Star Trek, from a non-trekkie.
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Bassam Abdul-Baki wrote:
as I'm sure the new Kirk and Spock series will be
Excuse me? Tell me you are joking? Horse, whip, dead, comes to mind.
I Dream of Absolute Zero
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I was a big fan of Deep Space 9 too. To me, they had some of the more original plot lines. And I loved how later in the series, the plots started to span multiple episodes. (Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that DS9 was practically a ripoff of Babylon 5...but hey...)
225 years ago, we set an example for the rest of the world by creating a country where everyone could vote...
Well, except for women and black people, but we fixed that!
-Adam Duritz, of Counting CrowsDavid Stone wrote:
(Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that DS9 was practically a ripoff of Babylon 5...but hey...)
While thue of the dominion war arc, otherwise what you're saying's complete rubbish. The two were concieved and developed independently, and just the initial rumors of DS9 almost killed B5 before it started. Hollywierd execs were convinced no TV SF that wasn't ST had a prayer of making a profit, and just about when JMS finally conviced them otherwise rumors that the new ST series was going to be on a space station sent him back to square one.
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Having been watching the re-runs of the original series of Star Trek on the Sci Fi channel, I've just realised how damn good and entertaining some of the episodes are! Yes a few were absolutely rubbish, but some of the stories that they came up with are completely astounding. I should note I am ignoring things like graphics (which was understandable rubbish at the time) and acting (debatable). But the stories . The imaginative stories that came out of those series were quality! And to think this was back in the 60's. The Next Generation, to me, was great. Nice balance of quality graphics (at the time), and storylines (apart from that Q character). Compare this with the scripts of the likes of Enterprise and I almost want to puke X| . No more originality :(
I Dream of Absolute Zero
I've also been watching reruns of the various star trek series on the Canadian Space channel and they are running all the different series from start to finish with a new episode daily. I've avoided the original trek because I've just seen it so many damn times over the years, and DS9 because I remember I didn't like it when it first came out so avoiding it now. So we watch the next generation, Voyager and Enterprise. Looking at it now the next generation started out so badly I'm surprised it got picked up for any more seasons. The first season, probably the first two were horrible. Terrible acting, even more terrible scripts and dialog, horrible production values, in many of the first few episodes the cameras actually shook visibly as they moved them around in a shot, probably bargain basement equipment. It has been improving lately, I think were probably into season 3 or 4 at this point, but still the whole thing is so 80's or early '90s centric it's a bit laughable. The whole councilor on a ship sitting beside the captain is such a reflection of the time in which those episodes were made, the hair, everything. The only thing that really makes it watchable is the strong characters that came into their own after the first couple of seasons. Actually it seems that the turning point was when Denise Crosby's character was killed off in that pool of black oil or goo or whatever it was. Voyager on the other hand seems to be pretty strong right out of the gate for prodution values, acting and characterization. To be honest I think I enjoy it the most out of all the various treks. Enterprise on the other hand is just about complete crap. The captain is such a bad actor it's incredible he got the part, the production values are down again aside from the fact that CGI has improved so much it would have looked more like the original trek. The theme song though just screams out "you're going to hate this" every time I hear it. What in the world were they thinking, they thought so much of it they give the last credit at the opening of every show to the theme and prominently display it after the show has been going on for a few minutes. Just too bizarre. If it wasn't for the t'pol character it would be a complete bust, she carried that show on her back almost single handedly. They seem to have ended it rather abruptly, we had never seen it before and started watching it and suddenly they just ended it seemingly out of nowhere, were now seeing it from the start again, but very weird how they killed it.
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David Stone wrote:
(Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that DS9 was practically a ripoff of Babylon 5...but hey...)
While thue of the dominion war arc, otherwise what you're saying's complete rubbish. The two were concieved and developed independently, and just the initial rumors of DS9 almost killed B5 before it started. Hollywierd execs were convinced no TV SF that wasn't ST had a prayer of making a profit, and just about when JMS finally conviced them otherwise rumors that the new ST series was going to be on a space station sent him back to square one.
dan neely wrote:
just about when JMS finally conviced them otherwise rumors
Ha! I haven't seem "JMS" in years, I used to haunt the B5 usenet group and it brings back some fond memories. Great series, Battlestar Galactica is on par. None of the trek franchises touched a candle to either and the main "hook" of the original Star Trek of exploring social issues was all but abandoned forever afterwards which was really unfortunate.
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I've also been watching reruns of the various star trek series on the Canadian Space channel and they are running all the different series from start to finish with a new episode daily. I've avoided the original trek because I've just seen it so many damn times over the years, and DS9 because I remember I didn't like it when it first came out so avoiding it now. So we watch the next generation, Voyager and Enterprise. Looking at it now the next generation started out so badly I'm surprised it got picked up for any more seasons. The first season, probably the first two were horrible. Terrible acting, even more terrible scripts and dialog, horrible production values, in many of the first few episodes the cameras actually shook visibly as they moved them around in a shot, probably bargain basement equipment. It has been improving lately, I think were probably into season 3 or 4 at this point, but still the whole thing is so 80's or early '90s centric it's a bit laughable. The whole councilor on a ship sitting beside the captain is such a reflection of the time in which those episodes were made, the hair, everything. The only thing that really makes it watchable is the strong characters that came into their own after the first couple of seasons. Actually it seems that the turning point was when Denise Crosby's character was killed off in that pool of black oil or goo or whatever it was. Voyager on the other hand seems to be pretty strong right out of the gate for prodution values, acting and characterization. To be honest I think I enjoy it the most out of all the various treks. Enterprise on the other hand is just about complete crap. The captain is such a bad actor it's incredible he got the part, the production values are down again aside from the fact that CGI has improved so much it would have looked more like the original trek. The theme song though just screams out "you're going to hate this" every time I hear it. What in the world were they thinking, they thought so much of it they give the last credit at the opening of every show to the theme and prominently display it after the show has been going on for a few minutes. Just too bizarre. If it wasn't for the t'pol character it would be a complete bust, she carried that show on her back almost single handedly. They seem to have ended it rather abruptly, we had never seen it before and started watching it and suddenly they just ended it seemingly out of nowhere, were now seeing it from the start again, but very weird how they killed it.
John Cardinal wrote:
Enterprise on the other hand is just about complete crap. The captain is such a bad actor it's incredible he got the part,
Amen to that! Now I have to say that I don't really have anything against what's his face (Scott Bakula), but he really riles me whenever I see him on tele. < Pschycho-Analysis> I think it stems from my childhood when he starred in Quantum Leap. I found the concept of the show intresting, but the situations that he was put in, and his reactions to them was irritatingly stupid and outright ridiculous! I can't watch that show again without trying to punch a hole in my television screen :mad: </Pschycho-Analysis>
John Cardinal wrote:
t'pol character it would be a complete bust, she carried that show on her back almost single handedly
Amen again. The fact that she's got that hot dominatrix aura about her helps (same with Seven-of-Nine on Voyager). :-D
I Dream of Absolute Zero
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I've also been watching reruns of the various star trek series on the Canadian Space channel and they are running all the different series from start to finish with a new episode daily. I've avoided the original trek because I've just seen it so many damn times over the years, and DS9 because I remember I didn't like it when it first came out so avoiding it now. So we watch the next generation, Voyager and Enterprise. Looking at it now the next generation started out so badly I'm surprised it got picked up for any more seasons. The first season, probably the first two were horrible. Terrible acting, even more terrible scripts and dialog, horrible production values, in many of the first few episodes the cameras actually shook visibly as they moved them around in a shot, probably bargain basement equipment. It has been improving lately, I think were probably into season 3 or 4 at this point, but still the whole thing is so 80's or early '90s centric it's a bit laughable. The whole councilor on a ship sitting beside the captain is such a reflection of the time in which those episodes were made, the hair, everything. The only thing that really makes it watchable is the strong characters that came into their own after the first couple of seasons. Actually it seems that the turning point was when Denise Crosby's character was killed off in that pool of black oil or goo or whatever it was. Voyager on the other hand seems to be pretty strong right out of the gate for prodution values, acting and characterization. To be honest I think I enjoy it the most out of all the various treks. Enterprise on the other hand is just about complete crap. The captain is such a bad actor it's incredible he got the part, the production values are down again aside from the fact that CGI has improved so much it would have looked more like the original trek. The theme song though just screams out "you're going to hate this" every time I hear it. What in the world were they thinking, they thought so much of it they give the last credit at the opening of every show to the theme and prominently display it after the show has been going on for a few minutes. Just too bizarre. If it wasn't for the t'pol character it would be a complete bust, she carried that show on her back almost single handedly. They seem to have ended it rather abruptly, we had never seen it before and started watching it and suddenly they just ended it seemingly out of nowhere, were now seeing it from the start again, but very weird how they killed it.
There are TV's in Canada?
A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the Universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." -- Stephen Crane
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There are TV's in Canada?
A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the Universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." -- Stephen Crane
I watch all the reruns (from Canada!) of Enterprise. I have viewed again and again TOS (the original series) and TNG (the next generation), still watching some of the Voyager's reruns. I miss DS9, since space does not seem to air it nowadays. It use to, but I missed it because I did not have a DVR at the time. I love Enterprise and I am sad that the show has been cancelled. Difficult to compete with TOS, TNG, DS9 and VOY. Too much reruns on specialized channels seems to water down new series to the point wher they get difficult to sell anymore. Fortunately, I watched all DS9 when they originally aired, a zillion years ago. So, we have TVs, DVRs in Canada. :rose::cool:
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Bassam Abdul-Baki wrote:
you'll love the novels, especially those by Peter David
Initially I like Peter David for the humour. But after a while I just felt that he was twisting the characters' actions and words for a cheap laugh. For example, in (I think - it has been some year) A Rock and A Hard Place he has a scene where he has Picard's inner monologue show a side of his ego (vis a vis a comparison about Ricker's facial hair being greater in quantity than all the hair on Picards entire head) that simply doesn't exist.
Scottish Developers events: * .NET debugging, tracing and instrumentation by Duncan Edwards Jones and Code Coverage in .NET by Craig Murphy * Developer Day Scotland: are you interested in speaking or attending? My: Website | Blog
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There are TV's in Canada?
A man said to the universe: "Sir I exist!" "However," replied the Universe, "The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation." -- Stephen Crane
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I watch all the reruns (from Canada!) of Enterprise. I have viewed again and again TOS (the original series) and TNG (the next generation), still watching some of the Voyager's reruns. I miss DS9, since space does not seem to air it nowadays. It use to, but I missed it because I did not have a DVR at the time. I love Enterprise and I am sad that the show has been cancelled. Difficult to compete with TOS, TNG, DS9 and VOY. Too much reruns on specialized channels seems to water down new series to the point wher they get difficult to sell anymore. Fortunately, I watched all DS9 when they originally aired, a zillion years ago. So, we have TVs, DVRs in Canada. :rose::cool:
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Having been watching the re-runs of the original series of Star Trek on the Sci Fi channel, I've just realised how damn good and entertaining some of the episodes are! Yes a few were absolutely rubbish, but some of the stories that they came up with are completely astounding. I should note I am ignoring things like graphics (which was understandable rubbish at the time) and acting (debatable). But the stories . The imaginative stories that came out of those series were quality! And to think this was back in the 60's. The Next Generation, to me, was great. Nice balance of quality graphics (at the time), and storylines (apart from that Q character). Compare this with the scripts of the likes of Enterprise and I almost want to puke X| . No more originality :(
I Dream of Absolute Zero
There are a few good books around which tell the story of the original series. "Fascinating" as a sertain pointy eared crew member might say. The fight Gene Rodenberry had on his hands to get a racially mixed crew is a good example. Elaine :rose: PS I like Q :-D
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Bassam Abdul-Baki wrote:
David's Q-Squared novel. I
Nice. I'll add this to my Amazon wish list lest I forget.:)
I Dream of Absolute Zero
I'll second Bassam's Peter David recommendations. Q-in-Law is the only sci-fi book I've ever read more than once. Vendetta is also pretty cool--great Borg story, from the time before the Borg got turned into wimps. There's a lot of crappy Star Trek novels out there, but I find Peter David's always a good bet.
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I was a big fan of Deep Space 9 too. To me, they had some of the more original plot lines. And I loved how later in the series, the plots started to span multiple episodes. (Of course, I'm ignoring the fact that DS9 was practically a ripoff of Babylon 5...but hey...)
225 years ago, we set an example for the rest of the world by creating a country where everyone could vote...
Well, except for women and black people, but we fixed that!
-Adam Duritz, of Counting Crows> I was a big fan of Deep Space 9 too. [raises hand] I hated DS9 at first--the first 2-3 seasons are downright painful to watch (comparable to TNG Season 1). But things took a turn for the better when they started doing longer story arcs, which was a Trek first. Two things they never should've attempted though--the so-called "humor" episodes (eg, anything Ferengi-centric), and the whole damned soap opera aspect. I felt everything Voyager did was rehash the same old episodes, only taking place in the Delta Quadrant. Enterprise is just a great example of running a franchise into the ground (and keep going)--though if it would've started with Season 4 scripts, it would've fared a lot better.
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Having been watching the re-runs of the original series of Star Trek on the Sci Fi channel, I've just realised how damn good and entertaining some of the episodes are! Yes a few were absolutely rubbish, but some of the stories that they came up with are completely astounding. I should note I am ignoring things like graphics (which was understandable rubbish at the time) and acting (debatable). But the stories . The imaginative stories that came out of those series were quality! And to think this was back in the 60's. The Next Generation, to me, was great. Nice balance of quality graphics (at the time), and storylines (apart from that Q character). Compare this with the scripts of the likes of Enterprise and I almost want to puke X| . No more originality :(
I Dream of Absolute Zero
I credit DC Fontana with writing some of the better episodes.[^]
"I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park"--Cars
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I'll second Bassam's Peter David recommendations. Q-in-Law is the only sci-fi book I've ever read more than once. Vendetta is also pretty cool--great Borg story, from the time before the Borg got turned into wimps. There's a lot of crappy Star Trek novels out there, but I find Peter David's always a good bet.