Christmas Movies 2021 (Part 2)

Christmas Movies 2021
Part 2

Trapped In Paradise

A comedy crime caper sent in the small town of Paradise which is visited by three brothers

who plan to rob the local bank. Afterwards failing to flee the town the brothers experience the kindness and hospitality of the townsfolk while being chased by the FBI. 

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Henson Productions at their best as they take the classic tale and merge live action/muppets in a musical drama/comedy interpretation. Michael Caine is magnificent.

The Bishop's Wife

Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young bring to life the story of an Angel sent to

provide guidance to a Bishop whose family is suffering as he struggles to fund the building of a cathedral. Sounds a little dull but the acting is spectacular and the movie full of warmth and humour.

ELF

A modern classic as we follow Buddy the ELF (who is actually human) from the North Pole to New York as he looks for his father. Hilarity ensues with a little romance and feel good elements thrown in. Zooey Deschanel exceels and has a great voice.

Borg Cube Advent Calendar Week 2

Borg Cube Advent Calendar 

Week 2

Day 8.

I don't think I would have thought of this but something certainly different.

Day 9.

A Fridge Magnet, feels solid as you would expect and I like the design.

Day 10.

I think I approve of all thing metallic, feels worthy and of course looks great.

Day 11.

Another Pin, great for the collector.

Day 12.

A Tea Towel, I like the artwork.

Day 13.

A drawstring bag intended for spectacles ala Kirk in ST:II but emblazoned with Disco.

Day 14.

A metal IDIC key ring, looks good and always useful.

 Christmas Movies 2021

And so it begins, the festive period where I don't have to go to work and can indulge in christmas movies and catch up on some tv series I simply didn't have time for earlier in the year.

We begin with a couple from Hallmark who turn out a lot of movies but every now and again one of them just comes out very very good and these are two good well made and entertaining stories.

The Christmas Train

An eclectic group of people travel together on a 3000 miles journey

across the USA on the run up to Christmas Day.

The movie has a great cast and at heart is a romance with a twist or two.

Every Christmas Has a Story

A huge fan of Colin Ferguson who never fails to deliver great performances and as the put upon producer and former boyfriend of Lori Loughlin's character (Kate) leads to some good chemistry and drama plus lots of comedy.

Borg Advent Cube Week 1

Borg Cube Advent Calendar 

Week 1

Did I need this, well no I didn't but I did want it so here we are ☺

Day 1

Well they didn't open big but any Trek fan would see this playing card set as worthwhile.

Day 2

Pins are quite popular now so a solid reward unless you already have this one.

Day 3

Now this was impressive, feels very solid and looks like it's worth more than you would expect.

Day 4

An art print on well sturdy paper entitled "Vashti" which I figured out was from Picard.

Day 5

It was inevitable that socks would be involved somewhere...

Day 6

They are doubling down on Pins which if you like that sort of thing is great.

Day 7

Original Series Coasters, quite nice and well made.

So that is the first week over with. A couple of nice items, a couple of well ok fair enough and two that I know many collectors will love. Overall positive given I knew we were not going to wowed by the items at the calendars price point.

The Edge Of The Universe by Andrew Maclure

 

The Edge Of The Universe: Book Three in the Unwilling From Earth Series by Andrew Maclure
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Well here we are reading about the continuing adventures of Mark (Friend of the People) a lone human recruited into a galaxy spanning military force who fight for truth, justice etc etc. When The People request aid from Mark and Sah Lee (Sally) who commands the pre-eminent independent army (currently at around 2 million members) in a war against an aggressive expansionist race known as the Slarwin and at the other end of the known universe it poses many questions and concerns. Mark and Sally along with the inner circle have to decide if this is within their remit and even they are capable of fighting this sort of campaign even with some under the counter and not so under the counter aid from The People. While the novel certainly has its share of action and confrontation this is just as much if not more about how this mixed group of beings interact and handle the situations they are put in. Thankfully if you are reading the third novel in the series then you probably like the characters as much as I do and thus there is a lot to be gained by the insights and backstory provided, quite a lot of humour as well and that's never a bad thing.

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The Joy Machine by James E. Gunn

 

The Joy Machine by James E. Gunn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The highly successful colony world Timshel which offered its beauty and almost eden like perfection to vacationers from across the Federation had for two years now isolated itself from the galaxy. With no information the Federation had sent two separate individuals to the planet and apart from one brief communique nothing had been heard from them. Captain James Kirk and the Enterprise are tasked with solving this mystery and with some personal contacts on Timshel Kirk may succeed where others failed. Kirk makes a clandestine entry onto Timshel from the Enterprise which uses some fancy warp physics to at preset intervals make contact with Kirk but stay off the planets sensor grid but events soon spiral out of control.
The secret Timshel has been hiding is slowly revealed to Kirk as he learns an AI experiment proved to be wildly successful to the point where though the delivery of pure "joy" using machine interfaces the adult humans on the planet have put aside "normal" day to day concerns and only work under the guidance of the "Joy Machine". This story by Theodore Sturgeon was for the original series but never got beyond the pitching process and was later adapted by James E. Gunn for publication in 1996 during the boom time for Trek paperbacks. In many ways it's different enough to be embraced by the non-canon stories of the time but still retains elements we have certainly seen in the televised show which is no surprise. As a Trek novel this was perfectly acceptable with only one minor gripe and that was how the Enterprise itself was affected by the Joy Machine and the consequences there of, it felt silly and throwaway, perfect I guess for an epilogue but not a novel.


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X-Men Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman

 

X-Men Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman


First off I have never been a great fan of the TNG novels and certainly never read any X-Men comics so this novel is not an obvious choice for me but I am a fan of Michael and truth be told the ebook was on offer so why the hell not. From what I gathered this is the second novel that features this crossover and events from that are referred to here but I don't believe that caused any issues as the events are just as much of a mystery to Picard and crew as they are to Storm and her comrades. What we have is a group of the X-Men appearing on a starbase, causing some havoc and finally being reunited with the crew of the Enterprise. On the planet Xhaldia a number of young people are undergoing some traumatic transformations and obtaining physical and/or mental powers and surprisingly their government does not handle the situation well. Events begin to spiral out of control as the "transformed" break out of detention and then are targeted by an invading alien military force. Thankfully Xhaldia had called for help before losing communications and the Enterprise is on its way along with some very powerful and motivated mutants.
The story was paced well and I had no trouble letting myself be immersed into the narratives (which merge later) but I think I would have gotten a lot more out of the novel if I was a fan of the original X-Men rather than what FOX offered via the movies. Give it a go though, it was certainly interesting as Worf and Wolverine become buds.

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Best Destiny by Diane Carey

 

Best Destiny by Diane Carey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Best Destiny turns back the clock and sheds some non-canon light on the teenage years of one James Kirk, the story covers two separate time frames with the first showing James as a rebellious teenager and the other as a Captain looking at the end of his career. The focal point is the planet Faramond and the events that surrounded the discovery of a race vastly more technically advanced that the Federation and who seem to have as a species packed their bags and vanished into history.

Commander George Kirk with help from Captain Robert April arrange to take Jim on a cruise to Faramond for a ribbon cutting event in the hopes he can reach his wayward son before anything too serious happens. Jim is playing fast and loose with rules and regulations and roping other people into his games, it's only a matter of time before events spiral out of control and something happens that can not be fixed. The kicker is that Captain April is taking out the Enterprise and even the already jaded Jim Kirk is in awe of her beauty and power, of course he tries not to show it. April, George, Jim and some crew take one of the shuttles as Enterprise makes a call on another world but the shuttle is ambushed by pirates, badly damaged and with casualties Jim has to learn some very painful lessons in what it means to really lead people and be prepared to sacrifice all for the benefit of those who may never even know what you did.
Decades later the constitution class USS Enterprise is coming to the ends of its life and on its final voyage its sensors pickup an energy surge which is only associated with the explosion of warp engines. The source is a starship in the Faramond system, records indicate it's likely to be the Excelsior Class USS Bill of Rights under the command of Captain Alma Roth (former officer under Kirk). Captain Kirk does not believe in coincidences and provides records to both Spock and McCoy on events so long ago and orders his ship towards Faramond. James Kirk is again looking at life that may not hold many more wonders and has to face his mirror image yet learns that the journey is never going to be complete, there will always be one more world, one more civilisation and that will be enough to spur on this Captain, this ship and this crew.

Best Destiny by Diane Carey is one of the novels that played a part in my own personal Star Trek canon, I like this Jim Kirk (similar it has to be said to the Kelvin Universe) and no question that drawing upon her own novel Final Frontier helped greatly in continuity. The novels asks many questions of its core characters and the two timelines with varying technologies and challenges work well for the narrative and while the experienced Captain Kirk and Enterprise are pure Trek it's perhaps the young Jim with his father and April that hold the limelight. This era of Star Trek and Diane's own take on a young Kirk may not be for everyone but it works for me.

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Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor

 

Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fourth novel in the series focuses on the perhaps inevitable fracture of the Bobiverse as the replicants drift ever so slightly apart as the generations multiply, it seems there is no such thing as a perfect copy or perhaps events do indeed shape the mind in small almost immeasurable ways even for what amounts to software. As factions form within the community Bob himself attempts to track down the long lost Bender and he is successful but in that success the battle lines are drawn and even the organics associated with the Bobs suffer and/or exploit the chaos.
Heaven's River is my favourite of the four novels, I liked the evolution of the Bobs and humanity as well as the complications of the non-human elements of the galaxy. The Quinlan culture and the technology behind it was fascinating and shows wonderful creativity coupled with insights into individuals and society as events impact upon them.


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The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane

 

The Wounded Sky by Diane Duane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Wounded Sky is one of those Star Trek novels that is so high on my scale of all things good and proper in Star Trek it's ridiculous but this story is that good. It kicks off with a description of the ship in warp and that's like nothing you've ever read, it gives the novel such heart and soul you wouldn't believe and then we get to the actual story.
The Enterprise is chosen to test a new drive system designed by K't'ik a member of an arachnid race famed for their design and technology, the "inversion drive" manipulates areas of subspace and twists natural laws and is able to fling a vessel to wherever it needs to be in zero time and the testing has gone well. The drive is installed despite Scotty having said nothing would be fitted to the ship without his full understanding but it works flawlessly, or does it? A mind bogglingly distance away from the Enterprise the strain of breaking "natural" laws has consequences and slowly but surely the very fabric of the universe is being torn apart. During the "inversion" which was supposed to occur in zero time hence no actual frame of reference for the individual the crew start to experience events and other minds, their collective souls are mingling and realization emerges that they have to journey to the focus of the tear and attempt to fix the problem or life will cease to exist.
The Wounded Sky gets the regular characters of Star Trek spot on and Diane as with all her work effortlessly weaves in new characters who can easily take center stage when required. K't'lk is glorious a true alien being who is accepted by all and yet her story has a solid foundation, same for the minor characters we meet who are on the crew but never appeared on screen. The story has scope that defies belief especially compared to contemporary Star Trek novels of the time and I'll admit the concepts and ideas presented were discussed into the wee hours with friends many times. This novel really has to be read to do it justice and while Diane presented some of basic plot ideas in her screenplay for the TNG episode "Where No One Has Gone Before" that was a pale imitation of this piece of science fiction.

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Funko Pops

I swore I had done with Funko Pops after buying the Jaws set a couple of years ago but well what are you gonna do when they release Mirror TOS 😊

Recent 4K Purchases

Slowly but surely building up my collection of 4K Blu-rays, some are spectacular, some are better than their 1080p Blu-ray cousins and others you may wonder why you bothered. Just as with Blu-ray the format doesn't automatically means superior quality unless some work on the masters has been done.

Cast Adrift by Christopher G. Nuttall

 

Cast Adrift by Christopher G. Nuttall
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Earth was alone until the ships came, they surrounded the planet and took out some significant assets before demanding the surrender of humanity, would no way to fight back humanity came under the control of an alien race known as the Alphans and for 500 years served them. As you would expect things change over the centuries and humans became useful across the Alphan territories and especially in the military theatre when without human soldiers the Alphans may have lost a war. As humanity flexes its muscles the calls for more autonomy and even independence rise up and unexpectedly the humans get what they asked for, freedom to make their own decisions and mistakes ​
Cast Adrift by Christopher G. Nuttall is the first novel in a new series which deals with Earth finding its place in a populated galaxy after achieving its independence however without the protection of the Alphan military and political will from its former masters they are very much alone surrounded by predatory races more than happy to conquer humanity once again. This was an interesting start to the new series from Christopher whose previous work I've enjoyed. The scenario created is compelling and relevant to a lot that is going on in our world today and offers good characters who have to deal with the ramifications of events that spiralled out of control. I will be purchasing the second novel as and when available.


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Polar Lights Star Trek Shuttle

Every now and again I get the urge to build a model and this time I chose the TOS Shuttle kit from Polar Lights, it looks quite good from a distance 😃

Stargate Archives - Stargate Theatre - Metal Hurlant Chronicles - Master of Destiny

New from the Stargate Archives and under the Stargate Theatre banner I've produced a commentary for Métal Hurlant Chronicles S1E5 "Master of Destiny" which starred Joe Flanigan & Kelly Brook.

For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor

 

For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second novel in the Bobiverse series delivers with the Bob's dealing with the events upon Earth and the young colonies as well as the intelligent alien life they have discovered but more importantly the race that are scouring star systems for resources even those with life bearing worlds. Individual Bobs continue to show some minor and sometimes significant variations from Bob 1 aka Bob Johansson but that is good as the tasks of exploring a galaxy and now caring for the last few million humans is one that needs a variety of mindsets. However no venture is progressing without incidents and the Bob's originally meant for exploration have to continue to act as police force and military and even with continued backup of themselves there are losses some very personal to those involved. The Bob's afterall are far more human than their physical selves would lead you to believe.
"For We Are Many" was an excellent second novel expanding upon the galaxy and the world's already being colonised or slowly developed including those with sentient life already existing. There is room for narratives which span the galaxy and for relationships between just two souls as well what drives humanity and finding out that alien life is not all that different.
A highly recommended series with two strong novels and a third to be read.

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Eagle Transporter

Picked this up from Eaglemoss and yes it took quite a few decades to replace my Space 1999 Eagle die-cast toy from my younger days😁

Drake's Drum by Christopher G. Nuttall

 

Drake's Drum by Christopher G. Nuttall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Drake's Drum is the final novel in this specific trilogy of stories which are part of the Ark Royal series written by Christopher G. Nuttall. This novel continues the story of the very alien virus that has the ability to control its biological hosts to the point of encompassing whole civilisations and now Earth and its colonies are close to the abyss. Fortunately a very industrialised world (Alien Prime) was located which it is believed could be the viruses original homeworld and if not certainly the logistical center for its campaign against humanity. Alas the powers that be are bowing to pressure to keep the navies directly protecting Earth despite knowing a defensive posture will fail given time so the Royal Navy (well individuals within) go it alone and dispatch Captain Hammond (HMS Lion) and Captain Campbell (HMS Unicorn) to once again take the now proven Battlecruiser and Corvette concept to "Alien Prime" and launch and long term and long range operation using mass drivers and rail guns combined with stealth and constant movement to weaken the enemy. There may even be some reinforcements (human and from our alien allies) but that will depend upon the political will of the major powers but for now the virus has to be slowed down.
Drake's Drum was a fine novel to wrap up the story of humanity and its encounter with the alien virus as well the individual characters within this phase of human history. Like many navel heroes of the past Hammond and Campbell both far from perfect individuals will be remembered but many more people played their parts and this trilogy did expand upon those type of characters more so than previous novels for the better in my opinion. Christopher has already announced the idea behind a new batch of novels within the Ark Royal series and if you have read this book then you would have guesses where he was going to take us going forward and I'm looking forward to the journey.

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We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor

 

We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bob Johansson is a wealthy man having just sold his company InterGator Software for a rather large amount of money, his closest friends have benefitted from the sale and feeling good about himself Bob signs up to be cryo-frozen upon his death. As luck would have it the money was wisely invested as decades later he awakes to find himself well not human anymore but certainly alive and conscious which is more than can be said for 99.9999% of his compatriots. However the USA and world has changed rather drastically during the intervening years, his personal wealth was taken by the state and his humanity no longer recognised, in other words Bob is now the property of a corporation who have plans for Bob. Now this a review which I could go full spoiler on but I don't want to because I have to seriously recommend this novel, it's not hard scifi but there is plenty to think about in terms of big picture and the future of space exploration. However seeing the future unfold through the eyes of Bob is both fascinating and compelling as all manner of obstacles are encountered as the galaxy is explored and yet Bob is still the 21st century guy he was when he was "alive" so humour we can all recognise is at the heart of the novel. The second novel "For We Are Many" is sitting on my kindle ready to read.

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The Cost of Freedom by Daniel Arenson

 

The Cost of Freedom by Daniel Arenson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The battle for humanity continues both on Earth, in close orbit and the far reaches of the Solar System yet the military forces of Earth can not trade hull for hull against the invading Rah an arachnid intelligence which feeds on its conquered enemies and also uses them to host their eggs. As the space battle turns ever more in favour of the Rah the commanders of the Earth factions now united against a common foe decide to break contact and fight a guerilla style campaign but when a Rah Prince kidnaps Commander Kings grand daughter a suicidal mission is undertaken to raid a huge complex on the dark side of the moon. The terrors that await the force led by James King, his son Colonel Bastian and 49 other marines will be with them for the rest of their lives but for the sake of child and the opportunity to capture a Rah Prince for interrogation is too good an opportunity to pass up.
The Cost of Freedom is wonderfully over the top space opera with larger than life characters, action that defies realism (in context) and situations that have you perplexed (imagine Fast & Furious and you know what I am getting at). The overall story however is entertaining, the action never lets up and if you accept that it doesn't make a lot of sense then you will be more than satisfied. The third novel "We Fight For Freedom" is on the way and I'll be buying my copy when it arrives.

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