This looks just too good for this galaxy :)
Saturday, 2 May 2015
Sunday, 19 April 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #32
Deep Space Nine
Empok Nor
Quark is having issues with retaining customers in his bar thanks to ongoing maintenance by the Chief and Nog, unable to totally fix the problem and with no replicator sourced replacement parts they decide to visit the sister station to DS9 "Empok Nor" which was recently abandoned by the Cardassians. Garak is invited along since it's common practice to booby trap a resource and that is proven to be a good idea as Garak is able to gain entry and power up the station without incident or so they think. It turns out that there were three soldiers in statis left to deal with any intruders, two survive and are revived and begin to hunt down the Starfleet personnel.
It's not all plain sailing though as Garak becomes infected by a compound they find smeared on a railing, it's the same drug that is driving the even more determined Cardassians to hunt down intruders and as time passes Garak himself becomes more of a threat to the remaining Starfleet crew.
Empok Nor is an entertaining episode, its slow pace works to perfection to enhance the suspense and danger involved with being on this moth balled space station. Garak and Miles are great fun as the initial friendly banter which supports the first half of the episode and as the situation evolves into a life and death struggle their dialogue remains the most important aspect. There were some issues most of which exist to make the plot work beginning with the rather suspect inability to repair DS9 in the first place, a conduit shouldn't rely on a like for like original replacement rather than a replicated part. It was rather amusing to see that Health and Safety in terms of noisy working conditions and the environment weren't an issue for Starfleet or Quark missing the opportunity for compensation for loss of business. I also wondered why Empok Nor seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, the design after all seemed to be intended for ore processing but it wasn't in orbit or close to an asteroid belt and while yes Cardassians would bobby trap a resource you would think it would make more sense to destroy it or move it. There was also evidence the station was abandoned quickly which goes against the more organised security measures so when we see a girder has smashed into one of the pods you wonder why, these stations are built strong.
Empok Nor is a very good example of what DS9 was created to provide, a much darker and gritty episode of Star Trek with many shades of grey and who else but Garak (Andrew Robinson) could maximise that potential. It was great to see Garak even more dry and cutting as the drug began to take effect and when he gutted the security officer and pointed out he had fetched the wrong tool you had to smile despite the loss of another "red shirt". Speaking of which I was not impressed with the Starfleet personnel both in terms of attitude, tactics and awareness when they knew they were in danger but they were there to set the scene for Garak and Miles with Nog (Aron Eisenberg) thrown in as a pawn in the spirit of the game which was a constant in the story.
Empok Nor
Quark is having issues with retaining customers in his bar thanks to ongoing maintenance by the Chief and Nog, unable to totally fix the problem and with no replicator sourced replacement parts they decide to visit the sister station to DS9 "Empok Nor" which was recently abandoned by the Cardassians. Garak is invited along since it's common practice to booby trap a resource and that is proven to be a good idea as Garak is able to gain entry and power up the station without incident or so they think. It turns out that there were three soldiers in statis left to deal with any intruders, two survive and are revived and begin to hunt down the Starfleet personnel.
Empok Nor is an entertaining episode, its slow pace works to perfection to enhance the suspense and danger involved with being on this moth balled space station. Garak and Miles are great fun as the initial friendly banter which supports the first half of the episode and as the situation evolves into a life and death struggle their dialogue remains the most important aspect. There were some issues most of which exist to make the plot work beginning with the rather suspect inability to repair DS9 in the first place, a conduit shouldn't rely on a like for like original replacement rather than a replicated part. It was rather amusing to see that Health and Safety in terms of noisy working conditions and the environment weren't an issue for Starfleet or Quark missing the opportunity for compensation for loss of business. I also wondered why Empok Nor seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, the design after all seemed to be intended for ore processing but it wasn't in orbit or close to an asteroid belt and while yes Cardassians would bobby trap a resource you would think it would make more sense to destroy it or move it. There was also evidence the station was abandoned quickly which goes against the more organised security measures so when we see a girder has smashed into one of the pods you wonder why, these stations are built strong.
 |
| Got to have an audience |
Rating 8
Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Wrath of Khan Steelbook
I know what I've said about steelbooks basically repackaging and reselling the same thing over and over but I think I really want to own this :)
Trekcore
Trekcore
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Trek Soundtracks
I picked up a few goodies using the recent La-La Land Records discount, sometimes the temptation is just too much:)
Star Trek: Renegades Trailer
Some very familiar faces in Renegades and not only from the Trek franchise :)
My Random Journey Through Trek #31
Deep Space Nine
Defiant
Commander Riker visits DS9 and makes a play for Kira, as the flirting continues she takes him on a tour of the Defiant and even unlocks the bridge with her own command codes, he then shoots her.
Surprise, it's not Will but his own self Tom who is now part of the Marquis and with a little help he steals the Defiant and takes it into the badlands and onward to the DMZ to raid Cardassian space with one particular objective in mind.
So DS9 are making use of Thomas Riker who we first met in the TNG episode Second Chances and back then he had a chip on his shoulder and it seems the last few years have made him more intent to make his own mark on the Federation. I guess following a successful older brother into the same profession is tricky so when you are pretty much competing with yourself you would have to go to extremes. Of course this Riker lacks the hands on experience both in command and it seems the political big picture yet it's amusing when Kira points out he ain't no terrorist either, Starfleet and the civilisation imprinted on him by his family and culture remain.
I wasn't overly happy to see how poorly Kira was handling the pressure of running DS9 but not a bad idea to piss off the Doctor if it's gets you a couple of days off work, result. Thomas was clever to be very aggressive with Miles, put all the pressure on the guy you want to avoid, less likely to approach you knowing you were only going to be around for a while. It was a little too easy to get access and control of the Defiant, you would have thought Starfleet would have done something to differentiate the two Rikers given their relative security clearances and yes the Defiant is a "little ship" but even automated it seemed a stretch how few untrained Marquis it took to fly her. Of course when in combat the ship was at a disadvantage, immediate repairs and compensation normally provided by a full crew would have made the mission far easier. I did laugh myself silly how easy Riker seemed to defeat the anti-proton scanning but maybe in reality his countermeasures didn't work which is more reasonable to me anyway.
Dukat played by Marc Alaimo was excellent as usual, his story of his son may have been pure manipulation or a very simple lesson in how a Cardassian would view things, either way we again see Cardassia as being far more complex than you would think as the Obsidian Order are operating far outside their mandate.
Overall Defiant wasn't a bad episode and it was a good use of Thomas Riker but I wasn't totally sold on how they wrote Kira for this episode from her initial attitude with her work and Riker and then her speech about terrorism and the state. When she stated "I was a terrorist" it was accurate from the perspective of the Cardassians but not of her own people and certainly not in her own mind, maybe it was to offer a simply black and white argument to Thomas but it still felt out of place.
Defiant
Commander Riker visits DS9 and makes a play for Kira, as the flirting continues she takes him on a tour of the Defiant and even unlocks the bridge with her own command codes, he then shoots her.
Surprise, it's not Will but his own self Tom who is now part of the Marquis and with a little help he steals the Defiant and takes it into the badlands and onward to the DMZ to raid Cardassian space with one particular objective in mind.
 |
| Smug Git! |
I wasn't overly happy to see how poorly Kira was handling the pressure of running DS9 but not a bad idea to piss off the Doctor if it's gets you a couple of days off work, result. Thomas was clever to be very aggressive with Miles, put all the pressure on the guy you want to avoid, less likely to approach you knowing you were only going to be around for a while. It was a little too easy to get access and control of the Defiant, you would have thought Starfleet would have done something to differentiate the two Rikers given their relative security clearances and yes the Defiant is a "little ship" but even automated it seemed a stretch how few untrained Marquis it took to fly her. Of course when in combat the ship was at a disadvantage, immediate repairs and compensation normally provided by a full crew would have made the mission far easier. I did laugh myself silly how easy Riker seemed to defeat the anti-proton scanning but maybe in reality his countermeasures didn't work which is more reasonable to me anyway.
Dukat played by Marc Alaimo was excellent as usual, his story of his son may have been pure manipulation or a very simple lesson in how a Cardassian would view things, either way we again see Cardassia as being far more complex than you would think as the Obsidian Order are operating far outside their mandate.
Overall Defiant wasn't a bad episode and it was a good use of Thomas Riker but I wasn't totally sold on how they wrote Kira for this episode from her initial attitude with her work and Riker and then her speech about terrorism and the state. When she stated "I was a terrorist" it was accurate from the perspective of the Cardassians but not of her own people and certainly not in her own mind, maybe it was to offer a simply black and white argument to Thomas but it still felt out of place.
Rating 7
Saturday, 4 April 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #30
Voyager
The Cloud
An early Voyager episode and a basic story plot that we've seen before in the franchise so it doesn't bode well. The mixed crew with alien additions is starting to settle down but energy requirements means less use of the replicator so when a nebula is discovered which could aid in that respect they set course for as Janeway says " there's coffee in that nebula". An organic based substance within the nebula reacts to the ship's thrusters and to evade it's clutches they use a torpedo to break loose which leaves the ship damaged and the nebula nebula which they discover is a life form. The Doctor realises the nebula can self heal but it can not bridge the huge gap caused by the torpedo and a solution is presented to use the Voyager as a partial suture and by emitting nucleonic radiation aid in the healing process. After a few hiccups they use the nebulas inherent circulatory system to get them close to the wound without using the ships power and they use the nucleonic radiation to knit the wound together escaping moments before it closes.
I have to admit I fell asleep during this episode, yes it was late and a workday following but it still says a lot about the episode and the reworking of a old Trek storyline. That side it was a good base for some character development although that was pretty hit and miss as well mind you they underlined how freaking annoying Neelix was as well the alienation of the Doctor and the beliefs of Chakotay in particular. It was amusing to see the bun of steel and how nervous B'Elanna was in her new position and right from the go we get Harry being slapped down, some things change and some don't. Again how bloody annoying was Neelix from his alternative coffee option to the belief he had a right to jump enter the bridge and demand to leave the ship, even Kes (not my favourite character) was more than willing to slap some sense into him. Oh "Chez Sandrine" the holodeck get away from it all, how fortunate the Intrepid class starship has independent secondary power for such a luxury.
The Cloud is not a good episode even allowing for the missteps many shows make in their first seasons but even though Voyager isn't my first choice in Trek viewing there are far stronger episodes to come and as always you put up with the weaker ones because even The Cloud has some decent bits of dialogue.
The Cloud
An early Voyager episode and a basic story plot that we've seen before in the franchise so it doesn't bode well. The mixed crew with alien additions is starting to settle down but energy requirements means less use of the replicator so when a nebula is discovered which could aid in that respect they set course for as Janeway says " there's coffee in that nebula". An organic based substance within the nebula reacts to the ship's thrusters and to evade it's clutches they use a torpedo to break loose which leaves the ship damaged and the nebula nebula which they discover is a life form. The Doctor realises the nebula can self heal but it can not bridge the huge gap caused by the torpedo and a solution is presented to use the Voyager as a partial suture and by emitting nucleonic radiation aid in the healing process. After a few hiccups they use the nebulas inherent circulatory system to get them close to the wound without using the ships power and they use the nucleonic radiation to knit the wound together escaping moments before it closes.
 |
| The Doctor The Outsider |
 |
| No liquid should gloop |
Rating 3
Sunday, 29 March 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #29
Star Trek
Errand of Mercy
The political situation between the Klingon Empire and the Federation is breaking down and hostilities are imminent and the Enterprise has been assigned to make contact with the people of the planet Organia and secure it's strategic advantage for Starfleet. Soon after they arrive a Klingon fleet is detected and Kirk leaves Sulu in command with orders to retreat and rendezvous with the fleet and return when the numbers are more evenly matched. Spock and Kirk meet with the Organian council who seem unconcerned about the threat of the Klingons but once they "invade" the council open their world to the Klingons but go along with the ruse to hide the identity of the two Starfleet officers. Of course Kirk and Spock are not going to idly stand by and let the Klingons get away with anything they want so they destroy a munitions dump and even though the interrogation of Spock reveals nothing the surveillance installed by Klingon security eavesdrops on the council and they and the Captain have their fundamental difference of opinion on how to handle the Klingons.
Kor the Klingon commander arrests these two "rebel Organians" and is then surprised when their true identities are revealed and he himself shows respect for his Starfleet opponents and disgust at the Organians for revealing them. It then comes as a surprise when Ayelborne the council leader releases Kirk and Spock which results in the execution of 200 of the native population and that provokes the boys to launch an attack on the Klingon base of operations and capture Kor.
Faced with the slaughter of many on the planet and the fleets of the two factions about to engage the truth of the Organians is revealed, they are not what they seem and change from their physical form to beings of energy who take control of all military assets and proclaim to both the Klingons and the Federation that they will not be allowed to fight. Kirk and Kor both express their right to determine the path their people will take but it seems the Organians have taken the ball with them and for now there will be no galaxy wide conflict.
I'll openly admit that Errand of Mercy is one of my favourite episodes of Star Trek pretty much from when I first watched it on the BBC (exactly when that was I don't recall) right through to having watching every episode of the franchise most more than once. I like the idea that a galactic wide conflict is a sum of it's parts and events around one planet has the potential to alter the path of events. It was also gratifying and it won't be the only time we see that there are worthy opponents for Kirk amongst the rival powers and while they may operate with different moral and ethical codes they have merit. Kor for example respects the capabilities of Kirk and Starfleet and would love to face the Enterprise in open battle but of course he is also capable of slaughtering hundreds of non-combatants (as is the Klingon way). John Colicos is fantastic as Kor and while we don't see him again in the original series he dons the ridges for three appearances as Kor on Deep Space Nine.
Errand of Mercy is just a good episode of the original series, yes we have to overlook a few things to make everything work but nothing new there although the bouncy cell floor was a laugh and the strange looking crates the Klingons used to hold weapons. I wasn't quite sure what to make of the Enterprise and her sensor suit, the initial Klingon vessel get to within weapons range before the automatic defences systems engaged, however Kirk, Spock and Kor all deliver and we even get some decent screentime for Sulu in command of the Enterprise. The episode also gets raised above it's compatriots as the Organian Peace Treaty is referenced further both in the television series and in the novels and for me having extra content always adds to a televised episode.
Errand of Mercy
The political situation between the Klingon Empire and the Federation is breaking down and hostilities are imminent and the Enterprise has been assigned to make contact with the people of the planet Organia and secure it's strategic advantage for Starfleet. Soon after they arrive a Klingon fleet is detected and Kirk leaves Sulu in command with orders to retreat and rendezvous with the fleet and return when the numbers are more evenly matched. Spock and Kirk meet with the Organian council who seem unconcerned about the threat of the Klingons but once they "invade" the council open their world to the Klingons but go along with the ruse to hide the identity of the two Starfleet officers. Of course Kirk and Spock are not going to idly stand by and let the Klingons get away with anything they want so they destroy a munitions dump and even though the interrogation of Spock reveals nothing the surveillance installed by Klingon security eavesdrops on the council and they and the Captain have their fundamental difference of opinion on how to handle the Klingons.
Kor the Klingon commander arrests these two "rebel Organians" and is then surprised when their true identities are revealed and he himself shows respect for his Starfleet opponents and disgust at the Organians for revealing them. It then comes as a surprise when Ayelborne the council leader releases Kirk and Spock which results in the execution of 200 of the native population and that provokes the boys to launch an attack on the Klingon base of operations and capture Kor.
I'll openly admit that Errand of Mercy is one of my favourite episodes of Star Trek pretty much from when I first watched it on the BBC (exactly when that was I don't recall) right through to having watching every episode of the franchise most more than once. I like the idea that a galactic wide conflict is a sum of it's parts and events around one planet has the potential to alter the path of events. It was also gratifying and it won't be the only time we see that there are worthy opponents for Kirk amongst the rival powers and while they may operate with different moral and ethical codes they have merit. Kor for example respects the capabilities of Kirk and Starfleet and would love to face the Enterprise in open battle but of course he is also capable of slaughtering hundreds of non-combatants (as is the Klingon way). John Colicos is fantastic as Kor and while we don't see him again in the original series he dons the ridges for three appearances as Kor on Deep Space Nine.
 |
| We have the right.... |
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Starship Enterprise NCC1701-A
I've had this Diamond Select beauty on pre-order for quite a while and it finally arrived from Forbidden Planet yesterday, bask in the glory that is the Starship Enterprise NCC 1701-A.
Saturday, 21 March 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #28
Enterprise
Vanishing Point
Trip and Hoshi are investigating some ruins on an alien world that is devoid of all life, as a diamagnetic storm approaches the risk to the two crew members and the shuttle provokes Archer to make use of the transporter. Trip is beamed up first and then Hoshi and all seems well but Hoshi doesn't quite feel right with herself and soon begins to feel as if she is being ignored and then suddenly two other crewmen are taken by the planets inhabitants and she is unable to communicate them or even enable the universal translator, she is relieved from duty. She learns later that she has been replaced on the bridge and then her very body begins to fade in front of her eyes and then it's as if she isn't there at all. Phlox believes she has pretty much dissolved but being invisible and incorporeal she learns that aliens have boarded the ship and intended to detonate an explosive and during the struggle she steps onto a transporter pad and is energised...
Well what can you say about an episode of Enterprise that is Hoshi centric, too little too late perhaps since the character certainly had a lot of potential when introduced in the premiere episode and it has to be said that the age old transporter issue has been done to death on the franchise. I'll admit the twists and turns of the episode were not that bad and I think I liked the idea that like in dreams so much happened in the space of a heartbeat and no question that if such technology ever comes into existence the medical community will probably have to write a whole new book on the physical and psychological issues that come along with it.
I didn't quite understand why Enterprise was spending time examining long abandoned ruins, scans from orbit would have located anything of significant interest and only two people, nah sorry it served the plot but didn't make sense. The scene with her father was weird to say the least, of course once we learn this is all in her mind then perhaps yes her issues with a father who may not truly understand or appreciate her and maybe a mother than isn't around a lot could explain the rather head banging against the wall conversation Archer was having.
Overall an average episode from the second season of Enterprise, good to see Hoshi front and center but it wasn't really strong enough to really give Linda something to get her teeth into.
Vanishing Point
Trip and Hoshi are investigating some ruins on an alien world that is devoid of all life, as a diamagnetic storm approaches the risk to the two crew members and the shuttle provokes Archer to make use of the transporter. Trip is beamed up first and then Hoshi and all seems well but Hoshi doesn't quite feel right with herself and soon begins to feel as if she is being ignored and then suddenly two other crewmen are taken by the planets inhabitants and she is unable to communicate them or even enable the universal translator, she is relieved from duty. She learns later that she has been replaced on the bridge and then her very body begins to fade in front of her eyes and then it's as if she isn't there at all. Phlox believes she has pretty much dissolved but being invisible and incorporeal she learns that aliens have boarded the ship and intended to detonate an explosive and during the struggle she steps onto a transporter pad and is energised...
Well what can you say about an episode of Enterprise that is Hoshi centric, too little too late perhaps since the character certainly had a lot of potential when introduced in the premiere episode and it has to be said that the age old transporter issue has been done to death on the franchise. I'll admit the twists and turns of the episode were not that bad and I think I liked the idea that like in dreams so much happened in the space of a heartbeat and no question that if such technology ever comes into existence the medical community will probably have to write a whole new book on the physical and psychological issues that come along with it.
I didn't quite understand why Enterprise was spending time examining long abandoned ruins, scans from orbit would have located anything of significant interest and only two people, nah sorry it served the plot but didn't make sense. The scene with her father was weird to say the least, of course once we learn this is all in her mind then perhaps yes her issues with a father who may not truly understand or appreciate her and maybe a mother than isn't around a lot could explain the rather head banging against the wall conversation Archer was having.
Overall an average episode from the second season of Enterprise, good to see Hoshi front and center but it wasn't really strong enough to really give Linda something to get her teeth into.
Rating 5
Sunday, 15 March 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #27
Star Trek
Metamorphosis
Ambassador Nancy Hedford (Elinor Donahue) is being transported to the Enterprise for some critical emergency medical treatment but the shuttle is intercepted by some sort of energy field and dragged off course and is left on a small life bearing planetoid. On this world they find a lone human who greets the crew with joy and offers the crew and the Ambassador his hospitality, he claims he crashed on this world many years ago and built his home with the wreckage of his ship and was able to cultivate some food. He is eventually identified as Zefram Cochrane (Glenn Corbett) the inventor of the human warp engine who was reported to have been lost in space over a century ago. During this time the energy "being" makes an appearance and it seems it and Zefram are in a symbiotic relationship but to the crew it seems more of a loving and caring partnership. The Universal translator is retooled and used to communicate with the energy being and it is interrupted to be female and it turns out it was alone and found Zefram in space, sustained his life and together lived in peace and tranquility but Zefram is horrified at the alien being having so much interaction with him.
As Nancy continues to succumb to her disease Kirk tries to explain how he sees the relationship between Zefram and the "Companion" to both parties and how sacrifice is one of the most fundamental aspects of being in love with someone. The Companion infuses Nancy with it's life force to save her life and in that moment Zefram understands that he has nothing to fear and eventually "her" sacrifice and her inability to leave the planetoid opens his eyes to the possibility of living out his life with someone he can love and will love him in return.
Metamorphosis kicks off with a nice looking new CGI shuttle effect before cutting to the interior where we get strangely enough the Ambassador serving the coffee, you would never have got a male ambassador handing out coffee that's for sure. It was also interesting to note how often the term "The Starfleet" was used as opposed to simply Starfleet, interchangeable I guess but the use of "The" feels more at home on Star Wars. I had to laugh when Cochrane should surprise that the crew were speaking English and he was corrected, Federation Standard came along a little later I guess. We has some great emoting from Bones and it's always cool to see Scotty in charge, in fact the minimalist bridge scenes worked very well and Uhura actually got some solid screen time.
The Universal Translator got some fleshing out and while the basis of a universal constant isn't exactly backup throughout Star Trek and the franchise overall I was quite prepared to let is pass. I really like the almost rabid response by Cochrane when he learnt he was the "plaything" of an alien entity, he suited the mood of the US at that time and his embrace once ignorance was put aside was an important message. Alas Nancy going on about how he could turn his back on being loved and the Companion needing the man took some of the shine off the message but overall it was played very well and rates rather highly in my opinion.
Metamorphosis
Ambassador Nancy Hedford (Elinor Donahue) is being transported to the Enterprise for some critical emergency medical treatment but the shuttle is intercepted by some sort of energy field and dragged off course and is left on a small life bearing planetoid. On this world they find a lone human who greets the crew with joy and offers the crew and the Ambassador his hospitality, he claims he crashed on this world many years ago and built his home with the wreckage of his ship and was able to cultivate some food. He is eventually identified as Zefram Cochrane (Glenn Corbett) the inventor of the human warp engine who was reported to have been lost in space over a century ago. During this time the energy "being" makes an appearance and it seems it and Zefram are in a symbiotic relationship but to the crew it seems more of a loving and caring partnership. The Universal translator is retooled and used to communicate with the energy being and it is interrupted to be female and it turns out it was alone and found Zefram in space, sustained his life and together lived in peace and tranquility but Zefram is horrified at the alien being having so much interaction with him.
As Nancy continues to succumb to her disease Kirk tries to explain how he sees the relationship between Zefram and the "Companion" to both parties and how sacrifice is one of the most fundamental aspects of being in love with someone. The Companion infuses Nancy with it's life force to save her life and in that moment Zefram understands that he has nothing to fear and eventually "her" sacrifice and her inability to leave the planetoid opens his eyes to the possibility of living out his life with someone he can love and will love him in return.
Metamorphosis kicks off with a nice looking new CGI shuttle effect before cutting to the interior where we get strangely enough the Ambassador serving the coffee, you would never have got a male ambassador handing out coffee that's for sure. It was also interesting to note how often the term "The Starfleet" was used as opposed to simply Starfleet, interchangeable I guess but the use of "The" feels more at home on Star Wars. I had to laugh when Cochrane should surprise that the crew were speaking English and he was corrected, Federation Standard came along a little later I guess. We has some great emoting from Bones and it's always cool to see Scotty in charge, in fact the minimalist bridge scenes worked very well and Uhura actually got some solid screen time.
The Universal Translator got some fleshing out and while the basis of a universal constant isn't exactly backup throughout Star Trek and the franchise overall I was quite prepared to let is pass. I really like the almost rabid response by Cochrane when he learnt he was the "plaything" of an alien entity, he suited the mood of the US at that time and his embrace once ignorance was put aside was an important message. Alas Nancy going on about how he could turn his back on being loved and the Companion needing the man took some of the shine off the message but overall it was played very well and rates rather highly in my opinion.
 |
| Nancy & Companion |
Rating 8
Saturday, 14 March 2015
Sunday, 22 February 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #26
Voyager
S4 Message In A Bottle
Seven discovers an almost quadrant spanning communications network that while old seems to be still active and she has been able to detect a Starfleet vessel at the very edge of the Alpha Quadrant. A message is sent through the network but it's scrambled and returns and the decision is made to send a holographic based data packet and the Doctor is "volunteered". He appears on board the Starship and finds all but one of the crew dead, in his last breath the crewman mentions Romulans. The ship then comes under attack but is able to defeat the Federation ship and an injured Romulan comes to sickbay, the Doctor successfully bluffs the invaders and when they leave he activates the EMH and learns a little more about the "Prometheus".
It's now up to the Doctor and the EMH to retake the ship and while the new EMH is more advanced in many ways the experience our Doctor has obtained over the last few years allows them together to manipulate the Romulans and eventually take control of the ship, granted they do end up firing a torpedo at a Starfleet ship but after all he's only had one lesson on the Voyagers shuttle:)
Message In A Bottle is a fantastic episode of Voyager, Robert Picardo is given free reign to push his character to the extreme and that is easily accomplished when playing against Andy Dick as the EMH.The Prometheus itself looks very pretty and has a very slick interior but you never really get the impression it's a fighting ship, the gimmick of the multi-vector assault mode has some many obvious tactical flaws it negates any benefit you may get in a multi-ship engagement. While Federation Starships are designed by engineers with an artistic flair there comes a point when there is an over reliance on shields to protect a rather fragile superstructure. That aside Robert and Andy were a pleasure to watch interact in character and many of their lines with adlibbed or provided by the actors themselves, I guess that is the point of bringing in an actor better known for his comedy and pairing him with a class act that is Robert.
This is an episode I could watch whenever, it's funny and has some great action and performances and stands alone (as most Voyager episodes do) but in the more positive way for a long running show, if you watch one episode of Voyager then this could be it:)
S4 Message In A Bottle
Seven discovers an almost quadrant spanning communications network that while old seems to be still active and she has been able to detect a Starfleet vessel at the very edge of the Alpha Quadrant. A message is sent through the network but it's scrambled and returns and the decision is made to send a holographic based data packet and the Doctor is "volunteered". He appears on board the Starship and finds all but one of the crew dead, in his last breath the crewman mentions Romulans. The ship then comes under attack but is able to defeat the Federation ship and an injured Romulan comes to sickbay, the Doctor successfully bluffs the invaders and when they leave he activates the EMH and learns a little more about the "Prometheus".
It's now up to the Doctor and the EMH to retake the ship and while the new EMH is more advanced in many ways the experience our Doctor has obtained over the last few years allows them together to manipulate the Romulans and eventually take control of the ship, granted they do end up firing a torpedo at a Starfleet ship but after all he's only had one lesson on the Voyagers shuttle:)
Message In A Bottle is a fantastic episode of Voyager, Robert Picardo is given free reign to push his character to the extreme and that is easily accomplished when playing against Andy Dick as the EMH.The Prometheus itself looks very pretty and has a very slick interior but you never really get the impression it's a fighting ship, the gimmick of the multi-vector assault mode has some many obvious tactical flaws it negates any benefit you may get in a multi-ship engagement. While Federation Starships are designed by engineers with an artistic flair there comes a point when there is an over reliance on shields to protect a rather fragile superstructure. That aside Robert and Andy were a pleasure to watch interact in character and many of their lines with adlibbed or provided by the actors themselves, I guess that is the point of bringing in an actor better known for his comedy and pairing him with a class act that is Robert.
That may have been the wrong button...
This is an episode I could watch whenever, it's funny and has some great action and performances and stands alone (as most Voyager episodes do) but in the more positive way for a long running show, if you watch one episode of Voyager then this could be it:)
Rating 9
Michael Clark from Visionary Trek joined me on Gatecast to talk about this episode for a bonus show we did since it featured Robert who guest starred on Stargate as Richard Woolsey.
Michael Clark from Visionary Trek joined me on Gatecast to talk about this episode for a bonus show we did since it featured Robert who guest starred on Stargate as Richard Woolsey.
Saturday, 21 February 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #25
Voyager
S6 The Voyager Conspiracy
In The Voyager Conspiracy we have another Seven story as she explores her former Borg ability to analyze every scrap of data a cube or the collective acquires which is sadly missing from the ability of Voyager. She builds an addition to her alcove to allow her to process data which has been ignored and as she sifts through reports, observations and scan results she begins to draw conclusions that have no bearing to how known events had played out. Slowly but surely her suspicions take root amongst the crew and doubt and mistrust bloom leading to a potential explosive confrontation when not if one or another party act on the information she has provided.
The Voyager Conspiracy is not that bad a Seven episode at all, it clearly indicates how information by itself can never really standalone nor that when viewed in conjunction with other elements is guaranteed to provide a clearer picture of events. It was clever to have Seven come to two very different conclusions based on basically the same information yet disappointing to see the various crew members so easily convinced despite spending so much time on Voyager and living with the people who could not have kept all these plans secret for so long. In that respect maybe a being with more life experience would recognise the winding path they were going down and dismiss the more dubious conclusions but Seven is still very young in terms of social dynamics but again annoying she convinced so many so easily.
I did like young Naomi played by Scarlett Pomers and her interaction with Seven was always fun, the fleas were also an interesting consequence of space travel and I suppose that initial success linking facts together would reinforce Seven's confidence in her abilities. I had to look up the reference to the "Jankata Accord" and processing 30 million teraquads seems like a lot of hard work and to be honest makes Data look less and less impressive year after year :)
Tri Cobalt weapons, cloaked starships, invasion of the Delta Quadrant, year long project, collusion with known and as yet unknown races all make a good story but if Seven had slowed down just a little and engaged her own mind she may have seen through the fog of paranoia and confusion.
Overall I enjoyed the episode, it stands alone quite well and I can easily overlook how some of the characters act and of course they did make use of yet another alien device to jump a few light years closer to home. High points were Naomi with Seven and Janeway's from the heart laying out the truth of the last few years in the same manner Seven had used but in a much softer and compelling way which eventually brings Seven around. Oh yes, coffee not poisoned any more than usual :)
S6 The Voyager Conspiracy
In The Voyager Conspiracy we have another Seven story as she explores her former Borg ability to analyze every scrap of data a cube or the collective acquires which is sadly missing from the ability of Voyager. She builds an addition to her alcove to allow her to process data which has been ignored and as she sifts through reports, observations and scan results she begins to draw conclusions that have no bearing to how known events had played out. Slowly but surely her suspicions take root amongst the crew and doubt and mistrust bloom leading to a potential explosive confrontation when not if one or another party act on the information she has provided.
The Voyager Conspiracy is not that bad a Seven episode at all, it clearly indicates how information by itself can never really standalone nor that when viewed in conjunction with other elements is guaranteed to provide a clearer picture of events. It was clever to have Seven come to two very different conclusions based on basically the same information yet disappointing to see the various crew members so easily convinced despite spending so much time on Voyager and living with the people who could not have kept all these plans secret for so long. In that respect maybe a being with more life experience would recognise the winding path they were going down and dismiss the more dubious conclusions but Seven is still very young in terms of social dynamics but again annoying she convinced so many so easily.
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| Tash played by Albie Selznick |
Tri Cobalt weapons, cloaked starships, invasion of the Delta Quadrant, year long project, collusion with known and as yet unknown races all make a good story but if Seven had slowed down just a little and engaged her own mind she may have seen through the fog of paranoia and confusion.
Overall I enjoyed the episode, it stands alone quite well and I can easily overlook how some of the characters act and of course they did make use of yet another alien device to jump a few light years closer to home. High points were Naomi with Seven and Janeway's from the heart laying out the truth of the last few years in the same manner Seven had used but in a much softer and compelling way which eventually brings Seven around. Oh yes, coffee not poisoned any more than usual :)
IMDB
Rating 7
Rating 7
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Gatecast 256
On the latest Gatecast Mike and Alan discuss the Stargate Atlantis episode "Irresponsible"
which stars Richard Kind and Robert Davi.
Saturday, 14 February 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #24
Deep Space Nine
S3 Visionary
Mild mannered Miles O'Brien finds himself being tended to by the doctor after collapsing on the command deck of the station when a plasma conduit ruptured, he seems ok despite some minor concerns and life onboard the station continues as a Romulan transport arrives bringing in a delegation for discussions about the Dominion threat. While Quark is having a frank chat with Miles about the danger darts can bring to paying customers Miles notices well himself across the promenade, the other Miles than shimmers out of existence. Investigating this anomaly indicates some cause for concern but it's not until Miles realises he is actually seeing himself in the future that things start to get more interesting in a bad way. When he sees himself killed by a energy beam he is justified in having a heightened state of alarm but they learn that a monitoring device with bobby trap may have yet to be planted where the Romulans will be quartered and the finger points to the Klingon transport crew docked at the station for repairs. Miles then experiences the destruction of DS9 and in one of those interesting twists "our" Miles is not going to be the one hugging Molly next time she visits :)
Visionary is a good solid addition to the Miles O'Brien centric episodes which appear throughout Deep Space Nine but you can't help but think they were relying a little too much on the stereotyped actions of both the Klingons and the Romulans to make the episode work. That said you can not disagree that the conclusion reached by the Romulan High Command did not have merit but it would have been a stop gap measure at best, eventually the Dominion like the Borg would come a calling.
I can't say I was happy about the basic Klingon freighter crews being decked out in military armour nor the emotionless and abrupt attitudes of the Romulans, it may be inline with how the series was portraying these races but I think they could have done a much better job but I guess these were secondary concerns when compared to how Miles would be reacting to the situations presented.
I did laugh at the stuntman/body doubles wig, it did kinda stand out a bit and you really don't expect to see that level of sloppiness in a show of this calibre but some nice and simple camera setups to make it look like there were two Miles in many of the scenes.
Did I hear right that the stations sensors were scanning up to 2 kilometers, that would mean the orbital slot for the station which would be filled very very quickly, I don't know if it's canon but I've certainly read 5km upwards is the preferred spacing for tight fleet formations and given the range of transporters that seems regulations for their own sake. Odo saying he always investigates Quark, yes the best line of the episode delivered with just enough emotion to make it seem like Odo really really means it and while Miles and is dislike of Temporal Mechanics raised a chuckle it seemed a little forced.
S3 Visionary
Mild mannered Miles O'Brien finds himself being tended to by the doctor after collapsing on the command deck of the station when a plasma conduit ruptured, he seems ok despite some minor concerns and life onboard the station continues as a Romulan transport arrives bringing in a delegation for discussions about the Dominion threat. While Quark is having a frank chat with Miles about the danger darts can bring to paying customers Miles notices well himself across the promenade, the other Miles than shimmers out of existence. Investigating this anomaly indicates some cause for concern but it's not until Miles realises he is actually seeing himself in the future that things start to get more interesting in a bad way. When he sees himself killed by a energy beam he is justified in having a heightened state of alarm but they learn that a monitoring device with bobby trap may have yet to be planted where the Romulans will be quartered and the finger points to the Klingon transport crew docked at the station for repairs. Miles then experiences the destruction of DS9 and in one of those interesting twists "our" Miles is not going to be the one hugging Molly next time she visits :)
 |
| Hint, it's the pointy end. |
I can't say I was happy about the basic Klingon freighter crews being decked out in military armour nor the emotionless and abrupt attitudes of the Romulans, it may be inline with how the series was portraying these races but I think they could have done a much better job but I guess these were secondary concerns when compared to how Miles would be reacting to the situations presented.
I did laugh at the stuntman/body doubles wig, it did kinda stand out a bit and you really don't expect to see that level of sloppiness in a show of this calibre but some nice and simple camera setups to make it look like there were two Miles in many of the scenes.
Did I hear right that the stations sensors were scanning up to 2 kilometers, that would mean the orbital slot for the station which would be filled very very quickly, I don't know if it's canon but I've certainly read 5km upwards is the preferred spacing for tight fleet formations and given the range of transporters that seems regulations for their own sake. Odo saying he always investigates Quark, yes the best line of the episode delivered with just enough emotion to make it seem like Odo really really means it and while Miles and is dislike of Temporal Mechanics raised a chuckle it seemed a little forced.
Overall a decent episode of Deep Space Nine more so if you are a fan of Miles Edward O'Brien played to a tee by Colm Meaney.
Rating 7
Sunday, 25 January 2015
The Missing
The Missing
by Una McCormack
Reviewed
The story itself takes place mainly in two locations, the first DS9 as first contact is made with the People Of The Open Sky and then soon after the Athene Donald comes face to face with the highly advanced "Chain" in their uber starship who seem to look down on the Federation vessel. As events begin to spiral out of control with break-ins, murder, suspicion and distrust between races and individuals it's up to everyone to pull together and look beyond their limited expectations and ingrained beliefs and embrace a future of new possibilities.
I really enjoyed how Pulaski was written and her interactions with Crusher in this story and I found myself smiling quite a lot, the mystery created by the first contact situations and the investigations while not overly complex kept me turning the page (so to speak) and while there were plot elements I hate with a passion in this case a certain technology that has been covered in the movies this novel for a fan of Trek and DS9 is well worth reading. Garak, Odo, Ro, Crusher and Pulaski were all written well and the new characters (at least to me) merged well within the established framework and I suspect we'll be reading a lot more about some of them and for that I am thankful, I believe there is a lot to be told in this new Federation of Planets and beyond.
I also should mention the personal logs that head up each chapter, they were very interesting and compelling offering insight into first contact and posing some very valid questions, they added immensely to my enjoyment of the main story.
Saturday, 24 January 2015
Saturday, 17 January 2015
My Random Journey Through Trek #23
Star Trek
S3 Spectre of the Gun
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S3 Spectre of the Gun
The Enterprise has orders to make contact with the inhabitants of the planet Theta Kiokis II, they are known as the Melkotians and it seems not a great deal is known about them. When they approach the system a buoy approaches and blocks the path of the ship and they are warned not to advance but Kirk ignores it and proceeds towards the planet. Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Chekov and McCoy beam down to the planet but their destination is unlike anything they expected and then a voice announces their punishment for trespassing on the world and as Kirk was their commander he will be the source of their doom. The next second the landing party find themselves in a wild west town and the role playing begins but with deadly consequences.
Spectre of the Gun for my money is a very good episode of the original Star Trek and for once really benefitted from having such a tight budget, they simply could not provide a fully featured sets for the Melkotian world nor the western town so we got a lot of fog and some simple set fronts for Tombstone with piecemeal additions. The whole look worked so well both as an alien viewpoint of a human centric location but created from the minds of alien creatures they did not fully understand.
The idea behind the episode worked as well, it was simple but effective. We get the Federation once again putting Starfleet into a position that goes beyond diplomacy and allowing the crew of the ship to suffer the consequences. The action of Chekov was a little silly even for the role the ensign was expected to play on the show but I suppose it was used to emphasise the deadly aspect of the predicament they were in. Spock being the only crewman able to 100% know they were really not in any serious danger was cool as was the mind meld being used to implant this certainty into the rest of them. Kirk refusing to kill the tools of the Melkotians opened the door to diplomatic contact but really the choice not to kill something that really didn't exist was not that impressive but hey happy ending and no one died, that's a result for all the red shirts on the ship:)
Eureka Rewatch - Season 1
I picked up the German Blu-ray boxset of Eureka some time ago and well I never really found the time to sit down and begin a rewatch but over the recent holidays I watched the first season so here are a few thoughts.
The Eureka pilot is very good, it sets up the town and it's secrets effortlessly and a lot of that is simply down to some great characters and performances from the actors, we easily fall into cheering on Jack Carter as he is exposed to the strange events and methods of dealing with them from something simple like a stray dog through to exploding experiments, missing children and maybe the end of the world as he knows it. Yes Eureka comes with its own share of everyday problems and this is what gives us the fish out of water experience throughout it's entire run on television, Carter never quite feels at ease in the town no matter how involved he becomes.
Colin Ferguson plays Jack Carter and is ably supported by Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Joe Morton (Henry Deacon), Jordan Hinson (Zoe Carter), Debrah Farentino (Beverly Barlowe) and Erica Cerra (Jo Lupo) with some very fun supporting characters but we do see some changes between the pilot and the series proper all of which worked out very well. As you would expect there are plenty of familiar faces if you are a regular viewer of Canadian produced US television as well as a healthy supply of actors based in the US, this mixture I suspect helped balance the budget as well as get the name recognition any show requires to maximise the US market which is critical even as the global market grows in importance.
Season 1 gives us a good mix of drama and humour, the chemistry between the characters is immediate (great casting no doubt) and to be honest it's one of the best first seasons of a genre show, even the weakest episodes have enough merit and entertainment value to make them worth watching although a 12 episode season helps out there.
The Eureka pilot is very good, it sets up the town and it's secrets effortlessly and a lot of that is simply down to some great characters and performances from the actors, we easily fall into cheering on Jack Carter as he is exposed to the strange events and methods of dealing with them from something simple like a stray dog through to exploding experiments, missing children and maybe the end of the world as he knows it. Yes Eureka comes with its own share of everyday problems and this is what gives us the fish out of water experience throughout it's entire run on television, Carter never quite feels at ease in the town no matter how involved he becomes.
Colin Ferguson plays Jack Carter and is ably supported by Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Allison Blake), Joe Morton (Henry Deacon), Jordan Hinson (Zoe Carter), Debrah Farentino (Beverly Barlowe) and Erica Cerra (Jo Lupo) with some very fun supporting characters but we do see some changes between the pilot and the series proper all of which worked out very well. As you would expect there are plenty of familiar faces if you are a regular viewer of Canadian produced US television as well as a healthy supply of actors based in the US, this mixture I suspect helped balance the budget as well as get the name recognition any show requires to maximise the US market which is critical even as the global market grows in importance.
Season 1 gives us a good mix of drama and humour, the chemistry between the characters is immediate (great casting no doubt) and to be honest it's one of the best first seasons of a genre show, even the weakest episodes have enough merit and entertainment value to make them worth watching although a 12 episode season helps out there.
Favourite S1 Episodes...
- Before I Forget
- Purple Haze
- Once in a Lifetime
I haven't included the pilot in my favourite episodes even though it's a good one but it's a scene setter and with cast changes feels a little different but when viewed as a whole the first season has much darker overtones then the series overall. I've read that Eureka was intended to be a little darker and more gritty but evolved into a more lighter and comedic series and I think that was a good call by the producers to let that happen, the audience was there for family friendly scifi which Eureka delivers in spades.
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