Series: Star Trek (The Original Series)
Episode: 1.03 Where No Man Has Gone Before (9/22/66)
Rating: 4/5
Redshirt Status: 11/15/15
Gary Lockwoord – Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell. He starred in the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey
Sally Kellerman – Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. She was the original Margaret Houlihan in M*A*S*H
Welcome to the first of my ongoing series watching and reviewing the Star Trek universe in its entirety prior to Discovery. As that show is under a pay wall, as well as some questionable choices by the writing/production staff I haven’t chosen to watch that or Picard. Maybe one day. For now, let’s start with The Original Series. I am watching this via Prime Video but I believe Star Trek is readily available on various streaming platforms.
Series: Star Trek (TOS)
Episode: 1.01 The Man Trap (9/8/1966)
Rating: 3/5
Notable Guest Cast:
Jeanne Bal – Nancy Crater.
Alfred Ryder – Dr. Crater. He often made appearances in various genre series of the time.
Michael Zaslow – Crewman Darnell. He would later be known for his role as Roger Thorpe on Guiding Light.
Redshirt Count: Episode: 4 Season: 4 Series: 4
Review:
Continue reading “The Rewatch 1: The Man Trap” Episode Title: Identity Part 1 (2 part arc)
Original Airdate: February 21, 2019 (watched later via Hulu)
Grade:B
Notable Guest Stars/Directors:
Victor Garber (returning as Admiral Halsey)
Notable Quotes:
Cmdr. Kelly Grayson: I can’t believe they knew about Mr. Potato Head.
Capt. Ed Mercer: Yeah, we are going to get fired.
SPOILERS BELOW
Continue reading “TV Review: The Orville 2×08” Episode Title: All The World is Birthday Cake (2.05)
Original Airdate: January 24, 2019 (watched later via Hulu)
Grade: B
Notable Guest Stars/Directors:
Robert Duncan McNeill (Director)– Star Trek Alum. He’s been a director for years on many good programs, but on screen you may remember him as Tom Paris, the navigator/pilot of Voyager. He always seems to do a good job, on screen and as a director.
Ted Danson (Admiral Perry) – This show loves to have random well-known actors show up as Admirals. Ted Danson is known for a lot of things. Most recently perhaps CSI, but also Becker, and the film Three Man and a Baby.
Jennifer Landon (Ukania) – I know her best from As the World Turns as Gwen Munson , but she is also known for roles on House and various other television shows. She also happens to be the daughter of Michael Landon, so acting runs in the family.
John Rubinstein (Prefect) – He’s appeared as minor characters on various television shows I watch, but I know him probably best from Star Trek: Enterprise where he played Minister Kuvak. He also played on House and Becker so he probably worked with several of the other notable co-stars in this episode.
Nico Nicotera (Rokal) – I didn’t recognize him, but apparently he played a recurring character on Sons of Anarchy (one of my sister’s favorite shows).
Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Kaylai) – She’s a new main character for the series, coming in as Alara’s replacement. She’s also known for her role as Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl. I enjoy her work so far.
Notable Quotes:
Lt. Cmdr. Bortus: It is much easier with an egg.
Capt. Ed Mercer: You had big shoes to fill, and I’m not kiddin’. And as far as I’m concerned, you filled them and then some. So, from here on out, you’re officially allowed to punch me.
SPOILERS BELOW
Continue reading “Review: The Orville 2.05”Episode Title: Home
Original Airdate: January 10, 2019 (watched later via HULU)
Grade: A
Notable Guest Stars/Directors:
Robert Picardo (Ildis Kitan) – Best known as the Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager, he’s also been on Stargate, my favorite TV show franchise.
John Billingsley (Cambis Borrin) – Another Star Trek alum, Billingsley played Dr. Phlox on Enterprise. He’s also been on quite a few TV series as a one-off character.
Molly Hagen (Drenala Kitan) – She appeared recurrently as Mike’s mother on Jane The Virgin. SHe also appeared on Star Trek DS9
Kerry O’Malley (Floratta) – She appeared on Hart of Dixie which is one of my sister’s favorite shows. I had to search for both her and Molly Hagen because while I recognized them from somewhere, it wasn’t till I went through IMDB that I figured out where and why.
Patrick Warburton as Lt Tharl (recurring character)
Jason Alexander (Olix) – He’s known for his role in the 90s comedy series Seinfeld
Candice King (.Solana Kitan) – known for her role on Vampire Diaries as Caroline Forbes
Notable Quotes:
Apparently none stood out to be this episode in particular (I’m writing this off of notes I took while watching, and no quotes were listed).
SPOILERS BELOW
Continue reading “Review: The Orville 2.03”Yesterday I stumbled upon the reality that the movie Overboard is being remade. Now, I was never a huge fan of the film, it was okay and I’d watch it if it happened to be on. I have friends who are much bigger fans. But I always figured it was one of those movies that had been left alone. Till Yesterday.
It made me wonder at what point does a movie get to ‘remakable’ status? Is there a time limit? A quality level? Perhaps nothing at all (and I’m starting to think this is the reality.)
They made the first Spiderman movie with Toby McGuire in it in 2002. Since then, they have made 2 sequels, rebooted it, made a sequel to that one and rebooted it again. All in 16 years. At least with the latest guy, its because the ownership changed hands therefore contracts were different.
But seriously. 16 years, 6 movies (8 if you include Captian America: Civil War and the upcoming Avengers movie), 3 actors. That is roughly a new Spiderman movie every 2-3 years and only a few are actually connected to each other. Toby McQuire came out with one in 2002. 2004, and 2007. Andrew Garfield got 2012 and 2014. Tom Holland got 2017 (with 2016 (CA:CW) and 2018 (Avengers: Infinty Wars) as honorable mentions).
Seems a lot. (Although I wish Tom Holland luck with the role. He seems like a sweetheart.)
It makes the Star Trek reboot look like they took way too long (almost 50 years).
Of course there is Star Wars, creatively sourced as a continuation rather than a reboot. They are using the same basic plots so I find the last series to be generally less impressive than the other two (yes, I’m a freak who loves the Prequels. Not as much as the original trilogy, but I do love them). I don’t want to watch The Original Trilogy with Anakin 2.0
The Mummy was recently remade, though I did not see this version due to an aversion of all things Tom Cruise. Plus the Brendan Fraser Trio was a big part of my middle school years. I don’t want to ruin them with whatever this new one is. Which doesn’t appear to be anything like the 1932 original, or the Fraser 1999 remake. So I’m not sure if it’s so much a remake as its “Hey, we got the rights to this film franchise and a budget, want to film?” type deal.
There are times I adore remakes. It just seems that recently the board has been pretty flooded with remakes and reboots and sequels. And some of them run pretty close together. I can understand a remake/reboot if enough time as passed (King Kong, Godzilla and Star Trek for example). Book adaptations happen all time (Look up the many many many versions of Pride and Prejudice. I did once. I think there were thirty some at the time). I just don’t get why I’m getting remakes/reboots of films that have been released since I was in high school. Sure, its been over a decade but barely and still within memory.
At the very least a decade should be the minimum amount of time unless the movie was awful (ex. The Incredible Hulk movies. We don’t talk about the Incredible Hulk movies).
I remember reading somewhere that someone had boiled down the general narratives of the world to about 6 storylines. And that everything basically followed one of them. But there are a million ways to be creative with a prompt. Just look at any writing group and ask them their responses to a prompt. You are bound to get a bunch of variety even with the same building blocks.
So I don’t think its a hard task to find something out there that is creative, even if its something old. At least something not made in the last decade. At the rate we are going, The day I turn 40, Harry Potter will be releasing its remake of A Deathly Hallows.
That being said…I’m probably going to be watching the new Overboard. If only because the fact they genderswapped it sounds intriguing.
I believe I wrote about this before, but it was just a recent rant in my mind that needed to come out. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Episode: Pria (1×05)
Notable Guest Stars:
Charlize Theron (Pria) – I don’t really think I need to explain why Charlize is a notable guest star. I first saw her in That Thing You Do but that is far from the most famous film she’s been in.
Jonathan Frakes (Director) – Star Trek Alum. He played Will & Thomas Riker in TNG and several spinoffs.
Rachel MacFarlane (Computer Voice) – Seth MacFarlane’s sister.
This episode’s A plot starts with the crew coming across a distress signal coming from a comet. They rescue a mining pilot named Captain Pria Lavesque. Pria explains she works for a mining consortium and was investigating the comet when she ran into trouble. Kelly’s instincts are telling her something is wrong, helped no doubt by her jealousy, so she starts to investigate, pulling Alara in with her. Ed isn’t happy that they are treating a guest this way. He is also biased, because he is interested in Pria, and its mutual.
However, just as Ed thinks he might have a chance to finally move on, strange things keep happening. Turns out Pria is a future traveler from the 29th century who goes back in time to grab ships and artifacts to sell on the antiquities market back home looking like they are in prime condition. Ed gets his heart-broken, and I think everyone is taken aback when she tells them they were meant to be dead so why does it matter.
The question remains though…does anyone remember this after the end of the episode? Erasing the wormhole and Pria’s existence in the past so she has no need to come back seems like it might change their reality but I don’t know if everyone forgets her or if this buys into the new timeline theory.
The B plot is Issac learning about Human humor, which doesn’t turn out that greatly for Gordon who ends up losing a leg, literally, and having to regrow it because Isaac hid it. The b plot filters in and out of the A plot, and ends up connecting to how Issac lets the crew know he’s still around.
This episode, plot wise, probably won’t be my favorite, but it wasn’t a bad episode.
Notable Quotes:
Ed: Kelly! Kelly, wait! Hey, listen – I don’t want to play the blame game here.
Kelly: That’s because you’re the one to blame.
Ed : Look, we all made mistakes.
Kelly : Nobody made mistakes but you.
Ed : Let’s not do the “I told you so” thing.
Kelly : I told you so numerous times.
Pros:
Cons:
Final Grade: B
I’m going to be posting these over the next few days as I’ve caught up with the series, but I want to post the reviews as the episodes come, so I have to catch up post wise. So expect the first six-seven episodes in succession then it will be weekly.
Episode: 1×02 Command Performance
Notable Guest Stars:
Jeffrey Tambor (Ben Mercer) – Best known from Arrested Development, though if anyone reading this has toddlers around, they’ve probably heard his voice once or twice on children’s shows.
Holland Taylor (Jeanne Mercer) – She shows up randomly everywhere. Probably known most recently as the mom in 2 and a Half Men.
Robert Duncan McNeill (Director) – Trek Alum; He portrayed Lt. Tom Paris on Voyager, and has a long list of episodic directing.
Ron Canada (Admiral Tucker) – Had a recurring role of West Wing (one of my favorite TV shows)
This episode starts off with learning more about Moclan physiology. They lay eggs. Which is a subplot of this episode, and from the looks of it a major plot point in the next episode. However, as Bortus is brooding his egg, this leaves Alara in charge. She tries to get out of it several times, because she doesn’t think she’s ready for it, but the senior officers all consider her able and ready.
I really liked the fact that it showed that not everyone came out of a bubble primed and ready to be commanders. While I adore Star Trek, one of the elements that kind of bothered me that outside a few characters, most of the characters were simply naturals at command, and did extremely well. Alara does well, but the show also shows her going through various emotions like fear, anxiety, annoyance and other feelings that might come with command.
The b plot with Kelly & Ed was interesting, but kind of worked in forcing us into shipping them. The two actors have chemistry (this whole cast does, good work casting director) but I think they went a bit overhanded with directing us to it in this episode.
Notable Quotes:
Dr. Finn: “I won’t whisper the right answers into your ear, but I’ll try to be your Obi-wan whenever I can.”
Alara: “What?”
Finn: “Nevermind.”
Pros:
Good acting chemistry, relatable responses by characters, and overall character development is done well.
Cons:
While I enjoy the dynamic of Kelly & Ed, I really think that they pushed them too hard in this episode. Maybe if this episode had happened halfway into the season where we have had time to get to know them first, it wouldn’t seem so awkwardly forced. The two actors have chemistry, let us grow to love them together. Show, don’t tell.
Final Grade: B
So, I decided to actually watch and review a TV series that is ongoing. Usually my TV reviews end up being long franchise shows, or cult favorites. This time however, its a new show, less then a season (currently at 6 episodes). I will do a post for each episode, which will be frequent till I catch up to the airing. I may schedule these once a week and then use by weeks to catch up.
For those wondering: SPOILERS BE HERE
Episode Title: Old Wounds (1×01)
Notable Guest Stars:
Victor Garber – Admiral Halsey. I can’t remember if he was on Trek or not, but to be fair, He appears in alot of good shows. This makes me want to watch Alias now
Penny Johnson Jerald – Not a guest star, but she is notable as Trek Alum (She played Kassidy Yates on DS9).
Brian George – As Dr. Aronov Also a Trek Alum. He played Julian Bashir’s father Richard Bashir.
This show of course brings back memories of Star Trek but I love how right off the bat they point themselves in their own direction with making the seat of Operations in New York. Also pretty sure Trek never had infidelity as a major plot point. Except in Will/Deanna’s weird relationship over the years when they were on-and-off. Which doesn’t’ really count. This seems to be more grounded in the reality. While I hate JJ Abrams commentary on Star Trek, I will admit they were a tad idealistic at times. Which is probably why Enterprise remains my favorite. Less idealistic, a bit rougher around the edges.
The characters have good chemistry in this first episode, which is good. Some of the dialogue is a bit stiff, but its the first episode, so I think I can give them that. It should be interesting how this continues.
I have to admit I was surprised at how much I liked this. I was not a big fan of Seth MacFarlane, finding his humor not to my tastes. But so far its been super toned down, though I hope the penis jokery will not be their only jokes. This being said, you should probably not let your toddlers watch this.
Pros:
Funny, good chemistry between the characters. Realistic reactions to stuff that they do at the science lab. Multitude of species, not all humanoid in appearance.
Cons:
If a species has no gender, how can they be male. Or is this just assuming that their entire species is like the male species of most humanoid species??
The Krill make me think of small marine life. I would have laughed my butt off if they really did end up being these tiny creatures, but instead they kind of look like various other villains I have seen on Trek shows.
Notable Quotes:
“Can I have one of these mints?”
“Those are marbles.”
~*~
“Happy Arbor Day”. (I liked that one better than Kelly’s suggestion, but then maybe I just like the fact it wasn’t obvious)
Final Grade: A-. Not bad for a pilot episode.
I actually had a different post written here when I first heard the news yesterday abut Anton dying in a car accident. There wasn’t much to add to it, but I decided it would be better to rewrite it all.
Anton Yelchin is an actor best known for his recent role as Pavel Chekov, in the reboot series of Star Trek. He also has been in several smaller movies. I have seen only a few but enjoyed his acting in what I did see. Charlie Bartlet was an odd movie but I liked him in it.
He was only 27 years old, so unlike some of the other tributes I’ve done this year (and I’ve done more then I expected only 6 months into the year) There is not alot to say. He died just when his career was getting more recognition.
Thank you Anton for what you have provided for us as entertainment. Star Trek won’t be the same without you.
I will end this with a link to a wonderful bit of fanart done in tribute to Anton
Sokorra Lewis 