25TH ANNIVERSARY OF STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER. HAS IT IMPROVED WITH AGE?

The only good thing about ST:V – the poster

I know two things about Star Trek V, which turns 25 today:

1. It still sucks.

and

B. As bad as it is, it's still better than Into Darkness.

LLAP

Don

NETFLIX GOING WHERE NO NETWORK IS WILLING TO GO? UNFORTUNATELY, NO.

Over on Geek.com they have a story about Netflix being in talks with CBS to produce a new Trek TV version.  Alas, it was too good to be true:

Larry Nemecek weighs in

LLAP

Don

ASTRONAUT TRIES TO "KLINGON-UP" THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. ALAS, NO Q'UPLA!

From collectspace.com here's a very cool story from the ISS:

Unused Klingon-inspired ISS mission patch design (NASA)

June 6,  2014 – In a mirror universe right now,  an alternate Steve Swanson is wearing a space patch bearing the logo of the fictional Klingon Empire. In our reality, though, NASA jettisoned the astronaut's "Star Trek" inspired emblem before it could reach space. Swanson,  who currently is commander of the International Space Station, collaborated with his daughter to create an insignia for the outpost's Expedition 40 crew. What he and his fellow astronauts and cosmonauts ultimately launched with to the space station was a patch depicting the "past, present, and future of human space exploration." What Swanson had first proposed however, was a badge of a decidedly different type. "He wanted something that was kind of badass," revealed Mary Swanson, Steve's wife,  in a call with collectSPACE, "and Klingons are kind of badass."

Actual mission patch sans-Klingon logo (NASA)

Swanson and his daughter, a computer science major who began her studies in graphic design,  modified the Klingon patch, replacing its image of a sword-like weapon called a "Bat'leth" with a similarly-shaped icon depicting the space station. A Klingon language inscription along the border of the original emblem was supplanted by the Swansons with the names of the six-person Expedition 40 crew.

His Klingon patch was grounded,  but as it turns out,  Steve Swanson still found a way to fly the Klingon trefoil logo in space. Posting where no astronaut had posted before, Swanson inaugurated the on-orbit use of the space station's official Instagram account. In April, he shared a few selfies on the photo-sharing social network. His second shot showed him having blood drawn for study but it wasn't the science experiment that drew attention to the photo. Swanson is seen wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a certain three-pointed emblem, a cloaked reference to the patch that almost was.

Astronaut Steve Swanson's sports the Klingon logo (NASA)

 Thanks to Spacecollect.com!

LLAP

Don

THE SHAT BOLDLY RIDES INTO THE 2014 CALGARY STAMPEDE AS GRAND MARSHALL

Everybody's favorite Kirk, Canadian actor William Shatner, will beam into Alberta next month to lead the 2014 Calgary Stampede Parade as Grand Marshall.

Many fans of Star Trek are not aware that The Shat is quite the horseman. For the past 24 years he has spearheaded the Hollywood Charity Horse Show to raise money for children's charities.

The Calgary Stampede.The Calgary Stampede runs from July 4 to 13. "Leading the parade will be quite a way to experience my first time,” Shatner said in a release Tuesday. Pretty good for an 83-year-old!

Starship captain and Zorro impersonator William Shatner will be Grand Marshall at the Calgary Stampede

LLAP

Don

A LETTER TO PARAMOUNT: PLEASE TAKE US WHERE NO MAN (OR SCREENWRITER) HAS GONE BEFORE! IF YOU WANT OUR MONEY, THAT IS.

Let me begin by just stating that I am not under the delusion that Paramount gives a crap about what I think. So with that in mind, release the Kraken!

Everyone has their own idea of what Star Trek is. But to a guy who grew up with the original series which was aired during the height of the Space Race, Star Trek was about the adventure and promise of the future. It was about exploring the unknown. Its mission was, as the opening narration told us, "to explore strange new worlds". Heady stuff for a kid in Akron, Ohio who watched the Apollo missions literally take men to where no one had gone before.

So, in a nutshell, Star Trek was about telling stories about what's out there. It might be weird, it might be violent, or it just might be eerily familiar, but it was always exciting, always an adventure.

Flash forward to 2013 and we find that all of that has been abandoned in the current incarnations of Trek. There is not a hint of exploring new ground, either metaphorically or literally. In new Star Trek, it's all about The Threat To Earth, a theme that unfortunately took over the franchise with 1996's Star Trek: First Contact and never let go. Most every film since then has been about saving the world rather than exploring the universe. It's more about war than making peace. And while original Trek certainly had its share of gunboat diplomacy and fisticuffs, at its heart was the concept of bettering ourselves and others through mutual cooperation. Of finding enemies and making them friends.

And here's the problem with that: it's hard to do. It's tough to write an exciting, engaging story about space exploration, especially when compared to writing what are essentially simple war stories. Star Trek has existed for almost fifty years and the low-hanging fruit is gone. Stories about The Cold Planet or the Warring Planet or the Nazi Planet or The Planet With Sort-of American Indians have all been done. Thankfully. Now let's move on to themes more in keeping with ideas that are truly new.

It's hard? So what? If it was easy, anybody could do it, right? So, Paramount, here's my suggestion: go out and hire some writers who are actually interested in writing something new that takes us into the deep unknown and challenges our crew in a way they've never before been challenged. Yes, it can have space battles and conflict, but it can't be just about that stuff. Explosions are not content, they are filler. Characters are what we connect to, not lens flares. And here's something to keep in mind – having a character say the word "family" without anything to back that up emotionally does NOT make the film about family. It's a shallow, cheap way to try to connect. It is ultimately empty, and without resonance. But when Spock died in Wrath of Khan, THAT was family being torn asunder. THAT was a real connection.

And that is what I think the best of Star Trek is about. That's where the bar is set. Please, please, don't settle for a mediocre film experience. Thousands of us will be holding back our money if that happens.

Aim high. Go boldly.

LLAP,

Don

DEEP TREK: MR. SPOCK'S DILEMMA

THE MARKET SPEAKS: EVEN WALL STREET THINKS STAR TREK IS MOVING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

This is really the first sign that I've seen that supports my theory that, while a lot of people went to see Star Trek Into Darkness, a lot of those viewers didn't actually like it based on worldwide box office and DVD sales, specifically when compared to 2009's Star Trek. So, apparently I am not alone in my disdain.

As a matter of fact, investor Tim Beyers, a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team. expressed that and more:



Only time will tell. I hope that I'm wrong about Mr. Orci, but I have no reason to think that I am. For Star Trek 3 to truly succeed – ie: appeal to non-fans while bringing back jaded fans like myself – he'd have to do a complete 180 in terms of story-telling, and I don't think that's likely.

Oh well...

LLAP

Don