We, here at Treknicalities, are interested in your opinion about J. J. Abrams’s Star Trek movie. The general opinion here is that the ending was just plain wrong. Read on for our reasons (Warning: spoilers follow): Continue reading »
Jul 312010
Today is July 31, the 78th birthday of actor Ted Cassidy. Many will recognize the 6’9″ Cassidy as Lurch the imposing butler on The Addams Family. Cassidy also appeared in three episodes of Star Trek. Most people familiar with the series will quickly recognize him as Ruk, the android from “What Are Little Girls Made Of”, but he was also the voice of the Gorn in “Arena” and he was Balok’s puppet in “The Corbomite Maneuver”.
Other highlights in his acting career include playing Bigfoot in The Six Million Dollar Man and The bionic Woman. His deep voice was used for the opening credits to The Incredible Hulk starring Bill Bixby in 1977.
Ted Cassidy died in 1979 after complications following heart surgery. He was 46 years old.
Technorati Tags: celebrity+birthdays,, trivia,, ted+cassidy,, star+trek
Jul 302010
At the end of Star Trek‘s first season episode “The Naked Time”, Scotty has to start the engines cold in order to get the ship away from planet Psi 2000 before the planet’s breakup destroys the ship. Once he does this, we hear the familiar groan of the ship’s engines being pushed to their limits as Ensign Sulu starts announcing the ships increasing speed. Once the ship reaches warp eight, Sulu says that his chronometer is moving backwards.
The only information that we, the viewers, are given is that the ship is traveling at warp eight and that is fast enough to throw the ship into a time warp. However, in later episodes the ship travels considerably faster than warp eight without traveling backwards in time. Specifically, in the episodes “The Changeling” and “By Any Other Name”, improvements are made to the ship’s engines that have the Enterprise traveling at well over warp ten – something that, by the time of TNG, the laws of physics did not allow for.
Also, because they had traveled back in time, Spock tells the captain, “We have three days to live over again” and Kirk’s reply is simply, “Not those last three days”. Why did they not use the opportunity to contact their three-day-younger counterparts, explain what was about to happen, and prevent the whole mess, thereby saving the life of poor Lt. Tormolen?
Technorati Tags: science+fiction, star+trek, mistakes, questions, time+travel, the+naked+time
Jul 272010
Many people are not aware of the fact that the theme to the original Star Trek series actually has lyrics. There is a small story behind that. Gene Roddenberry hired Alexander Courage to write the show’s theme, and Courage came up with the theme music that we all know and love – which was inspired by “Beyond The Blue Horizon”. Courage had an oral agreement with Gene Roddenberry saying that Roddenberry had the right to, at any time, write lyrics for the music.
At some point early in the show’s life, Roddenberry exercised that option and, because he wrote lyrics for Courage’s music, was able to claim 50% of the music’s royalties as “co-composer” – regardless of the fact that the lyrics were never recorded or used anywhere. Gene Roddenberry’s comment to Alexander Courage on the subject was, “I have to make money somehow; I’m certainly not going to make any from Star Trek.
Here are the lyrics that Gene Roddenberry wrote for the Star Trek Theme. This is proof positive that Gene Roddenberry may have been many things, but he was not a lyricist.
Beyond
The rim of the star-light
My love
Is wand’ring in star-flight
I know
He’ll find in star-clustered reaches
Love,
Strange love a star woman teaches.
I know
His journey ends never
His star trek
Will go on forever.
But tell him
While he wanders his starry sea
Remember, remember me.
Technorati Tags: star+trek, theme, music, lyrics, video, alaxander+courage, gene+roddenberry, trivia
Star Trek writers seem to have a habit of creating “bad guys” who are way too powerful to be truly believable and then sending the alien’s parents in to save the day. While this is by no means intended to be a complete list, here are just a few examples of creatures more powerful than any non-diety has a right to be.
Charles Evans appeared in the first-season episode, “Charlie X”. Charlie is a 17-year old boy who was the sole survivor of the crash of a transport ship on the planet Thasus. Charlie was only 3 years old at the time of the crash. The only reason he was able to survive alone on the planet for fourteen years is because the natives of the planet, who had evolved beyond the need for physical bodies, gave Charlie their mental abilities. As a 17-year old with the ability to do literally anything, Charlie could easily have destroyed the Enterprise and all aboard except for the fact that he was taken back to the planet Thasus at the last minute by the beings who raised him.
Trelane, also known as The Squire of Gothos, appeared in the TOS episode of the same name. Trelane is a being with powers that seem to make him omnipotent. Anything he wants appears instantly. He also has the ability to instantly transport people anywhere and even chases the Enterprise by moving an entire planet around the quadrant. The ship is saved when Trelane’s parents show up, explain that he’s just a spoiled child, and take him away.
The premier episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Encounter At Farpoint” introduced us to Q, a seemingly all-powerful being who puts Captain Piccard on trial for all of humanity’s crimes. Q shows up repeatedly throughout TNG and usually manages to act like an omnipotent child, although nobody ever shows up to admit to being his parent – maybe he’s an orphan. That would certainly account for his being such a spoiled brat. In spite of his seemingly endless bag of tricks, Q manages to come off more as more of an irritant than an actual threat.
Based on this list, here’s a word of advice: next time you find yourself threatened by a creature that seems to have almost god-like powers, first of all, be sure that it is not, in fact, God, then threaten to go find it’s parents.
Technorati Tags: star+trek, tos, tng, aliens, all-powerful, q, charlie+x, trelane
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