The New Trek Movie Is As Much A Prequel As It Is A Reboot

 

I've been a big fan of Star Trek since I was about six years old.  I was raised on the classic series and I watched The Next Generation episodes as they originally aired.  I've loved pretty much every Star Trek show except Voyager.  Hell, I even liked Enterprise. 

 

So to me, having the new Star Trek movie being billed as a "franchise reboot" has had me a little worried.  Exactly how much of my beloved Trek would be changing?  Would everything suddenly become all super fast and shiny for the kids of the 21st century and thus lose everything that made classic Trek great?  Would the characters appearing on the screen be vastly different than their original counterparts? 

 

The trailers that have been released thus far have done a lot to ease some of these fears.  They seem to show a film that, on the surface at least, still feels like Star Trek...just jazzed up a bit for modern audiences.  And attending JJ Abrams' Star Trek panel at Wonder Con back in February helped a bit too.  It was reassuring to hear him as well as the films writers and actors discuss how much the original show meant to them and how much they are trying to stay loyal to the original series while at the same time trying to broaden Trek's appeal to new audiences.

 

Then came this interview with the film's writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, in which they discussed some of the classic things this film absolutely needed in order to be a Star Trek film.  It's a good interview and it now has me super jazzed to be looking for nods to the original series and movies that are going to be included in the film.  There are some major storyline points that are going to be included too.  Here's what we're going to get to see, according to the writers.

 

• At some point, Bones will say something along the lines of "Damnit Jim, I'm a doctor not a _____!"

 

• Scotty will have to work a miracle and get the ship to break the laws of physics and will probably say something along the lines of, "I'm giving it all I've got Captain!"

 

• Spock and McCoy will get into at least one verbal spat during the film in which they basically get into an insult fight.

 

And here's the real kicker for me.  I absolutely didn't expect to get to see this in the new Trek movie, but they swear it's in there.

 

• We'll get to see James T. Kirk cheat as he takes the Kobayashi Maru test.

 

How fucking phenomenal is that?  We get to see Kirk cheat at the Kobayashi Maru!!!  The test that was featured so prominently at the beginning of Star Trek II.  The test that has become such a defining character moment of James Kirk's.  It's the perfect example of Kirk's philosophy of not believing in an unbeatable situation. 

 

Also mentioned during the interview was something that the writers very much wanted to include, but couldn't due to time and story concerns.  That is the early foundations of the relationship betweek James Kirk and Doctor Carol Marcus.  Dr. Marcus, if you'll remember, was also a huge part of Star Trek II as she's the developer of the Genesis project and is also the mother of Kirk's son David.

 

The very fact that the writers were trying to include her into the story gives me a lot of confidence that as much as this new film is a reboot to the franchise, it is also very much going to be a prequel to the original films.  The writers have very obviously not given up on paying attention to at least some of the original Trek canon.  They're going out of their way to include elements that will set up future Trek storylines. 

 

I can't tell you how happy this makes me.  I am really stoked now.  I can't wait to finally get to see Kirk take the Kobayashi Maru test.  For a lifelong fan like I am, a moment like this has been a long time coming.

Stamp Collecting Just Got Nerdier (And Cooler)

 

There are many, many different nerdy kinds of hobbies out there to enjoy.  One of the oldest, however, is stamp collecting.  Beginning in the mid 1800's shortly after stamps themselves first appeared in england, collectors have been nerding it up ever since in their quest to acquire as many cool looking stamps as possible. 

 

Now, stamp collecting just got a whole lot nerdier while at the same time getting a whole lot cooler.

 

Pictured above are a new line of stamps set to debut in England this summer.  The new line of stamps features a cast of mythological creatures including (from top left) a unicorn, a dragon, a giant, a pixie riding a snail, a mermaid and a fairy queen in a chariot.  Adding to the stamps already high level of coolness is the fact that the images themselves were drawn by the incredibly fantasy artist Dave McKean who has worked on such projects as the Harry Potter films and (my personal favorite) the film Mirror Mask in which he worked with Neil Gaiman.

 

The stamps will be available for purchase on June 16th and I'm sure even us poor souls here in the US will be able to find a way to get them.  Thank god for the internet.

 

It's probably just the old D&D player in me, but I would absolutely love a full sheet set of just the Dragon stamp.  I wouldn't keep them forever as a collector or anything, but I would totally love to send out to all my friends on special event cards like christmas cards or wedding invitations.  How rad would that be?

 

(Via GeekDad)

The world needs more Geek-Tastic Smut.

 

 

Note: The above video is NSFW for adult language.  There is no nudity, but you may want to have headphones on if you're watching this at work or anywhere there may be children present.

 

So I think there are about five of the Sex Trek movies, but really porn industry, you need to step it up.

 

I saw the Pirate themed one Pat posted a while back and since then my gears have been turning.  Adult movies are made constantly themed as parodies of blockbuster movies, and major industries (like the adult film industry) are constantly mocking the average geeks inability to engage in ponn farr.  Add to that the average geeks consumption of adult material and you have a recipe for making nothing short of a piece of pure genius. In an effort to be honest, I own the second Sex Trek movie, and I purchased it for two reasons;

 

1.  It was 3 DVDs for 20$ at that particular booth on the Con floor and I was already holding a Star Wars rarities DVD and a copy of good fan-films

 

2.  I could not help but be insanely curious.

 

Really, I'm saying the market is out there waiting to be catered to. The major motion picture companies all recognized it.  When will this finally trickle down to some really bad comic book adult films?

I Wonder What The US Exchange Rate Is For Imperial Credits

 

Why is it fake money always looks about a million times cooler than real money?  Seriously, is it just me or does this look a hell of a lot cooler than the usual United States one dollar bill (which looks like this)?

 

I don't know about you, but I personally would much rather have a Death Star, Star Destoryer and Tie Fighters on the back of my greenbacks that a stupid pyramid with an eye in it and an Eagle.  And while George Washington may have been cool and all, he couldn't kill people with the force like Darth Vader can.  If I was in charge of the US mint, I would seriously consider replacing Mr. Washington with someone who is a much more accurate symbol of our country's core beliefs.  Vader is a perfect symbol of the American dream.  He was born a slave but earned his freedom through talent and perseverence and eventually went on to become the second most politically powerful person in the galaxy.

 

I bet that if there was a poll taken to see who American citizens wanted more on their money, Washington or Vader, Vader would win in a landslide victory. 

 

Oh, as for who made these.  The images were created by a deviantart user by the name of Diablo2003 for Disney Star Wars fan days back in 2007.

The Evolution Of The Bat Symbol

 

The character of Batman has been around for a long, long time.  Created by Bob Kane in 1939, Batman has appeared in many different forms over the years.  Sometimes he's been silly, sometimes he's been dark and gritty, but each and everytime he's always appeared with his signature Bat Symbol on his chest.

 

That symbol though has seen just as many changes as Batman himself has.  And in the above video, we are taken through each and every one of them in chronological order from Batman's firs appearance all the way up to today.  I had never really noticed how much that logo changed over the years, and watching it morph from one version that I recognized to another was fascinating. 

 

I hope you like this as much as I did.

A Guy Dressed As Spider-Man Saves A Kid In Thailand

 

This is a great little news story that made me happy when I read it.  I wish we saw more stuff like this in the news.  Thanks go to my good friend Billie Galvan for pointing this out to me.

 

A firefighter in Thailand recently saved a frightened autistic 8 year old from a third floor balcony by dressing up as everyone's favorite web-slinger, your friendly neighborhood Spider-man.

 

Teachers at a special needs school in Bangkok alerted authorities on Monday when an autistic pupil, scared of attending his first day at school, sat out on the third-floor ledge and refused to come inside, a police sergeant told AFP.

 

Despite teachers' efforts to beckon the boy inside, he refused to budge until his mother mentioned her son's love of superheroes, prompting fireman Sonchai Yoosabai to take a novel approach to the problem.

 

The rescuer dashed back to his fire station and made a quick change into a Spider-Man costume before returning to the boy, he said.

 

"I told him Spider-Man is here to rescue you, no monsters are going to attack you and I told him to walk slowly towards me as running could be dangerous," Somchai told local television.

 

The young boy immediately stood up and walked into his rescuer's arms, police said.

 

This is so awesome.  I would like to send out a heartfelt thanks to Mr. Sonchai Yoosabai.  He's a true hero and he should be commended for his quick thinking to save this kid.  And if you're curious as to why he has a Spider-man costume just hanging out at the fire station, here's your answer.

 

Sonchai said he keeps the Spider-Man costume and an outfit of Japanese television character Ultraman at the station in order to liven up school fire drills.

 

So double props go to this guy.  Not only is he a hero for saving the kid, but he's also really cool at his job and goes out of his way to make it fun for kids to learn about fire safety.  My hat goes off to you sir.  You have done honor to the name of Spider-man.  I just hope other fire stations out there are listening.  This is an incredibly ingenious way to save little kids who are in danger.  Who else are little kids going to turn to in a disaster but a guy dressed up as Superman or Spider-man or Batman? 

 

The world needs more news stories like this.  I feel all happy inside now.

New Geek DVD Day - 03/24/09

 You may notice that conspicuously missing from today's Geek DVD list is Star Wars: Clone Wars - A Galaxy Divided.  Yes, I'm aware it came out today but I am morally opposed to its existence and refuse to list it along with other cool DVD's.  It's not that I don't like the Clone Wars series.  Far from it.  I actually really like the Clone Wars series.  The problem though is that this first "DVD set" that Lucas has released is only a collection of the first four episodes. 

 

That's it.  Only four episodes.  And for this they are charging you $12.99.  This probably means that Lucas plans to release the entire season in four episode installments over the next few months, which will create five separate DVD sets you have to buy just to collect the first season.  It's a completely shameless attempt to grab the fans hard earned dollars, and I find it morally reprehensible.  And in the end it's pointless anyways because you know that eventually they will put out a complete Season One box set. 

 

So until such time as a whole season box set comes out, I will be intentionally excluding these mini DVD from the New Geek DVD Day lists.  Ok, with that said let's look at what cool stuff came out today.

 



 

The Good:  Quantum of Solace

 

Why It's Good:  It's Daniel Craig's second outing as James Bond in the newly rebooted superspy franchise.  While nowhere near as amazing as Casino Royale was, Quantum is still an enjoyable action film with some spy stuffs going on.  Plus, it's Bond...James Bond.  He never really disappoints (the George Lazenby film aside) and is always fun to watch.  If you're in the mood for some great fight scenes or car chases, this should fit the bill nicely.

 



 

The Badass:  Watchmen - Tales of the Black Freighter & Under The Hood

 

Why It's Badass:  If there was any doubt that Zack Snyder wasn't trying his absolute best to try to stay as faithful as the original Watchmen comics as possible...look no further than this Tales of the Black Freighter DVD. 

 

Knowing that there would be no way to include the Black Freighter story into the feature film due to time constraints, Snyder got Warner Brothers to agree to make this as a separate animated short film which will eventually be edited back into a DVD release of the film later this year.  Until that time though, you can check out the Black Freighter on its own in this DVD release.

 

I watched the Black Freighter short last night.  It's about 25 minutes long.  The animation is decent (nothing amazing though), but Gerard Butler is a great cast as the doomed hero of the story.  I haven't seen the Under the Hood stuff yet, but I'm personally thinking that I'll pass on buying this separately and will just wait until its all edited back into the film.  It's worth renting, but as a stand-alone story, the Black Freighter doesn't really work.  It'll be great as a companion piece/subplot though. 

 



 

The Awesome:  Venture Brothers - Season 3

 

Why It's Awesome:  The Venture Brothers have been consistently awesome for three straight seasons now.  Sure, some moments may have been better than others, but overall the show has been solidly entertaining each and every time I've ever sat down to watch it.  As a huge Patrick Wardburton fan I totally admit that I'm biased here as I think that Brock Samson is one of the greatest animated characters of all time, but he's not the only truly awesome thing about the show.  With amazing characters like The Monarch, Doctor Girlfriend, Henchmen 24 (RIP), Baron Underbite and many more, the show has a great depth to it.

 

Plus, the cover of this DVD set alone is worthy enough to earn it the top spot on this list today.  Just look at it.  It's glorious.  It looks like the cover to an old Atari 2600 adventure game.  This is one of the best DVD packages I've seen in a long, long time.

 

And last, but certainly not least: Season three of the Venture Brothers gave us what is by far and away the single greatest GI Joe parody of all time.  Don't believe me?  Just watch: