Captain Kirk Pulled Over for DWI in New Zealand!

Are We Watching Chris Pine Too Closely?

UK: Daily Mail reports that Chris Pine was pulled over for drunk driving upon leaving an after hours party.
Daily Mail Article on Pine

 Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/8675254692/ |Author
Posted on Wikipedia by MyCanon.

Seriously? It's not like Chris was falling all over. He was walkin' and talkin' straight, and was polite as all out. You might have thought that a policeman would have said, "OMGD. I've pulled over Captain Kirk!" and let Chris go on his merry way, but no.
Could this have something to do with the new "devil-may-dare" attitude of the newly-conceived Captain Kirk? The one that drinks and carouses? One might think twice, and realize the Kirk is an imagined character, and Chris is an actor. Nope. Maybe those New Zealanders are getting cranky about all the actors flooding their fair island.

Sure, the staff at the Blue Pub warned patrons about the possible DWI trap, and that cars had been arranged, but Chris left on his own. Pshaw, he'd only been drinking beer.

Oh well. Naturally it's all over the web now, and Chris has gotten his first demerit.
Doesn't this reek of watching our good Captain a little too closely? Jeepers, who was the one who leaked this one to the press, and how much did they earn from it?
Now, if he was traveling at light-speed with four blue-skinned women in the car, that would be a real story.

Original City On The Edge of Forever Screenplay To Be Adapted As Comic Books

Harlan Ellison Should Be Happy!

Hurray, hurray! Just breaking news: Harlan Ellison is probably dancing around his living room right now. For a guy who prides himself on his practically trademark grumpiness, this is a welcome change. I've sat in on his talks at conventions and enjoyed his lessons in "How Not To Write a Science Fiction Story", gleefully taking in Harlan's humor and staring with wide-eyed wonder at the all-powerful author as he shone a huge, toothy smile at his audience.
I've also read his scathingly sinister emails to publicity agents, threatening that he's never review another science-fiction compilation unless he got to keep the galley copy, and that he'd bad-mouth about publishers to authors so that they'd never bring their work to them again. I can see him gnashing his teeth as he signed those letters, practically tearing the paper with his ball-point pen! 

Now, after all the years that Ellison has spent ruminating over the hatchet-job that was done to his beautiful script by top Star Trek executives, the editors, and the censors - now the real "City on The Edge of Forever" will be available to Ellison and Star Trek fans, in the form of comic books, soon (I'm sure) to be bound in a fantastic hardcover that will have Trekkies salivating and sweating to get their hands on. Not that I'm immune! I'll probably give it a looksee, but then, I've already read Ellison's version. Where, you ask? I haven't the foggiest. Probably somewhere on the Interwebs, but before that - it may have been silently handed from person-to-person at conventions. Oh, I read it, and enjoyed it. What can I say? It was a raw, an open-mouthed scream that was so Star Trek Original Series the way I'd always dreamed it, that I sniffled my way through some parts. It was moving.

So! Get all crazy excited, and check out this link with more info:
http://www.space.com/24963-star-trek-harlan-ellison-script-comics-adaptation.html

Shatner's Follies

Shatner's Follies: What They Forgot To Report

I'm always amazed by the depths to which entertainment magazines on the web will dive to when they decide that they need a little garbage to air in order to boost readership: Metro.co.uk recently published the usual train wreck article at William Shatner's expense.
Metro's Sad Attempt To Boost Readership

It's no secret that William Shatner suffered financially after Star Trek. No significant royalties were forthcoming because he had been paid on a "per-episode" contract, and Star Trek had not been sold into syndication yet. He'd recently closed on a brand new home for his family, and he was fighting a losing battle in a separation from his wife soon after.

Shatner freely admitted his disastrous plunge into depression. The divorce left him virtually penniless. He spent most of his time traveling in a pickup truck and drinking.
The camper perched on the flatbed of the truck wasn't roomy - just enough space for him and his dog, Morgan. Opening the door resulted in a shower of beer cans in the morning. Quite often he was "recognized", as Shatner occasionally mentions in his various books.
A More Humorus Quote via a Review by Bobby Matherne

It was a time of nomadic travel, doing what Shatner had started out in and excelled at: live theatre. It's hard to find references of his work at that time.Shatner referrs to it as "The Lost Years", but snippets of it can be found if you look hard enough on the Internet:

   More information on Shatner's work in Summer Stock should be available as time goes on. It's be exciting to see if someone has video of his performances - it existed back then, but tapes suffer due to age. One would hope that when discovered, they can be saved. Please post if you know of any informative links.

Win A Free Star Trek Graphic Novel

Win A Free Star Trek Graphic Novel

You heard me right, USA Today's PopCandy is giving away a copy of "Operation Annihilate", and it looks quite good:



  You heard right, USA Today Pop Candy is giving away a copy of "Operation Annihilate", and it's signed, too!

Go here:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/popcandy/2014/03/03/star-trek-giveaway/5969139/

Get there before March 5th, or you'll miss out!

Why Watch That Old Episode?

 There's Nothing On! Wait... 

I often ask myself: "Why am I drawn to watch an episode that I haven't seen for a while? Perhaps it's one that I am not particularly drawn to. It might be that I'd already watched my favorite episodes recently, and having nothing better to watch, I've decided to settle for a "second rate" episode. Maybe there's just nothing else available. I often watch Star Trek online, via a website like StarTrek.com, that highlights a particular episode each week.

Most times it's the nostalgia factor that grabs me: I want to see the episode that I remember, albeit hazily I try to recall the camera angles, possibly the cool artwork, even a musical strain. If it doesn't come easily, I think that I might watch just to refresh my memory, find a cool quote, or relive a great scene.

I find that the defining factor for me is that I simply want to see something familiar. Somehow it doesn't matter which Star Trek series it is. It's simply the need to interact in the Star Trek universe, to feel at home, like an old blanket, it gives me instant comfort.
That universe is a place where I can forget myself. I can be a doctor, wielding a hypo-spray, medical tricorder in hand. I can be a navigator, or a scientist - it doesn't matter. In the Star Trek universe, I would have been schooled for free, I would have been healthy thanks to universal healthcare, and my family wouldn't be penniless because money means nothing in their society. Why wouldn't I want to be there?

For a few moments, even a silly episode such as "Spock's Brain" can make me laugh, drag me in, and toss my own brain around for a little while. I'm sure that many fans can relate the same feelings. Star Trek is as comforting as a bowl of mac n' cheese, but hasn't all the calories.