Friday, December 19, 2008

Majel Barrett Roddenberry


Majel Barret Roddenberry died peacefully in her Bel Air home on December 18th 2008. Her roles in Star Trek introduced a confident "Number One" character in the pilot episode "The Cage" which was reinvented as the lovely Nurse Christine Chapel with a soft spot for Mr Spock later on.

In fact during an early scene in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, viewers are informed that she has now become Doctor Chapel, a role which she reprised briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

She provided the regular voice of onboard computers in several Federation starships for Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and most of the Star Trek movies.


Majel was famous as the ships computer voice which she supplied for Federation starships but particularly the USS Enterprise 1701, living long and prospering in the reboot version of Star Trek 2009 movie.  J.J. Abrams film is dedicated to her as well as Gene.

She starred in most of the Star Trek movies and appeared in three Star Trek series.  ("Star Trek" (1966), "Star Trek - The Next Generation" (1987), "Star Trek - Deep Space Nine" (1993) playing the Betazoid Ambassodor Lwaxana Troi on Star Trek, The Next Generation including Deep Space Nine and was brilliant

Majel also made a point of attending a major Star Trek convention each year in an effort to inspire fans and keep the franchise alive. I will miss her and our journeys through the galaxy together. May she find eternal happiness with her husband Gene beyond the final frontier, going boldly where none of us have ever, gone before.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Star Trek Movie XI

Great Galactic Space. I had to set my shields to maximum to survive the rush of this movie trailer. Will Star Trek XI usher in new generation of Star Trek fans? "Emotions are alien to me - I am a scientist." Mr Spock has conned us into believing in the past but I'm confused. Is'nt the movie a kind of warp back in time? Young Spock must be going through one of his ancestral animal urges or you could just blame it on the weaker human half. Remember this line, when you're watching Spock lose his cool. "I will not allow you to lecture me." says the vulcan in a rage. Spock's raw emotions surface but so do Rachel Nichols in a scene with the corvette murderer, James Tiberius Kirk.




The new trailer is filled with plenty of action packed entertainment and a stylish USS Enterprise starship or is it the USS Kelvin? or whatever..... in an epic space battle which engages a Romulan Warbird. Captain Christopher Pike gives the order to "prepare to fire all weapons."

Those words remind me of favourite battle scenes because its the sort of command Picard would have used to alert his crew, now Kirk's style, we know is different. He does'nt ask questions or engage in too much diplomacy which can be used to prolong a crises and Captain James Tiberius Kirk hates double talk. "Buckle up." and slapping his crewmates on the back is more Kirk's style. Well lets just take it as a given, right? or is he the worst Captain in the Fleet, perhaps you hate the guy? Don't be shy now...



When the enemy is threatening the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701, Captain Kirk skips the formalities opting instead to maneuver "his" ship in for the kill. At the Captains command, Mr Checkov readies the phasers and photon torpedoes at full power. Kirk's cunning eyes spot the enemy ship's weakest moment and without hesitation the order to fire is given. "Mr Checkov lock weapons and fire!" I think Abrams included the cop chasing corvette scene to demonstrate Kirk's daredevil compulsion and nerves of steel in what are considered crucial characteristics of a noteworthy Starship Captain.

Romulans are unlike their stoic "Cousins" the vulcans and I'm fascinated to see how Leonard Nemoy's character "Spock" plays out in the film. Romulans are driven by their passions and its no coincidence Mr Spock and a bad ass Romulan "Nero" with blood ties are in the same movie. Given half a chance, Nero will blow the Enterprise out of the stars. But what about the time honoured traditions of the Federation, Starfleet General Orders/Regulations and the Prime Directive?

Wired has reported on the reaction to the four clips shown at the Los Angeles gathering. "It's safe to say that Abrams' Trek will be younger, brighter, busier and more frenetically paced than any previous incarnation," said the reviewer. "The performances are edgier and louder, but not better. The effects are spectacular and executed on a scale never attempted by any Trek film. And, while connected to Gene Roddenberry's creation, this film is deliberately and unquestionably built in its own universe, constructing its story on the idea that the original Star Trek time line has been destroyed and must be reconstructed as closely as possible."

Its a fair bet there will be less geekiness and more action drama scenes in this movie with spacebabe Zoe Saldana taking her top off and another spacebabe hitting it off with the new Captain Kirk, who told Eonline he did get his groove on with the "green" Rachel Nichols.

TREKKIES IN THE MAKING.
johnnyneo9 (2 days ago) Im not into Star Trek but this movie might change my mind....

NathanVernon (2 days ago) Agreed. might turn me into a trekkie. :P

Amatugold Reply same here

Inglis93 (2 days ago) OMFG EPIC.

AlbertGX (2 days ago) YES

thizzwutitizzz (2 days ago) im not a star trek fan but this movie somewhat appeals
to me. probably cuz "syler," simon pegg, and henry cho are in it. either way the movie looks good.

FANBOY COMMENTS.
27.Murray Mon, Nov 17, 2008, 4:36 PM

Star Trek has always had a stigma of being geeky and misunderstood by many people. Hopefully, if this trailer is anything to go by, then we are finally looking at a Star Trek Film which has style, heaps of action and ass-kicking sci-fi entertainment in abundance and not just appealing to die hard fans such as me, but for the wider audience in general.Lets be eternally grateful that Star Trek has been given another
chance, a top director, an awesome cast, a huge budget and a sh*tload of Industrial
Light and Magic visual effects on top.

What kind of kid would tell a cop his full name? A kid who thinks he's destined for great things.

jbunn01 Stupid little kid just toasted an antique 280 year old Corvette. Punk a*sed kirk....

You're used to seeing a more mature Spock, who's suppressed his human side. This movie deals with a younger Spock, who has to battle his half-human emotions and half-Vulcan expectations.

Spock: "Quite correct, Mister Chekov. What is required now is a feat of
linguistic legerdomain and a degree of intrepidity, before the captain and Doctor McCoy freeze to death."

please i hope mccoy says
"hes dead jim"
"dammit jim im a doctor not a ...."

I wanna know why Spock's beating on Kirk.

Shut up Trekkies. I don't even like Star Trek and I see that movie is gonna be good.

Don't forget to put fuses in the consoles, too. Now instead of the console blowing up in your face, the fuse just goes poof. How many lives could have been saved with seatbelts and circuit breakers?

Live long and Prosper Trekkies, Aliens and Trekkers.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Sad Day for Mr Spock and Aliens

Fourteen years ago EU officials in Brussels took it upon themselves to boldly go where no sovereign power had dared to go before. It was a media circus and apparently the bad guys were focusing their sights on our good pal Mr Spock. Let me explain. A plan was devised by the bureaucrats to class our Star Trek hero, Mr Spock as an Illegal Alien along with the other non human dolls manufactured in China which the wise guys slapped a quota of $81.7 million on. No travel restrictions were placed on the human dolls/ action figures. Action man was free to go. So was Batman and Robin. The red carpet was rolled out for Captain Kirk. No-one defies Kirk not unless you want to get into a scrap and besides the captain always carries a phaser.



The humanity of every action figure and doll was put on the line and scrutinised by the money men. In the end, the word came down. It was a sad day for Mr Spock and Aliens everywhere. Spock, Noddy, Big Ears and Teddy bears fell victim by order of the hard liners in Brussels. There was no appeal. Star Trek fans, Trekkies and trekkers were disappointed by the EU decision and warned governments they shouldn't be meddling in the affairs of the Final Frontier. The President of the Official Star Trek Fan Club in Colorado, Dan Madsen said "Custom officials ought to cut Spock some slack" because Amanda, Mr Spock's mother was after all human!! Spock is half human. Okay, so he's half Vulcan too and was born with pointy ears! When news reached the UK, the British customs office showed no regret about their wrongdoings towards Mr Spock. "We see no reason to change our interpretation," said their agent Dez Barrett-Denyer. "You don't find a human with ears that size."

Live Long and Prosper Trekkies and Trekkers!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

William Shatner's Get a Life!

Heres William Shatner re-enacting his 1986 Saturday Night Live evil Captain Kirk speech at a Star Trek convention, with the help of his co-star trekkies who did a brilliant job. This spoof comedy is fun to watch.  Shatner gets a huge round of applause at the fake convention when he eventually back tracks. It was really the evil Captain Kirk's fault.

"Alright before I answer any more questions theres something I want to say. Having received all your letters over the years, and I've spoken to many of you, and some of you have travelled...you know... hundreds of miles to be here. I'd just want to say.......GET A LIFE! will you people?

I mean for crying out loud, its just a TV show! I mean look at you; Look at how you're dressed." (Shocked trekkies with horrified expressions on their faces look around the room to examine each others clothes)



"You've turned an enjoyable little job, I did as a lark for a few years, into a colossal waste of time. (Shatners pretending to be furious now) I mean how old are you people? What have you done with yourselves?

You!! Shatner shouts out, (pointing to a guy wearing glasses and really pointy vulcan ears) you must be almost 30, have you ever kissed a girl? (The trekkie guy doesn't answer and instead hangs his head in shame) I didn't think so!" says Shatner who's only just getting warmed up. "

"Theres a whole world out there! When I was your age, I didn't watch television, I lived! So move out of your parents' basements and get your own apartments and GROW THE HELL UP!! It's just a tv show dammit! It's just a tv show." declares shatner flabbergasted.

An innocent geeky guy wearing glasses and no spock ears in a yellow t shirt enquires from the front row. "Are you saying we should pay more attention to the movies?"

Shatners close to losing it now. "NO!!!! thats not what I'm saying at all!!! You guys are the lamest bunch that I've ever seen...... I mean I can't believe these people?....I mean, I really can't understand what I'm doing here." yells the mean Captain as he walks off the stage towards his manager at the sidelines.

In the convention audience I noticed a trekkie with his hands over his ears so he couldn't hear Shatners painful, blasphemous words. This spoof is absolutely priceless with the cheesy laughing in the background the whole time. 


A shoving match between Shatner and his manager ensues shortly after Bills ferocious facts of life speech with the trekkies/trekkers. After a serious row with his manager Bill realises he's screwed up big time with his fans. After a little confab Shatner returns to face his crestfallen trekkies.

"Of course that speech was a re-creation of the "Evil Captain Kirk", from uhhhh episode 37." Frozen like statues, Shatners beleaguered trekkies watch their hero with keen interest without saying a word. Shatners stammering now.



"The name...uhhhhhh"
(and his manager leans over and whispers the episode into the Shat's ear)
"The Enemy Within" which immediately restores Shatner's credibility with the trekkies/trekkers when they hear their Captain Kirk speaking their lingo. Shatners smiling now because his fans are responding with geekie laughter.
"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, so thankyou" he says joyfully, relieved. ".....and live long and prosper, so everybody set your phasers on stun, cos' this convention is ahead, Warp factor nine!"
"Horray, yay, yay, yay," cheer the trekkies.
"Alright, Warpfactor nine!" cheers Shatner as he exits.

Live Long and Prosper Trekkers and Trekkies!

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Brent Spiner's Dreamland.

Brent Spiner will be making an appearance at New York megastore J&R Music World on Wednesday, August 27th at 12:30pm. He will be signing copies of his CD "Dreamland".

On the cd Mark Hamil supplies his voice over narrative for several characters with Brent Spiner and Maude Maggart in Dreamlands production of stories and songs. John "Mac" McKinney is the musical director who found Spiner an epic challenge.



Dreamland started as an idea with Brent Spiner and Maud Maggart using the studio to record the album. Brent started working with the idea of dreams as a concept. He cracks gags during the interview which is typical of Spiner. "I can't believe my phone is actually working in here. Its the first time ever I get a signal."

In the youtube video we see them kidding around with John McKinney who had his work cut out for him and isn't shy about saying so! Judge for yourself, the cd is an awesome musical mix of dreams that springs to life.

"What am I thinking?" says Brent to John Mc Kinney (sitting beside him at the piano) and the guy replies "Why I'm in the shot?" Brents looks up and lets out a zany laugh. "That was it." Its fun watching these two together,  almost like watching a comedy gig.

So Brent's Dreamland concept grew. After two years, it was decided to make a fun cd for fans with a theme of songs and moving love story for everybody to enjoy. Trekkers, Trekkies, Parents and whole families too. Why even a mother on youtube remarked that her babies loved the sound of the cd when she played it to them.


Photobucket
"Give me Dreamland Curse You!"

When Brent appeared on Johathan Swartz show  a song "Looking at You" sung by Maud Maggart was played.

Her voice was "such a miraculous thing to hear." declares Star Trek's android.

" I was totally captivated by the sound of her voice and I thought this is like the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. I've got to have this young woman sing with me."

Maud sings "I remember you" with a mix of other musical notes on the cd.


I remember you,
Your the one that made my dreams come true,
A few kisses ago


I remember you-ooh
You're the one who made my dreams come true
A few kisses ago

I remember you-ooh
You're the one who said "I love you, too"
Yes, I do, didn't ya know?

I remember, too, a distant bell and stars that fell
Like the rain out of the blue-ooh-ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo

When my life is through
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of it all
Then I shall tell them I remember you-ooh

I remember, too, a distant bell and stars that fell
Just like the rain out of the blue-ooh-ooh-ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo

When my life is through
And the angels ask me to recall
The thrill of it all
Then I will tell them I remember, tell them I remember
Tell them I remember you

The sound guy said "Somebody used the phrase 'musical of the mind' and 'audio film' which I like" Its something strictly for your ears and imagination." Dreamland's has songs combined with a fascinating storyline which will place you in the heart of Dreamland. So prepare to embark on your adventure to a parallel universe in Dreamland, where you will encounter a fabric of reality where no earthie has ever gone before.

Live long and prosper Trekkers and Trekkies!

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