New Blood for The Star Trek Movies

It seems rumors are confirmed for a new movie in the Star Trek universe. J.J.Abrams, creator of the hit TV show "Lost" has taken the challenge of producing the 11th Star Trek movie scheduled for release in 2008, and my bet is December of that year. Abrams has not said if he will be directing or helping with the script but he has a very creative mind so I gather that his input will be well received by the writers. Mr Abrams has a huge mountain ahead of him to climb, after the last few disappointing Star Trek movies that barely kept fans going to see them, let alone an audience of people that don’t watch the T.V. shows or read the books. I am in agreement with some of the other scifi bloggers that seem to believe that any new movie needs to move away from the old and embrace the new. I will let you as readers figure that one out for yourselves but I am sure you know what I mean. The new movie needs to stretch the imagination of the fans who over the last 40 yrs of watching Star Trek have become smarter and do not want a repeat of the same storylines in different times, or not have people looking at their watches half way thru the movie or sitting at home saying "I will wait for the DVD". The fans know what they want to see, and expect to have their imaginations challenged at every turn by those that have taken up the reins for the newest version from the powerfully, creative mind of Gene Roddenberry. I do not envy Mr Abrams, but I do respect him for taking on this newest mission and wish him good journeys within the Star Trek universe. On a parting note, let us all hope that 12 is a lucky number for the studios and the fans

Starfest discovery

I discovered Jonja.net at Starfest having found their flyer up in the freebie room. I had forgotten about this website until today. So off I went to check it out. This is a wonderful site for science fiction fans. They even interviewed Dirk Benedict. Read it. My feelings about Dirk are now confirmed. Thank you. They also describe the atrium at Starfest and guess who was mentioned? Yes, that’s right SCIFIPUNDIT’s balcony.

The potential peacefulness of the Atrium is more than overpowered by the din of a hundred conversations, and is also fueled by the sound of blaster fire, lightsaber duels, assorted alien battlecries and animal calls. The balconies provide an amazing display of alien flags and banners, cardboard 'standees' of any SciFi character one could think of, as well as a host of 'inflatable' Extra-Terrestrials populating one room.

Yet, not one of the “winners” was mentioned. Again, thank you. You may find the complete article here.

My turn

Alex says I have to post my thoughts on Starfest. I am not allowed to just leave a comment. So…here it goes.

First of all, am I bitter about losing the balcony decorating contest? Yes, yes I am. Sure there were some good entries, but honestly, I STILL can’t believe we didn’t even place. We did take pictures of the other winners. However, none of these pictures came out clearly. Really. The wall of skulls was very cool. But let’s be real here, hanging up your costumes or throwing up a few sheets beats 4 dozen blow up aliens? I sat in the atrium Saturday afternoon and watch dozens of people stop and point at our balcony. We were obviously impressed. We even overheard some people talking about our balcony after we left the convention on Sunday. Perhaps I am delusional. In the long run it doesn’t really matter, this is true. Nonetheless, I am still pissed, disappointed and motivated to bring home the prize to SCIFIPUNDIT next year. Alex is right, watch out! We will be back next year. I love a good challenge.

Next, there’s the whole Dirk Benedict matter. Honestly, he needs to relax. Dirk, go home to Montana, get a haircut and take up a hobby. The women of the world are not out to get you. They didn’t ruin your career. You had your time. Let someone else have their turn.

We saw Dirk's Q and A session with Dwight Schultz. He commented how the A-Team was the last man’s man show and how all these female TV network executives have ruined Television. My first thought is give the man a role on BSG, this will shut him up in much the same way it did Richard Hatch. But I am told that Katee Sackhoff said she will quit if he is given a role. Yikes! Let’s just scratch that one off the list. Good for Katee. Who needs Dirk anyway? What is his problem? Has he even watch TV lately? There’s this lovely little program called Battlestar Galactica he really needs to check out. I did notice he said very little about BSG. Isn’t Starfest a science fiction convention? I didn’t go there to hear him talk about the A-Team. Besides last time I checked Ronald Moore and David Eick are men. There goes your theory, Dirk. But I will say this much, you do a pretty good Mr. T.

I enjoyed the Q and A with Tricia Helfer. She seems very committed to her newly found craft of acting. I loved that she had a BSG script on stage. Oh to be a paper mite upon that page. I also loved her excitement about BSG. Her genuineness was evident. After seeing her, I like her even more. It’s clear to see why her character brings so much to the show.

The Q and A with Joe Flanigan was odd. He is basically Major John Sheppard. He said the role is not a stretch for him. Yeah, no kidding. The only difference, he said, was Sheppard is more moody and a little less social. Still, he is very, very, very good looking. But what can I say I’m a sucker for a dark haired major in the Air Force…go figure.

I finally met Roger Fraley of XDA. You will find his comments on Starfest here. Good to meet you, Roger!

Yes, I had a good time, Dirk and blow-up alien failures aside. The Marriott always does a good job; my only complaint is please staff up your restaurants! John’s drink creations were wonderful as usual. I spent a lot of time laughing thanks to Robert and Karen. My words to Jen are I am not trying to take bad pictures of you. Truly. Klingons everywhere should be proud to call you one of their own. You look great!

So there you have it, my Starfest perspective. And since we haven’t done this in a while, I will give this year’s Starfest four out of five fully opposable thumbs up. I am looking forward to next year.

Starfest, Great Guests and Long Long Nights and Days

Another Starfest is over and this year surpassed last years with flying colors. The guests were great, the panels held were informative, and the friends were wonderful. There was an issue with the hotel room but it was quickly resolved before the wrath of Cheryl came down. (Kidding) We had an unbelievable time seeing all the guests and I especially enjoyed it when Dean Haglund pulled my wife up on stage for a Norwegian Opera about barmaids, I never laughed so hard. The other guests were quite entertaining to listen to as well. I did however notice that Dirk Benedict seemed a little too intense for the convention crowd as he discussed his lack of respect for feminists, while completely avoiding the subject of the new BSG series and any comments about the new Starbuck, but I also didn’t see him Sunday afternoon when he spoke on his own to the fans. By then we were pretty wiped out from the previous evening events, Romulan ale rocks, I am slightly surprised by the fact that our balcony didn’t win the competition, but our congrats to the three that did win...great job to all of you and be ready to defend your title next year if Cheryl has anything to say about it. I will post more when more comes to mind and I will see some of you at Opus in May.

Day Three at Starfest

Joe Flanigan IS Major John Sheppard only cuter.

Dean Haglund and Gary Jones put a humorous spin on their stories.

Dwight Schultz and Denise Crosby shared interesting insights into the world of STNG.

Garry Hill won three awards for his submissions in this year model contest. My personal favorite is Spock. Congratulations, Garry!

Day Two at Starfest

Warp Core Breaches bring many species together.

Toni and Jen enjoy a refreshing Rumulan Ale.

Klingon sightings at Starfest!

Tricia Helfer teases the Starfest audience with a script from season three of BSG.

Alex, SCIFIPUNDIT's Founder, Karen, our friend and David, who is Prince James at the Colorado Renaissance Fair.

Day One at Starfest

Our first day at Starfest was very grueling. It started with blowing up four dozen blow-up aliens for our balcony decoration (Special thanks to Alex, Toni, Karen and Robert). Then we were off to dinner, the dealer room and most importantly drinking and getting reacquainted with our fellow sci-fi fans. And of course we were campaigning as we went. We have some tough competition for best balcony at Starfest. But we have all day to drum up votes. The winner will be announced this evening, so stay tune for more pictures and such from Starfest!

Our friend, Jen, prepares for her Klingon persona.

Starfest 2006 ~ SCIFIPUNDIT : Alien Incursion

Here it is, our entry for this year's balcony decorating contest. We are number 301, so if you are planning on attending, stop by the information desk on the west side of the atrium and vote for 301. In the meanwhile, enjoy our Alien Incursion.

Let the fun begin

Today has finally arrived and we are all preparing to disembark for Starfest. By this evening I plan to have pictures of our balcony decorations including our new banner posted. We will try to keep you as update as possible by posting pictures as they are taken. Hopefully we will be fortunate enough to acquire pictures of some of the wonderful guests as well. No doubt there will also be pictures of the parties we always attend on Friday and Saturday nights. If you won’t be attending please keep checking back here to see the pictures and updates of this weekend's convention. If you will be in attendance, be sure to look for our banner in the atrium and for members of SCIFIPUNDIT wearing our t-shirts. Enjoy and hope to see you there!

Starfest update

The official schedule for Starfest has been released. Please note these are big files, however you may find the Friday/Sunday schedules here and the Saturday schedule here.

On Saturday, I noticed, Tricia Helfer and Dirk Benedict will be having photographs taken at the same time. Should they strike up a conversation, may I suggest she assure him the new BSG is his friend and he must come and share in all the fun with his old cast mate, Richard Hatch. Perhaps he could play Starbuck's Dad! What a hoot that would be! There is really no sense in being acrimonious and sulky, Dirk. Listen to your inner Six.

Great minds think alike?

Our fellow blogger, Roger Fraley, brought up a topic today I was discussing with my good friend Liz as we watched SG-1 reruns last night. We were talking about the repeated use of similar concepts or plots in different sci-fi series. What brought up this dialogue was the episode where Teal’C's energy signature was trapped in the Stargate network and he was unable to rematerialize. I couldn't help but compare it to the episode of STNG where Scotty's 75 year old energy signature is found in the transporter of an old ship. I have discovered that if I had a dime for every single time I find similar scenarios in different shows (or books for that matter) I would have many dimes.

One reason is very apparent. Various sci-fi series often employ the same people. For example, Ronald D. Moore wrote for STNG and is now the executive producer for BSG. In fact, Mr. Moore wrote the before mentioned STNG episode. Other reason may be lack of creativity or the inability to come up with something better. A lost energy signature is an interesting concept and there are plenty of vehicles available for writers to recycle this notion. Whatever it is, I am not at all upset or annoyed. Quite the contrary, I think it keeps us on our toes. You can always tell the die hard sci-fi fan who can quickly tell you what series, year, season and episode a reprocessed plot theme is from. Being a geek is cool!

New Poll!

There's nothing like getting together with your fellow scifi and fantasy votaries to make you feel all warm and fuzzy! So tell us, how warm and fuzzy are you? Vote!

The Browncoats are coming...

For all you diehard Firefly/Serenity fans there will be Browncoat activity at Starfest. The Milehigh Browncoats will be hosting the following events at Starfest:

Saturday 4/22 11:00AM (must be a StarFest attendee to attend)
Gorram Browncoats Panel - Open discussion about our beloved Firefly & Serenity. Panel hosted by Moon, Lori, Jen, UV, & Rob

Saturday 4/22 7:00PM The Marriott DTC Bar/Lounge
Mile High Browncoat's April Shindig.

Saturday 4/22 9:00PM (must be a StarFest attendee to attend)
Done The Impossible Screening - For those that wish to attend

Saturday 4/22 10:00PM (open to all)
Continue shindiggin'!!

Sunday 4/23 NOON (must be a StarFest attendee to attend)
Browncoats Trivia Challenge - How big is your brain-pan? Test your Firefly/Serenity knowledge against other Browncoats for fun and shiny prizes.

SCIFIPUNDIT will be there. We are looking forward to meeting our fellow Firefly enthusiasts!

****SPOILER ALERT****

The good folks over at Pegasus Galaxy were nice enough to provide some interesting tidbits and some major spoilers for Stargate SG-1's upcoming season. If you are like me and just can't wait, click here.

And you didn't think I'd forget about Battlestar Galactica's spoilers, did you? Of course not! And Trekweb has Season 3, Episode 1 specific spoilers.

Three wonderful things

It’s been a while, but I once again have a thing or three to be thankful for

1. Battlestar Galactica won a Peabody.


2. Dr. Who is getting better and better.


3. Richard Dean Anderson and Willie Garson will be in next season’s opener of SG-1.

Dr. Who, Vogon Poetry and Starfest!

Since Dr. Who is growing on me with each passing week, I thought we'd add a Dr. Who section to your website list. You may find the BBC's website for Dr. Who here.

I also found this interesting site for those of you who didn't get enough Vogon Poetry last year. Simply fill out the form and VOILÃ instant Vogon Poetry to fill your soul with jubilation and exhilaration. Create your own Vogon Poetry here. Here is mine, such that it is. Lovely.

See, see the pushy sky. Marvel at its big red depths.
Tell me, Robert do you wonder why the llama ignores you?
Why its foobly stare makes you feel hackneyed.
I can tell you, it is worried by your brion facial growth that looks like a milk.
What's more, it knows your ass potting shed.
Smells of beans. Everything under the big pushy sky asks why, why do you even bother? You only charm cooked cabbages.

Also, the staff here at SCIFIPUNDIT is busy preparing for Starfest. Not only are we enthused over the number and quality of this year's guests, but we also have a few tricks up our collective sleeves. Since the Marriott is not going to assign rooms until the day of the convention, we are left to hope and pray that one of us or one of our devoted readers ends up with an atrium room. Why you ask? Well, this year there is a balcony decorating contest. SCIFIPUNDIT will be decorating a balcony with our new banner and a few other surprises. Be sure to look for us! I just can't wait!

Stargate News

I found this on Sci Fi Wire today.

Richard Dean Anderson, former star and executive producer of Stargate SG-1, returns to the series for its historic 200th original episode, SCI FI Channel announced. Production on the bicentennial episode begins April 5 in Vancouver, Canada. Anderson, who will be reprising the role of Gen. Jack O'Neill, will also make special guest appearances in a number of episodes of both SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis that will air in the upcoming new seasons, which are slated to premiere this summer. Stargate SG-1's 200th episode, "200," will center on the SG-1 team as they serve as advisors on a television series that bears remarkable similarities to the goings-on at Stargate Command. As they pitch to the producer the many adventures that they have been involved with over the years, the team discovers that truth really is stranger than fiction, but that nothing is stranger than the machinations of Hollywood. In addition to Anderson, "200" will feature a guest appearance by fan favorite Willie Garson (Sex & the City).Currently in production on its 10th original season (its fifth on SCI FI), Stargate SG-1 is now the longest-running SF series on American television, surpassing The X-Files and every iteration of Star Trek.

And this.

Brad Wright, co-creator of SCI FI Channel's original series Stargate SG-1, offered SCI FI Wire a few spoilers on the show's upcoming 200th episode, which tips its hat to a much shorter-lived SF series about civil-war veterans in space. The episode will be part of the 10th season, which debuts this summer.The 200th episode will bring back the character of Martin Lloyd (Willy Garson) and his fictional TV show Wormhole X-treme, which was the subject of the 100th episode, "Wormhole X-treme," and is a parody of SG-1 itself. "The 200th, ... as we've all put our heads together on that one, is based on a great idea [executive producer] Robert [C. Cooper] had, and we've all written bits and put them all together, and Robert went through it, and then I went through it," Wright said in an interview on SG-1's Vancouver, Canada, set earlier this month.This time around, the SG-1 team helps Lloyd turn Wormhole X-treme into a movie. "Even though the series was canceled after three episodes, it did well on DVD," Wright said. "It's a little nod to Serenity, I suppose." Serenity is based on the failed Fox TV series Firefly, which was canceled in the middle of its first season, but which went on to sell well on DVD, warranting a feature film.As for Wormhole X-treme, Wright said: "The Air Force loves it, because they love the notion of a television series out there that is ostensibly [based on the] real events in SG-1, in Stargate Command. So plausible deniability. ... It's a series of, I guess you could call them vignettes or flashes, scenes, that are kind of unusual."In the episode, which also marks the return of former SG-1 star Richard Dean Anderson, viewers can expect the kind of broad, insidery humor that characterized the 100th episode. "'Wormhole X-treme' was pushing it," Wright said. "This is pushing it twice as far. But, you know, it's the 200th episode."

I am also adding a Stargate section in our website list. Check it out!

Star Trek Business Cards

Very adroit.