Locutus of Borg

L is for Locutus of Borg but who is he? In Star Trek TNG's Best of Both Worlds, Picard's Enterprise-D crew get their butts kicked in a battle with the big scary Borg. Victorious, trek's cybernetic baddies beam off the Federation's Galaxy class fortress with their prized possession, Captain Picard. How could this be happenning, I hear you ask. Well to be honest, TNG's Best of Both Worlds left many of us gobsmacked on stardate 44001.4 It was spine chillingly thrilling watching Picard become Locutus of Borg. However, many of us still couldn't accept Starfleet's finest diplomat was now the enemy, a walking and talking Borg.

 'I am Locutus of Borg. Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From now on, you will service us.'

 How did you react when Commander Riker gave the order?

 'Mr Worf.....fire.'

Live Long and Prosper, Trekkers.

King Abdullah's 'Investigations'

K is for King Abdullah. Star Trek Voyagers 'Investigations' episode is quite the surprise. In 1996, a Jordanian Star Trek fan was but a mere Prince. He landed a non-speaking role in Star Trek Voyager as a Science Officer. When Moral Officer Neelix strikes up a conversation with Harry Kim, Science Officer Abdullah departs the scene rather quickly.

7 years later Jordan's avid Star Trek fan is a King! Apparently he was visiting the States as part of a military delegation and had to stopover in L.A. A friend offered to arrange for the prince to visit Voyagers' film set and try on a uniform.

'Then the next thing, when I actually showed up, they said that if you want, you can stand in. So it wasn't planned, it just turned out that way. I had a great time.'

How cool is this? Are you a fan of Star Trek Voyager? Do you wear costumes to Star trek conventions?

Heroic Captain Kirks Crew Are Hiding!

Heroic Captain Kirk has proven himself on numerous occasions with his ingenious battle strategies. Keeping the power and secrets of the Genesis Torpedo away from Commander Kruges grasp is top priority. He's the perfect mean spirited, vengeful Klingon on a power tripping quest... All our greedy friend has to do now is seize the Enterprise and steal her "secrets." When Kruge sizes up the situation, Captain Kirk cunningly outwits his mortal enemy by setting the USS Enterprise 1701 on self destruct!!! Kruges undefeated reputation is in tatters with his moment of glory backfiring sending him into an unhinged spasm of madness. He has to defeat his elusive opponent. Captain Kirk.

Trouble is, where are Captain Kirks heroic crew?

(Forward to 3.18) 
TORG: My lord(Kruge) the ship appears to be deserted. [Enterprise bridge]

KRUGE: How can that be? They're hiding! [Bird-of-Prey bridge]

TORG: Yes sir. But the bridge appears to be run by computer. It is the only thing speaking.[Enterprise bridge]

KRUGE: Speaking? Let me hear. [Bird-of-Prey bridge]

ENTERPRISE COMPUTER VOICE: Nine, ...eight, ...seven, ...six, ...five,... [Enterprise bridge] 

KRUGE: Get out! Get out of there! Get out! COMPUTER VOICE: ...one... [Bird-of-Prey bridge]

Live Long and Prosper, Trekkers.

Guinan and Picard?

G is for Guinan but who is she? In Star Trek's TNG Whoopi Goldberg plays Guinan who runs the USS Enterprise-D's ten forward lounge. Amazingly she belongs to a mysterious race of El Aurians that doesn't seem to age, Guinan is over 500 years old. Captain Picard and Guinan share a very strong bond, they have a trust and an unspoken understanding that surpasses normal friendship and hints in some TNG episodes at possible intimacy.

She is the only character apart from the omnipotent Q who can challenge Picard's orders and get him to change his mind. Data believes her perception goes beyond linear time, which explains why she knew the timeline was altered in 'Yesterdays Enterprise'A self confessed Star Trek fan and Golden Globe winner to boot, the actress told Gene Roddenberry she wanted a part to play on the show. Whoopi Goldberg has been a Star Trek fan since childhood (her hero was Nichelle Niichols) so her character took off when producers found out she wanted to be part of the series.

What do you think, did Captain Picard and Guinan have a secret love affair?

Live Long and Prosper, trekkers.

Fascinating Fans First

F is for Fascinating, Frequencies, Fans and First. In Star Treks classic 'The Corbinate Maneuver' Uhura appears providing actress Nichelle Nichols with her signature line 'Hailing Frequencies Open' which she says seven times during the episode. Theres little doubt that the popularity of Star Trek characters has gone from strength to strength in the eyes of the fans.

Several of Star Trek's characters have signature lines of dialogue. The guy with the ears, Mr Spock regularly says 'Fascinating.' Dr McCoy's legendary quips include 'Hes dead, Jim' and Chekov the Ships Navigator, screams 'Aaaaaagggghhhhhhhh! The fact is many of the first season episodes were cast out of shooting order, a fact easily discernible by the characters uniforms. Which characters geekspeak is your favorite?

Hail Long and Prosper, trekkies and trekkers!

Elaan of Troyius

E is for Enslaved by Emotional Elaan but who is she? Elaan is a spoiled princess played by Frances Nuyen who cries in Star Trek's classic episode "Elaan of Troyius." When the USS Enterprise escorts the beautiful Dohlman Princess of Elas all blazes breaks loose. The idea was to unite two wartorn worlds, Elas and Troyius with an arranged marriage union except her glory has other ideas. She doesn't want to get hitched fullstop.

The fun begins when a substance in Elaan's tears biochemically casts its spell on Kirk, who falls in love with her. The Dolhman's secret "weapon" specifically weakens the Captain's will and crumbles his resolve! You can't really blame Kirk for trying to teach her some manners, a task her tutor, Ambassador Petri despised totally.

Its true. Bones you've got to find me an antidote!

What will Spock and Dr McCoy try next? Can this lady killer really enslave Kirks heart forever? Will Dr McCoy find Kirk an antidote in time? How do you reverse falling in love with a beautiful babe?

Gul Dukat

D is for Dukat but who is he? In 2351, Gul Dukat played by Marc Alaimo rose to the position as Prefect of Bajor under Cardassian rule on Star Trek DS9. This guy ruled the Bajorian people with an iron fist while believing he was actually helping them.

Terok Nor later renamed Deep Space Nine was Dukat's base of operations where he chose to subjugate the Bajorian people at all costs. Offenders engaged in criminal activity were always declared guilty and sentenced to death in advance of a public show trial. To no end, Dukat personally instigated a counter uprising program to quell rebellious behaviour by instilling fear in his subjects. In an bizare twist though, he appoints the changeling Odo to investigate the murder of the stations chemist with surprising results.

In his quest for ultimate power Dukat has been many things, soldier, freedom fighter, despot, Prefect of Bajor, outcast, pawn, father and even ruler of the Cardassian homeworld but lost that status when he suffered a mental breakdown. One thing remains constant, Dukat is a supreme warlord fighting battles with Federations, Klingons and Bajorians to name a few. I have to admit DS9 is the darkest Star Trek show which ran for seven glorious seasons. When DS9's Jadzia Dax played by the wonderful Terry Farell departs the station, I realised Dukat is someone you don't want to meet in a dark lane way.

 Which Star Trek DS9 character is your favorite?

Live Long and Prosper, Trekkers.

Star Trek TNG Brothers

B is for "Brothers" which begins with the USS Enterprise-D being covertly diverted to Commander Datas home planet!

In this 77th episode episode of Star Trek TNG, Data takes over Captain Picard's ship when a malfunction in the androids programming summons him to a mysterious planet. Apparently all it took was a homing beacon to get Data, Lore and Dr Soong reunited in a cosy family get together.

A surprised Data meets his creator, his actual living father who hasn't been killed by the Crystalline Entity after all. Soong has created the perfect chip specially designed to allow Data experience human emotions for the first time! The real mind twister here is how will Data's Emotion Chip affect the android whom we have come to know and love.

 In a bizare twist, Data's evil brother Lore fools the old man. Lore gets the chip and in turn goes quite mad, assaults Dr Soong and runs away. What made this really unique is Spiner plays all three characters but when Soong touches Data's face, the hand belongs to a photo double.

 Brent Spiner candidly admits,

'I didn't have a clue as to who the character was, he was just a generic old man.' Four hours of ageing make-up later, 'People started treating me like I was an old man with so much more respect' 'The older I acted between scenes, the nicer people treated me, it was incredible.'

The brothers are soon at odds but when Soong interrupts to reveal he's dying, its like WOW. For a moment I actually believed Data's evil twin, Lore had a heart!

 'Brothers' was written by Rick Berman and directed by Rob Bowman. The element of jeopardy was suggested by TNG's Michael Piller who wanted Lore on the scene.

How many days of shooting do you think it took Brent Spiner to shoot this episode?  What did you think of Data fooling the computer by impersonating Captain Picard's voice? Who's your favorite character, Data, Lore or Dr Noonien Soong? 

Spacerguys Top 100 Sci-Fi Robots

This week I've shortlisted 100 Science Fiction Robots in showbusiness. Most of these iconic robots' originated from various science fiction movies and tv shows. A few others featured in fantasy musicals, cartoons and comic Sci-Fi spoofs like Galaxina, the Wizard of Oz, Futurama and International Man of Mystery.

Technically speaking the Terminator played by Arnold Schwarzenegger is neither a robot nor an android. In simple Sci-Fi terms hes just your average killer cyborg disguised with living flesh covering an indestructible exo-skeleton. So sit back and enjoy the fun. A couple of evil robots and computer entities mimicking human qualities are here too but why Locutus Of Borg at no.46? Needless to say I'm a trekker.

How does your geek feel about the sequencing of these Robots, Androids and Cyborgs? By the late 1970's and 80's Star Wars, Asimov's Three Robotic Laws and Robocop's Prime Directives were well known. Our robot pals have become like family intrinsically rooted in modern society. They no longer have to look like us to be lovable. R2-D2 and the USS Enterprise NCC 1701 bridge speak to us in whistles and beeps. I hope you've been listening closely, they have more personality than many a humanoid robot.

Perhaps by 2100 the friendliest living thing on planet Earth will be an immortal robotic mind filled with human memories!

Whos that friendly, beaming face hugging R2-D2?

What is the fourth law of robotics?

Which Sci-Fi ROBOT is your favorite?

1. Robby the Robot                             Forbidden Planet          
2. Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix Zero-One.     Star Trek Voyager
3. Wall-E                                      Wall-e
4. Robot B-9                                   Lost in Space  
5. Lieutenant Commander Data                   Star Trek TNG
6. Optimus Prime                               Transformers (2007)
7. Nomad                                       Star Trek TOS
8. Lore                                         Star Trek TNG
9. R2-D2                                       Star Wars
10. Bionic Man                               Six Million Dollar Man                
11. T-800                                      Terminator 2
12. RoboCop                                    Robocop
13. Andrew Martin                              Bicentennial man (1999)
14. HAL 9000                                   A Space Odyssey
15. Bender                                      Futurama
16. RUK                                        Star Trek TOS
17. C-3PO                                      Stars wars
18. Ash                                        Alien
19. David                                        A.I. Intelligence
20. Gort                                       The Day The Earth Stood Still.
21. Sonny (Nester Class 5)                     I, Robot (2004)
22. Megatron                                   Transformers
23. T-1000                                     Terminator 2
24. Max                                        Flight of the Navigator
25. LAL                                        Star Trek TNG
26. Frankenstein                               Frankenstein Movies
27. Ilia Probe                                 Star Trek TMP
28. Annalee Call                               Alien Resurrection (1997)
29. Edward Scissorhands                        Edward Scissorhands (1990)
30. Kronos                                     Kronos: Ravager of Planets (1957)
31. Bee Bee                                     Deadly Friend
32. Gigolo Joe and Gigolo Jane                 Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001)
33. AMEE                                       Red Planet (2000)
34. Andrea                                     Star Trek TOS
35. IG88                                       Empire Strikes Back
36. Borg Queen                                 Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
37. Death Probe                                Six Million Dollar Man    
38. Daleks                                     Dr Who
39. ABC Warrior                                Judge Dredd (1995)
40. KITT                                       Knight Rider
41. CYLON CENTURIONS                           Battlestar Galactica
42. Rommie                                     Andromeda
43. V'Ger                                      Star Trek TMP
44. Maria                                      Metropolis (1927)
45. Nova S-A-I-N-T                             Short Circuit (1986)
46. Locutus Of Borg                            Star Trek TNG "The Best of Both Worlds"
47. Galaxina                                   Galaxina (1980)
48. Zen                                        Blake 7
49. Maximillian                                The Black Hole
50. The Tin Man                                The wizard of oz
51. Agent Smith                                The Matrix
52. Ed-209                                     Robocop
53. Colossus                                   The Forbin Project
54. RoboMan                                    Robotic Cyborg
55. Boba Fett                                    Star Wars)
56. T-X Android Terminator                     Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
57. Earthbot vs Tsu Garu                       Robo Warriors (1996)
58. Jaegers                                    Pacific Rim
59. AT-AT                                      Star Wars
60. Harvester Robot                            Terminator Salvation
61. Hunter Killer                              Terminator Series
62. Bishop                                     Aliens 2
63. Cameron                                    Terminator Chronicles
64. The Vulture Droid                          Star Wars 1 and III
65. Mechani Kong                               King Kong Escapes
66. Bumblebee                                  Transformers
67. Dwarf Spider Droid                         Star Wars II and III
68. Enforcement Cops                           THX 1138
69. Fembots                                    Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
70. SID 6.7                                    Virtuosity (1995)
71. Hector                                     Saturn 3
72. Tik-Tok                                    Return to Oz
73. Ulysses                                    Making Mr Right (1987)
74. Replicant Pris                             Blade Runner (1982)
75. Teddy                                      A.I. Artificial Intelligence
76. Marvin, Protype Android                    The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (2005).
77. Huey, Dewey and Louie                      Silent Running 1976
78. Wheelie                                    Revenge of the Transformers
79. Iron Man                                   The Phantom Creeps (1939)
80. JohnnyCab                                   Total Recall
81. Edgar                                      Electric Dreams (1984)
82. D.A.R.Y.L.                                 D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)
83. Questor Tapes                                      Questor Tapes
84. Gunslinger                                 Westworld
85. VINCENT and B.O.B.                         The Black Hole
86. Dot Matrix                                 Spaceballs
87. Battle Droids                          Star Wars The Phantom Menace
88. Bubo                                       Clash of the Titans
89. Replicators                                Stargate
90. Sentinels                                  The Matrix (1999)
91. Eve VIII                                   Eve of Destruction (1991)
92. Stella                                     Star Trek TOS. "I, Mudd"
93. The Exocomps                               Star Trek TNG. "Quality of Life"
94. Nanites                                    Star Trek TNG  "Evolution"
95. Satans Robot                               Star Trek Voyager "The Adventures of Captain Proton"
96. APU 3947                                   Star Trek Voyager "Prototype"
97. M-4 Multitronic Unit                       Star Trek TOS "Requiem for Methuselah"
98. K-9                                        Doctor Who
99. Lonzak                               Star Trek Voyager
100. Box                                       Logan's Run (1976)

National Wormhole Week

National Wormhole week has kicked off in blogland for 2014. Wormfest is co-hosted by Stephen, Alex and Diane. So shall we begin? The rules are two-fold but fun to follow. Name one thing where science advances mankind, and one where the same technology with unforeseen consequences will go too far and set mankind back.

I've selected Ronald Reagans "Star Wars Defense" which was originally called the Strategic Defence Initiative. The President proposed the Star Wars' initiative in 1983 because I think he wanted Americans to feel safe. The plan was to defend America and the rest of the world against 'the Extraterrestrial Threat' with outerspace interceptors.

The downside to Star Wars defense is it took countless nations by complete surprise. Folks were stunned. Its 'Risky and Unscientific' idealism made several headlines in Time magazine sizing it up alongside George Lucas' fantasy Star Wars. Of course today the whole thing sounds like science fiction but not at the time. The Star Wars thing really was a wakeup call despite being a huge financial flop.

President Reagans Defense Strategy of 'outerspace interceptors' cost America billions and spooked our Russian Friends but we were lucky. Star Wars Defence cracked the ice in the Cold War. President Gorbachev met with Ronald Reagan for several talks which led to peace.

Do you think Science Fiction saved the day? or was Reagans' Star Wars Defence a brilliant prelude for peace?

Glastnost Long and Prosper, trekkers!