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 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 62: Bingeing the Stream

 

Like everyone else, your Planet 8 crew has been stuck inside, trying to keep ourselves entertained and sane. So we thought we'd discuss what we've been watching and what we think of it. So settle in and get ready for a show that goes from super-heroes to zombies, to androids, to starships, to bounty hunters, and who knows what else! Note, this is a SPOILER-FILLED episode!

Among the shows we cover are:

• The Boys
• Umbrella Academy
• Raised By Wolves
• Lovecraft Country
• Walking Dead/Fear the Walking Dead
• Truth Seekers
• Creepshow
• Star Trek Discovery
• The Mandalorian

As usual, we don't all agree on every show. But that's what makes it fun!

For our Sensor Sweep, Chief Engineer Bob brings our attention to the latest Mego figures, in particular the new Fly figure! Based off the classic sci fi film, it'll give you a chill. Bob also gives us the heads up on what's coming in the next waves of figures. Would you believe it ranges from Hammer Dracula to plush Stan Lee?  Also coming from Mego is the Creature from the Black Lagoon! The Fly can be found at Walmart, if you can track him down. You may also find Mego figures from other retailers online.

That's it for us this time. We want to hear from you what you're watching. What shows are keeping you company during the pandemic? Let us know!

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Thanks for listening!

Episode 42: Welcome 2020 - Looking Back with Perfect Vision

Happy New Year to all of you! It's hard to believe it's 2020 - where are the flying cars? Maybe our science fiction films and TV shows didn't get it all right, but at least in this era we are fortunate to have an abundance of science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shows to watch and enjoy (and sometimes criticize). In our first episode of Planet 8 for 2020, we will take a look back at our favorite movies and shows and celebrate the amazing variety of entertainment available to us. It's gotten to the point where it's basically impossible to watch everything genre-related that comes out! But between Commander Larry, Chief Engineer Bob, and Recon Officer Karen, your crew manages to cover quite a few offerings.

We'll start off discussing the great genre films of 2019, talking about our favorites, and a few disappointments. The Marvel films make a strong showing here, but a certain giant green lizard does pretty well too.

Next we move on to the small screen. There are so many shows on television now -depending on what streaming services you subscribe to! - and some folks like to binge a bunch of episodes over a weekend while others enjoy the suspense of seeing a show week after week. However you like to watch, there's a ton of programs to watch, and the crew discusses a bunch of them, including What We Do in the Shadows, Watchmen, Walking Dead, Lost in Space, Star Trek Discovery, and more.

As we end one year and usher in another, we also look back on those we lost in 2019. These include: actress Julie Adams from Creature from the Black Lagoon; Ron Sweed, The Ghoul; artist Monkeypunch; Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew; actor David Hedison; and several people associated with Star Trek, including writer and producer Dorothy "DC" Fontana, Charlie X actor Robert Walker Jr., Odo actor Rene Auberjonois, and Nog actor Aron Eisenberg.

For our Sensor Sweep, Chief Engineer Bob wants to remind everyone about the super-cool designs we have at Tee Public for Planet 8 swag. You can get Planet 8 t-shirts, hats, stickers, bags, and more. We would really love to see a picture of you with your Planet 8 gear! Send them to us here or at Twitter or the Facebook page.

Finally, we got so busy as we were recording several episodes on the same day, we just completely forgot to say anything about what we were looking forward to in 2020! So quickly, here are the films the crew are most excited about for this year:

• Commander Larry: The New Mutants
• Chief Engineer Bob: Godzilla vs. King Kong
• Recon Officer Karen: Black Widow

That's all for us! Let's hear what you enjoyed most this year, and what you're looking forward to as we dive into 2020. Feel free to comment here, or hit us up at our other communication links:

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Thanks for Listening!