Star Trek Into Darkness - The Best Yet?

I don't want to go into too much detail so that I don't ruin the film for those who have yet to see it, but I decided that I had to write something about my reaction to Star Trek Into Darkness. To put it plainly, I was completely blown away by every aspect of this film. The characters, the multi-layered plot, the use of so many familiar references to the beloved Star Trek universe, and the fantastic employment of 3D all made for one hell of a damn fine movie.

Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban along with the writers under director J.J. "Movie Master" Abrams have brought back the feel of the good old "Trinity." Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were sensational in this film playing off each other perfectly and bringing together their varied perspectives and personalities to an astounding effect. This was one of the most fabulous aspects of Into Darkness which served to truly make the movie work for me.

The plot, which I won't spoil because I appreciate it so much that I couldn't bring myself to do that to someone who has yet to see it (and see it they should!), was one of the best, if not the best, in a Star Trek film, in my opinion. I refer to it as a "Multi-layered" plot and it really is. Don't be deceived by trailers and don't go in expecting anything. Just sit back and take it in. It'll overwhelm you in an incredible way. Also, why not just appreciate a film for what it is instead of trying to break it down, define its every attribute, and "Master" it like it's a god damned challenge? It's entertainment, so let it be entertaining.

Trek fans and moviegoers alike should find this a pleasing feature. It literally has everything one could want in an engaging science-fiction, action film as well as enough Trek Universe material to sate those, like me, who are desperate for the next evolutionary step for our beloved franchise. See it, support it, and let's hope the future of Trek continues to ascend as these Bad Robot films have, thus far, in their quality and spectacle.

Star Trek - My Trek Toy Collection

(*update* apologies for the "Stat Trek" title, yikes!)

I was raised on Star Trek, as well as many other science fiction film and television series. Those shows fueled my interest in space and science. Star Trek above all others made the great dome above us, that beautifully mysterious final frontier, a place to which we should all strive to ascend. It gave me dreams for the future and hopes for tomorrow. It continues to put a smile on my face and restore my hope for an endlessly promising future.

Yes, Star Trek was inspirational and influential, but my inner materialist used it as a way to make me succumb to the base fan drive to collect all the "cool stuff" which was mass-produced for the popular series. Below are my pictures of what's left of my glorious Star Trek collectibles. I'm sure my fellow Trek fans, if they read this, will think that this is a paltry gathering of random items. Regardless, it's all still quite special to me.

Shuttle Goddard and my Tricorder

Enterprises D and E with some Next Generation figures

The majority of my Star Trek collectibles
(Simon Pegg and Patrick Stewart, together at last)

Little Deep Space Nine and an even tinier Enterprise D

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Back for the Season Two BluRay Celebration

I met my friend Joe in the lobby of our local Celebration Cinema with a pair of pre-purchased tickets in hand. We greeted one another and then made our way over to cushy Theater One for show time as I called attention to my Star Trek: The Next Generation communicator badge, which hung from my t-shirt. There we were two Trek fans on their way to bask in the glow of the big screen upon which the beloved science-fiction wonder show of our youth would be projected in marvelously remastered, high definition. It was time to take part in welcoming the release of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season Two to the BluRay format.

After attending Fathom Event's July special for Season One (TNG Season 1 Event Blog) I knew that I would eventually have to make my way back. The chance to sit with fellow Trek fans and watch the care with which CBS Digital and the incredible Michael and Denise Okuda restored and updated our beloved television show could not be ignored. Star Trek, in my opinion, is one of those things in life that deserves one's attention. It's like the friend who's always given you the time of day or supported you during a rough patch. Basically, I owe it to Star Trek to always be a fan because it's meant so much to me for so long and I'm glad to bear that in mind. Also, I go to show my appreciation for all the efforts made to keep The Next Generation alive and well for the future.

There were several fans in attendance, though the event was far from being sold out. As Trek trivia questions boomed on to the screen, backed by the glorious, familiar theme music, I could hear folks all over the room discussing them. It was through and through a Trek event for Trek fans by, from what I could tell from the restoration documentaries and what I've experienced from Michael and Denise Okuda, Trek fans. As I stated in my review of the previous event, it was as good and as close to a micro-Trek Con as I'll ever get where I'm located.

Before the first episode, which was "Q Who?," we were shown restoration comparisons which, I must admit, surprised me. "Q Who?" was introduced by some folks at CBS Digital, Michael and Denise Okuda, and director Rob Bowman (Star Trek, The X-Files, The X-Files: Fight the Future). The first appearance of The Borg was as great to watch as ever. Remastered, it looked crisp, and as with the First Season episodes, the new and enhanced special effects were very much faithful to the originals.

Between the first and second episode we were given a chance to see some hilarious bloopers, mostly those displaying Michael Dorn's inability to keep a straight face during another actor's lines. Following the bloopers we had a long-awaited cast reunion, the reason I was most looking forward to this event. The gang was all there and their discussions, had they not been edited down for the time restraints of the event, could have kept me engaged and entertained for hours.

The final episode of the evening, preceding the Season Three preview which concluded the night, was a showing of an extended cut of the episode "The Measure of a Man," written by television scribe Melinda M. Snodgrass. This version featured thirteen extra minutes, all of them necessary as far as I'm concerned. What was most amazing about this version of the episode, beyond its thoughtful plot and all-important reflection upon the concepts of sentience and identity, was the fact that the additional scenes were retrieved from a VHS of a rough cut of the full episode gifted to Ms. Snodgrass before it aired and yet it still looked amazing in HD. The remastering was so effective that Joe and I were unable to find apparent video quality differences throughout the episode.

So, having now attended two of the Star Trek: The Next Generation BluRay release events I am more than certain that I shall continue this tradition. I look forward to the release of Season Three and hopefully what will be the theatrical showing of a remastered edition of "Best of Both Worlds Part One," a powerful episode for fans of this series. My thanks go again to the amazing restoration staff at CBS Digital. They know their stuff and they have skillfully maintained the heart of my favorite television series whilst beautifying it for modern audio/visual entertainment. I also wish to thank Michael and Denise Okuda who were kind enough to share my blog review of the previous event, and who tirelessly tend to the well being of the Star Trek universe in their way. They are the keepers of the flame and they deserve all the praise they can stand and then some.

Until Season Three, fellow Trek fans!

Star Trek: The Next Generation - BluRay...the New Frontier

 

It had been a few weeks since I first saw the local theatre's advertisement announcing the July 23, Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG from here on out) special event. When I saw the poster I first lost control of my lower jaw and then turned to my wife to share my combined shock and overly expressed joy. She accepted my weirdness and we went on with viewing some forgettable film. Then came today, Monday, July 23.

Logging in to the local theatre's website out of general curiosity I was reminded of the event I swore I would not miss. Lucky for me that I thought to look for otherwise I would have drastically let myself down. So I purchased the tickets online, knowing that I wasn't going to live with missing this, and then I prepared myself for the coming blessed event. This involved digging out my ST:TNG wearables, like my communicator badge, sans batteries for courtesy sake, and readying my mind for maximum information absorption so that I could come back and write this (ta-dah!).

The theatre itself was fairly full but not sold out. A few fans stood just outside holding a sign to attract members of their party, both of them wearing Classic Trek shirts. As I walked in I was marvellously assaulted by the booming of the Alexander Courage/Jerry Goldsmith theme and I beheld a massive screen full of Trek trivia. The questions were very well thought out (surely in some way their creation involved Michael and Denise Okuda). I was incredibly excited to see that there was even a multiple choice question which asked about the character Q but snuck in a reference to Trelane (a Q-like alien from Classic Trek, The Squire of Gothos) as one of the options. I found myself answering them with ease and excitement as the minutes counted down to start time. 

The fist thing we saw was a commercial of sorts for the July 24 release of ST:TNG on BluRay. This was the reason behind the event and something I grew more and more excited about as the evening went on (I don't own a BluRay player and am therefore not currently as interested as I would be if I did). Following this was a roughly ten minute look at CBS Digital's restoration of the series. The first episode, beginning with an introduction by the Okudas, was Where No One Has Gone Before, and then it was on to a ten to fifteen minute documentary about the origin of ST:TNG (titled Stardate Revisited: The Origin of ST:TNG). The night ended with the last episode (also introduced by the Okudas), Datalore, and then a preview of what we had to look forward to in the Season 2 BluRay set, including a cast reunion special feature that makes me want to run out and buy a BluRay player!

 

Regarding the restoration, the folks at CBS Digital skillfully took the well assembled filmed composites from back in the late 80s and brought them to a wondrous 1080p clarity. Everything that the original crew filmed was faithfully used and made to look more pristine than ever before. The special effects which weren't originally filmed but instead applied in post-production were reworked by teams who again remained true to the originals and enhanced them in such a way that would make George Lucas blush (more on this later). The two episodes screened were meant to show off some of these new and fabulous effects and CG updates. The effects of the Traveler's advanced Warp were stunning and yet completely familiar. The crystalline entity from Datalore was gorgeous and fully faithful to the original 3D model. As far as sound, they updated the audio from Lt/Rt to 7.1 surround sound. Basically, they took what was already impressive for its time and made it look and sound like, as Marina Sirtis put it, it was shot yesterday. Cheers to them and to whoever picks up the BluRay set. Those lucky nerds are in for a treat!

 

Now, to touch a little bit on my feelings towards the restoration and update as it compares to what George Lucas did to his Star Wars films. CBS Digital could have taught Lucas a thing or two when it came to fidelity and the true meaning of restoration. They didn't take away, replace, or add anything. They cleaned up the film, enhanced the details which were practically nonexistent thanks to Standard Definition, and they managed not to insert anything too distracting to detract from the enjoyment of the episodes. Now, we've seen what Mr. Lucas has done, and granted those are his movies, but what he claimed to do from the beginning versus what he actually did were two different things. Apparently the Star Trek people care more about the content and the fans than those who hold the leash for Star Wars. That's all I'm saying. 

It was a night to remember and I intend to remember it for the rest of my life, or at least until they find a new medium to which they can convert this loveable series and then create another wonderful event like this to promote it. This was also a night that reminded me of how much I love Star Trek, how much the cast and their creation means to me and has meant to me since I was a little boy, and how great the fans can be when they're all assembled to beam their love at the titanic wonder that is Star Trek. Being there amidst all the laughter and applause as I shared in a fan-love moment with my peers was almost overwhelming. Thanks to CBS and everyone else involved for the wonderful evening. Make sure to buy the BluRay, fellow nerds! You really, really won't regret it.

The Shifting Sands of Culture and Popular Interest, or A Trekkie's Realization

I work in a call center. It's the kind of job that requires a whole lot of sitting and mindlessly talking into a foam-covered microphone which is tethered to my head (talk about a yoke of bondage). Sometimes it's nice to have a little escape from such an environment while strapped in for a long shift. For me that comes in the form of a book or magazine, preferably one with pictures and short blurbs of text because it's hard to focus while being yelled at by over-entitled monsters.

Yesterday before my shift I spent a couple of hours searching local dens of randomness and obscurity for a copy of a Star Trek magazine or reference guide. I was driven to this by the realization that I have a life of love for Trek but really nothing more to show for it than toys and some random novelizations. The mission objective was very clear: get Jonathan some Star Trek textual mind candy so that he won't blow a gasket at work and lose his job because he called some upper-middle class lady in Ohio a cunt rag (trust me, she would have had it coming).

The first stop was a little overstock discount bookstore which at one time housed a plethora of Trek books. I walked in feeling more than hopeful and maybe a little bit giddy as my eyes adjusted to the florescent lighting and my nose to the smell of the ghost of a spurt from an aerosol air freshener which faded away to reveal the familiar odor of aging paper. My feet took me to part of the store where I was sure the books still lay. There was a terrible sinking feeling when I discovered that not only were the books missing from there long-time home in the back corner but the store had absolutely nothing related to Star Trek. They didn't even have a single, crummy novel about how Kirk gets cloned or Picard's Mirror Universe self enters our universe and wreaks havoc (stories I know some fan is dying to tell). Walking out I found that my hope had diminished but it had not yet expired.

On to the next field I thought as I found my hunter's spirit causing my heart to furiously pound. Time was running out as I pulled into yet another parking lot and shot from my car into the bowels of yet another book store. I dug through the new book section. I pored over the used book section. There was a surprising lack of Trek in both. The magazine racks were my last hope and I rushed to them to dig. There was plenty of Entertainment Weekly-like magazines for geek and pleb alike, but there was not a cover that bore the two words I desperately sought. Realizing the time, I shuffled back to my car and allowed internal combustion and the marriage of tire-to-asphalt to whisk me away to a boring night at a hellish job.

Later that night I spent time reflecting on my disappointment and something greater, and personally far more disturbing. Star Trek had become another faceless science-fiction series. In spite of the most recent film and its short-lived marketing boom, the franchise had disappeared from all but the most specialized and geeky of shelves. The last store I ran through had maybe five novels on the series shelf of the science-fiction section. Their magazine area had mostly comic related entertainment rags and, for once, Doctor Who Magazine (this would have blown my mind ten years ago, hell, even back when I was five!). How crazy is it that I can now find Doctor Who material almost everywhere I go but Star Trek is hidden away behind dusty boxes and under mysterious tomes? The popular focus has really shifted, though it's good to know that the genre of science-fiction in general wasn't crushed under the wheels of this most recent change. It still astounds me, and probably always will, just how much things have changed. I grew up in an era of Trek conventions and people who dressed up like they were in Starfleet. Now everyone is wearing a TARDIS shirt or even boasting about their love for Battlestar and Cylons. Really?!

It's amazing to me as I look back on the things I loved as a child and follow them up to the current. I remember the years and years, and there are still days and days, of geeking out in front of a television, now a computer, and soaking up the wonder that beamed out from the screen. A screen which displayed scenarios and portrayals which swelled my heart with love for the genre SF. Star Trek held that screen most often. It is a series that will always hold a special place in my heart and will never truly die. Then again it's possible that I'm being overly dramatic and I just ran around yesterday in a section of the universe that wished to hide Trek from me and just make it available everywhere else. Perhaps it was my own personal corner of that mischievous region known as the Twilight Zone. There are probably stores out there that have so much Trek lining their walls and covering their shelves that it's painful to behold the innards of their establishments. I could take some of that pain right about now.

Anyway, work was work and I eventually arrived home again to restore my humanity, my sanity, and to apply the escapist's balm that is Star Trek. The familiar music, the continual hum of the engines, and the characters and alien species I deeply care for were there to welcome me back. It was my day's equivalent to a stop into Ten Forward to break up the monotony of yet another period of pulling seemingly endless duty. I kicked back and resumed the soaking in of SF entertainment, unconsciously aware of my honoring a tradition I've kept since I was a little boy who clutched at action figures as epic adventure tore across the tube. Maybe I'll dig out my Enterprise D this weekend and play with it while watching season one of The Next Generation. No, not maybe. Definitely!