Well so far 2017 isn't shaping up to be much better than 2016 was. And this one hits really close to home. Actor Richard Hatch passed away today at the age of 71 after battling pancreatic cancer.
Some of my best memories from being a kid was waiting for a new episode of Battlestar Galactica to come on. Looking back at my youth it's hard to believe it only lasted sadly that one season.
It was that magical era before VHS was common and affordable. The great wave that was "Star Wars Fever" was still awash the land. The one fix for a sci-Fi loving kid was Battlestar. And as much as every kid wanted to be Starbuck, we all knew that really, deep down we were more like Apollo.
Even years later he worked endlessly to keep the franchise alive, and when the Scifi channel did a re-boot/update of the beloved series in 2003/2004, he ended up joining that series as a new character.
He even had branched out into the Star Trek universe, playing Klingon General Kharn in the short fan web- film "Prelude to Axanar".
I personally never had the opportunity to meet him, but everything you hear about him was that he was nothing but kind, patient and gracious with his fans. He will be missed.
"Transferring launch control to Vipers...Launch when ready Blue Leader."
I used to have this album when I was a kid. Judging buy the "Black Hole" robot on the slipcover it came out in the late 70's, around 1979 or so.
No music on it, just sound effects. I had totally forgot about this. Wonder if it is still at my parents house? My mom throws nothing away so odds are good.
Lego...I think you really, really, really need to make this happen. And I mean really.
I saw this online and my head just about exploded. This is the coolest idea I have seen in awhile for Lego. the whole Buck Rodgers, Flash Gordon "retro science fiction" idea is great, with more cool opportunities for awesome play sets than you can shake a ray gun at.
You know what, on second thought, don't worry about it. I have no desire whatsoever for a second mortgage on my house thank you.
Always have, from as far back as I can remember. There is really not one incarnation of the franchise that I don't enjoy (although I do have some issues with the "JJ-verse" and his "starwars-ification" of Star Trek, but that is something I have talked about before and will most likely talk about again but that is a post for another time.
At the end of the day though, when I think of Star Trek I think of the Original Series. That is what Star Trek is...what I grew upon and for trekkies during the lean years of the 70's all that there was. Sure, there was the Animated Series, and lots of
cool books and fan fiction. And it was this fan base back if the 70's that really kick started the whole modern sci-fi convention.
Finally in 1979 we got Star Trek the Motion Picture. It was originally supposed to be a reboot of the series, but the success of Star Wars prompted the studio to re-work it into a movie. And for the first time in years, despite its flaws,we got to see a new Star Trek story. It began a golden age for Star Trek fans. New interest, new movies, eventually leading to Star Trek the Next Generation, and beyond.
Star Trek: New Voyages episode with George Takei
What prompted this particular post was a web series called "Star Trek Continues". I came across it purely by chance the other day, and...wow! This was fantastic! Now I like to pride myself on being a bit of a geek and keeping up to date on all things going on in nerd-dom. Not much escapes my Sauron like gaze. I have been aware of many
fan based series over the years, two of the best being "Star Trek:New Voyages" (aka. Star Trek:Phase II) and "Starship Farragut". So how this little gem slipped by me I have no idea.
The production value is top notch, with excellent stories and a marvelous cast. Playing Kirk is an actor I had heard of before by the name of Vic Mignogna. An excellent, actor most well known for his voice work in Full Metal Alchemist, Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon. He bares a resemblance to William Shatner and uses all the right mannerisms to make you believe he is Kirk. Two other cast members that stand out are Grant Imahara of Mythbusters fame as Sulu and Chris Doohan, the son of the late James Doohan playing the role his father made so iconic as Mr. Scott. The rest of the cast are excellent as well. I just can't say enough about how excellent this series, and the others as well, is. if you have a little free time I recommend that you check Star Trek Continues, and the others out.
Cast of Star Trek Continues
Also on the horizon for old school Star Trek fans is Star Trek: Axanar. Another Crowed funded endeavour through Kickstarter with names like Richard Hatch (Apollo-original BSG), Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh, Re-boot BSG), JG Hertzler (Martok, DS9) and Gary Graham (Enterprise) as Ambassador Soval. It tells the story of Garth of Izar, one of Kirk's personal heroes and the model for all Starfleet captains after him. Set 21 years before the Original series it is the story of the battle of Axanar, a pivotal point in federation history during a four year war with the Klingon's and the one that cemented Garth's fame and the Federation's future.
All this got me to thinking. What an outstanding time to be a Star Trek fan. With the quality of these fan based episodes, thanks to the love of some vary talented, dedicated fans and the level of CGI technology available these days, to some of the awesome toys and collectibles coming out and a cool MMO in Star Trek: Online. As well as the rebooted universe. There is so much cool stuff to see, do and choose from. truly a new "golden age" of Star Trek fandom.
To the Great Bird of the Galaxy, thanks for everything Gene!
So I have decided to try and do a post at least once a week minimum. In a perfect world, I would have many fantastic and interesting posts every day, 7 days a week but sadly I am far too lazy for that right now. So to that end I have chosen to create "Super-Saturdays"! Because Superman is just plain neat.
For the first posting in this series, you have to start at the beginning of course. Seventy-six years ago, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave us the first "super-hero" and kicked off a whole new genre and industry of comic books and everything cool that goes with!
The first incarnation of "Superman"... as a villain!
Being born in 1967, my generation was the first that got to grow up watching Sesame Street. I have lots of good memory's of sitting in the living room watching when I was a kid. Every time "S" was one of the letters of the day, I would hope this segment would be on.
50 years of Doctor Who. I have to say I am amazed by the popularity of Doctor Who, but I guess I shouldn't be. It's no different than the popularity of any other fantasy and science fiction genre right now. Everything that those of us that where geeks and nerds twenty or thirty years ago is now cool, popular and trendy. Just goes to show, if the idea is strong and the story's are good and well written it can go on for fifty years. and with a little luck, fifty more.
Every single thing on here I have great memory's of. From Captain Kangaroo to The A-Team. Good times....good times. Although I never did get a Stretch Armstrong.
I had seen this a few days ago at a local comic book shop. I knew right away I would need to have one, but restrained myself. Not sure why I did, because I was kicking myself as soon as I left the store and for the last few days. I ended up making a special trip down there today to pick it up. I couldn't be happier
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This replica of the comm panels on the U.S.S. Enterprise (TOS) is one of the coolest things I have picked up in quite some time. It is a motion sensitive "door chime" that you can mount beside any door you want. It is available at ThinkGeek, and here is what they have to say about it...
Product Specifications
Motion-sensitive door chime for fans of Star Trek
Modeled after the communicator panels on The Original Series
Mount it next to your door (on whatever side you choose)
When someone crosses the threshold, the chime will sound
Two settings: Door opening sound or Red Alert sound
Officially licensed Star Trek collectible
Required Batteries: 3 AA Batteries
Dimensions: 6 1/2" x 5 1/4" x 1"
It really is just fun, and looks really neat hanging by the door to my hobby room. That and when it comes down to it I am always a sucker for any old school Trek stuff.
When I was a kid, some of the coolest toys you could have (and almost everyone who was a kid in the seventy's did have at least one), were Mego's Action Heroes. They were just the best and for the most part they were pretty durable and had a super high degree of "playability". That and because of the nature of product licencing back in the 70's they had the licence for just about every and any thing cool. From super-heroes to sci-fi, Mego made it. All in that same awesome 8" scale. A couple of years ago Diamond Select began releasing Retro Star Trek figures based on the original molds from Mego, and they were a huge hit.
So big in fact, that after they had released all the original figures that Mego had produced, they started releasing figures that Mego had never got around to in the same style as the original ones. Of course, being the huge geek that I am, I picked up as many of these as possible, and they were fantastic. A great trip down memory lane, without having to pay an arm and a leg on ebay!
The latest to jump on this bandwagon is Mattel, with their Mego-inspired "Retro Action DC Super Heroes". I have picked up a couple of these, and have for the most part, been pleasantly surprised. Even the packaging is reminiscent of the old Mego style of packaging. They are quite faithful to the original Mego figures, while fixing some of their short-comings. The Boots are much better than the thin molded plastic ones the originals had, the hero's "symbol" is of a higher quality (the old Mego figures were just a sticker, that would come off if you were not careful) and there has been some re-designing in the body. Mattel also seems to be releasing them in "pairs". One hero, and a matching villain, which is kind of cool. The only complaint that I have, and it is a minor one at that, is that it seamed to me that Mattel underestimated the popularity of these figures, as the first wave of them (including Superman) was almost impossible to find in the stores. Hopefully they will re-release these ones at a later date. Still there are lots of online shops that you can find the first line where the prices haven't been marked up yet.
So all I have to say about this trend is...cheers! It is so cool to see these toys, or copy's of them at least, back on the toy shelves. Cool enough for collectors to want and still a awesome toy for a kid that is into super-heroes to play with and make some of their own memories. And isn't that what toys are for.
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