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Post by janetcatbird on Jul 27, 2005 10:13:03 GMT -5
I think I read somewhere that "The Commitments" and "The Snapper" are both adaptations of a series of novels dealing with an Irish working-class family. Technically Colm Meany is playing the same character in both flicks, but because "The Commitments" studio--20th Century Fox?-- had exclusive rights on the characters, both sequals had to change the names.
But "The Snapper" does sound interesting, I'll have to keep an eye out! Thanks Techguy.
--Catbird
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Post by romulanavatra3 on Aug 16, 2005 9:29:22 GMT -5
hey janetcatbird in my oppinionout of the star trek movies star trek 1 was just dull and lacked well anything(it was just really boring, intresting idea,but boring) plus spock seemed like he was always in a shitty, in particualr the way he reacted to poor old chekov when came onboard the enterprise. and kirk being the psycho admiral, mccoy was close to his origanial self but lack any humor, why the sudden chage in chracter perosnality. star trek was so so, i thought it was not bad but i really did think it was exceptional at all. star trek three was the same( good but preatty dull). star trek four was a farce( a classic, very funny but still a farce). star trek five - hunting god what were they thinking( it was boring dull and really corny and well plain stupid, the old good bit was when kirk was rock climbing and falls and spocks uses his boots to rescue him). star trek six great just not enough( it was really cool, the begging was great but it sort of got sidetrack a bit with that boring part with kirk and mcoy on the klingon mine, star trek generations was not bad, not great but why kill kirk on some bloody planet in the middle of nowhere that nobody has ever heard of and proabbly want ever again, the thing that bugged me the most was why the hell did a bloodly bird of prey destroy the enterpirse( i mean lets see how many birds of prey and bigger has the enterpirse d taken on, come on, plus the painful duras sister were so annoying). first contact was good the end was a hoot( i feel sorry for the poor vulcan), the borg were creepy as ever( ilked the new make up better than the old on of the next generation). insurectation intresting but not to slow and long for my taste. nemesis was mixed great idea good story, to fast to many scenes cut, not enough romulans, plus what was with the crazy uniform change(why turn the romulans into some of 70s style space hippys, they where silly oh and those new romulan ships sucked big time preffered the old ones from the next gen they where really good). i hope the next movie will be deep space nine related because it really would be good to see a movie for it. reagrds rom.
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Post by janetcatbird on Oct 15, 2005 13:31:12 GMT -5
Something I found online this morning: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9701071/Rocket plans laid out for ‘Star Trek’ Scotty Firm follows through on James Doohan’s wish to be launched into space Reuters Updated: 10:49 p.m. ET Oct. 14, 2005 LOS ANGELES - Evidently “Star Trek” actor James “Scotty” Doohan took the catchphrase “beam me up” very seriously — his cremated remains are being launched into space this year in accord with his last wishes. Space Services Inc., a commercial launch operator, will send the late actor’s remains into space aboard its Explorers Flight on Dec. 6, a company spokeswoman said Friday. She said the remains of more than 120 others will be aboard the flight, including those of an unidentified astronaut and Mareta West, the astrogeologist who determined the site for the first spacecraft landing on the moon. Space Services spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld declined to identify the astronaut whose cremated remains will be launched into space. She said the name would be announced the day of the launch. Doohan, who portrayed feisty chief engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott on the “Star Trek” television series, died in July at age 85. On the program, when Capt. James Kirk ventured off the spaceship Enterprise and faced peril, he would ask Scotty to “beam” his body up to the safety of the ship. The actual phrase “Beam me up, Scotty,” was not used on the show, but it entered pop culture. To mark the flight into his final frontier, Doohan’s family will hold a service for fans on a 60-acre site near Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on the day of the launch to pay tribute to him. Some fans are expected to attend in the formal white suit of a Star Fleet commander. “I can’t think of a more fitting send-off than having some of his fans attend this, his final journey,” his widow, Wende Doohan, said in an open invitation to the service. “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry also had his remains shot into space after his death in 1991. They returned to Earth in 2002, Schonfeld said. Doohan’s cremated remains will be packed into a special tube that is ejected from the rocket. The tube is expected to orbit Earth for about 50 to 200 years before plunging into the planet’s atmosphere and burning up. Fans can post tributes to Doohan via the Space Services Web site. Those messages will be digitized, packed with “Scotty” and blasted into space. Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. © 2005 MSNBC.com How cool is that? --Catbird
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Post by janetcatbird on Mar 22, 2006 19:12:26 GMT -5
BUMP!!
Some time ago I saw Marina Sirtis on an episode of "The Closer". She played an Iranian woman whose husband was gunned down--by the end of the episode we find out that she was in love/having an affair with a doctor and they conspired to arrange the killings. The husband wanted to take her back to Iran and she was nto going to give up the little bit of a life she had here in the States. Very different from Troi. She has aged, but I'm not sure how much was her and how much was dowdy-repressed-veiled character.
But the main reason I'm writing. Geek giggle of the day: I'm in a class about the Silk Road, and currently we're discussing China's nautical trade. During the early 1400s, Emperor Zhudi sent one of his most trusted advisors/generals out as leader of a massive naval group to initiate contact with parts of southeast Asia, India, various Arab holdings, etc. Some people have the hypothesis that Zheng He, this general, managed to cross the Pacific and hit the Americas seventy years before Columbus.
Why am I telling you this? The naval entourage--I think about 300 ships or so--was named the Star Fleet.
(I swear, I sat down copying notes and didn't even register! It wasn't til I heard the narrator of the documentary actually say "the Star Fleet" that my head jerked up and I had to stop myself from letting out an audible exclamation. I did have a goofy smile, but I don't think anyone saw. Didn't hear any comments about the name either.)
So, I propose the next flagship for a spinoff series be named the USS Zheng He. But that's just me.
--Catbird
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Post by NikkiGreen on Mar 22, 2006 19:57:14 GMT -5
Catbird, I seemed to recall a Galaxy-class vessel named USS Zheng He, when I first read your post. Can't remember which Trek world it was in, though. Probably TNG and the fight against the Borg? See bottom right patch: www.starfleet-museum.org/kestrel.htm
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Post by Techguy on Mar 23, 2006 0:25:20 GMT -5
Fascinating. And this from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wolf_359
Regarding the Battle of Wolf 359 from the two-part ST:TNG episode "The Best of Both Worlds,"--in 2366, a contingent of 40 Starfleet and Klingon starships assembled near the star Wolf 359 under the command of Admiral J. P. Hanson of Starbase 324 to intercept a Borg cube ship travelling to Earth. The known ships that fought the Borg were:
USS Ahwahanee (NCC-73620) Cheyenne class USS Bellerophon (NCC-62048) Nebula class USS Bonestell (NCC-31600) Oberth class USS Buran (NCC-57580) Challenger class USS Chekov (NCC-53702) Springfield class USS Firebrand (NCC-68723) Freedom class USS Gage (NCC-11672) Apollo class USS Kyushu (NCC-65491) New Orleans class USS Liberator (NCC-67016) (unknown) USS Melbourne (NCC-62043) Excelsior class/Nebula class USS Princeton (NCC-59804) Niagara class USS Righteous (registry unknown) USS Roosevelt (NCC-2573) Excelsior class USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) Miranda class USS Tolstoy (NCC-62095) Rigel class starship USS Yamaguchi (NCC-26510) Ambassador class
Plus 24 other unnamed vessels. (Though not considered canonical, Peter David's novel "Vendetta" mentions that a Galaxy class ship was among the destoyed vessels)
During the battle, nearly 11,000 lives and 39 ships were lost. The USS Endeavour may have been the sole surviving ship of the battle, since her captain described a Borg encounter, but there is no canon evidence of this.
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Post by Metella on Mar 23, 2006 9:12:46 GMT -5
very enjoyable read - thanks guys
I love tie ins to real history
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Post by romulanavatra3 on Mar 23, 2006 10:57:10 GMT -5
hey techguy ive read vendetta, it was a good book, i cant rember if it metioned the name of the galaxy(even though it is non canonical or ). i all ways thought that the forty ships were all starfleet but that still leaves the klingons who sent some ships. there is also the semi canoical possiblity that the romulans may have sent some ships as well but we can not be sure. i have always found it intresting how ships have names major events, places and people in history or real life. one of the strangest would have to be the fact that they decided to name a class of cardassian warship with a japanese name hideki. one odd name i remeber was in the epsidoe about the romulan scout crashed at Galorndon core the name of the ship was "Pi" as in the greek letter. regrds all rom
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Post by janetcatbird on Apr 9, 2006 0:06:30 GMT -5
I just stumbled upon this article from a month ago: a rabbi is blessing the memory of Scotty, as well as Gilligan and Barney Fife. It is spiritual--talk of heaven and prayers, but the appeal and meaning of the characters, to quote Mr. Spock, fascinating. It also gives me the warm fuzzies, thought I'd share.
--Catbird"Symbols of Our Times" Scotty, Gilligan and Fife were TV characters who showed us the importance of doing our best. Farewell to the actors who portrayed them. WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY By Marc Gellman Newsweek Updated: 3:57 p.m. ET March 1, 2006 Feb. 27, 2006 - A friend I call The Flounder reminded me of the sorrowful fact that in the last nine months three television icons dear to me have, as we say in my line of work, passed to life eternal. They are James Doohan, who played Scotty on "Star Trek," Bob Denver who played Gilligan on "Gilligan's Island," and Don Knotts who played Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show." May God receive their souls into the world where everyone is a star and where every life is syndicated. Beyond the personal grief their passing has brought to their families and friends, I ask you to consider the characters they played as metaphors of our lives in these broken times. Scotty represents all of us who are constantly asked to do the impossible and to meet unreasonable deadlines by bosses who just don't understand that you can't run engines at warp speed after Klingons have blasted the engine room. I think mainly of the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan now and of how every day they are asked by well-meaning bosses to go out there and do a job that everyone knows is impossibly hard but most people know must still be done if Iraq is to be stabilized, so that the Middle East can be stabilized, so that the war on terror can be won. If that example is too politically incendiary for you, then perhaps you might think of the linemen who repair power lines in the winter during a storm, or think of single mothers raising kids with not enough money or help, or think of clergy folk trying to get people out of the malls and off the golf courses on the weekends and into church or synagogue on the Sabbath. So many people I know feel like Scotty and so few like Captain Kirk. So many of us say, “I canno give ya more power, captain. The engines are already overloaded!” And then ... we do. Gilligan represents all of us who are congenitally happy despite our circumstances. The Howells (and occasionally Ginger) were the first to complain, but Gilligan was always happy. Even though they were marooned on an island which nevertheless seemed to provide them with new clothes and new sets every week, Gilligan's choice was always to see things in a positive and hopeful light. He was helpful without being obsequious, brave without being foolhardy and courteous without being slavish. He was also self-deprecating. His humor was always directed inward, and his optimism was the reason you knew that some day, when the network gods willed that it be so, they would be saved. Yes, he was a buffoon (actually more a schlemiel than a buffoon), but aren't we all? There are just so many times when we can cavil against the fates, and list the reasons for our victimhood, but in the end, being a fool for hope is far preferable than being a cynic for reality. Gilligan had no desire for promotion and this makes sense to me now. A truly happy person is already at the highest rung. Don Knotts as Deputy Fife personified the klutz who is convinced that despite everything he is destined for bigger things. Deputy Fife was all bluster with just one bullet, and that is just like many of us. The bullet is self-confidence. Do you remember when geeks were ridiculed? Now they run the world and the reason is that they are clueless about criticism and focused only on the road ahead. Many of us feel or have felt an absolute identity with Deputy Fife, who was clearly in over his head, but in time he and we have come to learn that those who are not prepared to fail and be laughed at, can never prepare to succeed (I read that in a self-help book). Anyway, when I came to my synagogue I only had one bullet in my gun. If I could not serve God through them, I would leave and maybe sell something for a nickel more than I paid for it. I never had to fire the bullet, because the Psalmist was right when he said that God protects children and fools. Dear God, please protect the souls of James, Robert and Donald, and please protect the Scottys, Gilligans and Fifes down here who are all just trying to do their best with what they have for You. © 2006 MSNBC.com URL: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11594820/site/newsweek/
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Post by rosemary on Apr 9, 2006 11:59:21 GMT -5
I've often felt like a Scotty kinda character. For example: Mom calls in the dead of the night: I've just installed the new driver software for the printer I bought at the discounter on my notebook (an old clam iBook, BTW), and now I cannot open MS Word any more. And your Dad has ordered DSL, but I wonder how this splitter is going to be installed because our phone sockets have been covered with grout when the kitchen furniture was installed…and my e-mail account doesn't work either after running the AOL-CD… Ye canna change the laws of physic, I need 20 more minutes!
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Post by NikkiGreen on Apr 21, 2006 14:03:34 GMT -5
According to a report on tvguide.com, J J Abrams is going to be working on a new Star Trek feature for fall of 2008. This Star Trek geek says kewl.
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Post by janetcatbird on Apr 25, 2006 10:40:49 GMT -5
This I found just now. Obviously the author is a fan, I can't comment as I've only seen the six TOS movies and "First Contact", so I'm clueless as to later events. But I thought it a fun, light piece that more knowledgeable Trekkers might get a kick out of.
--Catbird10 Ways to Save 'Star Trek' April 25, 2006 Last week's news that "Lost" creator and "Mission: Impossible III" director J.J. Abrams was taking the reins of the next "Star Trek" movie set off a flurry of buzz in the geek world. Paramount knows it needs to revitalize Trek (the studio is desperate for any kind of franchise), and Abrams is the sort of legit talent Trekkies never thought they would see come on board. This intriguing news was tempered though when it was learned that Abrams' pitch involved a prequel featuring younger versions of Captain Kirk and Spock. Because the new flick isn't expected to come out until summer 2008, perhaps these 10 suggestions to save the franchise can help change Abrams' mind. No Prequels Unless you're telling the history of lightsaber-wielding Jedis, prequels don't work (and even the "Star Wars" example is debatable). No one is going to die, nothing tragic is going to happen and no real drama is going to take place because nothing significant is at stake. So, of course, Abrams is doing a prequel. Don't Make the Starfleet Academy Movie Fans Have Hated for Years So, of course, Abrams starts out his flick with young Kirk and Spock ... meeting at the Academy. Memo: Nobody wants "Felicity" in space. Stay Away from Time Travel Time travel has been so overdone in this franchise that it's become just another Trek cliché. Avoid all clichés. Bring Back Spock, Old Spock Leonard Nimoy and Spock are both still alive, people (the Vulcan was last seen helping the underground on Romulus). Couldn't a new movie set in the "current" Trek universe with a new cast include Spock as a nod to the old-school show's fans? Make It Cinematic Just how epic a filmmaker can Abrams be? One of the biggest problems with the last few Trek movies was that they felt like extended TV episodes (see "Insurrection"). To really reignite the franchise, the movies need to have a grand scope like a true epic. Trek hasn't seen anything like that since the Enterprise was stolen way back in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Ditch the Annoying Characters Let's be honest, did anyone care that Data died in "Nemesis"? No, Brent Spiner is a fine actor, but Data was the first of the annoying characters that began to fill the series when former producer Rick Berman was brought on board (also see Quark, Neelix and Dr. Phlox). Yes Trekkies, I know Gene Roddenberry created Data, but the man wasn't infallible either. Nix the Uniforms If you want to get teenage boys interested in the franchise, you have to radically redesign the uniforms, whatever the era. Jumpsuits that look like they were ripped off the guy running the Tomorrowland ride at Disney World aren't going to cut it. Don't Film on the Paramount Lot There's a whole production crew on the Paramount lot that has worked on the Trek features and TV shows forever. Nothing would give the franchise a better jolt than hiring a whole new crew and filming in Canada or London away from the industry glare. Spend Money People will only take this movie seriously if the Enterprise's sets don't look like they're being held together by masking tape (imagine them in person) and the CGI doesn't look like it was done on someone's home computer (again, see "Insurrection"). Hire Real Movie Stars If Abrams thinks he's going to convince someone such as Jake Gyllenhaal to play a young Kirk or Topher Grace to play a young Spock, he's sadly mistaken. None of those guys wants to risk the embarrassment of mimicking those iconic characters. New characters? Maybe. What do you think of the latest "Star Trek" news? Send your thoughts and comments to buzz@microsoft.com. movies.msn.com/movies/hitlist/4-25-06?GT1=7701
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Post by Patcat on Apr 25, 2006 14:23:39 GMT -5
How about not letting J.J. Abrams near it?
Tell I'm not a fan of Mr. Abrams, uh? (g)
Patcat
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Post by Techguy on Apr 25, 2006 14:41:02 GMT -5
I agree with most of what the author of "10 Ways" suggests. But...Data an annoying character Wesley Crusher I can understand, but NOT DATA!
Gregory Ellwood deserves the same fate I have often wished for the really annoying wunderkind Wesley--to be jettisoned from the Enterprise in a torpedo tube.
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Post by NikkiGreen on Apr 25, 2006 14:50:37 GMT -5
Awe come on, Techguy, Wesley wasn't that annoying! ;D And Data was definitely NOT annoying. He's one of my favourite ST characters. Mr. Spock will always top my list. I certainly hope that Abrams doesn't do any sort of time travel thing. As for the existing movies, I lost interest after the first TNG crew version. Seeing Leonard Nimoy once again be Spock, even for a brief glimpse, would peak my interest in checking out the movie. Shatner, I can take or leave.
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