Sci-fi Fans

[colehillsaint]

Shut up you nerd and give us your dinner money.

 

The irony that you are posting on a web forum at quarter past eleven on a Saturday night is hopefully not lost on you.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Chapel End Charlie?

 

I'll have you know Sir that I have never, ever, been accused of looking 'cool' in my entire life.

[Whitey Grandad]

I'll have you know Sir that I have never, ever, been accused of looking 'cool' in my entire life.

 

Have you tried shaving your head and going bald?

[Jonnyboy]

Go on Charlie! Do it for charity or summat!

[pap]

The irony that you are posting on a web forum at quarter past eleven on a Saturday night is hopefully not lost on you.

 

Bwa-ha-ha!

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Go on Charlie! Do it for charity or summat!

 

This would have been a splendid idea were it not for the fact that Mother Nature (bless her) is already 'on the job' if you know what I mean.

 

[Whitey Grandad]

This would have been a splendid idea were it not for the fact that Mother Nature (bless her) is already 'on the job' if you know what I mean.

 

 

Never mind, at least you won't go white.

[pap]

Finally getting through a bit more Farscape.

 

I've seen bits and pieces over the years and always liked the cut of its jib.

 

Love the makeup and set design. They go all out, not always successfully, but you have to love them for trying.

 

Perfect antidote to SG1's bland forests and military setting.

Edited 23 June, 2014 by pap

[pap]

I've been reading the Vorkosigan saga, a series of far future space opera books that centre around a family of nobles. The books cover different generations; I've jumped in with arguably the most famous protagonist of the books, Miles Vorkosigan. His story begins in "The Warrior's Apprentice".

 

The books are hugely character driven; Miles is quite the character to root for. He stands at 4'9", has brittle bones and been in and out of surgery throughout his childhood. Despite (and perhaps because of) these impediments, he's hugely driven to maintain his family honour and be more than the sum of his parts. "The Warrior's Apprentice" starts during his attempt at overcoming a military physical test to get into the service without being seen to have any help. Won't go too much further into any story details, but what Miles lacks in brawn he makes up for in guile and brain. The man can credibly create moons of believable bullshít at a moment's notice. Watching him blag his way through the first book is something special.

 

Don't want to spoil anyone, but I really like the world-building in these novels. Barryar, the Vorkosigan's "home" planet, is inspired by Russia's feudal period, p'raps without the serfdom component. The Betan colony, sometimes visited and often mentioned, is liberalism run amok. Genetic engineering, uterine replicators, hermaphrodites and equal rights for all forms of life are the norm there. Ooh, and Earth is still about - quite a bit of one novel is set in a future London!

 

Mostly though, it's the characters and the audacity of their actions which makes these novels so good, though. Well recommended.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Warriors-Apprentice-Lois-McMaster-Bujold/dp/1886778272

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I've been watching this old Star Trek TOS adventure on YouTube this morning - and it's one of my personal favourites 'The Doomsday Machine':

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnhcrZ_RFqo

 

Anyone at all familiar with their 60's Trek will soon recognise that this version is a curious hybrid of original studio performances fused together with (dramatically) improved modern special effects sequences. Part of me thinks that you shouldn't really mess with classic TV productions like this because you debase the originality of the work, are you listening George Lucas - but the modern SFX is so skilfully worked in here that I feel only the most puritan of Trekie's would really object to it.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Just two episodes in, so I may be running the risk of 'going to early' here, but I must say I've been rather impressed with the start Peter Capaldi has made to his Doctor Who career. When I heard that the new Doctor was to be played in more morally ambiguous and less sympathetic manner, with none of the mild sexual overtones vis a vis his young female companion that all three of his immediate predecessors have displayed, I was more than a little concerned that we may be in for a repeat of Colin Bakers awkward 6th Doctor - and those on here old enough to remember will confirm that he was not exactly a easy Doctor to like. But I need not have worried because returning to a 'older' Doctor has (ironically) breathed new life into a series that was in danger of starting to lose steam.

 

Only time (naturally) will tell, but Calpaldi brings to my mind Tom Baker's brilliantly eccentric and unpredictable 4th Doctor. I'll even hazard a guess that he may eventually prove to be the best Doctor the series has had since Christopher Eccleston's (all too brief) reign in the TARDIS. As for the programmes, the scripts are again outstanding, the special effects perfectly adequate I think, and the new Doctor has benefited from comprehensible story lines so far. Methinks that perhaps Steven Moffat may even have reigned in his notoriously over active imagination a tad - not before time. As for essential companion role, let's face it Jenna Coleman is not only perfectly cast, she is also pretty easy on the eye too.

 

I must admit however that I do miss the simpler - much more child focused - Doctor Who I remember so fondly from my own childhood. But the modern series is what it is I suppose and perhaps contemporary audiences now demand this level of wit and sophistication from their Saturday evening TV. Having said that, I'm not entirely convinced that talk of Doctor Who dominates the playground like it once did in the not so distant past.

[alpine_saint]

I've been watching this old Star Trek TOS adventure on YouTube this morning - and it's one of my personal favourites 'The Doomsday Machine':

 

 

 

Anyone at all familiar with their 60's Trek will soon recognise that this version is a curious hybrid of original studio performances fused together with (dramatically) improved modern special effects sequences. Part of me thinks that you shouldn't really mess with classic TV productions like this because you debase the originality of the work, are you listening George Lucas - but the modern SFX is so skilfully worked in here that I feel only the most puritan of Trekie's would really object to it.

 

I do not like this release, I have to say. The new effects stand-alone are much, much, much better than the originals, but they detract somehow from the programme.

[hypochondriac]

Just two episodes in, so I may be running the risk of 'going to early' here, but I must say I've been rather impressed with the start Peter Capaldi has made to his Doctor Who career. When I heard that the new Doctor was to be played in more morally ambiguous and less sympathetic manner, with none of the mild sexual overtones vis a vis his young female companion that all three of his immediate predecessors have displayed, I was more than a little concerned that we may be in for a repeat of Colin Bakers awkward 6th Doctor - and those on here old enough to remember will confirm that he was not exactly a easy Doctor to like. But I need not have worried because returning to a 'older' Doctor has (ironically) breathed new life into a series that was in danger of starting to lose steam.

 

Only time (naturally) will tell, but Calpaldi brings to my mind Tom Baker's brilliantly eccentric and unpredictable 4th Doctor. I'll even hazard a guess that he may eventually prove to be the best Doctor the series has had since Christopher Eccleston's (all too brief) reign in the TARDIS. As for the programmes, the scripts are again outstanding, the special effects perfectly adequate I think, and the new Doctor has benefited from comprehensible story lines so far. Methinks that perhaps Steven Moffat may even have reigned in his notoriously over active imagination a tad - not before time. As for essential companion role, let's face it Jenna Coleman is not only perfectly cast, she is also pretty easy on the eye too.

 

I must admit however that I do miss the simpler - much more child focused - Doctor Who I remember so fondly from my own childhood. But the modern series is what it is I suppose and perhaps contemporary audiences now demand this level of wit and sophistication from their Saturday evening TV. Having said that, I'm not entirely convinced that talk of Doctor Who dominates the playground like it once did in the not so distant past.

 

My fifteen year old sister and her mates love it so not sure that's true!

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Apologies for introducing some science-fact into what is a science fiction-thread, but I feel confident that anyone even remotely interested in the imagination expanding properties of sci-fi will definitely want to watch this:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0276pxp/human-universe-3-are-we-alone

 

Professor Brian Cox is trendy, young, good looking, and about a thousands times brighter than I'll ever be. I must also add that I'm far from convinced that the BBC really has to sent him half way around the world and back (at huge expense presumably) to make every bloody programme he makes!

 

These are all perfectly good reasons to hate his guts, nevertheless it cannot be denied that this instalment of his new 'Human Universe' series is a utterly fascinating look into the sometimes bizarre world of SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence). The (very) tentative conclusion this infeasibly handsome young physicist comes to at the end - IE that although habitable planets must exist in their billions Humanity may well be the only technologically advanced lifeform that our galaxy will ever know - is in its own way as profound an idea as anything I've ever thought about.

 

Those old enough to remember the great man may find themselves drawing unavoidable comparisons between Cox and Carl Sagan ... and speaking for myself if you knew how influential 'Comos' was to me when I was a teenager you'd also know that praise seldom comes much higher than that.

Edited 24 October, 2014 by CHAPEL END CHARLIE

[Horley CTFC Saint]

Those old enough to remember the great man may find themselves drawing unavoidable comparisons between Cox and Carl Sagan ... and speaking for myself if you knew how influential 'Comos' was to me when I was a teenager you'd also know that praise seldom comes much higher than that.

Unfortunately though Carl Sagan always sounded a lot like Kermit to me - even more unfortunately Kermit is still around :/

[Horley CTFC Saint]

Science fact or science fiction?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29342407

[pap]

Bought a new tablet in the last few months, which came with three months of Marvel Unlimited. As a consequence, I've been spending a lot of time catching up with Marvel Comics recently.

 

Comics are an unfairly derided art form. Much like the rest of sci-fi, it's a medium that doesn't have a great deal of attention (hey, it's for kids right) and allows some fairly huge subjects to be tackled in depth. Alan Moore's ("V for Vendetta") stuff is a great example, as is Joe Sacco's Palestine. Marvel themselves have a great history of tackling social issues in their works. The X-Men are about the civil rights movement, Black Panther was the first black superhero, way back in 1966.

 

I've finished reading their Civil War "event". It's something of a gamechanger for the universe, and features some very brave writing. The event kicks off with a tragedy. A team of super-heroes accosts a group of super-villains and an explosion occurs, killing 600 people outright, including around 60 elementary schoolchildren. In response, the US government creates the Superhero Registration Act, legally requiring all costumed heroes to register with the government and work for them. Iron Man becomes the poster child for pro-registration. Captain America leads the charge against the act.

 

Sci-fi often works best as an allegory; the themes in this series are very post-9/11. How much liberty does one sacrifice for security? Should one blindly accept the legitimacy of government policy? Do the ends justify the means? It's a very thoughtful take on some troubled times, and well worth your time if you have the Marvel Unlimited app.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Anyone interested in early Sci-fi might want set their TV recorders to Freeview Channel 48 at 1pm tonight because Howard Hawks classic 'The Thing From Another World' is getting a rare showing. Okay it is just another Earth v horrible alien monster film I suppose, but this is a fine example of the genre, indeed early 1950's science fiction really doesn't get much better that this.

 

Note that this is the original black and white movie and it is not to be confused with John Carpenter's charmless 1982 effort 'The Thing' - the less said of which the better if you ask me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5xcVxkTZzM

[pap]

Charlie, is there any modern sci-fi you like? I heartily recommend District 9.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I liked that recent film with a woman astronaut stranded in space after a accident, and I'm only mildly embarrassed to admit that I admire the 'Hunger Games' series more than a grown man is supposed to.

 

I'm also looking forward to this new 'Interstellar' film - which may well be quite interesting.

[Saint Luke]

If you like District 9 then maybe a bit of Elysium - same director.

Charlie, have you read the Hunger Games books, I know they are written for teenagers but they are still good.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I saw the Hunger Games films first and only then read (all three) books - I didn't plan it that way but by chance that might be the best way to do it because when you read a book first the film adaptation of it invariably disappoints ... oh and you are quite right they are genuinely excellent novels and far too good to be restricted to a teenage readership only.

 

Talking of the films I see that part one of 'Mockingjay' is due to be released in a few weeks time - films like this that obviously cannot provide a definite conclusion can often be frustrating things to watch, but I'll be there standing in line with all those teenage girls again looking ever so slightly dodgy - but in a entirely innocent way you understand.

 

[pap]

I've caught up on about half of Capaldi's Doctor Who series, having not watched much of the end of Smith's run (although I saw the first series). So far, so good. I was never entirely convinced at the succession of younger Doctors; it actually felt like the show had stopped being itself, especially with the Doctor being romantically tied to other characters as much as he was. Capaldi is old, horrid and Scottish, all in a wonderful way. Clara, Smith's old companion, isn't particularly sure about him - probably because he spends half his time ripping her for her humanity/appearance/whatever, but I am.

 

The downside of using an actor like Capaldi is that there's no getting away from the actor who plays him. He's well known enough so that people are familiar with his earlier works. The upside is that any danger of typecasting (and the subsequent "I'm doing the offs") is probably less likely to emerge. I can see Capaldi staying in the role for some time. He's reportedly a huge Doctor Who nerd.

 

Some very chunky themes for the kids to chow down on too. I'm not quite sure there is anything as clever aimed at those so young.

[pap]

I've been watching this old Star Trek TOS adventure on YouTube this morning - and it's one of my personal favourites 'The Doomsday Machine':

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnhcrZ_RFqo

 

Anyone at all familiar with their 60's Trek will soon recognise that this version is a curious hybrid of original studio performances fused together with (dramatically) improved modern special effects sequences. Part of me thinks that you shouldn't really mess with classic TV productions like this because you debase the originality of the work, are you listening George Lucas - but the modern SFX is so skilfully worked in here that I feel only the most puritan of Trekie's would really object to it.

 

I think sir really needs to watch Star Trek Continues.

 

http://www.startrekcontinues.com/

 

It's a fan-made effort at continuing the TOS universe. Scotty is played by James Doohan's real life son, while a number of other Star Trek alumni have lent their support to the project. The first episode is very clever. This chap comes back, playing the same character.

 

 

Got some very positive buzz from the fan community. Probably right up your street, if you can handle the inevitable re-casting of the main roles.

[pap]

If you like District 9 then maybe a bit of Elysium - same director.

Charlie, have you read the Hunger Games books, I know they are written for teenagers but they are still good.

 

District 9 was awesome because it hides its true brilliance until Act III. No-one can accuse that movie of being predictable. Indeed, I didn't even know what sort of film it was, while watching it.

 

Didn't mind Elysium, and maybe it's the filmic version of the difficult second album, but District 9 still stands up there as arguably one of sci-fi's best. Don't think Elysium is in quite the same company, despite being another of Blomkamp's gigs.

[Jonnyboy]

I liked that recent film with a woman astronaut stranded in space after a accident, and I'm only mildly embarrassed to admit that I admire the 'Hunger Games' series more than a grown man is supposed to.

 

I'm also looking forward to this new 'Interstellar' film - which may well be quite interesting.

 

Saw Interstellar on Sunday, it's great if you don't mind Gravity crossed with 2001 and a Stephen Hawking essay.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

This story should appeal to any sci-fi fan:

 

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/amazon-seeks-uk-employees-for-prime-air-uav-parcel-delivery-406030/

 

Yes internet retailing giant Amazon.com are (it would seem) still seriously planning to deliver parcels via a UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle) one day. For the life of me I can't see this bizarre idea working, indeed it sounds to me like a 'April Fool' story that has come 6 months early. However I'm notoriously bad at predicting future trends so maybe we will see vast swarms of Amazon UAV's overhead one day delivering our every desire straight to the door - or do I mean roof?

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

After years spent virtually refusing to talk about the film and generally giving the impression that he had a utterly miserable time making it, Harrison Ford has done a sudden volte face and decided to take part in the planned 'Blade Runner' sequel - perhaps because Ridley Scott will not be in the director's chair this time:

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/blade-runner-2-harrison-ford-to-star-in-sequel-but-ridley-scott-will-not-direct-9884650.html

 

Whether making a sequel to this 80's masterpiece is a good idea remains to be seen - what is not in doubt is that the original film blew this (then) young Sci Fi fan out of his cinema seat when he first saw it all those years ago.

 

I have seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain ...

[dubai_phil]

Well, I know everyone is gushing and debating the upcoming Star Wars Episode 7 - The Retirement Home Beckons, it seems that everyone has overlooked the BIGGEST Sci-Fi movie sequel being planned out there.....

 

Yep, they are making a sequel to Iron Sky

 

None of this Nazi's hiding on the Moon nonsense this time, we're talking REAL outrageous nonsense - Nazi's & Dinosaurs taking over the world from The Hollow Earth.

 

 

Iron Sky is up there in my list of Love to Death Cult Movies that most people hate, because everything about it is so wrong. This trailer looks like the sequel could go a step further!

 

(But seriously...

Jupiter Ascending looks bloody good

Chappie looks another thought provoker from the District 9 team

Mad Max without Mel Gibson? Meh

Monsters Dark Continent? Looks like a desert based Army recruitment sequel to Invasion Los Angeles.)

 

Good thing is that there does finally seem to be a production line of new Sci-Fi movies coming through.This year's selection Pacific Rim, Guardians of the Galaxy & Transformers Age of Extinction had some moments but were pretty generic, Guardians being the best of the bunch, and despite trying a couple of times last week I wasn't able to watch Interstellar. It means that our Satellite Channel is pretty devoid of decent fill in Sci-Fi movies for boring midweek nights in, and watching Into Darkness & Oblivion every month for my Sci-Fi fix is now beyond boring.

 

(And no downloading stuff like Dr Who et al really is not easy due to the insane costs of internet connection, bandwidth, download limits here.

[Saint Luke]

After years spent virtually refusing to talk about the film and generally giving the impression that he had a utterly miserable time making it, Harrison Ford has done a sudden volte face and decided to take part in the planned 'Blade Runner' sequel - perhaps because Ridley Scott will not be in the director's chair this time:

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/blade-runner-2-harrison-ford-to-star-in-sequel-but-ridley-scott-will-not-direct-9884650.html

 

Whether making a sequel to this 80's masterpiece is a good idea remains to be seen - what is not in doubt is that the original film blew this (then) young Sci Fi fan out of his cinema seat when he first saw it all those years ago.

 

Blew me away too.

Still consider it my favourite film of all time.

If Ridley Scott is not involved with the new film I fear for the quality and style of the cinematography - he does make films with great lighting and imagery.

What's up with Harrison, did they fall out?

 

Have you read the books that were written as a sequel to the film not Philip K Dicks book?

The first follow up book moves on pretty soon after the film finishes and has the original 'human' Batty in it.

There are 3 follow up books I think, but the the first one of these is the best of them.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Interstellar

 

The near future and Planet Earth is slowly dying. Our last hope is to somehow relocate Humanity to a another habitable planet located outside of our solar system before the Earth's ecosystem collapses. As luck would have it a 'wormhole' is discovered near Saturn that might just make that desperate hope a real possibility. Can Cooper, a maverick NASA astronaut, (Matthew McConaughey) and his team find us a new home in this distant galaxy, and are they prepared to pay the terrible price that this mission will impose on them and the loved ones they leave behind?

 

A genuinely beautiful film to watch on a big screen, a film too that successfully merges periods of intense action with some delightfully slow paced segments and about as 'high concept' as you could possibly ask for from any work of science fiction. In these respects I won't be the first to point out that this film bears close comparison with Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece '2001: A Space Odyssey' and its criminally underrated sequel '2010: Odyssey II' for that matter - but without quite perhaps reaching those same lofty heights.

 

The special effects on display here are quite wonderful and while certainty not as fully realised as James Cameron's 'Avatar' the strange alien worlds explored in 'Interstellar' are nevertheless well conceived and imaginative. I'll admit I'm no big fan of Matthew McConaughey but he is at least rather more recognisably Human than Keir Dullea was in '2001'. There are in fact numerous fine performances on display from this talented cast, including one from dear old Michael Caine. I must add that I so admire these comparatively rare sci-fi films that don't try to skip around the inconvenient problems of space travel, such as the effects of weightlessness or time relativity. I also loved 'TARS' to bits - as far as I'm aware an entirely new physical form of robot that is a credit to the imagination of its designers. Like Robbie the Robot from my beloved 'Forbidden Planet' it would be nice to see him again.

 

It is in the final act that this film is perhaps less successful. I won't go into all the details (frankly Interstellar is quite demanding to follow at times) but as Cooper falls into a Black Hole the script goes into a series of strange contortions revolving around Event Horizons and Singularities in order to provide a unlikely 'happy ending' that for me stretched credibility more than a little too far. Indeed, I believe that what is depicted in this part of the film is (as far as we know) scientifically impossible. Whereas Kubrick (and Arthur C Clark) devised a famously enigmatic conclusion for '2001' that was utterly unique and left much to the imagination of the viewer, in this film Director Christopher Nolan (he co-wrote the screen play with his brother) makes the mistake of attempting to explain too much.

 

So not I think a truly great film then, but certainly the best sci-fi film to be released since 'Avatar' and if you are at all interested in the genre well worth seeing.

 

[pap]

I've been ploughing through the Marvel Unlimited app, specifically the Ultimate universe. For those not in the know, the main Marvel stuff all takes place on what fans call Earth 616. It's the main Marvel continuity, stretching back decades.

 

The Ultimate universe was launched in the early 2000s, and at the time, I thought it was Marvel simply re-booting itself to reach those who could not be arsed with the ins and outs of 616 continuity. Ten years in, it'd probably be more accurate to label it Marvel's Game of Thrones universe, where anything can, and often does happen.

 

Now, I'm torn between revealing the sort of massive spoilers that'd ruin it for anyone that fancies it and giving it enough hype so that the indifferent may take a look. I'll try not to do either. Instead, a valid criticism of the main comic book continuity is that nothing really matters. There will be big stories depicting the death of a comic book icon such as Superman or Batman, but in the end the companies bow to market pressure and contrive some way to get them back.

 

That doesn't really happen in Marvel's Ulitmate universe. If an iconic character is killed, they stay dead. Reset buttons stay unpushed and the stories plough on regardless with focus on new characters. Certainly doesn't hurt that some of the best writers in the business are building this world either; Brian Michael Bendis' work on Ultimate Spider-Man is particularly smart - feeling like a very well put together season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

[Jonnyboy]

Interstellar

 

The near future and Planet Earth is slowly dying. Our last hope is to somehow relocate Humanity to a another habitable planet located outside of our solar system before the Earth's ecosystem collapses. As luck would have it a 'wormhole' is discovered near Saturn that might just make that desperate hope a real possibility. Can Cooper, a maverick NASA astronaut, (Matthew McConaughey) and his team find us a new home in this distant galaxy, and are they prepared to pay the terrible price that this mission will impose on them and the loved ones they leave behind?

 

A genuinely beautiful film to watch on a big screen, a film too that successfully merges periods of intense action with some delightfully slow paced segments and about as 'high concept' as you could possibly ask for from any work of science fiction. In these respects I won't be the first to point out that this film bears close comparison with Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece '2001: A Space Odyssey' and its criminally underrated sequel '2010: Odyssey II' for that matter - but without quite perhaps reaching those same lofty heights.

 

The special effects on display here are quite wonderful and while certainty not as fully realised as James Cameron's 'Avatar' the strange alien worlds explored in 'Interstellar' are nevertheless well conceived and imaginative. I'll admit I'm no big fan of Matthew McConaughey but he is at least rather more recognisably Human than Keir Dullea was in '2001'. There are in fact numerous fine performances on display from this talented cast, including one from dear old Michael Caine. I must add that I so admire these comparatively rare sci-fi films that don't try to skip around the inconvenient problems of space travel, such as the effects of weightlessness or time relativity. I also loved 'TARS' to bits - as far as I'm aware an entirely new physical form of robot that is a credit to the imagination of its designers. Like Robbie the Robot from my beloved 'Forbidden Planet' it would be nice to see him again.

 

It is in the final act that this film is perhaps less successful. I won't go into all the details (frankly Interstellar is quite demanding to follow at times) but as Cooper falls into a Black Hole the script goes into a series of strange contortions revolving around Event Horizons and Singularities in order to provide a unlikely 'happy ending' that for me stretched credibility more than a little too far. Indeed, I believe that what is depicted in this part of the film is (as far as we know) scientifically impossible. Whereas Kubrick (and Arthur C Clark) devised a famously enigmatic conclusion for '2001' that was utterly unique and left much to the imagination of the viewer, in this film Director Christopher Nolan (he co-wrote the screen play with his brother) makes the mistake of attempting to explain too much.

 

So not I think a truly great film then, but certainly the best sci-fi film to be released since 'Avatar' and if you are at all interested in the genre well worth seeing.

 

 

Eh, yeah, didn't you see post #578?

[pap]

Mad Max without Mel Gibson? Meh

 

Button it, Phil!

 

[video=youtube;YWNWi-ZWL3c]

 

Mad Mel is too busy doing Mad Mel to do Mad Max.

 

Eh, yeah, didn't you see post #578?

 

He's not a full duplex poster.

[Goatboy]

Button it, Phil!

 

[video=youtube;YWNWi-ZWL3c]

 

Mad Mel is too busy doing Mad Mel to do Mad Max.

 

 

 

He's not a full duplex poster.

 

Charlize Theron with a crewcut?

I'm in.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

* WARNING TREK TRIVIA AHEAD *

 

I've been watching Series One of Star Trek TNG yet again recently (yes I know there's no hope for me) and its interesting to see how both the cast and the writers had yet to settle fully into their roles at this early stage in the shows history. Geordie La Forge is to be seen at the helm rather than in Engineering, Data's behavior is even stranger than usual, and for what I believe the only time in trek history the Captain actually swears (Merde!). I was also mildly surprised to see that Lt Worf was a very secondary character back then - Tasha Yar's dogsbody almost.

 

Speaking of the lovely Denise Crosby, it's hard to imagine now, but at a relatively late stage of TNG pre production she swapped roles with Marina Sirtis, which considering that the 'Councilor Troi' part would endure all the way the the conclusion of the series 7 seasons later may well have been a mistake on her part. In case anyone was wondering she is indeed the granddaughter of the great Bing Crosby. The reason Denise subsequently asked to be so dramatically written out of the series (TNG S1/23 'Skin of Evil') was because she was dissatisfied with the way the writers were dealing with the Tasha Yar part - she could she herself gradually becoming another dull desk bound 'Uhura'. Denise would come to regret her decision and was later written back into the series as her own daughter!

 

You can see why the cast hated those original skin tight Star Fleet uniforms - one doughnut too many at lunchtime and it'll show!

[pap]

The first couple of seasons of TNG had some great episodes, but had some real duffers too. It wasn't just Tasha Yar's character that was underdeveloped, although I think things worked out well after she was killed off. Worf came to the fore, they really fleshed out the Klingon Empire in Seasons 3 & 4 as a result. Ol' Worfy holds the distinction of having appeared in the most instalments of Trek content. He was excellent on DS9 too; his violent solution to any blip on the radar was welcomed by Sisko, where it would have been dismissed by Picard.

 

Another cool thing about Yar going was Yesterday's Enterprise, one of the best damn episodes of Trek there is.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Yes, transforming the Klingons from the pantomime villains of TOS, into the proud and noble warrior race they were to become, was a something of a triumph. Indeed, when you think about it inventing (from scratch almost) an entire culture with its own language, politics, history, cuisine, and religion is a achievement to rival the ambition of truly great sci-fi literature, such as Frank Herbert's 'Dune' for instance.

 

Of course the Klingons of Captain Kirk's era are notable for their entirely smooth Human-like foreheads. I see that various attempts have been made to explain away this obvious visual discrepancy, but I for one don't find them to be all that convincing.

 

One aspect of TNG I never much liked was the design of the 'D' Enterprise itself. Compared to the strange elegance of the original NCC-1701 (much enhanced now with the benefit of modern special effects in the remastered TOS episodes currently being shown on CBS) to me this ship looks oddly ill proportioned, with its ugly oversized 'saucer section' and flattened hull. I also never understood how the saucer section could possibly maintain warp speeds when it was separated from the 'star drive'! Both the NCC-74656 'Voyager' and the NX-01 'Enterprise' designs seem much more elegant and successful to my eye.

 

But if I could vote for my favorite spaceship design it would just have to be this one - The 'Discovery 1' from 2001: A Space Odyssey:

 

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Further to the above. Many, many, moons ago my wise and perceptive parents decided to get their Trek obsessed son a model kit of one of these beauties for one early 70's Christmas - wonder of wonders an original TOS Klingon Battlecruiser!

 

 

I was one of those kids who found the 'dark side' to be far more interesting than the 'goodies' for some reason (I was always rooting for the Germans in war films too) so needless to say I played with and loved my plastic fantastic Klingon Battlecruiser so much it was soon broken alas ...

[pap]

The races in Trek are interesting. Most of them start out as an exaggeration of a human concept or emotion, but end up getting fleshed out a lot better over the years. Klingons were violence, Vulcans logic, Ferengis avarice and the Cardassians were just weird composite of spite and arrogance. All of those races have been explored a lot more through the series and films, and are all much more rounded as a result.

 

Even the Borg get some decent treatment. I'm not a big fan of the queen concept in Borg lore. Always felt that they were much scarier when it was just a hive mind; TNG played well with this concept of individuality in a couple of its later Borg episodes. The Queen concept seems like it was created to give cinema-goers a recognisable villain to root against in First Contact. That said, I thought Seven of Nine's introduction into Voyager added some very thoughtful stuff to Borg lore, especially the episodes that examined collective vs individuality.

 

My favourite Trek villains have to be the Dominion in Deep Space Nine. Beautifully conceived from start to finish, provides some nice "oh sh!t" moments throughout the series, and very much take-no-prisoners in their approach.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I'm watching one of those early sub-standard TNG episodes at the moment Pap, the one where Troi's mother pays the Enterprise a visit for the first time. When combined with yesterdays tiresome 'Q' story this does kind of bare out your point that TNG Series One was a bit 'hit and miss' at times.

 

Last week a much better story was aired - the one where young Wesley Crusher is sentenced to immediate death for accidentally trampling a flower bed! If you recall Captain Picard ignores the laws of this planet and rescues the lad employing the transporter - riding roughshod over Star Fleet's sacrosanct 'Prime Directive' in the process of course.

 

Picard justifies this action by opining that when laws are applied absolutely there can be no justice - which I suspect may have been a covert message to US politicians enacting the horrid 'three strikes' laws back in the 1990's.

[pap]

Code of Honor (sic) is often spoken of as the worst episode of Trek. It's borderline, if not over the line racist, and features some of the worst acting Trek has seen. This is the episode in which Yar gets accidentally betrothed to a flora-wearing black dude that while ostensibly leader of a planet, also looked and sometimes acted like a racial stereotype. Most TNG actors reckon its their least favourite when interviewed.

 

Gotta have loomed large in Denise Crosby's subsequent career decision.

[sussexsaint]

Worst episode of TNG was up the long ladder gesh that was painful.

 

Ashamed to say its taken me this long to watch Sunshine - great film

 

Fairhaven was another bloody awful couple of shows from ST:Voy - always skip them now when we atch the box sets

Edited 12 February, 2015 by sussexsaint

[pap]

Worst episode of TNG was up the long ladder gesh that was painful.

 

Ashamed to say its taken me this long to watch Sunshine - great film

 

Fairhaven was another bloody awful couple of shows from ST:Voy - always skip them now when we atch the box sets

I wasn't a big fan of Sunshine. So much initial promise devolving into an utter mess by film's end.

[Jonnyboy]

Exciting news! District 9 director WILL be making a new Alien film:

 

http://io9.com/holy-xenomorphs-neill-blomkamp-will-be-making-his-alie-1686663351

[pap]

Exciting news! District 9 director WILL be making a new Alien film:

 

http://io9.com/holy-xenomorphs-neill-blomkamp-will-be-making-his-alie-1686663351

Good choice of director. The man is a proper geek.

 

However, I'm still waiting for my District 9 sequel.

[pap]

More news on Neil Blomkamp's Alien film.

 

It's apparently going to be a direct sequel to Aliens. The viewer will be required to forget that Alien 3 and Resurrection existed. Unusual, but not a first. Brian Singer's Superman Returns movie was billed as a continuation of the Richard Donner films, which ended at II (if you're being generous).

 

I don't mind either of the later Alien films, as it goes - but it is definitely true to say that the movies took the wrong direction. There was a Dark Horse comic series released in the late 1980s which has a much better storyline than 3 or Resurrection, featuring Ripley, Newt and Hicks. A lot of it was based on an alien-infested Earth.

 

Weirdly enough, after they made Alien 3, reprints of those comics changed the character names so that they wouldn't clash with (what was then) Alien canon. Time to change them back, I reckon

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

I've been trying to forget Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection for years ...

 

Disappointing films, but they do have their moments I suppose.

[pap]

I've been trying to forget Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection for years ...

 

Disappointing films, but they do have their moments I suppose.

The third movie was completely wrecked by a conflict between David Fincher and the studios. There is actually a version of the film called the Assembly cut, which is apparently closer to the director's original vision, but not a director's cut per se (Fincher didn't put it together).

 

The best description I've heard of the fourth movie is that you've got a great deal on incongruency between Jeunet's direction (which is quite dark) and Joss Whedon's typically smart-arse script.

[sussexsaint]

Loved Aliens , maybe even more than Alien others were awful.

 

Is District 9 any good? - missed it due to offspring