San Diego Comic Con is happening this week, and each year, like clockwork, I end up catching some form of illness from interacting with the masses who attend the event. I haven’t quite turned into a zombie just yet, but it’s certainly a possibility — or so this novel would like me to believe. Night of the Living Trekkies, from the publishers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, tells the story of some uniform-clad, prosthetic-eared fanboys who happen to be attending their annual Star Trek convention when suddenly aliens decide to unleash a zombie plague. Needless to say, their pseudo-Starfleet training suddenly comes in handy. The book is supposedly littered with countless references to the show, and fanboy culture, making it a must buy for people like you and me. Best of all, the book goes on sale just in time for the con. It’s scheduled for release on July 22nd.
It’s been the long time dream of science fiction to produce a ray gun that won’t kill, well it now looks like that’s now reality according to this BBC article: Read more…
I know some of you miss having your flip phones for the sole reason of getting to pretend you were Captain Kirk asking to beam up. Who could blame you, though? They looked just like the Star Trek original series communicators, after all. Unfortunately, some of you probably gave that up the moment you purchased your first iPhone. Well, thanks to CBS Interactive, you might not have to. Their recently released Star Trek Communicator app manages to reproduce the look and sounds of the original series handset using your iphone’s interface. In fact, you can even use it to access your contacts and make real phone calls via the app — assuming you’re using an iPhone and not an iPod Touch , of course. The app will cost you $1.99 via the app store, but I’d say that’s a small price to pay for the novelty. Read more…
As any well-trained fanboy (or fangurl) should know, Comic-Con International— also known as San Diego Comic-Con –is right around the corner, running from Wednesday, July 21st to Sunday, July 25th. Those five days are jam-packed with programming, and as usual, some of those days are…special. Read more…
I’m not much of a Trekkie (nor a Trekker), but even I can get a kick out of the following video, spotted at Topless Robot and shot in what I’m going to guess were the early ’80s, possibly late ’70s, featuring Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and Bill Shatner (Kirk) recalling fond memories of their time on the Star Trek set…particularly as it relates to Nimoy’s bicycle.
Oddly enough, it’s the Shat who spends more time proclaiming to be the logical one in the situation… Read more…
Diamond Select recently announced the latest individual additions to their “”Series 5” Star Trek: The Original Series action figure line. This time around, Kirk sports his seemingly comfortable season 3 Green Dress shirt –I’ve always suspected it was a result of Shatner complaining about the standard tunics being way too stuffy. He’ll be joined by Scotty, whom I believe was previously released as part of a Spock/Scotty two-pack, and a random Romulan officer, all of which should retail for about $15.99 each. Read more…
Actually that’s not a actual dustbuster but in fact a replica of phaser from Star Trek: The Next Generation. While the show had a loyal fan base that’s still active till this day the industrial design of the series wasn’t always that imaginative and had many trappings of the decade. So of course in the politically correct depiction of the future a phaser couldn’t look like a good old fashioned handgun, and thus the phasers from the series earned their infamous dustbuster monikers. Of course this is no mere dustbuster but a collectable prop which will set you back about $500.
Ever wonder what Data would look like if he were built in Japan? Well, now we know thanks to Dragon Models’ upcoming line of Star Trek: The Next Generation 1/6th scale action figures. The android is joined by Captain Picard and what appears to be Lieutenant Worf circa season 3 — you can obviously tell by the uniform and hair. To be honest, I’m not loving what they did with Worf, but they managed to capture Sir Patrick Stewart’s visage quite nicely. As for Data himself? Well, the tilt of his head was a nice touch. Read more…
Medicom’s at it again with their ever-so-popular Be@rbrick line — this time, featuring characters from Star Trek’s original series. While I’m sure most of you were probably hoping to see Spock and McCoy along for the ride, Kirk’s instead joined by Uhura. A bit of a surprise, but definitely nothing to complain about. Being sold as a set, they’re current listed for 2604 yen, which comes out to about $28 USD. No word on when they’ll be available for order, though I’m sure we’ll end up seeing them for order via Hobby Link Japan in no time.
I just love the amazing amount of detail that has been put into this Star Trek The Wrath of Khan Communicator Replica. In addition to detailing the communicator features three play modules: voice clip mode, hail/call-back function and our all time favorite — Screaming Kirk Mode! This goodie will be out in November, but you can pre-order it here.
Word came out this week that the Pee-Wee Herman Show, and its infamous star Paul Rubens, are moving on to Broadway, for a short time at least. This is one of those ideas that makes you go, “why didn’t anyone think of this YEARS ago?” because Pee-Wee and its mix of puppetry and live stars are perfect for the stage.
But it’s not the only show that I’d like to see get a Broadway adaptation. Here are just a few from my childhood* that deserve a shot.
* I watched some Nick at Nite, so this is all technically true. Read more…
Who hasn’t made a cup of Earl Grey, and imagined themselves ordering it from a replicator? It might not be as instantaneous, but ThinkGeek’s Timmy the Monkey now has his own tea sampler set that features, among others, Tea, Earl Grey, Hot. I’m not even kidding — that’s what they’re actually calling their Earl Grey. It’s even labeled with the iconic Star Trek: The Next Generation typeface. Other flavors include Timmy’s 1UP Jasmine Green, Zombie Blood Orange, and Pirate Chai, but honestly, I’m sold on the novelty of the Earl Grey alone. Each of the four containers hold enough loose-leaf tea to make 10 cups. It’s a bit steep for $17.99, but given the fact that it’s all loose-leaf and not the cheap stuff you find in modern teabags, at least you know you’re going to be getting some quality tea out of it. For more info, check out their site here. Read more…
Star Trek Magazine is finally available for digital download. Since 1995, Titan UK has been publishing this fantastic magazine overseas, and while we have a decent equivalent here in the States, Star Trek: The Magazine, I’ve always wondered what I’ve been missing. Now, thanks to the folks over at Zinio, we can find out without having to spend the extra cash to import it. Starting with June, each issue will cost $4.89 each. Alternatively, you can opt for a subscription, offering 8 issues for $40. Considering what they usually charge for the print, this is a real steal of a deal. Check out the Zinio website for more information. Read more…
The sad fate of most red shirts is Star Trek is brutal, but poor Ensign Bernie here has it worse than most Enterprise away teams! Usually a security officer can count on getting killed in a clean manner like a motral but quick and painless phaser wound, but poor Bernie has been turned into a sad version of oysters on the half shell by some Etsy monster that I’m sure we’ll meet in the future. Credit for Ensign Bernie goes to Ory B. Read more…
Warning! This Star Trek First Contact Phaser Rifle Replica is not for low budget fanboys. At over $1000 this fabulous firearm includes a hand painted finish, shoulder strap, and of course working lights and sound effects. Here’s Worf in action with the phaser rifle (note: Klingon attitude not included with the replica): Read more…
This little video might spoil J.J. Abram’s Star Trek for you, but if you haven’t seen the film, you deserve to have it spoiled by now. While I was reading Simon Pegg’s (Scotty) tweets, I stumbled upon a link to this hilarious, albeit short, spoof of the 2009 sci-fi blockbuster. Push It Films, known on YouTube for their various low-budget spoofs, really went all out with this one — though I have to admit I a bit disappointed by the lack of lens flare, because if anything about has yet to be spoofed to death, it’s that. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on May 2, 2010 in Star Trek
For those who have grown up with Star Trek this trailer for Trek Nation looks — I hate to say it — looks fascinating. The film was done by Gene Roddenberry’s son as an attempt to connect with his father who has passed away. Included are interviews with many folks connected with the franchise like D.C. Fontana and Patrick Stewart, but there’s also the nice touch of have industry legends like George Lucas and Stan Lee talk about the show and the man who brought it to life. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 29, 2010 in Fandom, Star Trek
John Krietzer assembled this stunning radio controlled version of the Enterprise A! When I first looked at this video I expected a brief voyage at best, but I was quite tickled to see the Enterprise taking a full tour of the galaxy — err the park: Read more…
Patrick Stewart (better known to us Star Trek fanboys as Captain Picard) will be showing off his acting skills in Hamlet which will play on most PBS stations tonight at 8pm (check your local listings for Great Performances). Stewart will be playing Claudius, however Dr. Who fans should also take note of this production as David Tennant will be playing Hamlet. In the clip above Stewart talks about making Shakespeare appeal to today’s audiences. And below is a clip of Stewart sharing his feelings on tech issues like Twitter and the iPhone. Read more…
When I first laid eyes on an iPad, I knew I had to have it. Sure, I didn’t really have a practical use for one, aside from using it to read e-books or check my mail, but the hipster in me just couldn’t resist. Besides, it was the closest thing to a Star Trek padd I could get, and now, thanks to the LCARS Reader app, it’s even closer than before. Let’s just hope that CBS keeps their grubby hands off of it. Read more…
Amazon has updated their listing for the upcoming Star Trek: The Original Series 365 coffee table reference book. The 774 page hardcover claims to be the most comprehensive guide for the series to date, featuring remastered photos, in-depth episode synopses, interviews with cast and crew, behind-the-scenes and more. While the concept behind the book is similar to that of John Knoll’s Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days, the description promises quite a bit more in terms of content. It’ll retail for $29.95 when it ships this September, though Amazon is currently offering a 34% discount off the list price for pre-orders. Read more…
Rather than exploring strange new worlds or civilizations, Seagate and Paramount have recently teamed up to offer a strange new deal for film and portable hard drive enthusiasts. In what they claim is an industry first — I’ve yet to find evidence to the contrary — Seagate will be selling a selection of their 500 GB Free Agent Go portable hard drives pre-loaded with a selection of 20 Paramount films, including a free copy of J.J. Abram’s Star Trek. Read more…
These fine Kirk and Spock Nutcrackers are perfect for opening the L’maki nut which when pureed makes a wonderful blue cream cake frosting. Ah but that recipe is from Voyager, getting back to Kirk and Spock the pair of nut cracking officers will set you back about $20 for the four inch tall versions — or if you are more ambitious there is an eleven inch tall version of Spock and Kirk which go for about $33 each.
I am blown away by the quality of this virtual Lego Klingon Bird of Prey by Kevin J. Walter. This virtual model features 274,350 parts, would be 516 centimeters long and was rendered with the help of Eric Albrecht. This staggering project took more than two years to complete: Read more…
