Trek Remastered -- another rerun

"The Naked Time" is being rerun this weekend. The next "new" episode is the effects-heavy "The Tholian Web" one week from now.

Mars Caves Revealed in Images

This might be where the spiders from Mars are hiding.

What kind of RPG gamer am I?

According to the categories discussed in Robin's Laws:

You scored as Storyteller. The Storyteller is in it for the plot: the sense of mystery and the fun of participating in a narrative that has the satisfying arc of a good book or movie. He enjoys interacting with well-defined NPCs, even preferring antagonists who have genuine motivations and personality to mere monsters. To the Storyteller, the greatest reward of the game is participating in a compelling story with interesting and unpredictable plot threads, in which his actions and those of his fellow characters determine the resolution. With apologies to Robin Laws. Storyteller 75% Casual Gamer 65% Character Player 45% Weekend Warrior 45% Tactician 40% Specialist 25% Power Gamer 10%

Trek Remastered -- Repeat of "I, Mudd"

This weekend is a repeat of "I, Mudd". It's a fun episode, and the remastered version has an absolutely gorgeous shot of the Enterprise in orbit around the robot planet, where glowing rings cast a reflection against the hull. A screen cap of that has been my desktop wallpaper since December.

300: Today is the day

The long wait is over. 300 opens today. Most of the people I know are seeing it today...even taking off work to do so.

Mrs. Kaiju and I are seeing it Saturday night. Don't spoil it for me!

Trek Remastered -- "Wolf in the Fold"

This weekend's episode is "Wolf in the Fold". This is one where Scotty is accused of...murder! Scary! It's another fun show; not many special effects to redo. We'll see what they change or enhance.

The Oscars

Mark Evanier on a good way to watch the Oscars, plus some ways to spruce up the show.

Mrs. Kaiju and I make it a point to watch all the awards shows in general, but the big one, the Super Bowl of awards shows, is the Oscars. I have a soft spot in my heart for it. Even though it hardly seems that there is much connection to Old Hollywood anymore, it feels for me like the only real way to be a part of the magic of Hollywood for us normal people -- that is, short of hanging out on Hollywood and Vine. You have a much better chance of seeing movie stars at the Oscars, at least.

The Perils of the Warp...I mean, Web.

This is a cautionary tale about the ephemeral nature of the internets. In the grand scheme of things it's not really important, but this story does speak to several issues that we will all need to come to terms with now and in the future.

So, there was this good gaming blog titled "Deep in the Game", in which the author expounded on current gaming theory and various ways to incorporate some new thinking into your own games. This particular blog was nice because, along with the theory, it gave practical advice anybody could use. And going by the chatter on several message boards, plenty of people did.

I had the site linked in the list over there on the right side of the page. I checked in on what was new every so often, but the best articles concerned flag framing and what the author named a "conflict web".

I just happened to click on my link to the site last night and got a generic host page instead. From there it was on to the forums at Rpg.net to see if there was any news about a site migration or whatever else might have happened. With a quick search I found this thread from the day before. I won't go into details; check the posts if you want to know more. Basically, he had written all that he wanted, and felt that many new games already incorporate the things he was talking about, so he took down the blog.

The moral of the story is this: If you see something you're interested in, or find useful while surfing, save a local copy. You could go back to see it the next day and it could be gone. While the interweb is perhaps the greatest collaborative communication device ever invented, its strengths are also weaknesses. It's all bits and bytes existing in nebulous space out there, not fixed in print. Something that exists today could be deleted (or re-written) tomorrow.

Of course like any creative author, this person can do with the data whatever he pleases. I think that's part of the original point of copyright. However, it's not like it was published and out-of-print copies still exist (well, there are partial archives in search caches, but that's another story) in the real world. It's just gone. That's something to consider as more and more content goes electronic and stays in that form.

Star Trek XI -- It's on.

Big announcements in the last couple of days. It's official:

• Star Trek XI has been greenlit, with...
• J.J. Abrams confirmed to direct for...
• a Christmas Day 2008 release

Trek Remastered -- Various recent episodes

Yes, I've been very neglectful of this blog and you, dear readers. It's been a wild week or so in Kaijuville. To make up for it, I'll do my best to update at least once a day for the rest of the week. Hopefully there will be something in there that you're interested in.

First of all, let me tell you about "The Doomsday Machine", which aired a little more than two weeks ago in the rotation of remastered Original Trek episodes. How was it?

Outstanding. Absolutely incredible. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and of course I've seen the original a dozen times over the years. Watching the Remastered edition was like seeing it again...for the first time. It surprised me how the new effects really altered the mood and made the story pop in a new and fresh way. Of all the Remastered episodes so far, this is by far my favorite. If you only see one, this is it. You can read a review and see screenshots and video at trekmovie.com.

"Amok Time" was excellent as well. It isn't as effects-heavy as "Doomsday...", but there's a great new establishing shot of the arena that's well done.

"I...am...Kirok!!" "The Paradise Syndrome" was this past weekend's episode, the one with the American Indians. I think this one is better than it's given credit for, and it's a shame that the syndication edits don't help at all. Dropped dialogue and missing minutes of scenes lessen the emotional impact of the show. Check it on the eventual DVD.

A rerun of "Space Seed" airs this weekend, with some nice shots of the Enterprise and the Botany Bay.

Trek Remastered -- "Amok Time"

I've got some comments on last week's episode, "The Doomsday Machine", but I'll post those later. First, this weekend is "Amok Time", the Vulcan mating ritual episode. One reason this is notable is the fight between Kirk and Spock, highlighted with a great score by Gerald Fried (you know exactly what music I'm talking about). It's also important in Star Trek "mythology". There are great character interactions, particularly for the triad of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, and many references to the larger Trek universe. Chronologically "Amok Time" takes place some months before "Journey to Babel", and "Doomsday..." was filmed immediately after.

There aren't a lot of space scenes in this one, so the CBS-Digital team spent their time creating some terrific establishing shots of Spock's ancestral lands (see the trailer here). Now we know why we can't see anything on the horizon from the arena...

So grab your lirpa and ahn-woon, and tune in this weekend!

Trek Remastered -- "The Doomsday Machine"

Perhaps the most anticipated episode of the Remastered Original Trek is scheduled to air this weekend. "The Doomsday Machine" is a bona fide classic, with the character of Commodore Decker and his obsession with the alien Planet Killer, reminiscent of Moby Dick's Captain Ahab. Aside from the story, two big draws are the scenes of the Constellation and the battles with the Planet Killer.

Trekmovie.com has several images directly from CBS-Digital, and the preview trailer (again, the Quicktime version appears to be better quality, at least for my computer setup). I said the trailer for "Journey to Babel" was the best so far -- until this one. Wow.

The stills are incredible, and the scenes from the trailer are fantastic... If you haven't seen any of the remastered episodes yet, this is the one to start with. A bold claim since I haven't seen it yet, but all the promotional materials look so good.

And next week... Amok Time.

Trek Remastered -- "Journey to Babel" this weekend

One of the greatest Classic Trek episodes is on the schedule for this weekend. Besides being a great story in its own right, it's an important "mythology" episode because it expands on Spock's back story with the introduction of Sarek and Amanda, his parents.

Yes, there are people in the observation windows.

Several screenshots have been made public, and it looks like another great effort by CBS-Digital. For budgetary reasons, we never saw a shot of the Enterprise and a shuttlecraft together in the Original Series. Look for a gorgeous shuttle landing sequence with the planet Vulcan in the background.

Take a look at the stills or the trailer (could be the best yet) over at Trekmovie.com.

Update: Really great episode, well worth it. Sadly, the shuttle approach where we see both ships from outside the shuttlebay was cut for time, but it should be on the DVD. See the Review and screenshots and video.

The Tipping Point

We could be reaching a tipping point where the danger to the environment is so apparent that the public demands action.

First the depressing news:

Scientist: Pollution destroying pre-Aztec Mexican ruins (CNN)

'Doomsday Clock' moved forward (CNN)

'Smoking gun' report to say global warming here (CNN)

...but some reasons for hope:

Crunch year for planet Earth (CNN)

CEOs call for action against climate change (CNN)

Evangelicals, scientists join forces to combat global warming (CNN)

Polar bears may get protection (CNN)

Businesses try to outpace U.S. regulators on emissions (IHT)

Wal-Mart: A giant gone green (IHT)

Bush Goes Green? (Time)

How to Seize the Initiative (Time)

Trek Remastered -- "Where No Man Has Gone Before"

It turns out that I missed the last 5 minutes on Saturday, but I caught the most important parts of the episode; that is, the new energy barrier visual effects! Very nicely done, great work by CBS Digital.

Some interesting differences in characters are apparent in this episode. Spock seems much more "human". His mannerisms and make-up were changed in the regular production episodes of the series. Kirk is very much the same as he would be later.

You can see screenshots and video and a review at trekmovie.com.

WizKids goes exclusive with Diamond Comics/Alliance Game Distributors

Another bit of recent gaming news that is making waves...many shops/sites are phasing out their stock of WizKids product because of this. Here's an example and the discussion related to it. Gaming companies, distributors, shops -- and Wizkids in particular -- seem to be pretty good at shooting themselves in the foot.

More opinions here, here, here, and here.

Predictions on the Gaming Industry in 2007

See? This blog isn't all Trek, all the time. Just most of the time.

Ryan Dancey makes his predictions for the gaming industry in the new year. Take it with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary, and all that.

Trek Remastered -- "Wink of an Eye"

Last weekend's episode was "Wink of an Eye", the first of the third season to get the remastering treatment. It's not one of the best, but there are a couple of impressive FX updates by CBS Digital on display. The city skyline matte painting (first used in the first season episode "A Taste of Armageddon") appears at least four times, and each time CBS-D's artists do an incredible job of rotoscoping the new image behind the actors. Then there is the phaser effect on the force field. Very well done! I also like the "Enterprise leaving orbit" shot in this one.

"Where No Man has Gone Before" is on this weekend. This is the second pilot episode of the Original Series and the first with Captain Kirk. The preview pictures and video are outstanding! I'm really anticipating more excellent CGI work during this episode.

Trek Remastered -- "Friday's Child" in review

For an episode where most of the story occurs on a planet, "Friday's Child" has quite a few space scenes as well. I had forgotten most of what happens in this one. I don't know if it was because of the new effects, but it is a really good episode. Some great interaction with Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty, plus a couple of gorgeous shots of the Enterprise in and leaving orbit around Capella IV. Check the comparison screenshots and FX reel, and a review.

Trek Remastered -- "Friday's Child"

Re-runs (OK, they're all re-runs, technically) for the holidays are over. Starting this weekend we will be getting new episodes of The Original Series Remastered, beginning with "Friday's Child". You can see the preview over at Trekmovie.com. The shots of the Enterprise in orbit are terrific...just getting better each time.