Star Trek TV Series Teaser: That NEW Final Frontier, A Minus For Those Who Can’t Stream

Posted on July 11, 2016 by geelw

Um, Warp Factor ZERO on CBS for what seems to be a great idea on one hand, but a LOUSY one for people who don’t like to or can’t stream content to their homes. Apparently, the premiere episode will indeed be shown on your local CBS affiliate here in the U.S. of A., but after that, the show will ONLY going to appear as a part of CBS All Access, a paid channel similar to HBO GO. Ugh. As you can imagine, some are quite cranky about this. Me, I kind of hope the realization that the MORE people who can watch this show from the get-go means it finds an audience WITHOUT piracy to get more people watching than actually paying to see this. Yeah, yeah, I know the excuses for the pro-piracy crowd and how that activity can drive up viewership in some cases.

But in this particular case? I don’t think it’s a good idea to try and get more money from people just because you have a hot new show and a showrunner who’s done great things in the past. For many who want to see this legally and on what they already use, they may all be singing this little ditty (just roll with it. I know full well the old crew isn’t in this new show!):

(Thanks, Chris Carothers!)

That and I’d bet Gene Roddenberry would want his stellar trekking vision free to all interested parties within eyesight of ANY sort of viewing device. Then again, the teaser promising among other things, “New Villains” along with that slow-motion planet cracking stuff may mean (SPECULATION ALERT!) that the new Trek will be more action-oriented for the shorter, easily bored attention spans these days.

I sure hope the hell not, though.

– Source

Put Up Your Dukes, Indeed

Posted on June 24, 2015 by geelw

(thanks, Brian Coltrane!)

There’s trouble in Hazzard County for sure this time. A few days ago I overheard two guys (one older, one younger, both black like moi) arguing over whether or not The Dukes of Hazzard was a “racist show” (in my opinion, it’s not). The conversation took a strangely surreal and slightly amusing turn because the guy defending the show also happened to have a load of Dukes collectibles thanks to relatives who bought all that merchandise back when the show originally aired and him holding onto most of it.

Now, there’s a deep fried dill pickle for you, ladies and gentlemen.

But not really. Although some major to minor retailers have been hastily yanking anything with a Confederate battle flag off their shelves, Dukes of Hazzard memorabilia seems to be one of the few exceptions. That said, one does have to wonder with an arched eyebrow how much of that stuff was not so ironically but somewhat ironically manufactured outside of the good ol’ U.S. of A. (by underpaid workers) and how much of it was bought over time for by folks who’d probably NOT want it because it wasn’t made here…
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Leonard Nimoy: The Transformed Man Passes

Posted on February 27, 2015 by geelw

The universe of stars just got a bit dimmer with the loss of Leonard Nimoy earlier today. Known primarily for his work on the Star Trek series, animated series and film series, the man was also a writer, director and producer with a body of work that showed he was more than just Mr. Spock. The character was actually a great deal more nefarious looking and fervent when the show began (as seen here), but mellowed in looks over time. Spock’s demeanor also shifted to a less intense, but still compelling presence that helped carry many an episode and helped keep him a fan favorite. His role as that character was so pivotal to his career that even when he tried to gently distance himself from it, it very likely was his role as Spock that got some Trek fans interested in his other film and TV work. Of course, he never really hated being Spock, but his sense of humor based on fan reaction made for a nice second autobiography.

Not a way I wanted to go about having a Friday, but I’m glad to have had the pleasure of enjoying his work on Star Trek and a plenty of other projects he’d worked on during his 83 years on the planet. No matter how you feel about the man and his work, it’s an absolute fact that he lived long and prospered. So long, sir – you’ll be missed by many.

The Twilight Zone: The 5th Dimension Box Set: Throwback Thursday Gets The Ultimate Gift!

Posted on October 2, 2014 by geelw

55 years ago to-day, The Twilight Zone premiered on CBS and while it only ran for five years (1959-1964), it’s still one of the most memorable anthology series to this day. There was a revival in the 80’s that ran from 1985-1989, and while it wasn’t as great as the original series, there were a number of excellent episodes in that reboot that come to mind as worth tracking down. According to USA Today, the fine folks at Image Entertainment have decided to collect every episode from both series along with a wealth of special features and is going to release a very limited edition 41 DVD set called The Twilight Zone: The 5th Dimension on November 11, 2014.

Only 7500 of these must-have sets will be made and while that $349.98 price tag may seem steep to some of you who think anything old and in black and white isn’t worth that kind of money, old fogeys like me who grew up in the Zone are breaking out our knives and are getting ready to fight it out with other fans and collectors just to get our grubby mitts on this collection. I’d imagine the chances of Image shooting one of these over for review are absolute zero, I’d trade one of Alicia’s robot arms (from The Lonely), a bar of gold (from The Rip Van Winkle Caper), a family-sized can of chicken (from Two) or a Kanamit cookbook (from To Serve Man) for one of those babies. Okay, all I REA::Y have is an old tin can here, but I hear it’s quite magical once kicked around a few times…

Taking Tuesday Off? Not Really…

Posted on July 22, 2014 by geelw

(thanks, aero84!)

I just have some more ID stuff to tackle, but it will be easier than last week’s craziness. Hopefully, this won’t take longer to process than the two weeks promised on the DMV website. After that’s done, I’ve one more to tackle, but that part is interesting because I’m gathering from my poking about a few places that I’m a special case that doesn’t easily fall under some of the crazy rules set by some agencies. Anyway, the laws about expired documents need to be changed because they’re DUMB. If you get run over by a runaway bus steps from the passport office and EMS comes to retrieve your corpse, they’re NOT going to look at that old ID in your wallet or purse and say “Oh, this isn’t him/her – their ID isn’t current!”

Nope, not at all…

(Although, I’ll bet you a dollar that at least ONE of those folks who shows up to collect your corpse will say something disrespectfully amusing such as “Well, now he/she’s expired… just like this ID!”, before whipping out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on like Horatio Caine. YEAAAAAAAAAH!)

I Dream of Tee-Vee #1: Mothers, Russia Was The Bomb!

Posted on November 12, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, 2nicks!)

Yes, I have dreams about old TV shows every now and then and sometimes it’s a mash up of a bunch of old shows or dreams with music from some old shows. This particular dream I don’t recall much of other than it had the theme to the old NBC show “The Mothers-In-Law”, but it had some of the cast from “Ivan the Terrible”, a CBS show from 1976 that only ran five episodes and from my brief internet search, has NO footage or credits to be found. I actually watched every episode of that show as a kid and I was surprised when it was no longer on the air, but I guess a show about a bunch of Russians in a cramped Moscow apartment wasn’t exactly something America wanted to see back in that Bicentennial year. Whatever, I say – the opening credits were pretty funny from what I recall.

EDIT: Aha! I just checked and yes indeed, while the show was indeed very funny, your tax dollars at work back then (The State Department) colluding with the Russian government made sure it was taken away in a black car or something close. From IMDB:

Although the show got good ratings, the U.S. State Department, under pressure from the Soviet Government, gave instructions that it should not be renewed.

OK, maybe WE thought it was funny as hell (and I bet they were chuckling at the State Department until that red phone rang), but Russia sure hated the idea of us laughing too much (or at all) at their expense. As for The Mothers-In-Law? Hey, dig that funky title sequence and in those end credits, that bongo break will have you pounding the table like you mean it, I bet…

Humor: Oh, I Have Bad Dreams Every Now and Then…

Posted on September 22, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, awesomelybadcrap!)

Well, “bad” being relative. OK, it had Twiki from that awful as hell Buck Rogers in the 25th Century show from the 80’s (and by “awful”, I mean I watched it every freakin’ week hoping to hell it would get better). I stuck around for the effects and hated the acting, cheap costumes and most of all that cross between R2-D2 and Tattoo from Fantasy Island, Twiki. Despite (or because) of the late Mel Blanc voicing the robot as if he was a Borscht Belt Looney Tunes character, that tacky as hell gold paint job and the fact that for some reason, he got a love interest (what, there was an affirmative action program for little people on TV shows back then?). Anyway, I guess it wasn’t that bad a dream as I didn’t drop dead in my sleep…

That only happens if I dream of Jason of Star Command:

(thanks, AgentX35!)

Yaaaaaaah!!!

Random Art: And You Thought I Was Taking the Weekend Off…

Posted on August 31, 2013 by geelw

Well, I almost did, thanks to sorting laundry and the mountain of ancient crap from the art vaults I decided to pore through over the past few weeks before putting the bulk of back into storage most of today. Anyway, That goofy thing above is a semi-recent digital piece based on part of a dream. The other thing below is from 1987. Is it a man, a horse, A Man Called Horse or all of the above? Who knows? A horse is a horse (of course, of course) after all…

Hmmm… I guess some things never change, but I guess I’ll keep dinking away at this art stuff until I get something right. Back in a bit, as I need to move a few more pieces so I don’t have to sleep standing up tonight like Mister Ed. Whaddaya mean “Who’s Mister Ed?” Oh, OK, not all of you reading this are aged cheese like I am. Darn kids. OK, Here you go.

Welcome to Brain Battle MCMXI (The Struggle Continues!) Featuring Kirk & Spock…

Posted on August 19, 2013 by geelw

I have the most raging headache right now, but type away I must. Nothing particular brought it on, just General Stress, Major Pain and trying to wean myself off coffee (yeah, I know, I know…) on a Monday. Woo. Not a good idea, but I’ll try anything once (allegedly). Hmmm. Maybe the trip to the market to buy stuff to make soup with will ease my pain. If not… “Now, the Lerpa!” Ouch. Someone change the channel, please? I like Star Trek a lot… but not IN my head and definitely not “Amok Time” in my head. I’ve had that fight music blasting between my ears most of the day already!

And now you do as well. Either that or you’ll hear chimes all night from those shaky bells in that first video… ouch. Off to locate an aspirin.

Vitameatavegamin Could Have Been the Red Bull of the 1950’s…

Posted on August 5, 2013 by geelw

(thanks, Ruthyramon!)

Well, it it actually existed, that is… I think it’s Lucille Ball’s birthday or it just passed or something. My crystal ball is cracked and I’m too lazy to check the internet. Wait… I’m ON the internet. Hold on, blast you… Aha! It’s August 6, 1911, so I’m a day early. Good! Happy Birthday, Lucy!