It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum
Topics => Entertainment => Topic started by: IronDioPriest on October 21, 2014, 07:50:19 PM
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So my boys are off at college, and have no cable, but they have Internet, so in order to watch TV, they subscribe to Netflix. Last time they were home, they showed me how to login to their account through the PS3, and I have to say, I think cable TV is going to be going away for good soon. Netflix is pretty cool.
Anyhoo, I've been watching all the Star Trek TOS episodes in chronological order. These are the "digitally enhanced" episodes, where they recreated the special effects digitally. The space scenes all look much better, as do the explosions, phaser beams, etc. Some of the outside perspective shots of the enterprise have been reworked as well. It doesn't change anything substantive, and they recreated the effects faithfully, so they look the same, only better. The planets, especially, look much better - more realistic.
The thing that prompted this post was a sudden realization that Yoeman Janice Rand looks a heckuvalot like Chloe O'Brien from "24". Turns out I'm not the first one to notice...
(http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p98/IronDioPriest/imagejpg1_zps1569bdb2.jpg)
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The actress who plays that character on "24" has a recurring role as Gail The Snail on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I seriously can't see her as anything other than Gail The Snail.
(http://new3.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/Bdowns+rolled+a+random+image+posted+in+comment+347+at+_93e836793e20b50fbaa05db27b9cb6a4.gif)
If you're on a Netflix kick, check out that show. Seriously funny.
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Yeah, if it weren't for live sports (NASCAR in particular) I would walk away from DirecTV in a second. The only other thing that I will credit it for are big live news events like hurricanes and tsunamis...can't quite get the same perspective on the internet.
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I'm in the middle of my semi-annual fight with Direct right now over raising my rates.
Just bumped me $20 a month with no new services.
They always welcome me as a 5 year subscriber.
Although the reps are always courteous, I always feel raped when I hang up.
Buying a used car is a better experience.
I'll be starting the phase out this weekend.
I still have an antenna and will fish the wires and see what I can still get.
I have Netflix but will be checking out Hulu Plus
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The wife and I haven't had cable or satellite since we've been married (24 yrs). With the over air antennae we get about 15 stations with a couple that play old movies and a couple cooking channels. So we're good.
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That was one of the first things I watched when I cut the cable. I'm amazed at just how good looking the show was, despite the (by today's standards) laughably bad sets and alien costumes.
Simply amazing in HD.
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Finally finished them all in chronological order for the first time in my life.
A few observations:
1) In my opinion, the only reason this show became the after-cancellation phenomenon it did was because of how the characters developed over time. The writing, the plots, the production all take a back seat to dialogue between the main characters.
In its infancy, that development began to take shape almost immediately - but not immediately. As it went on, the details of those interactions became magical. In any other context, those actors working together might not have worked as well. But in the context of this show, they were able to create brilliance.
2) Plot/storyline inconsistencies just weren't as big a deal back then as they are now. Spock started out as "Vulcanian" and later became Vulcan. He started out having "an ancestor" that was human, which eventually became his mother. Little things like that cropped up pretty regularly, particularly between seasons 1 and 2.
3) Season one was a "feeling out" season. By the end of it, the characters were becoming developed, and the show hit its stride. Season two was the "hello, we now have a budget" season, marked by improvement is set quality, writing, special effects, and guest-star talent. Season three continued along the same trajectory as season two, but there were several episodes that seemed pretty "phoned in" by everyone involved besides the actors. The writing suffered, the plots suffered, and throwaway episodes began to appear.
4) Chekov and Sulu as a duo did not exist in season one, was most consistent in season two, and was intermittent in season three. The "lore" would have us believe that the dynamic tan-shirt duo was a fixture in the series, but that is hardly so.
5) James Doohan aged dramatically in the three years the show was in production. He looked like a boy when it started, and looked like late 30s when it ended.
6) I never realized before just how ridiculously heavily the show relied on the "unexplainable Earth culture parallel" until I watched the show in sequence and rapid succession. From Nazi Germany, to Roman Empire, to East/West proxy wars, to 1920's gangland, the show incessantly expects us to believe that somehow human culture was transplanted onto alien worlds. While it allowed for sci-fi exploration of parallels to the real world, it comes across as pure laziness and lack of original thought when viewed in succession. And aside from that, humans seem to populate every corner of the galaxy. At least TNG, DS9, and other subsequent Star Trek series/movies bothered to add prosthetics to indicate alien life forms. I realize that those production values didn't exist - but then again, they were able to create the Horta; the Rock Monster; the Companion; the Gorn; the Talosians, and MANY other cool looking aliens. Again, it seems like reliance on finding human beings everywhere was just laziness, or perhaps budget-driven.
7) The music was brilliant, and essential to the success of the show. End of story.
In summation, say what you want about Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, and some of the rest. That trio of actors worked together perfectly, and created an entire subculture. The world could no more be unchanged by the phenomenon of Star Trek than it could be unchanged by Rock-n-Roll music.
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I was born at just the right time to appreciate Star Trek. My older brother (by two years) looked at it and sneered (although he enjoy the female space aliens). My younger brother (by eighteen months) didn't have the attention span.
I lapped up every drop of it. My eldest brother (by seven years) who was a heavy Sci-Fi reader and turned me on to his paperbacks on occasion, liked to smoke dope and watch it. He said it made more sense that way.
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The wife and I haven't had cable or satellite since we've been married (24 yrs). With the over air antennae we get about 15 stations with a couple that play old movies and a couple cooking channels. So we're good.
The last time I watched TV...M*A*S*H was on as a regular program (not in syndication). We watch ZERO television. I have seen 1-2 episodes of Big Bang and maybe a dozen Seinfeld re-runs. We have cable because our autistic son (Aspergers) LOVES the New York Mets & watches their games...& we'll watch the World Series together or a football game (spontaneous - don't really care who's playing). We have an old 42 inch non flat-screen box...which we bought 10-12 years ago. We watch videos - but not even a lot of those - & rarely go to the movies (last on was Guardians of the Galaxy - which comes out next Tuesday on DVD)..but mostly the Music Choice channel (the Jazz station #894).
We're readers, I blog & listen to Ambient music via ear-buds via my phone or internet radio: Ambient Art Sound (http://ambientartsound.com/#!/splash-page (http://ambientartsound.com/#!/splash-page)) or StillStream (http://stillstream.com/ (http://stillstream.com/)).
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I'm in the middle of my semi-annual fight with Direct right now over raising my rates.
Just bumped me $20 a month with no new services.
They always welcome me as a 5 year subscriber.
Although the reps are always courteous, I always feel raped when I hang up.
Buying a used car is a better experience.
I'll be starting the phase out this weekend.
I still have an antenna and will fish the wires and see what I can still get.
I have Netflix but will be checking out Hulu Plus
My two sons set me up this way for my birthday. I want directv to be a thing of the past soon. If there were a way to get news, like from Fox, I think I could dump them entirely.
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I liked the Orginal Star Trek franchise, I was in the tail end of elementary school and into Jr High, the episodes were all the talk the next day, it was our version of our fathers cowboys & indians. And don't forget the chicks, short little mini-skirts, come on man! For kids going though puberty...
:D
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I liked the Orginal Star Trek franchise, I was in the tail end of elementary school and into Jr High, the episodes were all the talk the next day, it was our version of our fathers cowboys & indians. And don't forget the chicks, short little mini-skirts, come on man! For kids going though puberty...
:D
Some of the alien chicks showed side-boob and even under-boob. Amazingly bold for the day.
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Sulu existed in season 1. Chekov didn't. That's one thing I didn't know until I watched it in order, on Netflix. Chekov wasn't even hired until Season 2, to literally sex things up. That sounds funny, now, what with the way his character developed in a campy direction, but he was brought in because he looked like Davy Jones, and producers though it would attract a female audience. Note his hair in the beginning of season 2, compared towards the end of the series, when he quit trying to look like Davy Jones.
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(http://tpemberton.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/davypavel.jpg)
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Pablo de Fleurs, ever check out Soma FM?
http://somafm.com/ (http://somafm.com/)
Something for every taste, from stuff that drones so much it makes Eno seem like house music to, well, house music. There's even a channel for stuff like Cage and Stockhausen, and all sorts of noise.
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Pablo de Fleurs, ever check out Soma FM?
http://somafm.com/ (http://somafm.com/)
Something for every taste, from stuff that drones so much it makes Eno seem like house music to, well, house music. There's even a channel for stuff like Cage and Stockhausen, and all sorts of noise.
Yes - I'm familiar with the SOMA dronezone - also, an interesting station called You Are Listening To (http://youarelistening.to/chicago (http://youarelistening.to/chicago)) which combines ambient music to a backdrop of police/scanner radio - pick a city, along with helicopter fed video.
If you like ambient, check out my music blog: Ambient Landscape (https://ambientlandscape.wordpress.com/ (https://ambientlandscape.wordpress.com/)). I post ambient goings-on & mixes for download (like fOgMix, based upon the Aural Films Fog Music series: https://ambientlandscape.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/fog-mix/ (https://ambientlandscape.wordpress.com/2014/11/23/fog-mix/))
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Finally finished them all in chronological order for the first time in my life.
A few observations:
1) In my opinion, the only reason this show became the after-cancellation phenomenon it did was because of how the characters developed over time. The writing, the plots, the production all take a back seat to dialogue between the main characters.
In its infancy, that development began to take shape almost immediately - but not immediately. As it went on, the details of those interactions became magical. In any other context, those actors working together might not have worked as well. But in the context of this show, they were able to create brilliance.
I agree that the actors had some of the best chemistry ever and that was in spite of practically all of them really disliking Shatner as a person. That little bit of reality was a central plot point for the Star Trek parody movie, "Galaxy Quest" where all of the characters despised the one portrayed by Tim Allen.
However, I will have to take issue with the writing. The dialogue between the characters did come from the screenplays and not a few of those screenplays were penned by some very good sci-fi writers. And I do mean very good as in award-winning and best selling sci-fi writers.
2) Plot/storyline inconsistencies just weren't as big a deal back then as they are now. Spock started out as "Vulcanian" and later became Vulcan. He started out having "an ancestor" that was human, which eventually became his mother. Little things like that cropped up pretty regularly, particularly between seasons 1 and 2.
This is not unusual for shows of that era****. For a show to have consistency it is required to have a "bible" which should then be adhered to strictly. A lot of the shows for this era didn't have a bible (or instead they had a pamphlet that might have been used to pitch the show to the network)...the writers just winged it** and that is where the inconsistencies flourish.
Another thing to consider is that Roddenberry poured everything he had into the pilot. He didn't pen any scripts for what happened after the first episode so when the show finally got green lighted he had to scramble to come up with the scripts.
3) Season one was a "feeling out" season. By the end of it, the characters were becoming developed, and the show hit its stride. Season two was the "hello, we now have a budget" season, marked by improvement is set quality, writing, special effects, and guest-star talent. Season three continued along the same trajectory as season two, but there were several episodes that seemed pretty "phoned in" by everyone involved besides the actors. The writing suffered, the plots suffered, and throwaway episodes began to appear.
4) Chekov and Sulu as a duo did not exist in season one, was most consistent in season two, and was intermittent in season three. The "lore" would have us believe that the dynamic tan-shirt duo was a fixture in the series, but that is hardly so.
5) James Doohan aged dramatically in the three years the show was in production. He looked like a boy when it started, and looked like late 30s when it ended.
Yep, plus take a look at the pilot. The only character* that made it from the pilot*** to the series was Nimoy. Jeffrey Hunter was the original captain of the Enterprise but declined to continue the part when it got green lighted. Also note in the pilot how emotional Spock was...very un-Vulcanlike, indeed. Another bit of trivia...they got Kirk's middle initial wrong on the second pilot...I'm thinking it was inscribed as James R. Kirk on a tombstone.[/quote]
6) I never realized before just how ridiculously heavily the show relied on the "unexplainable Earth culture parallel" until I watched the show in sequence and rapid succession. From Nazi Germany, to Roman Empire, to East/West proxy wars, to 1920's gangland, the show incessantly expects us to believe that somehow human culture was transplanted onto alien worlds. While it allowed for sci-fi exploration of parallels to the real world, it comes across as pure laziness and lack of original thought when viewed in succession. And aside from that, humans seem to populate every corner of the galaxy. At least TNG, DS9, and other subsequent Star Trek series/movies bothered to add prosthetics to indicate alien life forms. I realize that those production values didn't exist - but then again, they were able to create the Horta; the Rock Monster; the Companion; the Gorn; the Talosians, and MANY other cool looking aliens. Again, it seems like reliance on finding human beings everywhere was just laziness, or perhaps budget-driven.
I remember once seeing an interview with Nichelle Nichols where she said that halfway through the first season she claimed to have gotten Roddenberry to admit, privately, that pretty much all of the episodes were nothing more than morality plays in a futuristic setting. That, if true, explains the sometimes goofy plots.
7) The music was brilliant, and essential to the success of the show. End of story.
In summation, say what you want about Shatner, Nimoy, Kelley, and some of the rest. That trio of actors worked together perfectly, and created an entire subculture. The world could no more be unchanged by the phenomenon of Star Trek than it could be unchanged by Rock-n-Roll music.
Star Trek most definitely made a huge pop cultural impact on our media and in a lot of other places, as well. I still like the original series the best.
*Roddenberry's wife played the first officer in the pilot but moved into McCoy's head nurse position for the series.
**You will have to take my word for it on some of this stuff. I heard Roddenberry talk about this stuff when he gave a keynote address at a mini Trek meeting I once went to. My memory might not be accurate about exactly what he said but this is how I remember it.
All color copies of the pilot were destroyed in a fire or something. At the mini Trek meeting that I attended they had a black and white version that they ran in its entirety before Roddenberry came out to talk. You can still see the color version, though, as flashbacks in the episode entitled "The Menagerie."
BTW...ever see the movie, "Forbidden Planet" with Leslie Nielsen in the lead position? Roddenberry got a lot of ideas from that film. I also thought that the Klingons were a very unsubtle metaphor for the Soviets.
****See practically every sci-fi episode ever created by Irwin Allen (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, Land of the Giants). Only after Star Trek aired did writers become more serious about series' bibles, consistency, etc. due to the advent of Trek conventions and Trekkies "knowing" everything (again, see Galaxy Quest for the parody) about the details of the ship, weapons, etc.
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I agree that the actors had some of the best chemistry ever and that was in spite of practically all of them really disliking Shatner as a person....
...However, I will have to take issue with the writing. The dialogue between the characters did come from the screenplays and not a few of those screenplays were penned by some very good sci-fi writers. And I do mean very good as in award-winning and best selling sci-fi writers.
Sure thing. I'm not saying the writing was bad. What I meant by "writing, plots, and production" taking a "back seat" was just to say that the casting and chemistry between the actors was the primary thing that made it all work. It may be wishful hyporthetical thinking on my part, but I don't think the same written lines delivered by other actors would've created the magic that became Star Trek.
Also note in the pilot how emotional Spock was...very un-Vulcanlike, indeed...
LOL. That was the "Vulcanian" Spock. Hyper and intense. The Vulcan Spock was calm and measured.
*Roddenberry's wife played the first officer in the pilot but moved into McCoy's head nurse position for the series.
She was also the voice of the computer, even through the sequel series, as well as Lewaxana Troi in TNG & DS9.
All color copies of the pilot were destroyed in a fire or something. At the mini Trek meeting that I attended they had a black and white version that they ran in its entirety before Roddenberry came out to talk. You can still see the color version, though, as flashbacks in the episode entitled "The Menagerie."
Netflix or some other entity must have colorized the original pilot, because that pilot episode of "The Cage" was episode #1 in the Netflix chronology, and it was colorized.
I'm currently watching Star Trek Deep Space 9, and I'm absolutely loving it. That is a show that began setting up its overarching plot lines early on. The web of intrigue created piece by piece is a thing to behold. With the introduction of the Jem Haddar in Season 2, it's the only Star Trek franchise that chose to orient itself around a central serial plot. But knowing that and watching for it, the seeds for that plot are sprinkled into the series earliest episodes.
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BTW...ever see the movie, "Forbidden Planet" with Leslie Nielsen in the lead position?
One of the very few early sci fi films that tried to be serious. And it looked pretty good, for the 1950's. The only thing off putting is that I kept expecting Leslie Nielsen to crack jokes, and of course, he didn't.
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Although there is no denying Star Trek's influence on our culture, Next Generation was head and shoulders better followed by DS9.
I don't disagree with the assessment of Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley
Voyager's redeeming value was Jeri Ryan's 7 of 9.
Enterprise just couldn't capture the magic and that's too bad.
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Although there is no denying Star Trek's influence on our culture, Next Generation was head and shoulders better followed by DS9.
I don't disagree with the assessment of Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley
Voyager's redeeming value was Jeri Ryan's 7 of 9.
Enterprise just couldn't capture the magic and that's too bad.
(God forgive me, but....) Don't you mean the top TWO redeeming qualities?
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Yes, definitely, CHF.
I misspoke
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Although there is no denying Star Trek's influence on our culture, Next Generation was head and shoulders better followed by DS9.
I don't disagree with the assessment of Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley
Voyager's redeeming value was Jeri Ryan's 7 of 9.
Enterprise just couldn't capture the magic and that's too bad.
I never bought into Voyager. Enterprise was no good, huh? Never saw an episode of that show.
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Although there is no denying Star Trek's influence on our culture, Next Generation was head and shoulders better followed by DS9.
I don't disagree with the assessment of Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley
Voyager's redeeming value was Jeri Ryan's 7 of 9.
Enterprise just couldn't capture the magic and that's too bad.
(God forgive me, but....) Don't you mean the top TWO redeeming qualities?
She had another asset as well.
::exitstageleft::
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Heh!
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I watched Voyager.
Maybe because I thought I should, as someone who enjoyed the franchise.
Enterprise wasn't terrible but nowhere near the level of the others.
I couldn't get into Scott Bakula as a captain of the Enterprise.
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I will also say that, so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed the reboot of the original show in the two films. I was especially impressed with the portrayal of McCoy by Karl Urban...very authentic. Zachary Quinto's Spock...not so much because of his less than totally unemotional involvement with Uhura. Chris Pine's Kirk is a bit too much of a loose cannon...but I like the way that these actors/characters work together...not just those three but all of them...to put a slightly skewed twist on the original storyline.
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I watched Voyager.
Maybe because I thought I should, as someone who enjoyed the franchise.
Enterprise wasn't terrible but nowhere near the level of the others.
I couldn't get into Scott Bakula as a captain of the Enterprise.
Yeah, but the Vulcan hottie is easy on the eyes. :D
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I will also say that, so far, I have thoroughly enjoyed the reboot of the original show in the two films. I was especially impressed with the portrayal of McCoy by Karl Urban...very authentic. Zachary Quinto's Spock...not so much because of his less than totally unemotional involvement with Uhura. Chris Pine's Kirk is a bit too much of a loose cannon...but I like the way that these actors/characters work together...not just those three but all of them...to put a slightly skewed twist on the original storyline.
The alternate timeline is a favorite SciFi plot device that doesn't always go well come the finished product, but I have to say I kind of get a kick out of these reboot flicks, they keep the characters believable enough and the action is fun. I like the opening scene in the first one, a young rebellious Kirk swiping his uncle's car and cranking up the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" and sending it off a cliff when the PoPo arrives. Reminds me of my youth...except for the cliff part...
;D
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Yes, Libertas.
I liked the Klingon hottie in Voyager too
Not as much as 7 of 9 but she would make for interesting nights
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Although there is no denying Star Trek's influence on our culture, Next Generation was head and shoulders better followed by DS9.
I don't disagree with the assessment of Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley
Voyager's redeeming value was Jeri Ryan's 7 of 9.
Enterprise just couldn't capture the magic and that's too bad.
(God forgive me, but....) Don't you mean the top TWO redeeming qualities?
She had another asset as well.
::exitstageleft::
And to think America is literally finished, because Mr. 7 of 9 insisted on sharing those 3 assets with others. It's amazing what that butterfly flapping it's wings can lead to.
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Yes - I'm familiar with the SOMA dronezone - also, an interesting station called You Are Listening To (http://youarelistening.to/chicago (http://youarelistening.to/chicago))
That's a little out there, even for me! I'll stick to old favorites like Eno, Namlook, Inoue, and some new ones I've got into since discovering Soma FM, like Steve Roach, William Orbit, Kit Watkins, and a few others.