Guest Trek blogging #6

Enterprise.

I think the most telling sign that Paramount has lost confidence in this show is that it is, as of early in the third season, now officially called "Star Trek: Enterprise."The absence of the "Star Trek" moniker filled me with hope. This show ain't gonna be anything you've seen before…that's what that said to me. But as soon as the ratings started to dip, It could've worked. Maybe it still can. It seemed like it was for awhile. Its first season had a lot of buzz. A prequel, set before Kirk's time? Great idea. Scott Bakula as the captain? Sure, why not? At least you know Quantum Leap fans will watch, right? Conflict with the Vulcans? Bring it on. Where are the Romulan wars? And let's talk about T'Pol. Let's just put it right out there for everyone to see, as Jolene Blalock does almost every week on the show. They wanted another Seven of Nine, OK? I'm sure the Paramount honchos said it to Berman in exactly those words. So they gave us another hot chick in a tight outfit, with a severe personality, to feed all the Trek male fans' brains with that insatiable "I want be the guy to shake her out of that cool exterior - and out of those hot, hip-hugging clothes - and bring out the libidinous sex animal lurking underneath" feeling. Hey guys, I'm a guy, too. I felt it. Don't be ashamed. But ask yourself this, should we really accept that kind of empty eye candy at the expense of good characterization? I thought I liked T'Pol at first. But let's be honest, she's pretty one-note. Whenever they want to vamp up the sexual tension on the show, she takes off her top and massages Trip with oil. Now, while this may be a more or less completely successful attempt to play into the Trek male geek fantasy of a Vulcan love slave, does it really advance the story? Has the Trip/T'Pol romance ever seemed like anything other than a contrived attempt to inject some love scenes into the show?

Guest Trek Blogging#7

The Trek Movies.

Insurrection killed the Trek movie franchise. Bold statement? Not really. Think about it. Now don't get me wrong. Insurrection, while my least favorite of the Next Generation films, is not a bad movie. On the contrary, it's pretty solid stuff. A firm three out of four stars. But it was rushed out too soon after First Contact, to capitalize on that film's enormous success. But hey, you say, First Contact came out two years after Generations, and Insurection came out two years after First Contact, so how can you make that argument? Here's why: First Contact had to come out soon after Generations if the Trek movies were going to survive. Generations was a decent-size hit, but it was slammed by critics and a lot of fans. The emotion chip was gimmicky, the nexus was nonsensical technobabble; Shatner upstaged Stewart. There was serious doubt as to whether the Next Gen crew could hold a film on their own, with no help from the original series. First Contact quickly proved that they could…Star Trek clearly still had a future on the silver screen.What should they have done then? They should have let the movie series rest awhile. Let some anticipation build for the next installment. But those Paramount execs, they can always be counted on to do whatever they think will make them the quickest buck. What did they do? Salivating with the success of the "Borg movie," as I'm sure they inaccurately called it, they threw loads of dough at Stewart and Spiner and they filmed the first story Michael Piller could come up with. And what happened? Insurrection, while entertaining and modestly successful at the box office, failed to generate the excitement a Trek movie should. It was a fine story, but it was pretty forgettable. And c'mon, "Insurrection?" It was a horrible title. Really, in all seriousness, "Insurrection?" What the hell does that mean? It sounds like one of those lackluster one-word technobabble titles from some TNG or Voyager episodes, where you get the idea that they didn't feel like coming up with something good. "The Devil in the Dark," "The Changing Face of Evil," The City on the Edge of Forever," "Far Beyond the Stars," those are Trek titles. Insurrection underperformed, and that was possibly a good thing, cause it made Berman & Co. realize they needed to take more time to think up something better for the next one. And you know what? They did. The ho-hum response to Nemesis confounded me. At the time, I tried to explain it away with bad timing. Well, there was a Lord of the Rings, a Harry Potter and a Bond film out at the same time. Well, you know what? Those excuses didn't work with Star Trek V, and they don't work with Nemesis either. It goes deeper than that. Some people didn't like Nemesis, but I although I think they're wrong, I don't think they're the problem. I think the people who didn't SEE Nemesis are the problem. When a film like Star Trek V underperforms at the box office, it's easy to explain. It was a bad movie. When A a really cool film like Nemesis (and it was really cool) underperforms, it means, interest in the Trek films is waning. Interest in Trek in general is waning. Oh, I hated writing those last words I just wrote. But it's the only explanation. The future of Trek. Enterprise will not last seven years.

Another Emmy

for Mr. Shatner. I am staying silent about what I think of this. Just thought I should mention it.

Threshold

A new speculative series is debuting as I type on CBS....There's a smart "little person," on there that tickles my sense that the acting profession needs to include "different" people like myself.

TNG alumni, Brent Spiner is anything but robotic, playing a cynical, crass, bitter physician.

It's "Invasion" without the juvenile sensibility. I think it will be a good show.

Miracle Worker

James Doohan, the man who played "Scotty" on the original Star Trek Series has passed away. From what I understand complications from pneumonia and the alzheimers that he was struggling with were the cause.

The word is given...warp speed.

A Shatner note:

regarding his appearance this evening at the AFI tribute for George Lucas.

Shatner will do positively *anything* for face time. Anything.

(and I'm a Kirk person, I really am.)

Off Topic and Puzzling

I havent got a problem with what George Lucas said at Cannes, I can see that people on the opposite side of the question would take issue

But "Star Wars" the film is now on a list to be *boycotted* by certain Republicans...

These must be the spiritual desendants of the folks that wouldn't broadcast Trek on certain stations during its initial run.....

I am speechless. I can't even rant about this it's so nuts. More after next Monday when I have seen the film.

Spoilers---Let's go Mind the Store

So....

This takes place during the Enterprise D's missions...

Brent must have recorded "Data's" lines either while doing his own guest stint or as a later unanounced bit.

If the entire episode had been about the NX 01's crew I would have liked it better... I'll take what I can get. Shran and his beautiful little daughter. Tucker and Malcom speculating about possible future Enterprises. Archer being self deprecating and gentle, both about Tucker's death and his own speechmaking ability. T'Pol was written grossly emotional (for a Vulcan) and I agree Jolene Blalok and John Billingsley who went on record as being dissatisfied with the way their characters, indeed the whole NX crew took a backseat to the framing Riker/Troi story.


I was all ready to hate the framing story with the hottest hate I could muster, but Riker's just so damn congenial it's hard to dislike him. After all it's not Frakes and Sirtis' fault they've been asked to upstage Phlox's compassion, T'Pols prickly behavior, or the worst upstage of all, Tucker's death being marginalized by making the whole thing just a holographic simulation...

The only thing that made the framing worth it was the end sequence and even that was two shots shy of perfect...The ships (but where was Voyager?), the spacescape (but where was DS9?) and the complementary voice overs.

Ah, well, engage...

Halfway through

Loved the rocking, rolling shuttle ride...to the end emphasizing the fact that this is not the cushy 23rd or 24th century..."When *I* walked to school through twelve feet of snow," etc. These ancestors of the Starfleeters we know had to have it rougher or one of the few positives of a prequel just falls flat.

"Her name is Elizabeth."

Perhaps some of Phlox's record keeping gets studied by the Vulcan geneticists when a certain Vulcan diplomat and his human lady wife decide to have a child :)


Tucker's emotions at the end of this episode were/are right on target.

And Archer's final speech at the conference. Lord, no wonder Kirk was such a pompous **** by his time.

One down One to go.

These Were The Voyages

No copyright infringment is intended or implied all characters are copyrighted by Paramount


"It's happening Captain....the rift showing the past, the future....that we've had access to for decades now. Decay rate constant. Closure imminent."
"Isn't there anything that can be done for them?"
"Your concern is noble and notable Doctor, but they have sealed their fate. Outside this rift their reality lies on a perilous course. It is logical that," he paused and admitted, "many...positive things...would be left behind."
"It's just one of those moments in history," the Captain(s) said,"We've tried every scheme possible, and we are simply unable to stop it."
"Do they forget," asked the Prophets of the Sisko, "Or do they reject?"
"I am uncertain," said Ben.
"Today," rumbled Worf, "Is not a good day to die."
"Like my people though, " noted Myles, "They'll keep on writing."
"And dreaming," murmured Janeway, "Perhaps too much."
"I believe," said the machine, "That there are always alternatives."
"Intriguing," opined the Vulcan.
"We'll go on whether they do or not," said the youngest of the Captains.
"And you wouldn't have it any other way," interrupted the Frenchman sourly.
He had never gotten used to the other's pronouncements. And where in the hell was Q?
Archer was bemused and annoyed by turns "You say that, " he quipped to young Kirk , "when your voyages ended before their time as well? At least yours weren't hijacked by a pair of-"
"Temper, Temper, " said the Denobulan, smiling. He turned to the Southerner and asked, "How do you account for such volatility in a leader?"
"Comes with the territory," the Southerner answered gruffly. "Hush now. It's beginning..."