The time has come.  This week's review sees the end of my time among the stars.  But this installment takes me beyond " Star Trek "... After three years in space, Captain Kirk is feeling a lack of purpose.  After an attack on the Enterprises maroons him an his crew on an uncharted planet, Kirk must reunite his crew and find out the source of the the attack. What he finds is a tragedy from the past... one that can destroy the future ... One of my concerns with " Star Trek Into Darkness " was that the franchise was going to rely on re-imagining classic " Star Trek " stories.  Fortunately, this movie took the franchise into a different and exciting direction.  The story is face paced, and mixed nicely with humor and drama.  I was engaged from start to finish. I loved that this movie spread character development among the other characters, rather than focusing the entire movie on Kirk and Spock.  I especially enjoyed the scenes developing Scotty....

  Much like the ways the constellations travel across the sky in a regular rhythm, Tuesdays flow across the calendar with steady certainty. Which means it's time again to warp across the galaxy with another " Star Trek " movie.  This week we  beam into 2013's " Star Trek Into Darkness ". A mysterious stranger has declared war on Starfleet.  His capture by the crew of the Enterprise thrusts Kirk, and Spock into the middle of a conspiracy... One that could destroy Starfleet and give rise to one of Kirk's greatest foes ... This movie takes the kinetic energy of the first one and builds on it beautifully.  It is fast paced, exciting, and fun.  There is also a lot more dramatic moments in this one as well, which I absolutely loved as it only served to add to the humanity of this version. It was a joy to see how Kirk and Spock grew as characters in this movie.  Not just as individuals- but as friends and comrades.  This movie really added a lot of depth...

  Are you ready to return to where no one has gone before? You better be- because this week, I plop my ass down into the Captain's Chair and review J.J. Abram's 2009 take on the " Star Trek " franchise! Starting his career in Starfleet, James Tiberius Kirk is a brash cadet.  When a mysterious ship that was last seen the day he was born appears and destroys Vulcan, Kirk must bring his crew together to face this threat... and become the captain he's destined to be ... When Jay first told me that J.J. Abrams was "rebooting" the Star Trek franchise, I wasn't sure about it. Then we saw it on the big screen. This movie is a big screen movie. The story is action packed- but with enough slow personal character scenes that it's not overwhelming.  It caught the action, adventure, humor, an drama of the original series, while also giving it a shot of adrenaline. Many fans were upset when it was announced, because they felt that the studio was telling them t...

  Tuesday arrives, and we open hailing frequencies as we join Captain Picard for another adventure... The Romulan Senate has been overthrown, and a new Praetor has taken power. The USS Enterprise answers the summons of the new, mysterious Praetor who claims to seek peace. Just who is this mysterious new leader... and why are they so insistent on the Federation envoy being Captain Jean-Luc Picard ? " Star Trek: Nemesis " is one of the weakest installments in the franchise.  They tried to capture the tension and personal investment of " First Contact ", but instead present us a rather flimsy excuse for Picard to be introspective and thinking about his life choices.  I liked how, in some ways they reversed the role he had with Lily in " First Contact "- with Shinzon being the in the "Ahab" frame of mind. There is very little in the way of a deep character development in this movie.  From Picard, to Data, to Riker and Troi.  There are changes, but no...

  I'm back again with another installment of my " Trekking to the Stars " series.  This week, we check out Star Trek's "generation gap"... It's the 24th Century.  Kirk has been missing in action for 80 years after saving the USS Enterprise-B.  The latest Captain of the Enterprise receives word of a family tragedy. Before he can properly mourn, though, a threat approaches with ties to the "death" of the legendary Captain Kirk.  A threat that endangers millions.  A threat that only the Captains of the Enterprise can defeat ... This movie feels like an extended version of an episode of " Star Trek: The Next Generation "- which isn't necessarily a bad thing, as you don't really notice the time passing.  The story is slower than most movies, but is tightly written, and is engrossing enough to suck you right in. The transition from the prologue on the Enterprise-B (which felt very much like the original crew movies), and the remaind...

  Are you tired of my " Star Trek " movie reviews yet? No? Good, because we're heading at full warp into " The Final Frontier " with this week's installment! A mysterious Vulcan has taken the Federation, Klingon, and Romulan ambassadors on Nimbus III hostage.  Their demand?  A starship. The USS Enterprise is dispatched to rescue the captives, and arrest the fugitive Vulcan.  Soon, however, they discover that this enigmatic figure is going to take them to the final frontier... where no one has gone before... " Star Trek V: The Final Frontier " is- sadly, one of the weaker films of the franchise (with some arguing that it's only beaten by " Star Trek: Insurrection "... but I'll get to that eventually).  While some of it can be laid at the feet of William Shatner- since he directed, he can't bear ALL of the blame, as there were some behind the scenes things (such as huge budget cuts, executive meddling, and Industrial Lights ...

  It's time to jump to warp speed again, as we continue our trek to the stars.  This week, we go seeking that which we lost... Spock is dead.  McCoy is acting irrational.  Kirk is mourning.  A visit from Sarek puts Kirk on the path to bringing his friend back from the dead. But the Genesis Effect inspires a Klingon Captain to take action... bringing them both to the brink of death of destruction.. . 1984's " Star Trek III: The Search for Spock " is the second of what I call " The Spock Trilogy ".  This movie is a bit more subdued than " Wrath of Khan ," though still much more actiony than "The Motion Picture".  It is a fascinating balance of action and drama that works quite well.  This movie has a nice flow to it that is smooth and transitions between the scenes and set pieces seamlessly. The theme of loyalty and friendship are central to the development of the characters in " Search for Spock ".  The actions of Kirk and crew a...

  I'm back again, summoned to adventure and wonder by the glittering orbs of gaseous light in the heavens.  This week, I warp speed my way into " Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ". Admiral Kirk is overseeing the training of new cadets.  The USS Enterprise is now a training vessel.  Kirk's future seems calm and dull as he feels age creeping up on him. But an enemy from his past is about to return to the stars to hunt him down... and Kirk may lose all that he holds dear.. . After the critiques brought forth about " Star Trek: The Motion Picture ", Paramount decided to go in a more action/adventure direction that was closer in tone to The Original Series than the first movie. I loved that they actually dipped into Star Trek history to find a story to connect this movie to the show.  The episode, " Space Seed " was an amazing episode, and deserved to be the inspiration for this movie.  It certainly brought the action that the first movie was missing.  ...

  In 2020, I worked my way through all of the " Star Wars " movies, and reviewed them.  Well... I'm at it again- but this time working my way through all of the " Star Trek " movies... After a mysterious cloud absorbs a Klingon fleet, Starfleet sends it's best ship and crew in an attempt to stop it.  Will Kirk and the others be able to do what the Klingons could not? Unlike the movie, this review is going to be fairly short.  " Star Trek: The Motion Picture " is a beautiful film- but a tad too long.  While watching it, I couldn't help but have some flashbacks to my time watching Stanley Kubrick's " 2001: A Space Odyssey ". The look and feel was very much influenced by Kubrick's film, and the story is also quite lofty in nature- though a bit more character driven.  As gorgeous as the sequences showing the USS Enterprise for the first time... and leaving dock... and moving through the mysterious cloud were, they were unnecessari...

  If you were to ask Jason what single franchise would come to mind when you mention my name, he would probably say " Star Trek ".  I'm not a fanatic about it- but I do enjoy the shows, movies, tech manuals, and novels- in fact, I have quite a few of the novels in my collection.  Sonni Cooper's " Black Fire " is one of my favorites... An explosion rips through the Enterprise's bridge- injuring Kirk and Spock.  Scotty and Spock discover a plot by a war-loving race called the Tomarii.  After being framed for the explosion, Spock sets out to clear his name... discovering some unlikely allies along the way. .. As much as I love Captain Kirk, I especially love it when writers explore the other characters.  This Spockcentric novel is a fun adventure to read.  There's action, suspense, humour, tragedy, honour, drama, intrigue, and friendship.  " Star Trek: Black Fire " isn't just Star Trek, it's Star Trek as a space opera- and I loved it. ...

I enjoy comics.  I enjoy Star Trek.  I really enjoy when the two come together... When a dispute between godlike beings threatens the galaxy, it will take all of Starfleet's best captains to stop it.  Join James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Kathryn Janeway and Benjamin Sisko as they go head-to-head in a competition that will determine the face of the Earth and beyond. When I saw " Star Trek: The Q Conflict " on the shelf in my local comic shop, I was taken by the cover design.  Then I read the synopsis I quoted above.  I was hooked.  I bought it and skipped my way home to read this grand new adventure. The premise is great... but the execution wasn't.  The pacing was quick and energetic- but only because there was very little real substance to the story.  There was very little actual drama, conflict, or sense of danger.  It just was.  I felt by the end of the story that the premise was just an excuse to bring all of the Captains, a...

A large portion of my personal library consists of Star Trek books and novels, so I felt it was appropriate to review one of them. The Enterprise has been assigned the mission of delivering two diplomats to the world of Ssan in order to defuse a civil war.  It's a planet that Dr. McCoy had hoped to never return to after a traumatic incident during his early career. Adding to his discomfort is the fact that the two diplomats... one is his ex-wife, and the other is the man she left McCoy for.. . This is one of the best Star Trek novels I've read.  It really helped to flesh out the character of McCoy- especially the details behind his failed marriage that drove him into Starfleet.  He really is the protagonist of this story, and it's wonderful to see him get some attention from writers.  His ex-wife, and her new husband are also interesting and engaging, while lending some nice touches to the dramatic portions to the story.  The head assassin is also a wel...

Our resident Trekkie Mike S is likely squealing with manly glee at this news, as CBS All Access is moving forward with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, a new series focusing on Capt. Christopher Pike and his exploits on the U.S.S. Enterprise a decade before Kirk took command. Anson Mount, who played Pike on Star Trek: Discovery, will continue in the role, as will Ethan Peck as Spock. Rebecca Romijn will be Number One. Akiva Goldsman will write the series premiere from a story by him and his Discovery and Picard co-executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet. I haven't watched Discovery, and only made it part way through Picard, which I enjoyed but didn't make a priority. I like Star Trek, but it's really not my thing, feature films aside. However, CBS All Access is hitting home run after home run with Star Trek these days, and the movie franchise seems dead in the water. Maybe it's time to dive in? Source: TVLine

Star Trek: Picard rockets along with its second episode, distancing itself from previous incarnations while still paying tribute to what has boldly come before. What's different, at least from this non-Trekkie's perspective? There's blood, swearing and intrigue to spare as we discover -- spoiler alert -- double dealings going on within Starfleet. Sure, such things were hinted at in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek Into Darkness, but this little conspiracy is proving most intriguing. Oh, and there's some sex too, or at least a hint of it. Racy! We do witness the synthetic's revolt on mars that prompted Picard to leave Starfleet, and caused the Romulan supernova which spawned the Kelvin timeline. This was a highlight for me. And Next Generation fans will surely delight at the return of Dr. Moritz Benayoun, who delivers some pretty bad news for our hero. Once again, spoiler alert. I know; I'm such a dick. All kidding and assholery as...

I'm not the biggest Star Trek fan in The Basement. That battle is fought between Shawn and Mike S. I did enjoy the original series and the movies, and I'm especially a fan of the Kelvin timeline, which divided fans due to its emphasis on action and adventure over an exploration of the human experience. Guess why I enjoyed it. Haha! But I was excited for Star Trek: Picard, which brings Patrick Stewart and his beloved character back into action after being absent from the franchise for almost two decades. He's almost as legendary a character as James T. Kirk. And I'm a fan of Stewarts, even though my wife wants to marry him. Her and I just watched the first episode of Picard, and we both loved the hell out of it. This IS NOT Star Trek: The Next Generation. People wanting or expecting that will be disappointed. This is a whole new story that takes its cue from modern television, with an ongoing arc and a fast-paced style of storytelling that feels more in line wi...

The headline says it all. With the streaming wars in full swing between Netflix, Disney, Apple and CBS, the Peacock network, otherwise known as NBC, is getting into the game. They're bringing back their beloved franchise from the late 70s to help fight the battle... Battlestar: Galactica. Because everything that's old is new again, obviously. Did you know Battlestar: Galactica was previously, and successfully, rebooted on SyFy from 2004 to 2009? Little is known about the latest incarnation, other than Mr. Robot showrunner Sam Esmail is involved, and the series takes place within the same universe as the 2004-2009 run. I grew up with the original Galactica, and enjoyed the 2000s redo very much. I don't know how much I can give a shit the third time around, but I'll try. We're curious to see how the streaming wars play out. Disney has Star Wars, Apple has Jason Momoa's new series, and CBS has Star Trek. The NBC service, which is called Peacock, debuts Ap...

I'm not much of a Star Trek fan outside of the feature films. I've tried many times to watch the various TV series, but they all seemed the same to me, no matter how differently they were dressed. And yes, that includes Star Trek: Discovery, which returns to CBS All Access later this week. For the record, I am excited about the new Picard series, because Patrick Stewart is the tits!

Bad news for our resident Trekkers Shawn and Mike S as word hit the Interwebs today that the next instalment in Star Trek's big-screen franchise might not happen after all. Word came via the folks at Collider that contract negotiations for Chris Pine, who plays James T. Kirk, and Chris Hemsworth, who was to return in the untitled fourth film as Kirk's back-from-the-dead dad, have stalled.

Holy spaceballs Star Trek fans! It looks like Capt. Jean-Luc Picard will live long and prosper! That's right, word dropped just an hour ago from Patrick Stewart himself that he will return to the franchise that made him a superstar in a new Star Trek series for CBS All Access.

Star Wars fans are the latest group of "fandoms" that have become toxic to their chosen franchise, and geekdom in general.  Their outrage at the prequels, a Jamaican sounding alien, a black stormtrooper, the revelation about Rey's parents, the introduction of Rose, the portrayal of an older Luke Skywalker, etc. They make me shake my head.