New Toy - Samsung UE32F550

Just setup a new television, nothing too fancy a modest 32" LCD/LED panel but it is wireless/DNLA compliant and the Freeview HD is the icing although that service is pretty much default these days. A very pretty and light weight television, easy to setup and the picture is darn good.
The model in question is the Samsung UE32F550.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes

I picked up the 25th Anniversary edition of the movie on Blu-ray for a very reasonable
£11 from Amazon, it's a movie I've always liked but never owned before.
We'll start this mini-review with a brief synopsis of the movie in terms of both the
story and the production.
The movie presents a world where humans and cartoons live side by side but only
in and around Los Angeles which is where Toon Town is located, the cartoons
are drawn from many sources something which would be pretty much impossible to
do these day with the way the rights and IP are obsessively protected these days.
In this tale a well known nightclub owner and ACME aficionado who is believed
to have been having an affair with the wife of Roger Rabbit, Roger goes on the run
and ends up teaming with the human PI who took the original incriminating photos
of the illicit "patty cake" affair.

Hilarity ensues as Roger and Eddie try to learn the truth both in LA and Toontown
while dodging the Judge and his weasel minions and sometimes good sometimes
bad interference from Jessica Rabbitt.
Production wise this is a Robert Zemeckis movie which combines live action and
traditionally animated footage seamlessly interwoven at least to the extent the
technology and art allowed for in the pre-CGI days.
The result is a very pleasing and funny movie which is a technical achievement
and a lot of credits goes to the director and actors for really setting the gold standard
for working opposite pretty much nothing.

We have a top notch cast with Bob Hoskins being an unusual choice for a hard boiled
down on his luck PI, Christopher Lloyd wonderfully over the top as Judge Doom and
Joanna Cassidy played the love interest and never endingly patient Dolores.
One other notable face with Joel Silver the movie and tv producer who played Raoul
the director of the Roger and Herman feature at the beginning of the movie.
Charles Fleischer provided the voice for Roger and dressed in a bunny suit on set,
an inspired idea as he said himself he treated this job with the same commitment as
any other acting job.

Ok then the Blu-ray itself presents the remastered version of the movie and while it looks
as good as it probably ever will there is no getting away from the original source material
issues. The live action footage has a warmth and softness to it that is very appealing but
not exactly useful for a pin sharp HD demo and I tend to think the limitations of hand
drawn animation which had to be textured to a certain extent to create the real world
look at times suffered when watched in native HD. The soundtrack at least on my
limited setup plain old 5.1/DTS was good but nothing spectacular.
That said at the price you can't really go wrong, the movie is great fun, some decent extras
on the disk including a behind the scenes/making of and a commentary track.

Star Trek Marathon XIX

Star Trek Marathon XIX
Season 3 Disk 5

The Cloud Minders

A desperately needed mineral takes the Enterprise to the planet Ardana and the revered cloud city of Stratos where art and culture thrive leaving a lower class of people to mine the mineral and be denied the benefits of their world. Spock is eyed up by Droxine ( Diana Ewing ) and complications arise as the Troglytes rebel leading to Kirk getting involved. It's said that Stratos was going to be the focus of at least one episode of Enterprise which would have been interesting and would have fit into the fourth season quite nicely.

The Savage Curtain

Kirk and Spock are stranded on the volcanic world of Excalbia playing a deadly game of life and death with manifestations of both good and bad beings from various cultures including President Lincoln and Surak. A rather weak episode including the rock monster although the justification from Kirk for their actions made perfect sense.

All Our Yesterdays

On the planet Sarpeidon the people have ventured in their own past to escape the immanent destruction due to their star going nova. Kirk get's stuck in a medieval timeframe and accused of being a witch while Kirk and Spock are thrown back 5000 years into an ace age where they meet Zarabeth ( Mariette Hartley ) a woman exiled and all alone. This is a pretty good episode more so because it was spun out to two novels by A C Crispin which deals with the consequences of the events between Spock and Zarabeth. 

Turnabout Intruder

Dr Janet Lester ( Sandra Smith ) an old flame of Kirk's from the academy days is one of the two survivors of expedition who have died from radiation poisoning, she is still bitter over their breaks years before and her failure to enter into the command programme at Starfleet. With the aid of alien technology she swaps her conciousness with Kirk's and takes command of the ship with the intent to kill off Kirk in her old body and live his life. There are some interesting ideas in this episode but they all fall by the wayside by the god awful way the writers/producers etc allow women to be portrayed, not only the fact that in the multicultural Federation women are denied access to higher levels of command in Starfleet but the claims and support of medical that a womans "hysteria" is valid. 

Extras

Previews

Life Beyond Trek: Walter Koenig

Chief Engineers Log

Memoirs from Mr Sulu

Captains Log: Bob Justman

Star Trek Marathon XVIII

Star Trek Marathon XVIII
Season 3 Disk 4

The Mark Of Gideon

Captain Kirk is beamed on board of copy of the Enterprise instead of to the council chamber of Gideon, he believes the crew have been taken and then he meets Odona ( Sharon Acker ) who claims to have no knowledge of the ship or why she is there. Another TOS episode that has some good ideas but some obvious flaws but fun to see Spock get out manoeuvred by Hodin.

That Which Survives

A dead world is under investigation and then the transporter operator is killed and the ship flung a thousand light years away, the landing party is left on the planet and dealing with a strange woman who claims "she is for them only" while the same woman is attacking the crew of the ship. Lee Meriwether who played Losira also played Catwoman and starred on The Time Tunnel.

The Lights of Zetar

The Enterprise is attacked by a space borne energy lifeform which effects the nervous systems of the crew, the storm continues and strikes Memory Alpha and on arrival they find the complex devastated. Mira Romaine ( Jan Shutan ) is taken over by the alien entity and the only way to save her may be to kill her but Scotty a love interest thing humming away will do anything to save her. The characters in this episode are continued in the novel Memory Prime.

Requiem For Methuselah

Looking to collect the ingredients to manufacture the cure for Rigellian fever the ship visits a world owned by a private individual who at first is not happy to see them. There is a mystery surrounding him as he has art and music which appears legitimate but centuries out of place and he also has a very high tech robot butler and of course the beautiful "ward" who is pushes towards Kirk. Tragic events follow.

Great casting for both Flint ( James Daly ) and Rayna ( Louise Sorel ).

The Way To Eden

Bloody awful episode, lasted 5 minutes before I decided I would not punish myself further and for the unaware Space Hippies, stupid space hippies.

Extras

Previews

 

Star Trek Marathon XVII

Star Trek Marathon XVII
Season 3 Disk 3

Wink Of An Eye

The Enterprise finds the planet of Scalos deserted but the last survivors of this advanced race are living their lives in a different timeframe hyper accelerated beyond normal. Deela ( Kathie Browne ) hitchers a ride onto the ship and brings Kirk into her frame with the intent to use him to father then next generation and to keep the rest of the crew on ice for when they are needed. A fun episode once again relying on Kirk's animal magneticism to enrapture alien women.

The Empath

I guess this would be a high concept story but it doesn't quite work as the question is always asked exactly why is this the only recourse for these aliens. Anyhow Kirk gets his shirt off and is oiled up so not a total loss for the Kirk shirtless fan club:)

Elaan Of Troyius

A serious nod to Greek mythology/history as Elaan ( France Nuyen ) the Dohlman of her world is required to marry the leader of Troyius to cement a peace treaty but in Taming of the Shrew style she isn't really upto this and further complications arise with the interference of the Klingons who for some reason are interested in these worlds. The TNG episode "The Perfect Mate" has some similarities.

Whom Gods Destroy

A new wonder drug used to treat the insane is delivered to a secure facility but the former Fleet Captain Garth played by Steve Ihnat armed with gifts given to him by an alien race he then tried to destroy attempts to replace Kirk and escape to once again try to place himself as emperor of the galaxy. A clever idea with human augmented with alien abilities but once again we see the screening for Federation Starfleet captains isn't upto much:)

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

Two beings one labelled a criminal the other a security officer clash onboard the Enterprise and continue their thousands of year conflict even when they discover the fate of their homeworld. This should have been a better episode but you can't really get over the make up which is used in a totally unsubtle manner to emphasis racial conflicts on Earth.

Extras

Previews

Star Trek Marathon XVI

Star Trek Marathon XVI
Season 3 Disk 2

Spectre of the Gun
Beaming down to a world which had refused them access the inhabitants are not happy and who could blame them, the Federation like many of our nations take little notice of others when their own interests are at stake. The Melkotians create a scenario from Kirk's mind and it's the Gunfight at the OK Coral which will be the means to punish the invaders. This is an excellent of an episode made to a very very tight budget but with lots of imagination and talent.

Day of the Dove
A Federation colony is destroyed with no evidence of who had committed the act of violence, soon a Klingon vessel appears with what appears to be an ongoing firefight onboard, survivors are beamed aboard and the failing ship destroyed for safety reasons. The alien entity now on the Enterprise proceeds to effect the minds of the crews and pits them against eachother using primitive weapons.

For the World is Hollow and I have Touched the Sky
A world within an asteroid is on a collision course for a Federation colony, investigating this "ship" McCoy who has been diagnosed with a fatal illness falls in love with the leader of her people who accepts that she will lose him within a year but considers it a fair trade. McCoy discovers the holy book aka operating manual  but is it too late to save himself and the world of his new people?
One of the classic Trek episodes and if nothing else deserves a medal for the episodes title, Katherine Woodville plays Natira a natural beauty and a great performance.

The Tholian Web
The Enterprise investigates the loss of the USS Defiant and when the dead ship is discovered crippled after being captured within a dimensional rip the Enterprise has to stay to recover Kirk who has phased out of our reality. Then the Tholians arrive who claim this space and begin to entrap the ship in an energy web and if completed the Enterprise will be lost. A good solid episode but the dynamic between McCoy and Spock just felt totally wrong for a third season story, far more suited to an early first season.

Plato's Stepchildren
A people blessed with strong telekinetic powers who had spent time on Earth during the peak of the Greek culture desire McCoy to stay with them to provide medical care for the odd time they needed it, they threaten Kirk and Spock as well as the crew with their powers which have run amok and use pain and humiliation to aid their cause. This episode is of course the one that went down in US telly history as having the first interracial kiss, a milestone for it's time but without that a fairly below average episode.

Extras
Previews

Indiana Jones : Limited Collectors Edition

Now this is a thing of beauty but then again the standard Blu-ray package is a decent product, around £16 difference which makes it's very tempting but I've already pre-ordered the standard release and will probably stick with it. Still this looks gorgeous:)

• Amazon UK
• HMV
• Play
• Zavvi

Star Trek Marathon XV

Star Trek Marathon XV
Season 3 Disk 1

Spock's Brain

A young woman beams on board the Enterprise and proceeds to stun everyone and has her devious way with Spock, when the crew awakens Spock is found in sickbay minus his brain!!! You know the story is rather silly or maybe just not given enough time and effort to flesh out the story to make it less cheesy given the limitations imposed on season 3 by the studio.

The Enterprise Incident

Kirk orders the ship into the Romulan Neutral Zone where it is captured, given his erratic behaviour the Romulans accept the acts of one man as not being a cause for war but intend to keep the ship and eventually free the crew. Unbeknown to everyone but a select few this is all a huge ruse to steal the cloaking technology used by the Romulans while they are distracted with their prize. To save money the Romulans have conventionally started to use Klingon designed ships in addition to the warbird seen in Balance of Terror.

The Paradise Syndrome

On beaming down to a world threatened by an asteroid the landing party discover a small native American culture is thriving, in addition a strange obelisk with alien writings seems to stand guard over these people and then they misplace Kirk. Faced with intercepting the asteroid Spock and McCoy return to the ship and ultimately damage the power systems which allows the episode to give Kirk the time to fall in love, marry and potentially become a father before tragedy strikes. 

This is a cracking little episode, resources may have been tight but the production value is top notch and while there is a large plot hole you can overlook it because it's damn good episode.

And The Children Shall Lead

A dead colony with only the children left seemingly unperturbed by the deaths of their parents and a legend of an ancient evil which used to dominate this sector of space. I couldn't help but think a firm hand or even phaser set to stun would have resolved this episode so much quicker, not one I will re-watch anytime soon.

Is There No Truth In Beauty

A very alien ambassador from a race known for their skills at navigation requires an aide with superb mental barriers to interact with humanoids who otherwise would go mad upon looking at the ambassadors form visits the ship. Diana Muldaur returns to play a new role as Dr. Miranda Jones a telepath who has had Vulcan training but hides a secret. A clever idea with a true alien life form and some background on the Vulcan culture.

Extras

Previews

Star Trek Marathon XIII

Star Trek Marathon XIII
Season 2 Disk 6

Return To Tomorrow
Answering a distress call the landing party discover centuries old intelligent entities housed in fancy globes, these "people" want to occupy the crews bodies so they can build androids and return to the corporeal world but once they get a taste it's difficult to play nice.
Diana Mulder plays Dr Ann Mulhall she later returned to Trek in season 3 and then TNG as Dr Pulaski.

Patterns Of Force
The Enterprise visits Ekos to investigate the disappearance of the Federation cultural observer John Gill only to find a culture constructed upon the Nazi model but on a planetary system scale where one world looks down on another. An in your face episode in terms of delivering the message but actually works quite well.

By Any Other Name
The Enterprise is captured by Kelvans who want to return to Andromeda their own galaxy, they came to the Milky Way as a vanguard/recon group to decide if our galaxy was suitable as a new home. Kirk breaks out the charm and well he could woo the universe if required:)

The Omega Glory
The loss of the USS Exeter uncovers a culture being manipulated by that ships Captain who has used weapons technology to kill thousands of the natives enemies. Convinced he is infected with a virus that will kill but if processed bring almost eternal life Captain Ronald Tracey is willing to go to any lengths even killing Starfleet personnel.

Extras
Previews
Designing the Final Frontier

Star Trek Marathon XII

Star Trek Marathon XII
Season 2 Disk 5


The Gamesters of Triskelion
Kirk, Uhura and Chekov are transported off the Enterprise onto a world where they are pawns in a series of combat scenarios for the entertainment of highly evolved beings. Kirk seduces his handler and then turns the tables on the "brains" in an uber wager. A fun episode, cheesy and some questionable fight sequences but still a lot of fun. Angelique Pettyjohn played Shahna.

A Piece of the Action
Investigating the impact on a culture which had been contaminated by a human spaceship 100 years previously the Enterprise discovers a world which has embraced the Chicago gangster based society and the "boss" wants more weapons to consolidate the planet under one rule. Surprisingly Kirk is up for the final result but not the means to get there.

The Immunity Syndrome
The Vulcan crew of the USS Intrepid are killed by a creature that lives in deep space and Spock feels their deaths. The Enterprise rushes to the scene and finds itself in danger of suffering the same fate until Spock risks his life to save the ship and his crew.

A Private Little War
An episode which mirrors the events in the Vietnam theatre as the Klingons and Federation look to manipulate a weaker culture in the hopes of expanding their own agenda and goals, one of the more preachy stories of the show. Scifi once again proves how useful a genre is to get touchy subjects into the mainstream.
Nancy Kovack plays the driven and devious Nona.

Extras
Previews
"To Boldly Go..." Season 2

Star Trek Marathon IX

Star Trek Marathon IX
Season 2 Disk 2

The Apple
A red shirt bloodbath as a tropical paradise is revealed to be a controlled colony of happy go lucky people under the influence of an artificial intelligence, Kirk gets upsets (not a fan of AI) and gives these people freedom. A cheesy episode but the red shirt deaths are a riot:)

The Doomsday Machine

An excellent piece of scifi television as the Enterprise discovers her severely damaged sister ship "Constellation" and with Kirk investigating the wreck Decker takes over the conn of the Enterprise and sends this ship into the battle convinced he can win this time. This episode has some top notch enhanced graphics as well as being an entertaining episode, lots of action and drama. Commodore/Captain Decker is the father of Will Decker who was going to command the refitted Enterprise as seen in the motion picture.

Catspaw

This was a Halloween special and well couldn't quite make up it's mind what it was meant to be. There were some interesting elements with a very alien species looking into our existence and manipulating the crews minds but it wasn't funny enough or scary enough.

I, Mudd

An android infiltrates the Enterprise and steals the ship, his final destination is a world populated by androids under the leadership of one Harry Mudd, fun and games as Harry the loveable rogue indulges himself but Kirk and Co convince the androids they can do better without him and then crazy, random and illogical acts are presented to shut them down. A fun episode nicely shoot with a number of twins and Harry is great:)

Metamorphosis

A federation official is returning the the ship to get medical treatment but the shuttle craft is pulled off course and they are stranded on an small world with a sole human occupant. The "companion" an energy based intelligence brought them to provide company for the "man" but things take a twist when it realises or is convinced by Kirk that if it cares it should not hold the man on this world despite the benefits to him. This is a very clever episode even more so by the link to the Federations and Earth history, it also provided the seed for a series of Trek novels. Elinor Donahue plays Nancy Hedford, she looked great.

Extras

Previews