Category: Star Trek Musings

COMIC REVIEW – Star Trek: Debt Of Honor (1992 DC Comics One-Shot)

So this is an interesting little beast; a Star Trek movie-era one-shot story published in a prestigious hardcover graphic novel from DC Comics that is basically an excuse to give you as many callbacks, winks, and nods as you could possibly fit within 90+ pages of comic book. To the layman with no clue about Star Trek, this means very little, but to the hardcore Trekkie out there, Debt Of Honor references so many things, features so many guest characters including those who have only been spotlighted in a single episode of Star Trek, and makes so many callbacks to past moments and eras that it almost overwhelms the entire book. It’s usually the worst kind of thing when so many callbacks are made and the whole thing coasts on nostalgia that it detracts from the overall product.

And yet the funny thing about Debt Of Honor is that these nods aren’t just quite little things. Some of them contribute quite a bit to the overall story, which has quite a few layers to it. Captain Kirk, commanding the second ship to bare the name U.S.S. Enterprise, still feels guilt over the loss of the previous Enterprise, and is about to partake in a mission to take on a menace from his past. What follows is a story that bounces between present day and flashbacks, which touch in a number of eras. From Kirk’s days on the Farragut to the five-year mission and even The Motion Picture and its dull gray uniforms gets some love.

Complimenting the superb storytelling and writing is the wonderful art. Everything looks like what it’s supposed to; none of the ships depicted have weird proportions or anything of the sort. There’s a genuine effort in some cases to have the characters somewhat resemble the actors who portrayed them. Though it is funny seeing Kor depicted as he appeared in “Errand Of Mercy”, considering that DS9 would bring the character back and give the modern Klingon look. This came out before that was a thing, so that’s not an intentional mistake… but it is funny.

Debt Of Honor is one of the few Star Trek graphic novels that I still have laying around and is one that I often go back to every now and then. It’s a damned fine book with the perfect balance between fan service and solid storytelling; one that anyone working in a popular franchise should strive to achieve. This gets my highest recommendation.

NC and Linkara "review" Star Trek: Insurrection

So Doug Walker (a.k.a. Nostalgia Critc and other gimmicks) and Lewis The Lovehog Original Character Do Not Steal (a.k.a. Linkara) did a “review” on the ninth Star Trek motion picture. Said “review” is the typical crossover thingy with skits and stuff featuring lots of yelling and migraines. Honestly, though, there’s no point. RedLetterMedia did it so much better and doesn’t beat you over the head with loud noises.

Also “Fuck you, Rick Berman” is a better catchphrase than anything coming out of the TGWTG camp these days.

Netflix Canada gets Power Rangers… some of it.

So a couple months ago, I signed up to Netflix and for the most part, I like what I see… however, I was a tad disappointed that there was no sign of Power Rangers on the Canadian side of things, since Netflix in the US has most, if not all, of the seasons on their side… Power Rangers on Netflix is the only reason why I bothered with the service to begin with… but at the very least, I’m getting some use from it. For example, they have the theatrical versions of the first and sixth Star Trek feature films, thus eliminating any need or urge to get the recent DVD compilations which contain these things. So I’m getting some use out of Netflix…

Then I fire up my new Western Digital TV Live Streaming device and enter Netflix and what do I find? A nice dose of Power Rangers… not all eighteen seasons, but the classic stuff; all of Mighty Morphin, the Alien Rangers storyarc, and all of Zeo. They also put the recent Samurai season, along with the three specials… which is good, since I now have the means to watch Samurai.

So yeah… thanks, Netflix Canada.

In the new Trek, Spock is indeed gay

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/10/zachary-quinto-gay-zachary-quinto-comes-out.html

It’s come to my attention that Zachary Quinto (the guy from Heroes, the new Spock in Trek ’09) has apparently come out of the closet and declared himself a gay man… yeah, that’s really going to fuel the Kirk/Spock sexual implications in the upcoming sequel. But in all seriousness, as a straight man who loves boobies, I’d like to congratulate Zachary on his recent coming out and issue a casual warning; when you’re out on the streets, keep your eyes out for Sulu. Apparently, he’s looking for fresh meat.

God, that was awful. Good night.

VIDEO COMMENTARY #07 – Riker Shills Something (Boole & Babbage "Trek Vision" Commercial)

2021 Update:
Software company Boole & Babbage commissioned a short commercial for their product which featured Jonathan Frakes in his role as Commander William T. Riker of Star Trek: The Next Generation talking to some poor fellow dealing with some stuff. It was a weird thing that garnered some reactions, including the above commentary track.
If you’re interested in more details behind the making of this commercial and how it came to be, Trekcore actually had an interview with one of the marketing people there in 2013, which you can check out with the following link. It’s an interesting read.
Inside Boole & Babbage’s Trek Vision:
The commercial, sans my verbiage, can be seen below: