Happy Trek 50th! It's only now I can be excited

Hey, it’s Sept. 8!

My early fandom benchmarks & treasures

The Official Big 5-0 is here, at last.
 
Everyone and their alien dog is doing the Star Trek thing: mainstream news, bloggers, entire nations of state-owned media.
 
So, just as I promised when I started this blog, I'll take the personal route on this landmark day.

And say, after a year of joining fans worldwide to celebrate and reflect on Gene Roddenberry’s gift to us all, that I’ve got to come clean and admit it:
 
I take Star Trek for granted. And always have.
 
I mean, don’t get me wrong: I likely would not have wound up with a lot of my life choices—from a wife, to the expression of career training in numerous fields—had it not been for the little space saga that could.
 
By that I mean the original series, of course—no bloody A, B, C, D, V, E, J, or new D—and the by fact that I was but a kid when I got trekkified: one hour at a time, one day at a time, every day after school. Just like so, so many others.

I fell for those characters, I fell for that universe. I fell for the fact it was our universe—as both a history buff and a NASA kid, it made complete sense.
 
Because here’s a second admission: I can be deadly with the practical and the pragmatic. I had a “Well, yeah” put-down comeback that was years ahead of the “Well, duh” fad...and I used it full force, on wide-beam setting on Star Trek. 
 
Of course our technology would progress from the wheel to the horsepower to the airplane to the starship… from fire to oil to antimatter. And for a species that grew from the level of caves to city-states to nations to United Nations, well of course we’d eventually become a union of intelligently populated planets—once we found them. And once they found us— because they, like us, had to figure out the self-survival recipe or they'd never have made it to the stars in the first place. (Well, most of them, anyway. Cue the grumpy Vulcans.)
 
I read the early books like Star Trek Lives!, grappling with why Trek was so mold-breakingly popular. I saw the interviews… I read the fan letters, the magazine essays.  Optimistic future, humanity survives, we don’t kill each other or the planet or the new kids we find out there to play with …yadda yadda yadda... yeah, yeah yeah.
 
It was a concept that got so many young people excited and engaged...and still does.

Me, not so much. Remember, I was "well, yeah" when "well, yeah" wasn't cool. I mean, I knew how to gush—I just didn't see the need. Duh.
 
But the years since this teenager fell for that vision of future history have hardly been rosy.  World progress has not been inevitable; tolerance and diversity and justice have not arisen automatically, along an ever-rising path to global peace and prosperity.

The go-go ‘70s grew into the cushy ‘80s and the dot-com ‘90s...and then, just about the time Star Trek's optimism seemed old hat in many ways... along came a global melt-down, a rebound of intolerance and pushback, and a generation that never saw a hot world war — but was sure plenty scared of a hot world.
 
And then Leonard died.

As I said at the time, his passing hit me not just hard, but unexpectedly: with guilt. Guilt that, while favoring McCoy and Scotty, and mourning De and Jimmy, I had taken Leonard and Spock far, far too much for granted.

And as the Five-O party started, and all the old truisms and quotes were trotted out again to explain Trek's appeal and Trek's longevity... I realized I was guilty once again. Of taking the core of the whole damn franchise for granted.

Even more than in 1966 or even 1986, Star Trek is an incredible gift of inspiration and hope, an ageless lesson in diversity and respect, a needed lesson in rationality and curiosity...and a damn flexible storytelling vehicle with great characters, cast, commentary and yes, canon—which you might say the biggest sign of respect of all: from creator to audience.

Yes, the years go by, world progress is not on autopilot, and it's actually gotten easier to gush about Star Trek. I bet we'll be saying the same thing after the next 50.

Duh.



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Have a great #happy50th day today! 
Remember to share your pics of your party or meetup tonight at Larry Nemecek's Facebook or on Twitter with the hastag #mytrek50 ....
And if in L.A. (or on Facebook Live) drop by our "we are all fans" Trek50 meetup tonight at Lucy's in Hollywood anytime from 6-10 p.m., co-hosted by Roddenberry's Mission Log podcast, for a toast on Star Trek's debut half-past hours across the US time zones, shared on Facebook Live.

'Beyond' in incredible, Barco Escape three-screen panorama theaters—can you see it near you?

The pre-screening buzz is great for Star Trek Beyond, as I'd guessed, even though detailed reviews are being embargoed til the release July 21...

But here's one detail that should not be a secret: A hot new way to see Beyond and other features, soon, in only a few dozen cities around the globe: a multi-screen, panoramic theater system called Barco Escape.

I'm going to be seeing STB again in L.A. just after the Comic-Con premiere, but the wide Barco artwork below gives you the idea—over 20 minutes of the movie were specifically created for the sprawling, massively wide effect by director Justin Lin and J.J.'s Bad Robot team in full partnership with Barco. These ain't third-party add-ons!

And now there's a trailer out for the Barco Beyond:

Barco, first out in 2014 with The Maze Runner,  has also partnered with 20th-Centruy Fox and Jerry Bruckheimer, and has committed to at east three more films with the Barco touch this year—one of them big-time: The feature 6 Below will be shot entirely in Barco Escape by director Scott Waugh (Act of Valor, Need for Speed), and starring Josh Hartnett.

To me, it harks back to the old Cinerama three-camera multi-screen projection which is amazing, as we recently saw at a festival of films actually made to take advantage of it and projected that way. But THIS of course uses the latest in digital cinema on a whole new seamless level, and expands the visceral sensory experience that is hitting you from such a wide angle.  An epic space blockbuster like Star Trek on big screen is the perfect way to take advantage and showcase all that expanded cinemascope panorama!

I can't wait to try it out here at the Regal at LA LIVE downtown, but check Barco Escape's world screening link here where you can see the cities and showtimes around the world and whether you're lucky enough to have the access, too. Just check it out and get tickets at those exclusive theaters just like you normally would for a show.

Barco uses the Twitter handle @BarcoEscape and has a full website here.

And just so you can get the full Jaylah effect too:

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In case you missed it, here's the full press release announcing the deal and the technology:

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J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot and Barco Boldly Go Into the Future of Cinema with “Star Trek Beyond” Release in Barco Escape

Digital Cinema Powerhouse Brings Multi-Screen, Panoramic Experience To Theaters This Summer

LOS ANGELES — April 11, 2016 — Digital cinema leader Barco and Bad Robot Productions today announced “Star Trek Beyond,” one of this year’s most anticipated films, will be released in Barco’s multi-screen theatrical format Barco Escape, bringing audiences inside the action from the interstellar franchise - like never before. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot will master a special version of the film, expanding the storytelling across three screens to unveil a thrilling new movie going experience to audiences when the film, from Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions, releases on July 22.

“Star Trek Beyond,” the third installment of the phenomenally successful reboot, is directed by Justin Lin, and stars Idris Elba, Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Zach Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Anton Yelchin and Karl Urban. The most recent film, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” grossed more than $467 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing entry in the Star Trek franchise.

"Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond is an epic adventure — truly larger than life,” said producer and Bad Robot president J.J. Abrams.  “It is especially fitting, then, that we are partnering with Barco to provide an ultra wide-screen immersive experience using their unique Barco Escape format. This premium format dramatically expands the width of the viewing plane, giving filmmakers an innovative new tool with which to tell stories and audiences an enhanced new way to experience cinema."

Barco Escape will illuminate the Star Trek universe by creating key “moments” across all three screens that will exhilarate fans. Bad Robot will re-master more than 20 minutes of “Star Trek Beyond” into the new format. As part of Bad Robot’s commitment to the innovative technology, an executive from the company will also join Barco Escape’s advisory board.

“J.J. Abrams and the Star Trek franchise share in our passion for exploration and innovation, which is why we’re thrilled to lead Barco Escape’s 2016 lineup together with ‘Beyond,’” said CEO of Barco Escape, Todd Hoddick. “We are honored to have J.J. and the incredibly talented team at Bad Robot Productions as partners and look forward to sharing the power of this experience to capture the magnitude of big, bold stories like ‘Star Trek Beyond.'”

Since debuting in fall 2014 with the hit movie “The Maze Runner,” Barco has been working hand-in-hand with today’s top studios and filmmakers to create projects that offer audiences an unmatched viewing experience - only available in theaters. Director Scott Waugh (“Act of Valor,” “Need for Speed”) recently announced he is directing the first feature shot entirely for Barco Escape. The film, titled “6 Below” and starring Josh Hartnett, will be released later this year.

Barco Escape also holds a multi-year deal with 20th Century Fox and a development deal with Jerry Bruckheimer, who is also an advisory board member.  Barco is committed this year to offering at least four films in Barco Escape, which has proven to bring audiences out to the cinema with its first two theatrical releases.

The fully DCI-compliant Barco Escape technology utilizes three cinema projectors and two additional cinemascope screens, allowing filmmakers to create for a much larger canvas.  With current exhibitor partners in the United States, Europe, Mexico and China, Barco plans to expand to more than 100 Barco Escape theaters in 2016. 

About Barco

Barco, a global technology company, designs and develops networked visualization products for the Entertainment, Enterprise and Healthcare markets. Barco has its own facilities for Sales & Marketing, Customer Support, R&D and Manufacturing in Europe, North America and APAC. Barco (NYSE Euronext Brussels: BAR) is active in more than 90 countries with 3,300 employees worldwide. Barco posted sales of 1.029 billion euro in 2015.

About Bad Robot Productions

Bad Robot was formed by filmmaker J.J. Abrams in 2001. The company has produced television series such as ALIAS, LOST, FRINGE, PERSON OF INTEREST, feature films such as CLOVERFIELD, STAR TREK, SUPER 8, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL, STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, and interactive content including the mobile app ACTION MOVIE FX. Bad Robot's first foray into publishing, S., a novel conceived by Abrams and written by Doug Dorst, was a New York Times Best Seller. Bad Robot is based in Los Angeles and can be followed at twitter.com/bad_robot.

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On a day like today, HERE's how to apply Trek therapy

Back to "5-0 Fever"and more videos in a second....

But today, on this tragically historic day of the biggest mass shooting in US history... followed on soon by the discovery of an Indiana kid in L.A. trying to make his own anti-gay mark... I've seen lots of numb, mourning, sad folks online sharing their grief, talking, and even railing about all the topics-turned-hotspots: Literally, the ol' guns, gays and God wrapped up in one bloody package for legitimate discussion, hot debate, and of course political opportunism ...whether anything really changes, or not.

And of course from Trekland's perch I see a lot of Trek fans, somewhere along the numbness spectrum, announcing they're just about to go off and binge-watch a chunk o'Trek to escape and chill out in their beloved universe where such crap doesn't happen.

Usually.

Because, really—to be truthful and credit Gene Roddenberry and his writer-descendants... the "perfect" 23rd and 24th centuries were often times not seen to be so—and at times dispensed with teh alien metaphor and came close to home.

What comes to mind? Well, if you do an "escape bingewatch" today... what about gender equality in TNG's "The Outcast," the paranoid fascism of DS9's "Past Tense" I & II (above) or "Homefront/Paradise Lost" ... theology tyranny in "In The Hands Of the Prophets" or Voyager's "Distant Origin"... or Enterprise's xenophobic dive into "Demons/ Terra Prime"? 

Then maybe wind it all up with TOS's "Day of The Dove," and wish we could find our planet's rotating ball of noncorporeal hate-consuming light sparkles...and deal with it all as easily as that.

And then go curl up and watch "Tribbles" or "Piece of the Action," and hug those pillows, loved ones or both.

And keep dreaming—and working—for "The Big Bird's Dream," each in your own way. 

In other words: Keep on Trekkin'... with meaning.

Bring on the movie fans!—and this ST Beyond event

Bless me, but I'm actually excited for Friday. 

After this long fallow decade of Trek... after two flashy yet brief film trips to the alt-Trek they created... with an actual, short-season Prime episode run coming as flagship of the new CBS All-Access ... and the excitement it has spawned running far more than the movie's—the one with a troubled start and practically no promotion so far...

Bless me, but I'm actually excited for this Star Trek Beyond Fan Event and Trailer #2 Premiere Friday night on the Paramount lot, led by director Justin Lin (left) and more headline cast/crew names TBA soon. Sorry, it's going to feel a bit "local" in the turnout, you far-flung fans reading this—unless you were among a handful to win a paid trip from Paramount to see it. (Or, of course, catch it on Facebook Live streaming.)

But even without that "radical" access ... it's literally going where no on-lot, live Trek movie promo event has gone before–especially for the public. Far more than just the trailer and talkers, I hear talk of some really cool displays—so we'll see!  "Star Trek: The Temporary Experience" is as welcome as any right now.

All of us will be eager to finally see what this jump-start buzz machine will actually jump-start among fans, their social media, and even hard-core media. That's the catch-up strategy, and it's already starting up this week.

But I also can't wait to meet and hear from the alt-movie fans, for once—if indeed a lot of them get in the gates Friday. I don't know that they always break through the "established" circles of fandom that tend to circle me... but I am so ready to gauge their reactions and feelings about what is unveiled this night. I really, really hope to finally meetup a lot of the fanbase who've come to Trek only since 2009, via the big-screen entry point.

With time not on the side of print media, I'll be writing a piece for Star Trek Magazine about not so much the event but the variety of fan feelings that night about both it and the movie. 

Look, as this unusual decade has played out with Trek in flux, my own perspective has finally evolved to understanding that while the "alt-verse" was not my first choice, this an overall well-cast film series has been amazing at pumping in new fans, and grabbing respect in The Town and This Media. It's been the best entry-level drug Star Trek has had in decades.

And if I haven't said it lately, I've said it often on-air: I had been excited to see what Bob Orci was going to bring to the series once left to his own, with JJ Abrams' shifting his gaze to Warsland; I felt for a long time that the JJ veneer on top of any Trek that Bob or anyone has done has been greatly underrealized, and had been eager to see what the final product would be without that veneer. for once. That said, even with its rushed restart after Orci's story was let go, I still have high hopes for the script that fanboy Simon Pegg and partner Doug Jung (right) turned out—and I pay no attention to group think: Lin has directed a far wider range of tales than simply that F&F tag he was stuck with—and he rejuvenated that. (Awesome profile on his life and its affect on his storytelling here.) 

I always hope for the best, and I'm really pulling for these guys. Maybe it's a luxury of optimism, now that we know a weekly return to Prime is due next winter. 

We'll see Friday. 

And I can hardly wait.




UPDATE: per Paramount: "The event will not be live streamed in it’s [sic] entirety. Buzzfeed Entertainment will be live streaming a portion of the event through their Facebook page. "

Thoughts on June 11: Spock again illuminates McCoy

Or, rather, Leonard Nimoy illuminates DeForest Kelley.

It seems here in the Blog Age I've settled into a tradition each year of celebrating De's life career on his Jan. 20 birthday ... and using the anniversary of his passing on June 11, 1999—today—to reflect on what he's meant to me, to fandom, and to the world. Nothing radical there.


But I look back at my Trekland posts on the major markers of his death—the tenth anniversary, and then the fifteenth—and realize that, like all history and anything connected with the non-Prophets' linear existence, the passing years only shed more light, more texture and more nuance on what it is we already know.

So it was this year with Leonard Nimoy's own passing Feb. 27, and how I caught my own thoughts and reaction, upon hearing the news, first shifting to 6/11/99 and De—and then comparing and contrasting the two, and reflecting on first fandom and then our culture's reaction and modes of today... as I wrote about for Star Trek Magazine just a few days later for the rushed first edition after Leonard's passing. Very proud of that piece, as once again sometimes the simplest writing turns into my favorite.

Come to think of it, it's where my thoughts went when we lost Majel in 2008, and even grand old producer A.C. Lyles a year back. With Gene so long gone, De continues to be my adult anchor and reference point to all Trek, it seems. Hmmmmm.

One thing that has not changed, in fact perhaps accelerated by Leonard's passing, is the ongoing stampede of fans and appreciators of De's role of McCoy and his humble, understated performance overall. What I wrote about that explosion last year, sparked by finding my first Trek T-shirts (above), has not only mushroomed, but the awareness of it as well — especially among younger fans who can take their 24/7 remastered streaming fandom and see it all for themselves, much quicker, and go online and spread it further.

When I finally shed a professional veneer during our last interview and confessed to De that he and McCoy were both my favorites, he laughingly cracked a great retort: "Well, where were you in the 60s when I coulda used you up, against Bill and Leonard?" I've told that story more than once, but it occurs to me now: I think he'd love to shoot it back at all his new fans today, as well...and be just as appreciative.

RIP, Grace Lee: For many, you were our first

Our last two losses were hard, if not unexpected—but I didn't see this one coming.

Grace Lee "Yeoman Rand" Whitney, whose passing at home May 1 hit the web hard two days later on Sunday afternoon, was boppin' around the Vegas Khaaan landscape like always last August when I chatted with her for the umpteenth million time—perhaps most of all over the years while on set for Commander Janice Rand's final onscreen canon moment in Voyager's "Flashback" anniversary episode with George Takei.

But this week, my mind goes back to this moment, 17 years before that ...

...when we really first met, at a small convention in Dallas the summer The Motion Picture debuted (when everyone was disappointed that the TMP "trailer" so highly hyped was a non-event of ship stills "animation." Little did we know...). Yeah, she was a judge for the costume contest, and that's me afterward as my Tellarite in dress uniform, Dr. Ffalst—and this would be your typical selfie moment.

But our bonding moment that day was really more about this mood...

...when she was consoling me on losing out to not one but two sets of Rocky Horror babe-pair entrants, thanks to the otherwise all-male judging panel—and confiding that she had voted for me as obviously the best for anyone not acting on hormones alone. After sweating in the Texas humidity with that nose-putty pignose almost sliding off, delayed due to overflow to see the triler, her words were a comfort—but it was still the last time I ever went all-out and fully made up for a con masquerade. I had shared this pic before, but I had not shared the sentiment.

But hearing of Gracie's sudden loss on Sunday, checking it out with the Fresno Bee paper, and, again, soaking up the heartfelt words and memories so many fans online have poured out over social media everywhere… well, it struck me what so many of us first-generation fandom share: There's a good chance Gracie was our first.

Think about it: Before the Internet, of course, and even before the plethora of large well-run conventions... most of us in small towns and cities only read about our Trekfolks coming to cons in L.A. or New York, or Chicago. Our little "local" cons weren't about to afford Shatner or Nimoy—but, given pecking order and star billing, there was a good chance that a lot of small-time and start-up cons had Grace Lee as their first guest. And thus, she became the first "regular" that many, many fans ever met in person, chatted with, maybe grabbed a photo (from an actual camera), but at least came away clutching an autograph.

I've come to realize the past couple of days that, more than any other of her castmates, I have more Gracie stories stored up from both sides of the fan/pro demarcation than I'd realized. That also means, as sweet natured as she was, those same small and start-up cons could also be a trap: I know at least one instance when we bought her dinner, without her knowledge, when the host promoter smilingly sat at the table of the "guest dinner" but bailed on our bill.

But those are the exceptions to the rule. Gracie, much like Majel at her Lincoln Enterprises-turned-roddenberry.com table, was the epitomy of accessibility for her fans. Yes, star billing order drove that, but for small-town fans hungry for some "real life" contact with their favorite show in those pre-Internet, pre-saturation, and pre-'87 sequels days where it all began... well, Grace Lee was their first.

And from what I saw at Vegas 2014... she still was, for many.

All photos: Kevin Hopkins

Total disclosure, but more sharing: Gracie was actually my second, truth be told, after meeting George the year before—but I also remember, at that same Dallas convention, when we chased away those obnoxious singers on the millionth round of "Star Trekkin'" so she and her agent could chat with fans at her table in peace, as recorded in this Instamatic special (at right)!




Swift journeys, sweet, strong lady.

Come vote! The Enterprise in Space design poll ends Dec. 21

Hey: It's another update for Enterprise in Space—a quick one...

THIS is the week everyone and anyone can vote for their favorite among the 18 designs submitted in the non-profit orbiter's design contest (at right). The winning NSS Enterprise design will have be made spaceworthy—especially for re-entry—but founder Shawn Case and the team intend to push the artistic envelope before the engineering realities have to kick in, as they will—and fit our "sci-fi to sci-fact" theme.

But hurry and go now: Voting closes at midnight UTC, NEXT Sunday, Dec. 21! (That's 7 pm EST/ 4 pm PST). The cut-off was just extended two days.

And say—you don't even have to be one of our "$20 virtual crewmember" donors to vote. The winning design will have to be made spaceworthy, of course, but we want the design to have a distinctive aesthetic we can utilize as much as possible.


Here's a video about voting to get you in the mood!




Look, I'm the promotion spokesperson for EIS, as I've been excited to say before. I've talked about some of the details there, but the most audacious part of this is not so much the "rocket science" required but the bold concept that enough Trek and sci-fi futurists around the world want to honor our future's brightest minds and ideas in the name... of Enterprise. A REAL one. And this design contest is just another way that grassroots nature for EIS is being put on display. It's one of teh reasons the project was appealing to the National Space Society to sponsor.

So: THIS WEEK, please go help us make a choice! The public voting will be followed by a five-judge panel of space and sci-fi notables, and the winner and finalists announced on Jan. 21 (full info here).

Of course, with one week to go til Christmas and names still on your quickie-gift list, please consider this option for stocking stuffers, Secret Santa gifts at work or church, or easy mailers to distant relatives...complete with a holiday theme on their crew certificate.

And as always, please share the vote and the whole shebang—on or off Facebook or Twitter.

Happy birthday, De—94 and still so young!

As is our habit over the years here at Trekland, we always mark the birthday of my favorite of them all, DeForest Kelley, and share some of our stack of De non-Trek images.

And this year, a twist: A full-page spotlight from, as you can see, a 1948 Hollywood movie star fan magazine—around the time of Variety Girl and just after his debut in Fear in the Night. (And I bet that life lifelong friend, the late great A.C. Lyles, help cobble the text together for the mag in his guise as a Paramount publicist.) Note that even here, they don't include his first name "Jackson" before his other two when listing his "real name."

As if it was possible to up my feelings any more, you all know the past year has put me into an even closer relationship with De and his legacy by twice playing McCoy for Star Trek Continues, and the study actually gave me an appreciation for the darker sides of both actor and his role that I never considered as a fan. Just know that even though I've stepped back from the role now, I'll never step back from my appreciation of his understated performance legacy, the real-world path that De and McCoy both climbed in Star Trek, and the effect they had in getting me mixed up in this crazy franchise.

So once again, raise a glass of Finagle's Folly to De, or even a mint julep, and enjoy:

When Tweetworlds collide: Star Trek and my Sooners

We've come so far.

As a kid and teen in Oklahoma, your fandoms of football and Trek were almost never even allowed to intersect, much less thought of as even on the same plane—and it wasn't from a mainstream culture-vs.-geek minority standpoint, either. Many litfans I know zealously guarded their anti-sports reputation (and in Oklahoma that might as well have been anti-football). IDIC, schmIDIC—you got it both ways if you were caught in the middle!

No longer. The subject comes up from time to time—and, with a growing relationship between Trekland and trek.fm, the podcast/online empire of Alabama native and fan Chris Jones, Thursday's Oklahoma-Bama meetup in the Sugar Bowl was an inevitable Tweeparama in the making.

First off, I had to share when this graphic flashed across the screen of the pre-game show—and I knew any Vegas Khaaaaan veteran of more than 3 years could have told ESPN Something was Wrong with their captions!

But then I was blindsided by this gem that Chris Photoshopped:

(Apologies to the Rikers and to Late Season 2)

But them, as my Sooner crimson outplayed the Crimson Tide and shocked not only the whole world but their own fans as well ...thanks to the sudden blossoming of young quarterback Trevor Knight!... I had this exchange of Tweets with Chris that hopefully you TOS'ers will appreciate:

Followed up by a great touche from my gracious-in-losing target:

Finally, after a goofy, salt-in-the-wound fumble off 'Bama for a late touchdown that OU unexpectedly added on:

What can I do when they just keep slapping me in the face?

And if you are wondering just what that 47 is doing in my temporary Twitter avatar this weekend, it has nothing to do with Trek or even that play. You're welcome.



So—do you notice sports and geekery colliding more these days? Or is it ALL just becoming one big pastiche of enriching distraction?

Win tickets to TNG's "Best of Both Worlds Movie" night from Trekland !

UPDATE: The contest is officially closed, but it will be 3-4 hours until I start sorting entries. If you want to take the chance, I will consider entries that come in during that time, until 10 pm EDT/ 7 pm PDT.

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So here we go again!

Are you ready to shoot for a pair of free tickets to see TNG's remastered "The Best of Both Worlds—The Movie" next Thursday, April 25? At a Fathom Events theater near you?

Near you, that is, IF you live in or near Phoenix, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Cleveland ... or Boston. Those are our Big Five this time around.

Once again, I'm thrilled that Fathom and Allied-THA have been gracious enough to let TREKLAND sponsor 10 lucky winners to this event in five cities around the country. The night, of course, is to promote the sale of the much-anticipated 3rd season set of the ongoing TNG Blu-ray remastered project by CBS that has been such a hot seller and godsend to Prime-starved Trekfen the past year. And this special "movie" version of BOBW will be available as well! More on that below the fold, but first:

Entering Trekland's "Best of Both Worlds Movie" ticket contest, as with our Season 2  theater event last winter, is simple—but do it fast!

The only caveat is you have to be situated and able to attend the screening in one of those cities, of course: all are new this time around except for Boston—I just couldn't resist a little nod to their city this week.  You need only send your email, your mailing address for the ticket delivery from Fathom, and your answer to this question:

In "The Best of Both Worlds" (parts 1 and/or 2), what is the character name of the actor/actress who also played a senior member of the crew of the original Battlestar Galactica?

HOW TO ENTER:

Once again, we're doing this simply—so pay attention to this quickie entry process and its quirks:


—Go to my website, larrynemecek.com, and click on the yellow Newsletter box at left.

— In the "First Name" box, ignore that label and write your FULL NAME and complete mailing address: street, city, state, zip code.

— In the "Last Name" box, ignore that label as well and type one of the five "TICKET CITY" listed that is proximate to you—Phoenix, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, or Boston ... followed by the two-word answer to the above question. (Example:  "Boston — Wil Wheaton". (Sample only:Wil was many things but he was NOT Boxey. Or even Muffet.)

Again, fair warning: Unless you want to spring for a plane/train ticket or long-haul it, please do not enter unless you are in or near one of the five metro areas listed. Sorry, Rest of America (including my native and adopted homes)—We went into new cities, and we'll get even more of you next time.)

That's it!

ONE entry per person—thanks!

ENTRY DEADLINE is 6 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time/ 3 p.m. Pacific on Sunday, April 21!


Five winners will be announced by Monday night, April 22—after I draw from among all those submitting both the correct answer AND a complete, useable email and mailing address; both are required in order to win. Fathom Events will be provided the five winners' addresses, and will supply the prize tickets directly to them. Also, Fathom will award the specific theater passes as close as possible based on geography.

NOTE: Aside from the five winners, all email and address data is seen and retained only by me and does not go on to Fathom or any other corporate entity.  If you wish to opt-out of my list, write "opt-out" after your trivia answer. Otherwise, I hope you stay in for my low-key monthly contact through the year of rare goodies, sneak peeks, front-row insights, con travels and project updates from all over Trekland.

Meanwhile, if you want a sure thing for "TNG 'Best of Both Worlds' Movie Night" tickets next Thursday, April 25, go here to go ahead and order yours. Ever since the Fathom/CBS hookup began for TNG, people have been looking forward to THIS one—and some theaters are already a sellout. But just call first: tickets are still available in dozens of sceening theaters across the country that will actually be beamed the program as part of the exclusive National CineMedia Digital Broadcast Network —check out the theater list HERE.  And if you do come across a sell-out, let us know ASAP here, or on Trekland Facebook or Twitter, will you?

Last DVD generation (above); remastered clip (below)

Of course, the movie hoopla calls attention to the latest amazing season of Blu-ray return-to-film HD remastering (see at right), added footage, and all-new bonus documentaries from CBS (plus all those  released before) that goes on sale everywhere Tuesday, April 30 —or in advance now.  The movie night this time spotlights a special special "polish" version of the classic cliffhanger and conclusion that changed Star Trek forever—and even U.S. television!



For truly, if you are a Trek fan, you should indeed know how "The Best of Both Worlds" changed Star Trek—and not just TNG ("Cliffhangers and sweeps-event two-parters for everyone!") ... AND that the astronomic reaction to the summer-long wait for the conclusion to "Mr. Worf—fire!" generated so much heat across the industry that season-finale cliffhangers came back into vogue across all genres, including network shows. "Who Shot J.R?" may have been the question of the summer in 1980, but it took Locutus of Borg to make it stick 10 years later. I'm just sayin.'

And once again—send us your pics of the April 25 crowd and/or cosplayers from TNG movie night wherever you see it (to larry@larrynemecek.com), and we'll share them with everyone!

See the entire press release for the night below...but first:


CANADIAN FANS: No ticket giveaway for you here, but you do have the chance to also catch the movie version of this classic on a big screen. As my onetime ST Communicator writer James Careless tells Trekland:

Fortunately for Canadian Star Trek fans, April 25 is springtime in the Great White North. This is why Canadian Trekkies will flock to theaters to see the one-day-only showing of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation: Best of Both Worlds ’ at any of 50 movie houses nationwide. It is being hosted by Cineplex Entertainment as part of the company’s Front Row Centre Events (FRPC) package.

“FRPC is designed to really utilize our theatres on quiet days with unique events,” explains Brad LaDoucer, Cineplex’s VP of alternative programming. “We did a 25th anniversary event last year to mark the original launch of Star Trek: The Next Generation, featuring some of the series’ most-loved episodes, and it was very well received.” Cineplex also enjoyed similar success when it screened Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

As for fans wearing costumes on the big night? “We encourage our guests to come in their favorite Star Trek regalia,” says Mike Langdon, Cineplex’s director of communications. However, phasers and Klingon bat’leths should be kept at home – and fans are asked to turn off their communicators for the duration of the movie.

Tickets for the Canadian April 25 screening of "Best of Both Worlds" can be bought online now at www.cineplex.com.

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And meanwhile back in the States, here's the full press release on the event—where profits, by the way, as a promotional event, will be donated to the American Red Cross:

“Star Trek: The Next Generation® – The Best of Both Worlds” Event Transports into Cinemas on April 25 

NCM® Fathom Events, CBS Home Entertainment and IGN Present a One-Night Event Featuring the Classic Series’ Third Season Finale and Fourth Season Premiere Remastered into a Feature-Length Presentation

Special Event Will Precede “Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds” Blu-ray Releases on April 30

Centennial, Colo. – Feb. 27, 2013 – “You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.” Trekkers nationwide will soon heed those commands as NCM® Fathom Events, CBS Home Entertainment and IGN present “Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Best of Both Worlds,” which beams into select cinemas on Thursday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. local time. The fan-favorite two-part episode – "The Best of Both Worlds" – is comprised of the third season finale and the fourth season premiere, with Part 1 making TV Guide's list of "TV's Top 100 Episodes of All Time.” The episodes have been remastered into a feature-length presentation and will be presented on the big screen.

Tickets for “Star Trek: The Next Generation® – The Best of Both Worlds” are available at presenting theater box offices and online at www.FathomEvents.com. The event will be broadcast to more than 550 select movie theaters across the country through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network. For a complete list of theater locations and prices, visit the NCM Fathom Events website (theaters and participants are subject to change).

Fans will enjoy this digitally restored and gloriously remastered presentation in high definition. The fascinating storyline follows the cybernetic alien race, the Borg, as they abduct and transform Capt. Picard into a half-Borg, half-human called Locutus.  Meanwhile, the Enterprise crew must race against time to intercept the nefarious Borg cube before it reaches Earth to enslave humanity.

“Fans have been discussing these historic episodes since they first aired, and we’re excited to present them like never before, newly improved and on the big screen,” said Ken Ross, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Home Entertainment.  “This special event will ensure that ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ will remain a classic throughout the 21st Century — and beyond.”

Created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the “Star Trek” franchise, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” premiered 21 years after the debut of the original “Star Trek” series. Featuring one of the most endearing ensemble casts in television history, with seven seasons and 176 episodes, “Star Trek: The Next Generation” took fans on the remarkable continuing voyages of the Starship Enterprise, set in the 24th century.

“After the success of the first two ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ events, we couldn’t wait to bring additional seasons back to the big screen for fans to enjoy,” said Shelly Maxwell, executive vice president of NCM Fathom Events. “Fans will be absolutely thrilled with the presentation of these ‘Next Generation’ classics.”

“Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3” and “The Best of Both Worlds” will be released on Blu-ray on April 30.

CBS is a proud and long-standing supporter of the American Red Cross and will continue to show its support through this event. CBS will make a financial donation to support the Red Cross which shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families.


About National CineMedia (NCM)
National CineMedia (NCM) operates NCM Media Networks, a leading integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology. The NCM Cinema Network and NCM Fathom Events present cinema advertising and events across the nation’s largest digital in-theater network, comprised of theaters owned by AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CNK), Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) and other leading regional theater circuits. NCM’s theater advertising network covers 183 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50) and includes over 19,300 screens (approximately 18,500 digital). During 2012, approximately 710 million patrons attended movies shown in theaters in which NCM currently has exclusive, cinema advertising agreements in place.  The NCM Fathom Events live digital broadcast network (“DBN”) is comprised of over 740 locations in 172 Designated Market Areas® (including all of the top 50). The NCM Interactive Network offers 360-degree integrated marketing opportunities in combination with cinema, encompassing 41 entertainment-related websites, online widgets and mobile applications.  National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 48.6% interest in and is the managing member of National CineMedia LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com or www.FathomEvents.com. (NCMI-E)

About CBS Home Entertainment
CBS Home Entertainment manages the worldwide DVD and Blu-ray businesses for the CBS Corporation across all lines of content including current hits and classic series from the vast CBS library, as well as new releases from Showtime Networks. CBS Home Entertainment products are released on the CBS DVD and CBS Blu-ray labels.  

About IGN Entertainment
IGN Entertainment is the leading Internet media and services provider focused on the video game and entertainment enthusiast markets. Collectively, IGN's properties reach more than 57 million unique users worldwide, according to Internet audience measurement firm comScore.  IGN's network of video game-related properties (IGN.com, 1UP.com, GameSpy and others) is the Web's #1 video game information destination. IGN also owns the world's largest men's lifestyle website, AskMen.com, and men's entertainment site UGO.com. IGN is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices across North America, Europe and Australia.

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Note: This story's initial post did include one difference in the cities covered, but now reflects the final list of those involved.

TONIGHT: See the show, share your pics!

I hope you can join us and our five TREKLAND ticket winners, and thousands more across  the country (Sorry, Rest of World), at the big Next Generation Blu-ray HD "Celebration of Season 2" tonight at a theater near you, produced by Fathom Events. Tickets still available at the dozens of theaters nationwide!

As with the Fathom screening event last July, Thursday night is all to preview the next release of a season of TNG on the remeastered Blu-ray level—Season 2 of course—next Tuesday—though you can pre-order now.  On the menu tonight: "The Measure of The Man" with RESTORED deleted scenes cut for time, the Borg debut in "Q Who!", and 20 minutes of the brand-new running TNG documentary commissioned for the Blu-ray remastered project.

And just like last July, I'm asking everyone who intends to party tonight the Starfleet way (or Klingon, or Borg, or whatever flies your shuttle)  to send us your pics from tonight to share with everyone in Trekland!  Whether it;s just your group, or  the whole theatre.... Just email to larry@larrynemecek.com, and I'll make sure my peeps get them to me.

For you locals in SoCal, I'll be screening TNGS2 at the big Burbank AMC downtown along with longtime Star Trek stand-in, on-camera extra, and startrek.com pioneer Guy Vardaman —if you are around, let's try for a group pic around 6:30?  Mike & Denise Okuda, who again worked on this remastered project, have tweeted to join them over at the Century City (LA); rumor has it that doc producer RObert KMeyter Burnett will be there too.

I still can't believe that Fathom and CBS Home Entertainment have launched a theater event for the second season release, so get out and make an impact tonight! You do want to see "Yesterday's Enterprise," "Sins of the Father," "The Offspring" or of course "The Best of Both Worlds" as incfredible Season 3 explodes for TNG all back on big-screen too, right?

 

True-life tractor beams: The latest "Trek lead"

Tractor beam stuff!

The "lead," in journalistic jargon, is the top of a news story— the essence or nugget of the story, simply stated, that is then elaborated upon in succeeding paragraphs. If all you got was the first sentence or so, you'd know the gist of the story—even without more background.

When Civil War technology yielded not only all-new mass killing methods but mass communication as well, early-day journalists using telegraph lines for the first time realized the line might be cut at any time in critical situations, in battle or by spies. Thus, reporters got into the habit of spitting out the most important news first, and then elaborating as working lines allowed. Just in case.

Softer feature stories have their own lead style—and if those stories are about cutting-edge science or technology, it's a good bet they'll begin with leads that mentioned a certain future-soaked sci-fi franchise. We say this over and over again, and STILL it keeps happening. To-wit:

Tractor Beam: NYU Physicists Build Real-Life Working Model Of Sci-Fi Staple

"Star Trek" may have predicted the iPad and the iPhone, but who would have thought scientists could actually build a working tractor beam?
New York University physicists David Ruffner and David Grier have proposed how a working tractor beam might be assembled, according to a written statement. ...

It IS an amazing story. Again.
So how else to best introduce it to the American public?

25-candle time: my own birth certificate for TNG

So much has been said about The Next Generation—a lot of it by me in blogs, like this ... and oh yeah, this thing.

So I think, on this 25th anniversary event, I'll spare you any more about how TNG not only resurrected Star Trek, but revitalized TV distribution and markets, sparked the genre TV revolution, stoked the mainstreaming of affordable digital visual effects into even non-genre television storytelling ... Much less gave Gene, Bob Justman, and many more of the 1960s show veterans a long-overdue reason to finally say with pride and satisfaction, "Aha—it WASN'T a fluke!"

Nope, I won't get into any of that. Instead, I'll just share a little personal memento ... back from the days when all I knew about TNG was what I could glean from David Gerrold's column in Starlog, like everybody else ...

...back to the days when we actually made cut-and-paste fliers with real cuts and paste, and then "Xeroxed" them—in black-and-white, since color cost so much. Enjoy this relic from my days in news in hometown Norman, Oklahoma ... when no one had ever seen that weird new font before... Behold:

And yes, Oct. 4—this was a syndicated show, remember? It aired throughout the week in various times across the country, city by city: the "premiere date" of Sept. 28 was actually just the first day available—Monday night, when TV-centric L.A.'s Channel 13, for one, had the good sense to run it.

Meanwhile,  good ol' KTVY Channel 4, as OKC's NBC affiliate, snapped up the chance to run TNG in that market because where else would it get such great ratings—at 10:30 SUNDAY NIGHT.  So, a two-hour Sunday late-night party going past midnight meant you had to be TOUGH Okie Trek fans to support your cause. But it was no different nationwide.

Except that we were, however, just about the LAST ones to see "Farpoint" in the whole country. And every episode after that. For seven years. (It's actually why I moved to L.A.)

Oh...and for all the loud noise from the loud TOS "It-ain't-Kirk-and-Spock" naysayers,  -->TNG's pilot beat its prime-time network competition—as one measure of success—in its various times and days in Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Miami and Denver.

I bet we even won the 10:30 p.m. Sunday slot in OKC, too. 

The ultimate 'reality': RIP Ryan Dunn ... and "Proving Ground" suspended

UPDATE 6/27/11: G4 announces resumption of Proving Ground in its old slot beginning 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 19 for the other eight unaired eps. Presumably the Star Trek show (see below) will remain as #3 (July 26?). Also, a special Attack of the Show one-hour tribute to Ryan will air just before that first re-airing on July 19.
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In these days of broadened horizons here in Trekland, I had meant to start telling you this week about a real gonzo way I was going to be popping up on your TV machine next week. On, of all things, a reality show.

Ryan Dunn's ultimely death this morning in a car crash will delay all that. And remind us all, once again, How Fleeting It All is. As well as, it must be said in truth, what happens when you take chances and live perhaps too much on the edge. For that's right where Ryan lived, and my heart goes out to his family and that whole crazy crew that loved him for it.

Now, I'm hardly a fan of the reality "genre"—not to mention the whole Jackass franchise that made Ryan a star. But his new show Proving Ground that premiered on G4 just last Tuesday—a bit of Jackass meets Mythbusters that he co-hosts with vidgame vixen Jessica Chobot—needed an authority from a certain genre franchise for one of its theme shows. And who am I to argue?

It's not immediately mentioned on the brief G4 online obituary, but a G4 publicist tells me today that the completed series' air schedule is indefinitely suspended, until producers decide what and when to resume. That's why I can't show any more of the photo above.

No, it's not exactly my cup of tea, but those guys had their filmed-insanity bit down and were in the middle of expanding it for this series. And Ryan, for all his punkedness, was completely genial to me—including his amazement that somebody could even work as a Star Trek consultant... until I reminded him just what it was that he did, and we laughed.

That's why I'm in shock, an odd kind of shock, on the purely human level. Here—not like De Kelley or Jimmy Doohan or Marc Lenard, or even my dad—is someone I was just seeing a couple months ago in their prime, and now gone. This feeling now? Well, cliches are cliches because they ARE true. The word "fleeting" seems to have been invented just for this type of occasion, this helplessness.

But our meet-up was just a minor blip on Ryan's radar. I know his loss is really hitting hard on all those he worked closely with, then and now. It was the nature of the Jackass-centered, everyone-mix-it-up crew on the new show. My heart goes out to all of them left behind, as well.