Go Beyond!

Question: Will I like "Star Trek Beyond"?

I guess the answer is yes. If you liked those opening scenes of both the 2009 "Star Trek" movie, and its sequel, "Star Trek Into Darkness" - both of which had a "strange new worlds, strange new life forms..." original-series' flavour - then I'm sure you will find plenty of that entertainment in the new movie. I was fortunate to see "Star Trek Beyond" at the first public world preview screening, right here in Sydney, this afternoon!

The preview was followed by an amazing Q&A session with the director and cast members. While we had to sign review embargoes (scroll down), we are able to give general impressions. There was lots of footage that had not been leaked, or even hinted at, yet. My Trek pals and I were delighted by some amazing visuals and humorous quips, many of which reminded me of TOS (and also "The Next Generation's first episode, "Encounter at Farpoint").

The "Star Trek Beyond" Q&A session, hosted by Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, with Justin Lin, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban and John Cho at Telstra Experience Centre, Sydney, Australia.

Keep in mind that my favourite Treks are "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and the 2009 movie (almost equally), and I was a big supporter of TNG from the beginning. I didn't mind STiD at all, and my only niggle with it was that we were told, several times, that Benedict Cumberbatch was definitely not playing Khan. I probably would have loved the proposed "Phase II" series that begat TMP, too.

Also keep in mind that "Beyond" is a feature film, not a TV series, so it's only going to be as TOS as perhaps the "smaller" movies. "ST III: The Search for Spock"? Of course, fans who detested JJ's films from every angle will probably not have the patience for this one, but we don't recall seeing even one lens flare at the preview (not that they ever worried me).

Highly recommended!

I, Enterprise

I picked up Part 2 of IDW's Star Trek "I, Enterprise" two-parter comic (Issues #31-32), about Science Officer 0718, on Thursday. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The character was seen on the bridge of the Enterprise in JJ Abrams' "Star Trek Into Darkness" movie, and he was a mysterious, cool-looking, android/cyborg background character about whom we knew very little.

Fans have certainly seen this kind of story before in Star Trek: the Ilia Probe in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"; the Enterprise-D's computer achieving sentience in "Emergence" (TNG); the Borg Drone they called One, who came from the EMH's mobile emitter, Seven's nanoprobes and Mulcahey's DNA (VOY's "Drone"); Morgan Primus's most recent guise in the "New Frontier" novels and comics; and the holographic avatar of a ship's computer in the novel "Titan: Synthesis", fashioned after Minuet (originally from episodes of TNG).

But this story works well. I'm thrilled we got to know more about 0718. I hadn't really expected a backstory to unfold already, and thought Bad Robot may have done a little more with him in the next movie first. He's featured on the alternate photo cover of Part 1 (actor Joseph Gatt, pictured above) and drawn on the regular cover of Part 2.

Saying farewell to Ann Arbor. But not goodbye...

Alas, this was my last full day in Ann Arbor for this trip, and plans have now been made to return next Spring, so that I can see Michigan without snow! Including the beautiful old hotel on Mackinac Island, filming location of the 1979 movie, Somewhere in Time, which starred Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

Day 7 photos:

A Charlie Brown Christmas, plus Andorian sock monkey

Ian says goodbye to Dorothy!

The Andorian sock monkey explores Reed's amazing garage sale bargain!

It was definitely a Very Hello Kitty Christmas for Olivia!

When shall we three meet again?

I shall miss watching these icicles grow!

See you soon (I hope), Reed & Olivia!

Nice hat!

The sequel to JJ Abrams' 2009 "Star Trek" movie, preparing to wrap principal photography in Los Angeles?

Star Blecch from MAD TV

Cool! Continuing MAD's tradition of satirising all the Trek films, only animated! This is the MAD parody of JJ Abrams' 2009 version of "Star Trek". Thanks Youtube, and Robert Bruns for the heads-up.


Star Blecch

Trekking in 3D?

Paramount's goal with the forthcoming "Star Trek" movie sequel from JJ Abrams is said to be, "... to finally attract more filmgoers overseas since the franchise had never done $100M international before." The US release date is set as May 17, 2013. In 3D!

I have no problem with 3D, and fully expected it for this one. We want ST to be successful and popular, and most recent successful, popular movies are in 3D. I've seen some great 3D movies in recent years - both filmed-in-3D and converted-to-3D - and if that's the way to draw in even more general cinema-goers, then why not? The ST fanbase alone does not buy enough tickets. "Star Trek: Nemesis" proved that.

3D also means there will be a 3D TV Blu-Ray release alongside the regular DVD and Blu-Ray discs.

TOS in syndication prime time reruns had a big, reliable following because it was accessible to the general public over many years. TNG in first-run syndication built a huge audience that ensured that the franchise sold lots of merchandise.

People also forget that "ST III: The Search for Spock" was, at one point, announced as being in 3D. There were plans for funky, collectible, ST 3D Starfleet glasses, too.

A book on the porch is worth three in the hand

Ah! The postman just delivered my Amazon-bought hardcover copy of "Starfleet Academy: The Gemini Agent". It was a delight to hold a new "Star Trek" book in my hands which has cover art that I don't recall ever seeing online first. (It was a mere neutral rectangle when I pre-ordered it.) Nice cover! Green background. Chekov, Kirk and a dark-haired woman with pointed ears. Uhura on the back cover.

"The Delta Anomaly" (#1) I originally found locally at Galaxy Bookshop, but only as a paperback, then I couldn't find "The Edge" (#2) anywhere - even now - so a few months ago I weakened and rebought #1 through Amazon, as a hardcover, plus #2, and pre-ordered hardcovers of #3 and 4. These "young adult" novels are set in the altered timeline seen in the JJ Abrams-directed 2009 movie, "Star Trek".

Doin' the happy dance.

Star Trek framed!

Limited edition film clips - Star Trek (2009)

I picked this up yesterday from Greenlight Memorabilia Works, who have a stall in The Rocks' weekend street markets. Mine is #16 of 250. Very cool!

I accidentally made a self-portrait in my first attempt to backlight and photograph the film clips:

Ensign Sue Must Die!: Pot Luck Comics

If you're a fan of JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" movie, or an appreciator of the "Mary Sue" phenomenon, in which female fans would place a glorification of themselves into "Star Trek" fan fiction, to flirt with Kirk (or Spock, or both), look glamorous, save the ship and still e home for breakfast, you might enjoy Ensign Mary Amethyst Star Enoby Aiko Archer Picard Janeway Sue in this marvelous comic strip parody:

Pot Luck Comics present... ENSIGN SUE MUST DIE!:

The Inexplicable Legend of Frank Force

Over on TrekBBS, someone was wondering why fans latched onto the USS Kelvin's Captain Robau as a "badass" many months before they had any idea what he'd be like in JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" movie.

The now-defunct "Star Trek" Club of NSW, Astrex, once had a bizarre in-joke running about an enigmatic actor called "Frank Force". I was in the US, at a Creation convention in January 1984, and I won some very rare "ST III: The Search for Spock" call sheets in their auction. The call sheets declared that one of the very last new main actors introduced in the script was Frank Force, playing "Nacluv".

This seemed rather bizarre, till a friend of the production team mentioned it was an anagram - "Vulcan" spelled backwards. Yes, it was Leonard Nimoy under a secret, assumed name, to hide his participation as a regenerated adult Spock till the last minute. After all, Spock was the most "frank force" in the universe.

Australia waited many months after the US to see ST III, giving Australian fans a lot of idle time to generate wacky Frank Force jokes. One penpal of mine, from Perth, arrived at Sydney airport for the film's gala premiere night, only to be collected by three complete strangers wearing large "Frank Force Fan Club" badges.

You'll notice that Director Nimoy also voices the USS Excelsior Elevator in ST III as "Frank Force", which got a huge cheer from us on opening night when the credits rolled.

TMP vs JJ ST?

You know, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (TMP) is still my favourite Star Trek movie of all time - my favourite movie of all time - but JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" (2009) is a very close second. I also thoroughly enjoyed ST II, III, IV, and much of VI.

When I joined ST fandom in early 1980, I had diehard TOS people telling me that TMP left them feeling "empty" and "unsatisfied". I spent many months trying to defend a film that all of my new friends thought was a boring piece of crap. I heard the exact same criticism from others re ST II (in fact, there's a whole thread on this over in the ST Movies section). Ditto ST III. Other fans have told me that they felt ST IV was a dumbing down of the franchise for the masses and that it left them feeling "patronised", "empty" and "unsatisfied".

Why is TMP better? Well, it has a certain majesty to the way it was filmed. It was treating TV material to the benefits of a huge motion picture budget, and a three-to-six month principal photography shoot - when the cast were used to filming a one-hour episode in less than ten days. It was reuniting a cast who hadn't worked together in a decade. And the production design and direction put me, a lowly member of the audience, who knew very little about the characters and their previous adventures, onto that ship!

It's hard to describe, and it was made worse in 1980 when I couldn't find many TOS fans who actually liked TMP. For me, who was also lucky enough to have already read the novelization! - it became a film that fully submersed me in the action.

JJ went quite close. While I never felt I was on that ship, I really did relate to the characters, and felt their losses - of lives they would never get to experience due to the changed timeline. Both films certainly rely upon a lot of nostalgia value, both plundering it to make us relate to the material, and rejoicing in it without a hint of self-consciousness, but TMP pips JJ at the post for the way it affected me as an audience member. Mind you, I was a naive 21 yo watching TMP, and a more seasoned, very Trek-knowledgeable 50yo watching ST XI.



You'll never please 100% of fandom with a ST movie, but this one probably went closer to that 100% than any other. Its high rating (currently 95% approval from 273 reviewers!) over on Rotten Tomatoes still staggers me. The backing of Leonard Nimoy was also significant. I also find it ironic that so many people now look back on TMP with a quirky fondness. That film that was scoffed at, as "The Motionless Picture", now has a secret niche in the soft spot of many TOS fans' hearts.

I've actually spoken to quite a few Sydney celebs and society folk who were at the Sydney Opera House world premiere of JJ's ST and they said that the praise for the movie, from the 2000 invited guests (and lucky 200 ST fans who were able to buy tickets to the premiere online), was almost universal. Standing ovations in many sections of the Concert Hall. Those society folk then went forth on Twitter, and their Facebook, MySpace sites and spread positive vibes to the world! Brave JJ and Paramount! Imagine if those 2200 people had hated the movie with a passion. Nobody was paying them to be positive about the film.

JJ promised us a ST movie that would reach beyond existing fandom, and get people talking positively about ST again. He achieved that. I felt it was a successful emotional rollercoaster of a movie; some fans managed to not be affected by it. C'est la vie, I guess! Every time I see the opening scenes I choke up. So do my friends. Nero's attack on Vulcan was unexpected and with amazing consequences. I find it hard not to be emotionally compromised!

If you didn't get anything out of the movie, I can only say you seem to be in a minority. And better luck next time?

Welcome to Planet Vulcan

6.15 am, Planet Vulcan. Stardate: Now.

No, actually it's Sydney, Australia, after a night being buffeted by winds blowing in from drought-ridden regions around Canberra, Tipaburra and Broken Hill, NSW. Dust, dust, dust! The "red centre" is now on the east coast?

Funny, a few months ago Star Trek fans were complaining that JJ Abram's planet Vulcan had the wrong colour sky in the 2009 "Star Trek" movie. As in how could a planet have red sky some days (TOS, ST III) and a blue sky on other days...?

Breakfast of (Star Trek) champions

Just on breakfast time today, a parcel turned up from a US penpal, containing two boxes of limited edition Kellogg's "Star Trek" cereal, in the shape of oaty galaxies, complete with little, multi-coloured, marshmallow insignias and planets!

Great timing!

The box art features images from the recent JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" movie.

And the verdict? Mmmmmmmmm. Marshmallows... (Or, as Spock would call them, "marshmelons".)


Yummy galaxy-shaped "Star Trek" cereal, with marshmallows depicting
Command yellow insignia, Science blue insignia, Engineering/Services
red insignia, planet Earth (centre) and planet Vulcan (lower left).

One more trailer for the road

JJ Abrams' "Star Trek" movie is coming to DVD and Blu-Ray very soon - and here's the trailer, including tiny snippets of the bonus scenes and docos.

Parody time - times three!

I love these new Youtube finds:


"JJ Abrams" reveals his plans for "Star Trek": a parody, of course.


"The Lord of the Rings" movie... of 1940!

An ingenious parody of "The Lord of the Rings" by O. Sharp. With Humphrey Bogart as Frodo Baggins, Sydney Greenstreet as Gandalf and Marlene Dietrich as Galadriel.

And...


How "Lord of The Rings" Should Have Ended!

It’s Trek, Jim, but not as we know it…

This September, highlights from all eleven Star Trek films will be featured – on a giant movie screen - with the music played by a full orchestra at the Sydney Opera House, venue of the recent "Star Trek" movie premiere!

The Sydney Symphony will take the audience on a journey back to 1979, where the "Star Trek" motion picture series began, with "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". The session concludes with scenes and music from the smash hit movie of 2009: JJ Abrams' "Star Trek". The first half of the program also includes the music and imagery from "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Transformers".

I understand this world premiere concert is not to be missed – resistance is futile!

Wired for Trek!

The May 2009 issue of "Wired" magazine is guest edited by JJ Abrams - and contains a six page comic spin-off to his new "Star Trek" movie!



Sometime it pays for a collector to keep one's irons in the fire. A bit of pre-planning was needed. Until a while ago, I hadn't heard of this magazine before but, panicking that it the "Star Trek" issue might be too obscure to find here Down Under, I immediately went off on a scouring/scavenging mission to see which stores already stocked "Wired". To my horror, the Pitt Street Mall locale of Borders, in the CBD, is now gone, just weeks after the huge Angus & Robertson closed. Massive rebuilding of the old Mid City Centre, Imperial Arcade, Centrepoint - and I presume, eventually, Sky Garden?

Borders and Angus & Robertson's city stores were usually a great source of "air freight" copies of many international magazines. Local newsagents often only get sea-freighted issues, and stocks can be several months behind the USA. Mmmmm. Where to now?

Anyway, I did find a batch of the April issue at a Nepean Square newsagent (also one city store), and I asked my local shopkeeper about getting an issue of the June "Wired" put away for me. The tricky thing was, there's also a magazine titled "Wire" - and that's not the one! On spec., today, I dropped into the store - on the way to a (ugh!) dental appointment - and I was in luck! Yay! "Star Trek" reading matter for my stint in the waiting room!

Just as "Countdown" was IDW Publishing's four-part prequel to the 2009 movie blockbuster, showing how and why Nero and Ambassador Spock time-slipped back to the 23rd century, so this six-page story, "When Worlds Collide" by Paul Pope & K/O* (pp 112-117, bound into the 138 pp magazine, not an insert), also ties-in to movie: it's set during Ambassador Spock's enforced sojourn on the icy planet, thanks to Nero, and involves Spock having brief flashbacks to his youth, serving on the Enterprise with Uhura (in TOS), playing his Vulcan lyrette and 3-D chess, battling Khan in ST II, and pondering a puzzle toy given to him by Sarek, his father.

It's only six pages (now online!), but it's fun, and definitely not a Trek collectible I wanted to miss! It seemed like they had no issues for the shelf? Were they all already snapped up?

And speaking of puzzles, the issue is filled with mysteries, codes and ciphers, starting with Abram's brown-paper-wrapped "Mystery Box", purchased many decades ago by his grandfather, from one of those amazing old magic stores Aussies only ever used to read about in mail order catalogue pages on the back covers of US comic books in the 60s! (Well, until we found Weirdo's Magic Shop in Centrepoint in the mid 70s.)

I haven't had the time or patience to work out all the myriad of clues scattered through the issue - many more than "47" that's for sure - but now I am curious: did JJ ever open his mystery box?

* Screenwriters Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci.

Worth repeating: "Star Trek" in review

I caught the Sunday repeat of "The Movie Show" tonight. First nine minutes of a 27 minutes episode. Very positive. Four out of five stars each for the new "Star Trek" film - and reviewers Margaret and David rarely agree. Lots of footage, JJ Abrams and Eric ("Nero") Bana interviews, and more interview clips and text on the ABC-TV's website!

www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2547372.htm
www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2547417.htm
www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2547404.htm

Excellent!

Hanging out for Andorian shingles: "Star Trek" reviewed

Mmmmm, well now that the new "Star Trek" film is out throughout most of the world, I can attempt to review it, but where to start?

I loved it, but then, I knew I was going to love it, based on the fact that I really appreciate JJ Abrams' (and friends') storytelling style on TV's "Lost", and the quirky hit movie "Cloverfield". I trusted that JJ knew what he was doing, the trailers looked great, the marketing and secrecy has maddened - and tantalised - diehard Trekkies everywhere, and the feedback from several sneak previews and gala premieres was so overwhelmingly positive. "Countdown", the prequel comic tie-in from IDW, also cemented in my mind that I'd enjoy the film proper.

Last night I saw the movie for the third time. I have no complaints - except where were my Andorians (a cameo in dialogue only)? - and there are many, many scenes that thrilled me.

The pre-title sequence with George Kirk Sr (Australia's own Chris Hemsworth, below left) and his wife, was excellent. Accompanied by one of the most emotional tracks on the movie soundtrack, it threatened to coerce a tear or two - and this was the opening few minutes of a film, with characters we'd never actually met before!



I loved Eric Bana (above right) as Nero the Romulan miner-turned-pirate, too. Many fans were critical of his often-relaxed delivery, but I found it added to the character's quirkiness and unpredictability.

Spock's childhood evoked memories of the animated "Yesteryear" (TAS), and his retraining in "ST IV: The Voyage Home". There's a Kirk bar room brawl that never sounded too good in descriptions but everything fitted together in its context. Karl Urban was channeling DeForest Kelley as Doctor McCoy. A running gag with a spray hypo is hilarious! Scotty and Chekov got plenty of laughs, and Uhura, Sulu and Pike were also given plenty to do, and offered lots of surprises. (One of Pike's costume changes was a wonderful, unexpected salute to "The Motion Picture", the movie that made me a Star Trek fan way back in 1979.)

As a collector of Star Trek soundtracks, I reckon Michael Giacchino's music is unmissable, and the themes grows on me with every play. Beautiful stuff from the composer of "The Incredibles", "Mission: Impossible 3" and "Lost", and plenty of little salutes to Alexander Courage (TOS theme), Jerry Goldsmith ("Ilia's Theme") and others!

At the three screenings I've been to, the audience was mesmerized. Laughing in the funny bits, sniffing in the sad bits, jumping in the scary bits, but otherwise totally engaged with the screen. I know there are a few diehards who absolutely hate what JJ has done, but hopefully the overall increase in Star Trek's popularity as a franchise will hang around for a few years more now. Fandom has needed new, young blood for a long time.

I noticed a great quote on one of the online message boards: "There was a few minutes there where I was really angry at [MAJOR SPOILER REMOVED] ... and that's when I realized how great this film was turning out to be. I was supposed to be angry... it made Nero the great villain that he needed to be. I wanted to see Spock and Kirk take this guy down hard... and they did just that."

It's so heartening to see the movie getting such great professional and fan reviews. I can't wait for the next one. Maybe we'll get more than just Andorian shingles next time.

Trek stuff, of course

I have been very reluctant to say too much until the new "Star Trek" movie goes into general release next week. Even listing my favourite scenes would be like a list of spoilers for others.

At the free advance screening I went to (last Monday), the audience of competition winners was mesmerized. Laughing in the funny bits, sniffing in the sad bits, jumping in the scary bits, but otherwise totally engaged with the screen. I still haven't read a bad review, and it's also heartening to read comments from people online saying they went in fully expecting to hate the movie and ending up loving it. I know there'll still be people who absolutely hate what JJ Abrams has done, but hopefully the overall increase in ST popularity will hang around for a few years more.

I picked up a ticket for local evening screening on Thursday, and have a theatre party booking in the CBD with friends for Friday night. Maybe IMAX on the weekend?

As for the action figures, I'm just not understanding the hatred for them I've seen so far on various collectibles listservs and TrekBBS. I've now seen examples of most Playmates figures in 3.75" and 6", and they are great! (6" Uhura is still elusive). Even the 6" Kirk, which looked a bit odd in some preview pics, looked fine in the package.

The 3.75" figures are soooooo cute. They are way more articulated than Mego and Galoob 3.75" figures, and more cleverly-jointed than ERTL ST III figures. (Uhura's bare knees don't have ugly silver pins in them!) I can't wait for my huge mail order packages from Rick at NewForce to arrive, so I can assemble the tiny crew onto the bridge and transporter playsets. (Gosh, I think I ordered the playsets. It was soooo long ago.) The local 3.75" figures are not having bonus bridge pieces in their packaging, but these bits will come with Wave 2 figures later in the year, I've been informed.

Every figure I picked up had excellent painted detailing; I'm not seeing the poor face applications people have complained about. Others have mentioned that Uhura and Pike were the shortpacks in the US, and I only saw one of each on Thursday night at Hobbyco in the CBD, so I grabbed them for future customising. I'm thinking that I might end up securing any cadet uniform-outfitted figures I ever see on special and using them to make a roomful of alien cadets!

Ah, and my eBay-ordered "Buy it now" Funko Andorian "Wacky Wobbler Bobble-head" turned up yesterday. Very cute, but it doesn't talk. Many online references claimed that he was supposed to, but that's only the Kirk and Spock, I understand.

Now I want the Gorn, I think.


Funko "Star Trek" Andorian Wacky Wobbler Bobble-head
meets Playmates' 2009 movie Uhura (3.75"), evil Nero (6")
and evil Nero Mini-Me (3.75").