TNG Giveaway!

To celebrate the beginning of our TNG reviews and podcasts (starting November 7!), we're hosting our first GIVEAWAY!!


Up on the prize podium  for this giveaway is a mint, still-in-the-box Deanna Troi action figure, from Playmates. She comes equipped with a sassy green Starfleet tote, a computer terminal and PADD, presumably for setting her counseling appointments, and a tricorder, just in case she needs to sense something besides deception. She is wearing her classic gray cameltoe ensemble. Mee-ow!

Giveaways can be entered in any of four ways:

1. By linking to the giveaway (on your blog or other website)
2. By following us on Twitter (@treknobabblers)
3. By "liking" us on Facebook
4. By following us on Google Friend Connect

Please leave a separate comment for each thing you do (and include the link to your blog or website or your username for Twitter/Facebook/Google Friend Connect). You can also leave a comment to say that you've already been following us via these means (a separate comment for each one if you want to enter multiple times. The winning comment will be chosen by random number generator  You may enter the contest through Friday, November 5, at 11:59PM Central Standard Time. The winner will be announced on Saturday, November 6.

We will ship worldwide, so everyone should enter!

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Release Date: June 1, 1984

Director: Leonard Nimoy

Introduction

After the surprise success of Star Trek II, this installment was given an instant green light by Paramount. Bennet and Nimoy had left a deliberate opening at the end of II to bring Spock back ("Remember..."), and it was deemed appropriate to make this film all about his return. Nimoy parlayed this unique negotiating power into his feature directorial debut. Star Trek III picks up essentially immediately after the conclusion of the previous film, with the crew and vessel licking their collective wounds, limping back home. It is upon arrival there that Kirk discovers his blunder - Spock's father Sarek demands that his son's body be brought home to Vulcan for a proper burial and that his katra, which has been deposited in the person of Dr. McCoy, be brought along with it. Kirk, out of devotion to his fallen comrade, risks his career to go back to the now forbidden Genesis planet, which has become the center of galactic controversy, representing the ultimate power to create and destroy.  What they discover there, however, gives them a shocking new purpose - Spock's body, regenerated by the Genesis planet, might just be reunited with his katra - if only they can survive the murderous designs of the Klingon Commander, Kruge... what will the crew have to sacrifice this time?

Hey, at least it didn't get wrecked the first time Troi got behind the wheel...

Further Convention Awesomeness

While we were at the convention, we met a fellow trekkie who had what is arguably one of the most nifty Star Trek gizmos ever. He had a PADD. Here's a pic.

He made it himself from a kit and the image is his own design. Here's a close-up.

The detail is really cool, and the best part was that it was made with a thin metal casing, so it felt lightweight, but had the right heft. It didn't feel like a plastic toy. My specific comments was we need to find the kit he used, make a hundred of them, then find some cutting tools and some iPads and make it work for real. Anyone looking for an early Christmas gift for me? This would rock.

Thanks, fellow convention-goer, for emailing us this pictures so we can share them.

Holodeck Halloween Party Costume Contest

Startrek.com is hosting a costume contest on their Facebook page. If you like my homemade TOS dress (and tricorder bag), please "like" my photo. The one with the most 'likes' will be featured on the StarTrek.com homepage!

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Release Date: June 4, 1982

Director: Nicholas Meyer

Introduction

Although it did well at the box office, Paramount was disappointed with the critical and financial performance of The Motion Picture. Many millions were spent on development (mostly for the aborted Phase II television show), and many fans and critics felt the movie was plodding and talky. Nonetheless, it performed well enough to warrant a second go. When Roddenberry delivered a story treatment involving Klingons, time travel, and the Kennedy assassination, Paramount "kicked him upstairs" and turned over the reins to producer Harve Bennett with two directives: make it cheaper, make it better. And as much as this might smart for a fan of Roddenberry, it's hard to argue with results. Bennett immersed himself in TOS research, looking for the key elements missing from TMP: dramatic conflict, and a good villain. Eventually, he settled on Khan, the wily genetically engineered antagonist from "Space Seed." He hired director Nicholas Meyer (who had previously directed "Time After Time" starring Malcolm McDowell), rookie composer James Horner, pulled Ricardo Montalban off of Fantasy Island, created a former flame and estranged son for Kirk, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The face that launched a thousand Shatner imitations...

Hello To All Our New Convention-Going Friends...

If you are visiting this page because we met you at the convention, welcome!

We'd love for you to check out some of the nifty features of our blog. You'll notice along the right a list of quick links to our reviews, some key articles, and types of essays. Check them out! TOS Season One is a good place to start. What would be even better, is if you disagree with a review of ours, you could submit your own dissent! Leave us a comment or send an email to the Treknobabble email address.


Check out "Why I love Star Trek," in which the blog creators and our friends wax rhapsodic on why Trek is so great! We'd love for our new friends to contribute and let us know what Trek means to them. Contact us to contribute an essay!


You will also see links to friend us on Facebook, follow us as a Google "Friend Connect," and follow our Twitter feed. So if you're into that sort of thing, knock yourself out! We will be announcing a giveaway  contest very soon, so keep checking for the details!

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Release Date: December 7, 1979
Director: Robert Wise


Introduction

The Star Trek franchise makes its return from limbo in a big way - as a tent-pole blockbuster motion picture, in the tradition of Star Wars. After kicking around for several years as a potential new TV series, many of the concepts developed in the mid-seventies were incorporated into the Motion Picture. We are introduced to Captain Willard Decker, Lieutenant Ilia, and the refit starship Enterprise. Admiral James T. Kirk marshals these forces, attempts to reunite his former crew, and elbows his way back into command as a dire threat faces the Earth - a seemingly omnipotent energy cloud is wending its way towards Earth, engulfing everything in its path. Eventually, the crew discovers that an ancient Earth space probe is at the cloud's heart - will they be able to discover its purpose and reason effectively enough with the probe's intelligence in order to save Earth from the same fate as countless ships and starbases?

And will we ever find out what those snazzy belt buckles are for?

TAS Recap

So we've come to the end of the Animated Series. How does it stack up to the rest of The Original Series? Let's find out with some good old fashioned nerdy analysis.

Somebody replaced Chekov with a sexy nurse...

Kevin's Thoughts

In the balance, and the numbers will bear me out on this point in a moment, but TAS was weaker than TOS. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to like here, but on the balance, it falls short in a few places. Part of the problem in rating this series is how to fairly compare it to other material. Writing a good and engaging story remains the same largely, but being restricted to voice alone to express a complex emotion is a different challenge than choosing the appropriate facial expression. As for production values, it's largely as expensive to draw an interesting background as a boring one, so a lot more focus goes into the design choices without any allowance for "they did what they could with their budget."

The Animated Series, Season 2: The Counter-Clock Incident

The Animated Series, Season 2
"The Counter-Clock Incident"
Airdate: October 24, 1974
22 of 22 produced
22 of 22 aired

Synopsis

Commodore Robert April and his wife Sarah are aboard the Enterprise travelling to Babel for the Commodore's retirement ceremony. En route, the Enterprise is pulled into a negative universe. Black stars glow against a white void and time moves backwards. The crew begins to grow younger and younger. Can the Enterprise make it back before the crew grow to young to operate the ship?

Or will Kirk finally get to work out that diaper fetish he's been nursing?

The Animated Series Season 2: How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth

The Animated Series, Season 2
"How Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth"
Airdate: October 5, 1974
21 of 22 produced
21 of 22 released

Synopsis

"Captain's Log, Stardate 6063.4. The Enterprise is tracing the origin of a mysterious alien space probe. It approached the Federation home worlds, made a scan of Earth's system and signaled outward into space. Before it could be intercepted, the probe self-destructed. We are following a trail of disrupted matter left by the probe's highly advanced propulsion system. Thus far the trail has not intercepted any inhabited star systems." On this tracking mission, the Enterprise is eventually confronted by a vast starship which projects the image of a lizard god, Kukulkan. This god imprisons the Enterprise in an energy bubble and abducts several crew members, demanding their worship.

Ensign Token Bear, please dispense information on all Native cultures!

Kelly's Star Trek Dress

Cross-posted on my other blog: Kelly Learns to Sew

With a week and a half to spare, the Star Trek TOS minidress is nearly complete. And I'm halfway happy with it. (I'm never very happy with my work; I think I've become my grandmother.)

Looks like a red burlap sack.

More photos available on Flickr.

The Animated Series, Season 2: Albatross

The Animated Series, Season 2

"The Albatross"
Airdate: September 28, 1974
18 of 22 produced
20 of 22 aired

Synopsis

Doctor McCoy is arrested on the planet Dramia for his actions relating to a plague in that star system decades ago. The Dramians claim that an inoculation program he administered was responsible for the death of millions.

I hate taking photos with these weirdo convention-goers...

The Animated Series, Season 2: The Practical Joker

The Animated Series, Season 2

"The Practical Joker"

Airdate: September 21, 1974

20 of 22 produced

19 of 22 released

Synposis

While finishing an asteroid charting mission, the Enterprise is suddenly attacked by a trio of Romulan cruisers. In order to evade them, the Enterprise flies through a field of highly charged subatomic particles. Though they successfully evade their attackers, the crew of the Enterprise finds that things have become a bit unusual. A practical joker seems to be running amok, and it turns out to be the ship's own computer.

Or maybe it was all of William Shatner's co-stars...

The Animated Series, Season 2: Bem

The Animated Series, Season 2
"Bem"
Airdate: September 14, 1974
17 of 22 produced
18 of 22 released

Synopsis

The Enterprise is hosting Bem, an exchange officer from the Planet Pandro. He is accompanying the crew on a dangerous mission to Delta Theta III. What dangers will the crew encounter there? And what secret is Bem hiding?

Assistance is required. Fashion assistance!

The Great Material Continuum...now with T-shirts

We now have a store at cafepress.com where you can order all manner of shirts, sweaters, and knick-knacks, all emblazoned with the Treknobabble logo. I have already ordered my t-shirt, so if you see a 6'2" white guy with Vulcan ears and a Treknobabble t-shirt at the Star Trek convention in Chicago on the 23rd, that's probably me. Or my Mirror Universe twin. Make sure to check for the goatee.

Order yours today at http://cafepress.com/treknobabble. We take most major credit cards and PayPal as well as quatloos and latinum.

The Animated Series, Season 2: The Pirates of Orion

The Animated Series, Season 2

"The Pirates of Orion"

Airdate: September 7, 1974

19 of 22 produced

17 of 22 aired

Synopsis:

While the Enterprise crew recovers from an outbreak Choriocytosis, which is non-lethal to humans, it is discovered that Spock has contracted the disease as well, and is in mortal danger due to his Vulcan physiology. The Enterprise must obtain a rare drug from the planet Beta Canopus, which is too far out of range to be of use in time to save Spock. Thus, a risky exchange is arranged.

Wonder Twin powers... activate?

The Animated Series, Season 1: The Jihad

The Animated Series, Season 1
"The Jihad"
Airdate: January 12, 1974
13 of 22 produced
16 of 22 aired

Synopsis

Captain Kirk and Spock are summoned to help retrieve The Soul of Skorr, a sacred religious artifact to the Skorr people. If they fail, the resulting outrage among the Skorr could spark a holy war that could consume the galaxy.

I can't believe I just had to type that sentence. I'm sorry. I really am.

Tremble, ye mortals, before the Fiery Party Ribbon of... ah, screw it.

The Animated Series, Season 1: Eye Of The Beholder

The Animated Series, Season 1
"Eye Of The Beholder"
January 5, 1974
15 of 22 Produced
15 of 22 Aired


Synopsis

In search of a missing science vessel's survey team, Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to the planet Lactra. To their surprise, they discover a previously unknown diverse ecosystem - too diverse to be natural. When they finally track down the six member science team, they find themselves in the clutches of an enigmatic species of giant slugs. They are placed in a carefully cultivated habitat with the survivors of the missing team and are shocked by their fate - exhibits in a zoo!

"Spock, this wasn't the sort of tentacle porn I had in mind..."