Friday, August 30, 2013

Quinto vs Nimoy "The Challenge"

I'm a sucker for these commercials. Star Trek's two Spocks, Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy, battle it out for lunch. What makes this Youtube "Challenge" so awesome has got to be Balok's Cruiser sitting proudly on the shelf right beside Spock Primes chess pieces, right?

Go Bilbo!

Remember Star Trek's classic Corbomite Maneuver, when First Officer Spock comments on the game of chess?

"when one player is outmatched the game is over." except Captain Kirk has other ideas.

"Not Chess, Mr Spock. Poker! Do you know the game?" 

I love how "The Challenge" is hailing Star Trek for ol' times sake despite the Star Wars musical beat but hey, we're all friends here aren't we?


"I have been, and always shall be, your friend!" is totally epic with Nimoy's giving us his classic vulcan salute. What a trooper, even Quintos cracking up.

So who do you think is the smarter, greatest little vulcan of them all?


 
Live Long and Prosper, Hobbits.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Charlie X TOS

Charlie X is a first season classic Star Trek episode written by Gene Roddenberry and DC Fontana. The USS Enterprise 1701's rendezvous with the USS Antares coincides with a rather unusual human being. In this 8th episode epic, the young castaway Charlie Evans beams aboard Kirk's ship secretly manifesting psychokinetic powers. Charlie is the only survivor of a spaceship crash which marooned him on a hostile alien planet for 14 years! Imagine. Now 17, the boy is clearly taken with the beautiful Yeoman Janice Rand with unexplained strange scenarios unfolding in his vicinity. Tellingly the USS Antares Captain and Navigator make for a hasty departure, refusing even Kirk's friendly offer of saurian brandy!! Something is definitely afoot!



On the Enterprise Bridge Spock analysis of the Charlie X scenario reveals little results with McCoy as usual poking holes in the vulcans logical reasoning.

SPOCK: Doctor, didn't the boy make any reference at all to Thasians?
KIRK: Do you believe the legend, Mister Spock, that Thasians still exist on that planet in some form?
SPOCK: Charlie's very existence proves in fact there must be some intelligent form of life on Thasus. He could not possibly have survived alone. The ship's food concentrates would have been exhausted in a year or so. 
MCCOY: By which time he would have been eating fruits, vegetables.
SPOCK: Probes of Thasus indicate very little edible plant life.
MCCOY: And probes have been known to be wrong, Spock.
MCCOY: Doctor, are you speaking scientifically or emotionally?






Yeah, thats Spock for you getting McCoy back in the end! LOL. Meanwhile in the recreation room Uhura is singing "Oh, On the Starship Enterprise" to a rapt audience. Quick to react the boy silences Uhura's lovely voice in an attempt to gain Rand's attention with his card tricks. No-one cops on it was Charlie! In other emotional outbursts he injures crewmen or makes them vanish at will. The dudes a real charmer. Later when the USS Antares hails the Enterprise, the poor devils try to warn the Kirk's crew about Charlie, when unexpectedly debris is found drifting in space. Spocks analysis reveals it is USS Antares.



Kirk eventually realises he can't risk delivering Charlie to Alpha Five, fearing Charlie Evan's relatives will be next for the high jump. Finally at long last the Enterprise receives a message from an alien Thasian ship. Its the good guys to the rescue! LOL.The Thasians gave Charlie extraordinary mental powers so he could survive alone, but fear he cannot live safely with humans. Now its pay back time! Charlie's pleas fall on deaf ears. Omnipitent Thasians take Charlie back to live with their own kind. So ask yourself trekker. Would you invite Charlie X to live in your basement?



Live Long and Prosper, Trekkie and Trekker.

Monday, June 03, 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness Verdict

Star Trek XII is now the highest earner of Star Trek's franchise with takings of $328 million in 18 days! J.J. Abrams has done it again! Rotten Tomato critics have given Star Trek Into Darkness the thumbs up with 87 points. Apparently trek's sequel isn't as fresh as the prequel yet it is visually spectacular. The verdict?



 I reckon a worldwide $330M boxoffice hit speaks for itself. This time round we get a "rock solid" sequel filmed with 3D action sequences. James Cameron, Avatar's Creator was onboard during Badrobots 3D conversion process giving the film that special alternate reality dimension to fill seats.  Since the relaunch of Abram's Star Trek we've got an action packed origin story with a younger crew rebooting history. (Don't worry we won't peek, hehe.)


When Londons Section 31 building blows up, Starfleets covert operations is no longer secret. I guess Earth needs more undercover guys. In any case John Harrison (who is the genetically augmented superhuman) is really Khan hellbent on revenge. So he devises a masterplan to flush out Starfleet's top brass for some target shooting practise.




Amazingly the Admiralties battle strategists assemble in a war room full of glass windows. Perfect for an aerial ambush with Khan's gunship waiting in the wings, right outside! Kirks the only one whose combat instincts tell him to do something, fast! Remember Ripley yelling at Gorman in Aliens 2, "DO SOMETHING! F**K!!!" I think Star Trek Into Darkness needed an indecisive character with frailities like Gormans but I digress.


"You're just a PAWN Kirk, you cannot even guarantee the safety of your own crew!"

Khan is like a predator playing with his prey. Treks dark villain knew exactly how and where to take his enemies out. He simply wants payback because Starfleet's good guys broke their word! The plot thickens when Admiral Marcus pops up which leads us to the epic manhunt and another mystery. The 72 long range prototype torpedoes with Botany Bay's frozen souls trapped inside. We have to remember, Khan isn't just the bad guy, hes on a mission.

For ages the "John Harrison" mystery led us off course about the baddies true identity. Did you enjoy being kept in the dark, guessing? When Admiral Marcus revealed the existence of a Top Secret Undercover Agent, hes obviously trying to cover his tracks. Starfleet isn't supposed to be a cloak and dagger operation. The Admiral is hiding something because hes dirty but does Kirk realise this?.


How do you rate our space crusaders this time?
What did you make of Pikes final curtain call?
Did you enjoy Dr Carol Marcus striptease with Uhura's heavy breather gawping on standby?
Did Cumberbatches Khanspeak freeze you to your seat?  "No ship should go down without her captain."

Live Long and Prosper.

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