*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!***** When fans today think of the ‘first’ Star Trek episode, they tend to (not incorrectly) think of the pilot episodes “The Cage” and “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” but neither of those pilots were broadcast first. In fact, “The Cage” wasn’t broadcast in full until 1986 (the same year I bought it…
Tag: William Shatner
Star Trek TOS: “Space Seed” (1967) yields a greater crop than what is sown…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!***** This column might get me in some trouble. While I certainly appreciate the legacy of the Star Trek’s Original Series episode “Space Seed,” which gave the Trek multiverse its power-mad villain Khan Noonien Singh, it is a clumsily-executed episode whose current reputation relies greatly on its legacy (namely 1982’s exceptional sequel, “Star…
Star Trek TOS: “All Our Yesterdays” offers a star-crossed romance for Spock…
*****SUPERNOVA-SIZED SPOILERS!***** The third and final season of the original “Star Trek” (1966-9) (TOS) is often unfairly maligned in fandom for its drop in quality from the previous two. Yes, it’s true that creator/producer Gene Roddenberry took his hands off the wheel, along with a revolving door of producer/writers, including Gene Coon and John Meredyth…
Star Trek: The Original Series; examining “Metamorphosis,” 55 years later…
*****55-YEAR OLD STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS!***** The Star Trek Original Series (TOS) episode “Metamorphosis” was first broadcast via the NBC network on November 10th, 1967. This was a heady time for the sophomore series, with creator Gene Roddenberry producing, along with some terrific writing talent attached to the show, including script editor Dorothy Fontana (1939-2019), and prolific…
Scanning all Star Treks (1966-present)…
*****STARSHIP-SIZED SPOILERS AHEAD!***** With the annual Star Trek Las Vegas convention (aka “the 56 Year Mission”) right around the corner, I thought this might be a good time to take an overview of the entire televised Star Trek franchise. I’d previously examined all of the Star Trek feature films, so I thought I might explore…
The 4K Director’s Cut of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” finally beams down, via Paramount Plus…
“Thrusters ahead, Mr. Sulu. Take us out.” As longtime readers of this site know, I’ve already reviewed/discussed 1979’s “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” several times, including a an anniversary theatrical screening in September of 2019. I am an unashamed fan (and occasional apologist) of this absolute gem of a sci-fi film. Directed by Robert Wise…
Star Trek’s classic episode,”Balance of Terror”: Not bad … for a remake
“It moves as we move…” Back in 1980 or so, I bought a first edition copy (the dark blue cover) of Allan Asherman’s must-have “Star Trek Compendium,” wherein I read that “Balance of Terror,” one of my favorite episodes of the Original Series (TOS), was actually based on a 1957 World War 2 movie called…
William Shatner, 90, takes a brief, real-life Star Trek…
These are the voyages of New Shepard… This past week, something amazing happened; something that I have complex feelings about, and that I feel obligated to mention here. William Shatner, Star Trek’s “Captain Kirk” himself, at 90 years old, took a suborbital hop roughly 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the Earth and back in an…
Gorn with the Wind: A personal tour of Star Trek’s famed Vasquez Rocks location…
To Safely Go… During the current COVID pandemic, it’s difficult to find activities that are relatively low-risk for COVID transmission. My wife is fully immunized, but I’ve only had my first COVID-19 vaccination shot, so I’m not quite there yet. That in mind, we were looking for something safe to do during my teacher wife’s…