Star Trek: Deep Space Nine-Past Tense

Thus far, I have been pleasantly surprised by DS9. I recently got done with Star Trek: The Next Generation and was blown away by it. I didn’t think that DS9 would be any good, after TNG. I must admit I was very wrong. DS9 stands on its own, a completely different series that has some very high points. I watched a couple episodes when the series was on television, years ago. You really have to start the series from the beginning, though, to really understand. Characters are really reaching a very good depth at the middle point of the third season. Production of the two series was running concurrently, but I do not believe this has impacted either series.

Past Tense is a two-part episode. Part one was directed by Reza Badiyi, part two was directed by Jonathan Frakes. Admittedly, I love anything directed by Frakes. He somehow manages to make the characters more emotional and more real, in both DS9 and TNG.

I need to start out by saying these episodes were very scary. I can see this coming about in real life; in fact, it might be a mirror into what is going to happen in the United States. It is very scary, I was caught unprepared with how truly frightening this scenario is.

Part one begins with the Defiant orbiting earth. The crew had been asked to address a symposium given by the Federation. Benjamin Sisko (commander of DS9) and Julian Bashir (chief medical officer at DS9) seem quite content that they are home again. So, it is Bashir, Sisko and Dax transporting to the surface. Unfortunately, there is a transporter accident that prevents the group from arriving at their present destination in 2371…they are thrown back to San Francisco, year 2024. This happened to be one of the lowest points in United States history, according to the timeline. The government has placed the homeless and mentally ill in walled communities called Sanctuary Districts. All residents of the districts have government ID and ration cards, and so-called “credit chips.”

Sisko and Bashir land in a subway entrance, and are then picked up by two armed guards and taken to a processing center. They have no identification, no information, no money, and no credit chips. Dax, however, is lucky enough to have a very rich media mogul pass by her. He is very fascinated with her tattoos and thinks she is Dutch because of her name, Jadzia. He takes her under his wing and allows her to use his facilities to order identification and credit chips.

Sisko and Bashir are not faring very well. While in the processing center, Sisko notes the date on the calendar. The date is days away from a defining moment in US history, the Bell riots. This was a situation where the Sanctuary reached a breaking point, where many were killed and the public, via the internet, was able to truly see the situation within the Sanctuaries throughout the USA. While being processed, they learn they are of the “gimme” class, which are the best “caste” within the Sanctuary. The others are the “ghosts”, which are the more violent class, and the “dims”, which were the worst off (mentally ill and sick.)

As Sisko and Bashir are attempting to maneuver through the Sanctuary, Dax is seeing how the upper class lives. She was taken to a posh party by Chris Brynner, the media mogul. She learns that the participants of the party are blind to the plight of the Sanctuary residents.

Meanwhile, on the Defiant, Chief Miles O’Brian and Major Kira Nerys are trying to figure out exactly what is going on. They discover that there was, indeed, a transporter accident as everything Starfleet related seems to have disappeared. They know that the group has disappeared into the past somewhere, but cannot determine when.

There is a wide array of interesting characters that come along within the Sanctuary. The important portion of the story is when Gabriel Bell, an important part of the Bell riots, is killed due to the actions of Sisko and Bashir. The story unfolds with a hostage situation within the Sanctuary, a situation that Sisko and Bashir must rectify to fix the timeline.

I actually do not want to give away too much of this. I want you to watch it yourself, because I really feel this is brilliant material, and unfortunately, a probable future. Needless to say, both Badiyi and Frakes did an excellent job with this one. Frakes’ sense of humour is very evident on part II, when Kira and O’Brien must go back to various points in time in San Francisco, including encountering drug-riddled hippies. Overall, I found the second part to be the best, although the first part certainly established the problems in the year 2024.

The acting was superb, particularly from Avery Brooks. I was not enamored with Terry Farrell, but that is normal for me.

Interesting piece of trivia, via Wiki: during this episode, one of the policemen says the best baseball team he ever saw was the 1999 New York Yankees. The Yankees swept the World Series that year with an overall playoff record of 11-1, more than four years after this episode originally aired.

These are the best episodes thus far for DS9, although I was fond of House of Quark. I am certain there will be very good episodes to come, as the Dominion comes more into the picture.

Five out of five stars. Definitely impressed with this one!!

Michael Dorn (born December 9, 1952) is an American actor known for his role as the Klingon Worf in multiple Star Trek shows and movies.

Owns and operates an old Air Force T-33 trainer jet, one of the first jet aircraft in the US inventory; it’s often referred to as his “starship.”

Is an accomplished pilot and the owner of several aircraft. He has flown with the Blue Angels and the USAF Precision Flight team.

Provides the voice of the Captain on the icebox.com series, “Starship Regulars”.

Owns and flies an old F-86 Sabre jet that he acquired from the South African Air Force. He flies out of Van Nuys Airport in Van Nuys, CA

Has appeared on-screen in more Star Trek episodes & movies as the same character, than anyone. (“Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) Seasons 4-7, Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), & Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)).

Along with Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Colm Meaney and Jeffrey Combs, he is one of only six actors to appear in the finales of two different “Star Trek” series. (“Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993))

Has stated that his favorite episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) is “The Drumhead”.

Along with Armin Shimerman, he is one of only two actors to appear in eleven different seasons of “Star Trek” (“Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) Seasons One through Seven and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) Seasons Four through Seven.)

Played the same character, Worf, on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) for twelve consecutive years from 1987 to 1999. The only other actor to do this is Colm Meaney.

He currently serves as a member of the Air Force Aviation Heritage Foundation.

Has appeared with Rene Auberjonois in five different productions: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), “Aladdin” (1994), “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993), “The Savage Dragon” (1996) and “Captain Simian & The Space Monkeys” (1996).

Previously appeared with four of his future “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) co-stars on “Star Trek” before joining the cast of that series. He appeared with Colm Meaney in many episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), Armin Shimerman in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) episodes “Haven”, “The Last Outpost”, “Peak Performance” and “Firstborn”, Rene Auberjonois in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and Alexander Siddig in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) episode “Birthright Part I” (although he and Siddig did not share any scenes).

Made a grand total of 282 “Star Trek” appearances. He appeared in 176 of the 178 episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), 101 of the 176 episodes of “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). He also directed the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) episodes “In the Cards”, “Inquisition” and “When it Rains…” and the “Enterprise” (2001) episode “Two Days and Two Nights”.

Voice grew deeper, as a result of inflecting a bass tone for his Lt. Cmndr. Worf character.

Developed a mild skin condition for his years of wearing his “Next Generation” make up, for which the departments use a different type for alien effects.

The Klingon proverb his Worf character is fond of:”It is a good day to die!” has been included in the StarCraft computer game dialog when the flying Corsair unit has completed production.

Played a lot of cops in his early career, and got tired of it very quickly.

Once lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1970s.

At a science fiction convention, he told the audience that he thinks of Worf as Hamlet.

The part of Worf was a last minute decision and had no written character as such. Dorn was told to ‘create his own’ character and was given the history, being rescued by humans etc. The rest is down to him.

I spent the last day trying to figure out what the purpose of this episode was. I have a couple ideas.

The writers/directors are trying to reinvent the entire show right before our eyes. In the first season, the dolls and Ballard were the heroes and the Dollhouse staff were the villains. This made a reasonable amount of sense because slavery and rape are bad and stopping those things would be good. The season ended with Ballard finding the Dollhouse and saving the dolls, and if the show made sense, it would all be over.

Instead, we got season 2. The dolls went back to the Dollhouse, for some reason, and Ballard joined the staff, for some reason.

Now, in order to keep the show going, the people working in the Dollhouse need to be heroes and someone else needs to be the villains. So in the episode “Belonging,” Topher the Amoral Brainwasher and Adelle the Lonely Drunken Madame become victims of their evil corporate overseers. Enslaving innocent civilians is just a misguided attempt at helping/curing them!

Thus, the evil-ness of the new villains makes us sympathize with the by-comparison-less-evil old villains, who are now the heroes. Got it?

If this episode had existed in a vacuum, like “Belle Chose,” it might actually work. We might sympathize with the Dollhouse staff as people being forced to do bad things to the dolls because the evil corporate overlords make them do it. We might believe that the Dollhouse staff have somewhat good intentions and somewhat moral centers, but are trapped within a powerful, evil empire.

The only problem is, of course, that we saw season 1.

There are other problems, too. Sure, maybe Topher’s technology could “fix” a paranoid schizophrenic, except it is difficult to justify using the patient as a sex slave for several years as part of her therapy. And if Topher has become a good guy who wants to “help” and other nice things, then why doesn’t he help Sierra to escape at the end? Why not erase her memories and let her go back to her old life, which was perfectly normal and healthy?

Because the show must go on? Does anyone else find this wholly ridiculous?

I have decided to continue watching the show specifically to chronicle and analyze the train wreck itself. It is obvious why this is still on the air: It looks good. It’s flashy and sexy and violent. More importantly, it seems to be discussing Big Ideas and Socially Important Issues, which would be good, except the show does not actually discuss them, which would make the audience actually think, which would (apparently) be bad.

Aside: Once again, we have an episode with actual tension and a compelling storyline (again, in a vacuum) that leaves Dushku/Echo on the sidelines. I am not surprised.

Aside: This episode was directed by Star Trek’s Jonathan Frakes. I have no comment on this fact, it’s just a piece of random trivia… or is it???

PSA: Wesley Crusher’s Butthole is in Constant Jeopardy!

Did You Know?

It gets lonely in deep space, and Starfleet chicks are mainly bleah (we’ll spotlight non-bleahs as time goes by, don’t you fret). Consequently, Wesley Crusher’s butthole is in constant jeopardy.

PICARD
A bit of good news, as well.
We’re to rendezvous with a
shuttlecraft carrying Wesley
Crusher. He’s on vacation from
the Academy.

Riker reacts, pleasantly surprised.

RIKER
Wesley… good. We’ll need an
extra hand around here.

Picard smiles — it’s clear they’re both looking
forward to seeing Wesley again.

– Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 5, Episode 106, “The Game.”

Almost makes me feel sorry for him, but he’s got that creepy German Shepherd mole on his neck. Forget it!

Remember how I mentioned not long ago that I’d spent an entire morning downloading pictures of Ashley Judd in this and her other featured episode as Ens. Robin Lefler on TNG? Yeah, I’ve finally had enough private time with that, and I’m ready to share. So look for that!

This is probably the best Next Generation movie made but it still has its ups and downs. On the up side it is a great action movie. It is exciting and thrilling and everything that goes with that. It also has the borg which is definitely a fan favorite bad guy of the entire franchise. So those two things make people laud this movie like is the best thing Star Trek has ever put out. But really, it is just an action movie. It really doesn’t have a very deep plot and has a lot of cliche moments and dialogue (as an actor, I do not think they could ever convince me to say something as cheesy as “assimilate THIS”). I personally thing the borg queen kind of ruined the borg but I guess the movie needed a real face for the enemy and a new twist on them. All the characters get along splendidly and some of Cochrane’s moments are interesting as heroes are usually not as great as the legend surrounding them. And why they didn’t just replicate some projectile weapons to use, since we learned in the holodeck they work like a charm, is beyond me.

This week, the 3D episode of “Chuck” is aired in Blighty.  If you haven’t already got your free glasses from Virgin 1, they are also available attached to the current issue of TV and Satellite Weekly.  You’ve got all of Monday to get yours!  Don’t forget “Chuck” fans, monitoring glasses requests and magazine sales could be another way that Warner is measuring overseas audience numbers for the show; as Tesco are more than fond of telling us, “every little helps” …

As a Will Riker fan (yes, there really does have to be one …), I was more than

pleased with the news that Jonathan Frakes has directed an episode of the second series of “Dollhouse”.  Personally, I hope it isn’t just the one as I do think the episodes he directed on “Star Trek: TNG” were amongst the best of the entire series, I think it’s a given that “STAR TREK – FIRST CONTACT” is the best of the “TNG” films and arguably the second best of the entire 11 films to date.  I also didn’t think “THUNDERBIRDS” was that bad (best if you were under 10) once you closed your ears to the stupid voiceover at the beginning (Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner: Brits know all about Thunderbirds, most of us grew up watching it – we didn’t need a voice over).   Thanks to Shawna Trpcic for posting the photo of Mr Frakes with Miracle Laurie on her Twitter.

Lastly, KNTR has another eBay auction happening right now.  In March, Nathan Fillion made an appearance on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show” and was shown a fan made Captain Hammer figure.  The creator has now made 4 sets; but this is the only set being auctioned off to fans, is the only one with Penny and this Captain Hammer has been signed by Nathan.  The top bid currently stands at $610 and you have 1 day and about 8 hours before the close (at the time of typing this post), so if you want to have your chance at owning what really is a virtual one-off, please go here and good luck.

Should they bring back Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction?

Bring back new episodes not just reruns, because reruns are already running on some networks.

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction was a tv show that premiered on Fox and Sci fi from May 1, 1997–September 5, 2002.

It was hosted first by James Brolin and then later by Jonathan Frakes.

The show also had two narrators. Don LaFontaine and awhile later by Campbell Lane.

Each show contain five stories consisting of different elements. That were portrayed by actors.

Also some of the actual names of people and places were change from time to time.

The stories included some kind of extraordinary or ironic event that took place.

Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction, mostly centered around genres like the supernatural, destiny, drama, fate, ghosts, coincidences, and other susprising events.

At times it could be difficult to tell which episode was fact or fiction. Certain stories that seem false were true or vice versa.

There was always a point or moral to each story in the series.

Some of the stories were true and some were false. Viewers had to determine which story actually happened at the end of the episode.

Author Robert Tralins contributed to the research of most of the stories that were presented on the show.

It was a great show and became a hit.

Do you think Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction should come back?

If you had a top five of tv shows that were canceled, that you could bring back, would you include Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction among them?

Jonathan Frakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Scott Frakes (born August 19, 1952) is an American actor, author and director, best known for his portrayal of Commander William T. Riker in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Moving on to directing in recent years, Frakes directed and also starred in Star Trek: First Contact as well as Star Trek: Insurrection, which earned him the nickname Two-Takes Frakes for his speed.

He is also the author of a book called The Abductors: Conspiracy.

For a time in the 1970s, Frakes worked for Marvel Comics, appearing at conventions in costume as Captain America.

Frakes moved to New York City and became a member of “The Impossible Ragtime Theater”. In that company, Frakes did his first off-Broadway acting in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape. His first Broadway appearance was in Shenandoah. At the same time, he landed a role in the NBC soap opera The Doctors. When his character was dismissed from the soap, Frakes moved to Los Angeles, California and played guest spots in many of the top television shows of the 1970s and 1980s, including The Waltons, The Dukes of Hazzard, Matlock, and Steven Bochco’s Hill Street Blues. He played the part of Charles Lindbergh in a 1983 episode of Voyagers! titled “An Arrow Pointing East”. In 1983, he had a role in the short-lived NBC prime time soap opera Bare Essence (which also starred his future wife Genie Francis). He also had recurring roles in Falcon Crest and North & South before signing for the role of Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Jonathan & Genie

He has done animation voice acting, most notably voicing the recurring role of David Xanatos in the animated series Gargoyles, and he provided the voice of his own head in a jar in the Futurama episode “Where No Fan Has Gone Before”. He had a small, uncredited role in the 1994 movie Camp Nowhere. He also reprised his role of Riker for a Next Generation cutaway on an episode of Family Guy that also featured his co-stars Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn as their respective roles of Picard and Worf.

Frakes is one of only two Star Trek regulars to appear on four different Star Trek series (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise). (The only other regular to match or exceed that number is Majel Barrett-Roddenberry who appeared in all six television series.) He has also directed episodes in three of them (TNG, DS9 and VOY) and was a popular and innovative director on the Star Trek set, often finding completely new ways to shoot the show’s familiar sets. His directing career has included the films Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. Additionally, Frakes was an executive producer for the WB show Roswell, directed several episodes and guest-starred in three episodes. His relationship with Star Trek is made light of in the episode “Secrets and Lies”, in which the alien character Max ironically auditions for a guest role as an alien for Star Trek: Enterprise.

Outside of acting, Frakes appeared on the Phish album Hoist, playing trombone on the track titled “Riker’s Mailbox”. Frakes would occasionally perform on the trombone during his tenure as Commander Riker, drawing on his college marching band experience.

Frakes hosted the television series Paranormal Borderline, which dealt with the paranormal and mysterious happenings and creatures. In one episode Frakes presented an interview of reporter Yolanda Gaskins with veteran astronaut Gordon Cooper, where they discussed the possibility of aliens having visited the Earth in the past.  Overall, the show was criticized and pulled off the air after it was found out that footage showing a yeti from the Himalayas was purposely faked by the show and its producers-Fox television. The “Snowwalker” footage, as it is known, purportedly shows a yeti as it is crossing through a valley in the Himalayas, walking in front of a Belgian couple who are traversing the area on skis. The network finally admitted the hoax, and Frakes distanced himself from the show. Similarly, he is also popular in hosting the hit TV series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction which also dealt in the paranormal world. Frakes would allude to stories based on true events or fictional stories and only reveal the truth at the ending of each episode.

Frakes also appeared in Lois & Clark in the episode “Don’t Tug on Superman’s Cape” as Tim Lake, a rich collector who tries to add Superman to his and his wife Amber’s collection.

Frakes is also currently narrating the History Channel television show “That’s Impossible” which is on tuesdays at 10-11 eastern time.

Frakes has had a relationship with the production of TNT’s Leverage as a guest director. Jonathan Frakes is listed as the primary director in some episodes of both season 1 and season 2. It is unclear but likely that he will be directing episodes of Leverage regularly in the future, as Voyager Alumni Jeri Ryan is scheduled to have a recurring role on the show.

Jonathan works with The Workshops, The Waterfall Arts Center and The Saltwater Film Society, all located in Maine, where he teaches classes on film direction. He co-owns a home furnishings store with his wife in Belfast, Maine called The Cherished Home. Frakes is one of the best known tall actors at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm).

Trivia:

Daughter, Elizabeth Francis, born. [30 May 1997]

Marched trombone in Blue Band at Penn State University.

Son, Jameson Ivor, born 20 August 1994.

Educated at Penn State University and Harvard University.

Nickname: “Two-Takes Frakes,” for his efficient filming style on the set of Star Trek: First Contact (1996).

Has a cow-shaped mailbox, and retrieving the mail involves inserting one’s hand into the cow’s hindquarters. Frakes recorded trombone tracks for Phish’s “Hoist” album. Unforunately, his horn parts didn’t come out all that well – certainly not as well as the horn parts recorded by the Tower of Power horn section. As sort of a consolation prize, a brief interlude on the album is called Riker’s Mailbox.

Is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.

Ellen J. Hornstein is his personal assistant/story editor for his production company, Goepp Circle Productions.

Shares a birthday with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

Son-in-law of actor Ivor Francis.

He and Leonard Nimoy have both directed two Star Trek movies. In both cases, one of the films was a time travel story. In addition, both he and Nimoy were best known as the first officer of the USS Enterprise from their respective Star Trek series/movies.

In some of the first season episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), his character, 1st officer William Riker, was called “Bill”. In the seasons that followed, he was generally referred to as either Will or “Number One”.

His trademark beard was acquired during the filming of “North and South, Book II” (1986). It was patterned after a style popular during the American Civil War. He liked it so much, he continued to wear it after he returned to “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) for its second season.

Has appeared in episodes of four different series with Marina Sirtis: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Gargoyles” (1994), “Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles” (1996) and “Enterprise” (2001).

Is the only ‘Star Trek’ regular to appear in four different ‘Star Trek’ series: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and “Enterprise” (2001). As well as narrate the 1996 “Star Trek: TNG” audio-book “Crossover”, featuring Ambassador Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Captain Scott (James Doohan), and Admiral McCoy (DeForest Kelley).

Along with Marina Sirtis, Armin Shimerman, John de Lancie, Michael Ansara and Richard Poe, he is one of six actors to play the same character on three different ‘Star Trek’ series. He played Commander William T. Riker in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and “Enterprise” (2001). He also played the transporter double of this character, Lieutenant W. Thomas Riker, in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993).

Along with Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Michael Dorn, Colm Meaney and Jeffrey Combs, he is one of only six actors to appear in the finales of two different “Star Trek” series (“Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) and “Enterprise” (2001)).

Has appeared with Kate Mulgrew in four different productions: Camp Nowhere (1994), “Gargoyles” (1994), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

Godmother of his son Jameson is Elizabeth Berman (wife of Rick Berman-Star Trek producer/writer/creator)

Is the only actor who has appeared on “Star Trek” to share scenes with regulars from all five series (“Star Trek” (1966), “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) and “Enterprise” (2001)): James Doohan in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) episode “Relics”, the entire cast of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) in every episode of the series, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Terry Farrell and Colm Meaney in the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) episode “Defiant”, Armin Shimerman in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) episodes “Haven”, “The Last Outpost” and “Firstborn”, Kate Mulgrew and Tim Russ in the “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) episode “Death Wish” and the entire cast of “Enterprise” (2001) in the series finale “These Are the Voyages…”.

Along with Tim Russ, he is one of only two actors who have appeared in “Star Trek” to share scenes with four of the five captains: Patrick Stewart in every episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), Star Trek: Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), Avery Brooks in the “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) episode “Defiant”, Kate Mulgrew in the “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) episode “Death Wish” and Scott Bakula in the “Enterprise” (2001) finale “These Are the Voyages…”.

He has played the same character, Commander William T. Riker, in four different series: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987), “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995), “Enterprise” (2001) and “Family Guy” (1999).

When preparing for his audition for the role of Commander William T. Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation, he had to watch videotapes from the original episodes because he knew nothing about the original Star Trek series.

Was interviewed and cast for Cdr. Riker personally by Gene Roddenberry. He told Frakes that he saw a certain, authoritative “glint” in his eye for that part which reminded him of his self, years ago, while in the LAPD and Air Force.

Shares first and last name with mid-20th Century aviator and stunt man Jonathan Frakes.

Along with Marc Alaimo, Rosalind Chao, Jeffrey Combs, John de Lancie, Michael Dorn and Tim Russ, he is one of only seven actors to appear in ten different seasons of “Star Trek”: “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) Seasons One through Seven, “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” (1993) Season Three, “Star Trek: Voyager” (1995) Season Two and “Enterprise” (2001) Season Four.

Has written the sci-fi-book “The Abductors: Conspiracy” along with Dean Wesley Smith.

Calls Alfre Woodard his “godmother”. The two became friends as young actors in the 1970’s.

Gene Roddenberry

 

 

Eugene Wesley “Gene” Roddenberry (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the creator of Star Trek, an American sci-fi series known for its influence on popular culture.

Roddenberry was sometimes referred to as the “Great Bird of the Galaxy” in reference to his founding role in Star Trek.   He was one of the first people to have his ashes “buried” in space.

Roddenberry developed his idea for Star Trek in 1964 when he thought of combining Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Star Trek was picked up by Desilu Studios when Roddenberry sold the premise as a “Wagon Train to the Stars.” The original $500,000 pilot received only minor support from NBC and its production went over budget, but the network commissioned an unprecedented second pilot. The series, a Norway Corporation production, premiered on September 8, 1966, and ran for three seasons. Although it was canceled due to low ratings, the series gained wide popularity in syndication. In the third and final season of Star Trek, Roddenberry offered to demote himself to the position of line producer in a final attempt to rescue the show by giving it a desired time slot. He resigned when this was not approved and accepted a staff producer position with MGM.

Beginning in 1975, the go-ahead was given by Paramount for Roddenberry to develop a new Star Trek television series, with many of the original cast to be included. It was originally called Phase II. This series would be the anchor show of a new network (the ancestor of UPN, which later became part of The CW Television Network), but plans by Paramount for this network were scrapped and the project was reworked into a feature film. The result, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, received a lukewarm critical response, but it performed well at the box office and saved Norway Corporation. As a result, several motion pictures and a new television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, were created in the 1980s.

When it came time to produce the obligatory theatrical sequel, Roddenberry’s story submission of a time-traveling Enterprise crew involved in the John F. Kennedy assassination was rejected. He was removed from direct involvement—effectively hobbling the power of Norway Corporation—and replaced by Harve Bennett.  He continued, however, as executive consultant for the next four films: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. As consultant, Roddenberry was allowed to view and comment on all scripts and dailies emanating from the production, but the creative team was free to disregard Roddenberry’s advice.

Roddenberry was deeply involved with creating and producing Star Trek: The Next Generation, although he only had full control over the show’s first season. The WGA strike of 1988 prevented him from taking an active role in production of the second season, and forced him to hand control of the series to producer Maurice Hurley. While Roddenberry was free to resume work on the third season, his health was in serious decline, and over the course of the season, he gradually ceded control to Rick Berman and Michael Piller. Star Trek also spawned the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, the last film with the cast from the original Star Trek series, was dedicated to Roddenberry; he reportedly viewed an early version of the film a few days before his death.

In addition to his film and TV work, Roddenberry also wrote the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was published in 1979 and was the first of hundreds of Star Trek-based novels to be published by the Pocket Books unit of Simon & Schuster, whose parent company also owned Paramount Pictures Corporation. Because Alan Dean Foster wrote the original treatment of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture film, there was a rumor that Foster was the ghostwriter of the novel. This has been debunked by Foster on his personal website. (Foster, however, ghostwrote the novelization of George Lucas’s Star Wars.) Roddenberry talked of writing a second Trek novel based on his rejected 1975 script of the JFK assassination plot, but he died before he was able to do so.

Trivia:

During WWII he had a friend named Kim Noonien Singh; after the war Kim disappeared, and Gene used his name for some characters in the Star Trek series (Khan Noonien Singh from Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Noonien Soong from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987)) in hopes that Kim might recognize his name and contact him.

Some of his ashes sent up in a rocket, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Might have died in a house fire when still a toddler along with Bob, Doris, and their mother, but a milkman came along and woke them in time.

In 1943 while a US Army Air Corps pilot, he flew B-17 bombers during World War II, his plane crashed on takeoff due to a mechanical failure, killing two crew members.

On 19 June 1947 he was deadheading (traveling while not on duty) on a Pan Am plane when it crashed in the Syrian desert, killing 7 of 9 crew and 7 of 26 passengers on board. He rescued the Maharani of Pheleton from the wreck. Rescue came in hours, but too late to save most of the luggage, and the victims’ possessions, from local tribesmen and villagers.

During the war he wrote a song lyric “I Wanna Go Home”, which became popular.

His first TV script sale, in 1953, was the episode “Defense Plant Gambling” for the show “Mr. District Attorney” (1954). It was broadcast 2 March 1954. In the science-fiction field, his first was “The Secret Weapon of 117″, broadcast 6 March 1956 on the anthology series “Chevron Hall of Stars”.

He had many lovers and was sometimes overt about it. He and Majel Barrett had been lovers for years when he decided it was time to marry her and asked her to join him — although he happened to be visiting Japan at the time. Gene did not adhere to any particular religion and since they were in Japan they chose to have a Shinto-Buddhist wedding on 6 August 1969. They regarded this as their real wedding, but his divorce was not yet final and they made it legal with a civil ceremony on 29 December 1969.

Majel and Gene Roddenberry

His old pseudonym Robert Wesley was used in the “Star Trek” (1966) episode “The Ultimate Computer” as the name of a character, played by Barry Russo.

Served on the Los Angeles Police Force from 1949 – 1956, badge number 6089. This information from “Star Trek Creator” by David Alexander.

Died within 48 hours of screening Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), the last Trek that revolved around his original characters.

Shared the same birthday as “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987) star Jonathan Frakes.

He has a building named in his honor on the Paramount Studio lot.

Father of actress Dawn Roddenberry and Darleen Roddenberry-Bacha who died on 29-Oct-1995 in an auto accident.

Father, with Majel Barrett, of Rod Roddenberry.

While meeting with George Takei about a role on “Star Trek” (1966), Gene accidentally pronounced George’s last name ‘Ta-kei’, which is similar to the word expensive in Japanese “takai” . He remembered the pronouncation by rhyming it with “OK”.

Died on 24 October 1991, exactly ten years after Marina Sirtis’s father.

During his years in the LAPD, he was the spokesman of LAPD Chief W.H. Parker.

Was a close friend of Jack Webb.

Biography in: “American National Biography”. Supplement 1, pp. 521-522. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

One of my favorite internet cartoons is Garfield Minus Garfield, which you had to have heard of by now. If you somehow havent’, and if the title doesn’t explain itself, then…

“Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quite American suburb.” That’s how the site describes him, and it’s a brilliant study, or alternate take on a beloved classic.

I’m not against the idea of remixes or mash ups or anything like that in theory. Sometimes they’re good. Sometimes they’re brilliant. Sometimes they’re smelly fountains of crap. But I feel that sometimes – and the keyword here is obviously sometimes – they can be an amazingly interesting new form of exploring art. A new art of their own.

Recently I discovered the works of two guys named Jan Van den Hemel and Andrew Hussie who’ve done some work re-editing and creating something new out of old episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. By basically taking bits of pieces from throughout the show and remixing them into something new, they’ve created a kind of hilarious and filthy new thing. It’s the Sealab 2021 or The Grey Album treatment and it’s… just perfect. The episodes are short, most just over a minute but none longer than four minutes, and there’s about 25 or so of them now. If you watch them all, there’s kind of a contuing story, when the edit series cares about it, but usually, it doesn’t. Here’s just a few of my favorites to brighten your day, starting with episode 9, “A Fistful Of Explosions.”

And then episode 10, “It’s Not Lupus.”

And episode 12, “Bridge Buffoonery.”

And last, but not least, of what I’d like to share with you, episode 15, “That Jean-Luc Picard.” I hope you enjoy and if you need more of a chuckle, I’d check the edits’ creator’s websites or their youtube page for more of the videos.

Click here for season one.
Space – the final frontier. These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise. It’s continuing mission: to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilization; to boldly go where no one has gone before.

Episode 01: The Child
Hm, for a season opener lame, but for a simple, alone standing episode it was good in some kind. I didn’t find it very believable that Deanna (Marina Sirtis) was so lovely to her son, despite she had the knowledge, that something bad can happen. It seems like she was brainwashed by her son. But the scene where she decided to have the baby and the interactions with Riker (Jonathan Frakes) were strong. On the other hand the sub story with the viruses was dumb. It wasn’t interesting, it wasn’t thrilling, it was nothing. Just the jokes at the end due to Wesley’s (Wil Wheaton) staying on the ship were hilarious (“And who will tuck him in at night?”). 6,5/10

Episode 02: Where Silence Has Lease
I don’t know… an Episode without a real plot, but with an interesting setup. Didn’t we have an alien who wants to understand human life in the last episode? Now another alien with the same intention? That was really boring. Really bad (special effects) was the face in the universe, in front of the Enterprise. I was about to laugh.
And then Worf (Michael Dorn): He behaves like a hungry dog, ready to fight and kill – where are his manners? Can’t he control himself? For one season we have the Klingon who stands there, does what the captain says and otherwise nothing. Now he wants to hit Riker in an exercise? Oh, come on, what characteristics are that? Same with Pulaski (Diana Muldaur): She is familiar with working with computers, but she has difficulties to see Data (Brent Spiner) as a living thing? What the hell??? And then the finale: WTF was that? Seriously, this was a load of shit. It was absurd. Well, at least a red shirt died. 3/10

Episode 03: Elementary, Dear Data
Another holodeck episode and i quite liked it. But it was interesting seeing the computer generating a fictional character which has the ability to learn and grow. And the authors did the mistake to show Moriarty (Daniel Davis) so not dangerous, because he just wasn’t. So, I was missing a real and worthy villain. The final dialog between Moriarty and Picard (Patrick Stewart) was very nice, but Data as Holmes was tedious after a while. 7/10

Episode 04: The Outrageous Okona
A somehow boring, but amusing episode. I liked Billy Campbell’s character (still waiting for the first season of Once & Again) and who did I see in the transporter room……. Teri Hatcher I didn’t expect her to be in the show. Okay, the main story was boring as hell and didn’t give any dangerous moments for the crew, but the conclusion was funny… somehow. The side plot with Data trying to be a comedian was okay, it didn’t blow me away. 6/10

Episode 05: Loud As A Whisper
Naah, boring; wasn’t interesting at all. A peace conference between two races – could be interesting, but wasn’t, because I didn’t see nothing of it. A deaf peace delegate, communicating with a chorus – could be interesting, but why so complicated? And there is so much story behind that concept, but nothing was used. It was just boring. And what is with the end? Even the warriors were not seen anymore after Riva (Howie Seago, he actually is deaf) was sent down.
Blah, just boring. 4/10

Episode 06: The Schizoid Man
Interesting episode. It gives Data another chance to escape the Pinocchio life and the series another episode without a real threat. The beginning is boring, but when the story of Data being “possessed” begins, it becomes more interesting. But there still is the problem of not using everything the story has to offer. And the authors seem to like Data very much; it feels like they use him for the main plot in every fourth episode. It becomes boring :/ 6/10

Episode 07: Unnatural Selection
Another disease for the main plot. Give me more diseases which kills crews of Federation ships, because they all are interesting. NOT. This episode is just plain boring, tells me nothing about the characters, except Doctor Pulaski, who is in the center of all this. But the rest… meh. But I am happy about Chief O’Brien (Colm Meaney) actually speaking in this episode. 3/10

Episode 08: A Matter of Honor
OMG, this was a hell of a funny episode. “If Klingon food is too strong for you, perhaps we could get one of the females to breast-feed you.” – Riker commanding as Captain of a Klingon vessel and then his “Lower your shields. Surrender.” Haha, that was really funny. The officer exchange program was a nice plot to get us Riker closer in a different way; I liked how he acted with the Klingons. Though the story on the Enterprise was boring. 7/10

Episode 09: The Measure of a Man
I don’t know about this episode. It was an interesting story about proving that Data is not just an android. But why Data again? It is the third episode in this season with him in the center. It gets boring. And maybe it would be better to tell such stories in a period of more than one episode. In here it begins and it ends. And I don’t like the Federation officers. They seem so cruel and bossy, and I don’t like such people – source for lame characters. 6/10

Episode 10: The Dauphin
Well well well, what was that…? Wesley’s own little love story – with a little help from his friends. Now I can understand why his character is so much hated by the fans, but actually he story was unintentionally funny. I just could not believe that an alien life form and Wesley, two total different persons, find each other’s love in a matter of minutes – muhaha. At least the episode was not completely crap (I think with this one I will stand against all the other TNG fans, who hate all Wesley episodes), just totally useless. 4/10

Episode 11: Contagion
What? The Romulans can’t fire, when they are cloaked? Didn’t we learn nothing from the sixth movie? Okay, The Undiscovered Land was produced after this episode, so, what the hell with this little plot hole (lol). By the way: I don’t know why the series has such ups and downs. There we have total crap episodes, one episode later we have a good one. This is one of them. Interesting story, interesting conflict (just the Romulan bride was a bit laughable – she seemed so nice, but she wanted to destroy the Enterprise) and the interesting fact that the Enterprise can shut down and function again in a matter of seconds (when my laptop would start so fast…), which was funny.
Finally an episode I liked again. 7,5/10

Episode 12: The Royale
Oh my god, what was that? Completely boring, not a bit of a threat for the crew, not a bit of a conclusion and a story, which had much in it, but used nothing. And I hate, that nobody knows something about the past of the 20th or 21st century. Why don’t they know, that elevators are NOT turbo lifts? To bring humor into the story? Meh, what the hell. And why don’t they know anything about the NASA and its history?
This episode is total bullshit, because it brings absolutely nothing. Obviously we have to blame that to the writers strike. I am waiting for more dumb episodes. 2/10

Episode 13: Time Squared
An interesting episode with an interesting story and a shitty ending. Well, the authors of TNG have the problem to find a proper end for their stories. This is another one with no conclusion in it. I love time travel stories (and I knew from the beginning the shuttle came from the future, so it was not really a shocker, when the crew learned it) ad the first half was really interesting, but the second one just sucked. Such a shame, because maybe this was the interesting episode so far this season – until minute 25 or so. Picard’s actions against himself put the lid on the shitty second half, because I didn’t like his ways. 6,5/10

Episode 14: The Icarus Factor
Well, another boring episode. No danger for the crew, just the arrival of Riker’s father, which wasn’t interesting at all and him being offered a position as captain. It was clear that he will stay on the Enterprise, so nothing was surprising.
The rest was boring, nothing more to say, episode already forgotten. 3/10

Episode 15: Pen Pals
One boring episode after another, though this one was more interesting than the last one. I think, Data’s storyline with the little child on the troubled planet should bring some emotionality into his character and into the actions of Picard, but it didn’t work for me. And Wesley commanding a science team? I don’t know why nobody like his character (he isn’t that bad), but he was boring here. The ending was shitty again, because it went too fast again. 4/10

Episode 16: Q Who
So, this is probably the most important episode so far: the introduction of the Borg, the return of Q (John de Lancie) and the first sign of an on-going story in The Next Generation. But the episode wasn’t really good. There are too much secrets about the Borg and Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) being a counselor for Picard on this one was… I don’t know, kind of lame. Guinan knew a lot, but still Picard knows almost nothing about the Borg. Maybe it would be better when nobody knew about them in the first place.
The new ensign looks sexy, while I write this I am watching the next episode and I see her again, so let’s hope she is more often in the story. The Enterprise needs some sexy women. 7,5/10

Episode 17: Samaritan Snare
Hm, I don’t know about this one. Two totally separate storylines (I don’t remember if this was the case in one of the earlier episodes), one boring than the other. I don’t care about Wesley getting into the academy, I don’t care about Picard’s heart failure (or whatever). And the story of the dumb, but strong, but totally dumb aliens was just… boring.
At least we learned something about Picard’s past, other than that you can forget that episode. 4,5/10

Episode 18: Up The Long Ladder
The episode started so great and ended really boring. The farmers with their animals, especially the one guy with his bossy daughter, were really funny and had a lot of potential to bring some real funny moments into the series, but in the second half, some moral filled shit story about cloning had to come. And the conclusion wasn’t better.
So: first half was great, second half was shit (like always), I give 6/10.

Episode 19: Manhunt
Hm, let’s see: Lwaxana (Majel Barrett) back on the ship, in a sexual life stage, wants to “have” Picard. Always a funny storyline, because Deanna’s mother is a source for humorous scenes, and the first half was really good, but the second half not so. Again an episode without any danger for the Enterprise and the crew and that is always boring. So, we have an interesting character in a boring suit – forgettable after a short while. 4,5/10

Episode 20: The Emissary
“You’re not even looking at me.” – “I am familiar with your appearance.” The funniest line in this episode. So, Worf had a relationship once, very interesting and finally a character story for him. The story about the Klingons frozen for one century and thinking they are still at war wasn’t really new to me, but interesting. It would be a great plot, when the authors didn’t use it for just one single episode in just one short scene. Well, at least we saw Worf command for a few minutes.
It was a good episode, which is rare in this season. By the way: Women, who are half Klingon and half human can be really sexy… 7/10

Episode 21: Peak Performance
Yeah, the writers strike is a total pain in the ass. This was another lame episode, this time with an interesting story. A battle simulation (the first one in Federation history? I can’t believe it) and the stupid Ferengi had to stop it in their own ways. By the way: The Ferengi were in the neighborhood coincidentally? Worf could manipulate their computers? Why didn’t he do that more often in the past? And why is Riker always smiling, when Wesley has an idea or did something “good”?
Well, at least the episode was not completely crap. 4,5/10

Episode 22: Shades of Gray
So, what do we learn from this episode? Riker had the hottest women in the galaxy, he is a real charmer, almost a sexist of some sort. And the Trek fans are somehow… wrong. This was the baddest episode in TNG history? Well, in two season, I saw at least one episode, which was more worst. Nevertheless, this episode was just boring. Even the micro infection (or whatever) was boring and the little clip show brought nothing except old pictures. Damn writers strike.
For a season finale absolutely shitty (I am waiting for next season’s cliffhanger), lame story, but not the worst TNG episode ever. Because it actually had a story and the “flashbacks” were not fully random. 3/10

The season average is 5,11 and fell down in compare to the first season. Wouldn’t I be in a middle of a long-year Star Trek marathon (watching them all in chronological order), I would have stopped after this season. But I know it is getting better, so I hope the third season smashes it. I already am watching the third season, so I hope it doesn’t take too much time to get it in here.

Man… I honestly don’t even know where to begin.

What transpired last night may be old-hat to regular Hollywood types, but it was a bizarre whirlwind for a bald Hungarian from Milwaukee.

So, yeah… let me start from the beginning.

Jorge came over early in the day and wanted to take a quick nap before leaving. I worked on some stuff while he slept, and around 6PM we finally left for Grauman’s.

Now, keep in mind that this is rush hour in Los Angeles, and we’re going to a blocked-off road that is literally packed with hundreds of screaming people. We were supposed to pick up our tickets before 6:45PM, and the doors were supposed to be closed at 7PM.

Luckily, these times are more suggested than they are set in stone. Of course, we didn’t know that and therefore found ourselves running from the parking garage to the red carpet.

Numerous fans approached Jorge during this sprint, asking for pictures and autographs.

Fan: “Mr. Garcia, can I get in a photo with you?”

Jorge: “Sure, as long as you can do it while we’re moving.”

So, needless to say, there are a few photos out there from last night that (if you didn’t know the story) appear as if fans are taking part in a marathon with Hurley from “Lost.”

We finally got to Grauman’s and were ushered into the press area. It was… how can I put this? Insane.

There were people everywhere: in the stands above us, across the street holding up photos of Hurley for Jorge to sign, yelling at us from every direction. There were a brillion cameras, a frillion video cameras and a zrillion screaming human beings.

It was at this point that I started to look around and realize that pretty much everyone around us was a celebrity.

“Oh, there’s Napoleon Dynamite,” I remember thinking. “And Simon Pegg. And Tori Spelling. And Hank Azaria.”

It was weird. I mean, it wasn’t exactly a starstruck moment, unlike the TRS. But it was something that I can only describe as being bizarre.

There were people everywhere. It was madness.

Here’s Jorge looking at fans across the street who were yelling his name:

And here are the photographers:

Seth Green was in line in front of us:

As was Jon Heder and a guy I’m assuming is either his clone or his brother:

Here are a few more pics of the craziness that was happening in the middle of Hollywood Boulevard:

Eventually, Jorge made his way onto the carpet with J.J. Abrams and his wife Katie. Here’s a picture of them, followed by a short video of them making their way off the carpet:

After the photo area we were shuffled to a section where Jorge took a few quick questions from television and radio reporters:

As he did that, I walked around and shot a few more pics. Here’s senior citizen Spock (Leonard Nimoy):

Followed by young whipper-snapper Spock (Zachary Quinto):

Finally, we made our way inside walking under the “Star Trek” spike:

And this, my friends, is where the evening got really weird.

First, Grauman’s Theatre is just an amazingly beautiful place to see a movie. It’s small like old-school independent theaters, but has a large screen and a great sound system. It’s kind of like a Model T that’s been souped-up with hydraulics and a sweet stereo system: an up-to-date classic, if that makes any sense.

The interior of the space is just as impressive, featuring a gorgeous ceiling. It was dark in there, but I managed to take a quick shot of it here:

We were taken to our seats. Two rows up from us: Simon Pegg. To the right of us: Matthew Fox. Directly across the aisle from us: Jonathan Frakes who played Captain Riker on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” (Thanks, Jocco!)

And sitting directly behind us… Samuel L. Jackson. And he was looking directly back at me.

Almost like a fart that accidentally slips out during the quietest part of a play:

Me: “Oh! Hello.”

Jorge turns around to see who I’m saying hello to and has about the same exact reaction.

Jorge: “Oh, wow! Hi there.”

Samuel L. Jackson: “Turn the fuck around and shut the fuck up, motherfucker!”

Actually, that’s just what I wish he had said because it would have made for a better story. What he actually said was:

Samuel L. Jackson: “Hello.”

I turned around and noticed he was there with a younger girl. I assumed it was his daughter, which was verified when Jorge shook his hand and said:

Jorge: “It’s really nice to meet you. I’m Jorge. I’m on a show called ‘Lost.’”

Samuel L. Jackson: “Yeah, that’s what my daughter just told me. Nice to meet you.”

My turn now, putting my hand out:

Me: “I’m Justin. I’m no one. I’m just here with him.”

Samuel L. Jackson: “And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger!”

Yeah. I wish. Instead:

Samuel L. Jackson: “Nice to meet you.”

So yeah, I geeked out a little bit. In my defense, so did Jorge. At one point he leaned over to me and whispered:

Jorge: “I feel like we should offer to switch seats with them.”

By the end of the night, we agreed that meeting Jackson was the high-point of the evening. We also agreed that it was kind of intimidating spending two hours sitting in a dark room with him directly behind us.

The best Samuel L. Jackson Moment (SLJM) came just as they lowered the lights. The movie was supposed to start at 7PM and they kept flashing the house lights to try and get people to take their seats. Unfortunately, this was having no effect on people.

Every time they’d flash the lights it would appear as if they were about to start the movie, at which point Jackson would say something like, “About time,” or, “Let’s start this.” Finally, after the third or fourth time, he began to get frustrated.

So when they finally lowered the lights at 8PM (an hour late) and everyone quietly scattered to their respective seats, Jackson could be heard loudly over everyone else’s whispering, saying:

Samuel L. Jackson: “Well, it’s a good thing this movie didn’t start at 7 o’clock like it was supposed to because these motherfuckers would’ve missed it!”

As long as I live, that phrase will be forever stamped into my brain. Sweet Jesus.

“Pulp Fiction” is in my top five films of all-time, and Jackson is probably the coolest person I could have met from that movie. (Sorry, Travolta.) So I show no shame in admitting that it was very cool to be able to shake that man’s hand.

J.J. Abrams got up and introduced the cast from the movie and they all stood up to accept their applause: Chris Pines, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, Eric Bana, Winona Ryder, et al.

A few of the original “Trek” guys were there, too, including Spock, Chekov and Sulu.

While Abrams was introducing everyone I gave a quick glance around the crowd and noticed that Doogie himself was sitting in the row behind us a few chairs down: Neil Patrick Harris.

When I was a kid, especially in high school, people used to call me “Doogie Howser” because they thought I looked like him, and maybe back then I did. Now, not so much. The years have been kind to Doog and not so kind to Shady.

Finally, after hours of anticipation, the movie began.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I don’t really like “Star Trek.” I know a little bit about it that I’ve learned kind of by proxy from being friends with my old college roommate, Jocco. But science fiction is, quite honestly, a genre I’ve never really enjoyed.

But since I was sitting in a room with everyone affiliated with the movie I decided that I wanted to watch it completely unbiased.

And I can say without shame or an ounce of sarcasm that “Star Trek” is a great fucking movie.

What’s great about it is that you don’t have to be a “Star Trek” fan to enjoy it. In fact, Abrams talked a little bit at the beginning about how he was never really a fan growing up. The same goes for a lot of the actors and other people associated with the film. This isn’t a “Star Trek” movie made by fans; it’s a “Star Trek” movie made by people who were just trying to make a good movie.

So, very much in the same way that “The Dark Knight” works on many levels for both Batman fans and non-fans alike, this movie is just a solid story from beginning to end. It has great character structure, an interesting story and (of course) great sound and visuals.

It was so good, in fact, that Jorge and I agreed that we’d both go again after it opens next Friday, this time taking my girlfriend Kathy along. That means that I will have to pay to see it which, if you know me, rarely happens.

After the movie we made our way to the after-party which took place in some warehouse/parking lot just off of Highland.

The party was a free fest. They had free everything! Free food! Free booze! Free Slushies! They even handed out free “Star Trek” drinking glasses which I think were sponsored by Burger King. Why do I think that? Because this huge Klingon King was walking around the party:

We saw a few people at the party we hadn’t seen at the movie theater including Chuck (Zachary Levi), McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Malcolm in the Middle (Frankie Muniz).

Jorge ran into Robert Weide who had directed him in an episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Weide said I should go over and have a conversation with Greg Mottola (director of “Superbad”) because it would be like having a conversation with a mirror.

This brings up a good point: There was a fair share of bald men with dark-rimmed glasses there last night, including “Lost” writer/”Star Trek” producer Damon Lindelof. On our way to the theater I joked with Jorge that if anyone came up to me wanting an interview with Damon, I was just going to go ahead and do it.

Of course, I didn’t really think that would happen. I mean, what are the odds, right?

Well, apparently the odds are pretty good, because throughout the course of the evening I was approached three times about how much someone loved my work on “Lost.”

“I just love your show,” they’d say as they tapped me on the shoulder.

“Oh. I’m not him. But he’s here somewhere.”

Bald white men with glasses are the new Asians: We all look alike. I’d like to go to lunch with Mottola and Lindelof and really freak some people out.

Before we left for the premiere I had told myself that I wasn’t going to ask people for photos, mostly because I’ve seen firsthand how Jorge sometimes gets bombarded.

But on our way to the after-party I found myself regretting not asking Samuel L. Jackson for a photo, so I told myself that if someone cool was at the after-party and it felt alright, I’d ask maybe just one person for a quick pic.

And here is my one:

Somewhat because of “Heathers” but mostly because of “True Romance.” I love that fucking movie. Christian had talked to Jorge earlier in the evening and he seemed really cool and down-to-earth so I figured, eh, what the hell.

And that was pretty much it. We went to another party at Crown Bar for about four minutes (and was given a nice shot of Patron), but quickly left when we realized we couldn’t even hear ourselves speak.

We made a quick late-night stop at Benito’s for some 2AM tacos and made our way back home.

Before I wrap this up, I want to leave you guys with two images. They had one of those photo booths at the party where you dress up in goofy outfits and get your photo taken. I like to think of these next two photos as our prom shot, something to print out and keep in a frame for decades so we can constantly be humiliated by them.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the night, Jorge! I had a great time and really appreciate it.

Live dong and prostate,

-Shady

PS: Before leaving yesterday, I had a theory that Trent Reznor was going to be at the premiere. I thought that might be the case because he had made a few joking comments on his Twitter page that he might have to cancel the May 8th tour date for Nails because it was the opening night of “Star Trek.” Then he followed up with something like, “Got it figured out.” So yeah, I kept an eye open for him last night but didn’t see him anywhere. Then, this morning, Kathy found this online.

Motherfucker. I knew it!

The Alumni Association's own John Black ’62.

This could be one of the best Penn State-related time-sinks ever. The University Libraries today officially launched the new online La Vie project: All of the old yearbooks from 1890 through 2000 have been scanned so that you can view them online. Just go to http://www.libraries.psu.edu/digital/lavie/, find the year you’re interested in, and browse away.

I’ve already located the senior photos for our senior editor, Ryan Jones ’95, our class notes editor, Julie Nelson ’86, and longtime Football Letter editor John Black ’62 (shown here). And it’s not just the senior portraits that are online—it’s the entire contents of the yearbooks.

The interface takes some getting used to—I can zoom in, for example, but haven’t yet figured out how to zoom back out. But some evening when I have nothing better to do, I plan to waste a few hours on the couch with my laptop, looking up famous Penn State alums—from Lydell Mitchell ’72 to Jonathan Frakes ’74 to Valerie Plame ’85. The possibilities are endless.

Tina Hay, editor

Seems a couple searchers landed here over the past 24 hours looking for some of the Star Trek actors I mentioned in the FX Orlando-related part of my previous post, so in the interest of being helpful to those people kind enough to visit my blog, here are more pictures, courtesy of Jim:

Jonathan Frakes, FX Orlando 2009 by Jim Carchidi

Jonathan Frakes, FX Orlando 2009 by Jim Carchidi

Future Riker: All Good Things action figure, FX Orlando, by Jim Carchidi

and finally,

Leonard Nimoy at FX Orlando 2009 by Jim Carchidi

Excellent and a dose of Wheaton, too! Watch the full version here.