Star Trek News

Star Trek Voyager - Elite Force Expansion Pack B00005RD6OAspyr Media09 (Star Trek)

2005-10-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

Star Trek Voyager - Elite Force Expansion Pack

B00005RD6O

Aspyr Media

09 November, 2001

I enjoyed the Elite Force game and the expansion pack only adds to the fun. The graphics and sounds are really good. The game play is easy to get used to (as are the controls). The selection menus are a little confusing and hard to read.

I am a long time voyager fan, I have every episode and every voyager book, so when i saw Voyager: Elite Force, i was one of the first people to go out and buy it last year. and i am glad that I did. It is without a doubt the best Star Trek game created. the graphics are slick, the levels are fun to play and the overall mission is one that really gets you involved in the game. It is linked to the hit TV show in more than one way. with chell trying to win Tuvok's respect and more. The original game is great, but the Xpansion Pack is just as good, it has a virtual voyager mission, a few new holodeck scenarios and adds a few new and interesting elements to the original game. If you like watching Voyager or want to get a good startrek game, buy Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force

What I liked about this expansion pack is the VIRTUAL Tour of the Starship Voyager. I loved this!

Very cool to wander about the ship when and wehere I want. And there are a lot of surprises too.

Great marketing too. Elite Force is much better to play with both the originaland the expansion pack together. So if you get the original get this as well!

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 21, Episodes 41 & 42: I, Mudd/ The Trouble With Tribbles

B000059XTZ

Paramount Studio

24 April, 2001

"I, Mudd"
Lovable scoundrel Harry Mudd (Roger C. Carmel) returns following his debut appearance in the first-season episode "Mudd's Women," this time as the leader of a race of helpful (and leggy) androids. Mudd tries to take control of the Enterprise, but soon finds that the androids have plans of their own. This is one of Trek's few purely comic episodes, and it hits a nice level of whimsy as Kirk and the crew fight android efficiency with good old human illogic. "I, Mudd" also sets a benchmark achievement for the Star Trek design crew: It called not just for beautiful women in revealing costumes, but for beautiful twins in revealing costumes. Truly a tough one to top, cheesily foreshadowing the "Fembots" of Austin Powers infamy. --Ali Davis

"The Trouble with Tribbles"
It's time to face one of the great questions of the television age: Is "The Trouble with Tribbles" really as good as everyone thinks it is? You bet. While the story might be a little slower than many of us remember, the episode is deservedly beloved for writer David Gerrold's witty, mildly acerbic script, and the way the cast took to heightened comic possibilities against network resistance. (Heavens! Comedy on a science fiction show?) Stanley Adams is delightful as the huckster Cyrano Jones, who gives a trilling furball called a tribble to Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), who brings it aboard the Enterprise and watches it reproduce... and reproduce... and reproduce. Soon, hundreds of tribbles are in every part of the ship, making Captain Kirk (William Shatner), already grouchy about guarding a mere grain shipment from Klingons, even grouchier. There's no question that Gerrold made a major contribution to Trek culture with this show, setting a tone that Star Trek has visited again and again, including the feature film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and sundry episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. --Tom Keogh

This show certainly helped set the carefree tone that would extend FAR more successfully into the next episode. (2 stars)

The Trouble With Tribbles-The episode with those furry little creatures was the apex of humor on Star Trek. By this point in the show's run, characters were well enough developed for the actors and brain trust to feel comfortable stepping out a bit. And they certainly step out in this one. Thanks to writer Gerrold, the episode actually has a fairly solid dramatic foundation that includes Klingon intrigue, and threats to both the food supply and the Enterprise itself. One could be forgiven for not realizing this though, since the tribbles
completely steal the show. Actually the enterprise crew (and Adams as Cerano)for the most part prove quite adept in the comedic roles, and the officious Schallert is a perfect straight man under the circumstances. A Starfleet official is even correct in his desire to reign in Kirk, for once!

Tidbits: The fight scene was supposedly pinched en masse from a prior film. Recognize the Klingon? He was Trelane from The Squire of Gothos, played by William Campbell. (5 stars)

Star Trek III - The Search for Spock B00004RE7DParamount Studio11 (Star Trek)

2005-10-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Star Trek III - The Search for Spock

B00004RE7D

Paramount Studio

11 April, 2000

You didn't think Mr. Spock was really dead, did you? When Spock's casket landed on the surface of the Genesis planet at the end of Star Trek II, we had already been told that Genesis had the power to bring "life from lifelessness." So it's no surprise that this energetic but somewhat hokey sequel gives Spock a new lease on life, beginning with his rebirth and rapid growth as the Genesis planet literally shakes itself apart in a series of tumultuous geological spasms. As Kirk is getting to know his estranged son (Merritt Butrick), he must also do battle with the fiendish Klingon Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is determined to seize the power of Genesis from the Federation. Meanwhile, the regenerated Spock returns to his home planet, and Star Trek III gains considerable interest by exploring the ceremonial (and, of course, highly logical) traditions of Vulcan society. The movie's a minor disappointment compared to Star Trek II, but it's a--well, logical--sequel that successfully restores Spock (and first-time film director Leonard Nimoy) to the phenomenal Trek franchise...as if he were ever really gone. With Kirk's willful destruction of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Robin Curtis replacing the departing Kirstie Alley as Vulcan Lt. Saavik, this was clearly a transitional film in the series, clearing the way for the highly popular Star Trek IV. --Jeff Shannon

If anyone is wondering where the Klingons of the later Star Trek movies and television series' came from, this is it. Christopher Lloyd's "Kruge" is the defining character after which all the later ones were patterned.

This movie also dramatically introduces the much used Klingon Bird-of-Prey that turns up frequently in later movies and on TV. 

In my opinion, this is the best movie after "The Wrath of Khan" and keeps the drama and action moving quickly along.

The oft-quoted rule that has even-numbered Trek movies beating odd-number movies was never that convincing - and this flick proves it wrong. 

Picking up at the moment where "Wrath of Khan" left off, "Search" has Spock's coffin soft landing on the Genesis planet. Dr. Marcus and Saavik return to their to investigate that world's development. Meanwhile, the badly damaged Enterprise returns to Earth where Captain Kirk learns the ship is to be scrapped. When Dr. McCoy begins showing signs that he was "mind-melded" with Spock - thinking he actually is Spock - he tries to get a ship back to the Genesis planet where Spock's body was left. (In a scene that sends up the cantina scene from the first Star Wars flick, McCoy tries getting a ride with an alien who bears a resemblance to the Vorvon from "Buck Rogers"). Kirk, informed by Spock's father Sarek that both McCoy and Spock's body must be returned to Vulcan, tries to get to Genesis himself, even though Starfleet has quarantined the planet. Meanwhile, Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), a rogue Klingon warlord with his own ship and crew, penetrates federation space greedy for the secrets of Genesis. 

Though this flick seems a bit abbreviated - filler between "Khan" and "Voyage Home" it's not only a lot of fun, but a great example of how good Trek can be. The script has our heroes working outside Starfleet regulations and having loads of fun with each other. Prime examples: Scott explains how he saboutaged the Excelsior to McCoy, dropping that ship's isolinear chips into McCoy's palm like spare change ("From one Doctor to another, when you've learnt how to clean the pipes, you know how to stop the drain"). Kirk, when meeting up with the Spock-possessed McCoy holds his hand up in the Vulcan salute, asking the Doctor "how many fingers am I holding up"; and let's not forget that magic moment when Bones tries to give a Starfleet Security the Vulcan neck-pinch. Laughs aside, the script is tight and sticks with its central theme of pulling life from death - epitomized by the rescue of Spock and the awesome self-destruction of the Enterprise. Christopher Lloyd's Klingon was underused, but he showed some potential. The special effects beat anything I've seen on the Next-Generation movies and the script makes the characters seem a whole lot livelier. If you've put off this flick because this was an odd-numbered Trek movie, think again and give it a try.

a Story that is the transitionary story from movie 2 to movie 4. So obviously this movie is the middle movie where we find the crew of the enterprise trying to find and re-animate the body of Spock, our long lost vulcan friend. A movie worth noting because, unlike other sequels, it is actually worth seeing more than once in a life time.

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 32 - Episodes 63 & 64: The Empath/ The Tholian Web

B00005M2D0

Paramount Studio

28 August, 2001

"The Empath"
"The Empath" is an absolute must for fans of Star Trek's recurring shirtless-Kirk-being-tortured motif. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are taken to a strange laboratory and tortured by powerful aliens while a mute woman is forced to watch--a woman whose empathic abilities are being put to the test. There is, of course, a broader scheme to it all--this is one of the early manifestations of Trek's eternal conflict between the needs of the many and the needs of the few, or the one. Keep an ear out for one of the all-time great Bonesisms ("I'm a doctor, not a coal miner!") and hang on to those fragile but oh-so-important human emotions. --Ali Davis

"The Tholian Web"
"The Tholian Web" was conceived when writer Judy Burns went looking for a new angle on ghost stories. A physics student suggested she somehow use the theory of infinite dimensions, and out of that came Burns's script, which finds Captain Kirk (William Shatner) trapped between different kinds of space, floating in and out of view of the Enterprise crew. Adding to the dilemma are time constraints (Kirk's oxygen supply is running low), an effort by the arachnid-like Tholians to trap the Enterprise in a gigantic web, sub-space dementia affecting the crew, and rising hostilities between Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), the latter none too happy with the way the Vulcan is running the ship in Kirk's absence. Burns's original conception was to make Spock the spectral Starfleet officer locked in interspace, but the show is quite effective in the way various characters mourn the presumed death of their leader and figurehead. The Tholians don't make another appearance in Trek lore until The Next Generation, but this particular episode won the original series its first Emmy for special effects. --Tom Keogh

The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

The Tholian Web
The USS Enterprise finds her sister ship, the USS Defiant in unsurveyed territory at her last reported position. The vessel which vanished without a trace three weeks ago is investigated by Captain Kirk and a boarding party consisting of Spock, McCoy and Chekov. They discover upon beaming over to the vessel that the Defiant's crew had killed each other apparently during a mutiny on the ship. The landing party found out after further investigation of the vessel that it was mysteriously dissolving prompting Kirk to order the landing party be beamed off the ship immediately.

The space that the Defiant had been drifting in was playing havoc with the Enterprise's transporter system, allowing for only three members of the landing party to be beamed off the fading vessel, Kirk elected to stay behind enabling them to return safely aboard the Enterprise. Scotty attempted to beam Kirk back to the Enterprise when the Defiant suddenly disappeared. Spock used the computer to calculate that Kirk would be able to be retrieved during the next period of spatial interphase, which would occur in two hours and twelve minutes.

Chekov, who experienced momentary stabs of pain while onboard the Defiant went mad and was removed from the bridge making it extremely urgent for Dr. McCoy to isolate and treat the madness which was apparently affecting the Enterprise crew just like it had affected the Defiant's crew. The rescue mission was disrupted by a Tholian ship claiming that the Enterprise had violated territory belonging to the Tholian Assembly. Spock relayed to the Tholian Commander that the Enterprise was on a rescue mission, the Tholians had no problem in allowing Spock and the Enterprise to complete it.

The rescue mission failed due to the Tholian vessels entry into the area. The Tholians who don't tolerate deceit or lack of punctuality fire on the Enterprise, forcing Spock to return fire thereby damaging the Tholian ship. The Enterprise who was damaged herself in the Tholian's attack starts to drift. A second Tholian ship appears and both ships begin to weave a web of energy around the crippled Enterprise. Spock who is forced to take command of the Enterprise deals with the loss of the Captain and the affect that it has on the crew.

The race against time was on for Scotty to repair the damage sustained in the Tholian attack and for McCoy to find a cure for the madness that was tearing the crew apart before the Tholians completed their web of energy trapping the Enterprise for good. Despite rising tensions and further episodes of madness amongst the crew, Scotty is able to repair the ship and McCoy finds an antidote to the madness. The Enterprise is able to escape the Tholian's web and retrieve Kirk alive and well.

I was planning on reviewing this and four other 2-episode original Star Trek DVDs I hadn't yet gotten to before I heard the news. And what news would this be, you're askin' yourself? Well, I'll tell ya: I've discovered that Paramount will be re-releasing the original series in full-season DVD box sets, complete with a shebang of extra features, some time later this year. It's yet another sad example of what I call "the dreaded DVD double-dip ploy" (read about this annoying phenomenon at www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/guides/guide-display/-/3CVFIEG84F2PF/ref=cm_aya_av.sylt_sylt/002-5334556-6482418 ) that the major Hollywood studios like to pull on videophile consumers. #ell, they've already got the full-season box sets out in parts of Europe already, so you know they'll be comin' stateside fairly soon as of this writing. BTW why do parts of Europe get to have the old-school Trek season box sets before the U.S. Does?! Shouldn't the country where the show was shot in have first dibs?! That's kinda like Honduras getting "Monty Python" on DVD before the UK does! Or "Akira" streeting in Brazil before becoming available in Japan! It's just not right I tell ya...

Anyhoo: if you wanna get alla' the eppies of old-school Trek on DVD (well, perhaps all but the last season, anyway), I recommend you wait `til the full-season sets come out later this year, or some time next year. In the meantime, I'm pretty sure your gradually disintegrating Columbia House Collector's Edition VHS tapes will last a few months longer. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta find a way to palm my own collection of classic Trek platters off on some unsuspecting Trekkies!

Wish me luck...

`Late

Post Script: I know some folks will read this and think of me as some whiny, ungrateful little fiend who doesn't appreciate the fact that Paramount at least bothered to put the show out on DVD. All I can say is... do you people own stock in the company or something?! What are you, members of their sales and marketing department?! Yeah, I should REALLY be grateful for them tryin' to hose me and all the other Trekkie DVDphiles by gettin' us to buy (pretty much) the same stuff twice! Hey, they did it with the Star Trek movies, why NOT the classic TV show?! Howzabout puttin' out the best possible product the first time around, huh?! Buncha avaricious, money-hungry jerks...

`Later

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 21, Episodes 41 (Star Trek)

2005-10-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 21, Episodes 41 & 42: I, Mudd/ The Trouble With Tribbles

B000059XTZ

Paramount Studio

24 April, 2001

This show certainly helped set the carefree tone that would extend FAR more successfully into the next episode. (2 stars)

Tidbits: The fight scene was supposedly pinched en masse from a prior film. Recognize the Klingon? He was Trelane from The Squire of Gothos, played by William Campbell. (5 stars)

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 22, Episodes 43 & 44: Bread And Circuses/ Journey To Babel

B000059XU0

Paramount Studio

24 April, 2001

"Bread and Circuses"
Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and First Officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) discover that Captain Merik (William Smithers), commander of the long-missing Starfleet vessel S.S. Beagle, has become "First Citizen of the Empire" in a re-creation of ancient Rome on an obscure, unnamed planet. Under orders from the Emperor, Merik forced his own crew to die in gladiator battles and lured other Starfleet personnel to the same fate. Now with Kirk, McCoy, and Spock in hand, the Emperor's barbaric (and televised all over the planet) amusements carry on another day. While the script takes a swipe or two at the sometimes less-than-elevated tastes of global audiences, the episode's most interesting idea is the existence of a long-suffering cult of sun worshippers, a parallel to the suppressed Christian groups in Roman times. For Trekkers, however, this one is full of the essentials: a surreal premise, a hostile planet, lots of fighting, and Scotty (James Doohan) on the bridge. --Tom Keogh

"Journey to Babel"
Years before George Lucas knocked us out with his wildly imaginative bar scene in Star Wars (in which a broad mix of exotic creatures mill about), Star Trek did much the same thing in "Journey to Babel." Serving as a transport for a variety of extraterrestrial diplomats, the Enterprise becomes a warp-capacity hotel for truly eclectic visitors. (Director Joseph Pevney credits the makeup artist with this episode's impressive array of alien species.) The story finds murder committed aboard the ship and an attack on Captain Kirk (William Shatner), all in an effort to sabotage the imminent signing of a peace treaty. But against this mystery is an even more curious family drama featuring Spock's conflicts with his parents, the Vulcan ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard), who disapproves of his son, and his human wife, Amanda (Jane Wyatt). Story editor Dorothy Fontana wrote the script after deciding it was time to show us the oft-mentioned mother and father of the Enterprise's first officer (Leonard Nimoy). We can thank her for inventing all the fascinating details of a complicated family relationship that ultimately became crucial to a couple of feature films and even a memorable episode of The Next Generation. --Tom Keogh

For better or worse, the show was becoming less introspective. An argument could be made that some of these episodes should have been reigned in a bit. But Star Trek was riding high at this point on a string of strong stories and fun episodes; few could have guessed that the quality would start to deteriorate in just a few episodes.

Tidbit: This episode and Elaan of Troyius were the two that took the longest to get from production to the TV screen. In Elaan of Troyius I always assumed the delay was due to the spacecraft special effects. What was the explanation here? (3 stars)

Journey to Babel-In another classic Trek, we meet Spock's parents, and the Enterprise turns into a veritable 'who's who' of alien dignitaries. Like so many second season shows, this episode is fast paced and dramatic. There are actually several plot lines going at once. Not only do the subtleties of Spock's relationship with his parents play well here, the show is augmented by the fact that so much else happens (murder, Kirk and Sarek's physical troubles, a spy aboard the ship, a Klingon vessel, etc.) A lot to juggle, but the writer and director managed it well, even bringing everything together at the end. True, it's absurd that Kirk and company would know so little about Spock's family, but the bombshell does make for a dramatic close to the teaser. (4.5 stars)

REVIEWED ITEM: Star TrekÂ® Original Series DVD Volume 22: Bread and Circuses Â© / Journey to Babel Â©

BREAD AND CIRCUSES Â© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY: Before I go into the review proper, it has come to my attention that the guys at ParamountÂ put these original series DVDs out to the market without respect to neither the episodes' canonical-chronological order nor their date-of-broadcast order. This particular volume is a case in point: The first show, Bread and Circuses Â©, was originally broadcast on March 14, 1968 (Stardate 4040.7), while the following show, Journey to Babel, was shown on November 17, 1967 (Stardate 3842.3). At first, I was kinda taken aback by this haphazard arrangement of eppies; after all, they could've at least TRIED to release classic `Trek in some logical fashion, right? But after envisioning the throes of agony that the more anal-retentive/OCD-suffering UberTrekkies would suffer due to this strange quasi-random release of episodes, I actually found myself rejoicing at ParamountÂ's brazenness. Anything that gives the uberfans major hissy fits is just fine and dandy in my book!

A rather intriguing `what-if' type story where the elimination and/or delayed reaction of a an apparently vital historical element (in this case, "son worship" or Christianity) could have a major impact on the course of human history (in this case, the Roman Empire still exists in the 20th century). Throw in a few less-than-skillful-looking gladiatorial death matches and a turncoat starship captain (similar to the rogue C.O. in The Omega Glory Â©), and you've got... um... hey, remember that scene in Airplane!Â where Peter Graves asks that kid, "Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?" I'm reminded of that scene every time I catch this particular episode! And my name isn't Joey, either! Strange, no?

JOURNEY TO BABEL Â© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The importance of family; learning to overcome differences; family duties versus career duties

Historical Milestone: First appearance of Spock's parents

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None

REVIEW/COMMENTARY: Out of all the crewmen that serve aboard the EnterpriseÂ, who'da ever thought SpockÂ would have to deal with family strife? Well, it's true, kiddies- apparently pops isn't quite an approving parent where his son's career choice is concerned. But with the help of a whodunit murder mystery, a bit of espionage intrigue, and Sarek's life-threatening condition that only Spock can help treat, father and son manage to patch things up a little in the end. Which delights mater no end of course. Throw in a ridiculously silly fight sequence between Jimmers and an ersatz Andorian, and you've got a nice dollop of cheesiness to make the whole Spock-family-soap-opera that much tastier!

`Late

Star Trek: Tests of Courage (Star Trek (DC Comics)) 1563891514DC (Star Trek)

2005-10-22T13:15:00.000-07:00

Star Trek: Tests of Courage (Star Trek (DC Comics))

1563891514

DC Comics

01 January, 2001

The Quiet Place (Star Trek New Frontier, No 7)

067102079X

Star Trek

01 November, 1999

Keep your eyes on Xyon... and the Dogs of War... You will enjoy this novel. He's just like his father... but I won't give that away... and DO NOT AT ALL READ THE LAST PAGE OF THE NOVEL! I DID AND IT SPOILED THE EFFECT...

Just read the novel slowly and carefully and you will find he did a great job.

There are, basically, three ways to write a book that ends with "to be continued": One is to simply have a basic plotline that is larger than will fit in the page allotment for the book, and to stop before you're done. That was the method Peter David used in the first four books of this series; and I don't care for that method.

My preferred method is to have a complete story within the scope of each book, while various subplots from one book carry over into, and perhaps become the major focus of, later books. This is the method used by Peter David in books five and six of the series.

The third method is the one Peter David uses in this book, and while it isn't my preferred method, it is far preferable to the first method: to overshoot the ending of the story by a chapter, thus giving a teaser into the action for the next installment.

As with all of the books in this series, (and indeed, almost all Star Trek books by Peter David), this book has fascinating character development, a lively plot, and a good mix of drama and humor.

As is usual with this series, Peter David's writing is very strong. This is an intriguing and enthralling story, which like most, if not all of Peter David's stories, is a page turner that is very hard to put down. The premise: The Quiet Place, most of all, is the realization of Si Cwan's quest to find his sister. Previous New Frontier novels have established that Zoran, Si Cwan's childhood friend, turned traitor, had kidnapped and hidden his sister Kalinda. The Quiet Place begins with Kalinda, who doesn't know who she actually is, living on a backwater planet name Montos, going by the name of Riella. She's living with Malia, whom Riella (Kalinda), believes to be her mother. There are some very interesting scenes here.

We also meet Xyon who is an adventurous young man, who in his first chapter, is in a very dire situation. He's about to be put to death. As you read about Xyon, you almost get the impression you're reading about Captain Calhoun. We're then introduced to the Dogs of War. Only Peter David can convincingly create this warrior race of genetically engineered dogs and write them into a story so well. Throw in the Redeemers and what we have here is not only one of the best New Frontier novels written, this one falls into the category of one of the best Star Trek books ever written. As is usual with this wonderful series, it ends with the big bold To Be Continued..... This was of course preceded by a shocking discovery. Thank you very much to Peter David for this excellent addition to the New Frontier Series.

MINOR SPOILER - One note of interest, in past New Frontier novels, Peter David fairly well detailed the Redeemers as far as skin color, facial features and general demeanor. If I remember correctly, he had not talked much about their height. Somehow, I never figured the Redeemers to be somewhat similar to Star Wars Jawas, in height at least. It almost makes them sort of comical, whereas my previous impression of them had been of average to large bad guys. This almost makes them funny except that they have some personal abilities that more or less takes the humor right out of these little villains

Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual 0345340744Ballantine Books12 July, 1986This (Star Trek)

2005-10-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual

0345340744

Ballantine Books

12 July, 1986

This book, one I remember from my younger days, when TNG was in its prime and TOS was considered rather dated (well, at least in the small part of Ireland I was in) is a very important one, not just for the effect it had on Trek fans when it was first published, or for the differences between it and the post-movie era Paramount Trek universe, but also for the universe of game systems it helped inspire and (for the Federation) provide a reference point: the Star Fleet Universe series of games from Amarillo Design Bureau.

Ships such as the Saladin or Federation class ships, which never saw the light of day on a movie or TV screen, were brought to life on tabletops in Europe and North America, where they found entire fleets of alien races to match up against. The map of the Trusteeship territories and the borders of the Romulan and Klingon empires evolved into the strategic map in Federation and Empire, where one can control an entire star empire or even alliance of empires through peace and war.

And over twenty years after the publishing of the Manual, elements from the games it helped produce found their way into the Starfleet Command series of PC games, bringing a whole new generation of gamers into the alternate - but equally legitimate - universe of Star Trek which may not have happened, or would at least have looked rather different, had the Manual not been published (though the SFC designs were from the movie era, the ship designs and campaigns owe far more to the SFU than the Paramount one).

This Manual helped open the door to the Star Fleet Universe, and for this at least should be remembered.

Gary

This is the classic technical manual that inspired a whole generation of fans in the Trek-less time of the 1970's. It is hard to imagine how Franz Joseph could collect all the information and draw all the nifty schematics with ink only, without the help of a computer back in 1975. Showing phasers, communicators, tricorders, floor plans and even uniform patterns in such a great detail, this book is a treasure trove for any TOS fan. It is even more valuable considering that Franz Joseph had access to much of the actual blueprints and props which he transferred into drawings that are often more precise than those of the computer-age technical manuals. Only the quality of his starship drawings is lacking.

Being a true fan and knowing that the series wouldn't continue (at least not so soon), he carefully supplemented the information on screen with his own creations, such as the Articles of the Federation, flags and emblems of member worlds, a design for an orbital Starfleet Headquarters and his famous starships. This is where some sort of dispute is going on. Especially many older fans still regard the Star Fleet Technical Manual as canon, considering that Franz Joseph had Gene Roddenberry's support on it. Some time prior to TNG, they didn't get along with each other any longer, and it is said that Roddenberry intentionally laid out technical specs of TNG so as to devalue Franz Joseph's work - but this doesn't really belong here.

Well, while many of the ideas are very good, it is probably too late to regard this whole book as canon, because the speculation in it is already too detailed. Too much of it, such as the location of Starfleet Headquarters or the map of the galaxy, has been contradicted since. Some things, finally, are simply silly, like the electric circuit schematics or the emblem of the alien civilization of 61 Cygni that -what a coincidence- has a swan in it.

Anyway, The Star Fleet Technical Manual has more than only nostalgic merits. I was a bit skeptical and I waited a long time until I finally bought it only two years ago, but I wouldn't want to miss it.

Many, many moons ago, technical manuals and blueprints for Star Trek technology and ships were made solely by fans and found only at conventions or on the black market. This collection of material began as such a labor of love but ended up being published by Ballantine Books. Much of it (the Federation Constitution; the "offical" Starfleet color pallette; the Dreadnought, Scout, and Tug Class ships; the map of the Federation planets; the Starbase innards, etc.) is sheer speculation by Franz and nitpickers will remind you there are a number of errors in the canon material. But, in a day before there were 50 zillion Trek books and five different TV series on tape and DVD to use as reference, this book was fantastic. It made the TOS universe even more "real" and was the crowning glory of any Trek bookshelf. Fan models and props were built and painted based on the drawings and specs in this manual. Joseph's imagination and draftsmanship (remember, it's all drawn by hand) are impressive and this is a classic for Classic Trekkers.

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 25, Episodes 49 & 50; A Piece of the Action/ By Any Other Name

B00005BCK6

Paramount Studio

19 June, 2001

By Any Other Name-An average episode, this one sees the enterprise crew reduced to salt (Styrofoam?) crystals for future use by the colonization-bent Kelvans. As others have pointed out, this is an interesting episode in that it has two tones. The events of the first half are frightening (although not as eerily stylized as 3rd season shows), as Kirk seems powerless to prevent the Kelvans' cold blooded homicide and control of the Enterprise. The ominous sense that anything goes is augmented by the surprising turn of having a female crew member killed. The tone changes dramatically in the second half of the show though, as the remaining crew exploit the Kelvans' newfound emotions, with entertaining results. These scenes are not just entertaining, but also insightful; it reminds the viewer that much of our own (only semi-successful) acculturation is devoted to reigning in our emotions.

But one wonders whether the blend of the dark and the comic seen here was for the best; it still worked here to some extent, but the episode's schism is somewhat jarring, and we're not quite as able to go along with the blend as we were in say Friday's Child, or A Private Little War. Why? Because a growing lack of introspection was beginning to border on cynicism. Did this gradual moral drift taint the show? Certainly the shows were becoming more calloused, a process that would accelerate in season 3. Season 3 certainly had other problems, but I believe some of the roots of future problems can be found, ironically enough, even in some of the strong episodes from season 2.

But back to By Any Other Name. Other pluses include Kirk's willingness to forgive even a defeated and cruel foe. And don't forget the lovely Kelinda. (3 stars)

REVIEWED ITEM: Star Trek Original Series DVD Volume 25: A Piece of the Action / By Any Other Name

A PIECE OF THE ACTION PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The consequences of cultural contamination

Historical Milestone: Kirk `introduces' a few skells to the fictional card game `Fizzbin'

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: none

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
This is one of the series' most cheesy and fun-filled hours. It's rather apparent that Shatner had the time of his life playing the part of a stereotypical 20s/30s movie mobster. The combination of his legendary acting and the colorful mobster lingo make for some of the most amusing bits of Star Trek hamminess out there! Not to be outdone, Nimoy does an admirable job of playing the straight man to Jimmers' mafioso shenanigans! Makes ya wanna get on the blower and tell alla' yer trekkie buds all about it! Or maybe drive on over to their house in your flivver, and let `em in on the deal personally! That sound jake to ya, kid?

Notable guest star: the late Vic Tayback, best known on the sit-com `Alice' as the crusty diner owner/cook Mel, keeps the fun flowin' as Jojo Krako, the chief rival of main heavy Bela Oxmyx. I could almost see one of his molls turning to him and uttering, "kiss mah grits"!

BY ANY OTHER NAME PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:

Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The advantages and pitfalls of being human; human frailties and learning to control and deal with them

Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: One dead

REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
Ah, the ol' shrink-the-crew-down-into-weird-geometric-blocks episode... pure old-school Trek silliness! Throw in Mr. Scott gettin' hooched-up with one of the Enterprise crew's captors, and Jimmers seducing the alien babe-of-the-week (SURPRISE!) in order to regain control of his vessel from his captors, and you've got... well, nothin' you haven't seen before in previous old-school Trek eppies, really. Still, I find it entertaining in its own funny way, and by golly that's all that matters!

'Late

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 18, Episodes 35 (Star Trek)

2005-10-22T04:10:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 18, Episodes 35 & 36: The Doomsday Machine/ Wolf in the Fold

B00004Y630

Paramount Home Video

24 October, 2000

"The Doomsday Machine"

Writer Norman Spinrad had in mind a futuristic Moby Dick when he conjured up this story, though things didn't quite work out that way. The original idea was that the Enterprise would encounter an obsessive, Ahab-like captain whose Starfleet crew had been destroyed by a planet-killing robot ship, and who sought revenge by taking command of James T. Kirk's vessel for a private hunt. Alas, the tough-as-nails actor Robert Ryan proved unavailable for the guest spot, and Trek producers cast the more visibly vulnerable William Windom instead, softening the script accordingly. "The Doomsday Machine," as a result, falls short of its potential. The story still concerns the destruction of life aboard the starship Constellation and Kirk's inability to beam back aboard his own ship. But while a major conflict between Windom's unsteady character, Commodore Matt Decker, and that of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) for control of the Enterprise is entertaining enough, one yearns to see a real showdown. (In karmic terms, that face-off took place later in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, between then-Admiral Kirk and Decker's son, Captain Will Decker, played by Stephen Collins.) Also a little dubious is the tubular robot ship, which is supposed to look both mechanical and organic, yet resembles moldy cannoli. --Tom Keogh
"Wolf in the Fold"
A randy Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), and Scotty (James Doohan) take shore leave on planet Argelius II, a trip that becomes a nightmare when Scotty is suspected in a series of murders. From its opening scene featuring a seductive belly dancer to the ultimate revelation of the killer's identity, "Wolf in the Fold" has the aura of a psychological horror story. No wonder: the script is by Robert Bloch, author of the novel Psycho (basis for the Hitchcock film), who also came up with the idea of the Enterprise computers being overtaken by none other than Jack the Ripper. Actor John Fiedler, whose raspy, high-pitched voice is most familiar as the sound of Piglet in Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh, is very good as the ultra-annoying Hengist, a skeptical prosecutor out for Scotty's head. One of the few Trek episodes to focus on Scotty, "Wolf" is downright exotic at times in its spooky tone and depiction of the sensual life on Argelius II. (Director Joseph Pevney even spent some of Paramount's money getting a startling overhead shot of a séance.) Here's a weird factoid: Harlan Ellison, author of Trek's great "City on the Edge of Forever" episode, also once wrote a futuristic Jack-is-back story called (ta-da!) "City on the Edge of Tomorrow." --Tom Keogh
The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

The Doomsday Machine
Following a trail of debris and asteroids that are the planetary remains of Systems L370 through L374 the Starship Enterprise discovers the heavily damaged U.S.S. Constellation dead in space. Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and a damage control party beam over to the crippled starship to investigate the cause of its condition, they find the corridors littered with wreckage and debris as well as no one from the crew on board. The ship's phaser banks were completely exhausted and her warp drive was a hopeless pile of junk. Attempting to access the Constellation's computer logs in auxiliary control the landing party discovers the Constellation's commander, Commodore Matthew Decker. Decker relays a horrifying tale of a monstrous devil machine, which destroys planets by chopping them into rubble using a powerful anti-proton weapon. 

Analysis of the Constellation's log tapes by Mr. Spock revealed that the Constellation had encountered an automated weapon of immense size and power slicing up the 4th Planet of System L374 and was using the debris for fuel. The U.S.S. Constellation had attempted to stop the marauding machine but was heavily damaged in the fight, with the ship dead in space and unable to support the crew Decker ordered that they beam down to the relative safety of the 3rd Planet in System L374. With the Commodore the last person on the Constellation the machine suddenly appeared and destroyed the 3rd Planet totally annihilating Decker's crew, the shock of watching his entire crew die while he was helpless to save them sent Decker over the edge. Kirk theorized that the "Doomsday Machine" as he called it was built primarily as a bluff and was never meant to be used but was used in a war uncounted centuries ago something like the 20th Century's H-Bomb. 

Kirk orders McCoy and Decker to beam back to the Enterprise while he, Scotty and the damage control party stay on board the Constellation to get her ready to be towed to a repair facility. Decker's "Planet Killer" arrives just as McCoy and Decker beam over to the Enterprise, the machine attacks knocking out the Enterprise's transporter and stranding Kirk and the landing party aboard the derelict Constellation. The Enterprise suffers minor damage in the attack while the machine resumes its deadly original course right into the heart of the galaxy - the Rigel Colonies. Decker assumes command of the Enterprise from Spock and despite some colorful protests from Dr. McCoy, he orders the Enterprise to pursue and attack the Planet Killer before it can destroy the Rigel Colonies. Kirk and the damage control party work feverishly to restore the Constellation's main systems and her viewing screen in auxiliary control, the main screen is repaired and activated just in time for Kirk to see his ship attacking the Doomsday Device - the Enterprise's powerful weapons didn't even scratch the seemingly impenetrable neutronium outer hull of the Planet Killer.

The Enterprise takes a beating at the hands of the Planet Killer's main weapon which knocked out the starship's shields and caused multiple hull breaches and casualties. Spock manages to convince Decker that his course of action is foolhardy, reluctant; Decker orders the battered starship to veer off just as the machine traps the Enterprise with an extremely powerful tractor beam. Scotty manages to repair the Constellation's impulse drive and recharge one of her phaser banks, maneuvering the crippled ship into phaser range the Constellation is able to distract the Planet Killer there by releasing its hold on the Enterprise. After some assistance from Decker on the Enterprise both vessels manage to escape destruction.

Kirk finally managing to regain contact with the Enterprise orders Spock to take command from the obsessed and unstable Commodore. Decker relinquishing the bridge is ordered to be escorted to sickbay for an examination escorted by an Enterprise security officer. On the way to sickbay Decker overpowers his security escort and takes off for the hanger deck, reaching the shuttle bay he steals a shuttlecraft and heads for the Planet Killer. Kirk and Spock both attempt to convince the guilt ridden Decker to return to the Enterprise, Decker's feeling of guilt and sadness at the loss of his crew are too strong and he pilots the shuttle into the maw of the Doomsday Machine.

The shuttlecraft's explosion which caused a minute drop in the machine's power emanations gives Kirk an idea, having Scotty rig the Constellation's impulse engines to explode the ship is turned into a giant H-Bomb. Kirk's plan was to pilot the Constellation into the maw of the Planet Killer and detonate the impulse drive from the inside hopefully stopping the mechanical monster for good. The window of 30 seconds that the engines will explode after activating the countdown is very slim considering the fact that the Enterprise's transporter is not at 100% and therefore unreliable. Kirk decides to proceed despite the odds that are stacked against him. Scotty and the damage control party beam back to the Enterprise leaving Kirk alone on the Constellation, allowing him to complete final preparations before putting his plan into action. Scotty is able to repair the Enterprise's transporter and Kirk is transported off the Constellation just as the 97.835 megaton explosion created by the overloading impulse drive deactivates the Planet Killer.

One of Treks best, no question.

The Doomsday Machine-I've always felt this good episode, in which a(nother) deranged captain pursues a Doomsday Machine (flying doobie?), was a bit overrated. The episode certainly has its share of action, and thought provoking themes. The latter include the dangers of 1) technology and 2) hubris and obsession in the wake of a loss. One problem is that William Windom is no Gregory Peck; his Ahab is over the top. The episode is also somewhat sterile, with too much of the Doomsday Machine and the music that follows it everywhere. Yet even this monotony somehow adds tension as the show builds to its climax. A good episode, but somehow not quite as dramatic and momentous as it aims to be. (3.5 stars)
Wolf In The Fold-The `Jack the Ripper' episode is another action episode from the second season. The conclusion to the teaser is quite chilling, although the episode never quite reaches that pitch thereafter. The exotic pleasure palace and seance keep things going for a while, but much of the show is ultimately taken up by the `baton-passing' of Rejack. Once we know the episode's fairly compelling hook, there isn't much novelty even in Rejack's penultimate resting place.
This episode also was not the highpoint of gender sensitivity. `The Boys' are pretty glib in their loose talk at the beginning of the episode, and the violence towards women isn't treated as anything more than a plot device to get Scotty into trouble. On the other hand, the same could be said of most Star Trek violence towards MEN. There's no denying though that death was treated more lightly after the first season. Some second season episodes (Patterns of Force was the worst offender) stepped way over the line; the producers seemed to feel that as long as they didn't side with the bad guys (and they didn't) any subject could be treated, and in some cases treated lightly.) (3.5 stars)

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Seasons 1-7

B00062RCBW
Paramount Home Video
26 October, 2004
After Star Wars and the successful big-screen Star Trek adventures, it's perhaps not so surprising that Gene Roddenberry managed to convince purse string-wielding studio heads in the 1980s that a Next Generation would be both possible and profitable. But the political climate had changed considerably since the 1960s, the Cold War had wound down, and we were now living in the Age of Greed. To be successful a second time, Star Trek had to change too.
A writer's guide was composed with which to sell and define where the Trek universe was in the 24th Century. The United Federation of Planets was a more appealing ideology to an America keen to see where the Reagan/Gorbachev faceoff was taking them. Starfleet's meritocratic philosophy had always embraced all races and species. Now Earth's utopian history, featuring the abolishment of poverty, was brandished prominently and proudly. The new Enterprise, NCC 1701-D, was no longer a ship of war but an exploration vessel carrying families. The ethical and ethnical flagship also carried a former enemy (the Klingon Worf, played by Michael Dorn), and its Chief Engineer (Geordi LaForge) was blind and black. From every politically correct viewpoint, Paramount executives thought the future looked just swell!
Roddenberry's feminism now contrasted a pilot episode featuring ship's Counsellor Troi (Marina Sirtis) in a mini-skirt with her ongoing inner strengths and also those of Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and the short-lived Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). The arrival of Whoopi Goldberg in season 2 as mystic barkeep Guinan is a great example of the good the original Trek did for racial groups--Goldberg has stated that she was inspired to become an actress in large part through seeing Nichelle Nichols' Uhura. Her credibility as an actress helped enormously alongside the strong central performances of Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (First Officer Will Riker), and Brent Spiner (Data) in defining another wholly believable environment once again populated with well-defined characters. Star Trek, it turned out, did not depend for its success on any single group of actors.
Like its predecessor in the 1960s, TNG pioneered visual effects on TV, making it an increasingly jaw-dropping show to look at. And thanks also to the enduring success of the original show, phasers, tricorders, communicators and even phase inverters were already familiar to most viewers. But while technology was a useful tool in most crises, it now frequently seemed to be the cause of them too, as the show's writers continually warned about the dangers of over-reliance on technology (the Borg were the ultimate expression of this maxim). The word "technobabble" came to describe a weakness in many TNG scripts, which sacrificed the social and political allegories of the original and relied instead upon invented technological faults and their equally fictitious resolutions to provide drama within the Enterprise's self-contained society. (The holodeck's safety protocol override seemed to be next to the light switch given the number of times crew members were trapped within.) This emphasis on scientific jargon appealed strongly to an audience who were growing up for the first time in the late 1980s with the home computer--and gave rise to the clichéd image of the nerdy Trek fan.
Like in the original Trek, it was in the stories themselves that much of the show's success is to be found. That pesky Prime Directive kept moral dilemmas afloat ("Justice"/"Who Watches the Watchers?"/"First Contact"). More "what if" scenarios came out of time-travel episodes ("Cause and Effect"/"Time's Arrow"/"Yesterday's Enterprise"). And there were some episodes that touched on the political world, such as "The Arsenal of Freedom" questioning the supply of arms, "Chain of Command" decrying the torture of political prisoners and "The Defector", which was called "The Cuban Missile Crisis of The Neutral Zone" by its writer. The show ran for more than twice as many episodes as its progenitor and therefore had more time to explore wider ranging issues. But the choice of issues illustrates the change in the social climate that had occurred with the passing of a couple of decades. "Angel One" covered sexism; "The Outcast" was about homosexuality; "Symbiosis"--drug addiction; "The High Ground"--terrorism; "Ethics"--euthanasia; "Darmok"--language barriers; and "Journey's End"--displacement of Indians from their homeland. It would have been unthinkable for the original series to have tackled most of these.

TNG could so easily have been a failure, but it wasn't. It survived a writer's strike in its second year, the tragic death of Roddenberry just after Trek's 25th anniversary in 1991, and plenty of competition from would-be rival franchises. Yes, its maintenance of an optimistic future was appealing, but the strong stories and readily identifiable characters ensured the viewers' continuing loyalty. --Paul Tonks
I purchased the whole 7 seasons and so far I love it however there is a problem with one of the DVD's. On the 4th season, the 1st DVD, the episode of "The Family", the program continually freezes through out the whole episode. There is no one to contact to find out if this happened on all the DVDs that were made. The set was brand new and still sealed so it had to have left the factory that way. In the future someone needs to have a contact address or number for situations like this so any problems can be resolved.

What is there to say. If you are a treki then its a guarenteed enjoy. everything is nicely packed in season by season boxes. Really liked the tracking system while it was being shipped too.

This will be not so much of a review of this specific DVD set as a general review of the actual TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" itself. Keep that in mind as you read further. I say that because for potential buyers, DVD extras might influence one to spend the rather hefty bucks being asked to own the whole show, even though a lot of episodes in the final years are really not that good, in my view. 

The first 3 years of this 7 year long series are undoubtedly the best in my opinion, though there still WERE a few great episodes scattered among the final four years. All things considered, this was undoubtedly one of the best sci-fi shows ever, period, but in general, the longer it ran, the worse it got.

This decades in coming spinoff to the original Kirk-Spock version truly holds its own, and in many ways, exceeds the late 60's series, if only in that in a seven year run, there were simply more GOOD episodes than were seen in its genesis. Still, there are many, many BAD ST:TNG episodes, or poor/below average, and it all came down to the writing. The technical attributes (special effects/sets/production values) and achievements of the show were far beyond the original Star Trek series however, and remained consistently excellent throughout its entire run. A minor carp in this was the seeming "video to film" nature of the SFX, but still, most of it was done excellently. 

Still, one has to wonder if the original Star Trek series had 7 years, instead of 3, whether the original would've been better than ST:TNG. And there were the first four excellent feature films based upon the original, which might even things out in general when comparing the two versions overall. 

ST:TNG, as was the original series, was best when it stuck to the opening credits, "...To seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldy go where nobody has gone before..." In other words, episodes dealing with the "unknown" out there deep in space, were always high points for this series.

Sadly, great and original and mind-blowing sci-fi ideas were confined to only a small portion of the ST: TNG series as a whole, especially in the last four years. As with the awful (imho) followup series "Deep Space Nine" and "Enterprise," too often, Star Trek: The Next Generation sunk into meaningless, boring, and trivial stories about Troi's mother or Worf's son. Such became merely sci-fi soap opera and did NOT live up to the potential of this series shown during the early years. There were also completely silly and boring, waste of time episodes involving android Mr. Data (ironically, the most interesting and compelling character on the show) playing Sherlock Holmes or other members of the cast in similar "Holodeck" created, mundane and indulgent, unimaginative "period" stories, most of which were dull and uninspiring. 

Again, the best moments of this particular series dealt with the WRITING and with IDEAS. Some were quite mindblowing and deserving of much thinking and afterthought, like "Tin Man," and "Remember Me." Others, which again dealt with long, silly episodes involving Troi's mother or Worf's son, or many of the Klingon dominated shows full of ridiculous and long-winded Klingon traditions and "culture," were and still are, rather lame.

Overall, I would break this series down as follows:

10 percent Excellent shows
20 percent Very good shows
40 percent Acceptable shows
20 percent Poor shows
10 percent Very poor shows

When the writing was true to Gene Roddenberry's original vision, and when he was still alive and basically in control of the show, ST:TNG was the golden age of anything and everything STAR TREK. Though spinoffs "Deep Space" and "Enterprise" were and always will remain comparatively bad to me, "Star Trek: Voyager" for awhile was pretty good and the reason again was because it stuck to the theme of "strange new worlds" and "exploration" of the unknown. This has always been true of any good sci-fi, and when this show stuck to that idea, it was great. When it sunk into sci-fi soap opera instead however, it was pretty much a waste of time. Unfortunately, in the last few years, this was the case more often than not. 

All in all, because in general, MOST supposed "sci-fi" TV series efforts have been pretty awful, with some noted exceptions like "Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits," while I'd like to give this ENTIRE series overall a 3 rating, I'll be generous here and give it a 4. This is simply because the truly great, original and thought-provoking episodes of ST:TNG more than make up for the too numerous Troi's mother/Worf's son type episodes, the ones in other words, where the writers and producers were obviously just "phoning it in."

Rosetta (Star Trek: Enterprise) 1416509569Star Trek31 January, 2006 Star Trek (Star Trek)

2005-10-21T23:07:00.000-07:00

Rosetta (Star Trek: Enterprise)

1416509569
Star Trek
31 January, 2006

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 9, Episodes 17 & 18: Shore Leave/ The Squire of Gothos

6305754993
Paramount Studio
21 March, 2000
Volume 9 of Paramount's DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes "Shore Leave," written by a literary giant in science fiction, Theodore Sturgeon. The story concerns a break in the action for the Enterprise crew, nearly all of whom beam down to the surface of an Eden-like planet for shore leave, where they find that everyone's wish comes true. Individuals from crew members' pasts turn up, fantasies of romance or heroism are instantly realized--and if it all seems too good to be true, it is. In time, the dark side of this dream shows itself when people start getting killed. This episode emerges from the trippier side of Star Trek's personality, and very cleverly sheds light on the personalities of the show's major characters by making their dreams manifest.
Also on this disc is a real treat for long-haul Trekkers: "The Squire of Gothos," an entertaining program in its own right and the obvious blueprint for "Encounter at Farpoint," Gene Roddenberry's pilot episode for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Guest star William Campbell plays Trelane, a bratty, impulsive alien given to wearing costumes appropriate for an 18th-century French aristocrat. Equipped with godlike powers that allow him to alter and manipulate the world around him, Trelane is the prototype of The Next Generation's beloved quasi villain, Q (John de Lancie). Like Q, Trelane regards the crew of the Enterprise as playthings, and when Captain Kirk (William Shatner) disrupts his games, the omniscient boy-man puts humanity itself on trial. Great stuff. --Tom Keogh
The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Great! Would buy from this seller again. Rec'd order in reasonable time.

Shore Leave-I find this episode, in which anything that pops into one's mind is almost immediately realized, to be funny, entertaining, and original. Certainly much of the material is very hoaky, but it's never good to watch Trek with too critical an eye. This episode's premise also introduced a flexibility which helped flesh out some of the characters. Examples include the look at Kirk's academy days and McCoy's waggish ways with the ladies here. Overall, an off-beat and upbeat tone prevails, despite the episode's substantial (if temporary) negative twist. (4 stars)
The Squire of Gothos-Another bizarre and campy episode, this one features a spoiled child who has designed himself a baroque castle. Like the former episode, this one presents us with a phantasmagoria of seemingly random, if stereotypical, scenarios. The tone is more ominous here, however, thanks in large part to some well-conceived shots (such as the shadow of the noose during Kirk's trial). The castle's blend of gilded glitz with incomplete realization increase the sense of unreality.
Unlike later shows (most notably 3rd season ones), the unreality here is not dreamlike however. There is a sharpness about this episode; the dialogue is literal and more crisp than in most 3rd season shows, which often felt more detached non-commital and ambivalent, while being softer-edged and more atmospheric.
Campbell, who later returned for The Trouble With Tribbles also gives a strong performance. After a while the gags start to lose their novelty though, and the episode seems to struggle to fill time. Another possible critique (although it doesn't really bother me) is that the episode ultimately doesn't have a lot to say. Still most of us, at some point in our lives, have had the experience of having to jump through hoops at another's whim; there isn't always a lot of meaning behind that either. (3 stars)

Spectre (Star Trek) 0671008803Star Trek01 April, 1999This is my absolute (Star Trek)

2005-10-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Spectre (Star Trek)

0671008803
Star Trek
01 April, 1999

This is my absolute favorite in Shatner's Trek series. "Spectre" is the first book in what would become the "Mirror Universe" Trilogy. You see the return of Tiberius and Spock's mirror-self from the TOS episode "Mirror, Mirror".

What makes this book so interesting is that you find out what has happened in the mirror universe after Kirk and his crew left. And let's just say that things have taken a turn for the worse. Tiberius has a partner, none other than Picard's mirror self. Kirk discovers again that his worst enemy is in fact himself. A great read indeed!

I enjoyed the TOS,TNG,Voyager & Mirror crossovers in this story quite a bit! Was suprised at the love of Kirk's life being of Klingon/Romulan heritage concidering his history with them. I guess it show's even Kirk's never to old to chnge for the better,huh?
I couldn't help saying "Oh, that's cold!" with the way it end's (in being a cliff hanger). Look forward to finding the next book in this story.

Only someone closely affiliated with Star Trek can truely write a story fans would love and adore and that's exactly what William Shatner has done. Well done and keep it up! We can't have another series, or film, with the original team in, so books will have to suffice.

William uses his knowledge of James T and crew and goes further than any series. It's just a shame TV and Film will never equal the descriptive stories of his books. The human mind is a powerful tool and the images it creates are unequal to any screen visualists' power. Star Trek - Live Long and Prosper!

Star Trek Deep Space Nine - The Complete Sixth Season

B00008KA58
Paramount Home Video
04 November, 2003
Deep Space Nine's sixth season began ambitiously with a six-part story arc devoted to the Dominion War. This was a brave move in many ways, but a sensible one too. Whereas other sci-fi shows wouldn't commit to showing the impact of war (e.g., Babylon 5), here there were numerous visible sacrifices. Characters were frequently kidnapped and held prisoner, allowing screen time for other members of the ever-growing cast (at its peak there were as many as 18 individuals with speaking roles per episode). This year also introduced the idea of Starfleet Intelligence and its sinister Section 31; alliances were built only to crumble almost immediately; Sisko led a suicide mission and at long last his destiny as the Emissary took a serious turn.

Amid all this sturm und drang the writers felt it necessary to inject some levity. In fact, there was so much comedic sidetracking this year it actually seemed as if they were afraid of the series' dark tone. Witness: Quark undergoing a temporary sex change, leading a Magnificent Seven-style band of Ferengi (with a cameo from Iggy Pop), Morn's nonspeaking character being sorely missed, the blend of Troi and Guinan into '60s crooner Vic Fontaine, and, in one fan favorite episode ("Far Beyond the Stars"), Sisko having visions of himself and the crew as 1950s staff writers on pulp magazine Incredible Tales. There were also cute reconciliations among Worf's extended family (leading to Trek's first cast wedding), and even the revelation of Bashir's genetically enhanced origins quickly became a subject for easy jokes.

Any of these events would have been satisfactorily cute if the war had ended and the show had moved on. But it confused the viewer when every so often the battle would be rejoined mid-episode. The clinching proof that no grand design was really at work was in the sudden exit of Dax. Despite all the jarring humor scattered about after the strong opening, the show seemed unable to avoid reverting to shock tactics for its finale. All of which hardly made the promised final year seem a particularly enticing prospect. --Paul Tonks
Nominated for 28 Emmys, including several for Outstanding Visual Effects, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine continues the rich tradition of the original 1960s Star Trek franchise. Created by former L.A. police officer Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek TV series morphed into a franchise famous for the unprecedented fanatical devotion of its audience. Lasting only three seasons during its original network run, Star Trek struck gold with its syndicated reruns, launching a number of motion pictures featuring the original cast as well as novels, comic books, collectibles, and reams of Star Trek-related memorabilia. Following on the heels of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), the first Star Trek series spin-off of the original, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine foreshadowed additional spin-offs - Star Trek: Voyager (1995), and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001). Sporting an entirely new cast and crew from its two predecessors, the show focuses on a particular system administered by the Federation instead of the usual Star Trek mission of "exploring strange new worlds"...

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine follows the exploits of the Starfleet crew aboard an abandoned and gutted Cardassian space station orbiting the planet of Bajor. In the aftermath of Cardassian occupation, the Bajorian government invited the Starfleet to oversee the reconstruction of the space station. Deep Space Nine quickly transformed into a teeming city of commerce and a hub for travel (similar to Babylon 5) thanks to the discovery of an unknown wormhole nearby. But the wormhole leads to the Gamma Quadrant, realm of the feared Dominion alliance, which views the wormhole travelers as a threat to its totalitarian grip on power. As such, the Dominion launches an attack against the Federation and its Klingon allies. The subsequent and ongoing war is the basis for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine...

Capt. Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) is credited with discovering the wormhole, and he oversees the crew of Deep Space Nine as they wage battle to preserve the Federation. Ironically, his colleague, Constable Odo (Rene Auberjonois), is a Changeling - an alien race of "shapeshifters" who lead the Dominion's united front. Together with the rest of the crew aboard Deep Space Nine, they struggle with internal and external conflicts that threaten to destroy their very way of life...

The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 6) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "A Time to Stand" in which Sisko is relieved of his command of the Defiant. With Deep Space Nine having been abandoned to the Dominion, the Federation is on the verge of losing the war. Sisko is placed in command of a captured Jem'Hadar spaceship and tasked with a dangerous mission which jeopardizes the lives of everyone onboard... Other notable episodes from Season 6 include "Statistical Probabilities" in which the crew must analyze the probably of a desirable outcome from the proposed peace treaty with the Dominion, and "Time's Orphan" in which Molly O'Brien wanders into a vortex that sends her centuries into the past, but when the crew retrieves her, it's an older version of Molly... 

Below is a list of episodes included on the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (Season 6) DVD:

Episode 125 (A Time to Stand)
Episode 126 (Rocks and Shoals)
Episode 127 (Sons and Daughters)
Episode 128 (Behind the Lines)
Episode 129 (Favor the Bold)
Episode 130 (Sacrifice of Angels)
Episode 131 (You are Cordially Invited...)
Episode 132 (Resurrection)
Episode 133 (Statistical Probabilities)
Episode 134 (The Magnificent Ferengi) 
Episode 135 (Waltz)
Episode 136 (Who Mourns for Morn?)
Episode 137 (Far Beyond the Stars)
Episode 138 (One Little Ship)
Episode 139 (Honor Among Thieves)
Episode 140 (Change of Heart)
Episode 141 (Wrongs Darker than Death or Night)
Episode 142 (Inquisition)
Episode 143 (In the Pale Moonlight)
Episode 144 (His Way)
Episode 145 (The Reckoning)
Episode 146 (Valiant)
Episode 147 (Profit and Lace)
Episode 148 (Time's Orphan)
Episode 149 (The Sound of Her Voice)
Episode 150 (Tears of the Prophets)

The DVD Report

Before you go laundering how great DS9 is I think you should watch B5 from season 1-5, then you release that DS9 is a copy.

For example from seasons 1-4 the programme was about finding all the missing Bajoran orbs, but after season 4 nothing is metioned of it, yes we have The Dominion War, and that was good, but then we have Bajoran profits vs Pi raths (or DS9's response to Shadows v Vorlons) section 31 (DS9's version of Nightwatch) not only was the change of direction bland, but it completly ruined the complex of the story!!!

Compared to B5 this is B side material, thank God it gets the recognition it deserves now, B5 showed the way forward and Star Trek ok maybe it adapted, but why this series, and it ruined it so much, the characters seemed to become different overnight, example Odo and Kira (DS9's Sheridan & Delenn) all of a sudden fall in love with out any incling (from season 4, Odo is suddenly in love with Kira, although previously in other seasons there seemed no chemistry)

Not to say there aren't good moments, the recapture of DS9 is great, and the death of Dax is a superb episode, and The Worf and Dax love relationship is the only one that I feel truely had any chemistry (Worf entered in season 4, hmmm I wonder???)

I actually really like Star Trek, I think TNG is the best series, followed by TOS, then Voyager (up till series 5, then it became Porno in space), DS9 (especially seasons 3 and 4), and then the real porno in space Enterprise!!!!


You just can't get much better than this from ANY Star Trek series ... and I am a diehard fan who grew up watching the original in syndication (was born in 1973 -- lol), The Next Generation (which is also fabulous, but still not as good as Deep Space 9), Voyager and Enterprise. 

Season 6 & 7 are darker than dark. Due to the Dominion War you see a transformation in the characters that is perfect. By the time you end out the season and the complete DS9 series, you know so much about these characters that they feel like family! 

You get to see how the war is taking its toll on the Captain and its crew when all their colleagues are coming home in body bags, you see how 1 lone alien who is part of the race who started the Dominion war struggles with what his people are doing then is inflicted with a deadly disease by a secret section of The Federation (the infamous SECTION 31, lol) to wipe out the Dominion aliens; You see how Captain Sisko's connection to the religion that adopted him (since he was never religious until he came to DS9) builds and plays a huge role in his life and where the path of The Prophets lead him. 

You see how Gul Dukat (former glorious military leader of Cardassia, now cast out and shamed) becomes mad and starts to lose himself and his mind in the evil religion of the people he helped to occupy and destroy (Bajorins and the occupation of Bajor); his closest aid (Gul Damar) changes from a proud soldier of Cardassia under Gul Dukat's rule, to a Dominion collaborator, to a freedom fighting revolutionary against the Dominion and ultimately a war hero to his people. 

I could go on and on and on ... There is so much depth in the later seasons of Deep Space 9 that you could drown.

Seasons 6 & 7 are fabulous ... even if you purchase them on their own without the rest of the seasons (although not quite sure other than money why you'd do that).

I've said it to my friends before and I will say it to Amazon readers now -- there is absolutely no way that DS9 should not be considered the best Star Trek series of all the Star Trek series! I love them all, but *HANDS DOWN* DS9 * IS * THE * BEST. If you are not engulfed by this series then you just don't like dark dramas. I've heard a lot of TNG fans rag on DS9. There are some major differences between them, one being that the TNG crew is constantly moving and the DS9 crew is stationary. You know what I think? The writing had to be deeper and more involved on DS9 because of the very fact that the crew was stationary -- -- I'm sure it was a much greater challenge to write for them. 

You TNG fans... Don't rag on DS9!! You cannot compare apples to oranges. Have faith in the Prophets... They will guide you!! LOL ;)

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 13, Episodes 25 (Star Trek)

2005-10-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 13, Episodes 25 & 26: This Side of Paradise/ The Devil in the Dark

6305910448
Paramount Home Video
11 July, 2000
The Vulcan-born first officer of The Enterprise, Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), generally smiles about as often as Greta Garbo. But in "This Side of Paradise," Spock not only smiles but laughs, dangles from a tree, kisses a good-looking blonde woman, and gets into a fight with his best friend. It all starts when Spock, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Sulu (George Takei), and a couple of crew members beam down to Omicron Ceti III to find out what happened to a group of scientists who built a research colony on the planet. What they discover is a little spooky. The colonists claim they've created a true paradise where everyone is part of a collective mind bent on positivity. Kirk, naturally, argues that paradise robs people of their need to suffer and crawl toward progress.
Meanwhile, Spock is zapped by an exotic flower that is the real source of all this community goodwill, and he instantly gets happy, acting like a kid, renewing a romance with a comely biologist (an angelic Jill Ireland), and giving the sputtering Kirk an earful of entertaining insubordination. Story editor D.C. Fontana's script contains some obvious parallels between a chemically induced "paradise" and a drug-induced high in the 1960s. But the real draw here is Spock's uncharacteristic joy and the drama behind Kirk's shattering decision to break his friend's heart.
"Devil in the Dark" opens with an emergency on Janus VI, a planet rich in raw materials crucial to the running of Federation operations. There's a lot of money to be made by the mining contractor involved, but a swift, unseen monster is roaming the snaky tunnels of Janus's interior, turning miners into acid-drenched goo. It's up to the Enterprise crew to find the alien culprit and defuse the lynch-mob mentality spreading among the paranoid working stiffs there. Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) beam down to initiate the detective work, leading Spock to quickly conclude that the thousands of silicone balls mysteriously strewn about the planet's deepest level might have something to do with the reasons behind the atrocities.
Written by series guru Gene L. Coon and directed by mainstay Joseph Pevney (who alternated directorial chores with Marc Daniels during the show's second season), "The Devil in the Dark" is a breathlessly paced episode reflecting a delightful variety of cross-genre influences--Westerns, creature-features, gritty noir. Add one of the most effective and moving instances of the Enterprise's search for new life on Star Trek (plus McCoy's infamous complaint, "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer!"), and this is a memorable program indeed. --Tom Keogh
The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

"This Side of Paradise" - 3.865 stars
(a.k.a., "James T. Kirk: Wet Blanket")
"For the first time in my life, I was happy" - so says Mr. Spock, when asked to comment upon his experience on Omicron Ceti III. Of course, the duty-bound Joe Friday of space, Captain Kirk, would have none of this nonsense. Perfect health? Bah! Peace? Hooey! Love? He'd rather fight than switch. What a creep. "Man was meant to struggle" Kirk/Friday somberly intones, perfectly embodying the hair shirt anti-pleasure ethic. Living in harmony with nature and one another bad; tearing up the landscape to "accomplish" (i.e., build more starships to endlessly repeat the process) good.
Don't ever invite this guy to a party, unless you want it to end.
"The Devil in the Dark"- 2.135 stars
(a.k.a., "Super Smackdown with The Rock")
Our heroes are summoned to a Federation mining operation on Janus VI that is being troubled by one man-eating monster, and quite a few bad actors. Well, they've got quotas to meet, mister, and production is suffering. Who cares about environmental rape - hey, that's what other planets are for! Shoes for industry! The creature looks like a heapin' helpin' of Hamburger Helper dumped on a chenille rug, and man is it ticked off. Good thing Spock can connect because, unlike most of the other aliens in the Star Trek universe, it's English-speaking skills are lacking.
It's writing skills, however, are surprisingly good.

This Side of Paradise-Yet another excellent episode, this one concerns a planet where plant spores have caused an epidemic of joyful inebriation. Like many of the best early shows, the slow pacing here allows a sense of mystery to develop before the hook is revealed to us. This is one of the more convincing of the 'Enterprise in danger' episodes, but it is more than that. The plot device enables several crew members to flesh out their characters, most notably Leonard Nimoy. It is difficult not to feel angry at Kirk as he goads Spock with racial slurs, even as we understand why he says what he does. Certainly the conflict between the happiness provided by drugs and alcohol on the one hand vs. their 'unnatural' tendency to hinder personal development and achievement is as resonant today as it was in 1967. (4.5 stars)
Devil In the Dark-Yet another in the string on winning episodes, this one concerns a conflict between miners and a silicon-based life form. This unusual episode has a strong element of suspense, since we are not only trying to figure out just what's happening, but also worried about what lurks in the dark tunnels. The episode is more than just suspenseful though. Themes explored include the rights of all creatures to survival, and the mammal bias inherent in our notions of both ugliness and maternal love. Star Trek must have been one of the first shows to devote so much thought to ecological/environmental questions, which like so many themes explored by Star Trek has only grown in importance. More research is of course devoted today than ever before to boundary conflicts, and more generally to finding ways to balance our human resource needs with the survival of other species.
Tidbit: William Shatner's father died during the production of this episode. (4.5 stars)

Restoration (Star Trek New Frontier: Excalibur, Book 3)

0671042432
Star Trek
31 October, 2000

Peter David writes extraordinarily well, and the characters in this series are quite enjoyable. But his tendancy to have all books in the series end on cliffhangers has been annoying from the very beginning of this series; this book, while it actually has an ending for a change, outdoes even his usual style in that the cliffhanger ending from the previous book isn't even ADDRESSED until 284 pages into this one, and then the tale is told retrospectively. If you don't dislike the classic movie serial storylines that have neither beginning nor ending to call their own, you'll doubtless enjoy this book. If, like me, you believe that a novel may have carryover subplots, but that the main plot should begin and end in the same book, you will find that aspect of this book to be a major distraction from a very good storyline.

Overall, I'd say that Peter David set this trilogy up perfectly, with the first two books covering the crew and everything they went through after the destruction of Excalibur and this last, exceptionally outstanding novel "Restoration," covering mostly Shelby and her command of Exeter and what happened to Captain Calhoun.
The one thing I never truly expected in the New Frontier series was a western which is exactly what you get in Captain Calhoun's story and it is written very well, reminding one of days gone by reading Louis L'Amour classics. Shelby's story is just as interesting as you see her going through some angst during her first command.
As is usual with Peter David's writing, "Restoration" is another fine example of some the best writing in the Star Trek universe from one of Star Trek's finest authors. You'll find that this novel is a quick read given the high level of intrigue, humor and overall feel of the novel.
The cover art is among the best in the New Frontier series. What's most interesting about this novel, both in the hardback and paperback versions is the Star Trek New Frontier Minipedia which covers all of the significant and not so significant people, places, and events from the very first New Frontier novel to "Restoration."
The premise:
During the first two books of this series we were lead to believe that Captain Calhoun sacrificed himself in an incredible attempt to get everybody off of Excalibur as it was in the middle of a warp core breach. What would the New Frontier series be without its brazen captain though and we soon find out what happened.
Captain Mackenzie Calhoun finds himself stranded on a pre warp planet and no way to communicate with Starfleet and in the middle of great "western" style story. He soon finds himself living with Rheela who has a very special gift and her son Moke.
Captain Elizabeth Shelby is now in command of Exeter and on a mission to invite a new planet into the United Federation of Planets but they soon find that this may not be as easy as it was originally thought it would be.
Here's where Peter David's superior talents as an author strike you, when he ties in the first two novels and ties in this trilogy with another series of Star Trek novels and throughout this series he brings in some great "guest" characters.
Not only do I highly recommend this New Frontier Excalibur trilogy but I highly recommend the entire Star Trek New Frontier series. You will be hard pressed to find such fresh, innovative, intriguing and humorous stories within the other series. {ssintrepid}

This novel is clearly the finale of the Excalibur trilogy, so I started it with the hope of finally learning what happened to Calhoun. Did he really survive the explosion as one could surmise after Peter David's subtle hints and his refusal to go into details about the events shortly before the disaster? Well, if you want to know the same thing you won't be disappointed. The veil of mystery is lifted in "Restoration" as we do indeed learn that Calhoun is one of those Star Trek captains that manage to survive against impossible odds (and be honest: How could New Frontier continue without this extraordinary man who is so much more than just a captain?). The book is (as the previous two have also been) split into a couple of parallel stories. There's Calhoun, marooned on an unknown planet, quickly getting involved in the almost medieval actions of the indigenous populace against a woman with a curious gift... The second story focuses on Captain (!) Shelby, newly assigned to the starhip Exeter who struggles to feel comfortable in the role fate has cast her and to come to terms with the loss of Calhoun...
I won't say more about the contents here, you have to read for yourselves. I still don't feel at ease with his splitting of stories, though. Possibly designed to keep the suspense I still find it faintly annoying to be always yanked out of one story to be thrust into the next one - and back again. It just disrupts the flow one can get so quickly into - anyway, the language itself is fluent as usual, the events lead so smoothly into one another, that each chapter is a pure pleasure to read.
To put it in a nutshell: I loved the book. I hated the ending (that's why there are only four stars). Let me just say that I do enjoy happy endings - they simply have to be plausible. This one, sadly, is not. Too swift, too nice - in my opinion, not the way that Calhoun would act, even considering all that happened on that planet, and especially his resolutions concerning Shelby. It just didn't feel right.
Nevertheless, this one is worth a read!

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 11, Episodes 21 (Star Trek)

2005-10-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 11, Episodes 21 & 22: Tomorrow is Yesterday/ The Return of the Archons

B00004SPYL
Paramount Home Video
23 May, 2000
Volume 11 in the classic Star Trek series on DVD contains the delightful episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday," a time-travel story with an infectious blend of suspense and humor. After dropping into a black hole, the Enterprise ends up orbiting the Earth in the late 1960s, and is spotted by U.S. Air Force Captain Christopher (Roger Perry), who happens to be flying by in his jet. Inadvertently giving poor Christopher an unwanted glimpse into the future, and wrecking his jet with an overpowering tractor beam, Capt. Kirk (William Shatner), not having a good day, beams him aboard the Federation starship. The collision of sensibilities and reference points between characters born several centuries apart has a fresh, urgent tone that subsequent Star Trek series have never captured (though Deep Space Nine came close with its dazzling episode "Trials and Tribble-ations"). The problem, of course, is what to do about Christopher now that he knows what he knows, and history demands that he stay put in his own world: the pilot's unborn son, it seems, will one day make a space flight of historic importance. Terrifically entertaining and something of a precedent-setter for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (the theatrical feature set in contemporary San Francisco), "Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is Trek at its best.
Also on this disc is "Return of the Archons," a cautionary story about mind control written by Gene Roddenberry. The tale begins when Ensign Sulu (George Takei) is taken hostage on an Earth-like planet with a primitive culture. Zapped by a weapon that leaves him under the control of someone or something named Landru, Sulu is then pursued by Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who discover that Landru has the same grip on everyone else. Once Landru becomes aware of efforts by the captain and first officer to interfere with its bidding, Kirk and Spock become the target of a massive hunt by locals. A minor episode with a somewhat obvious scenario, "Return of the Archons" does have novel appeal in its heightened role for the ever-charming Sulu, and in Roddenberry's characteristically humane interest in elements that make people (and intelligent aliens) everywhere free to fulfill their destinies. The solution to the who-is-Landru mystery won't surprise anyone, but it may strike you as a prototype of several future episodes, from all the Trek series, involving centralized caretaking on various planets. --Tom Keogh
The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Tomorrow Is Yesterday is one of the best time-travel episodes in all of Trek. It follows all the warnings and some of the potential benfits any time travel story has to reckonize. Too bad they didn't make it the second half of a two-parter along with The Naked Now. I have to give credit where it's due. Leonard Nimoy made this point back on the Sci-Fi Channels Star Trek: Special Edition (back in '99 I think). Anyway, I never forgot the connection of two great stories.
Maybe Return Of The Archons isn't near the top of anybody else's list but I think it's underrated. The story takes on a great number of ideas, from "arrested society" to "technological domination". Despite its flaws it tells a good story. My favorite gaff is the feeling of discontinuity, or was it bad editing?
I always saw this episode as a 'Spock like computer' forcing its' logic on the 'emotional inhabitants' who probably would have destroyed themselves otherwise. This to me explains the 6:00 pm mayhem of the people and shows one of the flaws in machines ruling mankind (machines expecting humans to behave like machines). Remember this the next time you find yourself at a drive-thru ATM. Who's the boss?

Great! Would buy from this seller again, rec'd order in reasonable time.

Imzadi Forever (Star Trek)

0743485106
Star Trek
02 December, 2003

If you have "Imzadi" and "Imzadi II" .. there's no need to waste your money. I hate getting ripped off by authors and publishers!

I was expeting this book to be a continuation of the Imzadi story line. If you've never read either Imzadi or Triangle, you are in for a treat. If you have read them, nothing new here, except for the name and the cover. Too bad, the story line has great potential for a continuation.

If you have already read Imzadi & Triangle: Imazdi 2, then there is very little new in this edition (a 2 page intro & a 5 page interview)
If you have never read the first two, then you will really enjoy 2 great books from one of my favorite Star Trek authors.

STAR TREK: AVENGER CASSETTE (Star Trek: All) 0671575244Audioworks01 May, 1997Star (Star Trek)

2005-10-21T04:09:00.000-07:00

STAR TREK: AVENGER CASSETTE (Star Trek: All)

0671575244
Audioworks
01 May, 1997

Star Trek "Avenger" is a good conclusion to William Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens first Star Trek trilogy that spans well over a century of "Star Trek" time. The first two, "The Ashes of Eden" and "The Return" were absolutely phenomenal in so much as telling a good story about Captain Kirk just before the events of Star Trek "Generations" and after the events of that movie with his return from the dead in "The Return" bringing this compelling character back to Star Trek readers if not moviegoers.
The one unfortunate aspect of "Avenger" is that while it is a very good novel it doesn't quite live up to its two predecessors. The story in and of itself is a pretty good one, it just reaches into some areas of Star Trek that leaves one wondering where the authors were going; by that I mean in the areas where the dialogue more or less puts Captain Kirk in such a glorious light and in doing so demeaning such STNG icons as Captain Picard and Commander Riker. That being said, the overall story is still a very good one where all three authors deftly put together a truly good story that is in good fashion in Gene Roddenberry's universe. The pacing of the novel is exceptional and the overall plot set up and execution is well on the mark.
The cover art for "Avenger" is pretty much more of the same bland stuff that was very typical of Star Trek novels at the time of its publishing.
The Premise:
In true Star Trek style and fashion, William Shatner and the Stevens brought together a story that clearly ties up many of the loose ends set up in the first two novels and set up a reunion between Captain Kirk and Spock. The two storied heroes eventually come together when Captain Kirk, long thought to be dead, sets out to discover the source of a lethal virus that is destroying crops all over the Federation causing famine throughout the Federation with the situation worsened by over population. At the same time, Spock returns home to Vulcan to investigate whether his father died of natural causes or could there have been foul play involved. Both investigations lead them into a long awaited reunion that is told extremely well...
What follows is an exceptionally well written novel with only few technical errors that aren't too difficult to overcome. Overall, I would highly recommend this and the first two novels in this, the first Shatner/Stevens trilogy to any and all fans of good Star Trek fiction! {ssintrepid}

For all those complaining that this book is self-serving on Shatner's part, realize this book is about KIRK and SPOCK, not about the Next Generation!!! That said, Shatner writes the BEST Trek books, no doubt. Although RETURN is my true favorite, this one still weaves a good tale, and includes all the best characters. Yeah, I love Shatner, so I may already be a little prejudice in regards to other STAR TREK characters, but to be honest, KIRK was the smartest captain. Kirk was the strongest, coolest, toughest and perhaps, THE BEST! And with that, I recommend this book to any fan of the STAR TREK continuum...

This is real good ST and real good Sci-Fi. Lets see, Picard is what, about 50, Ricker about 19 and Data 8 years old. Alone come Captain Kirk, who has been in star fleet for 100 years, spock 150 year and Shatner (WHO IS KirK!!!) is attacked for writing a book where Kirk and Spock outshine Picard. Why Shatner haters even read Shatner books (maybe they don't?). I know why they should read this one. Even if you hate Shatner, this is a good stuff. Shatner and his friends, and I don't care how much Shatner actually writes, tell good stories. I wish they would keep writing ST books and include the characters from DS9, TNG and Voyager. Maybe even get caught in a time warp and go back to visit Capt. Archer.
Also, Picard thinks enough of Kirk that he went into the stream to get him, an event that ended in kirk dieing again. Might not Picard defer to Kirk for a plausible rational when he lacked one? I think so. Picard was great at sounding out his officers before acting. Once they are finally on the same side, Picard and Kirk are a great team.
This book has a lot in it. If you like the pacing and style of this book, try Shatner's Tek War books for the adventures of a futuristic PI Jake Cardigan.

STAR TREK: DARK VICTORY (Star Trek: All)

0671043854
Audioworks
01 April, 1999

Eh. This book in itself is good, but a little less exciting than the previous "Spectre". It's pretty much a continuation in the trilogy but only serves to connect the first and last in this trilogy. So it's ok, not as good as Spectre, but in my opinion a lot better than "Preserver". 

I would still recommend reading this book, Shatner's Mirror Universe trilogy is a very great story and a must read. It just seems that all of the good stuff in this trilogy was put into the first book.

This story, the second of the "Mirror Universe Trilogy", continues right where "Spectre" (the first book in the series) left off. The story takes place in 2374 initially and then jumps forward about eight months later into 2375, placing it at least after the events of the movie "Star Trek: Insurrection".

Here we have Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Picard (and his crew), and the "Mirror Universe" counterparts setting off to save the day. And this highlights some of my issues with this book: there are a lot of characters and a lot going on. You have secretive Starfleet organizations in this universe and two fighting factions in the "Mirror Universe" plus various members of both the Original Series and the Next Generation showing up (not to mention a few Deep Space Nine and Voyager personnel) and I just get this feeling of not really caring about the plot, per se - just letting the story carry me forward.

And that brings up another point for me which is that a lot is happening here from a human angle. Dealing with counterparts from another universe; the possible death of loved ones; the loss of limbs and abilities; the chain of command and when it should and should not be followed; different command styles for different time periods; being out of place in a new time period; bitter regret at apparent betrayal after services rendered in the line of duty. All these things are alluded to, in passing, but none are really explored. They are subsumed under the general plot. Whole areas where human angst would come into play are usually glossed over in a page or even just a paragraph. I know that in-depth exploration of these issues is not the point of the story: but then the brief focusing on each of them is, to me, more distracting than engaging.

"Spectre", in my opinion, was saved from avoiding many of these same kinds of issues by the pace of the action *and* by the continuity of the action. To be sure the same sense of pace is in "Dark Victory" and that pace is just as fast in some ways, but, for me, not as continuous. Too much of the action struck me as episodic to the point of being a bit too fragmented. Certain events just seemed to happen without a lot of context behind them, the idea being just to keep the pace going. Characters would just turn up or say things or know things and, again, sometimes a context seemed to be lacking. What saved the book for me is that it is the second of a series. So if you are reading it you are (presumably) already curious about how the story continues and thus a little more forgiving than you might be with a stand-alone story. Overall, "Dark Victory" was a moderately interesting story for me in the Star Trek mythos but I really only found myself plodding through it to make sure I would have a context for the third in the series ("Preserver"). I would prefer a story that is not trying so hard to interweave so much Star Trek history and instead explores the characters in a given setting that allows us to come to understand them and their motivations better.

I gave this three stars because it kept me reading - but only by rote. It was not a boring read by any means but a lot of characterization was subsumed under the plot as the mysteries and secrets kept piling on leading to the inevitable cliff-hanger that would take us to the final book of the series.

Arguably the best of the 6 ST books. Taken from the original Star trek TV series episode MIRROR MIRROR, Kirk's double - twin has not been defeated by spock as we hoped. "Spock is logical and the mirror universe is illogical. If I know my Spocks, he'll..." well he didn't. The Kirk Twin is now Emperor Tiberius (ET) and he has enslaved humans and Vulcan alike.
ET has left home and found a way to our universe and has bad things planned for the federation. Only kirk can stop him. But kirk has a lot of friends to help. Shatner has two Spocks, McCoy and Scotty, and Picard & crew to help. But how do we know which Picard is a mirror or not?
This is the second book of the second trilogy (5th of the double trilogy) written by Shatner and friends for the star trek galaxy. I had long been disappointed in ST books, because they often read as if throw together. Shatner's ST is clearly the best that ST has to offer. If started with ASHES OF EDEN which turned into a trilogy, with the second book being THE RETURN. So, you want to kill off James T. Kirk huh? If you haven't read at least SPECTRE, you will want to because it starts this story arch. The story doesn't end with this book, and continues with PRESERVER. This is great sci-fi and great ST stuff.
Some have called DV the weakest of the trilogy which can happen to the middle book for a series, because things end "up in the air". But for shear entertainment this was a lot of fun to read. You have to read PRESERVER for the ending. Do it. Shatner is a great story teller.
Since I am now boycotting Star Wars NJO with the killing of Anakin, I truly hope that the Star Trek people will do a better job giving us more high quality books that are fun to read. Shatner is great. But I recently read the Dominion War 4 book set and was disappointed. I read these for the familiar characters and especially like what Shatner has done, reviving kirk and putting him with TNG characters.

The Ashes of Eden (Star Trek) 0671520350Pocket BooksJune, 1995Months prior (Star Trek)

2005-10-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

The Ashes of Eden (Star Trek)

0671520350
Pocket Books
June, 1995

Months prior to the prologue of Star Trek: Generations, Kirk decides to resign from Starfleet as his old Academy nemesis Andovar Drake is appointed head of Starfleet Command. Lacking any drive in his life, Kirk accepts a last chance for adventure with the seductive young Teilani who wants him to protect her paradise planet (w/ rejuvenating powers no less!); so Kirk and Scotty take the mothballed Enterprise-A and head for planet Chal where a secret Starfleet cabal seek to exploit the planet for all its fountain of youth properties. The rest of the Enterprise gang hitch a ride on Sulu's Excelsior and together the crew once again save the universe. 

An amazingly well-rounded novel with William Shatner (with assist from Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens) penning appropriately enough the perfect final note in the history of James Tiberius Kirk (the tagged-on epilogues notwithstanding). Like the original series, the novel is at times epic and moving while still finding time to be campy and tacky (63-year old Kirk getting it on with a twentysomething Romulan/Klingon hybrid in the backseat of a hovercar!?) and loaded with some nifty Starfleet espionage which reeks of "the truth is out there" paranoia streak which X-Files has inspired. SNL jibes & toupee jokes aside, Shatner has always given an indelible performance as Kirk and the actor has aged well with the character; and with this novel he proves that the part has been more to him then just another paycheck. Unlike other legends of fiction such as Tarzan, Robin Hood or King Arthur, Kirk has come through his youth and middle-age unscathed to land himself in retirement with no more adventures left to define him. This melodrama of Kirk aging although covered quite well in Star Trek II already, is still poignant here and the authors milk it for all its worth without it going overboard. 

The rest of the cast of characters are well-utilized; the future tracks of Spock & Bones laid down here; however the novel remains very ambivalent about the futures of the rest of the crew. I found it very noteworthy that the author chose the character of Scotty to accompany him to Chal aboard the Enterprise, perhaps a veiled olive branch to actor James Doohan who has been feuding with Shatner for decades; the sequence where Kirk & Scotty sit together at the bar speaks volumes of the estrangement which Shatner must feel towards his fellow castmates. In fact much of the novel's poignancy lies in the double meanings which lace much of the dialogue and narrative, making Ashes of Eden a fictional sequel of sorts to Shatner's previous two autobiographies in which the actor admitted regret over his behavior in the past movies and series. With this added meaning to the story, the novel forms a fitting finale to the legend of James T. Kirk, typing up loose ends both fictional (the death of his son David, his friendships with his loyal crew) and in real life. With all the effort put into making this novel so poignantly final, the tagged on epilogue seems crass at best, paving the way for a new cycle of his legend; Kirk apparently taken up residence in TNG in subsequent novels. Nonetheless For those looking for one last grand adventure for Kirk, this is surely the ticket.

To date, "The Ashes of Eden" remains one of my favorite and most memorable reads in The Original Series Star Trek universe. This extraordinary novel serves well in what I'm gathering was William Shatner's desire to stay connected with the universe he helped create. I found this novel and it's follow up novel, "The Return" to both have been extraordinarily brilliant in the way William Shatner and his collaborators, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens were able to perpetuate Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek universe, despite the character having been killed off in Star Trek Generations.
Although some of William Shatner's later Star Trek novels in the ongoing story do not quite live up to this first one, I would have to say that he's carved himself a nice niche in the Star Trek universe, at least in the fictional sense.
The cover art for this novel is brilliant and exciting, lending very well to the story!
The premise:
It is six months prior to that fateful day in which the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B is launched under Captain John Harriman and she heads off for her inexorable brush with a destiny that entails the loss of the Federations most renowned captains, James Tiberius Kirk.
Captain Kirk finds himself facing the spectre of an unchallenging retirement when suddenly, a very beautiful young woman makes him an offer he couldn't refuse; a perilous voyage to an uncharted planet where he will confront that which poses a very real threat to the burgeoning peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Along the way, he has the opportunity to recapture his youth.
Captain Kirk finds that he must turn his back on his closest friends and is that he's also being hunted by Captain Sulu and the USS Excelsior. He also finds that he must stand alone as the chief defender of an incredibly beautiful world and he must choose between conquering the gravest challenge of his career or surrendering to the greatest passion he's ever known.
I highly recommend this novel and those Shatnerverse novels that follow for you will find that this incredible writing team of William Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are capable of producing some the most memorable Star Trek fiction ever put to print. {ssintrepid}

I bought this book at the suggestion of the manager of the local bookstore to keep me occupied during an unwanted month-long trip to Poland. I normally don't read Star Trek novels, because Paramount doesn't recognize them as canon. That means that they never happened. They're basically authorized fan fiction. In fact, this is the first Star Trek novel that I've read all the way through. It's actually pretty good. In fact, I read so much of it at a time that I had nothing to do to relieve my boredom for the rest of the vacation. It's written by William Shatner. Who better to write a Captain Kirk story than James T. Kirk himself? This story is Kirk in his own words. It takes place between the end of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and Kirk's apparent death in the opening scenes of "Star Trek: Generations". Kirk joins a young woman on a journey to save her homeworld and, perhaps, recapture his youth and be young forever. Sure, we know that he won't be young again. Sure, we know that he'll survive the events of the novel. It's still fun and exciting to read, though. Don't let "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" fool you. Shatner can write. The only complaints that I have are a few typos and Shatner's writing style. He often omits the word "and" in compound sentences, and he often uses incomplete sentences lacking subjects. He also writes a lot of the characters' thoughts into the narrative itself, which is supposed to be neutral. It's as if the narrator knows what the characters are thinking and agrees with them. Other than these things, which you can get used to, it's a good book. Shatner even references events in numerous TOS episodes and all of the TOS movies except for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (which really didn't need to be referenced anyway). The story is bookended with scenes of Spock, standing over Kirk's grave on Veridian III, thinking about his late friend. Some historical notes are contradicted, such as when phasers were invented ("Enterprise") and the time period of Cochrane's first warp flight ("Star Trek: First Contact"), by later canon material, but the main story itself can still fit into the canon. The ending sets up Shatner's next Star Trek novel, "The Return". Overall, "The Ashes of Eden" is a good story and worth your time to read. It IS James T. Kirk.

Star Trek - The Original Crew Movie Collection (Special Edition)

B0000UJLVY
Paramount Home Video
27 January, 2005
Devoted Star Trek fans will surely cite the "even number" rule in evaluating the Original Crew Movie Collection, but all six of these films qualify as rousing entertainment. Undeniably, the even-numbered films in Paramount's lucrative Trek franchise tended to be the best, as demonstrated by the superiority of The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, and The Undiscovered Country. And yet each film has something to offer die-hard Trekkers, beginning with the epic-scale wonders of the first Motion Picture (presented here as a two-disc special edition). Evolving from Gene Roddenberry's aborted attempt at a second Star Trek TV series, the effects-laden Motion Picture divided fans while proving that Star Trek had a promising big-screen future. Nicholas Meyer's The Wrath of Khan made good on that promise, reviving the Star Trek spirit and proving, in the case of Mr. Spock, that beloved characters "never really die." It's widely regarded as the best of these half-dozen features.
With its deadly Klingon confrontation, the Leonard Nimoy-directed Search for Spock was a thrilling (albeit contrived) excuse for Spock's inevitable resurrection, and its somber tone was readily countered by the Earth-based humor of Nimoy's The Voyage Home, combining a planetary crisis with a lively--and phenomenally popular--time-travel plot line. Unfortunately, William Shatner then lobbied for the director's chair, and The Final Frontier--an uneasy mixture of cheesy humor and grandiose themes--was the regrettable outcome. Paramount rallied by inviting Nicholas Meyer to repeat his Khan success, and Meyer rose to the occasion with the sharply scripted thrills of The Undiscovered Country. By ending the film with an official signature send-off from the "classic Trek" cast, the original crew brought their big-screen legacy to a graceful and upbeat conclusion, setting the stage for a transitional adventure in Star Trek: Generations. --Jeff Shannon
Great I just finished what you might call a marathon with this collection. I just had a ball.

I have been trying to find the best gift for my hubby of 7 years for his second fathers day. I ran across this on another site, Columbia House, for MUCH cheaper!! The sites and people that are selling you these movies for $156 and upwards are RIPPING YOU ALL OFF. The movies are great, but really try and look elsewhere for better prices. I got my 12 disk set for $67 with shipping included from CH online. Its crazy to think that others are paying WAY more for thier sets, just a warning thats all. The hubby will be so excited that I got him the DVD's wheras before he only had the VHS set. I can't wait to surprise him and he thinks I spent TOP dollar! HAHA!!:)

This is a very good buy for anyone who is a Trekky, the box and cd's are to die for in of themselves. However, don't let them fool you in thinking that the first one has been cut down. The enterprise shot in the beginning is just as long as in the older VHS versions. I say this because I had heard with the director's cut it had been spliced down some. 
The music does make up for this very long scene however, if you're willing to stick around and watch it. Other than that, unlike the star wars series you can pretty much sit back and watch these without having to watch for new scenes that for some reason you don't remember being there. 




Rising Son (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) 0743448383Star Trek31 December, (Star Trek)

2005-10-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Rising Son (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

0743448383
Star Trek
31 December, 2002

Completists (like me) were eager to get their hands on "Rising Son" so that they could savor the DS:9 relaunch in its entirety. Sadly, "Rising Son" is one book that can be skipped, even with the revelations contained within.

The problem lies mostly with Perry's writing. She has created some interesting characters here -- Stessie, perhaps Wex -- but does little with them. If good Trek writing were to be judged solely by the author's ability to come up with novel new races, then Perry would rank pretty high on the list of good Trek authors.

But that's not how you judge good writing.

The way that Perry handles Jake's journal pretty much sums up my point. Jake, as portrayed by Perry, is pretty much a present-day young man placed into the 24th century. His journal, except for a few cases of Trek-tech speak, is written with the same slang as one might write in 2004.

In fact, almost every character in the novel is written like a present-day character who just happens to live on a space station in the future. Surely Perry has read science fiction novels, or even good Trek novels. Her characters think, speak, write, and act just like present-day characters, and it's both annoying and distracting.

There were some high points. The Tosk character was handled well, and some of Jake's inner turmoil over having to make some important decisions as to his future was intriguing.

But for the most part, the new characters were just as blase as the familiar ones. There was nothing novel about anyone on the "Even Odds;" apparently, nearly every new alien race thinks, acts, etc. just like humans. How convenient! And the new characters from familiar races -- the Ferengi, the Cardiassan -- are just one-dimensional characters, stereotypes of their races. In Perry's world, all Ferengi act the same, all Cardiassans think the same, and humans are the only spacefaring race with any complexity or uniqueness in individuals.

If you want to get the full story on Jake, Sulan, and a few others, then by all means read the book. But you don't have to. You can pick up the story easily enough in "Unity" -- a slightly better Perry book, and the culmination of this part of the relaunch.

For the past few books, Jake has been seldom mentioned. Back on DS9, no one has a clue as to where he is or if he's still alive for that matter. He has friends and family on Earth, Bajor, on DS9 and on the Defiant worried and extremely concerned. This book tells us that he's not only alive, but doing well given the circumstances.

In the process of going on a secret mission to find his father based on an ancient manuscript, Jake gets caught up in some sort of anomaly in the wormhole. Without warning, he finds himself among aliens who mean him no harm. These aliens are mostly benign and receive him with open arms. He forges strong friendships with these aliens and in the course of traveling with them, he meets Opaka a former Kai of Bajor. The story mostly consists of missions Jake goes on with his new friends and entries in his diary. There's not much to the adventure aspect, but there are some exciting moments. Much of the fantasy has a lot of things of mythical or spiritual significance in the Bajoran religion.

With Jake back in the DS9 saga with his new friends, things can only get better from this point.

We knew from previous novels that Jake enters the wormhole and is next spotted months later with Opaka and a strange alien on a Dominian ship. What do we get from Perry?

Jake's seemingly pointless travels on a ship filled with characters we'll probably never see or hear from again on a ship with a weird sub-deck that is never explained. It's like the whole 200 pages on the Even Odds was just so much filler because Perry couldn't come up with enough interesting stuff for Jake and Opaka.

Speaking of Opaka, even Perry writes that her story is short. Basically, some advanced alien rescues her with some magically advanced technology. What she did after leaving the moon really could have taken an entire book to fill . . . and should have.

And Wex, the strange alien . . . a five year old with an eraser could have cut her out of the book and noone would have noticed. She did almost nothing and said even less.

I was hoping to read more about Opaka's adventures (her spiritual path -- imagine the Jem'Hadar meditating with their new guru) and less of Jake's awakening.

The Star Trek universe does this far too often: create a highly interesting character (Opaka) and/or race (Jem'Hadar) and then ignore them almost completely to introduce someone (Dez) and/or something (the Wa) else that is never see nor heard from again.

The only reason I gave this book even one star was out of the hope that some of this wasn't just random, unimaginative filler, but a set up for a future book.

The Ultimate Star Trek Collection

B000BIBGR2
Paramount Home Video
15 November, 2005

... but this collection won't truly be THE ultimate until they release the Star Trek animated series on DVD. Which, rumor has it, is slated to hit the shelves some time in 2006.

Besides, isn't "ultimate" a subjective term in this case? One trekkie's idea of the "ultimate" Star Trek DVD collection is not likely to be the same as that of another trekkie. Take me for instance: my idea of the ULTIMATE Star Trek DVD collection consists of the original series, the cartoon show, NextGen, and DS9, along with the second through ninth motion pictures. Everything else-- Voyager, Enterprise, The Motion(less) Picture, and Nemesis-- can take a hike as far as I'm concerned.

Upon further reflection, however (and after doin' some number-crunching), I've found that you'd still get a pretty danged good deal outta this if ya keep what'cha want, and re-sell the stuff ya don't care for on Amazon MarketplaceÂ. Just be aware that they take $1.00 plus a 15% cut of the askin' price if it sells. And they don't always give ya adequate compensation for shipping and handling charges.

So maybe this really IS the ultimate collection after all?


`Late

The Ultimate Star Trek Collection is an array of Bundled BOX Sets of every Star Trek series from the Original Series (1966-1969), The Next Generation (1987-1994), Deep Space Nine (1993-1999), Voyager (1995-2001), Enterprise (2001-2005), and the 10-15 Star Trek Motion picture movies. The Ultimate Star Trek collection is basically being released basically because being there is no more new Star Trek series being produced anymore. Even though it may take such a big miracle to own this collection, it is nice to take home the big Star Trek Enchilada of DVD collections fo the trekkie fan in all of you!

Star Trek - Nemesis (Full Screen Edition) B00008O0WNParamount Home Video20 (Star Trek)

2005-10-20T15:08:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - Nemesis (Full Screen Edition)

B00008O0WN
Paramount Home Video
20 May, 2003
The sacrifice of a beloved character is just one of many highlights in Nemesis, the 10th feature in the lucrative Star Trek franchise. Enigmatically billed as the beginning of "A Generation's Final Journey," this richly plotted Next Generation adventure maintains the "even number rule" regarding Trek's feature quality, and it's one of the best in the series. It hits its brisk stride when Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his Enterprise-E crew encounter Shinzon (Tom Hardy), a younger clone of Picard, rejected by the Romulans as the human weapon of an abandoned conspiracy. Raised on the nocturnal Romulan sister planet Remus, Shinzon now plots revenge against Romulus and Earth but needs Picard's blood to carry out his scheme. A wedding, a childlike "duplicate" Data named B-4 (Brent Spiner), spectacular space battles, and uncommon acts of valor make this a tautly-paced action thriller, poised to pass the franchise (but not quite yet) to a new generation of Starfleet personnel. Die-hard Trekkers will not be disappointed. --Jeff Shannon
Nemesis is far from a perfect film. We've still got Wacky Picard, Action Hero and another gratuitous scene of Data singing, two constant blights on the TNG film franchise. We're asked to accept that Remus is not, in fact, inhabited by Romulans, but evil devil goblins we've never heard of before, and that Shinzon wants to destroy Earth for no discernable reason. And yeah, the movie "borrows" many of its best parts from The Wrath of Khan. But you know what? It's *still* the best TNG film. Generations captured the spirit of TNG as it was on TV, but had a terribly lame rehashed storyline. First Contact was marginally better, but still owed much of its storyline to old Trek episodes and jettisoned everything that made TNG what it was, turning Picard into a weak Kirk analogue and Data into Spock, Jr. while sublimating the rest of the cast. We shall not speak of Insurrection. Nemesis, in spite of its obvious weaknesses, mostly gets the characters right and resurrects several characters (Guinan, Spot, Wesley Crusher) and character dynamics (Geordi and Data as friends) that haven't been seen since TNG ended its TV run and made its inaugural voyage to the big screen in 1994. The plot is somewhat rehashed and occasionally cryptic, but it's not aggressively bad the way Insurrection's was, nor as obviously recycled as Generations and First Contact were. 

If you're looking for a real two-hour epic featuring the Star Trek: The Next Generation crew, I suggest you seek out The Best of Both Worlds 1&2 or All Good Things... But if you're just looking for a minor diversion with some old friends, you really can't go wrong with this film, IMO. Again, I simply cannot understand why it inspires such hatred amongst die-hard Trekkies.

Star Trek: Nemesis has the most action of any other film in the series. Now, I loved this film when I first saw it in theaters, before I was a very big fan of Star Trek, but now, after three years, I viewed it again after purchasing the Collector's Edition. Now that I have seen all of the other movies, and plenty of episodes of TOS, TNG, and DS9, I have to judge this installment as inferior.
The action in Nemesis is enough to placate non-fans, but the film lacks much substance. The underlying message is not pronounced well enough, dropped in favor of unnecessary action sequences, which also caused the film's creators to cut many scenes, with Rick Berman insisting basically that it was for the best.
There are some inconsistencies with previously-established canon and there are some things that are just "out there". In the finale of Deep Space Nine, we learn Worf is going to become the Klingon ambassador to the Federation, but here he is, becoming a member of the crew. Janeway we find has been promoted thrice in about two years. No mention is made of Data's original brother Lore. The Argo seems created specifically for a chase scene. The emergency transporter device...right.
Check out Nemesis if you have the time, but if you are a Star Trek fan, you will be missing very little.

Sorry folks, but this movie not the Star Trek of just a few years ago. It was so boring, a yawner! I waited the whole film for something to happen and when if finally did, I could care less. This is not one of the 50 minute TV shows that used to get a little boring with all the talk, talk, talk, which would mercifully end at the top of the hour. This is a movie, they can't make talk fests out of them and expect them to be good.

The Captan seemed out of character too, what was the deal with him being so happy in the beginning? And Data, boring, he ceased to be interesting when half the movie was about him and him! Then you had Picard and Picard why didn't the writers think to bring in Will and Will?

All in all a very lousy movie. I thought the last one was bad but this one was really bad.

How sad, that the advertised last voyage ended up as bad as Star Trek the Motion picture!

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Fifth Season

B000063V8T
Paramount Home Video
05 November, 2002
The fifth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation saw some of the very best of all 178 shows. "Darmok" had the feel of a "classic Trek" episode, dealing with language as metaphor. "The First Duty" challenged Wesley Crusher's loyalties. The season closer "Time's Arrow" (which concluded in year 6) ranks as one of the best TNG cliffhangers, and treats fans to canon-changing story lines and tons of in-jokes. Best of all was the painfully melancholy "The Inner Light," in which Picard experiences an alternate lifetime. There were great guest stars--Paul Winfield ("Darmok"), Ashley Judd ("The Game"), Kelsey Grammar ("Cause and Effect"), Famke Janssen ("The Perfect Mate"), and Jerry Hardin ("Time's Arrow")--and as always there were contributions from Q, Lwaxana, and Barclay, too.
After the confidence of the previous two years, however, year 5 often disappointed by not seeing a good idea through to the end. Denise Crosby was swept back under the carpet in the Klingon soap opener ("Redemption, Part II"). No one could make the prospect of Deep Space 9 attractive enough to Michelle Forbes, so her fantastic performance as Ensign Ro seems wasted in retrospect. And no one could reschedule Robin Williams to guest star, so we had Matt Frewer instead ("A Matter of Time"). Of all stories to use Leonard Nimoy in, "Unification" wallowed in Romulan politics instead of anything emotionally engaging. Gene Roddenberry wanted to introduce a gay character, but mere months after his death all we got was the trite "The Outcast." This was inarguably where the series weakened, without the Great Bird overseeing what was going on. Worst of all, his hard-as-nails bad guys the Borg were given a touchy-feely side in "I, Borg." Fans and critics now appreciate that the behind-the-scenes focus had shifted from The Next Generation to the next spinoff, and it would never fully return.
Quality product. And of course the episodes are great because Star Trek ROCKS!

This was the best season, hands down, of TNG. There's just no comparison.

Stardate 45020.4 "Redemption, Pt. 2" The second part of season 4's finale. Great battle scenes, and introduces Sela, the Romlulan daughter of Tasha Yar. 4 stars

Stardate 45047.2 "Darmok" Capt. Picard must deal with an alien who speaks in scenes from his culture's mythology. One of the best. 5 stars

Stardate 45076.3 "Ensign Ro" A troubled Bajoran ensign joins the crew of the Enterprise. Introduces the idea of the Bajoran occupation. 3 stars

Stardate 45122.3 "Silicon Avatar" The Enterprise tries to communicate with the Crystalline Entity, which destroyed Data's planet of origin. 3 stars

Stardate 45156.1 "Disaster" The Enterprise is badly damaged and each crew member gets stuck in their own worst nightmare. Worf is at his best in this episode. 4 stars

Stardate 45208.2 "The Game" Wesley returns to the ship to find the crew addicted to a game. Wesley says it all. 2 stars

Stardate 45236.4 "Unification, Pts. 1+2" Capt. Picard and Data travel to Romulus to track down Spock, who is now an ambassdor. If the ambassador had been anyone but Spock, this would have been really dull, but is a fitting tribute to Gene Roddenberry, a very emotional episode, and Spock and Picard are great together. 5 stars

Stardate 45349.1 "A Matter of Time" A traveler from the future comes aboard the Enterprise. 3 stars

Stardate 45376.3 "New Ground" Worf's son Alexander moves onto the Enterprise with his father. 3 stars

Stardate 45397.3 "Hero Worship" A troubled young boy begins to act like Data. 2 stars

Stardate 45429.3 "Violations" A race of telepaths come aboard the Enterprise, and crew member fall into comas. Interesting theory. 3 stars

Stardate 45470.1 "The Masterpiece Society" The crew tries to save a genetically engineered society from destruction and change it forever. 3 stars

Stardate 45494.2 "Conundrum" The Enterprise crew is struck by mass amnesia. Some really great scenes. 4 stars

Stardate 45571.2 "Power Play" Troi, O'Brien, and Data are possessed by spirits. 3 stars

Stardate 45587.3 "Ethics" After becoming paralyzed, Worf wants to commit ritual suicide. 3 stars

Stardate 45614.6 "The Outcast" Riker falls in love with a member of a genderless race. One of the worst. 1 star

Stardate 45703.9 "The First Duty" Wesley is involved in a cover-up at Starfleet Academy. The only good Wesley-centered episode. 4 stars

Stardate 45733.6 "The Cost of Living" Lwaxana teaches Alexander all about her wild lifestyle. 3 stars

Stardate 45761.3 "The Perfect Mate" Picard falls in love with someone else's intended bride. 2 stars

Stardate 45832.1 "Imaginary Friend" A little girl's imaginary friend puts the whole ship in danger. 2 stars

Stardate 45854.2 "I, Borg" The cre rescues an injured Borg,a nd he becomes and individual named Hugh. One the best. 5 stars

Stardate 45092.4 "The Next Phase" Ro and Geordi are pronounced dead, but are really in a different phase. 3 stars

Stardate 45944.1 "The Inner Light" Picard collapes after being shot by an unidentified probe, and lives a whole life as a member of an extinct race in an hour. One the most excellent episodes out of any Trek. 5 stars

Stardate 45959.1 "Time's Arrow, Pt. 1" Data gets stuck in 19th century San Francisco. Excellent. 5 stars

I love this season...the next one is almost as good, but not quite.

What can I say about a Series of boxed DVDs of "Star Trek - The Next Generation".

Just this: fantastic!

I used to own all the seven Seasons of PAL/VHS tapes and it was already an experience then.

But now. Wow!

I have bought only 6 of the 7 Seasons up to now and I bought them in NTSC format. Since I own a region free DVD player I have absolutely no problem in viewing them.

Some may argue that PAL DVDs are crispier than NTSC ones. Well, uless you are a laser scientist, you may not really notice the difference, and in my own personal experience on DVD there's no difference (given that the source is a pristine one).

Also, and in many cases it is true, expecially when we talk of Feature movies, the U.S. versions contain at least a second European language (either French or Spanish, sometimes both, sometimes even a German version is added and if not a dubbed version, then simply a subtilted version), which for people like me, who have guests that may not speak English is a great asset.

Star Trek alas, has no such luxury, but each box contains an extra DVD section (usually on the last one, which is crammed with useful and interesting information about the entire Season and about some key episodes within it).

Sharpness of the image is there (as it was for the Three Seasons of Star Trek - The Original Series). Excellent color balance and contrast information. Compare it even with PAL VHS tapes and you will see the astonishing difference.

Sound on all DVDs, has truly received the royal treatment of Digital Remastering and although the first three seasons were produced in conventional Dolby Stereo (at the time of production this was still the standard), they now sound far more "rounded up" and crisp with the musical track in Surround. Starting from Season Four, you get to be treated with true 5.1 Surround.

I am a fan of Star Trek, but a quiet, objective and sometimes overly criticizing one. Especially when it comes to Enterprise.

But believe me when I say that they won't ever make such a Series anymore, unless tendencies will tend to sway from simple "money-grabbing-stupid-content" back to "hard-working-well-written" ones again.

Even a non-Trekkie or non-Trekker will enjoy at least the first two incarnations of Star Trek.

The secret being, that these are far less Science Fiction tales, but rather tales of the human adventure in a possible future.
The key being very actual problems with which we are all faced in our daily lives.

The Alien factor is often used as a "replacement" for the "racial" or "social" denominator, giving the author a certain freedom to tackle with many crucial and controversial social issues.

The result is always a very interesting and gripping "voyage" into the unknown, space being just part of the decorum.

The crews of both "Star Trek" and "Star Trek - The Next Generation" are all highly talented actors, who bring true life to their characters and to the situations they are involved in.

There is also a well-balanced dose of humor in some episodes, which is always helpful in order not to fall into a gloomy pit of self-glorification.

Although I haven't yet bought "Deep Space Nine" or "Voyager" I may not be able to comment on them, but in view of the fact that they too, have been produced by Paramount, as well as their Feature Movies, I can only assume that the quality may be the same as the ones I already mentioned.

The boxes are rather conventional, compared with The Original Series which look like the old Medical Kit in "three flavors" (Golden Yellow, Medical Blue and Burgundy Red). The Next Generation comes in Silvery Boxes, with differently colored fonts, all coded-colors obviously. They are meant to represent the various professional specializations aboard the Enterprise-D.

Once opened, tucked in an internal flip box, this time fully code-colored, are the six to seven DVDs (depending on how many episodes a Season had). Generally three on one side, and another three to four on the other. As said, the last DVD always contains the special presentations and interviews.
A booklet containing a brief episode description is also "tucked in" within a special sleeve.
Every DVD contains four episodes.

The Menus are very intuitive and divided in theme, by Season.
One represents the Command LCARS Console, Two the Engineers LCARS Console, Three the Medical LCARS Console and so forth and so on (mind you, I am citing them by memory, the actual order may elude me now).

Anyway and in conclusion, this is truly a worthwile set to buy if you mean to entertain your entire family or just your friends with an intelligent, well-written and well-done bunch of TV episodes of one of the most creative minds Hollywood has ever met, (except of course, for others like Ray Bradbury, Rod Serling or Arthur C. Clarke): Gene Roddenberry.

You won't regret this choice, this is for sure.

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 30, Episodes 59 (Star Trek)

2005-10-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 30, Episodes 59 and 60: The Enterprise Incident/ And the Children Shall Lead

B00005KHK4
Paramount Studio
14 August, 2001
"The Enterprise Incident"
An overwrought, highly-stressed Captain Kirk blunders into Romulan space and finds the Enterprise surrounded by enemy vessels, all equipped with strategically valuable cloaking technology. Along with Spock, Kirk is invited to meet with the Romulan commander (Joanne Linville) to discuss the situation, leading to a crisis when the captain suffers a breakdown following Spock's apparent betrayal. Written by story editor Dorothy Fontana (who was unhappy with the final results) and directed by John Meredyth Lucas (who briefly took the producing reins from Gene L. Coon during season two), the episode has a colorful espionage angle, but depends heavily on an improbable romance between Spock and Linville's character. Still, there are things to savor here, especially Kirk's one-and-only appearance with Vulcan/Romulan pointed ears. --Tom Keogh
"And the Children Shall Lead"
The Enterprise arrives at a distant research outpost to find all the adults dead and their children eerily cheerful. No sooner are they aboard the ship than the children begin taking over, using strange powers bestowed on them by a malevolent "friendly angel." The kids make for an engagingly creepy episode as they alter the crew's perceptions to play on their worst fears, all with angelic smiles on their faces. Kirk's stiff-necked nature is well played against the manic playfulness of the kids, and legendary attorney Melvin Belli (who enjoyed a moderately busy acting career in the late '60s) does an interesting turn as the smooth-talking angel. --Jeff Shannon
The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

The Enterprise Incident-This Romulan intrigue story is one of the 3rd season's most solid offerings. It offers a tight and dramatic plot, with plenty of twists and surprises. The teaser is particularly well-executed, and may be second only to Mirror, Mirror's opening in dramatic effect. I also enjoy the moral ambiguity of this episode. By that I mean not only that we are left to ponder whether the ends justify the means, but also that WE are left to ponder that question, rather than being beaten over the head with it and having it answered for us. Would a 1st season episode have been comfortable with this ambiguity, let alone keeping it implicit? No normative judgments implied, but Star Trek had in some sense grown up by the Fall of 1968, for better or worse. (4 stars)
Tidbits: Spock was able to stay fairly true to himself in this romance; others weren't so lucky in their 3rd season romances, which generally yanked crewmembers far out of character. As a result, here the sacrifice Spock makes is a real one, in which he compromises himself. The production team did a nice job of giving the Romulan ship interior a different feel.
And the Children Shall Lead-Incredibly, the second of the 'children' episodes is even darker than the first (Miri). This atmospheric episode is shrouded in a sense of mystery and dread. I would go so far as to call the episode courageous in it's depiction of evil and willingness to give the children complicity in the adults' deaths. Each individual's insecurities and fears are exploited by the Gorgon, and at the height of the episode Kirk has lost control both of his ship and his entire sense of reality.
While some of the effects are quite gimmicky (the knives), others are effective in their simplicity (such as the summoning of the Gorgon). Overall I found this to be an effective, eerie and surreal episode, although some may dislike the fact that there is no simple moral. The cold finality of much of the death (such as being beamed into deep space) may also upset some. The conclusions/ means of dealing with the Gorgon were also admittedly weak.
Tidbits: It would be interesting to know how attourney Melvin
Belli ended up in this role. (4 stars)

REVIEWED ITEM: Star TrekÂ® Original Series DVD Volume 30: The Enterprise Incident Â© / And the Children Shall Lead Â©
THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT Â© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The balance of power; military one-upmanship
Historic Milestone: the introduction of the fictional "Vulcan death grip"
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: None
REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
Jimmers' libido takes a rest in this outing as Spock takes on the task of romancing the babe-of-the-week. And what a job he does: he melts the heart-- whilst earning the trust-- of a Romulan ship commander with his little routine of logic and lack of emotion following the capture of the Enterprise after encroaching into the Neutral Zone. Adding to his credibility with the Romulan commander is his application of the aforementioned `Vulcan death grip' on the good captain when it appears he may've gone a bit loopy. Um, the captain that is. Meanwhile, Jimmers' `corpse' is returned to the Enterprise, where he's revived, disguises himself as a Romulan officer, and sets out to steal the enemy's cloaking device. Scotty's expression of joyful surprise as he sees the good captain in Romulan togs is absolutely priceless! Eventually, the Enterprise makes off with their prize, and with a touch of Scotty's miracle-working, uses it to escape detection. In the end, Spock has the temerity to try and salvage his `relationship' with the captured Romulan officer after using her like a wad of tissues! And apparently she falls for it to a degree, the silly fool. Oh Spock, you smooth character you!
AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD Â© PRELIMINARY BRIEFS:
Moral, Ethical, and/or Philosophical Subject(s) Driven Into The Ground: The folly of giving Melvin Belli a part on a TV show-- or an acting part of ANY kind!
Notable Gaffe/Special Defect: The entire freakin' episode!
Expendable Enterprise Crewmember (`Red Shirt') Confirmed Casualty List: 2 killed
REVIEW/COMMENTARY:
I was pretty freaked out by the teaser to this particular eppie, featuring a buncha kids playin' and carrying on whilst their parents lie dead all around `em! Was Stephen King a contributor to the script, or what? Unfortunately, things break down after the teaser, and never improve one iota. Melvin Belli's ultra-stiff performance as the evil Gorgan proved to me that, as an actor, he makes a pretty good lawyer. Actually, his character is very lawyer-like: he produces and feeds off of the anxiety & paranoia of others! Okay, so I made a cheap shot with that last crack. What'cha gonna do about it-- sue me? No wait, I was only kidding... honest! Please put that summons down...
Anyhoo, after pickin' up the adolescent survivors, the Enterprise encounters all sort'sa troubles... like the kids using mind-control to systematically take over the Enterprise, and making Sulu hallucinate huge knives out in space. Fortunately, the Gorgan's power over his prepubescent charges is broken when Jimmers shows `em a few home movies with their late `rents. This causes the young'uns to bawl somethin'awful, and frees them from their captor. I can't really blame `em for their reaction; if I were forced to watch old home movies, I'd be cryin' too...
`Late

Star Trek Starfleet Command III: Sybex Official Strategies & Secrets

078214196X
Sybex Inc
01 November, 2002

I was very dissapointed with this guide. I expected more hard numbers to play around with to help optimize ship design. There are some handy tables, but they totally neglected power usage numbers for weapons. You can get those numbers from the game by painstakingly replace each type of weapon and seeing how it affects warp power requirements. Why couldn't the guide give me these numbers? How about the formula (even a rough one) that relates max speed to impulse and total mass? How about more of an explantion for different cloak types vesus anti-cloak
computers?
I know they dumbed down SFC3 to reach a wider audience, but did they have to dumb down the strategy guide too?
The manual does do a good job previewing the campaign missions though.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Watching (Star Trek)

2005-10-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Watching Star Trek

0517883864
Three Rivers Press
10 May, 1995

This is a fun little book chock full of wise sayings gleaned from episodes of the original Star Trek. The original was not a space opera, it was a futurized series of life's lessons, very carefully crafted. Each episode had a heavy-duty message embedded within--and not very hard to spot either. This book does not necessarily include these thematic messages, but it does excerpt a number of pithy, humorous quotes from the characters. It is highly reminiscent of a poster my dentist has in his office of Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. I expect there is also a book with that name, but I haven't read it. These words of wisdom also remind me of Dr. Akin's famous "Laws of Spacecraft Design" which you can access on the internet. With his permission, I used several in my book "The Knowledge Management and Information Technology Encyclopedia" (published by the Government and not for sale). My favorite submits from Marinaccio's delightful book are:


Gossip is often confused with conversation. In fact it often takes the place of conversation. Take gossip away from some folks and they would turn into mimes. p.61

When everyone is responsible, ultimately no one is responsible. p.52

Idiot-proofing is also genius-proofing. p.94

Great people talk about ideas. Average people talk about things. Small people talk about people. p.61

Attitude is the top priority; after attitude, talent or gifts are important. p.64

As Yogi Berra, the great Yankees catcher, once said, "You can observe a lot, just by watching." p.23

A person who understands a rule knows when to break it. p.50

Competent people know which rules to follow and which to ignore ... when people of good judgement are allowed to exercise their insights, good results usually follow. When people=s hands are tied, they are ineffective. p.94

The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play. pp. 8, 53, & 54

Difficult choices expose how we truly feel. What we believe deep inside. p.39

The most important time to help someone is when they need it. p.8

For man, Utopia is endless challenge. p.17

This book was very enjoyable & easy to read. I had read it when it first came out & again this week & would recommend it to Trek fan's & to those who just don't "get it"!

Okay, I confess: I was amused by this book, and since I suspect that that was most of its intention, perhaps I'm being too harsh in giving it only two stars. And yes, there were some legitimately thought-provoking ideas to be found...but only a few. If you can find this book used, cheap, as I did, it's definitely worthwhile for a lark. But there is DEFINITELY NOT enough book here to be worth list price. It is grossly overpriced to capitalize on the Star Trek market, and that's the source of my dissatisfaction.

Starships: Star Trek Roleplaying Game

1582369062
Decipher Inc.
May, 2003

For roleplaying, I prefer Star Wars - Star Trek can be a bit tedious; still, being a hard core Trekkie for over 25 years, I wanted to give this book a chance. I was hoping that it would be equally useful as an information reference, and as an RPG supplement.
As far as gaming is concerned, it's ok. The books major flaw is that it does not stand alone. In order to use it, you must already own the Narrator's Guide. Practically every section tells you to refer back to the other guide - the only bright point is that it usually gives you the page number. The writers could have easily transferred the necessary information to this volume; but instead, a marketing ploy was used to sell more books.
For a refference: The ship statistics given are pretty good, but in large part, only relevant in terms of game usage. Ships' backgrounds could have been fleshed out a little more, and the graphics style used to depict the vessels appears chunky and angular. I'd hoped the entry quality would be closer to that of the now defunct Star Trek Magazine, or the various Trek technical manuals. Despite all that, as a source of info, my biggest complaint is volume. Sure, they covered "Over forty different starship designs," but they neglected throngs of others. Given that they chose to make a complementary book of nothing but ships, I feel they should have been exhaustive in their efforts.
So, regarding both information and roleplaying, I'd say this book is incomplete. I wouldn't recommend its purchase unless you are heavily into the RPG. It only deserves two stars, but the simple fact that it's Star Trek earns it an extra star.

Starships is a very worthwhile purchase for narrators that plan on duing heavy-duty starship combat in their campaigns. The expanded construction rules really allow your imagination to take full control and create whatever you so desire, and the book provides a plethora of different starships from major galactic powers (e.g. the UFP, Romulans, Cardassians, Klingons and Borg).
You'll need the Narrator's Guide in addition to this book if you want to create an expanded edition starship because they did not copy over various key tables. It's also a bit frusturating that they did not provide an updated Starship Profile sheet. But overall, I'd say Starships is a worthwhile addition the Star Trek RPG family.

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 40, Episodes 79, (Star Trek)

2005-10-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 40, Episodes 79, 99 & 1: Turnabout Intruder/ The Cage (B&W/Color Version) / The Cage (Full Color Version)

B00005QTAS
Paramount Home Video
11 December, 2001

MR RODDENBERRY'S CLASSIC. A CHILDHOOD LOVE FOR ME AND REMAINS SO. CAPT CHRISTOPHER PIKE OF THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE IS DEFIANTELY A CAPT TO BE RECKONED WITH. AND WHO COULD FORGET VINA'S DANCE AND THE SOUNDTRACK TO IT. TREK AT ITS PEAK!

I am not a Trekkie by any stretch of the imagination, but I've always loved 'The Cage'. The story is one of the most interesting of all the episodes. For an early 1960's film on it's own, it borders on amazing. The whole episode is how should we say....dreamy. The entire cast seams to float along as if in a sleepy daze. It makes me wonder if the cast and director were all on some weird 60's drugs.

Sur-realism, memories, and mind control are the name of the game here, and the big headed aliens can make your life heaven or hell, depending on how you behave. I thought Captain Pike was great, much better than Pricard, but not quite as good as Kirk. Maybe he could have fit into the series somewhere, but I think he leaves a great legacy as a one-time captain.

Everyone thinks the 'big' scene is Mr. Spock smiling and grinning stupidly at some vibrating cardboard flowers, but they are wrong.

Susan Oliver as Vina, oh how beatiful she is. I have always been infatuated with green skinned slave girls anyway. I've made several bids for them, but always fall short cash wise (maybe a dylithium mine would help). Wathing Susan dance half-naked in her green body paint is much too seductive for 1960s and is possibly why the series was not picked up. I can see the producers now thinking "What the hell bloody show are you perverts trying to make? This is 1964 for crying out loud! Slave women who dance for their owners? Barbarians!"

Well I sit and watch Sweet Vina dance and dance and dance. I never get tired of her. If I was Pike I would have told Spock to fly off without me. I would have made sure the aliens kept her as the 'Green Illusion' and supplied them with a whole herd of slaves to do their manual labor. Sure when you saw her in her real state she was pretty messed up, but no worse than my ex-wife when she woke up with a hangover Sunday morning. 


The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Fifth Season

B0002WZTCA
Paramount Home Video
09 November, 2004
After Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) spent much of Voyager's fourth season trying to resist the pull of the Borg, and just when the tide of battle seemed to be turning, she returns to the Collective in a memorable confrontation with the Borg Queen (Susanna Thompson) in the centerpiece story of the fifth season, the two-part "Dark Frontier." The Borg also factor into the nightmare-laden "Infinite Regress" as well as "Drone," in which a strange Borg-human-EMH hybrid teaches Seven the experience of parenthood, of sorts. Species 8472 returns as well, in another of the season's gritty episodes, "In the Flesh."
The series' historic 100th episode "Timeless" goes back in history as Kim (Garrett Wang) and Chakotay (Robert Beltran) try to repair a past mistake (directed by and guest-starring TNG's LeVar Burton), and in another dizzying episode, "Relativity," Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) is spending her first day on Voyager when she discovers Seven, who has traveled back in time to prevent an act of sabotage. It was also a good season for buddies Kim and Paris (Robert Duncan MacNeill). In addition to "Timeless," Kim takes center stage in "The Disease" when he embarks on a dangerous romance. Paris is thrown in the brig in "Thirty Days," and his Captain Proton holodeck simulation goes haywire in "Bride of Chaotica!" In "Course Oblivion," a ship wedding is the prelude to a deadly displacement for the entire crew.
It wasn't all slam-bang action. The Doctor's (Robert Picardo) buried memories lead to an ethical conflict in "Latent Image," and he and Seven (the two most consistently interesting crew members) dabble in the most unlikely of romances in one of the series' most touching and memorable episodes "Someone to Watch Over Me." Also, Jason Alexander (then in Seinfeld) guest-stars as a scheming alien in "Think Tank." Voyager didn't always close its season with a cliffhanger, but in "Equinox, Part 1" an attempt to aid another Federation starship in the Delta Quadrant uncovers a threat that might destroy them both.
The bonus features include a season recap, crew profiles of Voyager's resident couple, B'Elanna Torres and Paris, a 19-minute spotlight on the makeup process (Neelix was created as a combination of Timon and Pumbaa in The Lion King), and "The Borg Queen Speaks," in which Susanna Thompson discusses the difficulties of shooting and how she had originally auditioned for the same role in Star Trek: First Contact. --David Horiuchi
Packaging of product for mailing could be better. Bubble pack evelop was not strong enough to fully protect contents during shipment. Case came a litle damaged. DVD's play but first and second DVD came loose and was a little defective upon playing them.

Nominated for 30 Emmys, including seven for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series, Star Trek: Voyager continues the rich tradition of the original 1960s Star Trek franchise. Created by former L.A. police officer Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek TV series morphed into a franchise famous for the unprecedented fanatical devotion of its fan base. Lasting only three seasons during its original network run, Star Trek struck gold with its syndicated reruns, launching a number of motion pictures featuring the original cast as well as novels, comic books, collectibles, and reams of Star Trek-related memorabilia. The third spin-off from the original Star Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager premiered in January 1995 to modest critical acclaim, but experienced great success with television viewers, slowly increasing its ratings as the series progressed. Following on the heels of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), the series precedes Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) while boasting an all-star cast that includes veteran actress Kate Mulgrew (whose past TV appearances include such shows as Dallas, Cheers, and Murphy Brown). Yet instead of pursuing the classic Star Trek mission to "boldly go where no one has gone before," Star Trek: Voyager is more about going where the crew has been before...

Star Trek: Voyager follows the exploits of the crew aboard the starship USS Voyager. As the series begins, the Voyager is on a Federation mission to capture a rogue ship of Maquis rebels (a race first introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). While in pursuit of the Maquis, the Voyager enters a system known as the badlands, and both ships are instantaneously transported to the Delta Quadrant over seventy-thousand light years away on the outskirts of the galaxy. Soon, both the Maquis and the crew of Voyager learn they were brought to Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, a mysterious force overseeing the safety of the Ocampan race who live in the shadow on an impending threat from the vicious Kazon. When the Kazon destroy the Maquis ship, the Voyager crew merges with the Maquis crew to defend themselves from the Kazon. Having destroyed the device which could bring them home, the crew of the Voyager - led by Capt. Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), and the crew of the Maquis ship - led by Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran), must work as a united front in order to meet their mutual goal of finding a way home...

The Star Trek: Voyager (Season 5) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "Night" in which Capt. Janeway makes the decision to use the Voyager to aid one of its enemies while she reflects on the consequences of the various decisions she's made in the four years that Voyager has been trapped in the Delta Quadrant... Other notable episodes from Season 5 include "Nothing Human" in which B'Elanna becomes violently ill when an alien seizes control of her nervous system, and "Think Tank" in which the Voyager is ambushed by an alien race but given a solution to the attack when an alien "think tank" comes to its rescue...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Star Trek: Voyager (Season 5) DVD:

Episode 95 (Night)
Episode 96 (Drone) 
Episode 97 (Extreme Risk) 
Episode 98 (In the Flesh)
Episode 99 (Once Upon a Time)
Episode 100 (Timeless)
Episode 101 (Infinite Regress) 
Episode 102 (Nothing Human) 
Episode 103 (Thirty Days)
Episode 104 (Counterpoint)
Episode 105 (Latent Image)
Episode 106 (Bride of Chaotica!)
Episode 107 (Gravity)
Episode 108 (Bliss)
Episode 109 (Dark Frontier: Part 1)
Episode 110 (Dark Frontier: Part 2)
Episode 111 (The Disease)
Episode 112 (Course: Oblivion)
Episode 113 (The Fight)
Episode 114 (Think Tank)
Episode 115 (Juggernaut)
Episode 116 (Someone to Watch Over Me)
Episode 117 (11:59)
Episode 118 (Relativity)
Episode 119 (Warhead)
Episode 120 (Equinox: Part 1)

The DVD Report

When I received this set it contained no Disk #2 and 2 Disk #5s. I have e-mailed the seller to see if they will rectify the situation and I'm waiting for their response.

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (Director's Edition) (Star Trek)

2005-10-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (Director's Edition)

B0000683DH
Paramount Home Video
06 August, 2002
Although Star Trek: The Motion Picture had been a box-office hit, it was by no means a unanimous success with Star Trek fans, who responded much more favorably to the "classic Trek" scenario of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Inspired by the "Space Seed" episode of the original TV series, the film reunites newly promoted Admiral Kirk with his nemesis from the earlier episode--the genetically superior Khan (Ricardo Montalban)--who is now seeking revenge upon Kirk for having been imprisoned on a desolated planet. Their battle ensues over control of the Genesis device, a top-secret Starfleet project enabling entire planets to be transformed into life-supporting worlds, pioneered by the mother (Bibi Besch) of Kirk's estranged and now-adult son. While Mr. Spock mentors the young Vulcan Lt. Saavik (then-newcomer Kirstie Alley), Kirk must battle Khan to the bitter end, through a climactic starship chase and an unexpected crisis that will cost the life of Kirk's closest friend. This was the kind of character-based Trek that fans were waiting for, boosted by spectacular special effects, a great villain (thanks to Montalban's splendidly melodramatic performance), and a deft combination of humor, excitement, and wondrous imagination. Director Nicholas Meyer (who would play a substantial role in the success of future Trek features) handles the film as a combination of Moby Dick, Shakespearean tragedy, World War II submarine thriller, and dazzling science fiction, setting the successful tone for the Trek films that followed. --Jeff Shannon
After the special effects showcase that was Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Wrath of Khan was ready to film with a lower budget and a less-known director. However, this installment helped to shape Star Trek for years to come.
In TMP, they attempted to make the cast look younger, like very little time had passed. However in this one, Kirk is having a midlife crisis on his fiftieth birthday. There is much more focus on the characters in this one, and the special effects are there for the story. Also, gone are the space pyjamas from TMP, replaced with red, militarisitc uniforms, which would be the standard for the rest of the original series movies.
The character Khan from the original series episode Space Seed returns. We find that after he was exiled, the lush planet he was set down on suffered from the explosion of a nearby planet. Few of his crew survived, and his wife was one of the people to die. For all this, he blames Kirk, and when Chekov and his captain, Terrel arrive on the planet, Khan forces them to take him up to their ship.
This movie also introduced Saavik, a female Vulcan cadet who would appear for the next few films. We also see Kirk's ex, and he meets his son, David Marcus.
I know that this movie is great for Trek fans, but a friend who never saw Star Trek liked it, so I would say that anybody should give this movie a chance.

I grew up in the 1970s on "Star Trek" reruns. I had the first ten issues of Starlog magazine and breathlessly read of any news of a Trek movie. I had the Starfleet jacket (that I snagged on barbed wire the FIRST DAY I wore it). I still have the Enterprise blueprints in the original package.
It was a glorious time to be alive and be a sci-fi nerd, my friends.

But STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE came out in '79...and I almost fell asleep. It was almost as if they were afraid to cut loose and let these characters go. Or they figured if they could cram a ton of SFX and the legions of sci-fi nerds would be happily hypnotized.

Thank God for STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN. 
I was in college by then and had started drifting away from sci-fi, instead choosing headier movies like ALTERED STATES and BLADE RUNNER.
But KHAN came along and restored my faith in the possibilities of Star Trek. Even my college roommate, easily the most mocking cynical person I've ever met, got off on KHAN. When he got drunk after seeing it, he'd lay on the floor and bellow over and over again, "KKKHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

So here I am, over 20 years later, and I just watched it on cable TV. And it's still the best Trek they've ever made. I loved those guys. Kirk dealing with age and a son who despised him. Spock still stiffly trying to be a human friend to his human friends. Bones getting crankier, Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, Scotty. 
I wish I still had that jacket.
(Although I never had those ears....)

In short, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, was the best of all the Star Trek movies. More importantly, WRATH OF KHAN was a vast improvement over its predacessor STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. MOTION PICTURE was eagerly awaited by fans. The camera work and special affects were works of art. In fact, many reviews commented that STTMP was a beautiful film with a lame plot.

WRATH OF KHAN corrected the shortcomings of the first film. The interior of the Enterprise, which was white and sterile in the first movie, took on a little more contrast in KHAN. Star Fleet uniforms definitely improved moving from the STTMP's pajamas to something more military. We also were able to see phasers, photon torpedoes (only one was fired in STTMP), and transporters.

More importantly, WRATH OF KHAN is a combat story with lots of action. Actor Ricardo Montalban reprised his 1960s role as the genetically improved warrior Khan. Not only is it good to see an additional familiar face from the classic Trek years, Khan is a unique character in that although he is Kirk's nemesis, he could quite as easily have been his best friend.

The DVD director's edition of WRATH OF KHAN is vastly superior to the previous VHS releases. Additionally, this version contains footage that has not been seen since WRATH OF KHAN premiered on the ABC Sunday Night Movie in the mid 1980s. The restored sound and James Horner music is terrific.

Special features also include interviews with Nicholas Meyer, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban. None of the features include any interviews with Kirstie Alley -- even though this was the film that introduced her to movie audiences. Quite possibly there are still some hard feelings with Kirstie's salary demand -- denied, of course -- during negotiations for Star Trek III.

Also interesting is a DVD chapter devoted to the special effects. WRATH OF KHAN benefited greatly from lessons learned during STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. On the other hand, some of the special effects were pathetically elementary.

Great to see WRATH OF KHAN in widescreen. This a film that cannot be fully enjoyed on a 13-inch television screen. Go for 27-inch or larger to get the full effect of the battle scene. On the other hand, you could simply move closer to the TV screen.

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 4, Episodes 8 & 9: Charlie X/ Balance of Terror

B00001MXXU
Paramount Studio
19 October, 1999
Volume 4 from the DVD collection of original Star Trek programs includes broadcast episode 2, the memorable "Charlie X," starring Robert Walker Jr. as a troubled teen presenting two big problems: pathological immaturity and powerful telekinetic powers. After he wills the destruction of a starship that drops him off with the Enterprise, the titular delinquent stalks a female member of the crew and creates havoc using his terrifying ability to make people, in his own words, "go away."
Also on this disc is "Balance of Terror," a terrific drama that was essentially an outer-space version of a 1950s submarine movie. Writer Paul Schneider introduced both the Romulans and the concept of a "neutral zone" to Trek lore, wrapped up in this story about the first encounter between a Federation and Romulan ship in 75 years. The resulting face-off between two vessels and their strong, noble captains--Kirk (William Shatner) and his Romulan counterpart (Mark Lenard, who later played Spock's Vulcan father, Sarek)--is directed and edited with suspense worthy of the classic sub movie, The Enemy Below. It's an example of how the original Trek series took lots of risks and constantly invented itself, in contrast to the more codified look and feel of The Next Generation and subsequent series. --Tom Keogh
In "Charlie X," Robert Walker plays another of Gene Roddenberry's mad omnipotent beings, in this case a young man who was given incredible power by benevolent aliens to enable him to survive on a barren planet. Rescued by humans, he lacks the social skills, maturity, and self-control to use his abilities responsibly and soon endangers the crew of the Enterprise. This is an excellent episode with several chilling moments; a brief shot of a faceless young woman groping along the wall really freaked me out as a kid and remains effective today. The theme of "power corrupts" had not yet become the Trek clichÃ© that it would, but coming so soon on the heels of "Where No Man Has Gone Before," one can definitely see a pattern developing.

"Balance of Terror" introduces the Romulans and features a cat-and-mouse game between the Enterprise and a new generation of Romulan warship that has been sent across the Neutral Zone to probe the Federation for weaknesses. This was the first episode to place the Federation of Planets within a geopolitical (spacial-political?) context that would set the stage for the many stories and arcs concerning the confrontations of galactic superpowers that is a particular strength of the various Trek series. Mark Lenard gives a commanding performance as the Romulan captain.

The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Charlie X
Conducting a rendezvous with the transport ship Antares the Starship Enterprise takes onboard a seventeen year old passenger named Charlie Evans for transport to Colony Alpha Five. Charlie who was the sole survivor of a transport ship crash fourteen years prior on the planet Thasus was orphaned yet still he somehow managed to survive, learning how to speak by using the ships library tapes, and after the ship's supply of food concentrates had run out found other things to eat just growing around. Having had no human contact all that time proves to be tough on the young man, who desperately wants to be accepted by the people he comes into contact with on the Enterprise. Charlie finds his first experience dealing with women, especially Yeoman Janice Rand extremely awkward. Charlie has more than a passing infatuation with Yeoman Rand, and this infatuation leads Charlie into an embarrassing encounter. Imitating some friendly interaction between two male crew members that Charlie witnessed earlier the eager young man gives Yeoman Rand a friendly pat on her bottom in response to being asked to meet her in the recreation room after she's off duty. Flustered Yeoman Rand suggested that Charlie talk to Captain Kirk or Dr. McCoy and ask one of them what he did wrong.

Upon taking Yeoman Rand's advice Charlie seeks out Captain Kirk with whom Charlie starts to look up to for an etiquette lesson in regards to dealing with women. Jim Kirk who feels commanding a starship with a crew of 428 easier than giving advice about women to a teenage boy finds the experience new and confusing and is saved from further awkwardness by having to respond to an urgent call from Captain Ramart, commander of the Antares. Kirk heads to the bridge with Charlie tagging along and upon arrival the duo find Lt Uhura desperately trying to establish communications with the Antares which was transmitting at full output, Captain Ramart started to give Captain Kirk a warning when suddenly the channel went dead, Uhura attempts to reestablish contact with the Antares when Charlie makes a comment about the "poor" construction of the cargo ship arousing some suspicion from Kirk. Conducting a sweep with probe scanners Spock verifies that the Antares has been destroyed. 

Kirk, lamenting the destruction of the Antares and the twenty crew on board while engaging in a "friendly" game of chess with Mr. Spock discusses what happened to the Antares and how Charlie seemed to know what happened before they did they did. Charlie who has developed a "crush" on Yeoman Rand experiences feelings that frustrate and confuse the young man which in turn make life uncomfortable and awkward for Yeoman Rand who enlists the aid of Captain Kirk for some "fatherly advice". Kirk lays it all out for the seventeen year old with raging hormones prompting Kirk to not only bust Charlie's bubble concerning Janice but also that life isn't always fun or fair. 

Kirk in an attempt to help Charlie try and forget about Rand and relieve some stress takes Charlie to the ship's gym for a little workout and a lesson in self defense. Kirk attempts to teach Charlie a throwing technique which Charlie doesn't perform so well proves disastrous as one of Kirk's crewman who is also working out in the gym as well playfully laughs at the frustrated young man. Charlie who is embarrassed at not being able to get the throw right and is livid at the fact that the crewman is laughing at him makes him "go away". Shocked at witnessing his crewman disappear and even more shocked at the fact that Charlie was responsible for making it happen orders security to come for Charlie and escort him to his quarters. Resisting the security guards with his powers Charlie forces Kirk to threaten him with punitive measures if Charlie doesn't comply. Charlie relents and reluctantly goes with the security guards who are weaponless thanks to him.

Meeting with Spock and McCoy in the briefing room Kirk and the two senior officers discuss what happened in the gym and the danger the awkward teenager with the powerful weapon within him poses not only to the Enterprise but to the population of Colony Alpha Five as well. Theorizing that Charlie caused the destruction of the Antares, a theory which proves to be true the trio realizes that they are in the hands of a dangerously immature and unpredictable adolescent. Charlie starts to exert his control over the Enterprise by locking it on a course for Colony Five and cutting off communications despite Kirk's attempts to change the course of the ship away from the colony so they can buy some time and warn the colony's governor about Charlie. Charlie who punishes Kirk and Spock for not being nice and who makes Janice Rand the women he is obsessed over "go away" for slapping him across the face is in full control of the ship and crew and uses his power to get even with those who annoy him or get in his way. Kirk who must stop Charlie at all costs sees a window of opportunity in stopping the "boy" who lives in a man's body, realizing that Charlie may have over stretched himself in controlling the whole ship decides to tax him further by turning on every device, light and anything else in hopes that Charlie can be distracted so he can be tranquilized until the ship reaches Colony Five. Kirk takes the chance and plays the dangerous game with the powerful teenager. 

The plan proves be successful and just as Kirk is about to deliver the knockout blow to the boy, a ship from Thasus arrives to take Charlie home. The Thasians who were supposedly only a legend taught him the power of molecular transformation which allowed him to survive those fourteen years on Thasus. Remorseful at the destruction of the Antares which the alien beings cannot change the Thasians undo all the harm Charlie caused the Enterprise and her crew. Charlie who desperately wants to stay with the Enterprise and who desperately pleas for Kirk to let him stay shows some kind of remorse at what he's done. The Thasians reject Kirk's offer to let the boy stay with the Enterprise and his own kind take the fearful, panicking yet dangerous remorseful young man away. 

This episode gives Kirk a chance at being a father figure and there are some humorous results.

Star Trek The Next Generation - Jean-Luc Picard Collection B00023P4F6Paramount (Star Trek)

2005-10-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Star Trek The Next Generation - Jean-Luc Picard Collection

B00023P4F6
Paramount Home Video
03 August, 2004

"The Jean-Luc Picard Collection" gathers 7 of TNG's best episodes involving the Captain Jean-Luc Picard character. All of the episodes are great, and a few included here are bonafide Trek classics, including "Tapestry" and "Family". I highly recommend it to anyone who can't afford the $100 season boxes.

My Ratings (out of 5 - if anyone cares in the first place)
The Big Goodbye - 4/5, Sarek - 4.5/5, Family - 5/5, The Inner Light - 5/5, Tapestry - 5/5, Darmok - 4.5/5, The Drumhead - 4.5/5

The only downside to this is that there are a few more episodes that could be included here, like "Best of Both Worlds pts. 1&2". Hopefully there will be similar collections released in the near future that will deal with the other characters & perhaps some of the villains as well. The extra-documentary "From Here to Infinity" (narrated by Patrick Stewart) is a littel klanky, but if you think you might like a documentary on space exploration, then you'll probably enjoy it. I found it interesting myself, despite its flaws.

I agree with an earlier reviewer that this was an excellent idea for a DVD package of ST:TNG episodes. An avid fan, I nevertheless cannot justify (or even handle) the expense of purchasing the complete seasons on DVD. Special collections would answer the needs of fans such as myself -- which is why I would have liked to see others presented as well, perhaps focusing on Data, Worf, Riker & Troi, and so forth.

I purchased this, frankly, solely for the inclusion of "The Inner Light", in my mind one of the finest hours of science fiction television ever produced. It alone was well worth the price of the DVD.

However, I must also agree that the absence of "The Best of Both Worlds", "Chain of Command" and even "All Good Things..." is puzzling. This first two, in particular, are the definitive Picard episodes, and the collection seems odd without them.

As an avid fan I already own the entire NG series on DVD and this seems to be just a ploy to draw more money from Trek fans. However, since Paramount is doing this, and no doubt it will sell, why not also make a collection of the Borg episodes and include or offer alongside, the First Contact Movie. So when the Voyager series is completed we can expect the Voyager-Borg collection as well. The Borg, the aliens you love to hate!

If your don't own the series this is a good way to get a 'piece of the action' cheap. The Inner Light is by far the best episode in this collection. 


Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 12, Episodes 23 & 24: A Taste of Armageddon/ Space Seed

0792160959
Paramount Studio
23 May, 2000
Volume 12 in the classic Star Trek series on DVD begins with "Space Seed," which introduced Khan Noonien Singh (a viperlike Ricardo Montalban) to Trek lore. The trouble begins when Kirk & crew discovers a derelict ship and its crew of 70 supermen aboard, all in suspended animation. Led by Khan, these strange people turn out to be the product of genetic experimentation in the 1990s and instigators of a so-called Eugenics War, i.e., the Third World War on Earth often mentioned on various Trek programs. Though displaced from his more violent time and place, Khan quickly overcomes his disorientation and shifts into conqueror mode, quickly overtaking the Enterprise with the aid of a comely Federation historian who is swooning at his feet. As any Trek fan knows, "Space Seed" inspired Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, regarded by many as the best of the Trek feature films.
"A Taste of Armageddon" is one of classic Trek's occasional, obvious metaphors for the absurdity of the then-cold war between East and West. Gene Lyons stars as a Federation ambassador named Fox, who boards the Enterprise to reach the planet Eminiar VII, where he hopes to negotiate a peace treaty with the inhabitants. Instead the crew of the Enterprise gets caught in the middle of an interplanetary war between Eminiar and neighboring planet Vendikar. The twist is that the war is being fought on computers, and compliant residents of those "destroyed" areas obediently report to disintegration chambers, where their "virtual" death is made literal. When the Enterprise is "hit" in one of these simulations, both the warlords of Eminiar VII and Ambassador Fox fully expect Capt. Kirk & crew to report to the disintegration center. The feisty Kirk has other plans, of course. And while the madness of this controlled armageddon makes a suitably surreal satire of the arms race in the 1960s, the story also evoked the endless, daily reports of body counts during the Vietnam war, with no resolution in sight. Aside from its parable aspect, however, the episode gave Kirk one of his earliest and most compelling scenes of Kirkian preachiness in a bold monologue about peace, reportedly written and rewritten numerous times by series producer and indispensable creative hand, Gene L. Coon. --Tom Keogh
The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

A Taste of Armaggedon-This thoughtful episode concerns a planet that has sanitized war. The episode explores important themes such as 1) the sacrifice of the individual good for the societal, and 2) the drawbacks of all types of war. The latter issue in particular remains a timely one as science continues to pursue technologies that may (at times unwittingly lead to more efficient and sanitized killing. This is one episode where Kirk offers a convincing and fresh argument against a society's folly. Another plus of the episode is that it admits shades of gray rather than oversimplifying the issues. Add in a plot twist that brings the Enterprise and crew more directly into the action, and you've got a winning show. Strong guest acting, from Opatoshu, Babcock, and Lyons also boost this episode (4.5 stars)
Tidbit: Barbara Babcock would reappear in Plato's Stepchildren during season three.
Space Seed-This classic episode first introduces us to the eugenically bred Khan. Here we have another thoughtful episode that prophesizes an issue ('unnatural' selection) that would feature prominently in the headlines today. It is interesting to see Kirk and company portrayed as 'inferiors' (in a narrow sense of the word) for much of the episode. The scene that ends with Khan threatening Kirk is particularly tense and threatening. Ricardo Monteblan is also effective in his scenes as leader and seducer.
The acting performances and tight script lend an air of subtle believability to this episode that wouldn't always be present on Star Trek. The conflict and drama are well developed. Also interesting is Kirk's ultimate compassion, which of course distinguishes him from the 20th Century leader. Trek, like many great westerns, often found a way to show that compassion and humanity did not have to be synonymous with weakness, passivity, or the absence of charisma. These are important messages for young viewers. Left open here is whether that compassion here will ultimately come back to hurt the Federation. The difficult question is whether one must follow their conscience even when the long term consequences may be detrimental.
Tidbit: This episode features one of Star Trek's most notorious bloopers, in which a dropped phaser visibly distresses several onlookers, particularly DeForest Kelley. (4.5 stars)

This is not really a review but rather a question. I would love to own the entire Star Trek Original Series on DVD but I have a serious problem with buying them two episodes at a time, which I refuse to do. Does anyone know if the origianl series will ever be released by season in a boxed set format similar to the TNG and DS9 sets? #1) If I were to pruchase them in the current two episodes per disc format it would be way too expensive for me to buy them all. #2) Not to mention that it would take too much storage space. I would NOT be reluctant, however, to purchase a boxed set of each season in the...say $$ to $$$ range. By releasing ST:TOS in this format I believe that Paramount could profit from people like me who do not want to waste their time or money purchasing ST:TOS DVDs in the current format. If anyone has any info on the possible future release of ST:TOS boxed sets, please let me know. Thank you.
Greg West

Star Trek: Nemesis Movie-tie In 0743526880Audioworks01 December, 2002Thought this book (Star Trek)

2005-10-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

Star Trek: Nemesis Movie-tie In

0743526880
Audioworks
01 December, 2002

Thought this book was an adult, paperback adaptation of this Star Trek Nemesis movie. If you aren't an adult, avoid this copy of the book!

There was never a happier time for the officers of Jean-Luc Picard's Enterprise, as Will Riker and Deanna Troi marry with their friends and colleagues surrounding them. Meanwhile, on far-off Romulus, the senate chamber lights with death planted by a saboteur - death that clears the way for a Human reared on Remus to take power there. Shinzon, the "Reman but not Reman" whom the long-enslaved inhabitants of that world claim as their prophesied savior, need Jean-Luc Picard in order to survive. Even though Picard, toasting Riker and Troi at their Alaskan wedding reception, doesn't yet know the much younger man exists.

J.M. Dillard's novelizations of the Star Trek films are always well done, and this book is no exception. It fills in much that the movie skimmed or skipped over entirely, and by so doing holds the reader's interest even if that reader recalls the film in detail. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I WOULD RECOMEND THIS BOOK TO ANYONE WHO LIKES STAR TREK.
IT FALLOWES THE MOVIE, BUT GETS OFF THE SUBJECT SOMETIMES.
THE AUTHOR MAKES IT SOUND LIKE YOUR INSIDE THE CHARACTER, AS SOON
AS I STARTED READING THIS BOOK I DID NOT WANT TO PUT IT DOWN!
*********************READ!!************************

From Sawdust to Stardust : The Biography of DeForest Kelley, Star Trek's Dr. McCoy

0743457625
Pocket
01 February, 2005

This book is beautifully written. After finishing the book you really have a good impression about what kind of man DeForest Kelley was. I felt like I really got to know him. The author has done an extraordinarily good job with the research. From his Childhood years to the years after Star Trek. Every page is filled with wonderful information about DeForest and his beloved ones. You not only learn about him but also about his wife, his friends and family. His work, his love for animals, hobbies.

This is the life about DeForest. This is the book he deserved. After reading this book I love him even more. Thank you so much Terry.

What You'll Learn About Deforest Kelley From T.L. Rioux's Book:
-- Kelley was emotionally estranged from his father and brother.
-- He ditched his family as soon as he was old enough, rarely helping with their problems later in life.
-- He avoided military service during WWII for as long as possible and then used it to make connections in Hollywood.
-- He and his wife were quiet alcoholics.
-- His wife dominated him and exhibited symptoms of a social anxiety disorder.
-- He gave up on acting, avoided non-Star Trek jobs after the ST film checks starting rolling in.
-- He took on the role of father figure to emotionally needy women.
-- He had a raunchy sense of humor around fellow actors, masking it around fans.
-- The "Healer of true mythological proportions" smoked until late in life, resisted medical care and died of cancer.

What You'll Learn About Kelley's Fans From These Reviews:
-- They want the McCoy character to fit the actor so badly they'll shoehorn a flawed man into a fantasy role.
-- They can't recognize poor writing.

Though it is evident that the author has done a lot of research and interviewed many people in DeForest Kelley's life, this book is poorly written. In many places it reads like a transcript of stream-of-thought interviews, and many things seem only barely relevant - such as pages-long digressions on the careers of friends and relatives. I'm left with the impression that De Kelley was sort of a shallow person, a personable, mellow guy, drinking and smoking life away between parts. They're often scraping on the edge of poverty but always have enough cash for "partying." 

It was interesting to learn of Kelley's many brushes with big stars during his movie years. And we do find out about his Army career, some behind the scenes stories of the "Trek" years, and the story behind his pinky ring. But after reading this book it appears there wasn't a lot to the interior life of De Kelley other than relaxing with his wife, smoking and drinking, and watching the grass grow in his back yard. The "Dr. McCoy" who inspired generations to enter the medical profession was in reality a heavy smoker who died by inches from cancer in the hospital. 

This book really needs some editing to make it more readable. Perhaps someone else can take the author's extensive source material and depict a much more engaging "Horatio Alger" story of this starving actor's slow rise to worldwide fame.

Dune Extended Edition [Duna Import] B00099ZYJOVersatilI understand why David Lynch (Star Trek)

2005-10-19T01:13:00.000-07:00

Dune Extended Edition [Duna Import]

B00099ZYJO
Versatil

I understand why David Lynch took his name off. The pace is just too slow. As a fan of Dune, I appreciate the extra content from the book that was missing from the theatrical release. I appreciate this version as a collector, but I feel the 2001 version of Dune was a better movie.

This film is an attempt to put The Book -- Dune to film. I felt that it falls short of the production made by the Science Fiction Channel. It was also fairly expensive for what you get. I enjoyed viewing it, but it's not the kind of film you would watch more than once a year.

Bad copy - unusable - no help from seller. Don't buy from here!

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

B0006VIE4C
20th Century Fox

Star Wars was noimanated 10 oscars:Best Picture, Best Director, Best supporting actor, Best screenplay, Best sound, Best music orginal score, Best Film editing, Best visuall effects, Best costum design and Best art derection. It won 6 and lost 4 oscars. It lost Best Picture to Annie Hall. It desivers that oscar.

I know it sounds so cheesy. A movie made me who I am today? Well, I watched this movie when I was 12 and today I'm a Science Fiction bookseller. It started me on my road to a love of Science Fiction. I'd never seen a movie before that had my eyes bugging out of my head. The scenes were so ... so above and beyond ... so out there from my little 12-year-old reality. It had me looking forward to what could be.

episode 3 the 1st best episode 5 the second best this is the third best episode 1 is the fourth best episode 2 was the 5th best episode six is the 6th best

Killing Blow: Errand of Vengeance Book Two (Star Trek The (Star Trek)

2005-10-18T21:10:00.000-07:00

Killing Blow: Errand of Vengeance Book Two (Star Trek The Original Series)

074344602X
Star Trek
01 August, 2002

This is a reasonably good novel, but not nearly as good as the first of the series. For one thing, it is less able to stand on its own merit without reading the rest of the series than the first was; for another, the writing/editing was sloppier. There are a few of the typical mass-market paperback errors, which I don't remember seeing in the first book, things like saying "seceded" when "succeeded" was intended, or "face" instead of "fact". Also, there is one place where Kell is referred to by his brother Karel's name, and one where Karel is referred to as Kell. These are minor quibbles, but still annoying, and when added to the fact that the book suffers from a mild case of "middle-book-itis", the bane of second books in trilogies, it keeps it from being rated quite so highly as the first. Still, it is an enjoyable read, and the characterization, plot, dialogue, and pacing are all quite good.

Mr. Ryan has continued his fine saga in this book. A very good read, and if you're a hardcore Trek fan (and I can't stress this enough) the entire series is a MUST READ. Mr. Ryan masterfully ties in many stories from many original series episodes and characters. Trek fans always love a familiar reference, and Mr. Ryan passes out plenty. But more importanly, they're neatly giftwrapped in an extremely well-written book and finely crafted story lines.

The second book in this trilogy is even more action packed than book one, with more exciting battles and heroic deeds, but the cracks also begin to show. While the continuity with the first book is maintained there are more technical and historical flaws in this work which to me weakens the plot slightly (*that's the trouble when you are an obsessed, nit-picking fan like me !!!). The Star Trek regulars are present but only Kirk and Spock make any significant contribution to the story, and there are fewer references to the original series events. The main character "Kell", is starting to lose his appeal which I suspect is to set up his end in the last book. It is ironic that as he becomes more "human" he becomes less interesting !!! However the thing that bothers me about this novel is the breakdown of logical storytelling elements, as this suggests the plot is being stretched too far. I have however rated this book the same as book one because although the first one had a more solid story base, this one pumps up the action to an even higher level. So if you're into Star Trek that gets the old pulse racing, this one is for you !!!

Doors into Chaos (Star Trek The Next Generation: Gateways, Book 3)

0743418565
Star Trek
28 August, 2001

I've read the TNG, DS9, New Frontier, and Voyager Gateways books as well as the corresponding portions of the 7th book. And of those the TNG book is easily the best of the series. Yes it does start out a tad slow, but to me this building of the story is what makes it so great. The author goes out of his way to make sure you completely understand the seriousness of the gateway situation. I also enjoyed the fact that this one had several different things happening all at once with the crew basically split up to accomplish the goal.
In addition I liked the nod to Voyager with the Nyrians that were lost in the Alpha Quadrant.
The purpose for my title "There's Something About TNG" is that when it comes to book series that span them all TNG seems to get the best stories. I also enjoyed TNG's Section 31 book the best of the Section 31 series.

Of the five I've read (excluding Challenger), this was the most disappointing Gateways book. I am a huge TNG fan, but this book was very slow.
I enjoyed Troi as Captain, but that was about it. And the crew of her ship had some personality.
This book and the Deep Space 9 version, were the most integrated of the Gateways series. Between the two, most of the Gateways story is told, prior to the conclusion in book 7 and you will definitely want to read the conclusion. If you like a series, read these two for sure. You may not need to read Voyager, or New Frontier. If you don't like a series, these are the two to avoid. See my review on the others.

As my review title suggest this one for me was the best so far. But book 4 is turning out to be just as good and maybe even better. I have to finish to be sure. Book one and especially two were major disappointments. Two was confusing!!! I know most people haven't rated this book well but the story was to me a lot easier to follow compared to book 2 and the characters much more realistic to the Star Trek universe.
There are many references to past episodes even to other Trek books that blend in wonderfully. The story helps advance major story lines that belong to other series too. I also enjoyed the many species that are involved and for me well written. It was great to read this book and reminded me why I like TNG so much.

Star Trek V - The Final Frontier 6305350205Paramount Studio20 April, (Star Trek)

2005-10-18T17:10:00.000-07:00

Star Trek V - The Final Frontier

6305350205
Paramount Studio
20 April, 1999
Movie critic Roger Ebert summed it up very succinctly: "Of all of the Star Trek movies, this is the worst." Subsequent films in the popular series have done nothing to disprove this opinion; we can be grateful that they've all been significantly better since this film was released in 1989. After Leonard Nimoy scored hits with Star Trek III and IV, William Shatner used his contractual clout (and bruised ego) to assume directorial duties on this mission, in which a rebellious Vulcan (Laurence Luckinbill) kidnaps Federation officials in his overzealous quest for the supreme source of creation. That's right, you heard it correctly: Star Trek V is about a crazy Vulcan's search for God. By the time Kirk, Spock, and their Federation cohorts are taken to the Great Barrier of the galaxy, this journey to "the final future" has gone from an embarrassing prologue to an absurd conclusion, with a lot of creaky plotting in between. Of course, die-hard Trekkies will still allow this movie into their video collections; but they'll only watch it when nobody else is looking. After this humbling experience, Shatner wisely relinquished the director's chair to Star Trek II's Nicholas Meyer. --Jeff Shannon
Seriously, this movie was much better than expected. I've heard nothing but bad things and negative remarks for this instalment in the Star Trek motion picture series, and thus I had to find out for myself if all this hatred was truly justified.

The one time I caught The Final Frontier was when I was a wee lad, so my memories of it are practically non-existent. Watching it on this 2-disc DVD edition, I found myself intrigues by the opening sequence featuring Sybok, and the Mount Rushmore sequence between Kirk, Spock, and Bones was totally charming and wonderful.

The idea behind the story is good - the crew of the Enterprise meeting God, although execution is flawed and the FX is awful. But these are flaws from a technical standpoint, and though one might want to blame director William Shatner for it, history has proved that there were many things that affected the production that was beyond his control.

Overall, I enjoyed The Final Frontier. It's definitely not the best in the series, but is hardly the worst (that distinction still falls on The Motion Picture, IMHO). It's a very flawed movie, but this DVD is well worth the money if only to see more of the behind the scenes story behind The Final Frontier.

Star Trek V is certainly not a highlight of the series, but I do not feel like blaming this completely on director William Shatner. As you may or may not be aware, there is much of this film that was cut out due to budget difficulties, and the late arrival of models to the studio forced the special effects to be rushed.
Also, due to the success of the humorous Star Trek IV, Paramount forced some cheap laughs into Shatner's originally dark script. There is also a bit that is left unexplained, including how the Enterprise reached the center of the galaxy in a number of hours, and why Spock's half-brother has remained a mystery until now, among other things.
Despite its many flaws, there are some aspects of The Final Frontier to be appreciated. In some bookend scenes, we get to see some bonding moments between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. There was also some well-done set design, in particular Paradise City. Also, shooting smoke into the sky on the location where they shot Sha Ka Ree, blocking out the sun, really did have a mystical effect.
Anyways, I believe this is a film that must be seen to be judged fairly.

My gosh, I'm not sure where to begin. This movie was just horrible! This is easily the worst Star Trek film ever and that's is definitely saying something because to date, it's the only film in the theatrical series I've seen! 

Like the other Star Trek films (so I read anyway) this one continues the trend of trying to explore some deep, serious issues. In this case, The Final Frontier tries to answer the question that many people today still ask: is there a God? It's an interesting (if potentially blasphemous) basis for the story but the execution of it onscreen is awful. The plotting is a mess and the aging cast can't do anything to prop the movie up. I was thoroughly unimpressed by the special effects. ILM wasn't available (thanks to Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) and it looks as if the film was handed over to some second-rate effects house.

The tagline for this movie read, "Why are they putting seatbelts in the theaters this summer?" The answer seems obvious now: So the audience won't walk out of the screening!

Darkhorse86

Captain's Glory (Star Trek: All)

0743453433
Star Trek
22 August, 2006

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 9, Episodes 17 (Star Trek)

2005-10-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 9, Episodes 17 & 18: Shore Leave/ The Squire of Gothos

6305754993
Paramount Studio
21 March, 2000
Volume 9 of Paramount's DVD series of original Star Trek episodes includes "Shore Leave," written by a literary giant in science fiction, Theodore Sturgeon. The story concerns a break in the action for the Enterprise crew, nearly all of whom beam down to the surface of an Eden-like planet for shore leave, where they find that everyone's wish comes true. Individuals from crew members' pasts turn up, fantasies of romance or heroism are instantly realized--and if it all seems too good to be true, it is. In time, the dark side of this dream shows itself when people start getting killed. This episode emerges from the trippier side of Star Trek's personality, and very cleverly sheds light on the personalities of the show's major characters by making their dreams manifest.
Also on this disc is a real treat for long-haul Trekkers: "The Squire of Gothos," an entertaining program in its own right and the obvious blueprint for "Encounter at Farpoint," Gene Roddenberry's pilot episode for Star Trek: The Next Generation. Guest star William Campbell plays Trelane, a bratty, impulsive alien given to wearing costumes appropriate for an 18th-century French aristocrat. Equipped with godlike powers that allow him to alter and manipulate the world around him, Trelane is the prototype of The Next Generation's beloved quasi villain, Q (John de Lancie). Like Q, Trelane regards the crew of the Enterprise as playthings, and when Captain Kirk (William Shatner) disrupts his games, the omniscient boy-man puts humanity itself on trial. Great stuff. --Tom Keogh
The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Great! Would buy from this seller again. Rec'd order in reasonable time.

Shore Leave-I find this episode, in which anything that pops into one's mind is almost immediately realized, to be funny, entertaining, and original. Certainly much of the material is very hoaky, but it's never good to watch Trek with too critical an eye. This episode's premise also introduced a flexibility which helped flesh out some of the characters. Examples include the look at Kirk's academy days and McCoy's waggish ways with the ladies here. Overall, an off-beat and upbeat tone prevails, despite the episode's substantial (if temporary) negative twist. (4 stars)
The Squire of Gothos-Another bizarre and campy episode, this one features a spoiled child who has designed himself a baroque castle. Like the former episode, this one presents us with a phantasmagoria of seemingly random, if stereotypical, scenarios. The tone is more ominous here, however, thanks in large part to some well-conceived shots (such as the shadow of the noose during Kirk's trial). The castle's blend of gilded glitz with incomplete realization increase the sense of unreality.
Unlike later shows (most notably 3rd season ones), the unreality here is not dreamlike however. There is a sharpness about this episode; the dialogue is literal and more crisp than in most 3rd season shows, which often felt more detached non-commital and ambivalent, while being softer-edged and more atmospheric.
Campbell, who later returned for The Trouble With Tribbles also gives a strong performance. After a while the gags start to lose their novelty though, and the episode seems to struggle to fill time. Another possible critique (although it doesn't really bother me) is that the episode ultimately doesn't have a lot to say. Still most of us, at some point in our lives, have had the experience of having to jump through hoops at another's whim; there isn't always a lot of meaning behind that either. (3 stars)

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 5, Episodes 10 & 11: What Are Little Girls Made Of?/ Dagger of the Mind

B000022TTL
Paramount Studio
14 December, 1999
Volume 5 from the DVD collection of original Star Trek programs includes "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Written by Robert Bloch (author of the novel Psycho, the basis of Hitchcock's film), the episode finds Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett) beaming down to planet Exo III, where Christine is to be reunited with her fiancé, Dr. Roger Korby (Michael Strong). The meeting is less than joyful, however, when it becomes clear that Korby has been developing androids that he intends to spread throughout the galaxy--using the Enterprise as his delivery vehicle. This was certainly the first significant performance for Majel Barrett in the Trek family; longtime fans know she went on to play Lwaxana Troi on The Next Generation (and Mrs. Gene Roddenberry in real life). An entertaining episode all around, with the notion of an android Kirk somehow amusing. (Maybe it was the android who sang on that notorious Shatner album.) Fans of '60s TV will also enjoy the performance of Ted Cassidy (the original Lurch from TV's The Addams Family) as the giant android, Ruk.
Also on this DVD is "Dagger of the Mind," another mad-doctor drama. This time, Kirk delivers supplies to a penal colony on Tantalus V, where he meets the renowned Dr. Tristan Adams. Adams has been working on the development of a neural neutralizer to control and manipulate dangerous patients. When Kirk threatens to expose him as a dangerous megalomaniac, Adams uses the technology on the unfortunate captain. This tense piece set in a madhouse atmosphere makes for a riveting episode, with a few unhinged performances adding to the fun.--Tom Keogh
The crew of the Enterprise faces off against a couple of mad scientists in this pair of middling episodes from the classic 60s SF series. 

"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" is the better of the two. Written by veteran genre author Robert Bloch, it tells the story of Dr. Roger Korby's doomed attempt to populate the universe with androids. Ted Cassidy's frightening performance as the gigantic Roc is the highlight of the episode. The way in which messy human emotions befuddle and destabilize arrangements based on the repression of said emotions became a Trek cliche, but it's probably not fair to criricize this episode on that basis since it was among the first to introduce it.

"Dagger of the Mind" is less interesting. Somehow Dr. Tristan and his mind-warping device just don't seem like a worthy enough threat to cross the flagship of the Federation. In addition, it depends on unprofessional behavior on the parts of Kirk and Dr. Helen Noel for much of the drama.

The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Dagger of the Mind
After exchanging cargo with the penal colony on planet Tantalus Five the Enterprise unknowingly takes onboard an inmate who was hiding inside one of the crates beamed up from the planet. The colony contacts the Enterprise to warn them of the escape and that the inmate is an extremely violent and dangerous case. Kirk orders a security alert and the search begins for an intruder that proves to be more than a match for the Enterprise's security detachment. The intruder who makes his way to the bridge holds the command crew at gun point identifying himself as Simon Van Gelder. He asks for asylum and not to be taken back to Tantalus and threatens to disable the ship by destroying crucial operating controls if his demands aren't met. Kirk and Spock are able to subdue Van Gelder, and the ship is ordered back to Tantalus.

In the sick bay Van Gelder struggles to tell Kirk and McCoy about his horrific ordeal. Each word that Van Gelder attempts to speak seems to cause him immense pain. Checking the library tapes Spock learns that Simon Van Gelder is actually Dr. Simon Van Gelder and that he was assigned to the colony six months prior. Contacting the colony, Kirk talks to Dr. Tristan Adams the leader of the Tantalus Penal Colony who tells Kirk that Van Gelder's injuries occurred after he tried an experimental beam on himself. McCoy after having examined Van Gelder has his doubts about Adams's story. Following regulations meant that Kirk would have to file a report and therefore investigate the matter personally. McCoy assigns Dr. Helen Noel from the ship's Psychiatry Department to assist Kirk in determining if there was anything going wrong at the colony. Upon beaming down to the surface and after a stomach churning elevator ride straight down Kirk and Noel are greeted by Dr. Adams. Everything seems to be in order, as Adams takes the duo on a guided tour of the facility. On the tour Kirk visits where Van Gelder's accident took place, a room where the experimental beam called a neural neutralizer was kept. Adams told Kirk and Noel the equipment was an experiment that went wrong and that it was only used in the more severe cases in the hope that it would do some good. The equipment was in use and the technician at the controls gave Kirk a quick tutorial on its operation. The operator controls the intensity of a beam which is directly over the subject who is seated in a chair. The operator places suggestions into the patient's mind via a microphone and these suggestions with help from the intensity of the beam help cure the patient.

Van Gelder warns Spock and McCoy about the neural neutralizer, despite the warnings Kirk decides to stay overnight to continue the investigation. Spock decides to use an ancient Vulcan mind technique on Simon Van Gelder to reach into the doctor's tortured mind. The Enterprise Captain, puzzled about the blankness of the people he had met during his tour and his growing suspicions about Adams himself prompt Kirk to want to take another look at the site of Van Gelder's accident. Using the Vulcan mind technique Spock learns about what Dr. Adams did to Van Gelder. Kirk and Noel make it to the neural neutralizer room and decide to experiment with the device. With Noel at the controls and Kirk in the chair as the "test subject" they learn that it is an extremely effect device. Adams and his henchman "interrupt" their experiment and conduct an experiment of their own. Dr. Adams uses the beam to bend Kirk to his will and suggest that he can't live without Helen Noel a woman with whom Kirk had a brief affair with in the past. Adams tortures Kirk and makes him turn over his phaser and communicator. Kirk tries to resist but the beam, pain and Adams's suggestions are too strong.

Back in their quarters Kirk and Noel plan their escape. Exiting the room via the air ducts Kirk orders Noel to find the power source and short circuit the planet's security screen, a screen that when in operation prevents beaming. Adams continues to torture Kirk with the device and upon learning that Noel had escaped increases the beams intensity to learn where she was at, and with what instructions she had been given. On board the Enterprise Spock attempts to break through the security screen using different transporter frequencies with no success. Noel makes her way to the reactor room, and after kicking a guard into some live circuits temporarily knocks out the planetary security screen as well as several power systems allowing Spock to beam down to the planet. When the power fades out in the neural neutralizer room the beam shuts off allowing Kirk escape the room after knocking out Adams and his henchman, while Spock after beaming down to the planet permanently disables the security screen. Spock also restores the power which reactivates the neural neutralizer with Adams left helpless in the room exposed to the beam. Kirk, Spock and Noel later discover Adams dead in the room, having died from the affects of the machine without even a tormentor for company. Van Gelder having recovered from his injuries returns to the colony to continue his assignment and has the neural neutralizer dismantled forever.

Great performances by a young Marianna Hill, as well as experienced actors James Gregory and Morgan Woodward.

Star Trek Generations (Special Collector's Edition) B0002HDOB8Paramount Home Video28 September, (Star Trek)

2005-10-18T08:12:00.000-07:00

Star Trek Generations (Special Collector's Edition)

B0002HDOB8
Paramount Home Video
28 September, 2004
There were only two ways for "classic Trek" cast members to appear in a movie with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation: either Capt. Kirk and his contemporaries would have to be very, very old, or there would be some time travel involved in the plot. Since geriatric heroes aren't very exciting (despite a welcomed cameo appearance by the aged Dr. McCoy), Star Trek: Generations unites Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in a time-jumping race to stop a madman's quest for heavenly contentment. When a mysterious energy coil called the Nexus nearly destroys the newly christened U.S.S. Enterprise-B, the just-retired Capt. Kirk is lost and presumed dead. But he's actually been happily trapped in the timeless purgatory of the Nexus--an idyllic state of being described by the mystical Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) as "pure joy." Picard must convince Kirk to leave this artificial comfort zone and confront Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), the madman who will threaten billions of lives to be reunited with the addictive pleasure of the Nexus. With subplots involving the android Data's unpredictable "emotion chip" and the spectacular crash-landing of the starship Enterprise, this crossover movie not only satisfied Trek fans, but it also gave them something they'd never had to confront before: the heroic and truly final death of a beloved Star Trek character. Passing the torch to the Next Generation with dignity and entertaining adventure, the movie isn't going to please everyone with its somewhat hokey plot, but it still ranks as a worthy big-screen launch for Picard and his stalwart crew. --Jeff Shannon
Well, when the story begins, the Enterprise-B is being launched with Starfleet heroes, Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov. For me, it would have made more sense to have Spock and McCoy, but once Leonard Nimoy dropped out because of problems with the script, DeForest Kelley decided they had a better exit in The Undiscovered Country, and said "If Leonard's not doing it, then I'm not doing it." Well, anyways, these scenes set us up for the rest of the movie, which really has nothing to do with the original series cast.
On the whole, Generations seems like a drawn-out, higher budget episode of The Next Generation. However, fans familiar to the series may be surprised to see some set changes, such as added consoles on the Enterprise-D bridge, or the bright orange lighting in Ten Forward. For villains, Malcolm McDowell brings out the character of Soran, and the Duras sisters from a few episodes of TNG appear.
Anyways, I am one of the people who feel a bit more possitive about the ending (On the DVD, they show the original - not that good). Star Trek: Generations will be most appealing to Trekkers, but it is not as good an exit for the original cast as Star Trek VI.

I just finished a marathon of Star Trek with the purchases I just got from Amazon. I enjoyed it so much. I also purchased the following DVD's with this purchase: 

Star Trek - The Original Crew Movie Collection (Special Edition)
Star Trek - First Contact (Special Collector's Edition) 
Star Trek Generations (Special Collector's Edition) 


I thought this movie would blend the old with the new a little better. Mostly it just focuses on the new. Sure it has Kirk mingling with Picard a little bit, but that's not enough.

Still, it was worth seeing once. And only once. I think the problem with the Next Generation movies is the villians. You know the protagonists by heart, but the villians are always brand new, so you don't really care about them. It leaves the movies unbalanced.

This movie has a villian you don't care about. He's no reason to watch the movie. In fact, the only reason to watch the movie is to catch up on a few plot points to get from one movie to the next. Well, the Picard and Kirk thing is okay too I guess, but not really great.

Anyway, Picard is the man. Better than Kirk.

The Deep Space Nine Technical Manual (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

067101563X
Star Trek
01 October, 1998
Whether you're looking for a cross-section of a Bajoran tricorder, plan drawings of the USS Defiant, or a detailed explanation of station wastewater treatment, you'll find everything you need in the Deep Space Nine Technical Manual. This is a fascinating and useful reference for the dedicated DS9 fan, or the Star Trek collector. Intricately detailed, colorful illustrations show you things like the station layout, its cargo and security systems, crew quarters, and transportation facilities. You'll also see DS9's position in relation to the wormhole, the Bajor-Cardassia sector, Ferenginar, and the Romulan and Klingon empires, not to mention the current location of Voyager and (shudder) Borg space.
While I am a long time Star Trek fan, I tend to stay away from books such as this one because I just see it as another way for Paramount to get into our pocket books. I just lightly browsed this book one day in a book store and next thing I knew almost an hour had gone by!
This has to be one of the most engrossing works of fictional tech I have ever seen. There are times where you almost wonder if some form of prototype exists for the items they discuss.
Both richly written and illustrated this book is a absolute must buy for the die hard Star Trek fan! And if your favorite Star Trek is DS9 (like myself), I am not sure how you have lived without this book!

This book is amazing. I read it from cover to cover and ended up satisfied with all the details the authors placed in them. The book carries details ranging from the subspace communications system to the weapons and even the environmental system of the station. The information on it is not contained only to details about the station but everything connected to it including the Runabouts, and the Defiant. It gives off an effect that there is really a station named Deep Space Nine. The paper used was high quality glossy paper which doesn't crumple easily and the numerous images in them were in color. Although it could have been better with a hard cover, it's excellent the way it is.

This is a must own for anyone who has ever needed to know why something works the way it does in Star Trek. This covers almost everything you can imagine in how Deep Space Nine and space craft work. If it isn't covered in this book it is covered in the TNG Tech Manual. If you write Fan Fiction, play a character in a Trek RPG, or operate a Trek Website You will treat the Tech Manuals as your gospal in Trek technology. Other good books are out there, but they don't compete with this book.
The tech isn't much different in manner from the TNG Tech Manual, but the images in this, the DS9, manual are far superior. All Trek Geeks (come on, fess up) need this book.

Titan, Book One : Taking Wing (Star Trek: The Next (Star Trek)

2005-10-18T03:11:00.000-07:00

Titan, Book One : Taking Wing (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

0743496272
Star Trek
29 March, 2005

I was expecting a good book, but this just blew me away. Star Trek books has been cracking down, it seems, on the quality of it's books, and Star Trek Titan shows it. The book introduces a varitable fountain of new characters, as well as fluidly integrated some well knowns from 'The Next Generation', 'Deep Space Nine', 'Voyager', and even one from the 'Original Series' 
The only problem with this book, is that the author failed to avoid keeping current politics out of the book by introducing homosexual characters. This is not a problem for me, but could potentially be a subject for debate. I reccomend this book to everyone interested in Star Trek or science-fiction.

The plot setting is appropriate. The writing style gets the story off too slowly. The author handles the elements between the Admiral and the new Captain Ryker well. The Reman story elements seem too passive for what they have gone through. Most other avid Star Trek fans will want the future stories to more more quickly for the series to become popular. I have started reading Articles of the Federation. It is not clear if this novel is meant to precede Star Trek Titan. I will read Star Trek TItan:The Red King when it comes out to see if I will follow this series. 

LCDR Holoboski, USN RET.

I absolutely agree that there were too many characters in this book. The 6 factions fighting over Romulus were waaay too many, considering that we spend the majority of our time from the perspective of the Titan crew, we really learn very very little about the Romulans, which ultimately makes the intrigue a little boring.

One reason there are so many characters is because Titan is supposed to be the "most diverse" crew yet. One of the things I like about Star Trek is that this is usually taken for granted. Here it it's not. In this book, we see Deanna harping Will about being more tolerant, and the crew reacting badly to one particularly different member. It's always in the context of the crew quickly getting over it, but I just found it painful.

The characters weren't developed enough or real enough to pull off this kind of interspecies conflict on the ship.

The Star Trek Cookbook (Star Trek: All)

0671000225
Star Trek
01 January, 1999

This book is amazing for people who like to cook and are trekkies. I would also recomend this for people who just want to try something new.

It's a shame that this book has been labeled and endorsed by the Star Trek franchise as their official cookbook, because it's been obviously written by people who don't understand and didn't bother to check the background information given on most foods and beverages presented in any of the Star Trek movies and the first four TV series (Original series, Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Voyager).
This book's very confusing format is divided into six main sections that list the recipes according to the character's likes and dislikes based, by the way, on very doubtful assertions, which include many inaccurate quotes and anecdotes that conveniently make many Star Trek unrelated dishes seem related to the series. This means that in order to find a Strawberries and Cream recipe, you must look for it among the recipes listed as Capt. Janeway's favorites in the Voyager section.
The book also includes some dish variations that go way beyond just making a few adjustments to the recipes. For example, there is a recipe for a Klingon Blood Pie, traditionally a baked roast and veal kidneys pie, which transforms it into a sweet cranberry pie. 
Most of the recipes are poorly written and badly edited, and lack specific information, giving only general instructions and details. Also, the authors have avoided including any recipe containing alcohol, altogether ignoring the liquors and spirits often showcased in the Star Trek universe.
The book's visual style is also a minus, as it doesn't include a single color photograph of a finished dish, only containing black & white pictures (mostly of crew members) taken directly from the shows. But the book's worst feature is the author's patronizing and annoying writing style.
I gave the book two stars because of the information and techniques on making prop foods and the very well written and very delicious recipes contributed by many Star Trek actors. If these two things aren't enough to satisfy you, don't even bother with this book.
--Reviewed by Maritza Volmar

In my best criticism, this book is just like the Iron Chef: The Official Book, beacuase they both advocate "new original cuisines which could be called true artistic creations".
This is the book you must read, whether you are fan of Iron Chef and/or Star Trek. I hope you enjoy both book that I mention above. Allez Cuisine!

A Trekker's Guide to Collectibles: With Values (Schiffer Book for (Star Trek)

2005-10-17T22:08:00.000-07:00

A Trekker's Guide to Collectibles: With Values (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

0887409652
Schiffer Publishing
March, 1996

This is a perfect look back over the decades of Star Trek collectibles and toys. It is well organized. Fans of only one series may go directly there and concentrate on those items. General Trekkers will enjoy browsing throughout. It is amazing how many items are listed. It is hard to believe a book would be misjudged on the basis of one small line of items so far on the edge of the field! Get this book!

There are many collectibles listed in this book. Also there are good pictures and descriptions. However, some of the best Star Trek collectibles and memorabilia are the Star Trek Autographed Plaques/Items done by "THE SCORE BOARD, INC.", but unfortunately in this book there are not informations about them.

Tales of the Dominion War (Star Trek: All)

0743491718
Star Trek
03 August, 2004

Hardly a big moment in Star Trek;s television history when they aired these Dominio War shows, the rateings fell and people barely noticed. Just look at Star Trek now, a former shell of it's former self. The last movie did poorly at the box office, the latest TV show died a quick death after barely four seasons on the air, and the major Star Trek Shows have either closed down due to low numbers of fans attending or are now barely put together a few times a year, and it was all because they made drek like this. And the weak box office of the last few Star Trek movies plus the demise of Enterprise proves it.

"Tales Of The Dominion War" is an anthology of stories related to the Dominion War, which was chronicled for the last two years of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. 

Most of the stories range from good to excellent. I enjoyed each one to varying degrees, the worst being (in my humble opinion) "Field Expediency," a Starfleet Corps of Engineers story, the best being "Safe Harbors," a story starring Admiral McCoy and Captain Scott. 

I especially enjoyed "Mirror Eyes," a story about a female Tal Shiar agent working in Deep Space Nine's infirmary as a Vulcan nurse during an outbreak of a Vulcan-specific viral infection created by the Dominion. It's told in the first person, and I really enjoyed the agent's sense of humor (translation: I laughed a lot while reading this story ... especially when the agent describes her Vulcan roommate's imagined reaction to the agent eating a raw steak).

In "Safe Harbors," Admiral McCoy and Captain Scott need repairs and set down on a neutral world where they are not welcome because of the repair yard's supervisor's fear of Dominion ships finding them there, and are given a mere three hours for all repairs to be completed. Eventually they are found by the Defiant class Saladin, whose captain was killed in a skirmish with a Dominion patrol. The Saladin is given the same time limit for repairs, and when they are about to leave, a Breen patrol is found on long-range sensors. The deputy supervisor literally ties up the supervisor and asks that the two Starfleet ships land on the planet again, this time to be hidden from the patrol in subterranean caverns. Needless to say, their repairs are completed this time, and they are warmly welcomed by the alien engineers, who have a welcome spread laid out for the two weary crews. Later, Scotty and McCoy fly over NYC on their way home and look for the Statue of Liberty, which survived the Breen attack on Earth. 

In "Eleven Hours Out," we find Picard and Deanna Troi at Starfleet Headquarters during the Breen attack on Earth. Picard takes charge of the just-graduated cadets and moves them all to an underground shelter/command center (not unlike the one we have at Stratcom here in Omaha) while the crew of the Columbia, stuck behind the deadened doors of Starbase One, try to get out and defend Earth against the Breen attackers. The Enterprise gets there just in the nick of time, helping both the Columbia and Picard defend Earth from the Breen. The names of the crew of the Columbia are the same as the crew of the Challenger disaster, and I find that a kind, wonderful tribute to those men and women.

Both of the stories about the attack on Earth had me in tears.

In "The Ceremony of Innocence Is Drowned," we have Lwaxana Troi's experience of the invasion and fall of Betazed to the Dominion. It interweaves characters from the book, "The Battle of Betazed," by another, different author, quite nicely.

I have only spotlighted the stories that made the greatest impression on me, but all the stories have memorable parts, and, all in all, I enjoyed this book very much. If you want to get into more of the Dominion War than just what was shown on STDS9, this is the book for you.

One of the unique (as far as Star Trek TV series go, anyway) things about Deep Space Nine was the two-year "Dominion War," where the shapeshifters from the Gamma Quadrant allied with the Cardassians and waged war on the other Alpha Quadrant races. Of course, being a television series about Deep Space Nine, the series couldn't really delve into what was going on in other parts of the Federation. We get no clue what the crew of the Enterprise was doing, for example. We hear about some things, of course, but mostly in the background.

Keith R.A. DeCandido, editor of Tales of the Dominion War decided that these holes needed to be filled. Since there is a lot of Trek franchises bouncing around these days, why not have a book of short stories that tell some of these tales? You've got your title all made up for you, too, so you don't have to work very hard at that. DeCandido lined up the best and the brightest of the current crop of Trek authors to give us a sampling of the huge events that took place during this war. The stories are mostly good, but a few clunkers along the way as well as some good stories with questionable elements keep this from being a top notch book.

Probably the best story is "Safe Harbor," by Howard Weinstein. Weinstein is the elder statesman of Star Trek books, having been involved with them since the very beginning (though I think he's been away for a while). He tells the story of Admiral Leonard McCoy and Scotty, trying to get back to Earth in a clunky old ship. It begins with a chilling image of a horrible attack on San Francisco, with Jim Kirk and Spock dying horrible deaths. This image quickly moves to McCoy waking up and ultimately realizing that he's really old and that his faculties may be beginning to desert him. They find safe harbor on a planet that prides itself on its neutrality in the war. They're able to wrangle a few hours for repairs, but then they have to leave. Soon, however, a badly damaged Federation ship also shows up, with all of its senior officers dead. McCoy has to counsel the extremely young acting captain as well as deal with the news that San Francisco actually was attacked. Dominion ships are in the area, searching. Will they be able to convince a young engineer on the planet to let them stay long enough to finish all their repairs and hide from the Dominion? This story had wonderful characterization (it should, as Weinstein always gets McCoy exactly right, even when McCoy's 150 years old) and an interesting dilemma. McCoy is wonderful both with the captain as well as with the engineer, and Scotty isn't bad himself. The story did have minor problems, however, which wrenched me out of the narrative. The first was the lack of an explanation for the dream. The dream was too exact for my taste, the only difference from real life being the involvement of Kirk and Spock. Is McCoy suddenly a prophet? And why isn't it mentioned again? Secondly, the ending is a little bit too treacly for my tastes, almost drowning in patriotic sugar. Still, it is a wonderful story.

Of the rest of the stories, my least favourite was "Twilight's Wrath," by David Mack. This story involves Shinzon, from the movie Star Trek: Nemesis, and how he was able to gain some of his power. He and his fellow Remans are ordered to mop up a Tal Shiar base that's been attacked by the Dominion, retrieving some items and making sure there's nothing left for the Dominion to find. Of course, being Remans, they're seen as expendable, and they're not expected to survive (even going so far as to have them killed once they have accomplished their mission). Shinzon outwits his Romulan superiors, however, and steals the information for himself. Along the way, he finds out information about his past, including his birthright, which will propel him into the events of the movie. This story was overly violent with a lot of hand-to-hand combat, severed limbs and other gut-wrenching things. That's ok by itself, but Shinzon is not even the least bit interesting. In fact, there's not a character in this story that I wanted to follow. I was hoping they would all fall victim to a grisly death. It does explain a couple of the inconsistencies in the movie, however.

Finally, a story that just mystified me. "What Dreams May Come," by Michael Jan Friedman, is the story of a Vorta (one of the Dominion toadies who keep the footsoldiers in line) on an isolated Federation world conquered by the Dominion. It's a quiet little place and he's really set in his ways. He has made servants of some of the local populace, but one of them isn't who he says he is. He relates to the Vorta a dream that he had, one where his people attacked the Dominion base. A dream that turns out to be all too real. At its heart, the story is extremely basic, but that quality makes it really uninteresting. If Friedman was trying to say anything with the story or do anything with it, I didn't catch it. It just sits there. While it's only a few pages long and doesn't take any time to get through, it does begin the book on a wrong note.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed Tales of the Dominion War. It was interesting to see all the difference facets of the Trek universe and how they dealt with the war. There's even a couple of Deep Space Nine stories as well, which was nice. Most of the stories are worth reading with some real gems in there as well. Good stuff.

David Roy

Fire on High (Star Trek New Frontier, No 6) 0671020374Star (Star Trek)

2005-10-17T17:08:00.000-07:00

Fire on High (Star Trek New Frontier, No 6)

0671020374
Star Trek
01 April, 1998

I enjoyed this novel much more than than Martyr. The return of Robin Lefler's mother and the intrigue surrounbding her was very interesting. Morgan seems like she will play an important role in future books. What I didn't like about this novel was the continued soap opera qualities that other reviewers have alluded to. ***SPOILER*** First, why would most of the crew turn to a Vulcan for romantic advice? They mate only when they absolutely have to, and while they are capable of love, is it really the same as that of other humanoids? I don't think so. Second, Peter David continues to reduce some of the female members of the crew to starry-eyed, lovelorn teenage girls. It just doesn't fit with the overall character of the women, especially women in command. What I really enjoyed was the action-oriented plot. It was fast-paced and built to an amazing crescendo in the end. I look forward to reading more novels in the series.

Very interesting story... Well done... There were two side stories... 1 with Robin Lefler... and 2 with Burgy in engineering... I am not going to say anything... but please read this book carefully... I did and I enjoyed the surprises.

Peter David is an excellent author, the best Star Trek author I've found. He is one of the few who can tell a dramatic, action-packed story without losing his sense of humor, as was done in some of the best episodes in the original Star Trek series ("Trouble With Tribbles", "A Piece of the Action", "Shore Leave") and has only rarely been seen since. I've enjoyed this series so far, and the characters in it (which is, perhaps, the most important thing in a book or a series). But there are a couple of caveats for those considering the series:
First is the one that actually bothers me a bit: I don't really care for the fact that the storyline continues from one book to the next; granted, the last two books in the series have been better about this than the first four, in that they have legitimately been complete stories in and of themselves. But I find that I prefer stand-alone stories for the most part. If you don't share this preference, you may find this a strength rather than a weakness.
Second is the caveat that does NOT bother me, but might well bother some people: while he never becomes EXTREMELY graphic, certainly never tasteless, Peter David's characters have always been a bit more obviously sexually active than we usually see in Star Trek; not that there was ever any doubt about Kirk, but even in his case, it was generally just hinted at, and that was even more true in "Next Generation". Granted, "DS9" and "Voyager" went a little farther in that direction, (remember the opening scene of "What You Leave Behind", the final episode of DS9, with Bashir and Ezre Dax naked in bed together?) but the constraints of network television still kept things a bit more restrained than David feels any inclination to. Certainly, most Star Trek novels follow the precedent set in the shows, and are much more circumscribed about showing what their characters do behind closed doors than he is. I enjoy this, but it does mean that people who do NOT enjoy this sort of thing can be unpleasantly surprised to see so much sexuality in a place that they wouldn't ordinarily expect it.
As to this book specifically, I found the story to be the best of the series so far. But really, I can't recommend it to anyone who hasn't read the previous books, so my recommendation is simply: start with Book One (House of Cards); if you like it, keep reading. If you don't, you've no need to read this one.

Death in Winter (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

074349721X
Star Trek
20 September, 2005

This book had more plot lines than three books and yet there were more gaps and a rushed ending that stole the drama of the final scene. Overall, the book left me wanting more. More TNG characters, more exporation of both Picard and Crusher's thoughts as they moved through the plot and more of an explanation for the sudden turnaround at the end.

I found the various Romulan characters and sordid power plays to be a bit confusing and often times it seemed to detract from the prime or rather more prime storylines. Friedman did a great job of winding them all together in the end to create some great drama as the final scenes began to unfold. However, just as we catch our breath and the hero finds the girl, nothing. She rejects him for no good reason! 

This is a good Beverly Crusher story, in that it explores some of her background and gives her a strong role in her own survival. For Picard, we see his somewhat blank, if determined, efforts to rescue her but we never truly get in his head - we just get to see how he moves through his role as Starfleet Captain, not a man dealing with potential loss of the love of his life, but the Captain out to rescue a fellow officer and friend. 

As others have said, it would have been nice to see the other TNG characters actually have a role rather than just acting like they were going to do something but never actually doing anything. And while I'm sure Greyhorse was once a good physician, not having practiced in years, we're really to believe only he was qualified to try to come up with a cure? The cameo appearances by various Trek characters was almost as distracting as all the Romulan players and I'm not sure if any of them added to the story. Even Sela's, the ever-present Romulan enemy, role could have been enhanced. I would have loved to have a scene where Sela used Picard's feelings for Beverly against him or vice versa. Although the Crusher versus Sela fight was almost worth it.

Minor gripes aside I enjoyed this offering from the Trek writing world. It's been a long time since I visited with these characters on such an intimate level so I was glad to read the teasers and looked forward to finally having a new copy in my hands. I hope you'll find your copy soon and spend some time with these old friends.

Oh and the best it seems, is yet to come! Be sure to read the teaser at the end of the book for the next book.

Episodes, books, movies, they all seem to lack real involvement from my favorite Star Trek character: Dr. Beverly Crusher. But not this time!

I was very happy to see her have a lot to do in this book, however, I really wish we could have believed that she had been killed a little bit longer. It kept me from being truly engaged in the plot, though the action sequences did pull me back in, especially between Beverly and Sela.

Gripes:
Stargazer crew: I do not know much of the Stargazer's history, but I would have much rather seen familiar Next Generation characters on Picard's journey (why not Pulaski? Geordi or Worf maybe?) than the others. I understand that in books I have not read, Carter Greyhorse has a connection with Beverly and the virus on Kevratas, but ultimately I found him dull. In fact, I found everyone on Picard's team quite dull.

Enterprise E: If you're going to talk about Worf and Geordi charge to the rescue, actually have them charge to the rescue. Carry on that sense of family we get in Nemesis. I would've loved for them to slip out under Janeway's nose, or perhaps even steal the unfinished Enterprise a la Star Trek III.

Format: I would've really liked to have explored Picard and Beverly's past. The wedding had me captivated, especially tying in Nemesis plotlines, but I wanted more. A format to the story similar to the New Frontier back and forth with "Stone and Anvil" would've worked perfectly, and really fleshed out Beverly and Jean-Luc for those who haven't watched every episode of TNG.

Ending: I really wanted to know what was going on in Beverly's head after the love confession. The ending was predictable, and that is unavoidable, but I felt a little more insight into the emotions of both Beverly and Picard would've given me a "oh yes, it's gonna happen" feel rather than a "oh come on let's just get to it already".

Bravo:

Beverly: This book captured Beverly perfectly. I could see Gates McFadden in my mind's eye performing these scenes. Way for her to finally kick some tail (like the shuttle fight in "Suspicions" TNG 6th Season).

Romulans: The machinations of Tal'Aura and the others were great, and all of the Romulans were portrayed well. If only this could've been done in Titan 1.

Kevratas: What a great choice of atmosphere for this book. The connections between a cold, dieing world and the Beverly/Jean-Luc relationship were very pleasing. Or maybe I'm just making this up, seeing what I want to see, but I at least thought it was there.

Overall, I rate books on whether I could visualize it well enough, in characterizations, plot and settings, that I could mistakingly recall the story as an episode of the series. With this book, I could. I have clear pictures of several scenes, and though the Stargazer crew drug me down a bit (maybe it was a pleasant reunion for Stargazer fans), I overall enjoyed this book. It was a long time coming.

"Death in Winter" was a long time in coming. Smacked square in the midst of the "Titan" relaunch and partially bridging the crew's emotional gap left by "Nemesis," Friedman was charged with one goal in writing "Winter": finally finish the ongoing tension between Crusher and Picard.
And Friedman does just that. Wonderfully.

The Romulans have gotten much print over the past few years, and they are a welcome villain. "Winter" explores much of the cloak-and-dagger politics plaguing Romulus after the Shinzon affair, with Tal'aura still struggling to cement her foothold as praetor--before the arrival of "Titan" and the events therein. Likewise, we are shown "The Hundred," a collection of the wealthiest, most influential Romulan families. This particular family is charged with weapons manufacture, and one of their own, a man named Eborion, has the praetor's ear--and designs of his own. Add to that Manathas, a Romulan spy, and the always intriguing Commander Sela, and there are enough pointy-eared manipulators to fill three volumes.
And then there are the good guys.
Carter Greyhorse, the attempted murderer last seen in "Reunion" (temporally speaking) is released from the penal colony in New Zealand to help create a cure for the Kevrata, travelling with his former comrades Picard and "Pug" Joseph. There are a few scenes from Greyhorse's point of view, and we never get the overall feeling that this is a man who has successfully overcome his demons. And yet he does his job.
Picard wrestles with his conscience; he has finally come to realize that he is in love with the good Doctor Crusher. Who may or may not be dead. But certainly she's being held prisoner. By Sela. Picard doesn't know, and while his chief mission is to ensure the Kevrata are cured, he needs to find Crusher, whom he believes (and we know) to be alive.
Joseph is no longer an alcoholic.
Worf and LaForge are the only two from the "E" we see, and they want to charge off into Romulan space and rescue their comrades. Worf even has an entertaining conversation with Captain Idun Asmund.
Plus, there's an expat Romulan named Decalon along for the ride, and with him will come an explanation as to why the Romulan underground ceased to exist.
And therein lies the chief problem with "Death in Winter": there are a lot of plotlines, and when all is said and done, it seems too short. Yes, everything is explained and packaged away quite neatly, but it could've been longer, for there is a lot of ground covered. Friedman does his job--the Picard and Crusher romance finally comes to an emotional head--and those loose threads of Romulan politics will perhaps be explained in "The Red King."
"Death in Winter" is a quick read and well worth it, and you will most definitely not want to wait for the paperback reprint.

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Seventh Season (Star Trek)

2005-10-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Seventh Season

B000063V8V
Paramount Home Video
31 December, 2002
The seventh and final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation will always remain a curiosity in TV sci-fi history. Despite the end being definite, despite Deep Space Nine taking over, despite knowing there'd be a movie six months after the series' end, and despite Babylon 5 starting that year with its predetermined story arc, there is nothing here to suggest things were coming to a close. Wesley finally gets dispatched ("Journey's End"), but everyone was waiting for that anyway. Some continuity was attempted: there's a sequel to season 1's "The Battle" ("Bloodlines"), Alexander follows the Klingon soap saga through ("Firstborn"), the Maquis and the Cardassians are mentioned several times, and there are final installments for Lwaxana Troi, Barclay, Lore, Guinan, and Ro Laren. None of this brings any form of resolution, however.
The one-off story lines seem to throw out ideas that beg for development. "Force of Nature" suggests frequent high-warp travel is damaging the very fabric of space/time. "Parallels" has Worf experiencing multiple realities, including one in which the Borg won at Wolf 359. "Lower Decks" finally introduces some secondary crew from the more than a thousand supposedly supporting Picard and company. There are even hints at some romance at long last between Dr. Crusher and Picard as well as Worf and Troi. In the long run, even after terrific guest spots from Trek alumni Armin Shimerman and Robin Curtis, and from Paul Sorvino and Kirsten Dunst, there's one thing for which the final year is remembered: "All Good Things..." is a near-perfect denouement for the show. With terrific production values and FX, not to mention standout performances from all concerned, it was an amazing surprise to have Q suggest there'd been a story arc right from the get-go. If only this final script had been fully conceived earlier on, The Next Generation might not have been overshadowed by the glut of TV sci-fi that followed in its wake. --Paul Tonks
Nominated for 58 Emmys, including one for Outstanding Drama Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation fulfilled all the potential and promise anticipated of a long-awaited successor to the original 1960s series - Star Trek. Created by a former L.A. police officer, Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek TV series morphed into a franchise famous for the unprecedented fanatical devotion of its audience. Lasting only three seasons during its original network run, Star Trek struck gold with its syndicated reruns, launching a number of motion pictures featuring the original cast as well as novels, comic books, collectibles, and reams of Star Trek-related memorabilia. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) became the first TV series to follow on the heels of the original, and its success would spark the creation of three additional series - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Star Trek: Voyager (1995), and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001). But The Next Generation remained the most popular spin-off. Despite new characters and new episodes, the mission remained the same as before - "to boldly go where no man has gone before..." And to continue the rich tradition of the Star Trek name - a mission Star Trek: The Next Generation accomplishes with relative ease...

Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place in the 24th Century, almost one-hundred years after Captain Kirk's crew set out to explore strange new worlds. Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart - I Claudius) commands the USS Enterprise-D and its diverse crew of humans, cyborgs, and varying life forms. Accompanying him on his voyage is an entirely new cast of passengers and crew including Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes - North & South), Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn), Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and her son Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton)... Together, they struggle against numerous obstacles to carry out the mission of the USS Enterprise: "To explore strange new worlds... To seek out new life; new civilizations... To boldly go where no one has gone before!" This pioneering attitude, coupled with imaginative and brilliantly-produced alien worlds, provides Star Trek with its unique allure and special place within American pop culture - especially those episodes from the original series, widely regarded as the most popular of the Star Trek franchise...

The Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 7) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "Descent" in which, corrupted by the Borg, Data kidnaps Capt. Picard, Troi, and Geordi. Meanwhile, Dr. Crusher must command the USS Enterprise as it faces a potentially fatal attack by a Borg vessel... Other notable episodes from Season 7 include "Force of Nature" in which the theory is put forth that frequent high-warp travel by spacecraft may be causing irreparable damage to the space/time continuum, and "Genesis" in which the crew of the Enterprise stumbles upon a drifting spaceship, the crew of which is found to be slowly devolving into their animal ancestors...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 7) DVD:

Episode 153 (Descent)
Episode 154 (Liaisons)
Episode 155 (Interface)
Episode 156 (Gambit: Part 1)
Episode 157 (Gambit: Part 2) 
Episode 158 (Phantasms)
Episode 159 (Dark Page)
Episode 160 (Attached)
Episode 161 (Force of Nature)
Episode 162 (Inheritance)
Episode 163 (Parallels)
Episode 164 (The Pegasus)
Episode 165 (Homeward)
Episode 166 (Sub Rosa)
Episode 167 (Lower Decks)
Episode 168 (Thine Own Self)
Episode 169 (Masks)
Episode 170 (Eye of the Beholder)
Episode 171 (Genesis)
Episode 172 (Journey's End)
Episode 173 (Firstborn)
Episode 174 (Bloodlines)
Episode 175 (Emergence)
Episode 176 (Pre-emptive Strike)
Episode 177 (All Good Things... Part 1)
Episode 178 (All Good Things... Part 2)

The DVD Report

In order to rate season 7, you have to be aware of what you appreciate about Star Trek. Many people adore the complex, ongoing plot of Star Trek Deep Space 9 and introspective stories with strong character development. If you're one of these people, Season 7 probably isn't one of TNG's best -- try Season 4 instead or buy Deep Space 9. Many of TNG's writers departed at this time for Deep Space 9 so the episodes aren't as consistent as in past seasons.

However, the acting in Season 7 is superb. By this time, the actors had perfected their characters in every way. Even Jonathan Frakes (in my opinion the worst actor in TNG besides the horrendous Will Weaton) had very few awkward or clumsy moments.

I personally like all seasons of TNG because I believe that they follow the Star Trek formula that Gene Rodenberry originally created. I believe that Deep Space 9 and other Star Trek series gradually lost his vision -- eventually degrading into today's disaster "Enterprise". Star Trek Voyager recaptured some of his vision but it still couldn't achieve the magic of TNG.

Truth be told, despite losing some writing talent, TNG Season 7 still delivers Rodenberry's creation as he intended it. Season 7 is still very entertaining and 20+ hours of entertainment for less than $110 is a good value. Definitely worth it!

Dar Morons,


My question for the Morons at Paramount is why do possibly glue the sticker seals the container with such strong stuff that you cannot avoid ruining the container when you remove it. May I remind that this a COLLETOR'S ITEM!!!!! Therefore if you damage it is WORTHLESS.

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (Special Edition)

B000083C49
Paramount Home Video
04 March, 2003
Widely considered the best movie in the "classic Trek" series of feature films, Star Trek IV returns to one of the favorite themes of the original TV series--time travel--to bring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov from the 23rd century to present-day San Francisco. In their own time, the Starfleet heroes encounter an alien probe emitting a mysterious message--a message delivered in the song of the now-extinct Earth species of humpback whales. Failure to respond to the probe will result in Earth's destruction, so Kirk and company time-travel to 20th-century Earth--in their captured Klingon starship--to transport a humpback whale to the future in an effort to peacefully communicate with the alien probe. The plot sounds somewhat absurd in description, but as executed by returning director Leonard Nimoy, this turned out to be a crowd-pleasing adventure, filled with humor and lively interaction among the favorite Star Trek characters. Catherine Hicks (from TV's 7th Heaven) plays the 20th-century whale expert who is finally convinced of Kirk's and Spock's benevolent intentions. With ample comedy taken from the clash of future heroes with 20th-century urban realities, Star Trek IV was a box-office smash, satisfying mainstream audiences and hardcore Trek fans alike. --Jeff Shannon
Star Trek IV plays as a fish-out-of-water story, with Kirk and his crew from the 23rd century going back to 1986 San Francisco. The visual effects are not too great, but the story does not need them. Giving this movie a more comedic value than the others was a risk, especially after the dramatic Star Trek II and the moody Star Trek III. Leonard Nimoy returns to direct after directing the previous movie, although this time, he is also acting as Spock. It is an understandably grueling task to alternate between acting and directing the movie, but Mr. Nimoy pulled it off, paving the way for future Star Trek actors to direct future installments on the television series and movies.
A lot of the movie involves Spock trying to rediscover what it means to be human, after his mind has been retrained as a Vulcan. This leads to some of the movie's comedy, such as the fact that he takes Kirk's advice that in the 20th century, you have to swear a lot to be taken seriously.
I have seen a non-Trekker watch this movie and enjoy it, so I can reccomend this movie freely.

Foregoing the heavy drama of the first 3 films, Star Trek 4 is actually more or less a comedy classic due to its hilariously anachronistic nature: folks from the future trying to get through a "modern" world and all of its quirks. 
The ultimate message of the film--save the planet for future generations to enjoy--could have been heavy handed but is beautifully covered by ample doses of seriously laugh-out-loud humor which even non-trekkies would enjoy. This is one of the best "fish out of water" (pun intended) films ever created.
Previous reviews cover the storyline well enough so we don't need a rehash of that. I'd rather like to focus on the humor present in this ostensibly light-hearted look at a serious matter. Imagine Spock trying his best to sound "modern" by swearing, or watching Scotty try to use a "modern" computer. The laughs do not stop. McCoy and Spock's dialogues are gut-wrenchingly funny. Here are some examples:
[McCoy trying to discuss what death was like with Spock]
McCoy: Perhaps we can cover a little philosophical ground. Life, death, life. Things of that nature.
Spock: I did not have time on Vulcan to review the philosophical disciplines. 
McCoy: C'mon Spock, it's me, McCoy. You really have gone where no man's gone before. Can't you tell me what it felt like? 
Spock: It would be impossible to discuss the subject without a common frame of reference
McCoy: You're joking.
Spock: A joke...is...a story with a humorous climax.
McCoy: You mean I have to die to discuss your insights on death?
Spock: Forgive me Doctor. I'm receiving a number of distress calls.
McCoy: I don't doubt it.
.........................

Spock: Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors--"double dumb-ass on you" and so forth. 
Kirk: Oh, you mean the profanity. 
Spock: Yes. 
Kirk: Well that's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word. 
...................

[Spock is still learning how to use profanity correctly] 
Spock: They like you very much, but they are not the hell "your" whales. 
Dr. Gillian Taylor: I suppose they told you that. 
Spock: The hell they did. 
...........................
Kirk: Spock, where the hell's the power you promised? 
Spock: One damn minute, Admiral. 
........................... 
[After deciding to travel back in time--much to McCoy's distress--Kirk asks Scotty about the possibility of customizing a room in their Klingon ship to contain water for the whales]
Kirk: Can you enclose it to hold water?
Scotty: I suppose I could. You planning to take a swim?
McCoy: Off the deep end, Mr. Scott!
Kirk. We've got to find some Humpbacks.
Scotty: Humpbacked...people?
Kirk: Whales, Mr. Scott. Whales!

The anachronistic comedy is used ingeniously here, and makes this one hilarious, but ultimately serious, film. An absolute classic. Personally, I feel that "The Wrath of Khan" is the most fulfilling film in the series, but you simply can't go wrong with "The Voyage Home" for non-stop laughs.
And you don't need any "LDS" to enjoy it.


Picking up where Star Trek III ended, our familiar space heroes are forced to use a Klingon Rust-bucket to once again fool Father Time. A space probe that looks like an upside down mechanical whale - from where-abouts unknown - threatens to annihilate Earth, and maybe Starfleet itself, unless the Earthen creature "Hump-back Whale" can adequately respond to the probe's emissions. Thus, go back in time to the late 20th c., return with a Hump-back whale in hopes of satisfying the probe, and order will be preserved. Captian Spock remains a bit under the weather, having died in Star Trek II, only to be resurected in Star Trek III, and seems rather confused by all the goings on. On Earth, the Enterprise officers, split into teams, each with a different task. When the tasks are completed, the crew returns to thier home century having once again saved the world. THOUGHTS: no one has ever belived the Premise of the Star Trek franchise has anything to do with science, or even science fiction. Star Trek is phantasmogorical at best. Spock results from his Vulcan father, and Earthen mother, marrying each other and biologically producing Spock. This is as likely as a horse succsessfully mating with a mermaid. Then again, Star Trek has never pretended to be what it's not. Very pretty actress Catherine Hicks plays a 20th c. Marine biologist, and that character provides the solvent to keep the plot together. In the first Star Trek film, one of the lead characters is "Decker". Both of these actors show up later in 7th Heaven. In ST-IV, Scotty tells Kirk that the Klingon food reproducer is giving him a belly-ache. Kirk responds by whispering to no one, "Oh so that's what it is". This clearly is a slam at James Doohan who, along with Nichele Nichols, have claimed that Shatner had been selfish, dictatorial, and treated the lesser stars like they were nothing more than props. None-the-less, Voyage Home is cute funny, and tense.

Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Fourth Season B0002JP4GEParamount Home (Star Trek)

2005-10-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Fourth Season

B0002JP4GE
Paramount Home Video
28 September, 2004
For many fans, Voyager hit its peak in the fourth season, due in no small part to a certain former Borg drone named Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 0-1, but you can call her Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Following the season 3 cliffhanger "Scorpion," the crew enters an unlikely alliance with the Borg against Species 8472, led by Seven of Nine, who ends up restoring (mostly) her human roots and trying to assimilate herself among Voyager's crew all the time feeling the pull of the Collective and resisting the mother-hen attempts of Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew). While Seven's curvaceous figure and skin-tight uniform certainly won over many fans, she was helped by a commanding presence, good writing ("So you wish to copulate?" was a classic line), and a stage that was cleared for her by the coinciding departure of one of the most prominent characters of the series.
Other significant developments of the season included the actors' getting to stretch themselves out "Mirror, Mirror"-like as evil counterparts in "Living Witness" (also Tim Russ's directing debut), the time- and mind-bending two-parter "Year of Hell," a battle with 1940s Nazis in the two-part "The Killing Game," the Doctor's comedic sparring with a new rival in "Message in a Bottle," the Alien-like "Prey," and Tom Paris (Robert Duncan MacNeill) taking a personal step and switching bodies with an alien in "Vis a Vis."
The DVD set offers the usual 20-minute season overview, crew profiles of Seven of Nine (natch) and Harry Kim (both of whom show warm appreciation for the Trek crowd), features on Species 8472 and the art of matte painting, and episode spotlights. --David Horiuchi
A 'must have' for the serious Star Trek fan! The 4th season is the 'Season of the Borg'.

This is the season where 7 of 9 joins the crew, and as usual, the episodes are excellent. Add it to your collection!

While it's difficult during any series to lose a beloved cast member, this season's change was done with style and interest. Not only that but the stories became more and more engaging afterward which, I find, is not all that usual as the new character must be flushed out and caught up with the rest.

Other reviewers have well articulated the episodes in this Season so I will not go over them again, just review some of my personal favorites:

Revulsion - B'Elanna and the Doctor attempt to help a stranded hologram only to discover that things are not as they seem. Very dark; a good start to further self-discovery for the Doctor in this and later seasons.

Message in a Bottle - The Doctor is sent on an away mission to the Alpha Quadrant in the hopes of informing Star Fleet that Voyager is around and on their way home. Andy Dick guest stars as an upgraded EMH in the ship the Doctor is sent to and some great (& classic) Star Trekian banter ensues.

One - Seven must get Voyager through a nebula on her own as the rest of the crew is in stasis due to radiation. While she feels she is completely up to the challenge, and welcomes the opportunity to be without other people, she discovers that that being Borg is not enough to get her through on her own any more.

Year of Hell, Parts I & II - My favorite of the season. Kurtwood Smith guest stars as the haunted Annorax who trying to regain everything he lost by manipulating Time itself. Voyager, as an anomaly Annorax didn't calculate or consider, must be destroyed if he is to reclaim his people's Empire and those who were lost along the way. Powerful performances by both Kurtwood and Kate makes these two episodes together one of the best of the series.


The Extras on the DVDs are fun to watch; I especially enjoyed the interviews with Jeri Ryan. However, I am continually disappointed in this and the other sets I've purchased that none contain any cast or production comments for you to set while watching the episodes. There's little to no Behind the Scenes footage, bloopers, cast members playing around/being themselves and, as mentioned, no commentaries at all. For the price of these sets I think a bit more should be included for the fans of the show.

Star Trek III - The Search for Spock

B00004RE7C
Paramount Studio
11 April, 2000
You didn't think Mr. Spock was really dead, did you? When Spock's casket landed on the surface of the Genesis planet at the end of Star Trek II, we had already been told that Genesis had the power to bring "life from lifelessness." So it's no surprise that this energetic but somewhat hokey sequel gives Spock a new lease on life, beginning with his rebirth and rapid growth as the Genesis planet literally shakes itself apart in a series of tumultuous geological spasms. As Kirk is getting to know his estranged son (Merritt Butrick), he must also do battle with the fiendish Klingon Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), who is determined to seize the power of Genesis from the Federation. Meanwhile, the regenerated Spock returns to his home planet, and Star Trek III gains considerable interest by exploring the ceremonial (and, of course, highly logical) traditions of Vulcan society. The movie's a minor disappointment compared to Star Trek II, but it's a--well, logical--sequel that successfully restores Spock (and first-time film director Leonard Nimoy) to the phenomenal Trek franchise...as if he were ever really gone. With Kirk's willful destruction of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Robin Curtis replacing the departing Kirstie Alley as Vulcan Lt. Saavik, this was clearly a transitional film in the series, clearing the way for the highly popular Star Trek IV. --Jeff Shannon
If anyone is wondering where the Klingons of the later Star Trek movies and television series' came from, this is it. Christopher Lloyd's "Kruge" is the defining character after which all the later ones were patterned.

This movie also dramatically introduces the much used Klingon Bird-of-Prey that turns up frequently in later movies and on TV. 

In my opinion, this is the best movie after "The Wrath of Khan" and keeps the drama and action moving quickly along.

The oft-quoted rule that has even-numbered Trek movies beating odd-number movies was never that convincing - and this flick proves it wrong. 

Picking up at the moment where "Wrath of Khan" left off, "Search" has Spock's coffin soft landing on the Genesis planet. Dr. Marcus and Saavik return to their to investigate that world's development. Meanwhile, the badly damaged Enterprise returns to Earth where Captain Kirk learns the ship is to be scrapped. When Dr. McCoy begins showing signs that he was "mind-melded" with Spock - thinking he actually is Spock - he tries to get a ship back to the Genesis planet where Spock's body was left. (In a scene that sends up the cantina scene from the first Star Wars flick, McCoy tries getting a ride with an alien who bears a resemblance to the Vorvon from "Buck Rogers"). Kirk, informed by Spock's father Sarek that both McCoy and Spock's body must be returned to Vulcan, tries to get to Genesis himself, even though Starfleet has quarantined the planet. Meanwhile, Kruge (Christopher Lloyd), a rogue Klingon warlord with his own ship and crew, penetrates federation space greedy for the secrets of Genesis. 

Though this flick seems a bit abbreviated - filler between "Khan" and "Voyage Home" it's not only a lot of fun, but a great example of how good Trek can be. The script has our heroes working outside Starfleet regulations and having loads of fun with each other. Prime examples: Scott explains how he saboutaged the Excelsior to McCoy, dropping that ship's isolinear chips into McCoy's palm like spare change ("From one Doctor to another, when you've learnt how to clean the pipes, you know how to stop the drain"). Kirk, when meeting up with the Spock-possessed McCoy holds his hand up in the Vulcan salute, asking the Doctor "how many fingers am I holding up"; and let's not forget that magic moment when Bones tries to give a Starfleet Security the Vulcan neck-pinch. Laughs aside, the script is tight and sticks with its central theme of pulling life from death - epitomized by the rescue of Spock and the awesome self-destruction of the Enterprise. Christopher Lloyd's Klingon was underused, but he showed some potential. The special effects beat anything I've seen on the Next-Generation movies and the script makes the characters seem a whole lot livelier. If you've put off this flick because this was an odd-numbered Trek movie, think again and give it a try.

a Story that is the transitionary story from movie 2 to movie 4. So obviously this movie is the middle movie where we find the crew of the enterprise trying to find and re-animate the body of Spock, our long lost vulcan friend. A movie worth noting because, unlike other sequels, it is actually worth seeing more than once in a life time.

Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Seventh Season B00062IDCOParamount Home (Star Trek)

2005-10-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Seventh Season

B00062IDCO
Paramount Home Video
21 December, 2004
After seven long years trying to return home, it's no surprise that the seventh season of Voyager was emotional. It begins with the resolution to season 6's "Unimatrix Zero," in which Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), Torres (Roxann Biggs-Dawson), and Tuvok (Tim Russ) must find a way off the Borg Cube and Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) faces the loss of the precious bit of humanity she has just discovered. "Human Error" focuses on Seven's further attempts to explore her human side (a romance comes from out of the blue). And if Seven isn't the cast's most fascinating character, it's the other crew member struggling to find his not-quite-human identity, the Doctor (Robert Picardo). In "Body and Soul," the Doctor gets to experience physical life in the body of--who else?--Seven. He writes a novel in "Author, Author," and in the first of a pair of excellent two-parters, "Flesh and Blood," he explores what it means to be a hologram in the midst of a deadly situation involving the Hirogen. In the second two-parter, "Workforce," the crew is kidnapped and brainwashed into becoming ordinary laborers on a planet with a worker shortage, but Janeway is forced to question whether she wouldn't prefer this version of a normal, stable life.
The seventh season also saw the first Trek wedding since Dax-Worff, the return of the old Federation-Maquis conflict, the continuing efforts of Lt. Reginald Barclay (Dwight Schultz) to bring Voyager home, Kim (Garrett Wang) taking command twice (once with the help of the Emergency Command Hologram), the return of Q, and Neelix's discovery of a group of fellow Talaxians. The final episode, "Endgame," is less concerned with misty-eyed goodbyes than with a bending of conventional views of the space-time continuum that leads to an exciting showdown with the Borg queen (Alice Krige, repeating her role from Star Trek: First Contact but making her first appearance on Voyager). DVD bonus features include the usual season recap, a 12-minute featurette on the final episode, and a crew profile of the Doctor. --David Horiuchi
I've always enjoyed Star Trek Voyager and hated to see it go. I especially liked the way they ended the series and I think you will too!

I love TNG, DS9, and I even quite like a few of the characters in Enterprise. But I HATE Voyager. Why? One simple reason - Janeway. I cant stand her. She makes me want to puke. She has only two personas in the entire 7-year series and she constantly alternates between them, and they are both nauseating. First, vomit-inducing Compassion-face in which she puts on this phony 'caring' face and talks in a 'caring' gentle whisper. Two, tough-chick-face in which she puts on a hard-chick scowl and speaks in a deeper hard-chick voice that is not in the slightest bit believable. God she nauseates me. The same thing happened with Maggie Thatcher. The one time the dumbasses put a woman at the helm and she totally ruins everything. Unlike Kirk, Picard, Sisko and even Archer, Janeway has no charisma at all. Yuck. But shes not the only one, this has got to be the only Star Trek series in which no matter how hard I tried I could never develop any attachment to the characters. They're all boring. Only Paris has any appeal and even then not much. I watched the first 3 seasons hoping I would grow to like this garbage and finally gave up. Years later I finally came back and decided to give the final season a try in the hope that the characters might have developed over the years. No. The same old nauseating Janeway, same old boring episodes, spewing over with self-righteousness and endless lectures about human 'morality'. And this series is the most mushy, sentimental crap of all the Star Trek series. There is barely an episode that is not cringe-inducing in its emotional mushyness. The only moments in the entire seventh series that were worth watching was the 'Q2' episode and that was only because Q was in it (and they even turned that into a morality play), and the very end of 'Renaissance Man' when the Doctor tells Harry that his saxophone playing sounded like a wounded Targ. Good riddance Voyager, and especially good riddance Janeway.

Nominated for 30 Emmys, including seven for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series, Star Trek: Voyager continues the rich tradition of the original 1960s Star Trek franchise. Created by former L.A. police officer Gene Roddenberry, the Star Trek TV series morphed into a franchise famous for the unprecedented fanatical devotion of its fan base. Lasting only three seasons during its original network run, Star Trek struck gold with its syndicated reruns, launching a number of motion pictures featuring the original cast as well as novels, comic books, collectibles, and reams of Star Trek-related memorabilia. The third spin-off from the original Star Trek series, Star Trek: Voyager premiered in January 1995 to modest critical acclaim, but experienced great success with television viewers, slowly increasing its ratings as the series progressed. Following on the heels of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), the series precedes Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) while boasting an all-star cast that includes veteran actress Kate Mulgrew (whose past TV appearances include such shows as Dallas, Cheers, and Murphy Brown). Yet instead of pursuing the classic Star Trek mission to "boldly go where no one has gone before," Star Trek: Voyager is more about going where the crew has been before...

Star Trek: Voyager follows the exploits of the crew aboard the starship USS Voyager. As the series begins, the Voyager is on a Federation mission to capture a rogue ship of Maquis rebels (a race first introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). While in pursuit of the Maquis, the Voyager enters a system known as the badlands, and both ships are instantaneously transported to the Delta Quadrant over seventy-thousand light years away on the outskirts of the galaxy. Soon, both the Maquis and the crew of Voyager learn they were brought to Delta Quadrant by the Caretaker, a mysterious force overseeing the safety of the Ocampan race who live in the shadow on an impending threat from the vicious Kazon. When the Kazon destroy the Maquis ship, the Voyager crew merges with the Maquis crew to defend themselves from the Kazon. Having destroyed the device which could bring them home, the crew of the Voyager - led by Capt. Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), and the crew of the Maquis ship - led by Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran), must work as a united front in order to meet their mutual goal of finding a way home...

The Star Trek: Voyager (Season 7) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "Unimatrix Zero" in which Seven Of Nine discovers a place known as Unimatrix Zero, where Borg drones become individuals for a short period during their regeneration. However, once the regeneration process is complete, the drones forget all memory of the event. Capt. Janeway views this revelation as an opportunity to attack the Borg, and the Voyager must execute the plan perfectly if it is to succeed... Other notable episodes from Season 7 include "Nightingale" in which Harry Kim, Seven Of Nine, and Neelix stumble across a war between two alien nations while scavenging for dilithium, and "Friendship One" in which, having established regular contact with Alpha Quadrant, the Voyager receives orders from Starfleet to hunt down the lost 21st Century Earth probe, Friendship One...

Below is a list of episodes included on the Star Trek: Voyager (Season 7) DVD:

Episode 147 (Unimatrix Zero: Part 2) 
Episode 148 (Imperfection) 
Episode 149 (Drive) 
Episode 150 (Repression) 
Episode 151 (Critical Care) 
Episode 152 (Inside Man) 
Episode 153 (Body and Soul) 
Episode 154 (Nightingale) 
Episode 155 (Flesh and Blood: Part 1) 
Episode 156 (Flesh and Blood: Part 2) 
Episode 157 (Shattered) 
Episode 158 (Lineage) 
Episode 159 (Repentance)
Episode 160 (Prophecy) 
Episode 161 (The Void) 
Episode 162 (Workforce: Part 1) 
Episode 163 (Workforce: Part 2) 
Episode 164 (Human Error) 
Episode 165 (Q2) 
Episode 166 (Author, Author)
Episode 167 (Friendship One)
Episode 168 (Natural Law)
Episode 169 (Homestead)
Episode 170 (Renaissance Man)
Episode 171 (Endgame: Part 1)
Episode 172 (Endgame: Part 2) 

The DVD Report

Dune Extended Edition [Duna Import]

B00099ZYJO
Versatil

I understand why David Lynch took his name off. The pace is just too slow. As a fan of Dune, I appreciate the extra content from the book that was missing from the theatrical release. I appreciate this version as a collector, but I feel the 2001 version of Dune was a better movie.

This film is an attempt to put The Book -- Dune to film. I felt that it falls short of the production made by the Science Fiction Channel. It was also fairly expensive for what you get. I enjoyed viewing it, but it's not the kind of film you would watch more than once a year.

Bad copy - unusable - no help from seller. Don't buy from here!

Tunnel Through the Stars: The Dominion War, Book 3 (Star (Star Trek)

2005-10-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

Tunnel Through the Stars: The Dominion War, Book 3 (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

0671025007
Star Trek
01 November, 1998

Like the first book in this miniseries, this book is a fine action story, with a lively plot that moves right along at a fast clip. Also like the first book, if you want anything OTHER than action, this is the wrong book to pick up. The one attempt at something more than fast-paced action -- a budding romance between Ro Laren and Sam Lavelle -- is handled remarkably clumsily. This sub-plot could have been very moving and powerful; instead, it was only rather distracting. It didn't really ring true for either character, and seemed completely out of place, merely something tacked onto the main plot for the purpose of deflecting accusations of a lack of character development.
This book is really a sequel to book one of the series; as near as I can tell, book two adds very little if anything to the storyline in books one and three. Essentially, books one and three are a linked pair, as are books two and four, but the two pairs actually have very little to do with one another and can be read independantly of each other.

Book 4 continues on from book 2 (book 1 and 3 should be read together as a different series). I enjoyed seeing the many twists this book had to offer and how Picard coped with it all. The horrors of war were better flushed out as Riker's new conquest turns depressing, something I much enjoyed. Troi gets some time to do something, and since it's tied with Riker it was fun to read. Picard's ragtag team on the Orb of Peace was quite fun to read, especially when they encounter new people in the Badlands and take aboard an interesting one-armed 'guest'. That character was very refreshing, esp. due to his appreciation for Picard. It is sad to see the Enterprise tied at a starbase for most of the series, but it was quite necessary to accentuate the brilliance of Picard. A little romance b/w a few characters was actually quite well done, although somewhat unexpected from Ro's behalf methinks. I loved how Picard manipulates Grof to help him by strengthening his ego. The author really makes Picard shine, as it should be!
The cover of this book is very misleading, never does the Enterprise attack 2 Cardassian Galor-class ships. Its eventual turnout is very expected, but it still made me smile despite the predictability. Data's presence was very welcomed and it was good to see Geordi's response to him. Both series (1&3, 2&4) are essential turning points in the War. If either Sisko or Picard had failed, while the other succeeded, it would all be for nought, which makes this 4 part series somewhat intertwined. Personally I prefered books 1 and 3 to 2 and 4 since 2 and 4 were for the most part taken straight from the TV show whereas the TNG part was fresh and in accordance with the established characters. If you love Picard, then reading what he did to save the Quadrant in books 1 and 3 will be worthwhile.

Let me clarify my rating for this novel. I felt the conclusion of this tale was very good, but the editing was terrible. A variety of times during the Riker subplot, the female repair officer seemed to change ranks a few times, between Commander (pg30) and Captain (pg22). Once I realized the simple error, overlooking it because easy. But I digress...
The main tale of adventure weaved by Vornholt caught my attention and kept me pushing to finish the story. The sub-plots felt contrived. Data charging to the rescue and the Enterprise being in the right spot at the right time, felt wrong. The story was great but the execution just was not there.
I loved the tale and story. Would I read more from John Vornholt? I am not sure. As a Star Trek fan, I can forgive the minor problems in this novel. I even understand the pressure deadlines can cause on good stories. No one is perfect, so I am sure I will dive into more novels.
Ro Laren character comments:
S.D. Perry re-introduced Ro into the Deep Space Nine novel re-launch. The development of her in this story did not interfere with the character in Avatar. There is a minor mention in Avatar about Picard protecting Ro from Starfleet, which no seems kind of awkard but doesn't interfere.

Star Trek Generations (Special Collector's Edition)

B0002HDOB8
Paramount Home Video
28 September, 2004
There were only two ways for "classic Trek" cast members to appear in a movie with the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation: either Capt. Kirk and his contemporaries would have to be very, very old, or there would be some time travel involved in the plot. Since geriatric heroes aren't very exciting (despite a welcomed cameo appearance by the aged Dr. McCoy), Star Trek: Generations unites Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) and Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) in a time-jumping race to stop a madman's quest for heavenly contentment. When a mysterious energy coil called the Nexus nearly destroys the newly christened U.S.S. Enterprise-B, the just-retired Capt. Kirk is lost and presumed dead. But he's actually been happily trapped in the timeless purgatory of the Nexus--an idyllic state of being described by the mystical Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) as "pure joy." Picard must convince Kirk to leave this artificial comfort zone and confront Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell), the madman who will threaten billions of lives to be reunited with the addictive pleasure of the Nexus. With subplots involving the android Data's unpredictable "emotion chip" and the spectacular crash-landing of the starship Enterprise, this crossover movie not only satisfied Trek fans, but it also gave them something they'd never had to confront before: the heroic and truly final death of a beloved Star Trek character. Passing the torch to the Next Generation with dignity and entertaining adventure, the movie isn't going to please everyone with its somewhat hokey plot, but it still ranks as a worthy big-screen launch for Picard and his stalwart crew. --Jeff Shannon
Well, when the story begins, the Enterprise-B is being launched with Starfleet heroes, Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov. For me, it would have made more sense to have Spock and McCoy, but once Leonard Nimoy dropped out because of problems with the script, DeForest Kelley decided they had a better exit in The Undiscovered Country, and said "If Leonard's not doing it, then I'm not doing it." Well, anyways, these scenes set us up for the rest of the movie, which really has nothing to do with the original series cast.
On the whole, Generations seems like a drawn-out, higher budget episode of The Next Generation. However, fans familiar to the series may be surprised to see some set changes, such as added consoles on the Enterprise-D bridge, or the bright orange lighting in Ten Forward. For villains, Malcolm McDowell brings out the character of Soran, and the Duras sisters from a few episodes of TNG appear.
Anyways, I am one of the people who feel a bit more possitive about the ending (On the DVD, they show the original - not that good). Star Trek: Generations will be most appealing to Trekkers, but it is not as good an exit for the original cast as Star Trek VI.

I just finished a marathon of Star Trek with the purchases I just got from Amazon. I enjoyed it so much. I also purchased the following DVD's with this purchase: 

Star Trek - The Original Crew Movie Collection (Special Edition)
Star Trek - First Contact (Special Collector's Edition) 
Star Trek Generations (Special Collector's Edition) 


I thought this movie would blend the old with the new a little better. Mostly it just focuses on the new. Sure it has Kirk mingling with Picard a little bit, but that's not enough.

Still, it was worth seeing once. And only once. I think the problem with the Next Generation movies is the villians. You know the protagonists by heart, but the villians are always brand new, so you don't really care about them. It leaves the movies unbalanced.

This movie has a villian you don't care about. He's no reason to watch the movie. In fact, the only reason to watch the movie is to catch up on a few plot points to get from one movie to the next. Well, the Picard and Kirk thing is okay too I guess, but not really great.

Anyway, Picard is the man. Better than Kirk.

Engines of Destiny (Star Trek: The Next Generation) 0671037021Star Trek01 (Star Trek)

2005-10-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

Engines of Destiny (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

0671037021
Star Trek
01 March, 2005

I was a bit underwhelmed by this book. One possible reason for this is that I had just finished reading Federation for the 2nd time, which is easily the best Star Trek book written to date. Other possible reasons as the poor characterizations of Kirk, who was made out to be quite a goofball, in my opinion. Overall, it was a fairly well written book, the writing style being much easier to stay with than Shatner's stuff. Read this book BEFORE you read Federation, so you won't be so disappointed.

The premise and the buyildup to the end are very good, but the resolution just makes no sense. Why the choice made "corrects" the timeline is in no way obvious. Too bad.

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this novel, but it was written so badly, and the plot was not only contrived, it made NO sense. It takes the already existing damage to the Borg's credibility (from First Contact and Voyager) and makes it 1000 times worse. Beyond that, none of the characters are believable, especially Scotty, who comes across as Dennis the Menace:The Next Generation. Ugh. HATE for this book is all I have. I gave it away by leaving it in a public spot (after registering on bookcrossing.com)

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 4, Episodes 8 & 9: Charlie X/ Balance of Terror

B00001MXXW
Paramount Studio
19 October, 1999
Volume 4 from the DVD collection of original Star Trek programs includes broadcast episode 2, the memorable "Charlie X," starring Robert Walker Jr. as a troubled teen presenting two big problems: pathological immaturity and powerful telekinetic powers. After he wills the destruction of a starship that drops him off with the Enterprise, the titular delinquent stalks a female member of the crew and creates havoc using his terrifying ability to make people, in his own words, "go away."
Also on this disc is "Balance of Terror," a terrific drama that was essentially an outer-space version of a 1950s submarine movie. Writer Paul Schneider introduced both the Romulans and the concept of a "neutral zone" to Trek lore, wrapped up in this story about the first encounter between a Federation and Romulan ship in 75 years. The resulting face-off between two vessels and their strong, noble captains--Kirk (William Shatner) and his Romulan counterpart (Mark Lenard, who later played Spock's Vulcan father, Sarek)--is directed and edited with suspense worthy of the classic sub movie, The Enemy Below. It's an example of how the original Trek series took lots of risks and constantly invented itself, in contrast to the more codified look and feel of The Next Generation and subsequent series. --Tom Keogh
In "Charlie X," Robert Walker plays another of Gene Roddenberry's mad omnipotent beings, in this case a young man who was given incredible power by benevolent aliens to enable him to survive on a barren planet. Rescued by humans, he lacks the social skills, maturity, and self-control to use his abilities responsibly and soon endangers the crew of the Enterprise. This is an excellent episode with several chilling moments; a brief shot of a faceless young woman groping along the wall really freaked me out as a kid and remains effective today. The theme of "power corrupts" had not yet become the Trek clichÃ© that it would, but coming so soon on the heels of "Where No Man Has Gone Before," one can definitely see a pattern developing.

"Balance of Terror" introduces the Romulans and features a cat-and-mouse game between the Enterprise and a new generation of Romulan warship that has been sent across the Neutral Zone to probe the Federation for weaknesses. This was the first episode to place the Federation of Planets within a geopolitical (spacial-political?) context that would set the stage for the many stories and arcs concerning the confrontations of galactic superpowers that is a particular strength of the various Trek series. Mark Lenard gives a commanding performance as the Romulan captain.

The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Charlie X
Conducting a rendezvous with the transport ship Antares the Starship Enterprise takes onboard a seventeen year old passenger named Charlie Evans for transport to Colony Alpha Five. Charlie who was the sole survivor of a transport ship crash fourteen years prior on the planet Thasus was orphaned yet still he somehow managed to survive, learning how to speak by using the ships library tapes, and after the ship's supply of food concentrates had run out found other things to eat just growing around. Having had no human contact all that time proves to be tough on the young man, who desperately wants to be accepted by the people he comes into contact with on the Enterprise. Charlie finds his first experience dealing with women, especially Yeoman Janice Rand extremely awkward. Charlie has more than a passing infatuation with Yeoman Rand, and this infatuation leads Charlie into an embarrassing encounter. Imitating some friendly interaction between two male crew members that Charlie witnessed earlier the eager young man gives Yeoman Rand a friendly pat on her bottom in response to being asked to meet her in the recreation room after she's off duty. Flustered Yeoman Rand suggested that Charlie talk to Captain Kirk or Dr. McCoy and ask one of them what he did wrong.

Upon taking Yeoman Rand's advice Charlie seeks out Captain Kirk with whom Charlie starts to look up to for an etiquette lesson in regards to dealing with women. Jim Kirk who feels commanding a starship with a crew of 428 easier than giving advice about women to a teenage boy finds the experience new and confusing and is saved from further awkwardness by having to respond to an urgent call from Captain Ramart, commander of the Antares. Kirk heads to the bridge with Charlie tagging along and upon arrival the duo find Lt Uhura desperately trying to establish communications with the Antares which was transmitting at full output, Captain Ramart started to give Captain Kirk a warning when suddenly the channel went dead, Uhura attempts to reestablish contact with the Antares when Charlie makes a comment about the "poor" construction of the cargo ship arousing some suspicion from Kirk. Conducting a sweep with probe scanners Spock verifies that the Antares has been destroyed. 

Kirk, lamenting the destruction of the Antares and the twenty crew on board while engaging in a "friendly" game of chess with Mr. Spock discusses what happened to the Antares and how Charlie seemed to know what happened before they did they did. Charlie who has developed a "crush" on Yeoman Rand experiences feelings that frustrate and confuse the young man which in turn make life uncomfortable and awkward for Yeoman Rand who enlists the aid of Captain Kirk for some "fatherly advice". Kirk lays it all out for the seventeen year old with raging hormones prompting Kirk to not only bust Charlie's bubble concerning Janice but also that life isn't always fun or fair. 

Kirk in an attempt to help Charlie try and forget about Rand and relieve some stress takes Charlie to the ship's gym for a little workout and a lesson in self defense. Kirk attempts to teach Charlie a throwing technique which Charlie doesn't perform so well proves disastrous as one of Kirk's crewman who is also working out in the gym as well playfully laughs at the frustrated young man. Charlie who is embarrassed at not being able to get the throw right and is livid at the fact that the crewman is laughing at him makes him "go away". Shocked at witnessing his crewman disappear and even more shocked at the fact that Charlie was responsible for making it happen orders security to come for Charlie and escort him to his quarters. Resisting the security guards with his powers Charlie forces Kirk to threaten him with punitive measures if Charlie doesn't comply. Charlie relents and reluctantly goes with the security guards who are weaponless thanks to him.

Meeting with Spock and McCoy in the briefing room Kirk and the two senior officers discuss what happened in the gym and the danger the awkward teenager with the powerful weapon within him poses not only to the Enterprise but to the population of Colony Alpha Five as well. Theorizing that Charlie caused the destruction of the Antares, a theory which proves to be true the trio realizes that they are in the hands of a dangerously immature and unpredictable adolescent. Charlie starts to exert his control over the Enterprise by locking it on a course for Colony Five and cutting off communications despite Kirk's attempts to change the course of the ship away from the colony so they can buy some time and warn the colony's governor about Charlie. Charlie who punishes Kirk and Spock for not being nice and who makes Janice Rand the women he is obsessed over "go away" for slapping him across the face is in full control of the ship and crew and uses his power to get even with those who annoy him or get in his way. Kirk who must stop Charlie at all costs sees a window of opportunity in stopping the "boy" who lives in a man's body, realizing that Charlie may have over stretched himself in controlling the whole ship decides to tax him further by turning on every device, light and anything else in hopes that Charlie can be distracted so he can be tranquilized until the ship reaches Colony Five. Kirk takes the chance and plays the dangerous game with the powerful teenager. 

The plan proves be successful and just as Kirk is about to deliver the knockout blow to the boy, a ship from Thasus arrives to take Charlie home. The Thasians who were supposedly only a legend taught him the power of molecular transformation which allowed him to survive those fourteen years on Thasus. Remorseful at the destruction of the Antares which the alien beings cannot change the Thasians undo all the harm Charlie caused the Enterprise and her crew. Charlie who desperately wants to stay with the Enterprise and who desperately pleas for Kirk to let him stay shows some kind of remorse at what he's done. The Thasians reject Kirk's offer to let the boy stay with the Enterprise and his own kind take the fearful, panicking yet dangerous remorseful young man away. 

This episode gives Kirk a chance at being a father figure and there are some humorous results.

Star Trek - The Original Crew Movie Collection (Special Edition) (Star Trek)

2005-10-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Original Crew Movie Collection (Special Edition)

B0000UJLVY
Paramount Home Video
27 January, 2005
Devoted Star Trek fans will surely cite the "even number" rule in evaluating the Original Crew Movie Collection, but all six of these films qualify as rousing entertainment. Undeniably, the even-numbered films in Paramount's lucrative Trek franchise tended to be the best, as demonstrated by the superiority of The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home, and The Undiscovered Country. And yet each film has something to offer die-hard Trekkers, beginning with the epic-scale wonders of the first Motion Picture (presented here as a two-disc special edition). Evolving from Gene Roddenberry's aborted attempt at a second Star Trek TV series, the effects-laden Motion Picture divided fans while proving that Star Trek had a promising big-screen future. Nicholas Meyer's The Wrath of Khan made good on that promise, reviving the Star Trek spirit and proving, in the case of Mr. Spock, that beloved characters "never really die." It's widely regarded as the best of these half-dozen features.
With its deadly Klingon confrontation, the Leonard Nimoy-directed Search for Spock was a thrilling (albeit contrived) excuse for Spock's inevitable resurrection, and its somber tone was readily countered by the Earth-based humor of Nimoy's The Voyage Home, combining a planetary crisis with a lively--and phenomenally popular--time-travel plot line. Unfortunately, William Shatner then lobbied for the director's chair, and The Final Frontier--an uneasy mixture of cheesy humor and grandiose themes--was the regrettable outcome. Paramount rallied by inviting Nicholas Meyer to repeat his Khan success, and Meyer rose to the occasion with the sharply scripted thrills of The Undiscovered Country. By ending the film with an official signature send-off from the "classic Trek" cast, the original crew brought their big-screen legacy to a graceful and upbeat conclusion, setting the stage for a transitional adventure in Star Trek: Generations. --Jeff Shannon
Great I just finished what you might call a marathon with this collection. I just had a ball.

I have been trying to find the best gift for my hubby of 7 years for his second fathers day. I ran across this on another site, Columbia House, for MUCH cheaper!! The sites and people that are selling you these movies for $156 and upwards are RIPPING YOU ALL OFF. The movies are great, but really try and look elsewhere for better prices. I got my 12 disk set for $67 with shipping included from CH online. Its crazy to think that others are paying WAY more for thier sets, just a warning thats all. The hubby will be so excited that I got him the DVD's wheras before he only had the VHS set. I can't wait to surprise him and he thinks I spent TOP dollar! HAHA!!:)

This is a very good buy for anyone who is a Trekky, the box and cd's are to die for in of themselves. However, don't let them fool you in thinking that the first one has been cut down. The enterprise shot in the beginning is just as long as in the older VHS versions. I say this because I had heard with the director's cut it had been spliced down some. 
The music does make up for this very long scene however, if you're willing to stick around and watch it. Other than that, unlike the star wars series you can pretty much sit back and watch these without having to watch for new scenes that for some reason you don't remember being there. 




Star Trek - Nemesis (UMD Mini For PSP)

B000A6T294

04 October, 2005

The plot of "Star Trek: Nemesis" comes down to three situations. First, and most importantly, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) discovers that he not only has a clone (Tom Hardy) who was created by the Romulans by raised by the Remuseans, but that the enterprising Shinzon has become Praetor of the Romulan Empire, which has a weapon that can destroy all life on Earth. Second, in an obvious parallel, Data (Brent Spiner) discovers yet another of Dr. Soong's prototype androids, named B-4 (also Spiner). Third, and finally in more ways than one, Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Troi (Marina Sirtis) are finally getting married. This 10th Star Trek film, and four in the STNG part of the series, has its moments but is ultimately less than satisfying.

Part of the problem is that even before the film's climatic death scene we are already aware that we have another Star Trek death that is not really death scene. Yes, this is certainly more plausible than the first one in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan"/"Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," but that it is at the expense of the shock and emotional impact the first time around. Consequently, the big payoff rings hollow, which is never a good sing for a major theatrical release. 

Another part of the problem is that the cast is so large that few of them have much of value to do. Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) has been standing by for several films mainly to ask Data what he is doing so the android can explain, Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) waits for casualties to show up in sick bay, and Worf (Michael Dorn) is at least good for a few laughs with the comments he makes in his cups while everyone is toasting Riker and Troi. As far as the movies go, STNG has boiled down to Picard and Data, and the rest are along for the ride, posing stiffly and formly in the background. That being said, "Nemesis" finally gives Counselor Troi the main supporting role and a couple of scenes when she proves she can give as well as receive. But overall there are two many cast members sitting around with little or nothing to do; compare this with the series finale "All Good Things..."

Finally, there are just too many significant gaps in the thinking of the main characters. Picard and his clone think they understand each other as if in the future the nature versus nurture issue has gone the way of safety belts being required on alll chairs on spaceships. Yes, having a clone is creeping. Yes, having your clone serving in a Romulan slave pit is disturbing. But the idea that the result is a younger version of itself was never legitimated by novels/films like "The Boys From Brazil." This is supposed to be the future, but the "science" here is about on par with a 1950s film. If I, who know virtually nothing about science in general or cloning in particular can see the holes in this logic, than Picard's Starfleet Academy training should serve him in much better stead. 

Now that we are apparently here at the end of the road for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" it might be appropriate to conduct a post mortem and consider the question of why the theatrical films were never as good as any of the two-part episodes of the television series. The short explanation is they went for bigger (e.g., the Borg rewrite human history) rather than better. What is so puzzling is why a creative staff that came up with several solid story lines almost every season for many years could not cut it when it was required to come up with one very good idea every few years. "Star Trek - Nemesis" has the characters of STNG but neither the style nor the substance; what does Picard driving a intergalactic dune buggy have to do with why we loved this television show? Plus, the lighting makes Data's skin look really weird. At least we have the complete "Star Trek: The Next Generation" out on DVD now.

String Theory, Book 3: Evolution (Star Trek, Voyager) 1416507817Pocket BooksMarch, (Star Trek)

2005-10-16T09:13:00.000-07:00

String Theory, Book 3: Evolution (Star Trek, Voyager)

1416507817
Pocket Books
March, 2006

A Trekker's Guide to Collectibles: With Values (Schiffer Book for Collectors)

0887409652
Schiffer Publishing
March, 1996

This is a perfect look back over the decades of Star Trek collectibles and toys. It is well organized. Fans of only one series may go directly there and concentrate on those items. General Trekkers will enjoy browsing throughout. It is amazing how many items are listed. It is hard to believe a book would be misjudged on the basis of one small line of items so far on the edge of the field! Get this book!

There are many collectibles listed in this book. Also there are good pictures and descriptions. However, some of the best Star Trek collectibles and memorabilia are the Star Trek Autographed Plaques/Items done by "THE SCORE BOARD, INC.", but unfortunately in this book there are not informations about them.

Star Trek - The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition) B00005JKHPParamount (Star Trek)

2005-10-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

Star Trek - The Motion Picture (The Director's Edition)

B00005JKHP
Paramount Home Video
06 November, 2001
Back when the first Star Trek feature was released in December 1979, the Trek franchise was still relatively modest, consisting of the original TV series, an animated cartoon series from 1973-74, and a burgeoning fan network around the world. Series creator Gene Roddenberry had conceived a second TV series, but after the success of Star Wars the project was upgraded into this lavish feature film, which reunited the original series cast aboard a beautifully redesigned starship U.S.S. Enterprise. Under the direction of Robert Wise (best known for West Side Story), the film proved to be a mixed blessing for Trek fans, who heatedly debated its merits; but it was, of course, a phenomenal hit. Capt. Kirk (William Shatner) leads his crew into the vast structures surrounding V'Ger, an all-powerful being that is cutting a destructive course through Starfleet space. With his new First Officer (Stephen Collins), the bald and beautiful Lieutenant Ilia (played by the late Persis Khambatta) and his returning veteran crew, Kirk must decipher the secret of V'Ger's true purpose and restore the safety of the galaxy. The story is rather overblown and derivative of plots from the original series, and avid Trekkies greeted the film's bland costumes with derisive laughter. But as a feast for the eyes, this is an adventure worthy of big-screen trekkin'. Douglas Trumbull's visual effects are astonishing, and Jerry Goldmith's score is regarded as one of the prolific composer's very best (with its main theme later used for Star Trek: The Next Generation). And, fortunately for Star Trek fans, the expanded 143-minute version (originally shown for the film's network TV premiere) is generally considered an improvement over the original theatrical release. --Jeff Shannon
STAR TREK has a life of its own, in part thanks to this film. After 70 or so episodes of the original television series, there was extensive talk of a second series starring the same cast (with the exception of Leonard Nimoy). 

When Paramount heard of the tv plans, they changed the medium and made the first Trek film, STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. Leonard Nimoy was even brought back, restoring the cast. The film boasted a complete overhaul from the series... and that overhaul has set the stage for 9 more films and 5 more television outings. 

The film itself is rather static, lacking the quick pacing that made some of the later film's success. Attributed to that pacing, the performers seem to be 'older' than they are in later films. 

The new DVD includes the directors cut, adding some small scenes, small effects changes (most notably, the creation of the walkway from the ENTERPRISE to V'Ger), and slight editing on the 'still way to long' trip through the V-Ger cloud (It still clocks in around 13 minutes of shots of the alien environment interspersed with looks of awe on the crew's faces...) 

On the good side, the musical score by Jerry Goldsmith is marvelous, probably his best 'thematic' work. And many of the effects are exceptional. Especially the introduction of the ENTERPRISE while in "SkyDock". 

The film was eclipsed by the pacing and action of its superior sequel STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KAHN, but, you can't have one without the other. The DVD is pretty loaded with a couple nice documentaries and commentaries. However, many of the menus are difficult to navigate and that is a turn-off. 

It is wonderful to have the musical "Overture" put on the film, but it is quite possible that people will think they are actually looking at a faulty menu, (It's just music over a moving starfield.)...Enjoy. 

To boldly go where no man has gone before.

Star Trek The Motion Picture overall is a good movie, but a little too long for it's own good. This movie just doesn't have that much action in it, but great special fx and story keep this movie interesting. 

One of the best things about this movie are the references that would later appear in other Trek series, mainly the Borg. Some of the stuff used in this movie that would later be used in Trek again. 

- The opening theme would become the theme for Star Trek TNG
- Spock says "Resistance is Futile"
- VGER's name turns out to be a name used later (no spoiler)
- There is talk about a planet of living machines (Borg)
- Riker and Deanna Troi are based on Decker and Ilia

This movie would be fantastic if they just left out the long scenes where Scotty and Kirk are first going to the Enterprise and when the Enterprise is flying into VGER. Those two scenes are very long and not needed. 

If you like character/story driven movies, this is great! But it is still slow/dull at some points of the film.

I thought the DVD release was good for what it is... i was pleased with the improved visual effects and scenes but was not happy with the fact that we don't have the option of viewing the extended VHS version with the original audio and visual effects. pleased with the finished products all in all... especially the Starfleet Headquarters shots, the Wormhole sequence and the Enterprise's first encounter with V'ger. as i said i would hope that Paramount releases the original extended cut on DVD for all the star trek purists.

Star Trek - The Original Series, Vol. 5, Episodes 10 & 11: What Are Little Girls Made Of?/ Dagger of the Mind

B000022TTL
Paramount Studio
14 December, 1999
Volume 5 from the DVD collection of original Star Trek programs includes "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" Written by Robert Bloch (author of the novel Psycho, the basis of Hitchcock's film), the episode finds Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and nurse Christine Chapel (Majel Barrett) beaming down to planet Exo III, where Christine is to be reunited with her fiancé, Dr. Roger Korby (Michael Strong). The meeting is less than joyful, however, when it becomes clear that Korby has been developing androids that he intends to spread throughout the galaxy--using the Enterprise as his delivery vehicle. This was certainly the first significant performance for Majel Barrett in the Trek family; longtime fans know she went on to play Lwaxana Troi on The Next Generation (and Mrs. Gene Roddenberry in real life). An entertaining episode all around, with the notion of an android Kirk somehow amusing. (Maybe it was the android who sang on that notorious Shatner album.) Fans of '60s TV will also enjoy the performance of Ted Cassidy (the original Lurch from TV's The Addams Family) as the giant android, Ruk.
Also on this DVD is "Dagger of the Mind," another mad-doctor drama. This time, Kirk delivers supplies to a penal colony on Tantalus V, where he meets the renowned Dr. Tristan Adams. Adams has been working on the development of a neural neutralizer to control and manipulate dangerous patients. When Kirk threatens to expose him as a dangerous megalomaniac, Adams uses the technology on the unfortunate captain. This tense piece set in a madhouse atmosphere makes for a riveting episode, with a few unhinged performances adding to the fun.--Tom Keogh
The crew of the Enterprise faces off against a couple of mad scientists in this pair of middling episodes from the classic 60s SF series. 

"What Are Little Girls Made Of?" is the better of the two. Written by veteran genre author Robert Bloch, it tells the story of Dr. Roger Korby's doomed attempt to populate the universe with androids. Ted Cassidy's frightening performance as the gigantic Roc is the highlight of the episode. The way in which messy human emotions befuddle and destabilize arrangements based on the repression of said emotions became a Trek cliche, but it's probably not fair to criricize this episode on that basis since it was among the first to introduce it.

"Dagger of the Mind" is less interesting. Somehow Dr. Tristan and his mind-warping device just don't seem like a worthy enough threat to cross the flagship of the Federation. In addition, it depends on unprofessional behavior on the parts of Kirk and Dr. Helen Noel for much of the drama.

The original "Star Trek" series is cheesy at times but often fun and sometimes dramatic. However, 2 episodes per disc is a sure sign that Paramount was milking this series for all that it's worth, because they knew that the loyal "Star Trek" fans would buy every disc - all 40 of them. Paramount has now released the entire series in season boxed sets which, although still pricey, include bonus features and are a better value than these single-disc releases. Skip these discs and buy the boxed sets instead.

Dagger of the Mind
After exchanging cargo with the penal colony on planet Tantalus Five the Enterprise unknowingly takes onboard an inmate who was hiding inside one of the crates beamed up from the planet. The colony contacts the Enterprise to warn them of the escape and that the inmate is an extremely violent and dangerous case. Kirk orders a security alert and the search begins for an intruder that proves to be more than a match for the Enterprise's security detachment. The intruder who makes his way to the bridge holds the command crew at gun point identifying himself as Simon Van Gelder. He asks for asylum and not to be taken back to Tantalus and threatens to disable the ship by destroying crucial operating controls if his demands aren't met. Kirk and Spock are able to subdue Van Gelder, and the ship is ordered back to Tantalus.

In the sick bay Van Gelder struggles to tell Kirk and McCoy about his horrific ordeal. Each word that Van Gelder attempts to speak seems to cause him immense pain. Checking the library tapes Spock learns that Simon Van Gelder is actually Dr. Simon Van Gelder and that he was assigned to the colony six months prior. Contacting the colony, Kirk talks to Dr. Tristan Adams the leader of the Tantalus Penal Colony who tells Kirk that Van Gelder's injuries occurred after he tried an experimental beam on himself. McCoy after having examined Van Gelder has his doubts about Adams's story. Following regulations meant that Kirk would have to file a report and therefore investigate the matter personally. McCoy assigns Dr. Helen Noel from the ship's Psychiatry Department to assist Kirk in determining if there was anything going wrong at the colony. Upon beaming down to the surface and after a stomach churning elevator ride straight down Kirk and Noel are greeted by Dr. Adams. Everything seems to be in order, as Adams takes the duo on a guided tour of the facility. On the tour Kirk visits where Van Gelder's accident took place, a room where the experimental beam called a neural neutralizer was kept. Adams told Kirk and Noel the equipment was an experiment that went wrong and that it was only used in the more severe cases in the hope that it would do some good. The equipment was in use and the technician at the controls gave Kirk a quick tutorial on its operation. The operator controls the intensity of a beam which is directly over the subject who is seated in a chair. The operator places suggestions into the patient's mind via a microphone and these suggestions with help from the intensity of the beam help cure the patient.

Van Gelder warns Spock and McCoy about the neural neutralizer, despite the warnings Kirk decides to stay overnight to continue the investigation. Spock decides to use an ancient Vulcan mind technique on Simon Van Gelder to reach into the doctor's tortured mind. The Enterprise Captain, puzzled about the blankness of the people he had met during his tour and his growing suspicions about Adams himself prompt Kirk to want to take another look at the site of Van Gelder's accident. Using the Vulcan mind technique Spock learns about what Dr. Adams did to Van Gelder. Kirk and Noel make it to the neural neutralizer room and decide to experiment with the device. With Noel at the controls and Kirk in the chair as the "test subject" they learn that it is an extremely effect device. Adams and his henchman "interrupt" their experiment and conduct an experiment of their own. Dr. Adams uses the beam to bend Kirk to his will and suggest that he can't live without Helen Noel a woman with whom Kirk had a brief affair with in the past. Adams tortures Kirk and makes him turn over his phaser and communicator. Kirk tries to resist but the beam, pain and Adams's suggestions are too strong.

Back in their quarters Kirk and Noel plan their escape. Exiting the room via the air ducts Kirk orders Noel to find the power source and short circuit the planet's security screen, a screen that when in operation prevents beaming. Adams continues to torture Kirk with the device and upon learning that Noel had escaped increases the beams intensity to learn where she was at, and with what instructions she had been given. On board the Enterprise Spock attempts to break through the security screen using different transporter frequencies with no success. Noel makes her way to the reactor room, and after kicking a guard into some live circuits temporarily knocks out the planetary security screen as well as several power systems allowing Spock to beam down to the planet. When the power fades out in the neural neutralizer room the beam shuts off allowing Kirk escape the room after knocking out Adams and his henchman, while Spock after beaming down to the planet permanently disables the security screen. Spock also restores the power which reactivates the neural neutralizer with Adams left helpless in the room exposed to the beam. Kirk, Spock and Noel later discover Adams dead in the room, having died from the affects of the machine without even a tormentor for company. Van Gelder having recovered from his injuries returns to the colony to continue his assignment and has the neural neutralizer dismantled forever.

Great performances by a young Marianna Hill, as well as experienced actors James Gregory and Morgan Woodward.

Star Trek : The Human Frontier 0415929822RoutledgeDecember, 2000An academic critique (Star Trek)

2005-10-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

Star Trek : The Human Frontier

0415929822
Routledge
December, 2000

An academic critique of the four Star Trek series, this book has three main sections. The first explores the use of the nautical metaphor in Star Trek. The second considers the many ways in which Star Trek has explored the question of what it means to be human. The third part discusses Deep Space Nine and Voyager as post-modern.
Though that may sound a bit dry, the book is well worth reading, and the authors provide a number of insights into Star Trek. Unlike some critics, the Barretts do not overuse academic jargon, nor do they blindly condemn Star Trek as racist, sexist, colonialist, or fascist. Their approach is more nuanced, and the fact that they seem actually to know something about the show may at least partly explain that. When they label the latter Trek series as postmodern, they explain what they mean by modern and postmodern, and why The Next Generation epitomizes the former and Deep Space Nine and Voyager the latter. Although Deep Space Nine seems profoundly and obviously different from The Next Generation while Voyager often feels like a retread of The Next Generation in many ways, the Barretts find a number of areas (including a greater openness toward religion) that the post-Next Generation series share.
Of particular interest to Trek book fans: the Barretts mention some of the Star Trek novels. Diane Carey's nautical obsession is mentioned in the book's "The Starry Sea" chapter, and Peter David's New Frontier character, Burgoyne 172, is mentioned in a discussion of sexual identity and orientation. Star Trek novels are generally overlooked in examinations of the Star Trek phenomenon, which makes these references a welcome change of pace.

Star Trek Enterprise - The Complete Second Season

B0009I7NGW
Paramount Home Video
26 July, 2005
With Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) trapped in the 31st century, season 2 of Enterprise opens with a rousing resolution to season 1's cliffhanger finale. The first four episodes instantly became fan favorites: "Shockwave, Part II" advances the Suliban's role in the Temporal Cold War; "Carbon Creek" reveals the real first contact (albeit a secret one) between humans and Vulcans in Pennsylvania in 1957, allowing Jolene Blalock to play T'Pol's "second foremother" in a Sputnik-era scenario; in "Minefield," Reed (Dominick Keating) is nearly killed by an explosive device attached to Enterprise's hull; the damage is repaired in "Dead Stop," featuring award-winning digital modeling effects as the disabled Enterprise encounters a mysterious automated space station. Season 2 also emphasizes Archer's ongoing friction with the Vulcan High Command, exacerbated when T'Pol's career is threatened (in "Stigma") by her involuntary involvement with ostracized mind-melders. Connections to the original Star Trek (series and films) continue with episodes involving Tellarites, Tholians, Klingons, Andorians, and even a brief appearance by a Tribble (one of many occasions for humor in Dr. Phlox's sickbay, the setting of many of the season's finest dialogue-driven scenes). Early warp-drive history is also explored in "First Flight," a Right Stuff-like episode guest-starring Keith Carradine as Archer's friend and rival in breaking the Warp 2 barrier.
Consisting primarily of stand-alone episodes that integrate ongoing story arcs, season 2 showcases the primary cast with generally good results: Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) visits the "boomer" cargo ship he was raised on in "Horizon"; Hoshi (Linda Park) experiences unsettling transporter symptoms in "Vanishing Point"; and Tucker (Connor Trineer) plays a pivotal role in several episodes, notably "Dawn," "Precious Cargo" and "Cogenitor." And while "Regeneration" provoked controversy among fans for introducing the yet unnamed Borg in an early Starfleet context, it's a fine episode (with echoes of The Thing) that holds up to scrutiny, while others (including "The Crossing," "The Breach" and "Cogenitor") feel somewhat recycled, indicating the challenge of finding new ideas in the Star Trek canon. Overall, however, season 2 is consistently strong, with several episodes directed by cast alumni from previous Trek series, including NextGen's LeVar Burton, and Voyager's Roxanne Dawson and Robert Duncan McNeill. They all lead up to a devastating attack on Earth (with seven million casualties, including Trip's younger sister) in "The Expanse," ending the season with high-stakes mystery as Enterprise enters a treacherous region of space in search of the Xindi, an enemy race that factors heavily in season 3.
Abundant bonus features include a generous selection of deleted scenes (non-essential, but interesting to fans); audio commentary (on "Dead Stop" and "Regeneration") by writers Mike Sussman and Phyllis Strong, who explain the challenge of writing under constantly shifting production conditions; and text commentary (on "Stigma" and "First Flight"), in which Trek veterans Michael and Denise Okuda demonstrate their encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek fact and fiction. Six Easter eggs, known as "NX-01 Files," are hidden on the Special Features menus; they offer brief glimpses into specific aspects of production, including set recycling and art direction. "Enterprise" secrets are revealed for those who pay meticulous attention to detail; "Inside 'A Night in Sickbay'" offers a behind-the-scenes assessment of that memorable episode; and "LeVar Burton: Star Trek Director" celebrates the actor's smooth transition to directing after his stint on Next Generation. "Enterprise Profile: Jolene Blalock" is a tribute to the sexy actress by her fellow cast members and executive producers Brannon Braga and Rick Berman, including Blalock's assessment of T'Pol's pivotal role as Enterprise's resident Vulcan. Best of all, however, are the hilarious outtakes: They show the cast as a family unit, combining hard work with humor as the second season progresses. --Jeff Shannon
My only history with Star Trek was in the feature films. So, for better or for worse, my review of Enterprise Season 2 is in no way tainted by the original STAR TREK, VOYAGER, DEEP SPACE NINE or THE NEXT GENERATION. 

With that aside, I could feel the presence of those previous series underneath this one. Often feeling, "I bet they explored this on the VOYAGER" or "this is probably a play on `A Tribble for your thoughts'". With that said, I can't join in the chorus of voices who HATE the show or its non-Rodenberry creators. Maybe they make good points, but it could be sour grapes. 

Scotty Bakula is Captain Jonathan Archer, and he is a likeable, adventurous guy. His most interesting relationship is with the Vulcan T'Pol, the ships adopted science officer, who single-handedly fulfills many Trekkie fantasies. My favorite character would be the ship's doctor, Phlox. A Denobulan (that's alien) with a great temperament sorely lacking on today's earth, he is given a couple interesting episodes this year. 

The episodes follow the second year aboard the Enterprise, making history with every light year. There are run-ins with more Vulcan's, Klingon's, Andorians and Suliban. Ending with a bang back at planet earth, preparing for the Xindi! With no more need to introduce the crew of the Enterprise, this season spends more time cutting to the chase. This year is filled with problems with the Vulcan ego and the Klingon vendetta against Captain Archer. 

The highlight of the episodes unfortunately is the feature film quality special effects. The writing itself feels like it must be derivative of earlier treks... and the 1 hour medium limits the scope away from feature films as well. 

Some of the shows feel experimental, and the risks don't always pay off, especially the over-sexy material involving admittedly curvy T'Pol. But how many times can we watch her get soaped up? But, the series was overall just shy of solid. 

The DVD series includes all the second season episodes as well as occasional TEXT COMMENTARY offerings, some deleted scenes and some behind-the-scenes material. But, not much compared to the First Season offering.

I love the second season! The first season was more of an introduction to all the characters but the second season starts the real exploring. I find each episode to be unpredictable and very original. Can't wait to buy the third season!

We have only seen a few episodes, but we love it so far. Extra scenes and behind the scenes clips are interesting too.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Role Playing Game (Star Trek (Star Trek)

2005-10-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

Star Trek: The Next Generation Role Playing Game (Star Trek Next Generation (Unnumbered))

0671040006
Last Unicorn
October, 1998

For those who enjoy Star Trek and wish to role-play it, this is a good book to start with. This book details info that other, (non role-playing) books don not have. You learn about Andorians, and other species that have been lost in the tv shows, and you learn Starfleet procedures. This is a recommendable source to read even if you don't role-play. Unfortunately it leaves information out, like all the basic starships of all races. This leaves the reader to go by many other books for complete information.
The system is hard to get used to as well. If it doesn't work, it can be an informative book for someone who wishes to simplify the managing and character system. But it is informative and allows a better understanding of Star Trek themes, storeis and concepts.

This book is a great way to get started, but it just didn't go into enough detail on how to generate characters, how to use certain skills and how work the game itself. It's a definately a 5 star game, but don't buy this book alone. Get a companion to go with it, otherwise you'll be asking your fellow RPGers what's going on.

I've been waiting to review this book until I've had the opportunity to run a few sessions. Now that I have run a few sessions, I feel I can give an objective review. There is no doubt that this is a comprehensive and handsome book. I enjoyed the chapters pertaining to the UFP, its history and organization. Character creation is lengthy, but well worth it. On the average, it took my players about 45 minutes to an hour each to make characters. All of them have ended up with richly detailed characters. The Icon rules system is at its core simple. Roll the appropriate number of dice (based on the governing attribute for the skill, modified by edges) take the highest die and add it to the skill level. Rolling the target number or higher equals a success. A number of optional rules can be added. There are two reasons I didn't give this book more than three stars. The first is the lack of organization. The first few times I played, I found myself constantly flipping pages. Purchasing the Narrator's Tool Kit is helpfull for the GM screen. But that brings me to another problem with LUG's games. The Cost. The initial cost of the Core book is high, and I found it too disorganized to play without the screen. That puts the initial cost of this game at over $50; however, if the Narrator is willing to make "cheat sheets" vs buying the Tool Kit, then the cost can be cut by a third. In my humble opinion, for ( ) this should have been a three book box set with the GM screen included.

Mind Meld - Secrets Behind the Voyage of a Lifetime

B00005V9HD
Goldhil Home Media I
29 January, 2002
Tailored to the most hard-core Star Trek fans, Mind Meld gets you up close and personal with the stars of the original television series. Its premise? Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner sitting together and having a quiet, earthy chat about old times. There isn't much new information about the show--though old cast resentments are addressed--but viewers learn a great deal about the personal lives of everyone's favorite spacemen. The two discuss the pressures of filming a weekly show and the difficulties of maintaining one's dignity as an actor while wearing pointy ears. The personalities of both men shine through and it becomes obvious why they were cast as they were; Nimoy really is more thoughtful and reserved, while Shatner is extroverted and showy. The best part of Mind Meld is witnessing the genuine fondness the two men share for each other. It's clear that they really were (and are) best friends, even when the cameras stopped rolling. --Ali Davis
"Mind Meld" is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of two iconic actors who starred in the immensely popular Star Trek! For those of us who grew up watching Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock this is a must see! The two actors meet at Leonard Nimoy's home and share their memories in his beautiful backyard..You immediately sense a bond between the two that you sense as a deep and meaningful friendship..sort of a brotherly love if you will..

Shatner sort of starts off interviewing Nimoy but contributes quite a bit of his own personal reflections and memories..

One of highlights of this program is how Shatner deals with the animosity and resentment of his former castmates..It's obvious that he is quite hurt by some of the criticisms but he creates a veneer of rationalizations to "protect" himself...a defense mechanism if you will...

But to Shatner's credit..he was the "star" of the show and his boundless energy and crafting of his character was most likely going to alienate others..as a comparison, we always heard stories of Barbara Streisand's tantrums on movie sets..but I guess in a sense, that's what drove these artists and made them great! What I found odd is that Shatner stated that he felt the Star Trek conventions fueled the other actor's egos and made them feel more "important than they were" in his words..I'm not sure about that..after reading George Takei and Nichelle Nichol's books I felt they respected Shatner for his obvious talents as an actor but they, as an ensemble of actors, felt that their talents were not appreciated...as George Takei put it..he felt he was "decoration" on the bridge half of the time..

In making Star Trek the classic show that it was, the contributions of Nimoy and Shatner were immense no doubt however, there was one point during the interview where I felt that Gene Roddenberry had an immense amount of control over the show when Shatner mentioned that for the first movie..he had a idea about a scene and he and Nimoy worked it out and presented it to Robert Wise the director and Wise told them to run it by Gene..since Gene had crafted the original story..however..when it came time to do so..Shatner kind of felt intimidated...

This is a wonderful interview in that it humanizes the two actors and gives you quite a bit of insight into the pressures and stresses of making a hit TV show..that it's not all glitz and glamour but a lot of hard work! In the end you really respect these guys for their dedication to their characters and their openness about issues that they dealt with..

A definite must see for diehard fans of TOS and the 6 movies!!

Today after flipping on my TV, I was watching a bit of "A Wedding Story," the kind of "wedding porn" I normally shy away from, but found myself drawn into the lives of these two interesting people - a policewoman and firefighter from Quebec, who had married after meeting as athletic competitors.
Likewise, this is probably more of interest as "a slice of life" piece about working actors and fame, simply than just of interest to Star Trek fans. Frankly, Shatner and Nimoy - especially Nimoy - are just plain interesting people.
If you're interested in Hollywood, or acting, and what makes people in the entertainment business tick, *and* a Star Trek fan, you'll enjoy this. If you're a Star Trek fan who prefers schematics and is generally more interested in the "howsitdone" science of media science fiction, this might not keep your attention.
Having followed Star Trek for years, read Shatner and Chris Kreski's vastly entertaining books on the Star Trek phenom... as well as classics like "The World of Star Trek," this is entirely believable... and still has surprising insights. Nimoy is low-key and honest about how his drinking became a problem, even discussing the idea of "addictive personalities" in a way that does not cede his responsibility for his problems.
Kudos also to Shatner for frankly discussing the enmity of other cast members, and the insight about how Star Trek fandom may have pumped up the egos of other cast members. On the other hand, that doesn't completely invalidate comments by George Takei in his book (a real tear-jerker, especially as he writes about the experience of his immigrant family) or Walter Koenig in his bio. Koenig, interestingly, plays Bester on "Babylon 5" and is probably the only Star Trek regular, other than Shatner, to create a well-known character that leaves his Trek persona behind. Nimoy has left "Spock" behind through his prodigious directing and producing career, and only he and Shatner have escaped "Trek" to broader careers in their own right.
(So far, it looks like Trek:TNG alums Jonathon Frakes, LeVar Burton, and Denise Crosby are betting on the producing gig, taking a cue from Nimoy. It'll be interesting to see how actors from the other franchises handle their fame in the years ahead. It only proves the uniqueness of Nimoy and Shatner that such a DVD is out there and has an audience. Would TNG regs Michael Dorn and Marina Sirtis, also reportedly best friends, be able to market a similar DVD?)
In response to another review disappointed on the lack of De Kelley information, De Kelley was close with both Shatner and Nimoy, but probably closest with his wife of over fifty years. Shatner and Nimoy, by contrast, became much closer friends after their divorces (which they discuss in this video, along with the death of Shatner's wife Nerrine). In fact, I cannot remember the last time I saw any leading man open up and talk about the painful nature of divorce in such detail. (Unbelievably, Jude Law got out of that discussion during an interview with Barbara Walters ... but no one can blame him for not wanting to discuss it).
Moreover, while some fans may be disappointed to learn that the happy family on "Star Trek" didn't really get along all the time (which is hardly unknown in TV-land)... it only makes this evident and very real friendship between Shatner and Nimoy more poignant and interesting to watch.

It made more sense for Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner to do the interviews on a one to one basis. It made for better conversation and the brief trip through Nimoy's home was great because it showed how much Star Trek has touched upon both their lives. The interviews do reveal some behind the scenes information on the making of some of the original series episodes and how each actor approached the filming of each show on a weekly basis.
The extras on the DVD are abit so/so. The making of feature is good, so are the actors bio page. But there are advertisements for other DVDs that Creative Light Entertainment has done, and these are mostly low budget, unimpressive films. But that;s the only negative here, in a mostly good DVD.

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home 6305609721Paramount Studio09 November, (Star Trek)

2005-10-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home

6305609721
Paramount Studio
09 November, 1999
Widely considered the best movie in the "classic Trek" series of feature films, Star Trek IV returns to one of the favorite themes of the original TV series--time travel--to bring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov from the 23rd century to present-day San Francisco. In their own time, the Starfleet heroes encounter an alien probe emitting a mysterious message--a message delivered in the song of the now-extinct Earth species of humpback whales. Failure to respond to the probe will result in Earth's destruction, so Kirk and company time-travel to 20th-century Earth--in their captured Klingon starship--to transport a humpback whale to the future in an effort to peacefully communicate with the alien probe. The plot sounds somewhat absurd in description, but as executed by returning director Leonard Nimoy, this turned out to be a crowd-pleasing adventure, filled with humor and lively interaction among the favorite Star Trek characters. Catherine Hicks (from TV's 7th Heaven) plays the 20th-century whale expert who is finally convinced of Kirk's and Spock's benevolent intentions. With ample comedy taken from the clash of future heroes with 20th-century urban realities, Star Trek IV was a box-office smash, satisfying mainstream audiences and hardcore Trek fans alike. --Jeff Shannon
Star Trek IV plays as a fish-out-of-water story, with Kirk and his crew from the 23rd century going back to 1986 San Francisco. The visual effects are not too great, but the story does not need them. Giving this movie a more comedic value than the others was a risk, especially after the dramatic Star Trek II and the moody Star Trek III. Leonard Nimoy returns to direct after directing the previous movie, although this time, he is also acting as Spock. It is an understandably grueling task to alternate between acting and directing the movie, but Mr. Nimoy pulled it off, paving the way for future Star Trek actors to direct future installments on the television series and movies.
A lot of the movie involves Spock trying to rediscover what it means to be human, after his mind has been retrained as a Vulcan. This leads to some of the movie's comedy, such as the fact that he takes Kirk's advice that in the 20th century, you have to swear a lot to be taken seriously.
I have seen a non-Trekker watch this movie and enjoy it, so I can reccomend this movie freely.

Foregoing the heavy drama of the first 3 films, Star Trek 4 is actually more or less a comedy classic due to its hilariously anachronistic nature: folks from the future trying to get through a "modern" world and all of its quirks. 
The ultimate message of the film--save the planet for future generations to enjoy--could have been heavy handed but is beautifully covered by ample doses of seriously laugh-out-loud humor which even non-trekkies would enjoy. This is one of the best "fish out of water" (pun intended) films ever created.
Previous reviews cover the storyline well enough so we don't need a rehash of that. I'd rather like to focus on the humor present in this ostensibly light-hearted look at a serious matter. Imagine Spock trying his best to sound "modern" by swearing, or watching Scotty try to use a "modern" computer. The laughs do not stop. McCoy and Spock's dialogues are gut-wrenchingly funny. Here are some examples:
[McCoy trying to discuss what death was like with Spock]
McCoy: Perhaps we can cover a little philosophical ground. Life, death, life. Things of that nature.
Spock: I did not have time on Vulcan to review the philosophical disciplines. 
McCoy: C'mon Spock, it's me, McCoy. You really have gone where no man's gone before. Can't you tell me what it felt like? 
Spock: It would be impossible to discuss the subject without a common frame of reference
McCoy: You're joking.
Spock: A joke...is...a story with a humorous climax.
McCoy: You mean I have to die to discuss your insights on death?
Spock: Forgive me Doctor. I'm receiving a number of distress calls.
McCoy: I don't doubt it.
.........................

Spock: Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors--"double dumb-ass on you" and so forth. 
Kirk: Oh, you mean the profanity. 
Spock: Yes. 
Kirk: Well that's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word. 
...................

[Spock is still learning how to use profanity correctly] 
Spock: They like you very much, but they are not the hell "your" whales. 
Dr. Gillian Taylor: I suppose they told you that. 
Spock: The hell they did. 
...........................
Kirk: Spock, where the hell's the power you promised? 
Spock: One damn minute, Admiral. 
........................... 
[After deciding to travel back in time--much to McCoy's distress--Kirk asks Scotty about the possibility of customizing a room in their Klingon ship to contain water for the whales]
Kirk: Can you enclose it to hold water?
Scotty: I suppose I could. You planning to take a swim?
McCoy: Off the deep end, Mr. Scott!
Kirk. We've got to find some Humpbacks.
Scotty: Humpbacked...people?
Kirk: Whales, Mr. Scott. Whales!

The anachronistic comedy is used ingeniously here, and makes this one hilarious, but ultimately serious, film. An absolute classic. Personally, I feel that "The Wrath of Khan" is the most fulfilling film in the series, but you simply can't go wrong with "The Voyage Home" for non-stop laughs.
And you don't need any "LDS" to enjoy it.


Picking up where Star Trek III ended, our familiar space heroes are forced to use a Klingon Rust-bucket to once again fool Father Time. A space probe that looks like an upside down mechanical whale - from where-abouts unknown - threatens to annihilate Earth, and maybe Starfleet itself, unless the Earthen creature "Hump-back Whale" can adequately respond to the probe's emissions. Thus, go back in time to the late 20th c., return with a Hump-back whale in hopes of satisfying the probe, and order will be preserved. Captian Spock remains a bit under the weather, having died in Star Trek II, only to be resurected in Star Trek III, and seems rather confused by all the goings on. On Earth, the Enterprise officers, split into teams, each with a different task. When the tasks are completed, the crew returns to thier home century having once again saved the world. THOUGHTS: no one has ever belived the Premise of the Star Trek franchise has anything to do with science, or even science fiction. Star Trek is phantasmogorical at best. Spock results from his Vulcan father, and Earthen mother, marrying each other and biologically producing Spock. This is as likely as a horse succsessfully mating with a mermaid. Then again, Star Trek has never pretended to be what it's not. Very pretty actress Catherine Hicks plays a 20th c. Marine biologist, and that character provides the solvent to keep the plot together. In the first Star Trek film, one of the lead characters is "Decker". Both of these actors show up later in 7th Heaven. In ST-IV, Scotty tells Kirk that the Klingon food reproducer is giving him a belly-ache. Kirk responds by whispering to no one, "Oh so that's what it is". This clearly is a slam at James Doohan who, along with Nichele Nichols, have claimed that Shatner had been selfish, dictatorial, and treated the lesser stars like they were nothing more than props. None-the-less, Voyage Home is cute funny, and tense.

Star Trek VI - The Undiscovered Country

6305252599
Paramount Studio
26 January, 1999
Star Trek V left us nowhere to go but up, and with the return of Star Trek II director Nicholas Meyer, Star Trek VI restored the movie series to its classic blend of space opera, intelligent plotting, and engaging interaction of stalwart heroes and menacing villains. Borrowing its subtitle (and several lines of dialogue) from Shakespeare, the movie finds Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and his fellow Enterprise crew members on a diplomatic mission to negotiate peace with the revered Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner). When the high-ranking Klingon and several officers are ruthlessly murdered, blame is placed on Kirk, whose subsequent investigation uncovers an assassination plot masterminded by the nefarious Klingon General Chang (Christopher Plummer) in an effort to disrupt a historic peace summit. As this political plot unfolds, Star Trek VI takes on a sharp-edged tone, with Kirk and Spock confronting their opposing views of diplomacy, and testing their bonds of loyalty when a Vulcan officer is revealed to be a traitor. With a dramatic depth befitting what was to be the final movie mission of the original Star Trek crew, this film took the veteran cast out in respectably high style. With the torch being passed to the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation, only Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov would return, however briefly, in Star Trek: Generations. --Jeff Shannon
The Undiscovered Country wraps up the original series quite nicely. It helps to connect the original series with The Next Generation, and its dark, militaristic atmosphere really set it apart. Plus, Nicholas Meyer, the man who brought The Wrath of Khan to life, is sitting in the director's chair once again.
The movie is a great commentary on prejudice, and portrays a great parallel to the fall of the Soviet Union when the Klingon Empire reaches out to the Federation. The set design is great, as are the special effects and makeup. The character of Martia has a wonderfully distinctive avian look, and General Chang stands out from the rest of the Klingons, not just in his sleek, hairless appearance, but also in his habit of quoting and paraphrasing Shakespeare (whose Hamlet provided the movie's title).
Some appearances worth noting are Michael Dorn, playing an ancestor of his character Worf, and Rene Auberjonois, later known for his role as Constable Odo, plays a Starfleet officer named Colonel West.
Star Trek VI is a very good movie, and I recommend it to anyone.

If you're a Star TRek fan, you'll love the initial peace overtures between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. Of course, Spock drags Kirk into the middle of it after all, "Only Nixon can go to China". If you're not a Star Trek fan, go buy something else.

Not a great movie, "Undiscovered Country" is still great enough among Trek flicks to be unmissable. A tight script, great acting and razor-sharp direction not only make "Undiscovered Country" an unstoppable ride, but also iron out how entertaining Trek could be in the right hands.

THE PLOT: UC hints at the fall of the Soviet empire - replacing the Klingons (perennial baddies in Trek) with the luckless Russians of our age. When the story starts, the Klingons have suffered a Chernobyl-style industrial accident that bankrupts them. Forced to sue for peace, the Klingons find mixed reactions from the humans, some of whom would feel safer negotiating with the Klingons after they collapsed. Inviting disaster (or maybe obeying the Vulcan dictum that "Only Nixon could go to China") Earth sends Captain Kirk to escort Gorkcon (David Warner), the Klingons' visionary Chancellor to peace talks. Kirk, having nursed his own grudge against the Klingons for killing his son (as everybody knows, this happened in Trek-III) feels dragooned into the mission (he was recommended by Spock). Determined to go anyway, Kirk is blindsided when the Klingons are attacked - apparently by the Enterprise - and Gorckon murdered. With Kirk arrested and tried by the Klingons, Spock tries to uncover the conspiracy responsible for Gorckon's murder, save the Captain and prevent another assassination which may doom hopes for peace forever.

No matter how many times I try to summarize UC, it never gets much thicker than the above - but UC excels anyway. The old-show characters have never worked better off each other. The script bravely transcends Trekkie sentimentality: at one point, it looks like the end of the Spock/Kirk friendship, as Kirk nearly lets his hatred of the Klingons get in the way of Spock's better sense; we even get the specter of a rather malicious Kirk - "let them die" he says of the desperate Klingons. Direction here eschews the bland smoothness of "The Next Generation" - scene transitions and music add to the character. And technobabble? None here. Beside the usual characters, the script tosses in some meaty newcomers - the late Brock Peters in an underwritten but juicy role as a bellicose Federation officer, a younger Kim Cattral as a sweetly sexy Vulcan and Christopher Plummer as a barely regenerate Klingon cold warrior, who spouts Shakespeare in Klingonese as he confronts his enemies. This is more than the swan-song of the original cast - it puts the torch to the Next Generation.