Happy New Year

Wow, the last half of 2009 flew by. Amazing how time can fly when you are busy, not that it should be an excuse for not keeping up with posts on here.

Anyway...

Happy 2010!
All the best in the new year!

Mattel vs Johnny Lightning - "Star Trek"

Well, I finally found one of the new Star Trek "die-cast" ships. *heavy sigh*. What the hell was the marketing dept. at Paramount thinking. Really....really, really.First off, calling them die-cast...well that is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. The one I found is the Enterprise from the first three movies, so that is what I am basing my comparison on. The only part that is metal is the secondary hull...primary hull and nacelles are plastic. kind of like saying I'm a cyborg because I have a couple of metal earrings. That and the detail leaves a lot to be desired. Add to that there seemed to be a bit of a cost increase (but I can't be sure about that because the only place I have found one is a specialty collector store...). You know, I was just saying that a few days ago..."Gee, I wish I could find some more starship models like the Star Trek line Johnny Lightning made...but not as well detailed...or cool...and harder to find...oh, and I want to pay more." Ya...that's what I want.

Here is a comparison of the two ships by Hotwheels and Johnny Lightning.

My other beef with this line is that I assumed that by going with a larger company like Mattel, you would think that the toys would be a little more available. You know, as in "be able to find in a regular store like Wal-mart or Toys'R'Us". But such is not the case...when will I learn not to make assumptions. Even when they make so much common sense. So I say again...what the hell! I guess it's back to collecting the line by Furuta. Is there anything that the Japanese make that isn't cool.

"One small step for man..."

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." One of the most inspiring quotes of the modern age. As the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon past yesterday, it made me think back to when I was a little kid watching it on TV. I was a little to young (two and a half) when Apollo 11 made it's historic landing, but I have vivid memory's of some of the latter missions. I remember having all matter of "space toys" when I was very young...and my total fascination with space and all things related in a larger part is the original birth place of my love of science fiction, and I believe to an extent my optimistic view of the future.

So what happened? One show I watched yesterday had a politician from the US on some talk show, saying that if we go to Mars, it should be robots and not humans. "Why should men risk their lives, when robots can do the job better?" he asked. I just don't think he gets it. The Apollo missions helped unite the people of earth better than anything else in history. In a clip of an interview with "Buzz" Aldrin he said he was amazed that after the mission... as they made appearances all over the world, people would come up to them and say "We did it!!". Not the United States, or America....we. That is why we sent humans into space. Yes, it may be better for a robot to go. Yes, probes can do the same job at a fraction of the cost. But where is the goal...the dream that humans can do anything we set our minds to. I like to think that NASA will find itself. Find a new dream and send a mission to Mars. I know they are currently working on a new program called the Constellation Program (the programs logo is to the right). The plan is to put men back on the moon in the next 10 years, and have a mission to Mars with any luck in the next 25 years or so. I for one can't wait. To be honest, I really didn't think, the way things were going, that I would live to see humans on a mission to Mars. Yes it will be incredibly expensive. Yes it will be unbelievably dangerous. But if it's one thing mankind needs now more than ever, its a dream that will unite all the people of earth in hope and peace. And I for one think that is worth a little risk.

A Look Back At "Enterprise"

Seems odd, I know to be talking about "Enterprise" (or "Star Trek:Enterprise")...what has it been now...about 4 years after it was cancelled. But the "Space" TV channel here in Canada has been running every incarnation of Star Trek every weeknight for awhile now and "Enterprise" comes on right about the time I get home from work every night. So I have been watching them all over again. And true be told...I like it.

When the series first came on, I was glued to them. over the next few seasons my interest wained a little (part due to the stories, but a big part was constantly shifting time slots). I enjoyed the show for the most part, but by season three they were starting to lose me a little bit. I was not a fan of the big season long Xindi storyline. I realize they were trying to re-energize the series, but in my opinion, went the wrong way. By season four though, I was totally hooked. They had finally found their footing and hit their stride. Season four had some fantastic episodes! But unfortunately, it was to little to late as far as Paramount was concerned. Truly a shame. If you look at the first two or three seasons of any of the other Star Trek spin offs, none of them hit their stride till the third of fourth season either. Watch any episode from "The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine" or "Voyager"...every one of them, the acting is a little stiff and the actors hadn't quite "found" their characters yet. So why the powers that be found it necessary to cancel the show is beyond me.

Say what you will, I think the show was killed before it's time. A million cool story lines where right around the corner. The developing relationship between Earth, Vulcan and the Andorians, the Earth - Romulan war...so much potential for so many story's. And I feel bad for Mr. Rick Berman, one of the creators of the series. For a time he was vilified as one of the men who "killed Star Trek". After seeing the brutal slashing of the "re-imagined" Star Trek this summer, it was at worst a flesh wound. And at least he had a certain amount of respect for what came before and for the fans. Even "Next Generation" star Brent Spiner credits Berman with having "protected Gene Roddenberry's vision. "

In watching the shows again, with a fresh perspective, most of the episodes are really quite good. Sure, not every one of them is pure gold, but there were lots of stinkers in every other version of Star Trek as well, over all the series had a bright future ahead of it. It's always a shame when something so young dies to soon.

Beam Me Up...

I have been playing video games for years. MMO's for the last couple of years and still going. Still totally addicted to World of Warcraft, and gave Warhammer a good long try. But I have to say, the game that I am most looking forward to is "Star Trek:Online". I know...huge surprise. But come on...ask any Star Trek Geek what would be the coolest thing in the world (short of commanding an actual starship) is to have a game like this to play. How cool is this game! You get to command a starship (Federation or Klingon!) and fly around the galaxy exploring and getting into the occasional fight. Awesome!! While there is no official release date yet for the game, all indications are pointing to a release sometime around the end of this year. I can hardly wait! Looks like it will be a very Merry Christmas for me!


*UPDATE: Well, looks like it might not be such a Merry Christmas after all. Looks like the release date (which still hasn't been released yet) will be sometime in the first quarter of the new year. That's ok....maybe I will take a look at the MMO Stargate: Universe after all.

Where Have All The Good Toys Gone?

Remember when you could play with toys. I mean actually, really play with them. Think way, way, way back to when you were a kid. Ya!...that's what I am talking about.

Don't get me wrong, some of the toys that are being produced are really cool and beautifully sculpted. They look fantastic on display. But that isn't what they were created for. Take for example the Star Wars line. Are the new figures better than the ones produced back in the 70's and 80's? Well, they are far better looking than the original ones, but as for play-ability...not so much. They can hardly stand up on their own and almost fall apart if moved around to much (had the head of a Mara Jade figure pop off...easy to pop back on, but very uncool!). The original line was far more robust. Kids could actually play with them....stuff them in their pockets and take off.

With the lure of big bucks from collectors, allot of the toy companies seem to have forgotten the real reason for toys. As a father of two boys (although the oldest has passed the age of playing with toys and my other son is fast approaching it...lol) there are only a handful of toy lines that have came out over the last few years that looked cool, well designed and had very high play-ability. Two that come to mind are the Sigma 6 line (very cool looking and could take a pounding by kids), and the Xevoz line (yet again, very cool, awesome play-ability, and the fact that you could swap out parts from any figure and create your own...fantastic!!). unfortunately, both lines ended long before their time. I do have high hopes for the new lines of 3 3/4 figures from Marvel and DC, as they both seem to look good and have a high degree of "survivability".

I'm not saying that there is no place for some of the statue like toys being produced, there most certainly is. but the company's need to remember who they really should be making these toys for. Close your eyes for a minute and think back to what made you into a toy collector in the first place. Go on...I'll wait. Done....good. Was it the fond memory's of the cool toys you had as a kid. Hours spent having Superman and Spiderman save Han Solo and Luke from Skeletor? Now think about the toys that your kids (if you have them!) have to play with. Will they be as nostalgic as we are about our old toys? I doubt it....and if they have no fond memories of cool toys to build on, there will be no "next generation" of collectors out there.

Bad Marketing

Someone...and I don't know who it would be. It is who ever is in charge of marketing and/or release dates at Mattel-Hot Wheels, or it is the guy in charge of marketing and licences for Paramount Pictures. Here we are in the second week of June and still waiting for the release of the die-cast Star Trek ships.

I realize that the movie is doing well...and I by no means have a degree in marketing, but it seems to me that the smart thing to do would have been to capitalize on all the hype and free marketing in the days leading up to the release of the new "Star Trek" movie. Even Playmates got their stuff (questionable as it was) into the stores to take advantage of the hype.

I think I understand the wait for part of the line (as they are ships from previous Star Trek movies and shows...no rush for them), but none of the new ships have hit the stores as of this posting. What the...? Even myself...always a sucker for the ships, is very quickly losing interest in picking these up...and most of the collector and online toy store sites only say "June 2009" as the release date for them! Nothing like striking while the iron is hot! I think that someone, somewhere needs a good swift kick in the butt...and be handed a "pink slip". Hey...times are tough everywhere!