Super Mario Sunshine: Year 7

Past couple days I've been squeezing in some time with Super Mario Sunshine yet again- the game came out 7 years ago, and I've had the habit of picking it up every summer and completing a good chunk of it, then letting it sit on the shelf till it's time for my next virtual summer vacation.

This particular session was spawned from discovering new things about the game (and that's one of the reasons I love the game so much- you're always finding a new secret about it, even after almost fully completing it) such as the water belly slide trick (spray water in the ground in front of you, then hop onto it on your belly and you'll keep on sliding- up till now I'd merely been doing repeated belly hops to travel about) and the front courtyard of Sirenno Beach being shaped like a Gamecube controller face. There's also an awesome easter egg/glitch that launches the camera up into the air before skydiving down back to Mario, with a view of the entire island in the process.

I beat the game last year, but since then have been slowly working to get the last of the Shines (because, really, a Mario game isn't truly beaten until you've collected all the stars/shines/etc). I'm at 96/120 currently- the only ones left are a few Secret Shines (red coin challenges in void zones, mostly) and the ones purchased with blue coins at this point, so I'm in the final stretch now. Bianco Hills and most of Delfino Plaza is taken care of now.

It's been quite amazing how this game has held up and kept giving over the years, it's been a fantastic experience I'll be sad to see end.

Sure, there's Super Mario Galaxy to tackle after this, but while that's an excellent game in many different ways, the smaller mini-level/planetoid challenge design to the game limits the exploration and level relationship aspects that I've quite enjoyed in SMS- I loved exploring the limits of every level, seeing if I could get over another hill, or grab a better view of one of the other levels viewable in the distance.

I have a feeling SMS & SMG will be fighting it out for Top 3D Mario game the same way SMB3 & SMW have for decades in the 2D realm.

Transformers Quote of the Week 7/31/09

Here's two to make up for a week or so skipped:

Tracks: "I'll teach you to mess with the Chrysler Building!"

Prime: "We're putting your company into bankruptcy, Megatron!"

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 115: Shore Leave & 116: The Galileo Seven

115- Shore Leave:
-Premise: Finding an uninhabited world for the crew to take some shore leave on, once on the planet they begin seeing things from their mind, including Alice in Wonderland, WW2 Planes and a bully from Kirk's past.

-Quest Comments: Though not particularly terrible (except for the guy in the rabbit costume), I just couldn't bring myself to care about this episode. And what is with this show and Irish stereotypes? LOL!

Overall, pretty forgettable.


116- The Galileo Seven:
-Premise: Investigation of a cosmic event ends with a shuttlecraft and 7 crewmembers stranded on a planet inhabited by hostile giants.

-Quest Comments: A pretty good Spock-centric episode, though Spock's logic-based mindset is taken to almost cartoonish levels at times, which hampers the episode a good deal. I'll put it in the "Average" grouping.

Also worth noting the Commisioner's uniform looks very much like the ones eventually used on Enterprise.

(images via Memory-Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

FRACKING TRON!!

So Comic-Con is going and has brought some awesome stuff to our interwebs. First off, the awesome TR2N (aka TRON 2.0) test footage that was screened last year and, up till now, has only existed as a bad bootleg online, is now online in Quicktime format, now with the title of TRON: LEGACY. You can view some gorgeous concept artwork in this article.

They're really going all out for this at the convention. They apparently had a sweet viral marketing thing going on at the con that involved blacklight codes that eventually formed to coordinates on a map that led to a location where they recreated Flynn's Arcade, complete with playable versions of the games from the first movie (such as Space Paranoids).

And that led to a secret area where a lifesize replica of a lightcycle was on display (seemingly accompnied by a clip of the new movie's score by Daft Punk!).

You can check out some videos of that awesomeness here.

It'll be awesome to see how this film turns out- TRON was so far ahead of it's time it was almost unappreciatable when it came out, and now technology and video games have moved so far ahead of that.

Full Stargate Universe Trailer Online!

The full trailer for Stargate Universe is now up. It still has that Galactica feel to it, but I think the opening humor as well as the sense of worlds to explore present in the last 3rd of the trailer help set it apart from BSG to be recognizably Stargate.

Alice in Wonderland teaser trailer

The first trailer for Tim Burton's upcoming Alice in Wonderland movie is online now. Looks great- this material just seems like the perfect match for Burton's style, as well as his more commonly appearing cast members.

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 113: The Conscience of the King & 114: Balance of Terror

113: The Conscience of the King:
-Premise: When an actor is suspected of being a mass murderer believed dead, Kirk take ssteps to try and prove his identity, while the only surviving witnesses to those past deeds start ending up dead- and Kirk could be next.

-Quest Comments: Actually a pretty good mystery episode with an interesting idea through the plan behind the execution (no pun intended) of the murders. Acting overall, shy the female guest star, was unproblematic, the actor in particular was better than average for a guest star.

An offhand comment of the murderer having his own idea of Eugenics and that "he wasn't the only one" makes a nice hint/setup for Kahn as well, which I think, when combiend with the overall quality of the episode, elevates to "Potentially Essential".

114: Balance of Terror:
-Premise: When a Romulan ship capable of cloaking begins attacking Federation outposts along the Federation/Romulan Neutral Zone, the Enterprise engages in a game of tactics against the aggressor.

-Quest Comments: Some good action, and the sub-battle feel to things was pretty interesting (and, in a way, is echoed years later in Wrath of Kahn). A little weird seeing Spock's father as a Romulan, though.

Was surprised they mentioned Remus this far back- I had assumed that was something created for Nemesis, as opposed to a throwback to TOS. The only real oddity is the calling for phasers when they are obviously firing torpedoes (this was obviously produced early on when they were still figuring out what was what, or at least didn't care so much what was what).

The obvious Romulan connections to TNG, Nemesis & Enterprise, as well as the decent action, definitely place this episode into the "Definitely Essential" category.


(images via Memory-Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 110: The Corbomite Manuever & 111/112: The Menagerie

110- The Corbomite Manuever:
-Premise: After encountering and destroying an odd cube-shaped probe that blocks their way, a larger shift captures the Enterprise and threatens it's destruction.

-Quest Comments: This was surprisingly good- the first episode of these first 10 to actually feel somewhat on par with modern Trek shows, though the ending's execution leads a bit to be desired in it's somewhat anticlimactic nature and somewhat silly child-w/voiceover approach (wasn't this a Futurama episode?).

I also really like that this is the first episode where the characters seem to be clicking properly- there's some good humor here, and it feels like the crew. Might make for a good introductory episode if I shift the episode order around later, to help fill in the ejection of the various pilots.
Though no major connections I'm aware of for this episode (a later episode does make a joking reference to this, though), I think it's quality allows it to be placed into the Definitely Essential category.

111 & 112: The Menagerie, parts 1 & 2:
-Premise: After Spock hijacks the Enterprise and sends it on course for the forbidden planet of Talos IV, he is forced to stand trial for his actions, where he uses video testomony of the events from The Cage in his defense.

-Quest Comments: Basicly The Cage split into two parts to accommodate a clipshow-like framestory with Kirk and co. Once I got past the funny now-obvious Futurama/Pike-blinking-wheelchair reference connection, it was still hard for me to really get into this episode, especially having seen The Cage beforehand since I was able to deduce Spock's purpose in his actions long beforehand, which made the unnecessity of using the "video testimony" all the more blatant- as Kirk said at the end, Spock could have just told them.

Now, if one hadn't seen The Cage, there might have been some more mystery to Spock's actions to draw the viewer in, but the same conclusion is eventually reached, which is disappointing.

Additionally, the "Kirk show feel" doesn't quite mesh well with the "Pike show feel", which just hampers the episodes further.

If it wasn't for those two points rendering the episodes somewhat pointless, I'd have normally considered The Menagerie to be preferable viewing in favor over The Cage, since it has a Pike/Kirk transition of sorts thats still grounded in the Kirk show. As it is, The Menagerie didn't levae me with a good enough impression to really consider it essential, and so, IMO, it joins the same classification as The Cage itself does, though for different reasons mentioned above. "Ok, But not Necessarily Essential".

Why they even bothered to do a special theatrical screening of the Remastered version awhile back (outside of it being the only 2-parter) instead of showing 2 or 3 popular/good episodes that would have made for better theatrical viewing (say, Doomsday Machine, Space Seed & Amok Time), I'll never understand.

(images via Memory-Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

Microsoft to open retail stores

Full Article

To try and improve the perception and image of it's brand, Microsoft is going to open a chain of retail stores, some in close proximity to Apple Stores.

So, despite not manufacturing computer hardware, they're gonna try to compete head to head with Apple? Are they stupid, or just high?

What are they going to fill their store with? 100 copies of Windows and Office to fill the shelves around a Zune kiosk, off to the side next to an Xbox alcove?

The Xbox is the only real hardware product they have to leverage, but if they focus too much on that, then they're pretty much competing with Gamestop in addition to Apple. And it's a pretty safe bet there will be a Gamestop in close proximity to an MS or Apple Store, as Gamestops are frelling everywhere.

It's not like they can provide any services as effective as Apple's Genius Bar. They'll just spend 20 minutes convincing you it's a hardware problem and not Vista.

Apple gaining a marketshare point musta really spooked them.

The funniest thing too is they've hired a former exec from Dreamworks Animation to run it. It's like they're not even trying to avoid comparisons/accusations of ripping off Apple anymore (ironically harming the brand image in their very effort to improve it!).

I have to assume the conversation went like this:

MS Guy #1: "Gee, Apple has nice retail stores owned by a guy who runs a hit 3D animation studio. We should get one of those."

MS Guy #2: "Which one? Stores or an animation guy?"

MS Guy #1: "Both!"

Penny-Arcade has also touched upon this story...

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 108: Miri & 109: Dagger of the Mind

108- Miri:
-Premise: the Enterprise discovers a duplicate of Earth, and on it's surface a group of children- survivors of a plague that kills adults.

-Quest Comments: I actually recall seeing at least some of this episode at some point in the past. Anyways, not a bad episode, but nothing I particularly cared about. The kids were ugly and annoying. Acting got a bit hammy towards the end when Kirk convinces Miri she's infected. And there was absolutely no explaination why the planet was an exact duplicate of Earth (which, shy of an illusion, is super-silly to begin with, but I would have thought there'd have been some attempt at making it relevant). Forgettable.

109- Dagger of the Mind:
-Premise: When a former doctor and current inmate of a penal colony escapes aboard the Enterprise, suspciion is raised of a doctor there who is using a neural neutralizer to control the minds of inamtes.

-Quest Comments: A decent episode, no major problems, except for perhaps some of the Kirk/Helen material the doctor was putting into his mind, which didn't serve much purpose. I'm kinda mixed about it, really. I'll rank it under "Average". The first use of the Mindmeld is noteworthy though, which could give it vague relevance to a couple of the 4th season Enterprise episodes.

(images via Memory-Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

Creation in a Moment of Random Distraction

When you send me silly photos of myself when I already have Final Cut Pro open, this is what happens.

Oct Star Wars Comic Cover Art

Had to spotlight some sweet upcoming cover art for various SW comics in Oct.

First off, we have the cover to Invasion #0- which is the first comic cover art done by the great Dave Dorman in a very long time. Dorman's past work includes some of the legendary Dark Empire, Tales of the Jedi and X-Wing Rogue Squadron cover art.

After that we have a creepy-as-hell Caamasi (nothing like a psycho portrayal of a species of pacifists) on the cover to Knights of the Old Republic #46, and our first glimpse of the Mandalorian helmet designs of the Legacy era in Legacy #41.

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 106: Mudd's Women & 107: What Are Little Girls Made Of?

106- Mudd's Women:
-Premise: Rescued from a damaged ship, Harry Mudd and the three women he ahd aboard as cargo are beamed aboard the Enterprise. The women have an unusual effect on the men.

-Quest Comments: Aggghhh! Whether it's these three chicks, Posion Ivy or Hathor, the stupid "woman turns guys around her into mindless zombies" plot element never works and is just painful to watch, let alone a 60's production of it. Couldn't make it halfway through this one (had even blocked the memory of it, thus my earlier "only episode I ever skipped" comment for The Man Trap). The fact that this Mudd guy comes back for another episode fills me with dread. To the trash bin with this garbage.



107- What Are Little Girls Made Of?:
-Premise: Chapel is reunited with her fiance, Dr Korby, who has discovered a technology that can create android replicas of people.

-Quest Comments: Ah, finally, an actual decent episode! What a relief. That robot dude was pretty huge (well, or Shatner is just tiny). Barely any "60's syndrome" touches present, if at all. If I'm remembering correctly, also our first away team Red Shirt kills (though it's possible I may have missed some from the episodes i didn't finish).

Funny that they went to a duplicate Kirk story element so soon after Enemy Within (though I guess the original airing order may have switched things up a bit).

Anyways, with a lack of apparent connections to other episodes, I'll classify this one as "Average".

Also, the actor who plays Korby has a strong resemblance to Connor Trinneer (of Enterprise and Stargate Atlantis fame)

(Inspirational Posters via EchoSphere)
(Other images via Memory-Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

Bad News, Everyone!

According to EW, the upcoming return of Futurama will NOT be featuring Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio or voiceover god Billy West (in case you don't know, that's pretty much every damn character on the show!).

So, let's be blunt about this- what the frell is the point of bringing back Futurama if you're not bringing back the actors?

And who announces a show is coming back if they haven't secured the actors- especially if they plan to pay them less?

Pay them- they're worth it (no way Billy West costs more than the multiple actors that would be eneded to replace him), and no one's going to buy a crappy imitation Futurama.

Nickelback/Papa Roach/Hinder/Saving Abel at Jones Beach

So earlier in the week I caught the current Nickelback tour at Jones Beach in Long Island. I'm not a huge fan of Nickelback- they have some catchy tunes, and a couple killer tracks (the recent Burn it to the Ground, for exampe), but I normally wouldn't intentionally seek them out. But, a friend had cheap tickets and I actually do dig Papa Roach (whom I haven't seen live for 8 years), so I figured why not?

First off, though I'm not exactly complaining since I pretty much expected such seats given the ticket price, but, nonetheless, from my seat I could see France.

Secondly, I was surprised at the number of kids present (something the lead singer for Nickelback also commented upon later in the show). We had a row of annoying 10 year old girls who took every opportunity to scream- and not in a normal "wooo!" or "yeah!!!" concert-scream, but in the highest pitched wail they could manage.

But even beyond the annoyance factor- what are they doing at a show like this? Have their parents even heard some of Nickeback's songs? I mean, sure, you expect a few F-bombs to be thrown around at a rock concert, but should a buncha 10 year old girls really be proclaiming a song about a guy's thoughts while getting head from a chick as their favorite song? That's just weird.

We missed Saving Abel by time we arrived, but that's ok- I cared the least about them of the 4 bands playing.

Papa Roach was next, surprisingly (I woulda thought a band with a decade of tracks would get the second-to-last set). As I said earlier, I was looking forward to them the msot. I had seen them back in 2001 at both Ozzfest and DFP 5.0, but I didn't really become a fan of their material till their last 3 albums or so (which I delved into thanks to the excellent "Not Listening" track that was used to great effect in the finale of the trailer for Resident Evil: Apocalypse) so I was looking forward to experiencing them with that mindset.

They put on a great set with a solid mix of new and old (I haven't heard that "No Money" song for a very long time- I had forgotten about it, despite it being one of their first singles after "Last Resort", IIRC).

Only downside was not too many people were standing up for them, and I didn't want to be the only jackass in the mezzanine rockin' around, so i couldn't experience their set fully.

But, they ended their set more memorably than any of the other bands- lead singer Jacoby Shaddix took a running start to launch himself off the stage and into the bay around it. He swam around to backstage (managing to do so before the rescue boat scooped him up) and came back out, only to do it a second time (cue, once again, the rescue boat). Very cool.

Hinder was a question mark for me- I didn't recognize the band by name, but it turns out I have heard a few of them on the radio, and the frontman has a surprising 80's Arena Rock vibe going for him (something emphasized later on when he was brought out during Nickelback's set to do the vocals for a jam of ACDC's Highway to Hell).

So mark me pleasantly surprised with Hinder. I might even grab a few tracks from them off of iTunes- though I get the impression the band is one of those bands that are much more enjoyable live with the energy they produce, than they would be on an album.

Lastly, we had Nickelback themselves- the big mystery being if they'd open with the song about blowjobs or the other song about blowjobs. Turns out it was their first song about blowjobs- Figured You out.

Their frontman plays the audience well and is generally pretty funny (his comments on the 8 year olds in the front row being a notable highlight). Good stage show with pyro and lights, etc. Good mix of the tons of the singles they put out (though they didn't play the other song besides "Burn it to the Ground", that I was hoping to hear- "Follow You Home". I wouldn't have minded "Hero", either, but I didn't really expect that one since it's not a Nickelback-only song).

Still, while enjoyable, I can't get into them as much as I can other bands. They just strike me as a band that really wanted to be a country music band, but knew being a rock band was more profitable and mainstream (a theory furthered by the fact that they actually played a damn country song at one point).

Overall, despite the good show on stage, it was probably the most mild rock concert I've been to- with very few people standing or rocking out, so it wasn't quite the "let loose some energy" experience I was hoping to get at least some of. Still, it was entertaining, and I do like Jones Beach as a venue.

First Pics of Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow

The first pics, via Entertainment Weekly, of Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow in the upcoming Iron Man 2, have made their way online:

Much better than the Hilary Swank rumor that floated around back for Iron Man 1.



And, since she's married to Ryan Reynolds, that means now both Green Lantern and Deadpool are banging the Black Widow. Hannibal King just watches.

Family Guy Breaks Through the Emmy Animation Barrier

The Emmy nominations came out this week, but most notable is that Family Guy has become the first animated program in nearly 50 years (since The Flintstones in 1961) to be nominated in the Best Comedy Series category.

The show's creator, Seth MacFarlane, says his nomination marks the end of Emmy discrimination against animated TV -- but doesn't think he'll actually win.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: SO WHERE WERE YOU, AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING WHEN THIS NEWS CAME DOWN?

MacFarlane: It was about 5 in the morning and I got a phone call, so I was not able to react for the excitement that they wanted.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: NOW THAT YOU'VE HAD A LITTLE TIME TO WARM UP, WHAT'S YOUR REACTION?

MacFarlane: I think it is extremely encouraging for everyone who is busting their ass on these animated shows to have this happen. I have friends on "King of the Hill," I have friends on "The Simpsons." I feel like it is validation for all of these shows that they are now viewed as on the same playing field as the other comedies, because we are all really doing the same job. It took a long time to recognize single-camera comedies, and I think that it's frustrating for a lot of the animated shows that we haven't gotten the same treatment (as other comedies). It is nice that they stopped ignoring the fact that the animated shows are major players in the comedy landscape of television. This is a huge step forward for open-mindedness in the voting process.

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WAS FOX IN FAVOR OF THE IDEA OF SUBMITTING TO THIS CATEGORY?

MacFarlane: They left it up to us; they didn't really have a strong opinion one way or the other like we did. While shows like "SpongeBob" and "Fairly OddParents" are good shows, they are not doing the same type of program as a show like "The Simpsons" or "Family Guy." It's apples and oranges. It's doing two different things, producing for two different audiences. The process is much more analogous to what shows like "Two and a Half Men" or "The Office" do. The sitcom process is a different medium. The only thing that should be relevant is if you are doing a quality show or not. I think "The Simpsons" should have been nominated in the '90s, when they were up against "Friends" and "Seinfeld." "The Simpsons" were making a show that was on par with a lot of the shows nominated and better than a lot of them.

...

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHICH EPISODES DID YOU SUBMIT?

MacFarlane: We submitted three episodes. We submitted "Road to Germany," we submitted "Family Gay," we submitted "I Dream of Jesus." We picked three of our edgier shows as a choice. Ya know, we figured if we are going to be damned, let's be damned for what we really are.


You can find the full interview with Seth here. A list of the full Emmy nominees can be found here.

I'd love for DG to pull off a surprise here, but I also love 30 Rock and wish to see it's continued reign of success continue.

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 104: The Naked Time & 105: The Enemy Within

104- The Naked Time:
-Premise: An unknown disease is brought aboard the ship and, transmitted by touch, begins infecting the crew, removing their inhibitions and playing up their fantasies.


-Quest Comments: Another step up in quality, but still not "actually good". Now, granted, this may have come first, but we've seen the "crew is infected by something that spreads by touch" angle in many other shows since and have accomplished it more effectively. The one guy is a pretty annoying actor, but I think his character was meant to be annoying (and a lovely Irish stereotype at that...). Still, a "nice try". Plus, "Sulu...with a sword?!"

However, since this apparently is loosely tied, either directly or thematically, with a TNG episode ("The Naked Now"), as well as the crew discovering a formula for time travel (which will apparently come into play in a few episodes as it was originally intended to be a setup for a second part that was turned into a stand alone episode), but I just can't see that that's enough to classify an episode of this quality as anything but "Ok Episode, But Not Essential".


105- The Enemy Within:
-Premise: A transporter malfunction splits Kirk into two versions of himself- one calm and intellectual, the other raging and emotional.

-Quest Comments: Still rising, this episode was actually somewhat interesting overall- it's only flaws being some of the acting and dialogue ("I'M CAPTAIN KIRK! I'M CAPTAIN KIRK!" is about as funny to quote as "TRASH BAGS!" from the A-Team, only, unlike the A-Team, it was never intended to actually be funny).

This one goes into the "Ok Episodes, But Not Necessarily Essential" category. You feel bad for Sulu, though- they could have just sent him a damn shuttle, afterall.

(images via Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

Comic Pulls: 7/15/09

My comic pulls this week:

Deadpool #12: The third part of the "Bullseye" story doesn't disappoint. I didn't think they could top the "meat hooks" of the last issue, and while it doesn't get quite that bizarrely strange this time around, everything with "Truck Foot" and Deadpool was gold, especially Bullseye's reactions to it. And the "Poolvision" of Bullseye and Wade as kids in school was perfectly timed.

Great issue, and seemingly wraps up at least part of the lingering Norman Osbourne plot threads that have been running through the series since the first story arc during Secret Invasion. Not to mention the first Dark Reign story I've read (outside of Norman's occasiona mental breakdowns) where they've revealed there are cracks in Osbourne's grip over everything.

The Sword #18: Concluding the "Earth" storyline and kicking this fantastic limited series into it's final story arc (the series will finish it's story in issue #24- but then by time you hit this issue you really get the feeling that the end is near), we have Dara kicking ass with the sword, getting torn up and concluding her epic battle with the mountain.

If you haven't been reading this series- definitely do yourself a favor and check it out- it's easily the best Image comic currently. The first two story arcs, "Fire" and "Water" are in trade already, and I'm sure this one won't be far behind.

(and, yes, this actually came out a couple weeks ago, but I only managed to get my copy this week)

Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic #43: The series dives into it's new story arc as Zayne and Jarael begin their efforts to take down the Crucible slaver syndicate. Really looks to be setting up an interesting arc. John Jackson Miller has rarely, if ever, steered us wrong with KOTOR since it launched 3.5 years ago. I prefer Legacy as a series and Invasion as a concept more, but KOTOR is still a flagship title.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars #7: Continuing their series of stories inspired by the current 3D animated Clone Wars TV series, this kicks off a new storyline focusing on Plo Koon, Kit Fisto and a young Ozzel as they attempt to retake a planet with vital resources to the war effort.

Outside of the somewhat cliche'd portrayal of Ozzel always being wrong, this issue was a huge improvement over the last storyline, which was kinda spotty and only had 1 or 2 really good issues out of the 6 issue arc. So that bodes well for this arc.

It's still the weakest of the Star Wars line, but it's obviously aimed at a younger segment of the fanbase/market than the mainstream SW titles like KOTOR & Legacy.

Farscape: D'Argo's Lament #4: I picked this one up this week, but I'm an issue or two behind on the Farscape comics, so I'll get back to commenting on this one later. I do expect good things from it, as the first few issues of the Farscape series have been solid.

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 102: Charlie X & 103: Where No Man Has Gone Before

102- Charlie X:
-Premise: Adolescent Charlie is dropped off aboard the Enterprise. Found to have powerful telekinetioc abilities and governed by his immaturity, he lashes out at people with his powers, making them vanish and becomes obsessed with Yeoman.

-Quest Comments: Plagued by "60's syndrome" acting and touches, pretty painful to watch. Avoid it. Trash it.

103- Where No Man Has Gone Before:
-Premise: As the Enterprise encounters an energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy, a crewman and friend to Kirk begins gaining god-like powers which threaten the more insignificant around him.

-Quest Comments: An improvement over the first 2 episodes, there's some interesting things here with the crew member becoming more and more powerful. It is however hampered by it's attempted romance subplot, which has that "guy glances suggestively while girl looks back in a pout-gaze to look screwable" element that is encountered far too often in the series and just makes things laughable.

Overall, it's not terrible, but it's not that good either. Generally "Forgettable". But, it is the first time they cross the galactic border in the series and, depending on what episodes you decide to ultimate drop from your viewing order (combined with a little episode order rejiggering) it could be used as a vague introductory episode to the series to be bookended by a later "past the galactic border" episode, if one was so inclined.

Also, some lovely work with the Remastered effects.

(Inspirational Posters via EchoSphere)
(Other images via Memory-Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

Upcoming Aaron Allston Benefit Auction Event by FACT

As posted on theforce.net:

The Fandom Association of Central Texas (FACT) will be hosting an auction and party for X-Wing and Fate of the Jedi author Aaron Allston. The event will be held next week, Sunday, July 19, from 1-5 p.m. at Arbor A in San Gabriel Park, 445 E. Morrow, Georgetown, TX. According to his official website, Aaron Allston will be in attendance.

Allston was recently hospitalized for heart bypass surgery, and all proceeds will go to the Aaron Allston Donation Fund to pay for related expenses. Central Texas area fans wishing to donate auction items will find contact information on the FACT website here.

Press Release:

Austin, TX -- A fundraiser and auction to benefit the Aaron Allston Donation Fund will be held on Sunday, July 19, from 1-5 p.m. at Arbor A in San Gabriel Park, 445 E. Morrow, Georgetown, TX.

The Aaron Allston Donation Fund is a medical fund established by his friends to help Mr. Allston, an internationally known science fiction writer and author of several Star Wars novels, with large medical expenses recently incurred as a result of emergency bypass surgery. Mr. Allston is a long-time resident of Central Texas.

The event sponsor is the Fandom Association of Central Texas (FACT, http://www.fact.org), a Texas-based 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the promotion of literacy through the appreciation of speculative fiction.

FACT is seeking donations of food and other items from local businesses for the event. We anticipate attendance of approximately 100+ people, and are actively promoting to the media.

To discuss making a contribution, please contact Wendy Snyder, FACT Events Manager, at social@fact.org or phone Elizabeth Burton, FACT board secretary, at 512-402-5298.

Allston's been one of the most consistently entertaining SW authors, known for his humor. He's among the panelists in this video of the Legacy of the Force panel from Celebration III back in 2005.

Chicago Comic-Con Benefit Auction for John Ostrander

Ostrander is one of my favorite comic authors, having authored the highly acclaimed Quinlan Vos arc of Dark Horse's Clone Wars run of the Star Wars: Republic series, as well as creating the radical Star Wars: Legacy series.

He's also known for writing other titles such as Grimjack, Suicide Squad & The Spectre, as well as turning Barbara Gordon from Batgirl into Oracle.

He's also been great with fan interaction, posting frequently on the JC and Dark Horse messageboards, amongst others. So I wanted to return the favor by making note of this news piece.

Even though only a few people I know are even reading this blog at this early stage, and probably even fewer care (and if you don't, don't feel bad- I'm not trying to guilt-trip anyone, just passing on the info to those who might want to know), I figured for those of you who are familiar with (or might have heard of) his work might be inclined to assist.

An auction will be held at the Chicago Comic-Con (nee Wizard World Chicago) the evening of Saturday, August 8, 2009 to raise funds for comics veteran John Ostrander, who is undergoing a series of operations and medical treatments to fight off blindness.

A 27-year veteran of the comics field, Ostrander, has long been suffering from glaucoma. Recently, John underwent a series of operations that might have saved his remaining eyesight. Progress has been made but he faces considerably more treatment in the months ahead.

To help Ostrander cover his costs, a committee has been organized called Comix4Sight. Solicitations for the benefit auction have gone out, and the response from the comics community has been overwhelming.

Original art, signed scripts, comics memorabilia, autographed books and similar items are being donated to the auction. “Within the first 24 hours we’ve received pledges of contributions including original art and signed books by Howard Chaykin, David Lloyd, Dave Sim, Norm Breyfogle, Dick Giordano, Dennis O’Neil, Hilary Barta, Kevin Van Hook, Mark Badger, Michael Davis, Rick Stasi, Paul Gulacy, Joe Landsdale, and, of course, John’s GrimJack collaborator Timothy Truman. We’re getting commitments every day,” committee co-chairperson Adriane Nash stated.

Contributions can be made through PayPal at www.comix4sight.com or by sending a check to:
Mike Gold and Adriane Nash
arrogantMGMS
304 Main Avenue, #194
Norwalk, CT 06851

Full Article

15 Foot Shark Washes Up On Long Island

CNN Video Link

For reference, this thing is 10 feet shy (60% of) the "Bruce" shark in Jaws, though it's not a dangerous species like the Great White.


I'm wondering if the dude setting up the tripod in that footage was just setting up a pic of himself a leg propped up in triumph, to be captioned "Oh, you collect seashells when you go to the shore? How quaint."

(photo & further details via ABC News)

Natalie Portman cast as Jane Foster in Thor

Natalie Portman will be playing Jane Foster in the upcoming Thor movie. Jane was a nurse who was an early love interest for Thor in the comics, but who will be updated in some manner for the film adaptation.

Marvel's press release describes the film's plot:
Marvel Studios expands its film universe with a new type of superhero: THOR. This epic adventure spans the Marvel Universe; from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the film (due out May 20, 2011) will feature Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and will be part of the ongoing Marvel film universe alongside Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Captain America s they build towards an Avengers film.

It'll be interesting to see how she plays into things, since word has it they're seemingly taking the Ultimate Thor approach of not using Dr. Donald Blake as an alter-ego for Thor- at least not until towards the end of the movie, as a means to connect it to the Avengers movie.

It's an interesting choice. Portman can certainly act, but she tends to do better in more grounded or deeply dramatic material that she, presumably, can better relate to (Garden State or V For Vendetta, for example), while her track record with more fantastical material has been a little spotty (the Star Wars prequels, though granted she had to deal with some horrific dialogue there). Kenneth should be a good directing match for her, though, so i think she'll do a good job.

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 101: The Man Trap

101- The Man Trap:
-Premise: The Enterprise drops off medical supplies to a planet, where McCoy encounters another doctor he formerly had romantic involvement with. However, it turns out it is really a shape-shifting salt vampire.

-Quest Comments: Honestly, I couldn't finish this one, it's just awful. This is the only episode in the franchise I had to just turn off. Definitely not a good introductory episode, and, thankfully, not related to any other episodes, so we'll let this one be the first clunker in the waste basket. "Trash". Avoid it.

On the plus side, a salt vampire is still more of a vampire than anything in "Twilight" ;)

(image via Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

Meet the Filmmakers of "500 Days of Summer" @ Apple Store Soho

As my wanderings continued (I skipped using the subway and just walked for the rest of the day- had to work off that burger!), I swung over to the Apple Store in Soho (which is only a couple blocks down Prince St from the NYFA campus I attended) with no particular goals in mind beyond enjoying the atmosphere of a major Apple Store.

Turns out they had a small "Meet the Filmmaker" event going on within 20 minutes of my arival there, this one with the writers and director of the film "500 Days of Summer", which hits theaters this weekend.

Rom-Coms aren't usually my thing, but the few TV spots and talk show clips I had seen had nabbed some of my interest- and it's Sundance awards at least indicated it wasn't going to be your typical Rom-Com formula. And Zooey Deschanel is hard to resist in any role. So I decided to stick around and check it out.

All three guys were pretty funny (though I was suprised at how young the writers seemingly were) and were pretty forward about wanting to avoid the worn-down formula of Rom-Coms (a genre the writers apparently do like) as well as unrealistic set pieces ("Nobody gets bitten by a dolphin in our movie.").

The subsequent Q&A included some interesting tidbits, including how the color scheme of the film was designed to highlight Zooey's presence in her scenes.

They showed a couple clips from the movie, including what looks to be a clever sequence using side-by-side split screen showing the same party, contrasting what the (apparently at-times-unreliable) narrator's expectations were with the reality of the situation.

It looks like this one will be worth checking out- amusingly enough, they pointed out that while testing the movie, men liked the movie more than women but, due to the genre, were also the least likely to recommend it.

Apple should have a video podcast of the event available shortly. You can search for Meet the Filmmaker on the iTunes Store and subscribe to it there.

We Must Stop Carl From Mating

So, was that two dogs with 3 legs or one with 2 extra?

Decided to take a day to just relax and hang around the city, so I headed over to Washington Square to sit around and read a book, enjoy the weather and outdoors, etc. Chatted with a JC'er who was in the area as well.

Lots of performance artists in the park today- in particular one band over by the Garibaldi statue (who didn't sound too shabby) and a guy playing drums (albeit plstic drums/cans) who was closer to where I was sitting. That dude had to have been playing for like 3 or 4 hours straight at least.

Couldn't make out the exact situation- whether someone was trying to get a picture or something, but the drum guy kept saying "Five doallrs. Five dollars. Five dollars," So, from that point on, there really was no alternative to calling him anything but "Five Dollars".

The book I was reading was Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (and so can you)". Been meaning to read it for awhile- picked it up when it first came out but haven't had the right occasion to start it. I haven't finished it yet, but the first third so far is quite funny and very in-line with Colbert's character on The Colbert Report, with margin comments that echo the style of The Word segment on the show. If you're a fan, it's definitely worth checking out.


After reading for a few hours, I grabbed a bite at Cozy's Soup 'n Burger, which serves some awesome diner grub and some epic burgers. I'm sure most city goers know about it already, but for those of you who haven't been to it, it's located on Broadway between 8th & Waverly, pretty much just where Astor Place comes to a T with Broadway.

Transformers Quote of the Week 7/13/09

Ultra Magnus: "I've never seen anything this beautiful in the entire galaxy. Alright, give me the bomb."

Star Trek Episode Review- TOS 100: The Cage

(Before we get started, I'll note that for this leg of the project, I used the episode order listed on tv.com, thus episode numbers are labeled and ordered accordingly. I don't know if it's the most accurate one or not, but it's the one I used. Additionally, as we encounter them, I keep a running tab on time travel and alternate universe events, because I'm just a sucker for those kind of stories)

100: The Cage
-Premise: Pilot episode focusing on the previous captain of the Enterprise, Christopher Pike, as they investigate a distress signal which lures Pike and his ship to Talos IV, where a race with powerful mental abilities use their powers of illusion to trap Pike in a zoo-like facility.

-Quest Comments: Despite being a pilot, this one is actually pretty decent and has a slightly more serious/mature feel to it (though the big brained aliens are still silly, and it's hard not to crack up at Spock's exclaimation of "The women!!")

The Number One character played Mrs Roddenberry actually improves the general dynamics of the crew arrangement and, in retrospect, is sorely missing from the actual series and actually makes a whole lot of sense; thankfully the position would be resurrected later on with Riker in TNG. The Cage is more of a show that was not to be, replaced with what we know now, though I can't help but think it might have been a better show.

Lacking any solid transition from Pike to Kirk, I wouldn't reccomend this be viewed as an introduction to the series itself, and so it kind of remains a standalone oddity of interest. So, with that in mind, and given aspects of The Menagerie two-parter, I'd put this one down as an "Ok, But Not Necessarily Essential" episode.

As an aside, the "Remastered" version of The Menagerie does a great job of making the introductory "zoom into the bridge" camera motion from this episode into one continuous shot from exterior to interior.

(image via Memory Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)

SGU Teaser #3: Survive

The third teaser, "Survive", for the forthcoming Stargate Universe series is online now, for those who don't want to endure the newly rebranded Syphillis Chan...er..SyFy Channel's programming (at least there's still Eureka and Ghost Hunters during the summer, stupid channel branding or not).

It looks like the entire gate spins here, not just the inner track, which is kind of a cool visual, IMO.

The series still has a serious "we've merged Battlestar Galactica with Voyager" resemblance it's going to have to work to overcome, as well as the rumored "Atlantis was cancelled to make room for SGU" situation.

Still, it's Stargate, so it should still be fun (and, let's face it, Voyager's concept has nowhere to go but up).

The previous two teasers can be found here:
#1: Frantic
#2: Philosophical

The official Stargate site has also been relaunched for SGU as well.

Star Trek: An Episode Review Journey- Introduction

Back in 2004, after absorbing so much of the great series Babylon 5, I started to become curious about watching it's once-competitor, Deep Space Nine (of which numerous similarities and accusations of copying between the two shows were observed over the years) and I really wanted to see how they compared. Especially since what little I did see of DS9 back in the day when it first aired was apparently just before it started to get good and it's major war plotline began.

But then I got to thinking, well, I know DS9 was birthed out of The Next Generation, but I don't remember too much about TNG, other than a few choice episodes (The Best of Both Worlds, etc), and had never seen much of the (lesser quality) early seasons even back when I was watching it.

And then I got to thinking, well, I've never really ever watched a whole episode of The Original Series, either (mostly due to styles and tropes of the era that made me inclined to turn it off), let alone the whole series (though I had thoroughly viewed most of the TOS films). There were bound to be some episodes of interest (the origin of KHAAAAN, for example) that could be seen as "essential" if one wanted to get the important broad strokes of the franchise. So, why not start at the beginning and just hit the whole franchise in order (release order that is)?

Well, that's what I did. As of this posting I'm still watching TNG Season 6 & DS9 Season 1, but I figured I could archive here the comments I've jotted down on each episode during the course of this project, starting with TOS.

With this project, I basically set out to determine what episodes would be considered "Definitely Essential" (introduced important recurring events/characters/etc, or is just so damn good that it shouldn't be missed), what episodes were "Potentially Essential, But Not Necessarily Good" (episodes featuring lesser events/etc that recur down the road, and/or are possibly of lesser/questionable quality), "Good Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential" (most likely worth seeing, even if it doesn't contain "essential" or recurring elements), "Average" (take it or leave it), "Ok Episode, But Not Necessarily Essential" (possibly tolerable, but not a good example of the series-likely has some awful moments of some kind), "Forgettable" (bad episodes, really no reason to watch them other than for completeness sake) & "Trash" (avoid them like the monkeyfighting plague).

In a way, it is a rating scale. If you ignore the "Definitely" and "Potentially" Essential categories as must-sees anyways, that leaves 5 categories. In other words, a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the best:

5: Good Episodes
4: Average Episodes
3: Ok Episodes
2: Forgettable Episodes
1: Trash

One thing I'll be very forthright about: I'm a very harsh critic when it comes to period production styles that do not hold up to the test of time. I call it "60's Syndrome". The acting styles, though not used by all actors, prevalent at the time (I hesitate to call them cartoony, but they' lack the realism of modern techniques), ridiculously cheesy lighting and camera choices (how a well lit room in a wide shot suddenly become dark and shadowy in close-ups of male characters, except for a band of light across their eyes, or, for the ladies, going into sudden soft focus), etc. However, I do not hold the F/X at fault. That limitation was not their fault. The others they chose.

So, in short, I seek out the episodes that could be viewed today and still be considered watchable or good, without any sense of nostalgia to excuse the aforementioned weaker elements (in other words, no "Well, remember, at the time, it was good." excuses). Good today is good today, no excuses.

I'll post an entry for each episode, with a premise description, followed by my comments. Initially they'll usually be relatively brief, but over time, the comments evolve into almost a flow of consciousness reaction to the episode as I watch it.

(Inspirational Posters via EchoSphere)
(Other images via Memory-Alpha: The Star Trek Wiki)