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Dear god, confession time. Right. All star trek possible on dvd. Many videos...and (gulp) a friend's recordings of star trek on bbc in the 1970's recorded via what I can only believe was super 8 and a spool recorder - now on video...
ba ba ba ba ba ba baaaa ba ba baa ba- oh oh, that can't be good.
 
Mob1138 said:
I hope (Starfleet Academy is) good but something says it could be shite.
The entire idea?

No no no no no no. It has all the hallmarks of another "New Adventures of.." type series, which are invariably over-simplified bollocks, also invariably featuring a cute anthropomorphic creature to appeal to the tinies (think Godzooky, Bat-mite, that irritating ginger-tom-thing out of Thundercats..)

No. Enterprise has been laid to rest (pity, but the writing was on the wall a long time ago), so now let them be. The Star Trek brand has been hugely influential culturally, far more than Star Wars, IMHO - let it stand now. Don't screw with the concept any more.
 
Let's face it. It has nothing to do with potentially good stories or characters. It's just Paramount trying to wring the last amount of ratings from a series which has proved popular in the past. While they still get plenty of loot from the franchise merchandise, they still want to find a long-running hit show that can be milked for all its worth.
 
Well, I've been sitting watching several episodes of the original series (1&2), over the last few nights and they bear up pretty well. The fact that they were made in the 60's when the 'Golden Age' of Science Fiction was still firmly in the memories of many of the Star Trek cast and producers obviously counts hugely.

The episodes bear up pretty well, even making allowances for age and anachronism. This is classic SF, of the old school, probably never to be repeated, I've resisted the chance to buy similiar loads of STNG (so far), because by then the old SF aesthetic was already a fading memory and the 'New Age' was creeping in inexorably, the Kalifornification of Star Trek.

I should add, I'm not a huge Star Trek fan, although I am a bit of a SciFi buff. I did love the original Star Trek as a kid. It still didn't quite compete with Doctor Who. ;)
 
The Star Fleet Academy is a complete dud, broadly speaking prequels don't work (that was part of the problem with Enterprise).

If Paramount want to get more mileage out of the ST:universe they'd be better leaving it a while (10 years or more) and either rebooting the entire thing (like Galactica) or doing sequel set a long time after the DS9 and Voyager series, perhaps in the 30th Century or even after the fall of the Federation (like the current Doctor Who is a which is a continuation, but with the Timelords gone).

And they need a new writing team with a new take on the ST universe.
 
Pietro_Mercurios said:
.. I've resisted the chance to buy similiar loads of STNG (so far), because by then the old SF aesthetic was already a fading memory and the 'New Age' was creeping in inexorably, the Kalifornification of Star Trek.
I do like TNG, but agree that it started to self-mythologise a little (the Klingon and Vulcan political stuff, often two-parters, left me a bit cold) - IMHO they should have hived the intrigue over to DS9, which as a scenario was static and therefore more more able to handle complex development of plotlines whereas ST, TNG, Voyager and Enterprise were responsive to different settings, so more character-driven.

Personally I liked Voyager a lot, too - I thought that it had more in common with classic Trek than TNG. One of classic Trek's strengths was the feeling of isolation (5 year mission and all that), and thus reliant on their own ingenuity and strengths to get out of trouble as any back-up was light-years away, whereas with TNG you often get the impression that, at a push, they're only a couple of hours from the nearest service station.
 
I don't think there's any point in making any kind of new Trek series (well, other than for the money). There's a finite number of plotlines you can write within the Star Trek formula, and frankly I think they've all been done to death by now.

Personally, I quite enjoyed Voyager, but many of the episodes seemed like reworkings or pastiches of previous TOS or TNG storylines. If the series had lasted much longer, I expect they'd even have had an episode where a bunch of aliens stole Tuvok's brain.
 
graylien said:
...There's a finite number of plotlines you can write within the Star Trek formula, and frankly I think they've all been done to death by now....

The could do a series set far in the future of the ST universe where the Federation has become corrupt and authoritarian. A group of freedom fighters escape on route to a Federation prison planet and find an abandoned starship, which they use to lead the rebellion against the Federation...oops, that's Blakes 7...
 
Aberdeen plans Star Trek drinks
Pubs and clubs in Aberdeen may be invited to beam up drink ideas to commemorate Star Trek character Scotty's apparent link with the city.
Aberdeen is one of the places to have laid claim to being the birthplace of the late James Doohan's character.

There are plans for talks with bars about developing a range of Star Trek-related drinks to boost tourism.

The plan goes before the city council's economic development sub-committee on Thursday 18 May.

In her report, head of economic development Rita Stephen urges councillors to support further research with a view to submitting a range of initiatives to mark the Starship Enterprise chief engineer's possible city links.

Copyright issues

Mrs Stephen said that several towns in Scotland have claimed to be Scotty's official birthplace, but pointed to an episode in which the character described himself as "an old Aberdeen pub crawler".

"This reference to Aberdeen may provide the opportunity to work with local clubs and bars to develop a range of space-related drinks, including alcohol-free drinks," she said.

"Such an initiative could be implemented at relatively little cost to the council, provided local premises are supportive."

However Mrs Stephen warned that copyright and design issues must also be considered.

Linlithgow claim

Doohan died of Alzheimer's disease and pneumonia in July last year, aged 85.

The Canadian-born actor had been a successful character actor on radio and TV before landing the role in the pilot Star Trek episode.

Last year, West Lothian Council said it planned to erect a plaque in his memory in Linlithgow.

Scripts of the sci-fi series were said to show that his character was born in Linlithgow in 2222 and that his parents still lived there.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/s ... 751507.stm

Published: 2006/05/08 21:42:33 GMT

© BBC MMVI
 
That smacks of desperation to me. How many tourists are really going to choose Aberdeen just because a couple of clubs start serving fake Romulan Ale?
 
You would be sadly surprised.

There's nothing wrong with being a Trekkie/Trekker (delete which upsets you most) and I have been known to wear a costume and get sloshed conventions while chatting to celebs. However, there aint nuthin' like a cash cow in the sights of various tourist boards to make them try to attract the leisure dollar/Euro.
 
Just make sure you've got plenty of Federation credits handy. ;)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4994564.stm

Star Trek props under the hammer
18 May 2006

Star Trek fans are being offered a "once in a lifetime" opportunity to buy props, models and sets from the show, auction house Christie's has said.

More than 1,000 items will be sold at auction in New York in October to mark the show's 40th anniversary.

The memorabilia up for grabs includes a pair of phaser guns and a detailed model of the Starship Enterprise.

The lots, from TV company CBS and film studio Paramount, come from all six TV versions and 10 Star Trek films.

Christie's director of special collections Cathy Elkies said she was able to take her pick of props from the companies' archives.

"They really gave us the ability to go in and carve out a sale that tells the whole story of the series," she said.

Starship Enterprise
A model of the Starship Enterprise is expected to fetch $20,000
"It was one of those things where you went in there and thought 'Oh my god, I have to have this'."

The most valuable lot is a replica of Captain Kirk's chair, which was made for the series Deep Space Nine in 1996.

The chair, which featured in an episode called Trials and Tribble-ations, has an estimated price of $15,000 (£8,000).

Fans can also bid for costumes worn by Spock, Uhura and Captain Picard.

Previous items of Star Trek memorabilia to be sold at auction include a pair of Mr Spock's ears, which raised $3,290 (£1,740) at Christie's in Los Angeles in 2000.

Last year, actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk, sold his kidney stone for $25,000 (£14,000) to an online casino to raise money for a housing charity.

Before the auction, potential buyers can see the collection as it tours Star Trek conventions around the world this summer.
Free Tribble with every purchase! :D
 
graylien said:
All six TV versions? Did I miss one?

dont forget the animated series. my favourite from that one was based on a larry niven short story involving the Kzin (giant vicious pussycats).
 
graylien said:
All six TV versions? Did I miss one?


Probably Star Trek: Star Fleet Academy, or Star Trek: Phase II, but they only ran in parallel universes.
 
graylien said:
All six TV versions? Did I miss one?

The original series, the animated series, the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. :D
 
Ah, the animated series. Now you remind me, I have actually seen that one. I never liked that huge cat-woman thing. Though it was far less irritating than Neelix.

Is the animated series really considered part of the official 'Canon' though? According to my hasty researches, Gene Roddenberry disowned it, but on the other hand Paramount are about to release it on DVD. Kerching!
 
graylien said:
Ah, the animated series. Now you remind me, I have actually seen that one. I never liked that huge cat-woman thing. Though it was far less irritating than Neelix.

Is the animated series really considered part of the official 'Canon' though? According to my hasty researches, Gene Roddenberry disowned it, but on the other hand Paramount are about to release it on DVD. Kerching!

Is not canon. But some story lines were pretty good, specially one with Larry Niven's Kzinti race. I was adapted from a book entitled "The Soft Weapon", and it became the "The Slaver Weapon" on TV. Also one with Kukulcan (Quetzalcoatl's Mayan name). Anyway, it was pretty good for me, I was only six years old, iirc.
 
At least you've got the one with the Loch Ness Monster. How does that pan out then? I've always wanted to see William Shatner fight a lake monster. And a grizzly bear.
 
graylien said:
At least you've got the one with the Loch Ness Monster. How does that pan out then? I've always wanted to see William Shatner fight a lake monster. And a grizzly bear.

It pans out a bit rubbish (and I have 2 copies of this remeber so i can view it in pseuo-stereo vision) - as always it turns out not to be various monstes from Scottish legend but Andronican Mind-Direction Techniques (and the Loch ness monster only appears on the penultimate page).
 
I have a couple of Star Trek Annuals from the 70s in the attic. Crosswords filled in, of course.
 
I've got a 1973 Star Trek Annual as well as one from the Beeb which was a kind of cash in.

My folks helped run the local Oxfam so I got first dibs on all the cool annuals and comics :)
 
Not Canon, but many trekkers (go to a convention and 'feel' the debates) argue that the animated series indeed represents (at least) year 4 of the 5 year mission.

BTW, had the star trek comics too - sadly gone. Thanks for the memory - not great comics, but hey...it was trek. :D
 
Each man hides a secret pain

Just a random thought that struck me while watching Star Trek V this evening (a guilty pleasure) - could the the character of the misguided prophet Sybok be partly based on L.Ron Hubbard?
 
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