Tagged: Star Trek

Cartoonists Conundrum

Cartoonists Conundrum

While we’ve been in the throes of office hell, we’ve noticed some changes going on in cartoonist-land that bear passing along:

  • Alison Bechdel has announced that she’s cutting back on production of her popular Dykes to Watch Out For comic strip from biweekly to monthly, in order to work on her new memoir, which she estimates will be ready in 2009.  She’ll be interspersing the new strips with "archive strips" (aka reruns), the first of which was published today — check out the very first episode of DTWOF, from 20 years ago!  (And be sure to check out Amanda Marcotte’s review of Bechdel’s Fun Home on the A-list political blog Pandagon.)
  • Mikhaela Reid passes along the news about Ward Sutton ending Sutton Impact (check out The Beat for more) and about the closing of The New Standard, a very friendly venue for political cartoonists which will be sorely missed.  (See Glenn’s post below for further cartoonist troubles at larger circulation papers.)
  • We do have some good news to pass along, however.  The Ormes Society’s Cheryl Lynn has kicked off the Torchy Brown Art Meme over at her blog, the results of which will be published on TOS’s site.  (That’s Torchy over on the right.)  And Heidi MacDonald crows that the House of Twelve Comic Jam folks have a new meeting place, starting this very evening.  It’s not far from Jim Hanley’s, so Manhattanites can grab their weekly haul and a drink with that jam, if they have the bread.

And if you are going to drink, please draw responsibly.

Who’s a Trekkie?

Who’s a Trekkie?

  • News
  • April 21, 2007

Well, not Doctor Who — but Freema Agyeman, the actress who plays the Doctor’s current assistant, Martha Jones, certainly is:

And apparently, Star Trek had an impact on Christopher Eccleston, too…

Hat tip to Sailorboy for the initial photo.

MATT RAUB: Your weekly Who review!

MATT RAUB: Your weekly Who review!

  • News
  • April 19, 2007

Hey gang, Matt Raub back again, and that can only mean one thing – it’s Who time! So here we are, already a quarter of the way through another explosive year of Doctor Who. And what better time to start the season three story arc than in the 727th produced episode, beating out all of the Star Trek series combined!

In the episode, entitled “Gridlock,” the Doctor and Martha travel on their third voyage together, this time to the future city of New New York. Some of you may remember that we’ve been to New New York, and fairly recently (Don’t worry, Martha brings that up too). Last time, the Doctor and Rose visited a sick friend in very chic hospital above ground, but this time we find our traveling duo deep in the city’s bowels and on the New New York Motorway, which reaches all the way to New New Jersey. Fun thing about this motorway is that, due to the traffic, it takes about 10 years to go four miles. Well, in all the chaos, Martha is kidnapped by two motorists hoping to get into the express lane. The doctor then does his doctor thing and declares he will find her if it’s the last thing he’ll do.

The greatest part of this episode isn’t a quirky part of dialogue, or interesting plot point, but the way the episode was shot. The majority of this episode is going from car to car, whilst the doctor searches for Martha. Now, each car is shot in the exact same set, just with a change of furniture and a few new actors. This makes for an incredibly cheap budget for the episode, and while this is completely unnecessary for the BBC’s top rated show, it reflects some of the ingenuity that American TV lacks. My hat is tipped to executive producer and episode writer Russell T. Davies and the boys and girls overseas for this particular stunt.

Back to the episode, while looking for Martha, the doctor comes across an old buddy – in fact, the same old buddy he came across the last time we were all in New New York: The good ol’ Face of Boe. Those of you who remember the last encounter with that giant head-in-a-jar, remember that Boe said he would meet the Doctor a final time, and then he would tell him the great secret. So now here we are, and that big secret is? **SPOILER WARNING**

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MIKE GOLD apologizes to William Shatner… and Denny O’Neil

MIKE GOLD apologizes to William Shatner… and Denny O’Neil

  • News
  • April 16, 2007

I realize the whole concept of a public apology has become somewhat tainted, but I hope Mr. Shatner and Mr. O’Neil each accept mine in the spirit in which they are intended.

When the first episode of Star Trek was aired, I thought the show was rather lame. I had just turned 16 and I wasn’t all that much of a teevee viewer. That summer I took up an interest in a young woman who was a dedicated Trekker, long before the term was invented. Ergo, my interest in the show waxed. As we headed towards the awesome events of 1968 my interest in television in general waned as, sadly, so did my relationship with the aforementioned young lady.

As Star Trek’s popularity picked up in syndication, I managed to catch all the episodes, but with growing popularity grew derision towards its star. I found the jokes made about Mr. Shatner’s stylized performance to be hilarious, and I even did my own on radio. At the time I knew better: I remembered his fine performances in The Twilight Zone (perhaps the most famous episode of that praiseworthy series), on The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (where he co-starred with both Leonard Nimoy and Werner Klemperer), and most significantly, in the lead on The Andersonville Trial, an astonishingly brilliant teevee movie directed by George C. Scott and co-starring Cameron Mitchell, Richard Basehart, Jack Cassidy, Martin Sheen, Buddy Ebsen, Albert Salmi. That’s one of the best casts ever assembled for a broadcast, and Shatner – its star – was more than up to the task.

Mr. Shatner proceeded to healthy runs on numerous series, but the jokes went on and on. My own attitude began to lighten up when I realized he had a strong sense of self-awareness about Captain Kirk. His own parody of the character in the movie Airplane: The Very Stupid Sequel (I think I’ve got the title right, but iMDB doesn’t list it as such) was brilliantly self-effacing. I figured somebody else wrote that part. But his performance as William Shatner at a Star Trek convention on Saturday Night Live – the famous “get a life” moment – well, even if somebody else wrote it, Shatner wasn’t playing a character. He was playing himself with a truth and honesty essential to successful comedy.

Damn. That was good.

Since then, Shatner showed his comedic prowess in a variety of television commercials, most notably those for Priceline.com. But the world moved and changed when David E. Kelley hired him to play the part of Denny Crane for a run on The Practice, knowing the show was to spin-off into Boston Legal, unless ABC changed its mind (ask our friends – off the record – at DC Comics about Lois and Clark).

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Who’s on top again?

Who’s on top again?

  • News
  • April 15, 2007

With the Doctor Who episode, "Gridlock", airing last night in the UK, the show has retaken the lead from Star Trek with 727 produced episodes over a 44 year history, exceeding all of the Star Trek series combined. Well done, lads and ladies.

Movie Auction sets record

Movie Auction sets record

  • News
  • April 6, 2007

The auction we told you last Friday (http://www.comicmix.com//news/2007/03/30/to-do-april-5-buy-superman-oz-props/) is over,and sold more than $2 million in props.  Among the highlights of interest to ComicMix:

— SOLD $ 31,625.00  Lot 376.  Original car from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride at Disneyland.

— SOLD $ 34,500.00  Lot 384.  Illuminating model of the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

— SOLD $ 23,000.00  Lot 413.  Hero costume w/rocket pack from The Rocketeer.

— SOLD $ 31,625.00  Lot 525.  Yvonne Blake costume sketch of Superman from Superman: The Movie.

— SOLD $115,000.00  Lot 537.  Christopher Reeve hero ‘Superman’ costume from Superman:  The Movie.

— SOLD $ 26,560.00  Lot 545.  Screen-used Kryptonite crystal from   Superman III.

— SOLD $ 63,250.00  Lot 560.  Val Kilmer ‘Batman’ costume from Batman Forever.

— SOLD $ 48,875.00  Lot 561.  Alicia Silverstone ‘Batgirl’ costume from  the Ice Cave battle in Batman Forever.

— SOLD $ 40,250.00  Lot 566.  Wolverine hero claws worn by Hugh Jackman in X2: X-Men United.

— SOLD $ 34,500.00  Lot 591.  Early Leonard Nimoy "Spock" tunic from the first season of Star Trek.

— SOLD $126,500.00  Lot 631.  H.R. Giger Alien creature suit on display from Alien.

— SOLD $ 40,250.00  Lot 640.  Jedi Master stunt fighting lightsaber from SW: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

— SOLD $ 69,000.00  Lot 641.  Golden headpiece of "Staff of Ra" from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Star Trek Star in Space

Star Trek Star in Space

  • News
  • April 2, 2007

The Associated Press reports that the ashes of James Doohan have been loaded into a rocket scheduled to launch in New Mexico later this month.  Doohan, as geeks everywhere know, played Scotty in the original Star Trek television show and movies.

Also on the rocket are the ashes of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper and 200 other people, according to Charles Chafer, chief executive of Celestis.  The company contracts with rocket firms to send cremated remains into space. 

You, too, can orbit the earth post-mortem for $495.  This fee allows a few grams of your ashes to be included in the rocket.

Scotty follows the ashes of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, which were launched into space in 1997.

David Honigsberg: 1958-2007

David Honigsberg: 1958-2007

  • News
  • March 28, 2007

David Honigsberg, the only science fiction and country music writing rabbi (and as such, the epitome of the sort of cross-culture we cover at ComicMix), died suddenly at his home yesterday. He was 48.

Honigsberg contributed a story, "Sambatyon", to the 1994 anthology The Ultimate Silver Surfer. He wrote other science fiction stories over the years, and contributed knowledge of Jewish religion, history, and Kaballah as a consultant to numerous science fiction writers over the years, and was instrumental in writing the first Klingon Jewish wedding ceremony in the Star Trek story, Creative Couplings. He was also active in the science fiction community, both as a speaker on panels and also presiding over numerous weddings of fans.

He is survived by his wife, Alexandra, who has our deepest sympathies. Funds are being raised for his funeral expenses here, and services information will be posted when we have it.

Galactica plots its new course

Galactica plots its new course

  • News
  • March 27, 2007

Now that the third season is behind him and he’s got a full commitment from the SciFi Network for a third, Battlestar Galactica developer and executive producer Ron Moore decided to spill a few beans about what’s ahead for the series.

Moore revealed Katee Sackhoff will be back as Starbuck throughout the upcoming season, although he did not reveal if she was the final Cylon. Despite her previous public comments regarding her getting new work on other series, Moore told the trade magazine TVWeek "She was very careful how she phrased it. We wanted people to feel the loss. We didn’t want to put Katee in the position of lying to people. She did look for other work and is getting other work — just other work that won’t interfere with her "Battlestar" commitments."

He also disclosed the upcoming two-hour Galactica made-for-teevee movie that will be airing this fall (and available on DVD shortly thereafter) will not pick up from the point where season three left off, providing a convenient "jumping in" point for new viewers. "It didn’t feel right to try and resolve the cliffhanger with a single airing and DVD release. It didn’t make any sense. We told a story that takes place in the past in the "Galactica" universe but relates to events in the fourth season."

As has been widely rumored, Moore confirmed the possibility of a prequel series called Caprica. It’s "still in development," Moore said. "They’re not picking it up as a pilot right now. They’ve talked about doing a two-hour version of it, or a DVD. The longer it goes on, the less likely it seems that anything will happen."

Of course, if this fall’s stand-alone movie does well – or if the Star Trek theatrical prequel does extremely well (a longer shot, IMHO) – don’t be surprised if SciFi gets a lot more interested.

GLENN HAUMAN: Literature of ethics, revisited

  • News
  • March 18, 2007

I’ve been kicking around these ideas around for a while but never codified them until Jim Henley wrote his famous blogposts and essay on the Literature of Ideas. Henley’s thesis boils down to “If science fiction is the literature of ideas, the superhero story is the literature of ethics. Or say, rather, it should be.”

Now for the backstory. This isn’t verbatim, but as I know and at least briefly worked with all the people here, I suspect it’s pretty close.

In the early 1970’s, the late great Julius Schwartz took over editorial duties on the Superman comics line from Mort Weisinger. Julie hired Dennis O’Neil to write the series, and O’Neil knocked Superman’s power levels down to about the level of his earliest appearances — no heat vision, no x-ray vision, no super-breath, no flying through space unaided, and so on. O’Neil was quoted saying that the reason for the change was that he found it difficult and/or uninteresting “to write about a character who could destroy distant galaxies by listening hard.”

O’Neil’s tenure on Superman lasted for about a year, and then the reins were handed over to Elliot S. Maggin. Elliot bumped Superman’s power levels back up to where they were, and approached writing Superman this way: if you have a character who can do anything, the only story avenues left to you are ethical ones. But in this area, there’s a lot of ground: “What was Superman’s relationship to his charges, the people of the Earth? To the authoritative functionaries of the rest of the Universe like the Guardians and, by extension, those who might be considered deities? What were the limits of Superman’s responsibilities? Were there differences between the real limits of his responsibilities and his perception of those responsibilities? What role did his heritage, both on Earth and among the stars, play in the determination of his actions? What long-term effects were coming about as a result of his intercession?”

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