TRADING CARD CLOSE-UP # 9: "Resistance is Futile"

For the seven years that Star Trek: The Next Generation aired in syndication, (1987-1994), I was an avid fan. I didn't always "like" the show (I grew tired of the endless Alexander and Lwaxana Troi and holodeck storylines, for instance...); but I watched religiously. This was Star Trek, after all.

For me (and, I suspect for many fans...) the series reached its apex at the tail end of the very strong third season, in the episode entitled "The Best of Both Worlds." Yes, this is the classic (and it is a classic...) two-parter that saw the long-awaited return of the Borg, the villainous race that had last been seen in the season two story, "Q-Who."

The episode "Best of Both Worlds" (Part One) was brilliant for a number of reasons. First, you had the return of what was clearly the ultimate bad-ass space villain (and there was as yet no silly "Borg Queen," which - truth be told - makes mince-meat of the "hive" Borg concept.) Secondly, you had great character fireworks with Commander Shelby coming aboard the Enterprise and threatening Riker's "safe" position as executive officer (he'd been offered a command of his own). And then you had that great scene with Captain Picard in Ten-Forward, pondering what could be the end of days for the human race with his friend, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg).

And, oh yeah - there were cool special effects in the space battle between the Borg Cube and NCC-1701-D, and even a moment reflective of Star Trek history, as Picard hid his flagship in a nebula (shades of Wrath of Khan!!!).

But, of course, the best reason to laud "The Best of Both Worlds" is clear on the face of this very trading card, from the Star Trek: The Next Generation "Inaugural Edition" Collectors series (1992; Impel). It was that crazy cliffhanger ending, with Captain Picard abducted by the Borg and re-engineered to be their mouthpiece; Locutus.

I'll never forget chills -- the goose-bumps -- I felt as that half-Picard thing shambled forward, out of the darkness of the Borg ship, and came slowly into the light. A mockery of the human form. Transformed into something antithetical to the individuality we (and the Star Trek...) characters cherish. And his voice...so cold; so lifeless. And he spoke those great words too. "Resistance is futile." Of course, this became a catchphrase in the Trek universe; and rightly so. (Although you can also go back in time and hear identical words spoken by the ultimate Space:1999 "evil race," the Dorcons, from a 1977 episode written by Johnny Byrne...)

And then, of course, Riker gave the order to kill his captain, and we had to wait a very, very long summer to see how everything would turn out.

Was The Next Generation ever better or more compelling than in this episode? I don't think so. "The Best of Both Worlds" (Part I) got every detail and mood right. Hard to believe it came around seventeen years ago, that's for sure.

So today, enjoy this view of Captain Picard transformed into Locutus. It's card # 30 of this particular set. On the back, the card reads "Locutus: Borg Identity of Captain Picard."

The card legend also reads, in part: "After the first contact between the powerful Borg and the U.S.S. Enterprise halfway across the galaxy, the Borg came into Federation space looking for Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Their goal: to "absorb" the Captain into the collective Borg intelligence and use his knowledge to destroy Starfleet and enslave the human race..."

The House Between: Meet Bill & Travis!

It's Friday again and that means another "clip" from my online series, The House Between gets posted on the blog today.

The clip I'm showing here is also from the premiere episode, "Arrived." This moment in the show occurs shortly after last week's segment. Our hero, Astrid (Kim Breeding) has already encountered Arlo (Jim Blanton), the strange young man in the kitchen, and by testing the doors and windows, discovered she is a captive in this mysterious old house...by unusual means.

In this bit, Astrid has just gone upstairs after speaking with Arlo, hoping to meet the other folks trapped in the house. She does so. First off, there's Bill T. Clark a "one step at a time" kind of guy played by Tony Mercer. He's a methodical scientist, one who, by his careful observations, deepens the mystery for Astrid.

Then, as the clip continues, you'll be introduced to one troublesome Travis Crabtree, played by Lee Hansen. Like Arlo downstairs, Travis is a "loki" character in the series; one who is always making mischief and trouble for the other denizens of "the house between."

But you'll see that for yourself...

MOVIE REVIEW: Stealth (2005)

Firefox (1982), a Clint Eastwood movie about a high-tech jet that Clint must steal from Russia (during the Cold War) is one of my favorite movies from the 1980s. I love the aerial dog fights and I love the high-octane suspense (especially in the scene wherein Clint realizes he must "think" in Russian to control the difficult-to-maneuver plane).

So, with nostalgia looming large in my heart, I put Stealth, a 2005 action film about another high-tech jet plane, into my Netflix queue, and waited with bated breath for it to arrive. Kathryn rolled her eyes when she saw I had rented it. She knew what we were in for.

But hey, I didn't need the movie to be a classic. I didn't need it to be great, even. I just wanted a tense adventure, and some big-time aerial destruction, convincingly rendered. I still remember seeing the trailer for the film, which - if I remember it right - seemed to indicate that a plane equipped with artificial intelligence was barreling down on one of our major cities here in the U.S. and that it was up to three hot dog pilots to stop it before it could drop off a nuclear payload.

That sounds like a cool story, doesn't it? I think so...

Nothing like that happens in Stealth. Bummer. Big time bummer.

Stealth is set "the near future" when the Navy is testing a "new program" and "experimental technology," the film's opening card reveals. This new program as it turns out, is something called E.D.I. (Extreme Deep Invader), an attack plane that is, well, smart. Smarter than the screenwriter, anyway. E.D.I. boasts artificial intelligence and so can react faster than any human pilot in a crisis, even those three hot dogs I mentioned above, here played by Jamie Foxx, smoking-hot Jessica Biel (she can ride my tail anytime...), and Josh Lucas.

These pilots, who fly cool looking "talon" fighters (hey, He-Man also flew talon fighters!!!), are suspicious of their new computerized wing-man, and sure enough, they have just cause. Before long things go wrong. HORRIBLY WRONG. E.D.I. learns all the wrong lessons from the pilots, particularly the headstrong Lucas, and goes rogue on a mission in Tajikistan to take out a warlord with WMD. In the process, he chalks up some big time collateral damage. Oopsy.

All this set-up got my blood pumping, particularly the scene set in Thailand with Jessica Biel in a blue bikini. Wait, what was I talking about?

Oh yeah, Stealth. So anyway, the first half of the movie smells of three-day-old Michael Bay, but still, it's good in that cheesy Hollywood way. You just know E.D.I. is gonna go nuts and there's gonna be trouble in the air. Admittedly, the movie provides some incredible and impressive special effects. For instance, there's an amazing shot, a zoom from Earth orbit right down the surface with the planet, to a castle rampart where an evil terrorist is standing. If this isn't what CGI was designed for, I don't know what is.

Then there's the absolutely harrowing and nutty scene in which Biel must eject from her damaged talon fighter, and - under a disintegrating parachute - is always just inches away from flaming metal debris. Yikes.

This is all to the good. No doubt. But then things take a turn. A wrong turn. Let me give you the set-up. Biel is downed in North Korea, on her own. And Jamie Foxx has been killed in a great, moving scene involving aerial combat with E.D.I. Now, it's up to the last airborne pilot, Lucas, to bring in E.D.I. (which isn't barreling towards an American city with a nuclear payload at all...that's just a trailer gimmick).

So what happens? Well, in the last act, the evil plane, E.D.I. develops a "human" conscience and joins forces with Josh Lucas's character to rescue Jessica Biel and take down the evil General played by Sam Shepard.

What the hell?

I don't know that I've ever seen a more lame third act than this movie's. Why make this movie if - in the end - you're not going to pit human instinct and cunning against machine prowess for one glorious fight in the air? Why set up Lucas as the ultimate pilot bad ass, and put him in conflict with the newest evil technology...and then cop out on the final battle? Why make E.D.I. a "tragic" good guy?

In the movie's last scene, E.D.I. even obligingly commits suicide. Allowing a North Korean helicopter to blow him up. I have to admit, this scene made me laugh, because the hackneyed, menacing "North Korean"-sounding music on the soundtrack reminded me of Team America: World Police. I kept expecting a Kim-Jong IL puppet to show up.

By the end of the movie, I was righteously pissed. All Stealth had to do to merit a good review from this writer was deliver a climax that built on the action-adventure achievements of the first half of the film. It would have been a rip-roaring (albeit lame-brained...) actioner. It would have been a guilty pleasure that made me smirk and smile. Don't we all have movies we enjoy that are just this dumb?

But no. We can't have that. Instead, we get this lame-ass ending.

And don't even get me started on the scene that rips off H.A.L. in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Remember in the Kubrick classic how, when the astronauts conspired in the pod, HAL could actually read their lips? Stealth has the audacity to steal that scene here. I'm sure the writer would call it an homage...but let's call a spade a spade. It's a frigging rip-off.

My main question after watching Stealth: If some screenwriter somewhere was smart enough to crib a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey, why wasn't he also smart enough to crib the aerial climax of Firefox? Or, for goodness sake, even Top Gun? Or Iron Eagle?

My last question: What the hell is Jamie Foxx doing in this shit? Isn't this the first movie he made after Ray?

The House Between: When Astrid Met Arlo

Well, it's Friday again, and that means it's time for another sneak peek at my independent dramatic series, The House Between.

Let me set up the short clip below:

It's a scene from the premiere episode of the series, "Arrived." Our series lead, a singer/songwriter named Astrid (Kim Breeding) has awakened to mysteriously find herself in an unfamiliar - and empty - old house. She has walked downstairs to the kitchen....and encountered a bizarre stranger who is living in that room, Arlo (Jim Blanton). Arlo has claimed the kitchen as "his," (or as a later episode notes, he has an unhealthy attachment to the kitchen...).

This clip shows the tail end of their first meeting as Astrid begins to gather information suggesting that her abduction and captivity is a lot stranger - and much more menacing - than she initially realized.

I call this clip "When Astrid Met Arlo."

More House Between Goodness

Well, I hope y'all checked out The House Between teaser trailer this weekend. I know some folks did, because my stats on the blog went through the roof. Thanks to the numbers I just saw on Saturday and Sunday, the blog actually had it's biggest week ever (since I started up in Spring '05). Nice!

Anyway, there's all kind of goodness and support on the net for this first glimpse of our independent production, and I humbly thank everyone for watching (and commenting), and supporting the effort. A new clip goes up here this Friday, (and every Friday leading up to the premiere of "Arrived" in February...), so if you like what you saw, plan on return visits.

Over at his outstanding blog, our Svengali-esque producer, author Joseph Maddrey penned a beautiful post that I think aptly (and poetically...) describes the process of creating the show. He's such a great guy, and the admiration society is definitely mutual! We couldn't have accomplished what we did without him, that's for bloody sure.

Anyway, here's a clip from Joe's blog. (And by all means, go read the rest at Maddrey Misc):

A six-member cast and an eight-member crew converged on Charlotte, North Carolina, in June 2006. For the next week, we would be trapped in an empty house with blacked-out windows, completely oblivious to the “real” world. It was like being thrown into a dream reality, with a very sobering mission: We had seven days to shoot seven (dialogue-heavy) episodes. No easy task. I appointed myself task-master.

From day one, I was amazed by the talent and dedication of everyone involved. It was as if every single person there had been waiting for an opportunity to like this, and when the cameras started rolling, they all became consummate – and passionate – professionals. Somehow, John must have known that it would happen like this. The actors learned their lines on the spot. The crew knew exactly how to get around any problem that presented itself. As on any good production, the team simply gelled.

The project quickly became a collaborative effort that relied on everyone there for its continued success. There were times when the production seemed like a house of cards. If any single member of the team hadn’t been fully engaged, the whole thing would have come crashing down. But everyone we needed was there, and giving 110%. By the second day, we were moving forward at full speed. By the fourth day, we were circumventing production problems with relative ease. (Many of the problems stemmed from our lighting equipment, which didn’t weather the 16-hour shoot days quite as well as the actors and crew). By the fifth day, everyone was comfortable enough for wild improvisation – making for a great episode that renewed everyone’s energy for the home stretch. (Truth be told: The lack of sleep was starting to make us all a little loopy.) By the seventh day, our nerves were frayed… but everyone maintained an air of professionalism, and we managed to get the last show in the can just before a summer storm swept into Charlotte, and provided us with some great moody exterior shots.

Afterwards, we all went to John’s house for a late dinner, and sat around talking into the early hours of the morning. It had been an absolutely grueling week, but nobody wanted it to end..."

At his blog, Notes on Culture, Kevin Flanagan (one of our lighting gurus and my frequent writing collaborator...), also comments about the show. And my friend (and fellow Space:1999 aficionado), Phil Merkel, has the teaser trailer posted up at his great site too, Captphil Online, so you can see it there.

And of course, you can watch it again, just by scrolling down on this page!

SATURDAY MORNING CULT TV BLOGGING: Ark II: "The Balloon"

This week on Ark II, the Ark is on "automatic pilot," (*ahem*), as Jonah and the others explore Sector 14, Area 12. Jonah describes (in Log Entry # 51), the new mission. They are trying to open communication with people "who refuse to communicate with the outside world."

North Korea..

No, just kidding. There's another isolated village in the California desert, this one fearful of an epidemic that is claiming lives left and right. The Ark runs across several message balloons which describe the situation, and the crew meets up with young Ben and his grandfather, who are trying to save the village from extermination.

But then Jonah gets sick. And no, it's not because Adam the chimpanzee is again fixing lunch for the Ark II crew. (Would you let the monkey handle food? Even a talking monkey...). Anyway, in this episode, Adam fixes Samuel lunch, using a device to turn a pill into a plate of bacon and eggs.

Back to the main story: Ruth is able to fix a vaccine for the epidemic in - literally - seconds, and then inoculate all the villages. Message: "To block progress only stops growth."

Also, the myth that Ark II carries no offensive weaponry is quashed this week when the Ark fires a front-mounted laser to demolish several boulders blocking the path to the village. Oopsy.

The House Between: Teaser Is Up!

Hey readers!

The (very brief...) teaser trailer for The House Between is now up on YouTube, and playing right here on the blog.

This is a first look at the characters, sounds and imagery of my independently produced, seven-episode sci-fi series, and more clips will be online soon, leading up to the premiere of the first episode, "Arrived," in mid-February.

Hope you like it...

RETRO TOY FLASHBACK # 53: Lakeside's Intercept (1978)

Now here's a flashback from my misspent youth. I guess it was the Christmas of 1978 or 1979 when I ripped into a wrapped package to discover this great "electronic" game from a company called Lakeside(Leisure Dynamics, Inc., No. 9005). It was a gift from my folks.

It's called Intercept, "the electronic search and destroy game," and the box front trumpets that it comes with "the sounds and lights of fighter attack." Yep, Intercept is a Cold War era game that allows you to "BE THE ATTACK PILOT" or "BE THE DEFENSE COMMANDER." That means you can play either side in the nuclear armageddon with the Soviet Union, I guess...

Anyway, as the stalwart attack pilot, you are tested in this way (according to the box rear...): "Can you sneak past your opponent's surface-to-air missile sites and attack his Airfield? Manuever secretly across the tracking grid."

As the Defense Commander, you are tasked in this fashion: "Can you track down and destroy the Attack Jet? Use your logic to pin-point his position. Fire your rockets to score a direct hit."

The coolest piece on the board is a crimson "INTERCEPTOR DEFENSE COMMAND." Or as the box describes it: "This Special Aircraft, when placed on Target, ELECTRONICALLY locks on to the Attack Jet. It will program your rocket Fire and score a direct hit as the Attack Jet flares up on the tracking grid."

Ah, the days before video games, huh? Other pieces in the Intercept "Search and Destroy" Game include, "S.A.M Defense Sites," and "SIGHTING INDICATORS." As the Jet fighter, you control your fighter from an ATTACK COMMAND CENTER with a red knob that is the "ATTACK CONTROL." Midway down the board is a red "ATTACK ROCKET FIRE BUTTON."

You are entreated to "LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS" of "RADAR WARNING SIGNAL, "THE LAUNCH OF AIR MISSILES," and "THE SIGNAL OF A DIRECT HIT" in Intercept, a "self-contained portable electronic game." It takes one 9 volt transistor battery, and is a heck of a lot of fun. The one I have actually works now, which is doubly cool. Can't wait to show it to Joel...

Anyway, it's all very cool, especially from a disco decade kid's point of view, and this is one electronic game that I recall having fun with for hours when I was nine. Back in the year of the original Battlestar Galactica (1978) and the Atari-2600, this baby was absolutely high tech.

Did anyone else out there own of these too?

McFarland January 07 Titles

Here's this month's list of film/tv/performing arts books from publisher McFarland, located in Jefferson, N.C.! If there's any media studies reader out there who's a Joss Whedon fan (or who wants to get all the skinny on his work so as to mount a studied assault against his pervasive influence..), there's a new book out this month on Buffy's controversial creator. I have a copy here in my office, and I plan to read it as soon as I get minute. I guess everyone knows where I stand: I love the guy's work, particularly Buffy and Firefly.


The Presidents on Film
With the prominence of the U.S. president and the presidency, the executive office and its occupant have naturally found their way into numerous cinematic expressions. Since 1903, presidents have been featured in no less than 407 commercial films. Ranging from respectful, biographical presentations to comic caricatures, the ways in which presidents are depicted on film reflects a great deal about contemporary perception of the office.This volume examines how filmmakers and their public have viewed the presidents and the presidency over the past 100 years. The book presents an all-inclusive list of commercial theatrical films that include an actual American president as a character, excluding documentaries, television productions and fictional characters. At times these roles are minor while in other instances they form one of the main characters of the film. In either case, however, an analysis of these depictions reveals a great deal about the president—and the filmmaker. The main body of the work is devoted to an examination, arranged in chronological order, of each of the 42 men who have served as president. A brief summary of each administration is provided along with a commentary on the overall nature of films in which the featured president appeared. Each relevant film is then discussed with the credits, plot summary, description of the presidential appearance and, when possible, an assessment of the presidential portrayal included. Photographs from notable films are also provided

Thelma & Louise and Women in Hollywood

The entertainment industry is all too much a man’s world, with Hollywood at its macho center. Thelma & Louise made film history with a female screenwriter, two female leads and a controversial, female-empowered storyline. The film is well worth studying for its impact on Hollywood and, in a broader sense, its reflection of women’s role in society.This book examines the cultural impact of Thelma & Louise, not only upon its release in 1991 but throughout the nearly fifteen years since. The book begins with a look at the role of women in media and the underrepresentation of women in the film industry, on and off screen. Next comes a thorough examination of Thelma & Louise’s public reception: the controversy it generated, the reviews it received, and the many ways it is referenced in popular culture. Case studies from newspapers across the United States, focusing on reviews and op-ed pieces in The Salt Lake Tribune, The Washington Post, The Boston Herald, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution and others, show how the film’s reception differed from region to region. The final chapter provides current female employment statistics for the film industry and offers insight into the present role of women in film.

The FBI and the Movies

On June 29, 1908, U.S. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte ordered the creation of a special force within the Department of Justice. Consisting of 28 agents and eight former Treasury Department investigators, it was designed to stop interstate crimes yet had no power to arrest perpetrators or carry firearms. Named the Bureau of Investigation, the agency was soon bogged down with its own inherent problems, becoming an object of corruption and contempt—until May 19, 1924. On that date, President Calvin Coolidge appointed J. Edgar Hoover to replace the corrupt director. Hard-working with a no-nonsense attitude, Hoover immediately set about reorganizing the bureau, setting a standard that he expected his agents to follow. Hoover, impressed by Hollywood’s manner of maintaining an image and manipulating the media, began to use some of these tricks to clean up his agency’s image. Thanks in part to his efforts, movies of the 1930s shifted from glorifying outlaws and gangsters to glorifying lawmakers—and who better to play that role than Hoover’s new, improved FBI?From crime-busting heroes to enemies of free speech, this volume examines the evolution of Hollywood’s portrait of the FBI over the last 75 years. The book looks in-depth at how Hollywood’s creative rewriting of history enhanced the FBI’s reputation and discusses the historical events that shaped the bureau off-screen, including the various figures who tell the real FBI story—the gangsters, the politicians, the journalists, the communists. The main body of the work examines the filmmakers, actors, technicians, writers and producers who were responsible for FBI films, following the FBI from the birth of a cultural icon in the 1930s, through the spy-busting war years and the threat of the Red Menace, and, finally, to death of Hoover and the scandals of the 1960s. Studio correspondence and once confidential FBI memos are also included.

European Silent Films on Video

This book is a critical encyclopedia of silent European films currently available on DVD, laser disc, and VHS. It provides concise and accurate summaries of the films, evaluates the quality of the prints, discusses the changing reputations of both films and filmmakers, and considers how the techniques developed during the silent period continue to influence filmmaking today.The book cites contemporary and recent criticism of the films and includes an extensive bibliography as well as a list of films by director. Numerous photos are also included.

The Existential Joss Whedon

This study examines the major works of contemporary American television and film screenwriter Joss Whedon. The authors argue that these works are part of an existentialist tradition that stretches back from the French atheistic existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre, through the Danish Christian existentialist Søren Kierkegaard, to the Russian novelist and existentialist Fyodor Dostoevsky. Whedon and Dostoevsky, for example, seem preoccupied with the problem of evil and human freedom. Both argue that in each and every one of us “a demon lies hidden.” Whedon personifies these demons and has them wandering about and causing havoc. Dostoevsky treats the subject only slightly more seriously.Chapters cover such topics as Russian existentialism and vampire slayage; moral choices; ethics; Faith and bad faith; constructing reality through existential choice; some limitations of science and technology; love and self-sacrifice; love, witchcraft, and vengeance; soul mates and moral responsibility; love and moral choice; forms of freedom; and Whedon as moral philosopher.

Update to Retro Toy Flashback # 21: 2006 Star Trek Hallmark Ornaments

I don't know if you Star Trek fans out there got to see (or purchase...) these collectibles, but Hallmark released two new ornaments in 2006 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the original series. My mother-in-law up in Richmond (who started off my collection of Trek ornaments in 1992...) bought them both for me, and I can testify...they're both gorgeous. Beautifully crafted.

First, there's the classic series U.S.S. Enterprise. The box reads: "A flagship of Starfleet, USS Enterprise NCC-1701 embarked on its historic five year mission in 2264. Commanded by Captain James T. Kirk, the STARSHIP ENTERPRISE transported us to the final frontier for unparalleled adventure."

Then, the second ornament is "The Transporter Chamber." The box on this one reads "...Captain Kirk, Science Officer Spock and Chief Engineer Scott enter the transporter chamber. The crewmembers are then converted into a beam of energy and reassembled in another location to begin their mission. No Starfleet vessel leaves spacedock without one."

I hope you collectors out there kept your eyes open for these. I was surprised when I opened the package. I didn't realize there were new ornaments released for Christmas '06, and was thrilled to see that both items were from the Original Series...still (and always...) my favorite Trek.

Catnap: Who's the Baby?

Well, Ezri clearly thinks that she's the baby in this house. We came down to the family room yesterday morning and were going to put our baby Joel in his "City of Domes" (that's what we call the Gizmo in the photos...), and we found that there were no vacancies.

Ezri had moved in. This is her house now. Watch out Joel, no trespassing!