THE STAR TREK LIST

I re-watched the new JJ Abrams Star Trek film recently for the 2nd time and was not as happy with it as I was the first time I saw it [my IMDB review is here scroll down to bottom of page] ... which got me thinking about making a list of the best Star Trek - in all its forms. Now Star Trek was the first television I ever remember seeing. I was 3 when it first hit the airwaves and I am a purist for the original series. I remember I thought Spock was cool before I knew what cool was. And Kirk was dynamism personified. What made the show great, and a classic for the ages are the moral core to every strong storyline, the bold and vivid production design and colors, the great sound effects, the creative and progressive ideas about a potential future and how it would look and feel, the thoughtfulness of these archetypal characters, and the strength of the relationships among the crew of the USS Enterprise. Every iteration since the original has been a step down (or several).

So here is the list of the best:
1. The Original Television Series
2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
3. Galaxyquest [absolutely it deserves a place]
4. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
5. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
6. Star Trek (2009)
7. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
8. Star Trek: First Contact
9. Voyager (the final 2 seasons)
10. Deep Space Nine (the final story arc)
11. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
12. The Animated Series

Meh:
Star Trek: Generations


Here is the list of the worst:
1. Nemesis
2. Insurrection
3. Enterprise Series
4. The Next Generation Series
5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Over time I will flesh out this post

THE PRISONER - EXPLAINED

Many reviews were quite negative and a lot of people seemed to not understand the story. I thought it was terrific - a finely worked piece of art. Here is the explanation of the story for those who didn't get it:

Six (James Caviezel) in the real world was determined to figure out what he had been working on for the secret mega-corp headed by the Two character (Ian McKellen) - it turns out Two is an eccentric rich fellow who wants to fix broken people and constructed a Matrix-like Village in which these peoples' minds could live and prosper within the confines of the construct and its rules. Another person held the construct in their mind - the wife at the beginning and the doctor/love interest later ... and this person had to be asleep or the construct began to unravel (the holes). The whole point of the story was that Two wanted to replace himself and he cultivated Six because of his strong moral compass. The trials and tribulations Six went through were to test his mettle and by the end he proved himself and Two was able to move on. Six indeed became a prisoner, but a willing prisoner - bound by love.

IN HINDSIGHT, SO TRUE

Click for >> Clip #2 ... 1:10 to 1:30 ... priceless

HEROES FINALLY WORTH WATCHING AGAIN

I enjoyed Season 1 of Heroes but it just became incomprehensible and downright ridiculous as Seasons 2 and 3 unfolded ... there were so many new characters, time switch-backs, subplots, secret organizations and double-crosses that it just became laughable. After most episodes you found yourself going "who cares!?" Thankfully the powers-that-be seemed to find the edit button and have pared Season 4 down to size and returned the focus back to the original story (using a time-travel plot device and an interesting new Baltar-like hero/villain) ... and the show holds your interest again with Sylar the dark villain once more. If they would only write Claire's father's character out of the show! [And if they could move the scenes along more quickly - gads between commercials very little seems to happen]

V Returns Tonight on ABC

The campy 80s sci-fi series V returns tonight on ABC. Sci-Fi Channel has been airing the old series in saturation and you can see why sci-fi wasn't taken very seriously for a long time there - when you only spend $12 on your special effects, sets and costumes you get shlock. Early word is the reboot is good.

Around L.A. some trickster put up these signs on the bus stop ads (funny):