A must-read: "In Praise of Voyager"

Here at Treknobabble, we're going to start reviewing Voyager at the end of DS9 Season 3, and start switching between full seasons of both shows. But I came across this article by Ian Grey tonight on Rogerebert.com, and I had to share it. It is simply one of the best-written pieces of bloggery regarding Trek I've ever read, our site included.

One of Mr. Grey's most trenchant insights is this one:

"Voyager constantly meets races and species that are starting a war or recovering from one, and keeps stumbling upon the ghostly remnants of obliterated civilizations. This strain of sadness is so persistent that the show often feels like gentle critique of the military-macho strain that ran through the original series, the films based on it, as well as many episodes of the more self-aware The Next Generation."

It's really interesting to hear this perspective, and an instructive example of the vast variety of messages people glean from Star Trek. I had always considered Voyager a meditation on how hardy Trek's core principles were. I hadn't considered the other side of that coin, a meditation on how societies lacking those principles would be caught up in a cycle of violence. The added meta-insight on how prior Trek's style of presentation sometimes conflicts with the core value is an impressive one. 



Another terrific insight is this one:

"In the context we're exploring here, Paris is particularly fascinating. In theory, he was there carry the flag for straight male heroic signifiers, but there were clues that he was actually there to tweak people's expectation that science fiction adventures had to put a straight white guy at center-stage. The character spent his off-time saving helpless women in his virtual reality simulation of ‘30s SF serials, Captain Photon -- a sweet spoof of the brand of outer-space swashbuckling that  Roddenberry embraced on the original Star Trek, and that continued, in a more intellectualized way, on The Next Generation."

I had always viewed Tom Paris as the tale of a down-and-outer in paradise, making good on his potential after squandering the sorts of chances such a world affords a person. But this critique gives me a new way of thinking about the writers' intentions with him.

I don't know yet whether Grey's overall thesis on the Voyager-hatred is a sound one. My inchoate opinions on why Voyager is so hated centered more on the female captain and the oft-molested "Galactic Reset Button." But it's given me a lot of food for thought. I )and I can only assume Kevin) will think about this idea of gender role and Trek concept subversion and as we systematically review the show.

All of Star Trek is now available to watch free (with commercials) on StarTrek.com

For those cheapskates out there who have somehow resisted either purchasing Star Trek on disc or subscribing to Netflix or Hulu Plus, do we have news for you!

StarTrek.com now has every episode of every series online for free (commercial supported) viewing. The quality varies pretty widely based on your internet connection (but looks quite nice when locked in), and the navigation is atrocious, but hey. You get what you pay for, right?

TNG Pinball!

We here at Treknobabble love Star Trek, most of us love video games, and a few of us love pinball. Well, all of these loves have collided in a wonderful way: The possibility of getting a digital re-creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a classic pinball table from the 90s, on our PS3s, Xboxes, Androids, and iPhones.

Make it so!!!

There's a catch - the company who makes the games, Farsight, needs to raise money via Kickstarter to obtain the licensing rights to the table. They are looking to raise $110k in order to create digital versions of "The Twilight Zone" and "Star Trek TNG." But the beauty of this fundraising method is that, if you kick in some funds now at the ten dollar level, you get both tables for "free" when the drive succeeds.

So please, if only for my sake (but also for yours, because these games rock), go check out the Kickstarter page and consider funding this project for at least $10.

Kickstarter Project page

IPDB page for Star Trek: TNG

IPDB page for The Twilight Zone

Like Trek? Like Surveys? Well, have we got a link for you...

One of Treknobabbler Richard Lorenc's friends, Virginia Postrel, is engaging in a research project regarding the sentiments of Star Trek fans toward the franchise. Ms. Postrel is an author, having written the book "The Future And Its Enemies," and also used to be the editor of the libertarian publication Reason Magazine.

The survey is quite long and asks impossible questions like "List your top ten episodes and movies from all Trek." So it may take you quite a while. Heck, I already had ready-made answers for "who is your favorite character?" and "why do you love Star Trek?" and it still took me about an hour. But it was enjoyable nonetheless.

In the future, no one is afraid of taking tests...

Anyway, here's the link: 

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/439308/Star-Trek-Fans

Would you like some AWESOME with your coffee this morning?

Then you need to click this link. It's a collection of photos from behind the scenes of TNG and a couple of the TNG movies. I hadn't seen any of them before, and they were all cool. My favorites are the season 1 pics of the crew being goofy together. A lot of them have talked about that in interviews, and it's nice to see candid supporting evidence. There are a lot of pictures on the page, but here's a few of my favorites...

It always cracks me up to see the actors in the wig and makeup but regular clothes. That first shot of Jonathan Frakes and Gates McFadden totally made my day, and it's only 8:30am. I have to give a shoutout to Betsy for posting this link on her facebook page, which is where I found it.

TNG on Blu?

I just read something I never thought I'd read. Apparently, serious discussions are going on with regard to the possibility of TNG being put out on Blu-Ray. CBS Digital thinks it will be quite difficult due to the way the effects were composited, but they think it can be done.

Check out my sweet-ass Photoshop skills...

Obviously, this is incredibly exciting news. The TOS Blu-Rays are so overwhelmingly beautiful, that the thought of 7 more seasons (or dare we dream of 21?) of that kind of video quality, especially of what I and many Trekkies hold to be the peak of the franchise, is tantalizing. I certainly do not look forward to paying $60 per season (if Amazon's prices on the TOS sets are any guide) for them, but I will.

What is more interesting are the possibilities raised by the quotes from the CBS VP in the article. In saying that the compositing is what presents the problem, this leads me to believe that there is the possibility that all the original elements were shot on film (which potentially can be at 1080p or higher resolution, depending on film stock), and then composited by computer on video (which struggles to get to 480p resolution, depending on how many compositing passes there were). It also implies that these film elements still exist, whether in whole or in part, to work from.

So it seems like there would be two (or perhaps three) possibilities:

1. Film elements from both sets of shots (acting and effects) exist as separate elements, and can be recomposited in higher-definition (1080p? I wonder...) than the original video at whatever the highest resolution is that the film elements allow. This would result in a brand new higher-definition master of TNG, with none of the fuzziness and graininess that the current DVDs display during effects shots.

2. Film elements exist for the acting, but not the effects. Thus, a higher-definition version of the acting portions of TNG could be struck, but new effects shots, similar to those in the TOS remaster (we can only hope and pray to the Great Bird of the Galaxy that the Okudas would be in charge of such a project), would have to be inserted into scenes.

3. Some combination of the above, hopefully, replacing bad nineties CGI.

Anyway, this is incredibly exciting news. The thought of getting something close to the spectacular TOS Blu-Ray sets with TNG content is one I had not dared dream prior to this announcement. It may take a year or two, but I wait with bated breath.

Lens Flare App for your iPhone allows you to ruin any Trek screenshot you like!

There's really nothing to say in this story that is not also said in the linked io9.com post right here.

"Abrams..." (facepalm)

Great Footage of 1975 Trek Convention

Rich Portnoy has posted on YouTube some terrific footage he shot on 8mm film at a Star Trek convention in Chicago in 1975. There's no sound, but the images are just priceless. Nichelle Nichols with an afro is fantastic, and everyone looks legitimately happy to be there. I love the internet!

So it's not just me...

The Universal Translator is coming!

Have you ever wondered how the Universal Translator works? I know I have. It always seemed a bit convenient to me that the UT not only can translate almost any language they come across, instantaneously, but it also knows when not to translate something, like a phrase a character mutters in Klingon. And it does all the translating while also making it appear that your lips are speaking English...

Pictured: Combination UT/Hitachi Magic Wand.

One of the things I really enjoyed in Enterprise, even if it wasn't always done well, was the exploration of how the Universal Translator was developed and what happened when it didn't work. And I thought the character of Hoshi Sato, as a kind of human Universal Translator was really interesting. It's a common enough trope in fiction that it must have some basis in truth that there are people who can pick up new languages after hearing just a little of them. Being the kind of person who's studied all sorts of languages and can't remember enough of any of them to even get by conversationally, I find this idea fascinating.

Anyway, on to a little story in The Times. Apparently, Google is trying to create a Universal Translator of sorts. It wouldn't be quite as robust as the Universal Translator on Star Trek because it would be limited to languages in the database (52 at the moment), but it would combine Google Translate with "high-accuracy voice recognition" to create software that allows the user to speak in one language and hear the translation in another language.

Anyone who has used either Google Translate or voice-recognition software knows that the result is likely to be a bunch of gobbledy-gook that may or may not come anywhere near resembling an accurate translation, but it will be a step closer to something resembling the Universal Translator. Now we just need to figure out how to keep it from translating petaQ.

A Star Trek Gaming blast from the past

I grew up playing this game on my family's Apple IIc. Now, it's available for all you windows users out there - WinTrek, a free version of the classic space shooter Star Trek sim. Download and enjoy! Try the WinXP link if you're running XP or later. The PDF is available for free, with instructions.

Here's the long and the short of it: You patrol an 8x8 sector grid of Federation space. There are X number of enemies invading. You have starbases to refuel at. The Long Range Sensor window tells you how many enemies, starbases, and stars there are in each sector. It is up to you to eliminate the enemies (no time for diplomacy) within a certain time frame, and without running out of dilithium energy. It's all about time and energy management.

Tips:
-Impulse takes less time than warp (warping to the next sector consumes a day of time). So if you're right next to an adjacent sector, just do an impulse hop to get there.
-Red stars sometimes allow you to slingshot around them with the "Richochet" command in the computer console. These slingshots will send you a random number of sectors away without consuming fuel or time. A good way to explore the map.
-The "scan" command in the computer will tell you how much energy the enemies have, so you don't waste excess power on phasering them. Use your torpedoes first, anyway, because they consume no power.
-Go into the options and uncheck "one control window." I don't know why this option even exists. But it will irritate you to no end until you uncheck it, as it will make all of your carefully arranged windows disappear each time you do something. Aargh!

Has Star Trek's "Padd" finally arrived?

This post on gaming site Kotaku is a fun look at "six padds" the author would actually buy, as opposed to Apple's iPad. Hint: all six are from Star Trek.

In answer to the above post, no, the Padd has not arrived just yet.

For one thing, the main function we see for the PADD of the 24th century is voice recognition with fuzzy logic, as well as predictive text interface buttons similar to court reporting tools (no more crappy touchscreen keyboard!) They seem to have universal compatibility interfaces without physical contact (which would totally make up for the iPad's lack of USB support). They also have a display that seems much closer to the e-ink of current readers, except in color - so they wouldn't be hard on the eyes after long periods of reading.

But mainly, they don't have the stupid "i" prefix appended to them. Ugh, I'm sick of that. So yet again, Star Trek has created a vision of the future which is much better than the present...

Fun Links from Wil Wheaton

As I mentioned in my Why I Love Star Trek essay, I am fascinated that Trek actors are so accessible. Perhaps the most accessible of the bunch is Wil Wheaton, who's made a good living from Trek (and from being quite a good writer). Following Wil's twitter feed always makes me feel like I actually know him. Yes, I realize that the 1,636,866 other people (and counting) who follow him probably feel the same way, but it's still fun. Today he managed to make me smile twice by linking to fun photos.

The first is on his blog and proves that he does not take himself too seriously, which I appreciate.

The other picture made me smile and shudder at the same time. You must go look. Matthew and I have talked a lot about raising our future kids with Star Trek, and I would guess that at some point, when the kids are young enough to go along with what we want to do without complaining about it being uncool, we'll probably go to a convention as a family. And we may even go in costume. And someone may take a picture. But I can't imagine that even we will be able to raise teenage children who will want to pose for a studio photograph with their parents in costume. And I'm fairly certain I wouldn't want to do it even if they did!

Speaking of raising kids, we'd love to hear from anyone who has experience raising kids with Trek. Let us know if you'd be interested in writing a guest essay. How do you introduce kids to Trek? What lessons can kids learn from Trek? Are there themes/idea in Trek too dark for young kids?

The Horrendously bad science of Star Trek(2009)

Speaking of Star Trek(2009), it was just cited as a "good science" example on Discover Magazine's list of good and bad science in movies. And to think I used to respect Discover Magazine.

Discover's list had five good and bad mentions apiece from all sorts of films. In my opinion, the "science" in Star Trek (2009) was so bad, I could create a list of 5 (if not more) just to encompass it all.

And here it is!

Star Trek (2009) garners a WGA nomination

The new Star Trek movie, written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, has been nomination for as Best Adapted Screenplay of 2009 by the Writers Guild of America. In the past, WGA wins have often been harbingers of Oscar wins. Before you get too excited (or distraught, if you're Matthew), it's worth noting that the WGA only considers films "written under the WGA’s Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) or under a bona fide collective bargaining agreement of the Australian Writers Guild, Writers Guild of Canada, Writers Guild of Great Britain, Irish Playwrights & Screenwriters Guild or the New Zealand Writers Guild." Such films as Up, Inglorious Basterds, and An Education were ineligible.

Winners will be announced on February 20. Good Luck Orci and Kurtzman!

Jean Simmons, 1929-2010

We've just seen over the twitterverse that Jean Simmons, perhaps best known to Trekkies as Rear Admiral Nora Satie (retired), has passed away. I also remember her fondly from her role as Varinia in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus.

I have always liked that particular TNG episode, thanks in great part to Ms. Simmons' regal, entertaining performance. I think she was a heck of an actress. Condolences to her family and loved ones.

The "true story" of MLK and Uhura...

In case you missed it, here is an article about MLK intervening in the career of Nichelle Nichols.

So I've Got Halloween Covered From Now On...

During our last podcast, Kevin and I discussed Star Trek costumes quite a bit. My wife Kelly looked several masks up on Amazon.com.

First was the Gorn mask, which is worn on the Mythbusters episode that tackles Arena. But then the masks got weirder and weirder.

The Mugato, from "A Private Little War", seems a natural. It's a lesser-known beast, so you can use it anywhere. But it's also a full-head mask, so you don't look too cheesy.

Technobabble on Treknobabble

Although we're not there yet, Kevin and I will be doing a podcast of the classic episode "Arena," in which Kirk goes toe-to-toe with a Gorn.

Well what do you know, someone else is interested in this, too! Mythbusters, a fun cable show on Discovery Channel, recently tackled whether Kirk could actually have created a gunpowder cannon using the materials native to Cestus III (or, if you prefer, Bronson Caynyon, California).

Here is a page with links to video clips of their experiments. The preview vid is priceless, too, in which Mythbuster and fellow Trekkie Grant Imahara does a funny Spock impression.

This is not a paid advertisement for CBS, I swear.

In case some of our readers haven't actually seen The Original Series in a while, I want to give you all a link that will help.

cbs.com has every episode of TOS online for free, except, sadly "The Cage." There's little hulu-style commercials in them, so if you want to use them to listen to a podcast, you'll have to be on the ball and pause the podcast during the breaks. Otherwise, if you are just looking to refamiliarize yourself with the series and have some of our comments make more sense, they are a great resource, and really one of the most Platonic forms of the Internet. Enjoy.