Star Trek: Into Darkness - Haven't We Been Here Before

When Star Trek went into “re-boot” mode a few years ago, I was immediately skeptical.  After all, this was *my* Star Trek that I’d grown up with; that I’d wait to come on in re-runs every night at 6PM and spend months anxiously counting down to the next movie release.  My fears were mostly allayed as I liked the first film quite a bit.  Sure, it wasn’t *my* Trek, but it was good as re-imagined series go.

With the second film in the works, I was pleased that the series was being brought forward for a new generation of fans.  After viewing Star Trek: Into Darkness in IMAX 3D with my son yesterday, I have more of a feeling that this is a film for his generation of fans rather than mine.  I did enjoy the film, and there was much more that I liked over what made me tweak a bit, but those moments are enough for this long-time hardcore fan to take away a star.

The plot is simple enough.  Off of the victories in the first film, Captain James Kirk (portrayed by Chris Pine) is sure he’s about to be sent on the five year mission that’s dangling out there like a carrot.  What prevents that is the honest report of his first officer, Spock (portrayed by Zachary Quinto) that casts his actions in their most recent escapade in an unfavorable light.  The crew is about to be broken up among various ships of Starfleet when a new threat emerges in John Harrison (portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch).  He’s from sort of the CIA of Starfleet and now engaging in terrorist attacks on his former employer.  The rest of the film involves political intrigue and plenty of action as Kirk and crew try to figure out exactly what’s going on and who their enemy really is, in more ways than one.

The acting here is good. Pine and Quinto do a fine job as Kirk and Spock and really capture enough of the essence of who the characters have been through the years to please long-time fans.  Zoe Saldana as Uhura is a gem, and a much stronger character than she was originally although she was an important and iconic figure for women and minorities in her time.  She gets a few action sequences here and handles them as good as any of the male characters.  I felt Karl Urban as McCoy was a little under-used in this film, although Anton Yelchin (Chekov), John Cho (Sulu) and Simon Pegg (Scotty) do get to have good roles as supporting characters.  I suppose when you’re not catering to the egos that were involved with some of the actors in the original films, it really gives the cast a bit more of an ensemble feel and this is one of the reasons the film works so well.

The special effects are great, and the action sequences are awesome, but here’s where I have a bit less appreciation for the film.  In previous film and series, the action and fight scenes had a realistic feel to them.  Even in the last film he appeared in, Kirk fighting Soran in Star Trek: Generations had a realistic feel to it.  It may have been a stunt double, but the fights were believable.  Here in the name of action, there are many instances where it seemed to lose me.  I think that was part of the problem with the more recent Star Wars films as well.  Sure, it makes for great eye-candy at times, but it also leads to many moments of “no way.”  In IMAX 3D, though, it’s very enjoyable eye-candy.  The 3D aspect isn’t overdone and does add to the experience, even if I could count the pores on Chris Pine’s face at times.

The appeal of Star Trek: Into Darkness for me is that it does do a great job tying together the old universe and this new one.  It’s a film my son enjoyed with me, even though he groaned at first at the prospect of having to see it with me.  When I asked him what his favorite part was, he centered not on the action, but on several moments lifted from the plot of another Star Trek story that will be very familiar to those of us who grew up with it.  Yes, there are a lot of parts of the plot that are familiar, but that’s the way it should be in a universe that’s just a bit removed from another one.  I was skeptical of the explanations they would find for some things, but it worked for the most part.  It still successfully captures what endeared Star Trek to fans for so many years, although at times I still felt something was missing.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, and it’s definitely not enough for me to dislike the film.

If you’ve never thought yourself a fan of Star Trek, I do urge you to give this a try.  My other boy who’s in the Army saw it Saturday night and couldn’t wait to text me about it, and he’s another one I would have had to drag to a film.  It appeals quite well to a new generation while having enough going for it that those of us who did attend the conventions and kept the franchise going all these years will enjoy it as well.

Hampton Inn Columbia SC/Fort Jackson - Great Graduation Stay

When my one kid was scheduled to graduate Basic Training at Fort Jackson in February of 2013, I immediately made a reservation at the Hampton Inn Columbia SC/Fort Jackson.  It was nearly a brand-new hotel at the time, having just opened within the last six months.

LOCATION & CHECK IN

The Hampton Inn Columbia SC/Fort Jackson is conveniently located to the base.  It is just off of Exit 9 of I-77.  Getting to the hotel was easy.  Getting off of the street it was on and back on to I-77 was a bit more difficult.  I hope they put a traffic light in at the end of the street soon.  It is convenient to many restaurants in the area as well.

The night we arrived was just after “Family Day” at the base.  I had a problem with my debit card I had reserved this on earlier in the month.  They tried to authorize the card and when it was declined, they called my workplace and got an authorization from them.  However, we just switched it to my new card once I arrived there.  Be warned that on busy nights such as events like this at Fort Jackson they will likely try to authorize your credit card and if it’s declined you could find yourself without a room when you arrive.

ROOM

Our room had 2 queen beds in it.  There was plenty of room for the 3 of us for 2 nights.  Even with our luggage.  The beds had the Hampton Cloud 9 bedding on them which I love.  It feels like there is no bedding on you while you sleep, yet I am snuggled in comfort.  The television was a flat-panel with enough stations to keep us entertained while we were in the room, including cartoon and family stations.  There were drawers beneath it for clothing although we lived out of our luggage.  The refrigerator in the room did come in handy as we ordered in both evenings after coming back from the base and had a place to keep leftovers.  Our room overlooked the interstate, although this isn’t a place you go to for the views.

The bathroom was comfortable and spacious.  Hair dryer that worked fine, coffee maker on the counter with a selection of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, soap, etc. The shower pressure was good even in the morning when there were likely so many people getting ready at the same time to head out to graduation.

AMENITIES

Hampton offers a complimentary breakfast with their rooms and this is pretty uniform throughout the chain.  I was kind of disappointed they didn’t have grits instead of oatmeal, this being the south, but otherwise this was fine. The selection of hot items is decent – you are getting food that comes frozen in bags and is reheated so it’s pretty much the quality you expect.  Other than the hot items there was bagels, muffins, pastry, cereal, yogurt, fruit, and a waffle station.  Even on the morning of graduation there was plenty of food out and plenty of seating.

The indoor pool was nice if a little cool in February.  I couldn’t bring myself to get in above my waist although my son enjoyed it just fine.  The biggest disappointment was no Jacuzzi.  I was so looking forward to soaking in it, as was our soldier the afternoon after graduation when he came back to the hotel with us.

Wifi internet access was complimentary and the speed was also fine.  There was a shop near the desk to grab snacks and drinks as well.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This being a brand-new hotel it was in fine shape.  All of the staff we encountered was courteous, despite it being a time when events such as graduation put a strain on them.  They had recommendations for food for us both nights.  The place was comfortable and inviting, with a good location.  The only issues we had were really minor, being getting back to the interstate from the street (something they can’t control) and the lack of Jacuzzi. 

Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran by Andy Taylor - Somewhat Revealing Look Behind the Scenes

After reading John Taylor’s recently released biography, I was motivated to seek out the older autobiography by Andy Talyor.  People I talked to said Andy was more forthcoming about some of the conflict within the group where John seemed to be a bit more gracious, shying away from any true ”gossip”.

Andy tells his story of a childhood that wasn’t conventional.  He dealt with abandonment issues by his mother and grew very close to his father in an English fishing village dominated by members of his family.  Answering an advertisement, he met up with the other members of Duran Duran and they embarked on superstardom.

Where John Taylor’s story was mostly about him and his honesty about his own problems and issues that caused fractures within the band when they were at the height of their popularity, Andy is more willing to call out other members and their spouses on the issues that arose.  This is perhaps because he isn’t part of the band right now where John Taylor is still touring with Duran Duran.

One of the prime examples of this is Andy Taylor’s attitude towards Nick Rhodes and his ex-wife Julie Anne.  Where girlfriends and wives usually did not accompany the band on the road, Julie Anne immediately insinuated herself in almost every part of Rhodes’ life according to Andy and caused fractures in the band.  There are other tidbits like this, not just about the members of Duran Duran but about other artists Andy Taylor worked with as well.  These include Power Station with Robert Palmer and Rod Stewart.

Andy is honest about many of his own failings as well.  Both he and John Taylor had issues with drugs and alcohol during their time with the band as well as after.  At the same time, he seems reticent to talk about other hedonism that surrounded the band, intimating that only the crew ever had anything to do with groupies and none of the band members themselves.  This is a trend I’ve noticed in a number of recent 1980’s musician biographies, where they seem to downplay the interaction with groupies.  Whether it’s a source of conflict still at home (Andy Taylor is still married to his wife Tracey whom he met before Duran Duran exploded onto the scene) or something else, I can only speculate.  I don’t believe any of these new autobiographies are forthcoming in this area for whatever reason, though.

That aside, Wild Boy does make for a good read, especially to anyone who does remember those days.  It is a bit more “gossipy” than John Taylor’s book and I think that’s the reason I enjoyed it so much.  It is well-written and easy to read.  If you were a fan of Duran Duran in the 1980’s, I suggest you grab this one for a bit more insight into what went on behind the scenes.

 

Boston Market Beef Pot Roast – Reclaimed Meat with Wallpaper Paste and Vegetables

Back when I had a Boston Market restaurant near me, I used to enjoy their food quite a bit.  It was an alternative to typical fast food for lunch.  When I had the opportunity to try some of their frozen dinners, I looked forward to it.  Usually they are a bit on the expensive side, but one of the local supermarkets had them on sale 4 for $10.

The Boston Market Beef Pot Roast looked really good when looking at the box.  Gravy and Beef Pot Roast with Carrots, Celery, Green Beans, and Grilled Onions and a Side of Home-Style Mashed Potatoes.

Preparation was easy.  It’s just a matter of heating it in the microwave.  Since there is more food in a Boston Market frozen dinner than a typical frozen dinner, it takes a bit longer. 

I can say of all the frozen dinners I tried from Boston Market, this one disappointed me the most.  The beef was in cubes, and didn’t look like chunks of beef, but something formed in a mold.  I’m told this is because it is “reclaimed meat” rather than being actual beef like I make.  Reading the ingredients list, it’s easy to grasp that as there is cornstarch, soy and other ingredients which seem like fillers or ingredients used to bind something together. It tasted pretty good, though.  It was tender and only had a few spots where it felt chewy.  It wasn’t like when I make pot roast in a slow-cooker and it gets fall-apart tender, but it was still pretty good.

The vegetables are mixed right in with the beef and gravy.  It’s celery, carrots, and green beans.  The vegetables are tender without being mushy and tasted good.  The gravy had a good taste, not too strong that it tasted artificial and not too salty.

The potatoes are a disappointment, especially from Boston Market.  When I would buy food from their stores, I was always impressed by how good their mashed potatoes were.  These taste like typical mashed potatoes found in frozen dinners, possibly worse.  I took a taste of them plain just to verify that they tasted the same as the other Boston Market frozen dinners I tried.  Yup, still the same wallpaper paste.  I stirred the remaining gravy into it and that was a big improvement. 

Nutritionally, this isn’t too bad, especially for a 15 ounce dinner.  There are 390 calories in the entire dinner, with 150 of those calories coming from fat.  That works out to 17g of fat or 26% of the recommended daily value.  Of that, 5g are saturated fat or 27% of the recommended daily value.  Like most frozen dinners, when it comes to sodium this is bad.  There is 1110mg of sodium in the entire meal or 46% of the recommended daily value.  For those of us with high blood pressure, this is not a good choice on a regular basis at all.

While I didn’t find Boston Market Beef Pot Roast particularly bad tasting (with the exception of the potatoes), I really was disappointed.  The Boston Market I remember stood for quality and wouldn’t have marketed something that seems like it’s a step up from dog food.  I can’t say I would ever eat this again.

A Review of the Book Roller Coaster by David Bennett

One look at the beautiful cover photograph of Mantis, a stand-up roller coaster located at Cedar Point Park in Sandusky, Ohio, and I knew I had to have this book. I was so not disappointed. 

This is a coffee-table type book, but it is actually a whole lot more. Coaster enthusiasts should have this book for the great information as well as the amazing pictures. I cannot say enough about the photographs in this book. Each one made me want to drive to wherever that coaster is and ride it. I could be planning road trips well into the next century. 

There is so much more to this book than just pictures. Roller Coaster provides a tremendous amount of information not just about contemporary coasters, but it goes back through the history of the ride. It is believed they originated with ice slides in Russia as early as the 17th century. However, no one is certain exactly what spawned the enthusiasm for this ride. There were also wooden toboggan rides in Paris in the 18th century, as well as a gravity railroad in Pennsylvania in the 19th century. 

The first chapter touches on this origins debate. It contains a wide variety of sketches and drawings depicting these early coasters. I found that they aided greatly in imagining what these early "rides" were like. 

I found the depictions of the gravity railroad (used for hauling coal down from the mountain) to be very interesting as well. Could you imagine covering 18 miles of countryside after just a nudge to get started? The coal cars were hauled up the mountain first by mules and later on by steam engines, then controlled by a brakeman for 18 miles where they were offloaded. 

As they move into the latter half of the 19th century, photographs begin to come into play rather than drawings. The photographs of the early switchbacks are interesting, as well as the paintings and sketches from early advertisements or postcards. Looping coasters were in amusement parks as early as 1908! 

There is a lot of information about the development of Coney Island and its various amusement parks. This was part of the growth of amusement parks now that they were accessible to city-dwellers due to the trolley bus. All of the early photographs appear to have been perfectly restores and are absolutely incredible to see the contrast from almost 100 years ago. 

Chapter two talks about the roller coaster designers. In modern times, enthusiasts are used to hearing names like B & M, Vekoma, Schwarzkopf, Arrow Dynamics, and The Philadelphia Toboggan Company. They owe their heritage to men like John Miller, Frederick Church, Harry G. Traver, and Herbert P. Schmeck There are design specs of roller coasters in this chapter. Some of the coasters from this era still exist today. Most notably is the Cyclone at Coney Island, and Thunderboltat Kennywood Park which was originally called The Pippin. 

So much is made of safety concerns today, but fatalities were common on the coasters of years ago. Sometimes this drew more people to them - go figure. 

The second golden age of roller coasters has come around thanks to Walt Disney, according to the book. It credits him with being the savior of the amusement park industry. The book then takes us into modern times and the modern design of coasters; wood, steel, inverted, suspended, and hyper coasters are all talked about and shown with the same incredible photographs. Each one makes me want to ride that coaster! 

I also liked seeing the photographs of some of the coasters from overseas. Since the chance of my getting to ride all of them is slim to none, I enjoy flipping through the book trying to imagine what it would be like to ride on these. 

Chapter three talks about how a roller coaster works. This is a great chapter for people who can't bring themselves to ride coasters for fear of it flying off the track. There are drawings and specs showing the various safety devices, as well as the physics of coasters. It even talks about where to sit on the ride; the various pros and cons of both the front and back of a roller coaster train. 

The difference of wood and steel coasters is also discussed in this chapter, as well as the different terms used to describe the type of coaster. Out and back, twister, and racer are terms usually applied to wooden coasters while corkscrew, vertical looping, shuttle looping, boomerang shuttle looping, suspended, stand up, hyper, mine train, and wild mouse are all varieties of steel coasters. 

Chapter four goes into the greatest rides of today. Since this book was published in 1998, it is a bit dated since so many new coasters have been added at amusement parks since then. However, all of the coasters which are talked about are accompanied by the same incredible pictures which entice the reader/enthusiast. (We prefer not to be called "Coaster nuts" or "Coaster Freaks", thank you!) 

In particular, as I look at the photographs of a coaster called Nemesis at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England, I know I have to go there someday. Quite a few of the coasters here I have already ridden. There is a certain beauty to these structures which this book manages to capture. Many of them seem to be works of art - especially the wooden structures. 

Chapter five talks about the amusement park industry. In it the author takes a look at a typical day in the life of three parks: Kennywood in West Mifflin, PA, Blackpool Pleasure Beach in England, and Alton Towers in England. This part does not deal specifically with coasters, but with the actual park operation. The author then turns to other prominent amusement parks: the Six Flags Theme Parks, Cedar Point, Buffalo Bill's Resort Casino, Elitch Gardens, King's Island, and Disney Theme Parks. He also devotes some discussion to theme parks in japan and the far East. 

Finally, we are given some statistics on theme parks showing attendance figures for parks in the U.S. and the world from 1989 and 1995. 

One of the last items in the book is a listing of roller coasters by state, followed by country. There is a key to ride symbols, so the reader is given a general overview of each coaster listed. This is followed by a compilation of roller coaster records as of 1998, a page-long dateline of the roller coaster, and the picture credits. A bibliography including picture credits, source material and useful reading precedes the index. 

If you like roller coasters and want a book with great photographs as well as a veritable treasure-trove of information, this book is for you! 

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Arsenal of Freedom

Yes, that is an actual conversation from this first season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. As the season is winding down, the episodes seem to be getting better. This is definitely one of the better ones. 

The Enterprise travels to the planet Minos in the Lorenz Cluster to find out what happened to the U.S.S. Drake. Captain Rodriguez was in command of that ship, and he happened to know Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) back in Starfleet Academy. 

What they discover is a planet devoid of intelligent life which was once habited by a race of arms merchants. An away team led by Riker beams down to the planet surface. Quickly they are assaulted by an unknown enemy. After having the conversation above with what is apparently a holographic image of the dead Captain Rodriguez, Riker is encased in a sort of force field presumably for transport to an interrogation center at a later time. 

With only Data (Brent Spiner) and Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) on the planet, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) beams down along with the Doctor Crusher (Gates McFadden) to try to free Riker and see if he is injured. Just as Data and Yar manage to free Riker, they are once again attacked. Trying to fool the attacker, the crew separates. It is at this point that Picard and Dr. Crusher fall down a hole into some sort of cave. 

Meanwhile, Geordi LaForge (Levar Burton), the blind helmsman of the Enterprisehas been left in command of the ship. They are also being attacked by an unknown enemy. There is a sub-plot here where the Chief Engineer feels he outranks Geordi and wants command to be turned over to him. 

This episode has good character development for Geordi, Picard and Crusher. While trapped in the unknown hole, Crusher begins to go into shock. To keep her conscious, Picard engages her in a series of conversations which subtly shows there is a deeper attachment between the two of them. 

With Geordi, we get to see that at times he is unsure of himself, and the confrontations with Chief Engineer Logan aren't helping. What isn't explored, however, is exactly what Logan's problem with Geordi is. Does he feel that because he is blind he should not be in command? Does he feel that he has more practical experience than Geordi? Does he outrank him? The source of the conflict between the two of them is never established and makes this part of the plot feel forced. It probably doesn't help at all that the actor portraying Logan is terrible in the role. 

The writing is better than some episodes, but not great, so I feel the actors deserve the credit for making this episode work. They seem to be finding their footing in regards to their characters. Jonathan Frakes especially seems to be defining Riker in more human terms rather than as a cartoonish Captain Kirk knock-off. There is also more action here than we have seen previously this season - and not the space-battle type either. Though it is not too suspenseful, it does fit well with the story and manages to entertain. 

In the end, the crew surmises what killed off life on the planet and what happened to the Drake: all of what they experience here is an elaborate demonstration of the newest armament system developed by the merchants. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off until Picard finds what seems to be an obvious solution. It's the sort of thing that leaves you feeling "Why didn't anyone else think of that?" 

Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer: You Can Find Better Options for the Money

Since I have worked for a non-profit, the biggest factor when figuring out what to purchase is cost. So when one of our two laser printers quit about 18 months ago (the other went shortly thereafter), I browsed our office machine catalogs and found an inexpensive laser printer. 

The Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer came in at just shy of $300. This was a good price, but what would it cost me per page? A toner cartridge retails for $28 and lasts for around 2,000 pages. The drum retails for about $175 and lasts about 20,000 pages. This means the average cost per page is about 2¢ - a great value! 

The problem comes when the toner or drum doesn't last quite as long as you'd planned. 

In the case of the Okidata OKIPAGE 10ex LED Printer, the problem is with the drum and paper jams. We ended up having frequent paper jams in the machine. After we'd had the printer about two months, we had one jam so bad that it scratched the drum. This meant we were getting lines and marks across all of our pages. 

It's a fluke - it can happen to anyone once, right? Well after about six months with a new drum, another bad paper jam caused that one to scratch. The drum that is currently in the machine has lasted without scratches, but the printer has been giving me the change drum message for quite some time now. I have basically ignored it, since I knew I was nowhere near the 20,000 pages that is promised and the printer is working well. Every now and then I get black blobs of toner in different spots on a page, but white-out is a lot cheaper than another new drum. 

The printer will also take what I consider to be a long time to generate a page. I have this problem with graphics as well as spreadsheets. It seems like I am waiting a very long time for the output after I have sent the document to the queue. It's not a memory issue - often I bring up the printer folder and watch the progress as the document loads. It just seems to take a great deal of time. It claims 10 pages per minute, but I believe that is counting the time after it has warmed up again. 

The printer boasts a 250-sheet paper tray, however I have found that if the tray is filled more than 3/4 full, the paper jams more frequently. The bypass tray works wonderfully and I have used this a lot for envelopes as well as feeding in pages for 2-sided printing or booklet printing. The largest size the paper tray can handle is 81/2x11 or 81/2x14 in the bypass tray. 

There is a small screen to indicate problems or other issues, as well as for using the various menu functions. I have not had to use this that much, but have found it relatively easy to follow the on-screen instructions. This is a great way to know exactly what is going on and is the difference between the 10ex model and the10e. The software provided allows you to choose to install on-screen instructions for step-by-step fault clearance and other problems as well. If you don't want that, you can also choose not to install it. 

The quality of print is crisp at 600x1200 DPI. The printer comes with a standard 2 meg of memory and is upgradeable to 36 meg. I have had no problems using it with Windows 95 & 98. Like most printers, you will have to download support software and drivers from the Okidata site - www.okidata.com - if you are using this printer with Windows XP. 

The printer is also very compact and easily fits on a desktop. Since the paper tray is located underneath the machine, that means that every time you have to add paper the tray slides out. I finally turned the printer so that the tray opening faced off the edge of my workstation. Too often, I would have to clean up my whole workstation just to add paper to the printer. 

The printer is not the worst I have ever seen. However, its problems make it a lesser value for its cost. There are many better quality laser printers out there for the $299 price tag. 

DVDPlanet.com is a Great Place to Buy blu-ray and DVDs!

I used to get the majority of my DVDs through Buy.com. Now, I have nothing against that site at all and am very pleased with it. But thanks to Ebates, I found a smaller site that has better prices! 

The website at DVDPlanet.com is very easy to navigate. This is probably because - unlike other big DVD stores - they only focus on DVDs. There is no electronics, books, computers or anything else to distract from the DVD selection. I found the search feature to work wonderfully. New Releases and Coming Soon are featured on the main menu, with a selection of genres on the left. There are links at the bottom of the main page to articles on www.thedigitalbits.com which contains a variety of movie reviews, rumors, art, and other interesting tidbits. 

Under DVD Deals there is a large selection of DVDs under $6. Also available are DVDs between $6 - $10, $10 - $15, and $15 - $20. This is a great way to build your DVD collection fairly inexpensively. 

What I like best about DVDPlanet.com is that their prices are at least 30% off of the retail price of DVDs. While I have come across other sites that are discounted from retail, I haven't come across any as cheap as here. For instance, my recent acquisition of Star Trek: The Next Generation - Season Two costs $94.49 at DVDPlanet.com. At Buy.com it costs $97.99 and at Amazon.com it costs $104.99. The DVD Marilyn Monroe Diamond Collection #2 is $59.99 at DVDPlanet.com and Amazon.com and $62.49 at Buy.com. The DVD of Gone With the Wind is $18.74 atDVDPlanet.com, $19.49 at Buy.com and $19.99 at Amazon.com. 

The shipping costs at DVDPlanet.com are competitive as well. Standard shipping of 1-2 discs is $2.50 plus .50 for each disc. Priority mail of 3 or more discs is the same. 2-day shipping by UPS is $6.00 plus $2.50 each disc. Next day is $10.00 plus $2.50 each disc. Amazon.com has cheaper shipping charges for the 2-day and Next-day, but I have never had a reason to have my DVDs shipped to me this way, so I always choose standard. I have always had my discs shipped standard and have noticed they seem to arrive a day or two later than the other popular DVD sites. I don't mind waiting the extra day or two for the money I save! Even if it's only $10, that's $10 more that's mine. 

There is an email list to subscribe to. Ever week I get a notice of what's being released. You can also get early notice of upcoming Criterion Collection titles, an Anime notice, as well as a notice about the adult selections. Also, for those in California, there is a DVD Planet Superstore in Westminster. 

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Heart of Glory

This episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation finally gives some character development to crewmembers other than Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton), the teenaged son of the ship's doctor, and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart). In fact, we don't even see Wesley during this entire episode. Therefore, I am not going to bring up his name again in this review! 

After detecting a battle inside The Neutral Zone - a zone which serves as a buffer between the Federation and the Romulan and Klingon Empires - The Enterpriserushes in and rescues three Klingons form a badly damaged Talarian freighter. 

This turn of events provides the writers with a reason to draw Lieutenant Worf (Michael Dorn) more into the forefront. Up until now all we know about him is that he is a Klingon serving on a Starfleet vessel. His part seems to have been standing there in the background looking menacing. The writers apparently figured out that the novelty of "look, we have a Klingon on the bridge of theEnterprise" was going to start wearing thin pretty soon if they didn't do something. This is the first time we hear the background of a raid by the Romulans on Khitomer and his survival and subsequent adoption by a Starfleet officer. 

We soon see Worf begin to sympathize with the rescued Klingons, especially after finding out they were rebelling against the "traitors of Kling" when they stole the freighter. 

This part smacks of bad writing. Worf has graduated Starfleet Academy and been around humans for most of his life, yet as soon as some of "his own kind" come on board the Enterprise, his loyalties seem to waver. He sympathizes with these Klingons who are rebelling against the Klingon authorities who have embraced peace, yet he has no sympathy for all of the Klingons who were killed when they destroyed the pursuit vessel in The Neutral Zone. Captain Picard also seems to not entirely trust Worf during this time. 

However, to me these plot holes are secondary to some of great information and insight we are given into the Klingon culture. The Klingon Death Ritual is first seen here. Worf also shows near the end how the Klingons focus more on honor than on anything else. 

Another character who gets some development here is Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton). When he is sent to the Talarian vessel as part of the away team, we get some insight into what his world is like. Geordi is the helmsman of the Enterprise, and he is also blind. To compensate, he wears a VISOR (which is actually a spray-painted girl's banana hair-clip) to let him "see" the world. This functions in such a way that he sees much more than we do as human beings. 

The android Data (Brent Spiner) has been working with Geordi testing out rigging a Visual Acuity transmitter to his VISOR. This will allow the Enterprise to pick up what he is seeing. It was fascinating to see the interpretation of how Geordi sees the world and very well done. Instead of seeing clean images, he is seeing light energy and its reflection as well as a variety of energy fields. 

Unfortunately, this is not only dropped in the beginning of the episode, but for the remainder of the series. The idea of using Geordi's VISOR to see things does not come up again until Star Trek: Generations. At that time, the images transmitted back to a scientist named Soran are very different from the images we see here, so there is no consistency. 

Some of my favorite Star Trek episodes are those which feature the Klingons. Though this is far from some of the best ones, it is a decent beginning. It is good to see Michael Dorn and Levar Burton finally get some decent air time. Despite the problems with the writing, the character development comes along nicely. Both of these actors are very good and deserve more attention from the Star Trek writers. 

A Review of the film M*A*S*H

I have to wonder just how many people actually think of the movie first when they hear the word M*A*S*H spoken. How many people even know that it was originally a movie? The television series was a hit for eleven years, but it all started with a wonderful film directed by Robert Altman. 

If you have never seen the movie, only the television show, do yourself a favor and rent the movie. I had seen the movie a few times on television, but there were scenes which were cut. The new DVD release is completely restored and uncut; a real treat to watch. 

How do you sum up a story when there really is none? M*A*S*H is a series of vignettes based on a five to six month period in the life of a Mobile Army SurgicalHospital during the Korean War. It begins with the arrival of two new surgeons, Hawkeye Pierce (Donald Sutherland) and Duke Forrest (Tom Skerritt). It ends with their tour of duty over. 

In contrast to most war movies, there is no mission; no objective that needs to be completed for the movie to be over. The audience is just shown what life is like during this time period. Unlike the television show which had a fairly stable cast, the players go in and out of this setting at various times. We are introduced to Frank Burns (Robert Duvall) in the beginning, but he is soon carted off in a straight-jacket after being provoked by Hawkeye. Trapper John McIntyre (Elliot Gould) does not come into play till around one-third of the way through the film. Around this same time, Major Margaret O'Houlihan enters the picture as well. Lieutenant Dish (Jo Ann Pflug), one of the nurses, also ships out part of the way through the film, and in one of the later segments we are introduced to neurosurgeon and former football star Spearchucker Jones (Fred Williamson). 

I believe this makes the movie more realistic than the television show. We don't have a guest du jour popping in to make the point of the episode. These people are stuck in a situation that none of them want to be in and they are just making the best of it. To deflect from having to sew up bodies blown apart by bombs, they drink, play cards, and let loose in many different ways. 

Altman manages to convey that very well, transitioning at various interludes from the bloody gore of the operating rooms to the various diversions that go on both inside the camp and outside. 

If you go into this movie expecting to see the Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John we know from Alan Alda and Wayne Rodgers, you'll probably be disappointed. Sutherland and Gould portray these characters very differently than the television actors. It doesn't mean that one is necessarily better than the other, only different. 

This is also a much wider canvas than I was used to from the television series. Spearchucker Jones disappeared after the first few episodes. We never got to meet Duke Forrest, Lieutenant Dish, "Painless Pole" Waldowski, or "Me Lay" Marston. These actors all participate in the various stories which take place: Major O'Houlihan and Frank Burns try to put a stop to Pierce and McIntyre's behavior and end up having sex with it broadcast over the camp loudspeakers (this is where the Hot Lips nickname comes in), Waldowski (the camp dentist) at one point decides he must be gay since he couldn't perform and wants to commit suicide, the 4077th M*A*S*H competes against another outfit in football and we get to watch both team try to unscrupulously rig the game, Pierce and McIntyre travel to Tokyo to perform an operation on a Congressman's son, the camp tries to find out if Major O'Houlihan is really a blonde. 

The DVD has a whole bunch of extras. There is a Still Gallery, the option to watch the film with a commentary by Robert Altman, the original theatrical trailer, and a whole bunch of documentaries. It wasn't until I began watching these documentaries that I realized just how different M*A*S*H was for its time. To begin with, most of the war movies being put out during this time were decidedly rah-rah, go-get-‘em type films with our country's involvement in Vietnam. Altman was trying to make an anti-war film and yet have it not appear so. To do this, he set it in Korea and had the subversiveness on the part of the doctors be very subtle. 

The movie presents its case that war is hell. It does not glamorize it or glorify it. We see all the blood and bodies; the result of so many of those other war films. Fox tried to get many of the operating room scenes deleted, but the feedback it received told them to leave it in. 

M*A*S*H only won one Academy Award for Original Screenplay. This is ironic since Ring Lardner Jr. wanted to distance himself from this film after he felt the actors and Altman took way too many liberties with his script. In fact, most of the dialogue is ad-libbed, a credit to the entire cast, their chemistry, and Altman for being able to reap this wonderful talent. 

Sutherland and Gould also at one point tried to get Altman fired as they were convinced this movie would be the end of their careers. This ended up being good for the movie, however, as Altman was able to use that friction to his benefit.

Many of the techniques Altman use in this film were groundbreaking, such as the zoom lens. The actors would be in scenes and they would not know if he was focusing on them or not. He fitted the actors with microphones so their conversations would be going on over each other, creating a general tone for the movie. He then used the camp loudspeakers, and announcements almost word-for-word out of a Korean War manual to wrap the film together. 

The three documentaries AMC Backstory Behind-the-Scenes Documentary,Enlisted: The Story of M*A*S*H, and M*A*S*H: History Through the Lens all seem very similar. I would watch these at different times since I think they would be better appreciated instead of watched one on top of the other. However, the30th Anniversary M*A*S*H Cast Reunion was an excellent piece I will watch again and again. The Film Restoration Featurette was also good. 

M*A*S*H is a don't miss. It's a true classic that deserves to be on any best film list. Do yourself a favor and get this DVD in your collection.