Tag Archives: Star Trek

Dec 9 2011

Gift Ideas For Fans That Won’t Break Your Bank

The deadline for buying a decent gift is approaching fast. OK you’re on a budget, or the secret Santa list gave you someone you’re not close to but know that he or she is a genre fan. Sure you’d love to gift some kind of toiletry gift set or a desk calendar, but let’s be real here. He or she will really geek out for that super expensive Batman statue by Sideshow Collectibles or anything along that vein. But we’re on a budget here or you just don’t feel like breaking your bank and there’s no way you can reasonably afford to get the ultimate Jurassic Park trilogy Blu Ray gift set that comes with a T-Rex statue.

However, it’s not too hard to get by with gifts costing $25 or less. Here are some ideas. Ornaments Hallmark puts out the best ornaments and have catered to genre fans. This year has many offerings, but forget the spaceships, they cost more than $25 and aren’t very interesting except for die-hard collectors. (They consist of a little seen Romulan ship from the original Star Trek and a second version of Boba Fett’s Slave I ship.). So that leaves the character ornaments. Unfortunately the Star Trek ornaments aren’t too interesting (generic looking Spock ornaments, one that is out of the price range), while the Star Wars stuff aside from a LEGO Darth Vader seems repetitious (yet another Yoda ornament, and a costly Han Solo/Greedo diorama that doesn’t adequately answer the question of who shot first) Hallmark put out some reasonably priced cool stuff that could be collectible. First up is a Cylon ornament from the original Battlestar Galactica that features that infamous electronic speech pattern from the robots. There’s also the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, a cute Gizmo wearing a Santa hat from Gremlins (already selling out so run out and get it, there are more fans of that film than you think), and a good selection of super hero figures. The Spider-Man and Batman ornaments are kind of bland but there are ornaments of Green Lantern and Thor that look good and the original Batmobile is a classic. If the person on your list is more of an animation fan, there are dozens of ornaments priced under $25 featuring characters from Disney, Pixar, Peanuts, Dreamworks, and the Rankin-Bass holiday classics like Rudolph and Frosty. If Hallmark doesn’t suit you, many companies put out their own ornaments themed after popular genre characters. Take Target or the Disney Store for example, they put out ornaments that are just as good as Hallmark. Blu Rays/DVDs This is easy, find out what his or her favorite film and see if they have it in their collection. If the film is not there, then voila! Run over to Best Buy or Wal-Mart and pick up the DVD or Blu Ray. DVDs priced from $5 and up are everywhere, while Blu Rays are starting to come down in price. If they just bought a Blu Ray player and need to upgrade then that’s a no-brainer. Practically all of this year’s genre offerings are available including Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Super 8, Thor, Battle: Los Angeles, and even obscure fare like Another Earth. Statues and Figures It’s true that most statues are mega expensive, but a quick look at sites like eBay and Amazon will yield very good results. For instance if you’re not too discriminating just look at the clearances, Amazon has this bust of Venom from Spider-Man 3 for under $10. And if you’re intended is into anime then the sky’s the limit with the available choices. You also can’t fail with bobblehead figures and even action figures. DC Direct and Marvel put out some terrific well-detailed and affordable figures that don’t have to be played with, they look great just plastered up in their display boxes. Though that kind of defeats the purpose of a toy, then again these are intended for grownups, um, never mind. Books and Collections Good choices here, find out what author they enjoy and get them the latest work. Amazon had Stephen King’s 11/22/63 for under $20 and his other stuff on paperback for half that price. It’s best to get nice, thick novels that take a while to read. Better yet, if they have tablets, then get the digital versions, the prices are great. The same goes for comics. Graphic novels and collections of story arcs are perfect and usually affordable. A nifty trend tailor made for gifting are the Vault books. Part memorabilia collection, part coffee table book, they include looks at Star Trek, Batman, Spider-Man and more. Usually they’re called for example Alien Vault and are sealed. They run a bit high on price but if you have time, you can find some for the $25 range with some careful shopping. Gift Cards The ultimate fall back and in many ways the best gift. Get your in-law or co-worker or buddy who has everything a gift card from any merchant and let them run wild. Even the larger comic book stores will sell their own gift certificates. Just be a little creative in the wrapping to make the gift more memorable. No matter what, it is pretty easy to get a gift for a genre fan. Annette DeForester

Nov 29 2011

The Occupy Movement As Predicted By Star Trek

All the incarnations of Star Trek have been noted for helping to inspire new advances in technology like tablets, cell phones (which is funny since the original show’s communicators look so outdated to what we have today), scanners and so on. And Star Trek has paved the way for new ways of how we view ourselves, notably in terms of racial and sexual equality. But one thing lately has popped up that may be overlooked given all the tensions going on in this country lately.

Namely the entire Occupy insert a city or neighborhood Movement. No matter where one stands on the Movement, it has to be agreed that this phenomenon could easily foment and lead to ominous developments. This was seen in the two-part Star Trek: Deep Space NIne story “Past Tense” where Captain Ben Sisko and members of his crew are trapped in the early 21st century and are caught up in the so-called Bell Riots. Taking place in San Francisco in 2024, the Starfleet personnel are mistaken for being unemployed and disenfranchised and are placed in a ghetto-like “Sanctuary District” and inadvertantly change history.

As Ben Sisko and his crew try to correct the timeline by being active participants in the Bell Riots (chiefly by Ben Sisko assuming the identity of Gabriel Bell who was killed while defending him; Bell would become an important figure in helping to bring about social justice in the U.S.) the plight of the District residents are shown. For the most part, many of them have been unemployed for a long time and are unable to get any kind of support from the government. Just look at the latest news stories to get an idea of what the Bell Riots participants were protesting. It’s easy to see how today’s current protests, which are already becoming violent, could lead to those opposing the Occupy Movement for a severe government crackdown in order to restore order.

This isn’t meant to support one side or another, it’s just to point out how relevant Star Trek remains to this day and not just in terms of cool gadgets. Hopefully these Bell Riots that involved Ben Sisko and company won’t come to pass. Then the one thing the “Past Tense” episodes will get correct is the prediction that the Yankees won the ’99 World Series.

Lewis T. Grove

Sep 28 2011

Star Trek At 45

Star Trek, the original show, turned 45 years old this September. Meanwhile the tenth anniversary of the last Trek show Enterprise is also in September. The point is these milestones came and went largely unnoticed or celebrated. So we all wonder why the lack of enthusiasm?

Really, everyone lately is yakking about the Star Wars blu-rays, Back to the Future shoes, new super hero movies, Harry Potter and even a new Avatar attraction for Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but barely a peep out of the world of Trek. I clicked over to the Star Trek website and it seems like a slow week in January. An article reminiscing about Enterprise, IDW comics, Star Trek: The Exhibition coming to St. Louis and upcoming conventions.

You’d think that with all the hoopla over the last Star Trek movie and how it re-energized the franchise and started things fresh that Trek would remain in the public eye. Guess again. Maybe it didn’t help that J.J. Abrams and his crew are taking forever to get a new film going. Then more and more fans are complaining about Abrams’ take on Trek and how it ruined the franchise, nullifying over forty years of Trek lore and made the film seem like a Star Wars wannabe flick.

Another thing that isn’t helping is CBS Studios not wanting to make another Star Trek show while greenlighting junk like Person of Interest and other cop procedurals. For the average Trek fan (I refuse to call myself and fellow fans as trekkies, that’s too demeaning) this is a cause for alarm. In this crowded medium, Trek has to struggle to stay in the public eye. It can’t just rest on its laurels. That attitude of taking fandom and demand for granted is why the later shows declined in quality and ratings putting us in this situation.

No Trek isn’t going away, who knows maybe the new film, whenever they decide to make it, will stir things up. Maybe it will take the fiftieth anniversary when we’ll get the articles and such about how Trek gave us cell phones and tablets (but no holodecks but we’re getting there with the 3D TVs). But Trek is best known for being a TV show, that is its home medium, so a new show has to come out to keep up with the other franchises. Just do a cartoon for now until the right people are found who can put out a quality show. That way Trek stays in the public’s mind. It worked for Star Wars with The Clone Wars cartoon. Here’s an idea do a cartoon about Starfleet Academy. It won’t be that offensive to anyone who hates the thought of Star Trek 90210 since it will more geared toward younger viewers, who in turn may become tomorrow’s fans that keep the dream alive. Just do something already.

Waldermann Rivera

Jul 20 2011

Star Trek: The Exhibition at the Kennedy Space Center

The traveling exhibit Star Trek: The Exhibition is currently running through this summer at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as part of the Center’s Sci-Fi Summer. Showcasing the world of Star Trek, the Sci-Fi Summer program presents how the science fiction world of Trek helped to influence the development of our technology. It’s a great place to go if you are a Star Trek or science fiction fan not just because of the Trek-themed exhibits and attractions but because it melds that sci-fi aspect to NASA’s real life world. You get to see where we’ve been and how far we have to go.

Star Trek: The Exhibition features a scale model of the Enterprise, and the actual props and costumes used in the Star Trek shows and films. At the KSC, the exhibit is broken up into two different buildings. One where IMAX films are shown (and is currently presenting Transformers: Dark of the Moon in 3D) has a room dedicated to the original Star Trek series, though props and costumes from the Kirk-era films can be seen. The highlight is a well-detailed replica of the original Enterprise bridge complete with dedication plaque, consoles and the captain’s chair that anyone can sit on for golden photo opportunities.

At another building near the tour bus terminal is a larger exhibit room dedicated to Star Trek: The Next Generation,  as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. This exhibit displays a mock-up of the Reman Scorpion fighter craft seen in Star Trek: Nemesis and partial recreations of the Enterprise D’s sickbay and engine room. There are models,  numerous props and costumes worn and used by the actors and a Klingon chair that you can sit on (there are also captain chairs from the Enterprise B and D but those are roped off). Additionally one side of the exhibit’s wall has a mural with a detailed timeline of NASA and Trek history. The opposing wall displays the costumes. A nice touch to this exhibit were two actors dressed as Vulcans from the far future who stayed in character and interacted with visitors. The uniforms they wore were the ones worn by 29th century Starfleet officers as seen in the Voyager episode “Relativity.”

The KSC has Trek costumes and factoids peppered throughout the facility with several famous delta shield symbol on the grounds that act as arrows to guide visitors to Trek-related exhibits and attractions. For example one path lead sto the rocket garden where a floor painting shows how large the Enterprise ships are in comparison to the horizontally displayed Saturn 1B rocket. It’s staggering to consider how large the Trek ships are when you walk the length of the rocket. There was so much to see at the KSC that one could easily spend an entire day on the grounds. Continue reading →

Jul 17 2011

A Brief Look Back At Star Trek: The Experience

From January 3,1998 to September 1, 2008 Star Trek fans had a haven to call their own when the Las Vegas Hilton ran the attraction Star Trek: The Experience. Part indoor theme park, part museum; the $70-million-dollar attraction had components that all faithfully recreated the science fiction world of Captains Kirk, Picard and the shows’ other heroes and villains.

Visitors were greeted at the entranceway by an enormous hanging model of Kirk’s Enterprise from the movies. Inside the attraction’s main circular layout, which recreated the Deep Space Nine (DS9) Promenade from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, (the Experience’s fact sheet claimed that the entire area was 65,000 square feet), other overhead models of ships from Star Trek’s many incarnations were a sight to behold. For the record, also greeting visitors were the Enterprise D from Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Voyager from Star Trek: Voyager and a Klingon Bird-of-Prey ship seen from the movies. Guests could just dine in the attraction’s center, or do some shopping off to the left and take in the sights. As they gawked at the intricate detailing of the place, actors dressed and made up as aliens from the shows such as Klingons and Ferengi interacted with visitors and stayed in character.

But most came for the main attractions. Originally, that was just the Klingon Encounter and History of the Future Museum, but BORG Invasion 4D was added in 2004 (at one point in 2005 there were plans to add another area devoted to the original 1960s series that featured Kirk and Spock but alas that never came to fruition.). Fans paid admission for both shows and experienced them as many times as they wanted. After paying, they turned a sharp right from the cashier off to the entrance’s right and walked up a long, twisting walkway that took them through the museum.

It featured an exhaustive timeline of our history and that of the shows and movies. But what was most interesting were the huge collection of genuine Star Trek props going back forty years. In fact, the people behind the attraction claimed the museum had the largest, permanent collection of props. After browsing through the winding museum, visitors stood in line and chose whichever attraction they wanted to try first.

In the Klingon Encounter, guests were somehow transported (through backstage effects) on board a flawless recreation of the Enterprise D’s interior complete with actors playing futuristic spacemen. What happened was that a visitor would line up to board a simulator ride then suddenly the lights would go out. There was a blast of air and quick strobe lights in the pitch darkness. Then the lights would go on and voila the visitor was standing on the transporter pads of the ship’s transporter room. Guests were then given a quick tour of the Enterprise’s corridors and bridge before being whisked away into a shuttle that confronted the Klingons. Of course, the shuttle was really a simulator ride that concluded the show. Basically the  storyline was that the Klingons traveled back in time to modern-day Earth and tried to abduct the visitors but the Enterprise intervened and transported the people on board. The twist was that someone in the group turned out to be the ancestor of Captain Picard. Both Jonathan Frakes and Levar Burton reprised on viewscreens their roles as Riker and LaForge.

The future was also visited in BORG Invasion 4D as fans entered a futuristic space station that came under attack by the villainous cyber beings, the Borg. As in the first show, actors stayed in character and the sets were flawless recreations of Federation architecture. Like in Klingon Encounter, guests were evacuated to a shuttle but contrary to the first attraction, this one concluded with the visitors sitting in a theater and being part of a 4D interactive film. It was similar to what you would find in the Disney or Universal parks with tactile experiences enhancing the show. In this film, the Borg were trying to assimilate the audience before being stopped by the starship Voyager. Robert Picardo, Kate Mulgrew and Alice Krige reprised on viewscreens their roles as the ship’s Emergency Medical Hologram, Admiral Janeway and the Borg Queen. Continue reading →