Posted by Michael Sacco on Sep 8, 2010 in Star Trek
From a modern sci-fi enthusiast’s perspective, the original Star Trek TV series is a pretty campy experience. In fact, let’s just extend that to “everybody.” But you can’t deny its unique brand of futurism, which continues to influence science fiction (and regular science) in the decades since it first aired. The newly-released hardcover Star Trek 365 features a treasure trove of over three hundred pieces of art from the series’ 71-episode run, from set photos to concept art to beautiful newly-remastered stills. There’s even rarely-seen licensed art, like the box art for the first plastic Spock model shown above. The only way the book could be more compelling for fans of the series (or retro futurism) is if it was bound in corbomite. Read more…
I’m not even sure how I’ve never heard of Quantum Quest. Sure, it’s not the latest Disney/Pixar or Dreamworks venture — a fact that becomes rather evident the moment you see the trailer for the film — but with a cast out of a sci-fi enthusiasts wet dream, you’d think it would have had a bit more press. Perhaps featuring Jedis and Starfleet Captains in the literal sense might have garnered a few more headlines, but unfortunately they’ve had to settle for their voices instead — still an amazing feat nonetheless. According the official website, the cast includes Chris Pine, Samuel L. Jackson, Hayden Christensen, Robert Picardo, Brent Spiner, James Earl Jones, William Shatner, and Mark Hamil among others. Read more…
Have you ever wondered what Kirk would have done if he was stuck with Wesley Crusher? Actually, we already know the answer. All kidding aside though, Pot Luck Comics’ webcomic parody “Ensign Sue Must Die!” shows us just what happens when a seventeen year-old girl joins the crew of the Enterprise. While it has its fair share of cuteness, they’ve tossed in enough fan service to make it worthwhile for anyone who loved the original series, or Abram’s recent reboot. The strip has already finished its run, but you can still view all 32 strips online, or sport $6 for a printed copy via Interrobang.
Are you fond of betting with fictional currencies because you have nothing to carry your cash with? That probably won’t be a problem for much longer — Star Trek Mighty Wallets are on the way. In case you you don’t know what those are, Mighty Wallets are basically seamless, seamless, stitch-less wallets constructed from high density polyethylene. That’s the same material used to create those nearly-indestructible tags you’ll find on mattresses. Of course, the wallets are slightly thicker. These specific wallets feature some amazing art from the original Gold Key Star Trek comics published during the ’60s and ’70s — making one a must have for anyone who loved those classics. They go on sale next month, but you can pre-order yours for a mere $15 here. There’s also a short trailer if you’d like a closer look.
How often do you see those little fish emblems on cars? You know which ones I’m talking about — the fish used to tell everyone else that they’re Christian and proud of it. Why? I’m not so sure myself, but I guess they feel its important that we know. Hell, I’ve counted at least 4 or 5 of them today, but I have to admit that I wasn’t exactly going out of my way to look. Now, I’m well aware that modifying that emblem to fit our needs isn’t exactly a new idea. In fact, I’m getting a bit tired of seeing the little feet attached — it was funny the first 1,000 times. Why not show your love for Star Trek instead? Well, thanks to ThinkGeek, you can share your love for Shatner and Stewart with other unsuspecting motorists. Better yet, it doesn’t have poor Darwin’s name smushed inside and is still slightly clever. Besides, it has warp nacelles — awesome, right? Read more…
If you’re like me, odds are that you never get around to collecting comics. It’s not that we don’t want to read them, but with so many being released, sometimes we just can’t make it to the store in a timely manner. Thankfully IDW’s already thought of a solution to all our problems — the almighty omnibus. Their latest, entitled Star Trek: The Original Series Omnibus, combines a number of Original Series comics such as Year Four, the Enterprise Experiment, Alien Spotlights and more.
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.
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…
The late 70s wasn’t the best of time for the comic book biz so Marvel took a look at Dynamite magazine and Starlog magazine and created their own youth culture magazine called Pizzazz. The magazine was an amazing mirror of pop culture during the disco era of 1977 until 1979 and lasted a total of 16 issues. The inside of the publication featured articles on popular films, a Star Wars comic and even a one pager by Harvey Kurtzman. 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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 27, 2010 in Star Trek
I came across this amazing video from back in the day showing quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work that went into Star Trek: The Motion Picture back in 1978. The film would be released in 1979 to mixed reviews, but while it wasn’t Star Wars you have to admire the amount of work that went into this film. You also get a glimpse into how making a special effects film was different then: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 24, 2010 in Fandom, Star Trek
This amazing silent 8mm film sheds light on an amazing lost moment in Star Trek fandom: It shows a cast reunion at Chicago convention in late August of 1975. I realize today that doesn’t sound like a big deal but you have to step into the shoes of fans of that era to appreciate this special film. This was an age when the only way to watch an episode of Star Trek might have been if you owned a 16mm film print of an episode. There wasn’t much science fiction on television so desperate fanboys and fangurls wanted Star Trek to come back on the air as much as Beatles fans dreamed of another album. So the ability for fans to see their heros reunite on stage must have been true magic — and it’s because of those fans that not only did the cast return to make several films, but that the series still lives on today. Read more…
I usually avoid the holiday focused booths at the Toy Fair, but Rubie’s had these adorable Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock Halloween which captured my heart. The manufacturer also has a full line of Watchmen costumes for adults who like to cosplay. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Feb 10, 2010 in Star Trek
Back in the day you’d only think about doing a sequel if a film was a cut above everything else — however these days if you’re a studio who is investing huge sums of money to get it right you plan to shoot several films at a time. Lucas did this with Star Wars in 1999, and the Matrix and Lord the Rings used the same formula. So you’d think if you were an executive at Paramount and you had J.J. Abrams signed up you wouldn’t be producing a one shot? Well that bet would be incorrect — and the next Trek film won’t be due out until 2012 at this rate. Read more…
Fanboys love their toys! And 2009 has been a great year for collectors of both high and low art, so we’ve put together our favorites from this year with an eye on unique twists on old themes. For example shown above O-No! Sushi by Andrew Bell is an urban toy reaction from a vegetarian to sushi. Read more…
