasters. Still, with Ron Moore aboard as a producer, hopefully they will avoid the temptation.
    • Chuck. I caught an episode of this engaging series on a recent United flight and I found myself intrigued. I barely know what it’s about apart from what I inferred from the episode, but Chuck appears to be an ordinary schmoe who somehow has some super classified database implanted in his brain, neccessitating protection by the CIA and involvement in all sorts of silly capers with foreign agents who are trying to learn his (protected) identity. In teh meantime he works at a Best Buy (suitably modified for trademark purposes). This is funnier than it sounds,but it also had some honest emotion too. A major appeal was seeing Adam Baldwin (Jayne from Firefly) playing major supporting role.
    • Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles. I know this series is rumored for cancellation, but it’s got Summer Glau.
    • Warehouse 13. This is probably the most anticipated show on my list. The basic idea is to try and mix X-Files with Raiders of the Lost Ark, with two (FBI?) agents assigned to Warehouse 13, a desert government facility where all manner of supernatural objects are stored (think the big warehouse where they stored the Ark in Raiders). The agents are tasked with going off around the world and retrieving more of these objects. The previews suggest that the agents are a lot more interesting, personality wise, than Sculder or Mully ((I mean, they were both deadpan and taciturn. Even Scully’s supposed cynicism about the paranormal became hollow by the end of the first couple of seasons. The only characters with any genuine warmth were the Lone Gunmen)).

    I’ll take this moment to ridicule SciFi Channel’s universally-panned name change to SyFy.com (or, as I like to think of it, Siffy). Then again, despite being home to 3 of the 5 series listed above, there’s barely any science fiction on the channel anymore. Most of the time they are showing bad horror flicks like Anaconda or whatnot.

  • Defense against the Dark Arts

    Saudi Arabian Aurors working for the Ministry of Magic, Promotion of Virtue, and Prevention of Vice have arrested a rogue sorceror.

    The potential for jokes is unlimited. camel caravan to Hajjwarts? games of Qaddafitch played aboard flying carpets? Young Harun Potter, facing off against Voldamerica?

    (I actually have some more serious analysis at City of Brass, but I just needed to get those quips out of my system)

  • Roku digital video player: game-changer for home entertainment

    Digital video has its advantages over discs, but also suffers from a major flaw. I have to admit that (unlike others who are more diligent) I haven’t taken full advantage of the Netflix streaming video service, because I find that being tied to the PC screen just isn’t the most convenient location for watching movies. I do use Hulu.com a bit but still, it’s being tethered to the PC that really inhibits usage. I’ve found that I do watch a lot more anime now, though, because I can torrent the AVI files, put them on a USB jumpdrive, and watch them on my DVD player (which has a USB connection). However, that process is time-consuming since you need to download the whole video file before watching, and of course there’s the inconvenience (not to mention legal gray area) of finding torrents in the first place.

    Roku digital video player
    Roku digital video player
    This is why Roku’s new digital video player
    box is so exciting. Unlike the latest piece of s^&t from Sony, the Roku player is a simple and small box with the standard video outputs (component, HDMI) and an ethernet jack, plus built-in wifi. It connects to the internet over your home network, plugs into your TV, and brings Netflix streaming-on-demand and Amazon.com’s video store right to your living room. The concept works because it’s so simplistic and cleanly executed – it doesn’t do anything else. Even the remote is a piece of utilitarian art.

    There are other ways to get Netflix streaming onto your television – for example, the Samsung BD-P2500 Blu-Ray player, which adds the streaming capability. But at $300, it’s three times the cost of the Roku (and doesn’t support Amazon). Amazon’s video store lets you rent or buy movies and television and rivals Hulu.com and the iTunes store for selection, so the Roku really almost replaces the need to go to a retail video rental store like Blockbuster in a way that Netflix alone never could.

    If digital downloads are going to really kill off the physical-disc format, it won’t be until devices like Roku become mainstream. And at the price point of $99, that’s not too far off at all.

  • The Princess Bride audio samples

    princessbride_audioNow, these bring back some memories!

    I’m not sure when i discovered The Princess Bride, but by the time I got to college I was badly addicted to the movie, and delighted to find a bunch of close friends who were just as insane about it as I was (and pretty much everything else I was insane about, for that matter). This was back in the day when a VCR that was both Hi-Fi and stereo (and 4 heads, to boot) was considered bleeding edge. As it happened, I managed to snag such a godbox for within a college students’ budget and decided to record for posterity my favorite quotes from the movie from my (already) aging VHS copy. These were recorded using an analog mike next to the output speaker of my television; I think I may have also been using an abacus to keep time, though I can’t be sure, as that giant black monolith was really distracting.

    At any rate, these WAV files, named under DOS eight-character limits, lived on my 386 PC and then migrated to my 486 as various system sounds for my amusement for a few years, after which they ended up in a folder somewhere that then got passed from system to system like a set of junk DNA, lost in arcane hierarchies of old data. I was motivated to dig these out of the primordial digital slime this evening seeing @musabb live-tweet the Princess Bride as a fresh initiate to its mysteries, and decided that they were too good not to inflict upon everyone else. So, enjoy – and please copy them locally for your own use rather than hitting my host with direct links, so I can afford to send my kids to college someday instead of paying bandwidth overages.

    (also – please – don’t Stumble them, Digg them, or what have you. I prostrate myself upon your good graces)

    Incidentally – the audio soundtrack to the movie is probably one of my top five CDs of all time (though I have to count the collected H2G2 radio series discs as one to make it fit). If you are a fan of this movie, and/or of Mark Knopfler, this is essential music.