Sunday, March 31, 2013

Newstand Magazine's 100 Greatest Moments

In a magazine special recently released to newstands with the title Star Trek Collector's Edition, you have an opportunity to review what a modern fan may consider the franchise's 100 Greatest Moments.  It puts a lot of things into perspective, particular Enterprise's emerging legacy.  To wit:


  • 100. Sulu fences ("The Naked Time," The Original Series)
  • 99. Trip becomes pregnant ("Unexpected, Enterprise)
  • 98. Spock's pet dies ("Yesteryear," The Animated Series)
  • 97. David Marcus dies (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
  • 96. McCoy relives his father's death (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
  • 95. Data and Tasha Yar have sex ("The Naked Now," The Next Generation)
  • 94. time keeps repeating itself ("Cause and Effect," The Next Generation)
  • 93. pink Klingon blood (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)
  • 92. Sisko takes his son solar sailing ("Explorers," Deep Space Nine)
  • 91. Data dies (Star Trek Nemesis)
  • 90. Worf gets a zit (Star Trek: Insurrection)
  • 89. Kirk fights the Mugato ("A Private Little War," The Original Series)
  • 88. Sarek and Amanda's marriage ("Journey to Babel," The Original Series)
  • 87. Sisko and Garak conspire ("In the Pale Moonlight," Deep Space Nine)
  • 86. Riker and the alien nurse have sex ("First Contact," The Next Generation)
  • 85. Nazis! ("The Killing Game Parts I & II," Voyager)
  • 84. Tasha Yar dies ("Skin of Evil," The Next Generation)
  • 83. McCoy wins an argument with Spock ("Journey to Babel," The Original Series)
  • 82. Ensign Sito dies ("The Lower Decks," The Next Generation)
  • 81. Picard laughs after getting stabbed through the heart ("Tapestry," The Next Generation)
  • 80. Quinn argues for suicide ("Death Wish," Voyager)
  • 79. the Xindi probe attacks Earth ("The Expanse," Enterprise)
  • 78. Janeway resets time ("Year of Yell Part II," Voyager)
  • 77. Worf's bachelor party ("You Are Cordially Invited," Deep Space Nine)
  • 76. Worf battles the Jem'Hadar ("By Inferno's Light," Deep Space Nine)
  • 75. Picard fights his brother ("Family," The Next Generation)
  • 74. Kirk is put under observation ("The Mark of Gideon," The Original Series)
  • 73. Zephram Cochrane's mate exposed ("Metamorphosis," The Original Series)
  • 72. Spock with hippies! ("The Way to Eden," The Original Series)
  • 71. Quark serves root beer ("The Way of the Warrior," Deep Space Nine)
  • 70. Kirk explains Fizzbin ("A Piece of the Action," The Original Series)
  • 69. One dies ("Drone," Voyager)
  • 68. Riker accepts Enterprise's surrender ("A Matter of Honor," The Next Generation)
  • 67. Kirk ends the war games ("A Taste of Armageddon," The Original Series)
  • 66. Worf's family is disgraced ("Sins of the Father," The Next Generation)
  • 65. Spock mind melds with V'ger (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
  • 64. Zephram Cochrane greets the Vulcan (Star Trek: First Contact)
  • 63. Worf murders Duras ("Reunion," The Next Generation)
  • 62. George Kirk dies (Star Trek)
  • 61. Data creates science ("Thine Own Self," The Next Generation)
  • 60. Riker stuns Zephram Cochrane (Star Trek: First Contact)
  • 59. Janeway's Borg encounter ("Scorpion Part II," Voyager)
  • 58. Kirk fights Finnegan ("Shore Leave," The Original Series)
  • 57. Riker falls in love with an androgynous alien ("The Outcast," The Next Generation)
  • 56. Picard figures out the metaphor ("Darmok," The Next Generation)
  • 55. the Voth establishment rejects science ("Distant Origin, Voyager)
  • 54. Nog seeks treatment in the holosuite ("It's Only a Paper Moon," Deep Space Nine)
  • 53. "What does God need with a starship?" (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)
  • 52. the natives set Voyager free ("Blink of an Eye," Voyager)
  • 51. Pike embraces an illusion ("The Menagerie Part II," The Original Series)
  • 50. Picard embraces Hugh ("I, Borg," The Next Generation)
  • 49. humanity's trial concludes ("All Good Things...," The Next Generation)
  • 48. saucer separation ("Encounter at Farpoint," The Next Generation)
  • 47. T'Mir introduces Velcro ("Carbon Creek," Enterprise)
  • 46. orbital skydive (Star Trek)
  • 45. the spores attack Spock ("This Side of Paradise," The Original Series)
  • 44. Commodore Decker dies ("The Doomsday Machine," The Original Series)
  • 43. Decker merges with the Ilia probe (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
  • 42. the space whale ("Galaxy's Child," The Next Generation)
  • 41. destruction of the Enterprise-D (Star Trek Generations)
  • 40. Data creates Lal ("The Offspring," The Next Generation)
  • 39. Moriarty is tricked into retirement ("Ship in a Bottle," The Next Generation)
  • 38. Kirk battles Spock ("Amok Time," The Original Series)
  • 37. Sisko deletes the log ("In the Pale Moonlight," Deep Space Nine)
  • 36. Kirk fights the Gorn ("Arena," The Original Series)
  • 35. Kirk cheated in the Kobayashi Maru test (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
  • 34. Scotty returns ("Relics," The Next Generation)
  • 33. Gary Mitchell evolves ("Where No Man Has Gone Before," The Original Series)
  • 32. Kirk outwits Nomad ("The Changeling," The Original Series)
  • 31. enter: the Borg ("Q Who?," The Next Generation)
  • 30. Janeway and the Borg Queen ("Endgame," Voyager)
  • 29. Data's right to exist affirmed ("The Measure of a Man," The Next Generation)
  • 28. enter: Khan ("Space Seed," The Original Series)
  • 27. Kirk and the Tribbles ("The Trouble with Tribbles," The Original Series)
  • 26. Kirk meets Picard (Star Trek Generations)
  • 25. Spock and the punk (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
  • 24. ending on the poker game ("All Good Things...," The Next Generation)
  • 23. Kirk and Mirror Spock ("Mirror, Mirror," The Original Series)
  • 22. Stephen Hawking stops by ("Descent," The Next Generation)
  • 21. Scotty outsmarts by outdrinking ("By Any Other Name," The Original Series)
  • 20. Data switches off the emotion chip (Star Trek: First Contact)
  • 19. four lights ("Chain of Command Part II," The Next Generation)
  • 18. destruction of the Enterprise (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
  • 17. ready room confrontation (Star Trek: First Contact)
  • 16. Spock discovers that Kirk is still alive ("Amok Time," The Original Series)
  • 15. battle of Mutara Nebula (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
  • 14. Kirk meets McCoy (Star Trek)
  • 13. Data is tempted by the Borg Queen (Star Trek: First Contact)
  • 12. Khaaaaaan! (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
  • 11. Spock mind melds with Picard ("Unification," The Next Generation)
  • 10. Spock mind melds with the Horta ("The Devil in the Dark," The Original Series)
  • 9. devolution ("Genesis," The Next Generation)
  • 8. eels in the ears (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
  • 7. Benny Russell ("Far Beyond the Stars," Deep Space Nine)
  • 6. Spock mind melds with Gracie (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
  • 5. Picard is assimilated ("The Best of Both Worlds," The Next Generation)
  • 4. Edith Keeler ("The City on the Edge of Forever," The Original Series)
  • 3. Picard plays the flute at the end of the episode ("The Inner Light," The Next Generation)
  • 2. Kirk kisses Uhura ("Plato's Stepchildren," The Original Series)
  • 1. Spock dies (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Pretty good list overall.  Enterprise, then, gets three spots, and they're over by the midpoint of the list.  Voyager gets eight, and they're pretty good moments.  I can imagine a TV special where these clips are actually shown with people talking about them (we've all seen plenty of these things).  Deep Space Nine also gets eight, including one in the top ten, so that's pretty awesome.  Obviously a lot of love for the movies and the two most famous series, plus a surprise shout out to The Animated Series.  You could easily argue for any number of other moments that deserve to make a list like this, but as far as any such effort goes, I won't quibble.

The special also has an oral history of the franchise from a few notable participants, plus a preview of Star Trek Into Darkness, a look at the top villains, and a quiz.  I got a rating of Commander (one below Captain, which is tops).  There's some iffy editing in spots, including in the quiz, where the answer to one question in particular is impossible with the wording as it stands.  No character from Deep Space Nine, Voyager, or Enterprise appears in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, though Michael Dorn, who plays Worf in Next Generation and DS9 appears as an ancestor of the character, while Rene Auberjonois can be seen in the deleted scenes, and of course he plays Odo in DS9; a whole episode of Voyager is set in Undiscovered Country, meanwhile, "Flashback," which features Tuvok and Janeway on the bridge of Sulu's ship; and Enterprise reprises Klingon justice in Judgment," which places Archer in many of the same situations encountered by Kirk and McCoy in Undiscovered Country.

Anyway, the expanded list of the 100 Greatest Moments includes write-ups and pictures (though that don't get one get the other).  The special is well worth purchasing.  And if you have any gold-pressed latinum left over, you can always give it to me.  What, you thought reading this blog was free?

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Star Trek Thoughts

I watched through the original series films again the last few days, and here are some quick thoughts:

  • Search for Spock for me is more satisfying than Wrath of Khan, and this is an opinion that only seems to increase over time.  I appreciate Khan's importance to most fans, but the better film to me is undeniably Spock.  Half of why Khan is so memorable is that it unexpectedly picks up a thread from a prior story, which to that point in Star Trek history just didn't happen.  It was something that was far more familiar in the post-Star Wars era, which was the whole reason Star Trek hit the big screen to begin with.  Yet it's Spock that really knows what to do with the idea, Spock that builds an entirely coherent story out of it, because there's a much greater reason for it to exist than to simply have the crew stumble into a random foe from the original series, whom they have apparently lost all track of, which I suppose is reason enough for him to go completely blind with rage and lose all that supposed superior intellect in his bid for revenge...Anyway, Spock at the very least works better for me as a fan.  Maybe part of the reason is because I watched both films for the first time well after their original release.  Fans who watched them in theaters will probably always have a much different perspective.  And fans who simply accept the common beliefs of Star Trek fans will probably always have the same perspective, too.
  • The Voyage Home is not only the conclusion of the Spock Trilogy, completing the journey of what happens after the Genesis Device is deployed and how it affects one of the franchise's key characters, but is also pretty blatantly Part 1 of the Mission to Redeem The Motion Picture.  Like the first film, the fourth features a mysterious probe.  Unlike the first film, the fourth film pretty much ignores the probe itself, which to conventional wisdom is a really good thing.  Although I happen to be a big fan of The Motion Picture.  Yeah, you read that right.
  • The Final Frontier, meanwhile, is pretty blatantly Part 2 of the Mission to Redeem The Motion Picture.  And that may be another reason why fans don't like that one, because unlike Home and its whales and humorous interactions with the 20th century, Frontier just has Motion Picture's quest for greater meaning, this time reversed, a humanoid figure looking for the divine rather than a machine looking for a humanoid figure the divine.  I like Frontier more and more, too.  I know, fandom blasphemy, but if there's any reason at all for the Star Trek Fan Companion, it's to blast away the musty opinions of yore and establish new ones.  And yes, I'm aware that the previous statement can be construed to mean I'm forming new musty opinions.  Because otherwise what else is an unerring capacity to embrace an entire franchise good for?  The needs of the many, the needs of the few...Logic, as Spock says in The Undiscovered Country, is the beginning of wisdom, not its end.
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