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Star Trek – The Enemy Within (Review)

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Darren

To celebrate the release of Star Trek: Into Darkness this month, we’ll be running through the first season of the classic Star Trek all this month. Check back daily to get ready to boldly go. It’s only logical.

One thing that I don’t think the original Star Trek gets nearly enough credit for is the quality of the writers that Gene Roddenberry recruited to contribute scripts. Television obviously operated under a different model at the time, but there’s an impressive selection of science-fiction literary giants who contributed scripts to the show. More than that, it’s impressive how many of those stories became truly iconic Star Trek stories.

The Enemy Within is the work of author Richard Matheson, best known for stories like I Am Legend or What Dreams May Come. It’s very much a high-concept science-fiction story, but it’s also notable because it establishes two of what would become the show’s favourite tropes: transporter accidents and evil duplicates. Indeed, the two devices would be reunited in the following season’s Mirror, Mirror. These narrative elements even featured in the last season of Star Trek: Enterprise to air, in episodes like Daedalus and In a Mirror, Darkly.

Perhaps it’s a demonstration of how important these outside writers were to the development of Star Trek as a franchise that Matheson would effectively codify two stock narrative devices that would still be in use four decades later.

Mirror, mirror…

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Filed under: The Original Series | Tagged: Alice Eve, Benedict Cumberbatch, chris pine, City of the Edge of Forever, games, gene roddenberry, Grace Lee Whitney, Harlan Ellison, J. J. Abrams, james t. kirk, John Harrison, kirk, Leonard Nimoy, Ray Bradbury, richard matheson, science fiction, Shatner, spock, star trek, Star Trek Games, Star Trek: The Animated Series, star trek: the original series, StarTrek, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Television and Movies, Trekkie, video games, William Shatner, Zachary Quinto | 2 Comments »

Star Trek – Mudd’s Women (Review)

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Darren

I think it’s fair to say that Star Trek had some gender issues. I say that as a fan of the show, and as a person with an immense fondness for the ensemble. It’s tempting to write off those sexist moments and decisions as attitudes that were socially acceptable at the time. After all, the sixties are almost half a lifetime away at this point. However, that doesn’t account for the fact that many of the same gender issues plagued Star Trek: The Next Generation in the late eighties, which lost two of its three female leads in its first season, and opened its second year by subjecting the remaining female lead to The Child.

Even disregarding that, though, there comes a point where even the time when a work was produced can’t excuse certain attitudes or approaches. Star Trek doesn’t feature too many strong female characters, relegating recurring female characters like Uhura and Janice Rand to the background. This is dodgy enough, but the show’s problems with gender become a lot more obvious when a show throws sexuality into focus. Mudd’s Women is such a show. It famously introduced one of the few recurring non-crewmember characters, and it plays into the “Star Trek as space western” theme, but it is also very sexist. Very, very sexist.

Mudd-ying the waters…

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Filed under: The Original Series | Tagged: Alice Eve, Benedict Cumberbatch, games, gene roddenberry, Harry Mudd, Janice Rand, kirk, Klingon, Leonard McCoy, List of Star Trek characters, List of Star Trek characters (G–M), Mudd, Roddenberry, science fiction, Space Combat, star trek, Star Trek Games, Star Trek Next Generation, Television and Movies, video games, Where No Man Has Gone Before | Leave a comment »

Star Trek – Crew by John Byrne (Review)

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Darren

We’ll be supplementing our coverage of the episodes with some additional materials – mainly novels and comics and films. This is one such entry.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry was the first lady of the Star Trek franchise, in more ways than one. She was married to Gene Roddenberry and remained a part of the franchise after his death. She guest starred on the shows occasionally, continued to lend her voice to the computers and offered the occasional interview to the press. Although her actual influence on the television shows was relatively minimal (and she was occasionally prone to protesting various plot developments including the Dominion War on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), she did remain involved in Star Trek until she passed away in 2008.

However, she was also involved from the start. She had the recurring role of Christine Chapel throughout the original television show, and appeared in the unaired pilot, The Cage, as Christopher Pike’s first officer. Identified only as “Number One”, this almost made her the literal “first lady” of Star Trek. I’m surprised that Number One hasn’t been used more often as a character, with her appearances in tie-ins generally restricted to her time on board Pike’s Enterprise.

John Byrne’s miniseries might have the title Crew, and feature supporting roles for Christopher Pike and Mister Spock, but it is very much the story of Number One. Published a year after her death, and dedicated to her memory, Crew feels like a fitting farewell to the actress responsible for one of the franchise’s earliest and most intriguing supporting characters.

Fate protects fools, little children… and ships named Enterprise.

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Filed under: Comics, The Original Series | Tagged: Benedict Cumberbatch, chris pine, Christine Chapel, Christopher Pike, Earth, gene roddenberry, J. J. Abrams, John Byrne, John Harrison, Klingon, Majel Barrett, Neutral Zone, spock, star trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: the next generation, Starfleet, StarTrek, USS Enterprise, vulcan, Zachary Quinto | Leave a comment »

Star Trek – The Cage (Review)

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Darren

The Cage is fascinating. Looking at it now, it holds up phenomenally well a s apiece of sixties science-fiction. However, it feels like we’re watching a prototype of Star Trek. In many respects, The Cage feels like a rough sketch that captures some essentials, but is missing out on the finer details. Spock is there! But he smiles! The set design looks the same, but the characters are different. Some of the cast fill the same roles, but some are dramatically different. Watching The Cage, you can see a lot of the philosophy that Gene Roddenberry would bring to Star Trek, but it’s very difficult to imagine an on-going series spinning out of this adventure, let alone one that managed to become as iconic or influential as Star Trek would ever be.

Still, it’s pretty solid viewing. It’s entertaining on its own terms, but it’s also informative in the context of the series. It’s more like dry run or a test drive of the concept.

To boldly go… for some reworking…

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Filed under: The Original Series | Tagged: Benedict Cumberbatch, BOYCE, Cage, Christopher Pike, Earth, gene roddenberry, J Abrams, Leonard McCoy, List of Star Trek races, Pike, Programs, Roddenberry, Rodolfo Amando Philippi, science fiction, Shopping, Spacecraft, spock, star trek, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: enterprise, Trekkie, Where No Man Has Gone Before, William Shatner | 11 Comments »

Watch! New Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by Darren

This is a bit of a surprise. Given how secretive JJ Abrams can be about his projects, I really hadn’t expected to see too much more of Star Trek: Into Darkness before the release date, so the new trailer is a bit of a pleasant shock.

That said, it isn’t as if the new trailer gives anything new away. John Harrison is a very bad man with a very sexy evil voice. Kirk is pursuing him. There are explosions, chase sequences and soul-searching. I honestly love that we know relatively little about Into Darkness before it has been released. It seems like we know absolutely everything about other blockbusters, while we can’t even confirm the identity of John Harrison. Which is great. I love speculating. It’s so much more fun than actually knowing.

Anyway, the latest trailer is below. Also, we’ll be doing a bit of a Star Trek geek-athon starting 1st May. I suspect it might be the most intense month of Star Trek fun anywhere on the interwebs. Which is quite a boast, but I wouldn’t make it if I didn’t think I could back it up. Anyway, enjoy!

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Benedict Cumberbatch, chris pine, J. J. Abrams, jj abrams, John Harrison, kirk, star trek, Star Trek Into Darkness | Leave a comment »

Watch! New Star Trek: Into Darkness International Trailer!

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Darren

The release of Star Trek: Into Darkness is getting closer and closer. So Paramount have released a new international trailer for the highly anticipated sequel. It has everything. Hints about the character played by Benedict Cumberbatch… who might actually be an original character, or at least not a notable pre-existing one! Peter Weller being all stern and awesome! (Although it does make me worry about the absence of Bruce Greenwood.) Anger! Explosions! Uniforms that look like affectionate nods to the decidedly seventies design seen only in Star Trek: The Motion Picture! Cumberbatch being ominously evil! Gratuitous shots of Alice Eve in her underwear, for some reason! Truly something for everyone.

We’ll be doing a whole month of Star Trek related fun to celebrate the release in May, so check back then for more!

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Benedict Cumberbatch, bruce greenwood, chris pine, Karl Urban, paramount pictures, Peter Weller, star trek, Star Trek Into Darkness | 2 Comments »

Watch! New Star Trek: Into Darkness Trailer!

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Darren

I’m pretty excited for the upcoming Star Trek: Into Darkness, especially since it’s now releasing a week earlier in the UK and Ireland. Anyway, there’s a new trailer released, which continues the trend of telling us absolutely nothing about the film while teasing the sense of fun and character dynamics that we all know and love. Check out the trailer below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Benedict Cumberbatch, chris pine, games, J. J. Abrams, star trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, trailer, Zachary Quinto | 4 Comments »

Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Neutral Zone (Review)

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Darren

To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and also next year’s release of Star Trek: Into Darkness, I’m taking a look at the recent blu ray release of the first season, episode-by-episode. Check back daily for the latest review.

Watching The Neutral Zone, it’s hard not to feel that the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation should have wrapped up with Conspiracy. At least that would have represented a bold step forwards, even if it wasn’t the direction that the show would ultimately take. In contrast, a lot of The Neutral Zone falls back into the trite, patronising arrogance that we’ve seen our crew demonstrate repeatedly over this first year, treating three refugees from twenty-first century Earth as an excuse to lord their superiority over the viewers at home. It’s a rather strange direction to take, and it certainly doesn’t make for good television. Which feels like a bit of a waste, given that the B-plot is actually quite workable.

“We’re back.”

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Filed under: The Next Generation | Tagged: Balance of Terror, Benedict Cumberbatch, Beverly Crusher, Data, Deanna Troi, Federation, Geneva, jean-luc picard, Klingon, Neutral Zone, picard, Romulan, star trek, Star Trek Next Generation, Starfleet, Television and Movies, Wall Street Journal, Wesley Crusher, William Riker, Worf, Yuppie | 8 Comments »

Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Battle (Review)

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Darren

The Battle represents a curious midpoint in the evolution of the Ferengi. When they first appeared in The Last Outpost (after being mentioned in Encounter at Farpoint), the aliens had been considered as viable replacements for the Klingons and Romulans as the primary antagonists of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Despite the presence of Worf on the Bridge, the bible for The Next Generation expressly forbade plots involving the Klingons or Romulans, with the creators afraid of returning to that particular well. (It would be towards the end of the season that both races would make a comeback, in big ways.) With neither of those races available, there was a void, and the Ferengi had been created to fill that void.

However, their introduction in The Last Outpost had been an unmitigated disaster, reducing the species to failed comic relief in their very first episode. The Battle is the second story to feature the aliens, and it never seems quite sure how to handle them. Does it present them as a credible threat, or merely as an awkward annoyance not to be taken seriously? The Battle can’t decide, and that’s just the most obvious of the episode’s fundamental problems.

They have yet to figure out an angle that works for the Ferengi…

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Filed under: The Next Generation | Tagged: Battle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Beverly Crusher, Common cold, Conditions and Diseases, Data, Deanna Troi, Ferengi, Headache, Health, J. J. Abrams, james t. kirk, jean-luc picard, Klingon, Last Outpost, picard, Romulan, star trek, Star Trek Next Generation, star trek: the next generation, Starfleet, Tractor beam, Wesley, Wesley Crusher, William Riker | 2 Comments »

Watch! Star Trek: Into Darkness Teaser!

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Darren

Given we’re spending a month covering Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s twenty-fifth anniversary, it’s worth sharing this, the trailer for JJ Abrams’ Star Trek: Into Darkness. I’m actually quite looking forward to it, as Benedict Cumberbatch is making quite a name for himself, and he seems perfectly suited to this sort of role.

The trailer plays it a bit coy, refusing to reveal Cumberbatch’s identity. Based off a one-scene-longer Japanese version of the trailer, the internet is going wild with the speculation that he is Khan, the villain from the episode Space Seed and also Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I can’t see the production team recycling such an obvious character, if only because he’s so iconic to fans as to be sacrosanct, but not easily recognisable to casual movie goers. (Okay, that shot of Kirk screaming “KHANNNNN!” is one of the great movie moments, but beyond that… do casual movie-goers recognise the character in the same way they would Darth Vader or the Joker?)

Personally, I’m hoping that Abrams and his creative team have done something similar to what Meyer did when he drafted Khan into Star Trek II. Meyer reviewed the original series to find a villain who offered the potential for an exciting story and found Khan. I would like to think that an examination of the show might find another. Given his dialogue about revenge against the Federation, I wouldn’t mind seeing Garth of Izar from Whom the Gods Destroy get reimagined, but that’s off the top of my head.

Still, enjoy the trailer and sound off below.