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.

Housekeeping...

I've changed around some of the links in the menus on the right side of the page and added a couple of categories.  I might be moving a few other items around, or changing the template of the entire blog to something else.  I'd like a template that is a little more tidy and shows more of the links without a lot of scrolling.  Any comments, stick them here.

Solomon Kane RPG art preview

The folks at Great White Games just posted a three-page PDF preview of art from the forthcoming Savage World of Solomon Kane RPG due next year. It's difficult to judge these without context; most are so-so but a couple are really great. The first bit of art that was seen at Gen Con '06 -- Kane blasting at ghouls on page one of this preview -- is still the best so far.

Heavy Metal Fantasy D & D

At the last goober pizza night, I spent some time talking to Derek about present and possible future campaigns, and somehow we got on this topic. He mentioned how he'd want to run a campaign like this, and we discovered that we had both read the same thread on Rpg.net.

What am I talking about? Read a bit of that thread linked to above for more, but basically it would be a outlandish, gonzo, heavy metal rock fantasy game -- much more over-the-top than the wildest Conan comic or pastiche, more like Wagner's Kane stories or Lin Carter's Thongor. Imagine having adventures in the worlds depicted on rock album covers by artists like Roger Dean or even Frazetta -- shaking the pillars of Heaven and knocking down the very gates of Hell itself. The kind of campaign you wanted to play in when you were 12. Now you understand...

Update: Rodney Matthews' art, too!

And on a related note, for Derek (and the rest of you dear readers), I present The Ronnie James Dio Lyric Generator (scroll past the server errors).

Trek Remastered -- "The Corbomite Maneuver"

Saturday night's episode was "The Corbomite Maneuver". This was the first regular episode filmed for the series after the pilots ("The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before"), and a frequently-cited fan favorite. As usual, the review can explain it all much better than I can -- dialogue, lighting and camera angle choices, and much more. It's been years, literally, since I've seen this one, so I had forgotten some of the dialogue and situations, especially between Kirk and McCoy. Even with some slight differences you can already see the interplay between the characters is strong.

I haven't even mentioned the updated effects! CBS Digital just keeps getting better and better. It's also nice that, with the original interiors being so well done for the time, the new effects blend easily into the overall look of the show. "Corbomite" is an outstanding entry in the series.

Pour yourself some tranya and take a look at the screenshots and FX video.

Trek Remastered -- "The Menagerie, Parts 1 and 2"

The new episodes from last weekend and this past weekend were "The Menagerie, Parts 1 and 2". These are a couple of great eps that use footage from "The Cage", the original unaired Trek pilot. Just taken on their own, these are wonderful self-contained sci-fi stories, but they really add depth and history to the Trek universe. I have to agree with one comment on Trekmovie.com which said that The Cage and Forbidden Planet are a perfect double-feature. I can see many similarities in the style and the look of them.

Part 1 had more updated effects shots than Part 2, including the fantastic backgrounds for Starbase 11, the shuttlecraft, and the fly-through transition from outside onto the bridge of Pike's Enterprise.

• Screenshots from Part 1 and 2
• Reviews of Part 1 and 2

Next week, "The Corbomite Maneuver"! The rest of December will be reruns of previous eps, but all of them are good.

Dungeon Tile Mapper

WotC is producing sets of 2-D dungeon tiles for D&D. These are really nice full-color images on thick glossy cardboard. A fan created a drag-and-drop dungeon tile mapper that WotC is now hosting on the official site. More details here at The Miniatures Page.

Trek Remastered -- "Mirror, Mirror" and "Space Seed"

I'm running behind on posts again... two weekends ago saw the premiere of "Mirror, Mirror" and a rerun of "...Tribbles", and last weekend was "Space Seed" and a rerun of "Mirror...". The effects were fantastic, especially the new shots in "Space Seed" of the Botany Bay and the Enterprise. The new model of the Enterprise that CBS Digital is using (first seen in "...Tribbles") looks great, and the low-angle view of the Enterprise gave an impressive illusion of the size of the ship. Very well done!

• "Space Seed" screenshots and FX reel
• "Mirror, Mirror" screenshots and FX reel
• "Space Seed" review
• "Mirror, Mirror" review

This weekend's new ep is "The Menagerie, Part 1". This is the one with Captain Christopher Pike and clips from the original pilot, "The Cage".

Is R'lyeh rising from the Pacific?

Mariners report new island in South Pacific

"WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A new volcanic island has risen from the South Pacific near Tonga, according to reports from two vessels that passed the area."

The rest at CNN.

More Trek YouTube Videos

To go along with my earlier post, I thought I would pass along these links to other interesting videos:

Deep Space 9 - Trials and Tribble-ations VFX reel (compare the new remastered "Tribbles" to the fx done for this time-travel DS9 ep.)

Battle Montage - several minutes of the best starship battles from later episodes of TNG, DS9, and Voyager.

Star Trek Tribute - I think this guy stole the footage from the one linked above.

Trek Remastered -- "The Trouble with Tribbles"

Saturday night's episode was a rerun of last week's "Catspaw", and the new version of "The Trouble with Tribbles" was on early Monday morning. "Tribbles" has a large amount of exterior shots, which all have been redone. I really like the changes and updates. The remastered print looks great, at least on a regular TV.

From those fine folks at Trekmovie.com, here's a review, several comparison screenshots, and a link to a 2 min. 25 sec. YouTube video of all the new FX. The video's creator promises to post a visual FX reel for each new episode going forward, so if he does I wil post links here. It's a wonderful way to preview and review all the changes.

We are at the start of a great run of episodes: "Tribbles" this past weekend, then next week is the outstanding fan-favorite "Mirror, Mirror", followed "Space Seed" ("Khaaaaaannnn!"), "The Menagerie, Parts 1 and 2", "The Corbomite Maneuver"... Good times.

"By this axe, I rule!!"

Yesterday was the official street date of the latest Robert E. Howard trade paperback volume from Del Rey and Wandering Star, Kull: Exile of Atlantis. It collects all of the Kull stories, poems and fragments without any editorial changes or story completions, and illustrated by Justin Sweet. If you're looking for brooding Pre-Cataclysmic sword-and-sorcery action, pick up a copy!

Trek Remastered -- "Catspaw"

"Catspaw", the Halloween Trek episode, was the Remastered ep this past weekend. The local Fox station had it in the Saturday night timeslot which had been a rerun of the previous weekend's show. I tried to stay up and watch the late Sunday night showing but I fell asleep, so I don't know what ep they had at that time.

The major revision in this episode was the new matte of the castle. You can see a screenshot here or read a review here.

Next week is another highly-anticipated episode: "The Trouble With Tribbles". There's a great preview on the official Star Trek site showing a before-and-after view of Deep Space Station K-7. They say that the ep will not re-use any of the CGI FX shots created for the DS9 ep "Trials and Tribble-ations."