Tagged: Star Trek

J.J. Abrams takes on the Micronauts

  • News
  • November 6, 2009

J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Lost, Alias) is reported to be in discussions to produce a feature film based on the Micronauts toy franchise, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Micronauts toy line was created by Takara, later acquired by Tomy, and debuted in 1974 in Japan, where the line is known as Microman. Two years later the Mego Corporation introduced Micronauts to the US, and released five series of toys through 1980.  Palisades Toys acquired the right to reproduce the toys in 2002, and the entire line was recently acquired by Hasbro.  Additionally, Marvel Comics, Devil’s Due and Image Comics published Micronauts comic books, with several paperback books based on the property published by Byron Preiss Visual Publications.

At one point, they were so tightly integrated with the Marvel Universe that they crossed over with the X-Men and spun out a character that has crossed over with most of the rest of the line, Captain Universe.

No word yet on who will actually write or direct the film. But should we worry about these robots being handled by a production company named Bad Robot?

Review: ‘Star Trek: TOS’ Season 2 on Blu-ray

After a rocky first season that ended with the letter writing campaign to save [[[Star Trek]]] from cancellation, the second season opened in a horrible Friday night time slot but was a stronger series. Creator Gene Roddenberry continued to oversee everything as an Executive Producer but John Meredith Lucas took over as the line producer, aided by Roddenberry’s former secretary, D.C. Fontana becoming the script consultant. These changes made for a strong start as witnessed on [[[Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2]]], now out on Blu-ray from Paramount Home Video.

Things had started to gel for the series as the characters became more sharply defined and the writers began to tailor the by-play accordingly. The backstory grew stronger so it was clear what the United Federation of Planets was all about and that the starship Enterprise was truly exploring space and fought only when necessary.

The season opened with “Amok Time”, written by SF great Theodore Sturgeon and explored Vulcan and Spock’s place among his people. It’s a great opening but also one that acknowledged the rising popularity of the character and Leonard Nimoy, placing him ahead of star William Shatner.

Roddenberry and Lucas began exploring more of Spock’s backstory, starting with “Amok Time” but later in “Journey to Babel” which memorably introduced his parents. Fortunately, attention was paid to others, as well. Bowing to criticism from Pravda, the Russian navigator Pavel Chekov joined the crew, ending the rotating supernumerary opposite Helmsman Sulu. With George Takei’s work on [[[The Green Berets]] prolonged, Chekov got plenty of screen time, much to Takei’s regret and Walter Koenig’s delight.
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Review: Tom Baker Returns As The Doctor

Author Thomas Wolfe told us you can’t go home again. That certainly hasn’t stopped a lot of folks from trying.

After an absence of nearly 30 years, Tom Baker finally returned to the role of the Doctor in the five-part, six-hour BBC full-cast [[[Doctor Who]]] audio play, Hornet’s Nest. The first part, [[[The Stuff of Nightmares]]], was released in Britain earlier this month
and is available from www.audible.com and www.emusic.com.

Of course, Doctor Who fans are so hard to please they make
Star Trek fans look like they’ve had a Vulcan neck pinch. So how does the most long-lived and long-scarfed Doctor hold up after such a long layoff?

First, I should point out that the story, like Baker himself, is witty, charming, horrific, and over-the-top. If you don’t like that, you probably don’t like Baker. Here’s the high concept: taxidermied animals are reanimated with the implanting of origami-like brains infested with
malevolent hornets. Actually, it’s quite an effective horror story.

The Doctor recruits his old UNIT friend Mike Yates, reprising Richard Franklin’s role, by planting an ad in the local paper that
reads “Wanted: retired army Captain for light household duties and fireside
companionship. Must tolerate mild eccentricity and strong scientific advice.
Knowledge of Giant Maggots, Super Intelligent Spiders and Prehistoric Monsters a positive boon.” Both the Doctor and Captain Yates are obviously a lot older than they were when last seen, and the story takes place in contemporary time – Baker even notes it’s the 21st century. That makes Yates a pensioner, and the Doctor, well, a time-traveler.

It takes a lot of fine writing and even better acting to
pull off such a concept, but that’s what Doctor Who does at its best and that’s what happens here. My wife and I listened to the CD while driving from Connecticut to JFK airport in New York City, which is generally interminable but, this time, entertaining.

It turns out Tom Baker can indeed go home again. 

Crazy Sexy Geeks: A New Weekly Web-Series

  • News
  • August 6, 2009

amber-benson-alan-kistler-crazy-sexy-geeks-5022931So your parents loved Robert Downey, Jr. in Iron Man but don’t think comics themselves have anything to offer? Your friends loved V for Vendetta and The Dark Knight and are curious to read comics now but aren’t sure where to start? This is the show to help them all out.

Starring yours truly and New York actor Jose Ramos, “Crazy Sexy Geeks: The Series” is meant to help new people get into comics and other geeky entertainment while also being fun for those already initiated. Each week we will discuss topics such as openly gay super-heroes, why there don’t seem to be many women super-heroes outside of comics, whether remakes are better than sequels, the challenges of film adaptations, and other fun topics that anyone with a smidgeon of pop culture knowledge can enjoy.

This is not your typical comic book video blog where two or three guys sit in a basement or at a friend’s house and just review what came out this week. This is a show where we go out on the street, asking mainstream America what they think about super-heroes, sci-fi films, etc. Likewise, there are professional interviews with folks such as Rob Zombie, Edward James Olmos, novelist David Mack (Star Trek: Destiny, The Calling), and others still to come.

For our first episode, watch us chat with Amber Benson (Tara from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) about female super-heroes, her new novel Death’s Daughter, and what she thinks about the Twilight series.

Ready? Great! <a href=”

title=”CRAZY SEXY GEEKS: THE SERIES – Episode 1″>WATCH OUR FIRST EPISODE!

ComicMix.com and Midtown Comics are not responsible nor necessarily share the views expressed on Crazy Sexy Geeks. If you love Twilight, get mad at Jose and Alan, not anyone else.

Alan Kistler is a freelance online journalist who has been recognized by media outlets as a comic book historian. His additional works can be found at http://KistlerUniverse.com.

#SDCC: The Scribe Awards for Media Tie-in Writers

  • News
  • July 25, 2009

iamtw-7889351The third annual presentation of the International Association of Media-Tie-in Writers (IAMTW) “Scribe” awards just went down at San Diego Comic-Con, honoring the best and the brightest in the world of property tie-ins. Awards are voted on by members of the organization.

“These writers, highly prized by fans, receive few reviews and
little acclaim, and the Scribe Awards are designed as a step toward
properly honoring them,” said Max Allan Collins, president of IAMTW, in a press release.

 I know this is what you’re waiting for, so here’s the list of winners:

Best General Fiction
Original – CSI: Headhunter
by Greg Cox 

Best General Fiction
Adapted – Indiana Jones and
the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull by James Rollins 

Best Speculative Fiction
Original – Star Trek Terok Nor:
Day of the Vipers by James Swallow 

Best Speculative Fiction
Adapted – Hellboy II: The Golden
Army by Robert Greenberger 

Best Young Adult Original – Primeval: Shadow of
the Jaguar by Steven Savile 

Best Young Adult Adapted – Journey to the Center
of the Earth 3D by Tracey West 

The Grandmaster Award – Keith R.A. DeCandido

DeCandido, the recipient of the Grandmaster Award, is the writer of several Star Trek, CSI, and Supernatural books, just to name a few.

“Things like this make all the difference, there are plenty of days when I don’t feel up to my job and my belief in my own words is shaky at best, but now, when I’m down there, I will just have to look at the shelf and see this incredible gift from the guys in the trenches, and I’ll be able to shut up the doubting devils and get back to work,” said Steven Savile in an e-mail to the IAMTW mailing list after finding out about his win.

“This means a lot to me, coming as does from my fellow laborers in the tie-in trenches,” wrote Greg Cox to that same list. “But, boy, now I really wish I could have swung a trip to San Diego somehow…”

Congratulations to all the winners– and to ComicMix contributor Robert Greenberger, happy birthday!

Tribbles infesting San Diego Comic-Con

  • News
  • July 15, 2009

I told them they were going to have to spray for those things, now they’re everywhere…

So to promote season 2 of the original Star Trek on BluRay, Paramount is looking for pictures of people with their Tribbles. There’s no way this ends well… the best case scenario is that somebody’s going to grab a few hundred and do this:

tribble-rug-3888134

The worst case scenario? Tribble porn.

smiley-enterprise-4940555

‘Star Trek’ exceeds industry expectations with $76.5 million opening weekend

smiley-enterprise-4940555

No wonder they’re smiling.

Star Trek passed Fast & Furious as the 2nd biggest opening of 2009, behind only X-Men Origins: Wolverine, earning an estimated $76.5 million (including Thursday night showings). The movie also set the attendance record for a film debuting in the second weekend in May, and made a record-setting $8.2 million from 138 IMAX theaters, which broke the Dark Knight’s $6.3 million mark.

And in case you missed it, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto showed up on Saturday Night Live this weekend…

And the photo, by the by, is of an Enterprise pimped out by Jesus Diaz and part of a series that can be seen at StarTrekMovie.com.

So what did you think of the film? Leave your comments below, and go easy on the spoilers…

The Point – May 8th, 2009

Heading into it’s second weekend in theaters, WOLVERINE already has gathered 100 million bucks in its claws. Meanwhile, Dark Horse hits the iPhone, Marvel goes street and yes, we saw STAR TREK!

PRESS THE BUTTON to Get The Point!

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Film status report: Wolverine, Deadpool, Dead of Night

Let’s take a few minutes and clear the decks of superhero film news before we all get wrapped up in Star Trek coverage…

  • Yes, another Wolverine sequel is already in the works. According to Variety, the sequel will focus on the X-Men comic’s samurai storyline, the Japanese locale setup for which is teased after this film’s end credits. In the meantime, Hugh Jackman will be working with Anne Hathaway in the big screen adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel. Since Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals did very well for him when he was playing Curly in Oklahoma… a role that was later taken over by Patrick Wilson, who went on to play Nite Owl in Watchmen.
  • Yes, there’s a Deadpool spinoff in the works at Fox. Ryan Reynolds is attached to come back for what for now is
    simply being called “Deadpool.” Lauren Shuler Donner and Marvel
    Studios would act as producers. What, you’re surprised?
  • Yes, there are now photos from Dead of Night, which is based on the Italian comic Dylan Dog. It stars Brandon Routh and Sam Huntington (where have we seen those two before) and Taye Diggs. This may be the property that keeps Platinum Studios alive. FirstShowing.net has the photos.
  • And this just in, also from FirstShowing: Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick May Work Together Again?! Coolness. Any guesses as to what, since The Graveyard Book is already in the works elsewhere?
  • Finally, we hope to have some Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen news shortly, as soon as we’re allowed to talk about it.

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