Science Fiction Stuff

Stargate Universe Images and Wallpaper

2009-11-01T21:33:00.003+13:00

Younger members of the Stargate Universe Crew
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The crew of the Ancient Ship 'Destiny'
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Stargate Universe, Water

2009-11-01T18:48:00.004+13:00

The water on board Destiny is running out because an alien creature from the desert planet that we saw in episode 3 has somehow made it aboard and is hogging all the water whenever someone opens the tank.

Colonel Young and Lieutenant Scott make their way through the Stargate to replenish their supply of water from a barren ice world, meanwhile the whispy cloud of miniature alien razor blades manage to rip apart one of the crewmembers who confronts it in a corridor.

Stargate Universe is still throwing out really good episodes and this one was very good. 'Water' did not have quite the feel of jeopardy of previous episodes and there is not a great deal of action in it, but the usual characters all have great moments to shine.

6.5/10.0

Star Trek 2009, Deleted Scenes review

2009-10-30T18:34:00.004+13:00

It arrived!

One day after I ordered it from Mightyape and 40 New Zealand dollars later, I ripped open the package to check out the deleted scenes from JJ Abrams 'Star Trek'.

My verdict. Good. Not great, but good.

I was kinda hoping for some really mean visual effects but the deleted scenes really only had examples of what might have been. I will say this, I can understand completely why they took these scenes out. The movie is much better without them.

Nero gets captured by Klingons is probably the most eagerly awaited scene for many a fan and it certainly fills in a few holes for the Nerada and crew. The set piece for the Rura Penthe scene is quite big. A large outdoors set with plenty of extras who probably are very pissed off that they never made it to the final cut. Nero is interrogated by a Klingon who has a rather 'soft' voice for a Klingon (I presume they would have Klingonified his voice in post) and soon breaks free after he beats the shit out of the guards and then runs to a cell where he releases 'Ayel' declaring that awesome line from the trailer 'The wait is over!'

I found it interesting that we never actually see the Klingons per se, they are always hidden behind a ridged helmet. I wonder why? Definitely another homage to Enterprise and the TOS.

We also see in more detail how Kirk was able to plant the subroutine into the Kobayashi Maru test by way of a little trick with Gaila, the Orion slave girl.

Winona Ryder gets much more screen time in the deleted scenes than the movie itself. She has a scene with her husband (Sarek) over the naming of their child 'Spock' and a very good confrontational scene with Sarek when young 'Spock' gets into the fight before Sarek talks to him about it.

There is a very funny scene where Kirk apologies to the green girl over using her. But realises after his speech that this is someone else. Its funny, but again I can see why they removed it.

Even after many many months, I still think that this re imagination of my favourite Sci Fi franchise has still been a massive success and I cannot thank JJ Abrams, the producers and writers enough for bringing it back to us.

By the way, am I the only one who noticed that Nero has part of his ear missing, a la 'Chopper Reid'...awesome.

Long live trek.

Stargate Universe, Darkness and Light

2009-10-25T20:52:00.009+13:00

At the start of any new TV show, the chances that most of the characters are going to die off is a cataclysmic event are pretty slim.

But, having just watched the Stargate Universe episodes 4 and 5 (Episodes 'darkness' and 'light') I was actually thinking for a moment here and there 'will they? won't they!'

Often in sci fi you can see the solution to a crisis coming a mile away and that's OK, because it is scifi and we love it.
There is usually a somewhat predicable technological solution to almost every crisis.

Stargate Universe (so far) is different, they almost convince you that there is absolutely no hope for our characters this time.

The good ship 'Destiny' is still on its pre-programmed mission of...well...we don't know. But one thing is for sure, the 'Destiny' has an appetite for survival.

We spend most of episode 'Darkness' watching as our characters as the ship runs out of power and the ship slingshots itself around a planet to enter an area ripe with supplies, unfortunately Destiny has changed course after the slingshot and it is not heading toward any planet. It is heading toward the sun.

As the ship approaches the star, the only working shuttle is made ready to fly to the nearest habitable planet for only 17 people, 15 of which are drawn by lottery. The rest must remain aboard Destiny, where they will soon be killed as the ship enters the sun.

Plenty of time is taken for the characters to accept the inevitable and I kept waiting for Dr Rush to come running with a magical technical solution to the problem. But he never does, thereby holding the suspense for much longer.

Of course, a solution ultimately arrives, but not before they must retrieve the shuttle in a nice reversal of last minute danger before Destiny jumps back into FTL, leaving them stranded.

It usually takes me a few episodes to convince me of a shows worth. This one has had me hooked from the start.

I cannot wait for the next one!

Stargate Universe, the Verdict

2009-10-14T20:48:00.003+13:00

*Minor Spoiler Zone

What did you think?

I'll tell you what I think. So far I think this newest incarnation of the seemingly invincible and ever enduring Stargate franchise is bloody good. No doubt with its darker tones and more battlestar-ish feel that the writers and producers are aiming to gather a slightly more serious audience to the table.

Being Scottish I am ever so slightly bias toward the fact that one of my favourite actors, Robert Carlyle is playing one of the leads, if not the lead in the show and at first I thought he was just another clone of the smart doctor on board who everyone hates, but needs, I am already wondering if there is more to his character than that.

This, I think is the intention. More character development... already I am only 3 episodes in and I want to know more about what happens to these people who are stranded 'several billion light years from home'. In particular my immediate attention is drawn to Ronald Greer, Eli Wallace and Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle)

Interestingly this new Sci Fi Premiere seems to favour drama over action, since to be honest there really is hardly any action at all, except during some flashbacks to the attack on Icarus Base.

Stargate Universe (SG:U) is definitely trying to break new ground in the realm of Sci Fi and that just fine by me.

Things I love about it so far:

Internal Conflict (always a good thing)
Interesting Characters
Great Music
Great FX
Emphasis on Survival over Adventure (Adventure seems incidental)
and a Huge New (Ancient) ship to explore!

Things I don't really like about it so far:

Those daft communications stones, that's it!

Sci Fi Stuff...

Star Trek 2009, The Haters, Criticisms and Rebukes.

2009-10-14T13:35:00.018+13:00

I simply cannot believe the sheer number of articles on the web which are completely hammering JJ Abrams reboot of Star Trek, actually scratch that, I can believe it. I guess I just forgot for a moment while I was wrapped up in the incredible resurgence of Star Trek that there is a size able, vocal minority out there in the Sci Fi fraternity which simply cannot help but be dour, joyless nerds who care about nothing but the minutiae.

Yes I know that all Star Trek fans are probably considered nerds anyway, but what I am talking about is 'NERDS!' not nerds, ok?

There is an absolutely staggering amount of haters out there who absolutely MUST find fault with a movie which lets just remind each other for a moment, is 'Sci Fi' as in 'Science Fiction' as in, 'lets face it it's a bunch of made up shit' which we love, of course.

So, even though sci fi is a bunch of made up shit and we love it, these guys (and gals) cannot help themselves. OK I know that this is a free world and I am not telling anyone not to criticise this film, but when that criticism blindly finds fault with the contents of a film which exist entirely in fiction, I cannot help but want to hit these people.

Here are a few of the main criticisms flying around the Internet at the moment.

1
:Janeway Pi Alpha 47
Cadet to Captain? What is this? Did someone submit a piece of fan fiction to the studio that got somehow got swapped with an actual movie script and no one noticed?...read the full post

OK, yes I admit, Kirks move from Cadet, to XO, to captain was remarkably quick. However if you take it in the context of the story and situation then I think it makes it more believable, bearing in mind that Sci Fi does rely upon its fans to 'believe' many things. Here is my rebuke:

Primary fleet in the Laurentian system, leaving the remainder made up of mostly cadets and young officers with a few senior ones such as Captain Pike.
We already know that Pike likes the idea of 'leaping without looking' and he thinks that this is something Starfleet has lost.
Historically we also know that soldiers are promoted very very quickly during wartime and with the decimation of the 7 Federation ships this is effectively a war and the Enterprise is all that stands between Nero and Earth.
So Kirk is promoted to XO, (probably also thinking that he could be dead at anytime during the crisis). Pike is taking a chance on him and he is right to do so. (leaps without looking)
Kirk is promoted to captain after the Starfleet assembly at the end of the film, which could have been many many months later by the way, after the Enterprise is fixed up and Kirk is fitted for his new Uniform :-P

So, bearing in mind that his command decisions as 'acting Captain' saved the goddam planet from dissolving into a black hole and ending up god knows where (It could have ended up in the Farscape Universe, what a bloody nightmare!), lets give the guy a break and make him Captain, no?

2
:Tiki's review
'The main bad guy apparently was lost in space for 25 years, but pshh, didn't age a day.'
read more

Here we bloody go again. Ok, listen up Tiki, this is Sci Fi. Lets just say that maybe, just maybe those pesky Romulans might not age as quick as we do, OK? lets just say that maybe they live much much longer!.... wait hang on a moment, this was already established in Trek, DECADES AGO!

3
:whytheysuck.com
This guy makes several very well written and thought out criticisms of the movies but throws a cheap shot about the 'fucking dog'.
With Star Trek’s medical science I can buy the idea of a 140 year old Jonathan Archer. I can not buy the idea of a 94 year old Porthos. Not even Phlox is that good a medic. read more

They never mentioned for one moment that this was Porthos. People often buy the same breed of dog to replace the one that dies, this could have been Porthos XI for all we bloody know... in fact, why am I even rebuking this comment? Jesus I have been dragged down by all the gloom....

SOMEONE HELP ME!

JJ Abrams Speaks more about a Star Trek Sequel

2009-10-13T12:18:00.002+13:00

Star Trek II (Star Trek XII) or Star Trek 12!

Last we heard from JJ Abrams was that Star Trek 2 needed to be an allegory to societal issues of today much like Rodenberry’s vision was so many years ago. “It needs to do what [the late 'Trek' creator Gene] Roddenberry did so well, which is allegory. It needs to tell a story that has connection to what is familiar and what is relevant. It also needs to tell it in a spectacular way that hides the machinery and in a primarily entertaining and hopefully moving story. There needs to be relevance, yes, and that doesn’t mean it should be pretentious. If there are simple truths — truths connected to what we live — that elevates any story — that’s true with any story.”

Read more from Fused Film >>

Finally Spotted R2D2 in Star Trek

2009-10-04T23:32:00.005+13:00

Well, I hunted and hunted for images of R2D2 in Star Trek and I scoured the web for an image of it.

All the images I found online all are wrong. Like the one above (which of course an image of the Enterprise shuttle)

As you can see, R2D2 is floating through the debris field in a shot where the Director figured out attention would of course be on he giant cockroach of a ship, the Nerada. While completely ignoring this little robot floating gently to the left of the screen.

But here he is! Undeniable proof that R2D2 somehow was transported through space and time in order to witness the destruction of Vulcan. I guess the chances are that he was then sucked into the black hole and sent elsewhere.

Battlestar Galactica - The Plan

2009-09-29T18:20:00.002+13:00

First it was November, and then it was this fall.

Now “Battlestar Galactica: The Plan” won't air in 2009 at all according to the Syfy channel and Chicago Tribune columnist Maureen Ryan.

The much anticipated movie, which is a new take on the pivotal events of “Battlestar Galactica,” will tell the story of the attack on the Twelve Colonies from the point of view of the Cylons.

Fans are eagerly anticipating the release and with much reason. The show ended in April, which left a lot of fans wanting more after only four seasons. Edward James Olmos, the director and legendary Adm. William Adama in the series that ran from 2003 to 2009, has said on numerous occasions that when “Battlestar” fans see “The Plan,” "They’re all going to have to go back and watch the entire series again.”

The DVD will still be released Oct. 27, and there's no word from Syfy that this street date will change.

Battlestar Galactica - The Complete Series DVD & Blu-ray

2009-09-29T18:08:00.006+13:00

From the Guardian...

There are still (foolish) people who refuse to watch this on the grounds that a) It's like that dumb show from the 1970s or b) It's not enough like that dumb show from the 1970s.

Both groups are seriously missing out because the revamped Galactica might just be one of the finest shows television has ever produced.

Taking the bare bones of the original, it places humanity on the endangered species list in the opening miniseries, when 12 colony planets are attacked by the Cylons (a robot race mankind created decades previously), reducing humanity to around 50,000 souls. In this version, there are no aliens or goofy, episodic helping-out-a-planet-in-peril plots.

In fact, other than having created robots and having discovered a way to travel faster than light, they're not too different from us. They smoke, drink, use telephones, listen to the radio, have ill-considered sex and argue. A lot.

Read More >>

Wallpaper: USS Kelvin, Starship

2009-08-27T11:48:00.010+12:00

Federation Starship Hi Resolution Image and Wallpaper
USS Kelvin NCC-0514
2200 x 1200 (Original Size)
Wallpaper Sizes Download : 1920 x 1200 : 1920 x 1080 (HD)
1680 x 1050 : 1440 x 900 : 1280 x 800

This is my 2nd effort at rendering this incredible mesh by Tobias Richter.
I played around with the lens flare for quite a while until it looked just right.
Render time took approx 1 hour on a 2.8Ghz Pentium D 3.25GB Ram!

USS Kelvin Hi Resolution Image / Wallpaper
1680 x 1050 : 1440 x 900 : 1280 x 800

USS Kelvin mesh by Tobias Richter - Composited and Rendered in Lightwave by ScienceFictionStuff.com

This is my first attempt at rendering the amazing USS Kelvin Mesh by Tobias Richter from The Light Works.
I tried to get some nice shadows on the hull from a very close angle, in retrospect I think the image is too close but I still like the angle.
Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Wallpaper: Star Trek Space Battle

2009-08-24T21:06:00.015+12:00

USS Voyager, USS Cairo, USS Defiant, USS Esk
Download Full Size Star Trek Wallpaper

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USS Voyager and USS Cairo are the first to open fire on a Suspected Romulan probe detected in the Terran System circa 2380:
I rendered this image 4 times with one basic shot, one with more light on the runabout and 2 with a yellow light on the Excelsior and Voyager hull to make the phasers look more realistic ( My good mate Kendall pointed out that I have got the emitter wrong on the excelsior slightly wrong. I checked the blueprints and of course, he is right)
The phasers were done in photoshop using a combination of Gaussian blur, ripple effect and noise.
I also added noise to the overall image to make the hulls look a little more realistic.
Voyager By Sarod / Excelsior by Eric Peterson / Danube by T.Slanitz / Defiant by Jonas Ljungberg Phasers, Phaser Lighting, Rendered and Composited by Muzzerino www.sciencefictionstuff.com

Wallpaper: Nebula Class Starship

2009-08-24T11:23:00.023+12:00

2 Nebula Class Federation Starships
USS Edinburgh NCC-5255 and USS Auckland NCC-2366
orbiting Earth's Moon Circa 2381

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Nebula Class Federation Starship USS Sutherland
passes 'Dione' during refit testing circa 2378

Download 1920 x 1080 (HD) 1680 x 1050

I always loved the design of the Nebula Class Federation Starships and this mesh by Flat Eric is amazing. The only change I made was to the shape of the main deflectors central component. The mesh has a very round dish and I felt that the more rectangular one was more like the series. Please let me know what you think in the comments!
The Nebula-class was a type of Federation starship that was in service in Starfleet during the latter half of the 24th century.
Construction of the Nebula-class was spearheaded under the authority of the Yoyodyne Division, and ranged in construction dates from as early as 2363 to as late as 2367. Vessels including USS Phoenix and USS Sutherland where constructed at this time at both the 40 Eridani A Starfleet Construction Yards and later the San Francisco Fleet Yards orbiting Earth.
The Nebula-class was equipped with multiple phaser banks, located at various points along both hulls, as well as multiple torpedo launchers. The Nebula-class had a maximum effective weapons range exceeding 300,000 kilometers.

Star Trek Wallpaper rendered in Lightwave 3d and Adobe Photoshop : Mesh by Flat Eric
Additional Info by Memory-Alpha

Wallpaper: Galor Class Cardassian Warship

2009-08-23T22:06:00.016+12:00

After messing around in Lightwave and Photoshop, I decided to create some Star Trek Wallpapers. Please let me know what you think in the comments!

1920 x 1080 Wallpaper

Cardassian Galor Class Warship 'Gorand' on routine patrol along the Federation border

Galor-class cruisers were the primary class of warship by the Cardassian Guard during the latter half of the 24th century.
The arsenals of Galor-class warships vary, though typically they are armed with numerous phaser arrays. Although the Galor-class vessels were decidedly inferior to the Federation's Galaxy-class starships, they proved to be very effective against Miranda-class and other older Federation starships.

Star Trek Wallpaper rendered in Lightwave 3d and Adobe Photoshop
Additional Info by Memory-Alpha

Transformers 2 : Mini Review

2009-08-12T10:35:00.008+12:00

Ok, I finally bit the bullet and went this last weekend to my local multiplex in Auckland to go and see the movie that knocked Star Trek off the No1 spot at the box office.

In a nutshell? 'Style over substance' that's it.

Don't get me wrong, its kinda what I expected anyway so I was not actually disappointed, but the film definitely lacked some important elements such as...

Storyline
Characters
Narrative

What the movie did have was...

Awesome CG
Megan Fox ( Wallpaper here )

Also what I found interesting was that almost the entire 2nd half of the movie was just an advert for the might of the US Military.

Destroyers, Carriers, Bombers, Choppers, you name it, they are all here, but the fact that a movie like this could topple a movie like Star Trek at the box office says a hell of a lot more about the general cinema-going audience than the movies if you ask me.

2/5

Brannon Braga Speaks about Enterprise and the new Star Trek Movie

2009-08-11T17:52:00.006+12:00

The topic of "The Are The Voyages", the controversial TNG tie-in finale of Enterprise, came up, and Braga again was very candid, saying:

Braga: I will take full blame for that episode, for those that didn’t like it. In retrospect, it was a very cool idea, that in the end was a mistake. The concept was was to have Manny do a final two-part finale, but then have a final final episode send a valentine to all of Star Trek over the last eighteen years. We just thought it would be a cool concept to show the Next Generation’s crew looking back, though the holodeck, at Archer’s crew. It is a high concept, but I am not sure it came together.
Read more @ Trek Movie >

WTF was Nero up to for 25 years?

2009-08-11T17:45:00.002+12:00

Well, now we will know!

"STAR TREK: NERO" #1 (IDW Publishing): Remember how Romulan villain Nero (played by Eric Bana) was supposed to have been waiting 25 years to catch Spock after getting caught in that crazy time-bending portal? What was he doing all that time? Well, if that plot element from the recent "Star Trek" movie has been keeping you up at night, you can sleep safely knowing that IDW is kicking off a new series this week that chronicles Nero's off-camera machinations. Written by Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, with art and covers by David Messina, "Nero" follows in the footsteps of IDW's previous, well-received "Star Trek" titles that not only earned kudos from comics fans, but from the Trek faithful, too. It's as close to a sure thing as you get in the world of comics based on movie and television projects, so go ahead and grab a copy.

Read more @ Em Tee Vee

Star Trek 2 ( The New One )

2009-08-11T08:05:00.001+12:00

Orci and Kurtzman speak!

"We had about a 15-minute to half-hour discussion with the whole gang and went off on our separate ways," "We're still in the re-reading and taking it all in phase before we actually sit down and start designing the film."

"We have to comb through everything and make sure that we leave no stone unturned because that was the approach that I think we were looking for on the first movie," states Kurtzman.

"And when you pitch an idea, sometimes someone will be like, 'Well, that's like that one episode,'" adds Orci. "Even in trying to stay away from it, you can crash back into it."

Read More >>

Stargate Universe Trailer in HD (Long Version)

2009-08-07T13:58:00.004+12:00

I have to say, it looks bloody good and I am delighted to see that Robert Carlisle retains his Scottish accent. Kudos to him!

Stargate Universe (abbreviated as SGU) is an upcoming military science fiction television series, part of the Stargate franchise. Stargate Universe follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team on board the Ancient spaceship Destiny.

Transported to Destiny in a distant corner of the universe and unable to return to Earth, members of the team are forced to remain on the vessel and fend for themselves. The cast is Robert Carlyle as Dr. Nicholas Rush, Justin Louis as Colonel Everett Young, David Blue as Eli Wallace, Brian J. Smith as Lieutenant Matthew Scott, Jamil Walker Smith as Master Sergeant Ronald Greer, Alaina Huffman as Lieutenant Tamara Johansen, and Elyse Levesque as Chloe Armstrong.

Battlestar Galactica is programme of the year

2009-08-07T13:48:00.004+12:00

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Long snubbed by the Emmys and Golden Globes, "Battlestar Galactica" got some love from the Television Critics Association during the weekend.

The final season of the Syfy cable channel's acclaimed drama was named program of the year by the group on Saturday.

HBO picked up more awards than any network -- three -- with "True Blood" named best new program, "Grey Gardens" winning achievement in movies, miniseries and specials, and "The Alzheimer's Project" taking achievement in news and information. Read more at Reuters>

Eugene Roddenberry and the legacy of 'Star Trek'

2009-08-07T10:05:00.003+12:00

Eugene Wesley “Rod” Roddenberry, the only child of Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett Roddenberry, recently took some time to talk to Hero Complex’s Linda Whitmore. He has a couple of irons in the fire. First, with the annual Star Trek Convention coming up this week at the Las Vegas Hilton, Rod plans a tribute to his mother, who died in December at age 76. Rod lives in the San Diego area and was at the recent Comic-Con International to promote his current project, the comic book series “Days Missing.” Along with his career in science fiction, he has collaborated with NASA, Cal Tech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Kennedy Space Center to promote space exploration. He was frank, articulate, humble and undeniably logical when he talked to our resident "Trek" specialist, Linda Whitmore.

That’s not “Star Trek.” “Star Trek” was never science fiction. “Star Trek” was about people, humanity, characters. That was just thrown into the bubble of science fiction.

Read more @ the latimes.

Star Trek Films Coming on Blu Ray

2009-07-21T12:07:00.004+12:00

According to the HDRoom

Paramount Home Entertainment has unveiled plans to bring the Star Trek films with Next Generation cast to Blu-ray Disc this fall, confirming months of rumors suggesting they were on the way.

On September 29, Paramount will release the Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection on Blu-ray and DVD which includes Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, Star Trek Nemesis, and a bonus disc. The set totals 5 discs and will offer the films in 1080p video and 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio.

Star Trek: First Contact, a fan favorite, will be the only Next Generation film offered separately from the box set on the same date. Also debuting individually for the first time on Blu-ray are the "even" numbered films: Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek: Undiscovered Country.

Complete details for the Next Generation set are as follows. Expect many of the Blu-ray exclusive bonus features to be offered in high definition. Read more>

Why You Should Watch Star Trek Enterprise

2009-07-19T20:13:00.015+12:00

1: Cogenitor:

This is the name of a 2nd season episode where we find the chief engineer 'trip' in a moral dilemma. The Enterprise encounters the Vissans, a species with 3 genders. One of the genders occupies only 3% of the population and serve only a single purpose, to produce offspring as a 'Cogenitor' for couples of the other 2 genders.

Trip has a problem with the way the Cogenitor is treated, 'it' has the same mental ability as any other member of the Vissan species but is treated as an object with no equal rights.

This is classic Star Trek at its best and the writers of this show "Enterprise" do an incredible job of this one by bringing us a dilemma where everything that appears to be 'right' is completely against the nature of anyone who watches this. This has issues such as Slavery and Human Rights all over it and the episode has a sting in the tale that will send your jaw halfway to the floor.

2: Outgunned

We are an enlightened species, intent on making peaceful contact with alien races, so reluctantly we as humans in our new age of enlightenment we will take the minimum amount of offensive weaponry as possible, OK?

Previous Star Trek shows never really made many story lines about weapons and why should they? The USS Enterprise, Voyager and certainly the Defiant were always a good match for any potential enemy they encountered. But here, during humanity's first days in deep space, we see the characters constantly struggling to come with ways to defend themselves. Eventually in one episode, Archer admits that he although his intention to explore peacfully never wavered, 'he needed those weapons, and a whole lot more'

Seeing these Star Trek characters struggling to bring peace and human values to the galaxy without the the desire of being armed to the teeth is an interesting development.

3: Borg

Everyone's favourite Star Trek villain's appear in this show too but hang on, there is a very good reason why. The Ultimate Plot Device!

Remember in the movie First Contact when picard fires Quantum Torpedoes at the Borg sphere attacking the surface? Well the destruction of the sphere had sent wreckage to the surface of the Earth (The Arctic) and a few well preserved Borg drones have been preserved in the ice. You can imagine the utter carnage that ensues!

22nd century humans of course do not have the slightest clue how dangerous the Borg are and take nowhere near enough precautions, this makes a great episode for a Star Trek viewer since we already know what these bloody Borg are going to do. Some great action, music and drama make for an excellent Borg episode and of course the last outing of the Borg in the Star Trek franchise ever. Not to be missed!

4. Vulcans

Never have the Vulcan characters been so extensively developed before like they have in this series. We find that mind melding is considered a 'dirty' practice and that there are Vulcan sects such as the 'Syrannites' who do not follow the traditional path and are considered rebels and terrorists. Vulcans during this time struggle to keep their emotions in check when things get serious and they prove to be in some cases very unstable and dangerous given that their technology is way better than Starfleets.

5. Humbled

One 1st season episode sees Captain Archer reluctantly having to ask for help from an arrogant Vulcan commander (who is constantly looking over his shoulder) to rescue a shuttlepod trapped inside a comet. The Enterprise is equipped with a magnetic grapple, whereas the Vulcans have a tractor beam. Seeing the Starfleet ship as somewhat puny and simple compared to the Vulcan vessel is again, another departure in typical Star Trek lore.

Caprica Review

2009-07-19T12:45:00.013+12:00

Spoilers..

Watching the pilot episode of Caprica I definitely thought 'this is a little slow' compared to Battlestar Galactica. But then, we really should not compare this show to Battlestar Galactica anyway since from the outset it was very clear that this would be a whole new format for the Battlestar Galactica saga.

There are no Space Battles, no External Scenes in Space whatsoever (At least not in the pilot)

This show is set on the planet Caprica, 58 years before the fall and approx 18 years before the 1st Cylon war.

The only familiar elements in this show are the child' William Adams' (Adama) and his lawyer father which we knew about in BSG. The whole idea of this show seems to play upon the ethical conundrum that comes into play when a parent loses a child and has an opportunity to bring that child back, using artificial means. Here we have the birth of AI.

The Birth of the Cylon.

There is one hope for this show in my mind, that it will 'trick' non sci fi viewers into watching it.

In fact I reckon there are plenty of scenes where you could be watching for a good 20-30 minutes without realising for one moment that this show is actually set on another world, over 150,000 years ago. (hopefully this will trick those sci-fi haters out there :-))

I reserved judgement until he very end of this show before I decided if I liked it or not, and I do, I like it a lot.

I can tell you this for sure. This is no 'Crusade'. (The Ill-fated Babylon 5 Followup Show)

This is no cheap spin-off to a successful show for the sake of making more money. There are solid ideas here, solid ideas indeed. But how long will they last?

This is the show outline given by Wikipedia:

Whereas the dark, post-apocalyptic reimagined series revolved around a final bid for survival, Caprica is preoccupied with a world intoxicated by success. "It's about a society that's running out of control with a wild-eyed glint in its eye," states Ronald D. Moore.

The Twelve Colonies are at their peak, self-involved, oblivious and mesmerized by the seemingly unlimited promise of technology. Framed by the conflict between the Adamas and the Graystones over the resurrection of loved-ones lost in an act of terror, the series will explore ethical implications of advances in artificial intelligence and robotics.

Set against the backdrop of a society with technology a few decades ahead of our own, Caprica is more of a regular drama than a traditional space opera. Instead of space, violent conflict and a plot driven by action, Caprica features cityscapes and unfolds in stories which focus on corporate, political, familial and personal intrigue. With the troubled relationship between two families at its center, the series has even been likened to classic 1970s and 1980s prime time soap operas Dallas and Dynasty, garnering accolades such as "television's first science fiction family saga."

Though Caprica is a prequel, it is self-contained and viewers can join without having seen Battlestar Galactica. While it will explore elements of the backstory of the reimagined series, notably the emergence of artificial life and its progeny the Cylons, it will do so in a manner which requires no prior knowledge.

I for sure recommend you get this show on DVD and give it a go!

Sci Fi Stuff

Criminally Under-rated 'Star Trek: Enterprise'

2009-07-16T15:05:00.007+12:00

I have to admit, when this show was first talked about many years ago I thought "noooo!, why insert a bunch of prequel stuff into an already well established fictional universe!, its going to screw everything up"

My reasoning was that Capt Picard never had a model of the NX-01 Enterprise on the wall, the historical events of this show were obviously never talked about, so why insert it in?

Why not make another show set in the already well established 24th century? I thought.

Then of course, this show was aired and I watched the first one, but made no real effort to watch more. I survived for a long long time on a strict diet of TNG, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, even the crap episodes would still quench my thirst for Star Trek escapism but this series simply never grabbed me. I would tune in, every so often to 'Enterprise' but whenever I heard the opening music I would cringe.

This is of course complete and utter blasphemy toward everything that Star Trek teaches us, namely an 'open-mind' and tolerance of anything different. I had completely fallen back into the trap of regular bias that so many other people are guilty of.

But, in recent years (otherwise known as the great 21st century Star Trek drought) I have re-discovered Star Trek Enterprise and now I own the entire series on DVD and I absolutely love it!

If you are reading this post then you are probably already familiar about the show, if not then look out for one of my next posts titled "Why You Should Watch Star Trek Enterprise"

Cheers

Muzz