Episode 98: The State of Star Trek

 

There's never been a time like this: no less than five Star Trek series on the air at the same time! You would think Trekkies (trekkers?) would be rejoicing. But, not so. While some fans are enjoying these new iterations of Star Trek, other fans are gnashing their teeth. In this episode, the Planet 8 crew, along with our guest Lord Blood-Rah, discuss the state of Star Trek - what it has meant to us, what it is now, and where we hope it is going.

For all four of us, our love of Star Trek started with the original series. We grew up watching Kirk, Spock and crew on their adventures. Through them, we felt excitement and wonder, and learned about loyalty, duty, friendship, mercy, and more. Classic Trek offered up morality plays that deeply imprinted on our minds. Our expectations and definitions for everything Star Trek flows from the first series. 

This has been an issue with every new Trek series that followed. People forget, but even when The Next Generation premiered, fans denounced it as not being "real Star Trek." So it has been with every series since. But what constitutes "real" Star Trek? We share our thoughts about what is essential, what lies at the core of Trek.

Throughout we'll weave in thoughts on the current Trek shows -although Strange New Worlds had not aired yet when we recorded this - with pros and cons aplenty. Beyond whether the new shows are truly Star Trek, are they even decent science fiction? Or well-written dramas? We go there!

Despite our misgivings, we do love Star Trek and remain hopeful for Strange New Worlds. We all agree that Anson Mount is a very charismatic man! Can he carry the show? Will going back to episodic story-telling be the right move? Time will tell.

This time around, instead of our Sensor Sweep, we have an In Memorium segment. Last week we lost legendary comic book artist Neal Adams. Adams was a massive talent, leaving a huge legacy. He may best be remembered for helping to remake Batman along with writer Denny O'Neill. Adams worked for both DC and Marvel and had outstanding runs on Deadman, Superman, The Avengers, and X-Men. Adams also campaigned for creator's rights and helped the creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, regain rights to their character and get remuneration from DC. He was an important figure in the comics world and will be missed.

Also passing recently was artist James Bama, an artist best known to fans for his paperback covers for Doc Savage novels, and for the illustrations on the Aurora monster models boxes.

That's all this time. We hope you enjoyed the discussion! Share your thoughts: 

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Live long and prosper

Episode 77: Khaaaaaaan!

 

Arguably the best of the Star Trek film franchise, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains an important and highly rewatchable entry in the franchise. It took the films into a more action-oriented direction, giving the audience a movie with both personal stakes and dazzling space battles. Director Nick Meyer got the very best out of actors William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban, creating an intense struggle between our Enterprise crew and the twisted superman, Khan - despite the fact the rivals Kirk and Khan never share a scene physically together. Your Planet 8 crew is delighted to revisit this film on this episode.

We'll start with a quick look back at the classic Trek episode Space Seed. Beginning with the original story (where the Khan character was called Harold Ericson) and the changes to the script, we talk about how this episode developed and how it wound up influencing producer Harve Bennett to use it as the basis for the second film.

Moving to the film itself, we examine how that script evolved, and how it was necessary to keep the budget low. The film is essentially a "bottle show," with the action taking place mainly on the two ships (the Enterprise and the Reliant), which was actually the same set, redressed. Yet because of the excellent pacing and the suspense, it never feels claustrophobic or small.

There are many themes in the film, but foremost is the theme of aging and mortality. All of the cast had obviously grown older, and seeing our Captain having to struggle with middle age was striking, making him more human, and perhaps more sympathetic. Meyer said the secret to getting a great performance out of Shatner was essentially to tire him out; his first takes were always "big", so Meyer would make him do it over and over until he got bored!

But without a doubt, it is Ricardo Montalban's performance that steals the show. After years of doing Fantasy Island, even Montalban wasn't sure if he could carry off the role. But director Meyer worked closely with Montalban and elicited an amazing performance from him. And yes, that's his real chest!

Of course, you can't discuss Star Trek II without talking about Spock's death. At the time, it felt devastating to fans. It was beautifully done, but even now, it's heartbreaking. Does knowing that he returns in ST III diminish his sacrifice when watching the film now?  We also ponder what Trek might have been like if it had moved forward without Spock.

We close out with some thoughts on Star Trek: Into Darkness - it ain't pretty!

For the Sensor Sweep, Karen shares two books, both by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, called The Fifty Year Mission: The First Twenty Five Years, and The Fifty Year Mission: The Next Twenty Five Years: From The Next Generation to J.J. Abrams. These dense tomes are an oral history of the Star Trek franchise, as told by the writers, directors, producers, actors, and everyone else involved! They are highly entertaining and pretty much required reading if you are a Star Trek fan. You can find them on Amazon, or from other fine book sellers.

That's all for this episode. What are your feelings about Wrath of Khan? Have they changed over time? Let us know, either here, or at our other hangouts:

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Khhaaaaaaaannnnnnn!

Episode 70: Feeling the Burn: A look at Star Trek Discovery

 

On this episode we will go where no one on Planet 8 has gone before: we will review Star Trek Discovery! Once again, we are joined by our good friend, horror host extraordinaire and Star Trek aficionado, Lord Blood-Rah, as we look at all three seasons of Discovery and discuss our overall impressions of the show. A lot of times we are mostly in agreement about shows; in this case, we range widely in our perceptions of Discovery! Who likes Discovery? Who doesn't? Listen and find out!

We'll look at how Discovery fits -or doesn't fit -into Star Trek canon, and what the move 1,000 years to the future means. There are many unique elements to Discovery -things like the spore drive, Michael Burnham being Spock's sister, new alien races and new characters. Fans seem to either love them or hate them. Does Discovery work being set in the past, or would it have been better to set it in Trek's future?

Lord Blood-Rah brings up the fact that it was originally conceived as an anthology show, similar to how American Horror Story has worked. Would that have made for a more interesting show? Focusing on a new story, with a new crew, every season, would have made for a very different type of Star Trek show. Would that have been a better direction to go?

Each season of Discovery has certainly been different, since the show is serialized and follows one storyline per season. The first season we got the Klingon war and the Mirror universe, the second season was about the Red Angel, and the third season was the jump to the future and 'The Burn.' Does Star Trek work well as serialized TV, or is it better as episodic TV, maybe with just some short story arcs?

Like most Star Trek fans, once you get us going, the discussion goes all over, as we talk about lumpy headed Klingons vs. flat-headed Klingons, the Enterprise series, Orion slave girls, and more. If you're a Trekker, Trekkie, or however you identify in your Trek fandom, you'll be right at home.

Following our Discovery discussion, we share our thoughts on the recent news that Fry's Electronics was going the way of the dodo. Fry's were always fun and amazing to venture into, with their various themes -especially the Burbank, California one, with its sci fi B-movie theme. Be sure to share with us your memories of going to Fry's.

For the Sensor Sweep, Lord Blood-Rah can reveal what he only hinted at last time around: he has started a Patreon! For the $5 level, you can get a newsletter with upcoming events, and a signed photograph. But for $10, you get that, a geek certificate, AND  access to a new weekly show, Lord Blood-Rah's Cathode Zone! The show will feature sci fi and horror TV shows from the golden days of TV. Check out Lord Blood-Rah on Patreon !

Late-breaking news: Planet 8 has once again been nominated for the Rondo Awards! Thank you, listeners, for getting us our second nomination. We are thrilled! To take it all the way, we kindly ask that you vote for us for Best Multimedia Site (category 19) here.  Instructions are on the webpage. Thanks again for listening and for sending your comments to our website, or our other locations:

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Live Long and Prosper. And stay safe.

Episode 54: The Human Adventure Continues: Star Trek The Motion Picture

That's right listeners, it's time to go where no one has gone before -to the big screen, for the first voyage of the Enterprise in theaters! Today the Planet 8 crew is talking Star Trek: The Motion Picture!

The Motion Picture (or ST:TMP) has gained a bad reputation over the years, often derisively called 'The Motionless Picture,' but it actually was a hit at the box office, if not with the critics. Without ST:TMP, we wouldn't have gotten Wrath of Khan, or any of the films to follow, and perhaps no Next Generation and beyond. So whatever your opinion of the film -and we know opinions vary, because even within our Planet 8 crew, they do - one must acknowledge its role in keeping the franchise alive.

We'll discuss the troubled history of the production, how it swung back and forth between plans to be a new Star Trek TV series (Star Trek Phase II), a movie, a TV show, and a film again. By the time the studio decided to go with a theatrical film, they went into production in a rush, without a firm script, and with a set release date (December 7, 1979) which put the pressure on, especially with the complicated special effects that were required. They were lucky to have an experienced director in Robert Wise at the helm. They also kicked out the original effects group and brought in master effects artists Doug Trumbull and John Dykstra, who managed to finish the special effects just in time for the release.

Going to see Star Trek on the big screen was a real experience for all of us. There was, of course, huge anticipation. We hadn't seen our Enterprise crew in a new adventure in years! What would they look like? What would the story be like? Of course we had seen photos in magazines but to see them on the big screen would be a special thrill! For some though, the movie was not what they expected. After the excitement of Star Wars, ST:TMP might have seemed too slow, too talky. For others, it was too reminiscent of the Star Trek episode, The Changeling, where an ancient Earth space probe, modified by an alien probe, mistakes Kirk for its creator. But in some ways, ST:TMP is the Trek movie most like the original episodes. It may have been their attempt at Trek's '2001,' but it maintains Trek's hopeful concept for mankind's development as a species.

Regardless of one's thoughts about the plot of the film, the special effects are still beautiful to behold (and if you haven't seen the director's edition, run out now and get it!), and Jerry Goldsmith's score is perhaps the best Star Trek score of all. His main theme went on to become the theme of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it originated here, with this film, and it's absolutely beautiful to hear in conjunction with the visual of the streamlined Enterprise.

In any case, it's worth a revisit if you haven't seen it in a while. Check it out and let us know your thoughts!

For our Sensor Sweep this episode, to go with our theme, Karen shares a book that goes into great depth on ST:TMP: Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Preston Neal Jones. In this hefty tome, Jones has put together an oral history of the film, which includes interviews with the cast and crew of The Motion Picture. Honestly, anything you would ever want to know about how the movie was made is included in this book. You can find it from sellers on Amazon, and at the time of this writing, they now have an ebook version too.

We also want to give a plug to our first ever video-only episode on our YouTube channel! We decided to do a quick little video Sensor Sweep for you guys, sharing some of our collectibles, and a funny story about a near-miss the guys had with a collectible. So we hope you'll check it out at our YouTube channel. Let us know if you'd like to see more video episodes!

All right, that's it for this time around. But if you want to contact us, hailing frequencies are open!

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Live long and prosper!

Episode 44: Make It So! Musings on Jean-Luc Picard

With the return of Jean-Luc Picard to the small screen, the Planet 8 crew decided it would be a good time to reminisce about the former starfleet legend and the great actor who plays him, Sir Patrick Stewart. We'll go over the casting process that brought Stewart to Star Trek, and our initial impressions of Captain Picard. And here's a hint - we weren't exactly in love with him at the start!

But with time, the good captain won us over. We'll offer up some of our favorite episodes and moments featuring the captain of the Enterprise-D. What made Picard so special as a character? What were the qualities of the Captain that we admired? And how did he differ from the only other starfleet captain we knew at the time, Captain Kirk?

We recorded this episode  just before the Star Trek Picard show premiered, so we'll also share thoughts about what we hope to see from this new show too.

For the Sensor Sweep this time, Karen shares two excellent Star Trek books: The Fifty Year Mission:  The First Twenty Five Years:The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized, Oral History of Star Trek, and its sequel, The Fifty Year Mission: The Next Twenty-Five Years, by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross. You might be thinking, "More Star Trek books? I know everything about Star Trek!" But believe us, these books peel away so many layers to uncover hidden stories that will surprise even long-time fans. You can find them in major book stores or, of course, on Amazon. And Altman also hosts a terrific Star Trek podcast called Inglorious Treksperts -check it out.

Listeners, we also want to say a big "Thank you" to all of you who got out and nominated  Planet 8 for Best Multimedia Site for the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards (https://rondoaward.com/). It is such an honor and a thrill to get on the Rondo ballot! We really appreciate you getting out there and pushing Planet 8. Now we want to ask if you will go one more step and vote for us on the actual ballot! The link above will take you to the Rondo ballot. It's been a blast putting the show together for you every other week, and we always enjoy your feedback. We hope we can continue to entertain you in the many years ahead!

That's it for us, but you know our hailing frequencies are always open! Send us a message here, or at our other communication points:

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Thanks for Listening!

Episode 37: Halloween on the Small Screen

It's that time of year again, when creepy and scary stuff abounds! Besides all the great horror movies out there this time of year, there are a ton of great TV show episodes that either focus on Halloween or have themes that fit the holiday. We talk about some of our favorites ones on this episode.

Larry discusses a few classic Star Trek episodes with spooky themes, including the eerie "Catspaw." Did you catch the Cthulhu references in the episode? Did you know it was written by Robert Bloch of Psycho fame? We look at a couple of Next Generation episodes too.

Karen reminisces about The Simpsons'  Treehouse of Horror specials, and focuses on a few favorite segments. So many of these were take offs or homages to classic sci fi and horror films or shows, especially The Twilight Zone.

Bob shares a classic Halloween episode of Route 66 -Lizard Leg and Owlet Wing (see it on YouTube here). It featured Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr, and Peter Lorre. it was the last time Karloff wore the Frankenstein Monster make-up! Our chief engineer also covers a bunch of others, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, The Big Bang Theory, Laverne and Shirley, Married with Children, and more.

Do you have memories of some favorite TV show episodes that centered on Halloween? We'd love to hear them.

Chief Engineer Bob says hands off my Godzilla game!!

For our Sensor Sweep, Bob has managed to get a hold of the new Bandai Godzilla card game! Not only that, but we have a special interview with the game's designer, Ryan Miller! So be sure to check that out to learn about this cool new kaiju card game.

We want to wish you all a spooky, creepy, monster-filled Halloween!! And feel free to share pictures -past or present -of your costumes at our Facebook or Twitter sites.

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Thanks for listening!

Episode 35: Grab Your Cereal, It's Cartoon Time!

Hey kids! Get up, grab your cereal bowl, and join the Planet 8 crew to watch your favorite Saturday morning cartoons! We'll reminisce today about not only our favorite cartoons, but those wonderful sugary cereals as well.

Bob gives us the low down on Jonny Quest, the classic Hanna Barbera 1960s action adventure cartoon series. He'll talk about the characters, episodes, voice talent, and more. If you love Jonny Quest, you won't want to miss this.

Karen looks at a non-Saturday morning cartoon: Justice League and Justice League Unlimited that ran on the Cartoon Network originally. She describes the set up for the show, how it changed when they went to Justice League Unlimited,  and the crew discusses what they loved about this iconic super-hero animated series.

To wrap it up, Larry covers the sometimes-forgotten Star Trek series: Star Trek The Animated Series. Running in 1973 and 1974, the 22 episodes continued the original series five year voyage. We'll discuss the voice acting -by most of the original cast -and some of the more interesting stories.

Let us know some of your favorite cartoons. What kept you glued to the tube as a youngster?

For our Sensor Sweep, Larry shares a book called Star Trek: The Guide to the Animated Series by Aaron Harvey and Rich Schepis. The book is full of photos of the script pages,sketches,  interviews with the writers, and just tons of information about the planning and development of the series. The Commander highly recommends it!

Also - don't miss our big Planet 8 Listeners Appreciation Party! We'll be podcasting live at the 7 Stars Bar and Grill at 398 S. Bascom Ave, San Jose, California on October 20th starting at 1 pm. There will be a live DJ, prizes, food, and more! Come by and celebrate with the Planet 8 crew. We'd love to meet you and say thanks for listening!

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Episode 18: Time Keeps on Slippin'...Into the Future

If you're reading this, it means you made it! Congratulations and welcome to 2019. Your Planet 8 crew survived multiple attacks by Zanti misfits and those creeps on Planet 9, and have put together a retrospective show on 2018 -we look back on the movies and shows that came out this last year. You might be surprised by some of our favorites, and the ones we thought missed the mark. We also salute those genre actors, artists, and others who left us in 2018. Finally, we discuss what we're most excited about in this new year. Which movies and TV shows are high on the Planet 8 crew's list? You'll have to listen to find out!

For our Sensor Sweep, Mission Commander Larry brings to our attention the small but deadly Infinity Gauntlet Mini from Hot Toys (you can find the details here:
https://www.sideshowtoy.com/collectibles/marvel-infinity-gauntlet-hot-toys-903359/). This little beauty looks just like the shiny glove that wiped out half the universe in Avengers: Infinity War. It stands about 6.5" high, and it even has light-up features. Want to impress and/or terrify your co-workers? Put this on your desk!

We want to thank all of you listeners who have been tuning in and sharing with us. We appreciate your feedback! We'd love to get more comments from you, either here, or at the other places where we monitor  Earth transmissions:

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Thanks for Listening!