All Star Trek Discussion Thread ("Into Darkness" trailer released)

[Dream Team]

For anyone that hasn't seen it, "The Captains" is streaming on Netflix.

Awesome documentary written and directed by the Shat; a must-see for any serious Trekker.

[yorost]

The one that can go Warp 13?  Yeah, that was pretty cool.  I love that shot where it comes up the Z-axis blasting holes through the hull of the other ship.  IMO there weren't nearly enough scenes that underscored how everything takes places in three dimensions (since it's "outer space" after all), despite Spock mentioning that very thing way back in STII.

Also, I did kinda laugh the first time I saw that scene, when they go to Warp 13.  All I could think was "Mr. Data, turn it up to 11!"

This. And the ships always went "forward". The Borg Cube is as "aerodynamic" as Enterprise - E in space.

Not quite, there is matter in space, and it's more dense in some areas than others.  It's part of why no true perfect orbit can be obtained by a satellite.  No matter how well placed they are, they need thrusters, and occasional lifts by other crafts, to stay in place.

The other argument for sleek, directional design is related to the engines.  Using them would exert great force over the entire structure of the ship, it makes sense to build ships which can withstand that strain easiest.  Pushing in a specific direction would accomplish that.

[ReaperKK]

For anyone that hasn't seen it, "The Captains" is streaming on Netflix.

Awesome documentary written and directed by the Shat; a must-see for any serious Trekker.

I watched it a little bit ago, I didn't like it. It could've been great but shatner loves himself.

Also, Avery Brooks is one weird dude.

[rumborak]

So I'm watching this right now (downloaded it, gotta love the internet speed in Tokyo ), but yeah, you're totally right. Shatner pretends to interview the guys; but in the end he's only letting them set up the cue lines so he can talk about himself. I'm always just waiting for him to get off the soap box, so that the other guys can talk.

And man, yeah, Avery Brooks is one space cadet. Really amazes me that a guy who's so spaced out can deliver such intense acting performances. What's hilarious though in those "jazz singing" sessions of theirs is how bland Shatner's lines are. Brooks has a sense of art that Shatner completely lacks.

rumborak

[yorost]

Brooks is a tenured professor (of arts), he's allowed to be a little nutty.

[MetalJunkie]

So I'm watching this right now (downloaded it, gotta love the internet speed in Tokyo ), but yeah, you're totally right. Shatner pretends to interview the guys; but in the end he's only letting them set up the cue lines so he can talk about himself. I'm always just waiting for him to get off the soap box, so that the other guys can talk.

It's been a while since I've seen it, but I didn't get that feeling. It always felt like, to me, that Shatner was drawing on his personal experience to relate to the interviewee's story.

Being the center of attention his whole life, I'm not sure Shatner has the ability to completely understand someone else's story without relating it to himself. I do not think this is an ego issue, I just think it's the product of his life's experiences.

[ReaperKK]

He may of meant well with it, and I'm sure he did, but it really came off as "Patrick, tell me how awesome I am"

[skydivingninja]

Guess I'll watch that tonight and begin rewatching Deep Space 9 as well.  I'm excited. 

Also, I decided to watch the Enterprise finale after rewatching "The Pegasus" and remembered hearing that the episode was used as a framing device for the Enterprise finale...my God that was terrible.

Entire episode: OMG ARCHER HAS TO WRITE A SPEECH!
End of episode:
Archer: Here's my speech guys!  It starts like-
Riker: COMPUTER QUICK END PROGRAM!

 

[King Postwhore]

Sky, that's what happens when your series is canceled mid season and the rush to write a finally happens.

[skydivingninja]

It was just so jarring seeing some moments that were supposed to be emotional or something, and then BOOM, there's old-but-supposed-to-be-young Riker, just creepily looking at them. 

[BlobVanDam]

Also, I decided to watch the Enterprise finale after rewatching "The Pegasus" and remembered hearing that the episode was used as a framing device for the Enterprise finale...my God that was terrible.

Entire episode: OMG ARCHER HAS TO WRITE A SPEECH!
End of episode:
Archer: Here's my speech guys!  It starts like-
Riker: COMPUTER QUICK END PROGRAM!

 

If that's the worst you can say about it, then you've done pretty well.
I quite liked Enterprise, and I kept hearing about how bad that final episode was, and in the past I found these kinds of opinions to be exaggerated, but that episode really was that bad.
And this is from a guy who loved Spock's Brain.

[unklejman]

One of my favorite Enterprise designs is a concept image done in 1978 that could be considered the first of Enterprise D. It's almost as if the Enterprise was built in the Star Wars universe.  Refine the nacelles just a bit and it is a really cool design, I think.

[YtseJam]

It looks like a flying pancake.

[Orbert]

Well yeah.  A mutherfockin' warp-speed flying pancake!

[BlobVanDam]

I like it.

I just watched Trials and Tribble-ations today. Only episode of DS9 I've ever actually seen, and it's pretty obvious why I chose that as a random one.
Was pretty good.

[Orbert]

That was the best series-crossing mashup of the ones I've seen.  I wasn't a regular DS9 fan either, but a friend of mine who is said that I had to watch it.  She knew I was into TOS, and knew Worf from TNG and some of the other characters, so yeah it worked really well.

My favorite visual joke:  In the TOS episode, after they've popped open that overhead storage bin (which is a completely stupid design) and the tribbles all pour out of it, eventually it trickles down to a few dropping every second or two.  It literally looks likes there's someone up there tossing them tossing down, which adds to the comedy.  In the crossover, we see that that's exactly what's happening, except that it's the DS9 guys up there tossing them down!

[BlobVanDam]

Yeah, I thought that was a neat tie-in too. I was pausing it regularly to check the original TOS episode to compare certain things. Some of the shots were excellently done, and it fitted together nicely.
And you can be sure that when they originally filmed it, there was just a guy up there tossing them down.

[El Barto]

A.  Dax looked hot as hell in the skirt.  B.  O'Brien thinking Kirk's stand in was him was a real gas.  "Let's buy him a drink!"

[BlobVanDam]

Yes indeedy she looked hot. A lot more flattering than the old Starfleet potato sacks they usually wear, that's for sure.

[King Postwhore]

In total agreement about Dax's legs.

[rumborak]

It was interesting to listen to Rick Berman about how difficult it was to cast the role of Jadzia Dax, because no hot actress wants to do TV shows, they all want to do movies.

rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

That's interesting. I recall that Jeri Ryan (7 of 9) turned down the role several times before finally agreeing to do Voyager. Might be the same issue. I would think that maybe the curse of scifi typecasting might factor in too.

[rumborak]

Interesting irony, I'm watching Moby Dick with Patrick Stewart as Captain Ahab. The movie came out 1998, two years after First Contact came out, where he gets accused of acting like Captain Ahab.

rumborak

[Orbert]

Yeah, Melville was a hack, stealing from the Star Trek like that.  Two years, and he didn't think anyone was gonna notice?

(Actually I totally hate Melville, and will rag on him, unprovoked, with or without proper cause.)

[rumborak]

Moby Dick could be miles better in an abridged version, with all that crap about whales taken out. It's like the songs in LOTR, where you just start skipping them.

rumborak

[Orbert]

I started skipping the songs in LOTR as well.  It wasn't until later that I learned a bit more about JRRT and his background in culture and linguistics study, and how he used LOTR largely as an experiment in creating and studying language.  Next time I read LOTR, I specifically took the time to read through every line of each song, and tried to pay more attention to the different languages as well.  I tried to think of the songs in terms of culture and how it evolves over time and tried to see how they functioned as they do in actual cultures.  They help with the preservation of language, while simultaneously underscoring how it has changed.  Summary: It was still tedious, but at least I had a better appreciation for their place in the books.

As for Melville, oh dear lord that was painful.  An entire chapter on the left side of the whale, titled "The Left Side of the Whale".  Then an entire chapter on the right side of the whale, titled "The Right Side of the Whale".  Then a chapter on the flukes of the whale, titled "The Flukes of the Whale".  And more.  I don't know if I have the order or titles exactly correct, but those of you who have sufferred through Moby Dick on paper know that I am not exaggerating.  My 10th grade American Literature teacher, who otherwise was a great guy and one of my favorite teachers (he's the one who turned me on to Tull, early Kansas, etc.) assigned this book, and I'm pretty sure no one actually read the whole thing.  It just isn't possible for a 15-year-old mind to force itself to endure that kind of pain, not when Cliff's Notes are sold in the bookstore down the street.

Between that and Bartleby the Scrivener, I have great respect for what Melville tried to do, but little for the results.

[AndyDT]

Germany has only just shown Patterns of Force:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057908/Germans-boldy-Nazi-Star-Trek-episode-43-years-filmed.html

[Orbert]

Yeah, I thought I read a long time ago that that one episode was banned, for (presumably) obvious reasons.  Star Trek laid on the political allegory pretty thick sometimes, but this one was different.  The message seemed to be "But this same approach, used with benevolent intentions, could be really cool."  People still couldn't believe that it was anything but Nazi-slamming, and I thought that was unfair.  But I'm not from Germany, or anywhere in Europe for that matter, so I don't know what it's like growing up with that particular historical issue to deal with.

[rumborak]

The problem, in my opinion, was the clumsy and almost belittling portrayal of Nazi Germany in the episode. I love Star Trek, but in essence they banned an absolute shit episode, so nobody lost anything.

rumborak

[MetalJunkie]

I guess nothing about that episode stood out enough for me to remember anything about it. I'm not sure how the portrayal of Nazi Germany in Star Trek could have gone any deeper, though, being in the late sixties. There were many more people in '67 that would be offended/horrified just by seeing a swastika than there are now.

[rumborak]

From what I remember of the episode, you had the impression the writer had at best a fleeting idea of what went down in Nazi Germany, and was somewhat enamored with the uniforms and organization of it.
I'm tempted to download it, hmm.

rumborak

[BlobVanDam]

I remember it being a fun episode. While the comparison was blatant, it really didn't delve that deeply into the idea. I thought it was a fun episode, but I mostly enjoy TOS for the hilarity anyway.

[yorost]

Guess I'll watch that tonight and begin rewatching Deep Space 9 as well.  I'm excited. 

I'm finishing up a re-watch of DS9.  I'd seen it when it aired and later all in a straight shot so did things differently this time.  I pieced together the connected story lines over the seasons and watched them together.  Stringing by secondary characters is a really nice way to begin.  The Garak string was so full of awesomeness!   I mixed in major story episodes and various favourites, but once I completed the arcs I started with season 7 and watched the remaining episodes backwards.  I'm done with 2-7 and and working through 1, now.  The progressions of Bashir and Rom are really cool backwards.

I met Nicole de Boer, Nana Visitor, and James Darren 2 months ago, all three were wonderful to talk to.  They seemed so appreciative.  Nicole de Boer and Sean Patrick Flanery were funny, they both pointed each other to make sure I saw the other (big Dead Zone fan).

[skydivingninja]

I met Nicole de Boer, Nana Visitor, and James Darren 2 months ago, all three were wonderful to talk to.  They seemed so appreciative.  Nicole de Boer and Sean Patrick Flanery were funny, they both pointed each other to make sure I saw the other (big Dead Zone fan).

2 months ago..were you at Dragon*Con?  I know Nana Visitor and Nicole de Boer were there, but I didn't talk to them because I feel bad about not knowing them from anywhere but Star Trek and had a feeling that they must be annoyed by now only being known from Star Trek.  I might be completely wrong but I can be a bit starstruck around famous people

[yorost]

Yeah, Dragon'Con, it was my wife's spur of the moment present to me for the work I did during my daughter's first 6 weeks.  She saw me trying not to cry during What You Leave Behind and decided I could buy the the last two DS9 dvd's and go to Dragon'Con.   I was so tired and so many things going on I started to cry when I walked up to Nana Visitor, too.   She was great about it, though, and chatted quite a bit.  I actually felt guilty about taking her time.  Nicole de Boer was fantastic, too, but Dead Zone and DS9 are my two favourite shows, so I think I piqued her interest.  Next time just go up, they were extremely welcoming to me.

edit: I was a little surprised at how much bigger the lines were for TNG!  Gates McFadden had a huge line, but Visitor and de Boer very small.  Is it because they did movies or because they were a more accessible show to more general audiences?