WE ARE THE BORG....

....Resistance is futile...
Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Saturday 30 January 2010

A new challenge...

I've just agreed to 'ghost write' the David Wilson blog for my old school mate, Dave 'Snooks' Wilson. The URL is http://thedavidwilson.blogspot.com/ and although I have a free hand in what I report, I have been given strict boundaries including a must inclusion of Aston Villa at least once a week. As we, along with Phil Finney and Richard (1099) Phillips were the only Villa fans in our year at school, then that shouldn't be too hard.

in reference to: Bob De Bilde (view on Google Sidewiki)

James T. Kirk

James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series, Shatner also appears as Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and in the first seven Star Trek movies. Chris Pine portrayed the character in the 2009 Star Trek film, with Jimmy Bennett playing Kirk as a child. Other actors have portrayed the character in fan-created media, and the character has been the subject of multiple spoofs and satires. Kirk also appears in numerous books, comics, and video games. Kirk has been called "the quintessential officer, a man among men and a hero for the ages".

James T. Kirk was born and raised in Riverside, Iowa in the year 2233. Diane Carey's novel Best Destiny identifies Kirk's parents as George and Winona Kirk. Best Destiny and Carey's Final Frontier novel describe George Kirk's adventures aboard the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Robert April. Although born on Earth, Kirk for a time lived on Tarsus IV, where he was one of nine surviving witnesses to the massacre of 4,000 colonists by Kodos the Executioner (Arnold Moss). James Kirk's brother, Sam, and his sister-in-law are introduced and killed in "Operation: Annihilate!", leaving behind three children.

At Starfleet Academy, Kirk became the first student to defeat the Kobayashi Maru test, garnering a commendation for original thinking by reprogramming the computer to make the "no-win scenario" winnable. Kirk was granted a field commission as an ensign and posted to advanced training aboard the USS Republic. He then was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and returned to Starfleet Academy as a student instructor. Students could either "think or sink" in his class, and Kirk himself was "a stack of books with legs". Upon graduating in the top five percent, Kirk was promoted to lieutenant and served aboard the USS Farragut. While assigned to the Farragut, Kirk commanded his first planetary survey and survived a deadly attack that killed a large portion of the Farragut's crew. He received his first command, the equivalent of a destroyer-class spaceship, while still quite young.

Kirk became Starfleet's youngest captain when he received command of the USS Enterprise for a five-year mission, three years of which are depicted in the original Star Trek series.[13] Kirk's most significant relationships in the television series are with first officer Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and chief medical officer Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley). Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence's The Myth of the American Superhero describes Kirk as "a hard-driving leader who pushes himself and his crew beyond human limits". Terry J. Erdman and Paula M. Block, in their Star Trek 101 primer, note that while "cunning, courageous and confident", Kirk also has a "tendency to ignore Starfleet regulations when he feels the end justifies the means". Although Kirk throughout the series becomes romantically involved with various women, when confronted with a choice between a woman and the Enterprise, "his ship always won".

J. M. Dillard's novel The Lost Years describes Kirk's promotion to rear admiral and unfulfilling duties as a diplomatic troubleshooter after the Enterprise's five-year mission. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Kirk is chief of Starfleet operations, and he takes command of the Enterprise from Captain Willard Decker (Stephen Collins). Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry's novelization of The Motion Picture depicts Kirk married to a Starfleet officer killed during a transporter accident.[16][17] At the beginning of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Kirk takes command of the Enterprise from Captain Spock to pursue his enemy from "Space Seed", Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán). The movie introduces Kirk's son, David Marcus (Merritt Butrick). Spock, who notes that "commanding a starship is [Kirk's] first, best destiny", dies at the end of Star Trek II; in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Kirk leads his surviving officers in a successful mission to rescue Spock from a planet on which he is reborn. Although Kirk is demoted to captain in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home for disobeying Starfleet orders in the pursuit, he also receives command of a new USS Enterprise.[1] The ship is ordered decommissioned at the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

In Star Trek Generations, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) finds Kirk alive in the timeless Nexus, despite the fact that history recorded his death during the Enterprise-B's maiden voyage. Picard convinces Kirk to return to Picard's present to help stop the villain Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying a planet's sun. Kirk agrees; the two leave the Nexus and stop Soran. However, Kirk is mortally wounded; and as he dies, Picard assures Kirk that he helped to "make a difference". Picard buries Kirk on Veridian III.

Shatner and Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens wrote a series of novels that depict Kirk's resurrection by the Borg and his ongoing adventures after the events of Generations.

Alternate timeline

The 2009 Star Trek film introduces an "alternate" timeline that reveals different origins for Kirk, the formation of his friendship with Spock, and how they came to serve together on the Enterprise.The point of divergence between the original and the alternate Star Trek timelines occurs on the day of Kirk's birth.

Although the movie treats specific details from Star Trek as mutable, "characterizations remain the same". In the movie, George and Winona Kirk name their son James Tiberius after his maternal and paternal grandfathers, respectively. He is born on a shuttle escaping the starship USS Kelvin, on which his father is killed. The character begins as "a reckless, bar-fighting rebel" who eventually reaches "maturity". According to Pine, the character is "a 25-year-old [who acts like a] 15-year-old" and who is "angry at the world". Kirk and Spock clash at Starfleet Academy, but, over the course of the movie, Kirk focuses his "passion and obstinance and the spectrum of emotions" and becomes captain of the Enterprise.


Thursday 28 January 2010

Jean-Luc Picard

Picard on the bridge of the USS Enterprise-D

Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional Star Trek character portrayed by the actor Sir Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis and made an appearance in the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Depicted as deeply moral, highly logical and cerebral, Picard is a master of diplomacy and debate who resolves seemingly intractable issues between multiple parties. Though such resolutions are usually peaceful, Picard is also shown utilizing his remarkable tactical cunning in situations when it is required.

After the success of the contemporary Star Trek feature films, a new television series featuring a new cast was announced on October 10, 1986. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry named Picard for one or both of the twin brothers Auguste Piccard and Jean Felix Piccard, 20th century Swiss scientists.

Patrick Stewart, a Shakespearean actor, was at first considered for the role of Data. Roddenberry's first choice for Picard was Stephen Macht, and it took "weeks of discussion" with Robert H. Justman to convince Roddenberry that "Stewart was the one they had been looking for to sit in the captain's chair." Stewart, who has a background of theatre at the Royal Shakespeare Company, has been appreciative of his role, but pointed out he is not nearly as serious or brooding as his alter ego. Stewart also stated, "One of the delights of having done this series and played this role is that people are so attracted to the whole idea of Star Trek... several years after the series has ended... I enjoy hearing how much people enjoyed the work we did... It's always gratifying to me that this bald, middle-aged Englishman seems to connect with them." Stewart has also commented that his role has helped open up Shakespeare to science fiction fans. He has noted "regular presence of Trekkies in the audience" whenever he plays theatre, and added: "I meet these people afterwards, I get letters from them and see them at the stage door... And they say, 'I've never seen Shakespeare before, I didn't think I'd understand it, but it was wonderful and I can't wait to come back.'"

Jean-Luc Picard was born to Maurice and Yvette Picard in La Barre, France, on July 13, 2305, and dreamed of joining Starfleet.[10] He failed his first Starfleet Academy entrance exam, but was subsequently admitted and became the first freshman to win the Academy marathon. His academic training in archaeology is mentioned in numerous TNG episodes; he also remarks at one point that he failed a semester of organic chemistry. Shortly after graduation, Picard was stabbed in the heart by a Nausicaan, leaving the organ irreparable and requiring replacement with a parthenogenetic implant; this would prove near-fatal later.[10] Picard eventually served as first officer aboard the USS Stargazer, which he later commanded. During that time, he invented a starship evasive attack maneuver that would become known as the Picard Maneuver.

Star Trek: The Next Generation depicts Picard's command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). The pilot episode shows the ship's mission to investigate a problem at Farpoint Station, which becomes sidetracked when Q makes Picard "representative" in a trial charging humanity with being a "dangerously savage child-race". Picard persuades Q to test humanity, and Q chooses as the test's first stage the crew's performance at Farpoint. The trial "ends" seven years later (when Q reminds Picard that it never does), in the series finale, when humanity is absolved by Picard's demonstration that the species has the capacity to explore the "possibilities of existence".

The third season finale, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I", depicts Picard being assimilated by the Borg to serve as a bridge between humanity and the Borg; on the borg cube, Picard's assimilation and recovery are a critical point in the character's development, and provided backstory for the film Star Trek: First Contact and the development of Benjamin Sisko, the protagonist of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Stewart asked Roddenberry to keep Picard a Borg for a few more episodes beyond the third season finale, as he thought that would be more interesting than simply restoring Picard in Part II. It is later revealed in First Contact that parts of Borg machinery are still inside Picard, and that he retains traumatic memories of assimilation.

Picard joins forces with legendary Enterprise captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Generations to fight the film's villain, Dr. Tolian Soran. Commanding the new USS Enterprise-E (after the Enterprise-D is destroyed in Generations), Picard again confronts the Borg in First Contact. Later, he fights a species' forced relocation in Star Trek: Insurrection, and encounters Shinzon, a Romulan-made clone of himself, in Star Trek Nemesis.

In the comic Star Trek: Countdown, prequel to the eleventh feature film Star Trek, Picard is depicted as Federation ambassador to Vulcan.

Many fans often contrast Picard's leadership style to James T. Kirk's. Picard is deemed the ultimate delegator of authority, knowing "how to gather and use data better than any other Star Trek captain." His leadership style "is best suited to a large, process-centric, either geographically identical or diverse team". Both Kirk and Picard are considered to be attentive to the needs of their respective crews.

Was it my multi-blogged moan?

Was it my multi-blogged moan that un-locked my new blog http://sequels-and-trilogies.blogspot.com/ ?
I know that blogger took the full 20 days to un-lock a blog of a friend of mine. Now his block WAS highly political but there should be no difference.
Perhaps it was my genuine threat to move to wordpress?

Who knows?

Thank You blogger for acting quickly

Bob de Bilde

in reference to: Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies (view on Google Sidewiki)

Wednesday 27 January 2010

Scott Bakula

Scott Stewart Bakula (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, best known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise.

Bakula can currently be seen on the TNT series 'Men of a Certain Age'

Bakula left college to pursue acting, having been cast in the leading role in a national tour of Godspell. The tour was canceled before it began and he soon moved to New York. Shortly after, he was cast in a dinner theater production of Shenandoah in North Carolina.

In 1983, Bakula, having previously appeared as a standby, made his Broadway debut playing Joe DiMaggio in Marilyn: An American Fable. His television debut came in commercials for Canada Dry and for de-caffeinated Folgers coffee. He also appeared in an off Broadway production of "Three Guys Naked from the Waist Down".[2]

His performance in the Broadway musical Romance/Romance and subsequent Tony Award nomination helped Bakula win the lead role opposite Dean Stockwell in the critically acclaimed television series Quantum Leap.[3] In this science fiction series, Bakula played the time traveler Dr. Sam Beckett who was trapped by a malfunction of his time machine to correct things gone wrong in the past. His performance in this program would earn him a Golden Globe award (along with three nominations) and four Emmy nominations for Best Actor as well as five (5) consecutive Viewers For Quality Television Awards for Best Actor in a Quality Drama Series.

In 1995, Bakula appeared on the cover of Playgirl. In 1997, Bakula voiced Danny Cat in Cats Don't Dance, a high-rated, but little-known, animated movie, singing in one number with Natalie Cole. In 1998, Bakula played the aging veteran pitcher Gus Cantrell in Major League: Back to the Minors, the final movie in the Major League (film) trilogy. He also played Jim Olmeyer, partner of Sam Robards' Jim Berkley, in the Academy Award-winning American Beauty in 1999.

As Jonathan Archer in Star Trek: Enterprise, Bakula played the captain of Earth's first long-range interstellar ship. In 2006, he reprised the role of Archer for the Star Trek Legacy PC and Xbox 360 video games as a voiceover. Bakula starred in the musical Shenandoah, a play which also provided his first professional theatrical role in 1976, at Ford's Theatre, in 2006.

Bakula is heard singing "Pig Island" on Sandra Boynton's children's CD Philadelphia Chickens, which is labeled as being "For all ages except 43." Some of Bakula's other musical appearances include the Hollywood Bowl in 1996 and 2004, Carnegie Hall, a benefit performance of Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle in 1995, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1993 and 2003, in honor of Sondheim and Carol Burnett, respectively.


Tuesday 26 January 2010

Bob de Bilde gets his 15 minutes of fame...

on IS A C*NT...

http://isacunt.blogspot.com/2010/01/bob-de-bilde.html

Thanks to GOT & the crew

in reference to: Bob De Bilde (view on Google Sidewiki)

My Disgust at Blogger

Blogger has marked one of my blogs (Prequels, Sequels & Trilogies) as spam...

It will be deleted within 20 days if I do not lodge a review

WTF Blogger... I am seriously considering moving all my blogs to the more versatile Wordpress !

I am reposting this on ALL my other open blogs using the sidewikibar thingy!!!

in reference to: My Sony Ericsson Sucks: My Disgust at Blogger (view on Google Sidewiki)

Tribbles

Tribbles are fictional animals in the Star Trek universe who first appeared in the episode titled "The Trouble With Tribbles". They are depicted as small, soft, and gentle, and as producing a soothing purring sound. These traits are said to endear them to most sentient races which encounter them, with the notable exception of Klingons, who consider tribbles to be "mortal enemies" of the Klingon Empire, as stated in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations".

While appearing in only four episodes and briefly in a movie, they are one of the most popular and well-known species featured in the Star Trek universe, fairly well known even to casual followers of the series. In 2006, two tribble props from "Trials and Tribble-ations" were auctioned for US $800 – 1,200.

The expression "multiplying like tribbles" has also become commonplace in the context of science fiction or technology.

History

Tribbles have appeared in several instances of Star Trek series and movies, arranged here in their order of production:

Original series

Viewers first saw tribbles in the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series television episode "The Trouble With Tribbles." The episode was written by David Gerrold, and the original tribble props were designed by Wah Chang. This episode was not, however, a depiction of first contact since it was a human named Cyrano Jones (Stanley Adams), a small-time merchant, who introduced the tribbles to Captain Kirk's crew.

In the same episode, Spock, a half-Vulcan himself, explains that Vulcans see no useful purpose for tribbles, so the species is not endearing to them, but it's not mutual for the ever-adoring species. However, he is caught petting one while claiming, "Fortunately, I am... immune to its effects".

Animated series

Tribbles returned in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode "More Tribbles, More Troubles." This time, the tribbles Cyrano Jones brings have been genetically altered to not reproduce when they are fed, but instead just grow larger.

Deep Space Nine

In the episode "Trials and Tribble-ations" the crew of the USS Defiant encounter the tribbles once more when they accidentally travel back in time and participate in the events of "The Trouble with Tribbles." The Deep Space Nine characters are edited into scenes with the original series cast, although a few of the scenes are from different episodes. Each of the featured characters is seen in this episode, including Cyrano Jones and Arne Darvin.

In this episode, Worf reveals that the tribbles were hunted down and exterminated by the Klingon Empire; specially trained warriors were sent to kill every tribble in existence, and an armada of Klingon vessels obliterated the tribble's home world. Klingons are unique among Star Trek's races in their extreme hatred of the creatures as "an ecological menace". The feeling was apparently mutual, because tribbles emitted a loud shrieking noise instead of their normal soothing purr in the presence of Klingons. Deep Space Nine Security Officer Odo, amused by the irony of the fierce Klingons hunting the gentle tribbles, dryly remarks, "Another glorious chapter in Klingon history. Tell me, do they still sing songs of the Great Tribble Hunt?" A number of tribbles were brought back to Deep Space Nine from the past and the species was re-established.

Enterprise

The date of first contact with tribbles has never been established in canon. Chronologically speaking, the earliest known appearance of tribbles was in the 2003 Star Trek: Enterprise episode "The Breach" (which takes place in 2152) in which Doctor Phlox uses them as food for his medicinal pets in Sick Bay. Hoshi Sato, a human, sees a tribble being utilized by Phlox. Phlox remarks that their populations would be out of control if it was not for the planet's high reptilian populations.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

A few tribbles make a brief reappearances at a table when Leonard McCoy visits the bar.

Star Trek: Generations

Tribbles can be seen during the evacuation of the USS Enterprise-D.

Star Trek (2009 film)

A tribble can be seen purring in a cage on Montgomery Scott's desk at the Starfleet outpost at Delta Vega.

Saturday 23 January 2010

Q

Not my favourite trek character, Q was first seen in the NG pilot, Encounter at Farpoint. That said, it is often hypothesised by Trekkies that the character Trelane in the Original series episode "The Squire of Gothos" was also a Q.

Q
, played by John de Lancie, is a character in Star Trek who appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, as well as in related products. Peculiarities of the character are his nearly God-like powers, and his continual evasiveness regarding his motivations. His home universe is only accessible on the rare occasions permitted.

Beginning with the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Q became a recurring character, with pronounced comedic and dramatic chemistry between himself and Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Gene Roddenberry chose the letter "Q" in honor of his friend, Janet Quarton. Unusually, the name "Q" also applies to all other individuals of the Q Continuum as well.

Q is a mischievous, threatening, omnipotent being who has taken an interest in humans. Q's power is limited only in that he cannot overcome others in his home universe, the Q Continuum. He can stop death, create life, travel through time, stop time, and create entire worlds effortlessly. He can change a person's mind or make them take any action.

Q's mercurial personality switches between camp joking and deadly threats. While boastful, condescending, and threatening, he arguably has humans' best interests at heart, as seen in the series finale, "All Good Things...", in which he causes Jean-Luc Picard to shift through chronological periods, giving him a chance to save humanity. In his portrayal of Q, John de Lancie used Lady Caroline Lamb's description of Lord Byron as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" as his inspiration.

In his debut, "Encounter at Farpoint", Picard and the Enterprise crew are put on trial for venturing beyond human ability and threatening humans with annihilation. His next appearance was later in the first season in the episode "Hide and Q", where he wanted to have a human enter the Continuum, settling on Picard's first officer, Commander Riker. In later episodes, he becomes more of a trickster. Q evolved into a sympathetic and at times even pitiful character. In "Déjà Q", Q is punished by the Q Continuum by being made mortal; his committing of an uncharacteristically selfless act garners the return of his powers. In the same episode, Q says that Picard is "the closest thing in this universe that I have to a friend." Toward the end of The Next Generation, Q is less antagonistic toward Picard, even, in "Tapestry", apparently saving Picard and helping the captain better understand himself. In the series finale, "All Good Things...", Q gives Picard a "helping hand" in saving humanity.

Picard thinks of Q as an annoyance, and Q often is surprised by Picard and the other humans he encounters. In "Q Who?", when Picard argues that humans are capable of dealing with anything, Q whisks the U.S.S. Enterprise to the system J-25 for what is presumably the first human encounter with the Borg. Picard resorts to asking for Q to save the ship. Surprised, Q brings the Enterprise home and tells Picard that most men would rather have died than ask for help. It is debated whether Q's interference brought the Federation to the Borg's attention, or whether Q provided assistance by exposing Picard to the Borg, which gave the Federation some early warning; however Guinan (whose people, the El-Aurians, were attacked by the Borg) stated that he did not warn the Federation about the Borg, because without Q's interference the Borg would not have encountered the Federation until they had become peaceful (Q also seems very much an enemy of Guinan, for reasons unexplained). Events later shown in the prequel Star Trek: Enterprise suggest the Borg were already on the way when Q introduced them and Picard to each other. Borg brought back through time in "Star Trek: First Contact" and stranded at Earth's North Pole assimilated a vessel and were able to transmit a message to Borg in the Delta Quadrant at the time, though it would take several hundred years for this message to reach its destination. However, it could also be argued that had Q not introduced the Borg to the Federation, the Borg would not have launched the attack on Earth that ended in the past whence they sent the signal.

In Q's appearances on Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, he is less concerned with humans and becomes more of a comic relief character. In the DS9 episode "Q-Less", Q at one point goads Commander Benjamin Sisko into a bare-knuckle boxing match, all the while belittling and insulting him. When Sisko loses his temper and knocks Q down, an astonished Q says, "You hit me! Picard never hit me!" Sisko counters frankly that "I'm not Picard." Q responds with a smile, saying "Indeed not...you're much easier to provoke."

Q enjoys goading humans, Klingons, and others to display their savage side. This seems to be just a game for Q, however, and when characters show genuine compassion or restraint, he will usually admit to being impressed.

Later, during the series run of Voyager, Q starts a war among members of the Continuum in a campaign for individual freedom. As the war goes badly for his side, Q comes to the conclusion that the production, or birth, of a new member of the continuum could revitalize the Q. Q first seeks Captain Janeway to be the mother of his child but she refuses and eventually Q reproduces with a female Q he had been involved with.

Their progeny is born conscious and with all the power of any other Q, although lacking adult maturity. Q's son (played by Keegan de Lancie, who is John de Lancie's actual son) causes trouble for the Continuum and Q turns to Captain Janeway for help. Eventually they agree that the boy will remain on Voyager, without his powers, and either learn how to be a responsible, productive inhabitant of the cosmos, or spend eternity as an amoeba.

Eventually the young Q comes around, but the Continuum is not entirely convinced, so in negotiation with Q, they come to an agreement. Q must eternally guard, observe, and accompany the boy to ensure his proper behavior.

Saturday 9 January 2010

Star Trek (Film) 2009 and the Vulcan paradox

It's so obvious that the Star Trek franchise is giving up, having seen the latest film (Star Trek) on DVD over the new year.

Or is it? They may intend to start new sets of episodes with the new cast without Spocks mother, 'Amanda' or without other Vulcan's in the remaining Star Trek series and movies (such as TUVOK, SAAVIK, VORIK, SELAR, STONN, T'PRING, SURAK, SYBOK, SYRRAN, T'LAR, T'PAN, T'PAU and VALERIS)?

Surely they (or their ancestors) were not ALL off the vulcan homeworld at the time of the attack as depicted in the film?

Personally I cant envisage my favourite series, Voyager, without TUVOK.

I would, however, definitely miss the Saavik and Valeris characters. (Kirsty Alley version and Kim Cattrall).

The only film that made me snore, however, was Star Trek V, The Final Frontier, so without Spock's brother, Sybok the film's central character, that particular film's abolition wouldn't be too bad!

Returning to the 2009 film. What the hell was Shaun of the Dead doing with a bottle of color creme number 1 (in his hair) and then why was he left on some remote planet festering in one scene and then reborn as Montgomery Scott, a Stephen Hawking/Albert Einstein hybrid in another scene? Scraping the barrell of plausibility there methinks.