401

(364 replies, posted in Episodes)

I wasn't even aware there was a Director's Cut of LW... what are the differences?

I would like to request a commentary for Gladiator.

402

(2,068 replies, posted in Off Topic)

There are elements of Generations that are pretty good, but I'd argue it's main failing derives from its third act. It never quite gets over what to do with the Nexus, and how to convincingly have Picard decide to get out, and then descends into a simple punch-up involving 3 old men. That they have Guinan announce that the heroes can return to any time they wish only makes Picard look awful, since returning to much earlier in the movie/story (as RedLetterMedia points out) would have saved lots of suffering and the destruction of the Enterprise.

A few months ago, I would have said that the movie marks a turning point in the way that Trek movies were made; in the sense that consistency with the show is thrown out in favour of explosions and whatever the story requires (film Picard is different to TV Picard for instance). But having seen about 30 episodes or so of the TOS, it seems that none of the movies really capture the exact feeling and are consistent with the characters as they appear on the TV shows. I can understand the move to cinema changing the style of the filmmaking, and the story becoming grander in scale/scope, but it seems that the characters are rewritten to fit that grander story rather than the story being written to fit the characters.

403

(25 replies, posted in Episodes)

You make some great points sellew.

404

(25 replies, posted in Episodes)

I'm not sure if you brought it up as I've not listened to the commentary yet (on my list!), but the scene with the killing of the jewish GI as his fellow soldier stands by on the staircase would appear to be an analogy for the rest of the world standing by letting the jews be killed. Of course, that's a pretty simplistic interpretation (especially since the Third Reich didn't really start killing Jews and other undesirables until after the war had started, by which time the allies were doing something about it).

I think SPR is a good film, but I'd argue it thrives on its portrayal of the D-Day landing. After this opening, it sort of becomes quite boring, following the steroetypical 'select few on a mission' format of virtually every WW2 movie. A Bridge too Far is much better overall too, and doesn't villify the Germans as all evil Nazis.

It also has some atrocious editing in the final battle, a moment where some paratroopers are frozen in time before being killed atop a German tank.

405

(112 replies, posted in Episodes)

Wait, where did Bruce Wayne go in the first place?

406

(48 replies, posted in Episodes)

I was introduced to Kickstarter by our very own Eddie Doty, and my first funded project was his One More Round short movie (which looks to be picture locked!). I was fascinated both by the concept and the passion and because it's in dollars, rather than pounds, it felt less like a burden to donate helpful amounts.

I've now kickstarted 5 computer games (2 released), 3 short movies (1 released), a space telescope and a documentary.  I love it.

The only negative I can think of is that the website makes it quite difficult to really browse and find things, almost every project I've donated to (funded or not) I've heard about outside of the website - from here and on other sites. So from that perspective, it's definitely something to keep in mind should one ever try kickstarter as a means for funding.

407

(649 replies, posted in Off Topic)

If there's a spot still open and you don't mind my crappy mic (the newer one I bought off ebay never came), I'd love to talk Trek again.

408

(70 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Marty J wrote:
redxavier wrote:

Transformers 3. I'm baffled at how this movie ever got released, it's nigh on unwatchable.

I think it's still a little better than Revenge Of The Fallen (it has Leonard Nimoy and no racist robots that "don't do much reading"). The real problem about Transformers is the existence of sequels. One stupid movie about fighting robots would've been more acceptable than three of them (and we're going to get a fourth one). I can still enjoy the first one for what it is, but the sequels are just annoying.

I actually find Transformers 2 to be the most enjoyable of the 3 films. It's fun and has some good exciting action scenes. Transformers 1 is flawed but perfectly watchable. Transformers 3, however, is so incoherent I wonder if anybody actually watched the edited cut before it got sent to the printers. It's bad in the Asylum sense of a shoddily written and put together movie - quite aside from the action scenes and sensory overload. I can't remember ever being so bored with so many explosions and robot on robot carnage.

409

(70 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Transformers 3. I'm baffled at how this movie ever got released, it's nigh on unwatchable. Also, Valhalla Rising, which does everything it can to make you stop watching it.

Invid wrote:

I think that's a general rule of story telling. One or two samurai, wandering the countryside, occasionally meeting others, works.

One or two? hah!

Three Outlaw Samurai
Seven Samurai
Eleven Samurai
13 Assassins
47 Ronin

411

(112 replies, posted in Episodes)

I'm a humungous fan of the new Outer Limits (seven seasons of the weird and wonderful), and I'd mentioned earlier that Under the Dome reminded me of one episode.

It's called The Feasibility Study and I present to you the first part (of five) on youtube:

Well, I am a copyeditor by profession, though I work principally in the rather technical language side of things (medical writing) - what sort of editing would you need?

413

(15 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Now that sounds like a good premise for a short fanfilm. At least it's doing something different with the jedi... which I'm absolutely sick of these days.

414

(15 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Did I get sent to the wrong video or something? Looks like another terrible parody attempt. (I have an extremely low tolerance for Star Wars fan films.)

415

(346 replies, posted in Off Topic)

The ISS EVA today was terminated early due to water build up in Luca Parmitano's helmet. Quite scary....

http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/spacesuit-580x356.jpg
http://www.universetoday.com/103503/spa … ation-eva/

“Imagine having a fishbowl on your head with a half a litre of water sticking to your face, ears and nose. Then imagine you can’t take the fishbowl off your head for a minimum of 20 minutes, feel the panic?”

My hat goes off to Luca, who remained calm throughout the ordeal.

416

(2,068 replies, posted in Off Topic)

He could be talking about the initial movie, which is pretty enjoyable. I'm a fan of the Clone Wars. I can't say for sure how much of that enjoyment is due to having been battered down by the prequels and seeing this as a welcome return to 'fun' Star Wars. It's all not great (what series is?), but the episodic nature of the show allows one to drop in/drop out as you please.

417

(112 replies, posted in Episodes)

Universally acknowledged? Hell no.

I liked it a lot, interesting characters (Olivia Munn's especially, since she's incredibly smart), some great dynamics between the characters (the two principals in particular), clever writing, and a presentation of the 'ideal news program' that we all want to believe is real somewhere. It's let down by a crass romantic subplot (which was done much better in Studio 60) and it occasionally dips into the bucket of sentimental sanctimony.

I think I read that in one of the EU novels, possibly one of Zahn's.

419

(93 replies, posted in Off Topic)

Dorkman wrote:

As for the film, meh. Writing up a review today. I won't get in any arguments with someone who loves it, but I don't plan to watch it through again any time soon. Good chance of a blu-ray buy depending on the special features, though.

That's odd. For me, the ultimate 'is it good?' barometer is buying it on bluray/dvd. Does that mean that there are parts of it that you would rewatch? I just figure that you could watch the extras on a rental.

420

(1,649 replies, posted in Off Topic)

That was really moving, thanks WithKittens. I've not seen Tootsie for literally decades, and really want to now.

421

(112 replies, posted in Episodes)

Do you need some sort of context to fully enjoy it?

I've been curious about Who for a long time, but I was scarred by a few minutes of one episode when I was very young (where some monsters come walking ashore from out of the sea)... and then I caught a bit of a christmas special a few years ago and just found it utterly bonkers.

Kind of forgot to give my summation of the whole experience.

I simply loved watching these; I can't help but feel that if a jaded viewer such as myself can love it so much, I can only imagine how powerful it would have been to people at the time, how hugely influential.

Top 5 of season 1?

1.  Taste of Armaggedon
2. Court Martial
3. Balance of Terror
4. The Corbomite Maneuver
5. The Galileo Seven

I think the series greatly improved from the mid-point, and I think I watched about 4 or 5 episodes in a row in a single night that were all hugely entertaining.

If you're all on the fence about watching Star Trek TOS, or are thinking about revisiting them after a long time, I say give them a go.  smile

423

(112 replies, posted in Episodes)

Three episodes in and I think I'm out.

424

(112 replies, posted in Episodes)

I'm glad not to be the only one who thought the second episode of Under the Dome was dismal. What could have been a fascinating, extended series version of an Outer Limits episode mixed with Jericho turned into yet another Lost/The Event/whatever.

25 - The Devil in the Dark
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110626045255/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/6/61/Spock_and_Kirk_inspect_Horta_tunnel.jpg/640px-Spock_and_Kirk_inspect_Horta_tunnel.jpg

We open in the dark tunnels of a mining colony where a group of security guards are wary of a monster that has been killing their people. For some reason, the group leaves behind just one man, who gets horribly murdered. The Enterprise then arrives and helps them conduct a search for the monster, a Horta. This was a fascinating episode with some spooky moments, and I like how the message seems partially to be that we shouldn't judge by appearance, also, about how 'humans are the real monsters'. I got a bit of Beowulf vibe here, with the monster terrorising the community as a result of something the humans had done to it. Kirk shows restraint, and as a result the story resolves to the satisfaction of everyone. It does get a little melodramatic at some points, and the 'mind meld' seems to be becoming a vulcan superpower.

My favourite moment of this episode is one that you might almost miss. Kirk is in trouble, trapped in a cavern with the monster approaching him, and Spock is outside trying to find another way to him. Kirk's comms go silent, and Spock quickens his pace to a run and shouts "Jim!". It's subtle, but I found myself amazed at how effective it was at communicating how Spock feels about his friend. Further, it's Spock showing real emotion without being under the influence of magic goo, mind control plants, or an omnipotent being having fun.

26 - Errand of Mercy
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081224105029/memoryalpha/en/images/thumb/c/c1/Klingon_invasion_of_Organia.jpg/640px-Klingon_invasion_of_Organia.jpg

War's about to take place with the Klingons and the Enterprise has to secure a base on a strategic planet where a primitive race lives. Some fake Klingons turn up and Kirk and Spock must hide amongst the natives whilst the Federation musters a fleet. I'm not quite sure why the prime directive doesn't preclude the Federation from visiting this place at all, but this one is basically about Kirk trying to get the Organians to fight back against the Klingon occupying force, then becoming frustrated when they don't. It turns out the Organians are yet another race of omnipotent beings. It's an interesting episode for Kirk, and there's the start of some dramatic interaction between him and the leader of the Klingons, but otherwise I just don't think enough is done with it, or with the 'will he be found out or not' aspect. I get the impression the writer of this episode isn't as capable of writing smart Kirk as some of the others involved in the show. There's a bit at the end where Kirk gets annoyed that he can't fight, and acts like a belligerent child full of hate for his enemy, which I found slightly at odds with what he's done throughout most of the season.

27 - The Alternative Factor
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20041016022161/memoryalpha/en/images/c/c5/Alternative_warp.jpg

The Enterprise encounters a railing madman who is fighting this version of himself and... ok, I confess; I got so bored with this one, I didn't finish it.

28 - City on the Edge of Forever
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20061201034356/memoryalpha/en/images/c/c2/Guardian_of_Forever%2C_2267.jpg

Kirk and Spock must travel back in time to undo damage to the timeline caused by a McCoy driven mad by a drug overdose. A timeline in which Germany developed the atomic bomb before the allies because the US had become pacifist... yeah it doesn't quite make sense (and why there's a time portal in the first place remains a mystery!). What follows has to be one of the most moving episodes of the season, with Kirk falling in love with a social worker in the 1930s (?), a woman who turns out to be the key to correcting the timeline and preserving the Enterprise and Federation as they're meant to be etc. This episode has it all, humour, shock, love, and sadness, and is very entertaining. However, for me it felt less Trek and more Twightlight Zone/Outer Limits.


And that wraps it up, I'm seeing another episode called Operation Annhilate! on the wiki, but didn't find this one in my download folder. I might have to track it down.


I undertook this journey for various reasons. Firstly, because I found it odd that it was the only series of Star Trek I hadn't seen yet (and I've liked all of the others) and second because I was intrigued by what snippets of the stories I had heard about via popular culture or other movies/series (e.g. Space Seed).

Finally, I had seen this picture a while ago and really wanted to know who all these characters were:
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/294/4/2/star_trek_the_original_series_by_dusty_abell-d5ihg4k.jpg