ALL SCI-FI

[Krel]

[Bud Brewster]

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After watching all three seasons of Star Trek: Discovery and the first four episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I watched a few episodes of Enterprise today.

It was difficult to enjoy the series at first, for several reasons.

First of all, the futuristic sets in the new series are so damned Krell-like and dazzling that they've sort of spoiled me for the deliberately less-futuristic sets of Enterprise — not to mention the incredible 24th century technology after the U.S.S Discovery traveled to 3185 and was given "updates" by Starfleet.

The second reason I had trouble getting into Enterprise again (after seeing all the episodes, several years ago) was the fact that the stories are considerably less fast-paced then the newer series.

That, of course, is because (a) modern audiences prefer fast-paced stories with scads of action and less of the snooze-inducing "characterization" we old geezers seem to like.

With that in mind, I'm sure I'll adjust to the changes after watching a few more episodes, Besides, I'm waiting for Netflix to offer Strange New Worlds season 1, Picard season 2, and Discovery season 4.

So, I guess my newly acquired box set of Enterprise will keep me wandering around the Star Trek universe for a few weeks.

One of the episodes I've enjoyed the most is called Unexpected, in which Trip Tucker meets a gorgeous alien woman (played by Julianne Christie), who is actually just as beautiful as an alien (in a different sort of way) as she is in real life!


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The sparkling, form-fitting outfit she wears displayed a very shapely figure.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

IMDB:

The bridge set had 80 plasma screens.

Scott Bakula jokingly suggested prior to filming the two-hour pilot that his character, Captain Jonathon Archer's middle name should be Beckett. This was referring to Scott's previous science fiction television series, Quantum Leap, where he played the lead who was named Dr. Sam Beckett.

Julia Rose, who played the recurring character of a space-marine (MACO) on the 2003~2004 season, wore the same uniform that two-time Academy Award winner actress Hilary Swank wore in the science fiction film The Core.
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Sidebar: Star Trek: Enterprise had a number of props that I admired.

T'Pol had a screen viewer at her science station that was much cooler than Mr. Spock's viewer. Her viewer extended and retracted into the station console as needed. It was also placed at an angle where she could sit and use it. Mr.Spock's viewer was fixed to his science station and he had to stand to use it.

The communicator's grid would automatically flip open when a button was pressed.

Their phase pistol had a sharp design, as did their scanner which was the precursor to the tricorder.

The shuttle pod also had a nifty design to it.

So the series did have a lot of fantastic looking designs for not only the Enterprise and its sets and tools, but alien vessels, props, makeups, and wardrobes.

[Gord Green]

ENTERPRISE turned out to be my favorite "spin off" series , and I think Archer was my favorite Captain. Yes, those who historicaly came after were . . . but Archer set the example . . . and did it marvelously!

He was the precursor for the template that followed him. Now I have to say the new Pike and Kirk show a lot of promise.

Yes , the visual depiction of technology is much more advanced. Let's say we look at the Original series through a retro prisim that obscures our perception when viewing from "our" point of view. In other words, we can only view the future from our time's ability to visualize reality. What is revealed NOW is what we were not allowed to see THEN!
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

[Bud Brewster]

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While watching Enterprise (Rogue Planet) today I noticed that the characters pronounced the word "sentient" correctly. Many people don't realize that it's pronounced sin - shunt — not sin-TEE-ent.

The second syllable is pronounced the same way as in "patient" — pay-shunt.

Google the words "sentient definition" and then click on the speaker icon to verify my statement.

The reason I mentioned this is that on several episodes of Star Trek: Discovery, every character who speaks that word . . . pronounces it wrong!

It's annoying as hell. We writers get huffy about things like that, so I've been muttering, "It's sin-shunt, dammit!" each time somebody on Discovery starts talking about "sin-TEE-ent beings".

The fact that the writers and directors of Discovery don't know how to pronounce a term that's so important and so frequently used in science fiction stories is baffling!

But what REALLY seems odd is that the Enterprise producers got it right every single time . . . while the Discovery folks never got it right ONCE!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Thank you for the correct pronunciation for sentient, Bud. I've been doing it incorrectly all these years.

I sometimes hear folks saying irrevocable as "ear ra vocable."

And then there's "preferably" pronounced as "pra fer ably."

Another issue I have is not a pronunciation one, but one involving terminology.

So the majority of science fiction films and TV series utilize military nautical designations for human star ships.

Bridge, sickbay, engineering or engine room, and so forth.

However, they generally refer to the hallways or corridors of that same ship. They should use, if they are adopting Navy terms, passages or passageways.

[Bud Brewster]

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Captain Pow, that is an excellent essay involving English misnomers. (Obviously I'm fond of alliteration. )

Another word which I pronounced incorrectly for years was the word "celestial". I went around showing my ignorance by pronouncing it cel-esTEE-el!

Silly me, I didn't find out until 1986 that it's pronounced cel-es-CHILL! (Google "celestial definition" and click on the speaker icon to hear a pleasant male voice give you the skinny on this matter.)

Better yet, Google "misnomer definition" and hear a very sexy female voice that will send cel-es-CHILLS down your spine!

On the matter of science fiction "naval" technology, when I wrote Sail the Sea of Stars and I describe the starship crew going on a "shore leave", I realized that this term was completely inaccurate!

After all, they were NOT leaving the ship and going to "shore", right?

They were going down to the "surface" of a beautiful planet — a place with spectacular scenery which included incredibly deep canyons and impossibly tall mountains . . . with four-star restaurants on top!

So, the obvious choice for the name of a visit to this cosmic shore would be . . . a surface leave.







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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Dag nab it, yet another word I was not pronouncing properly.

These photos are stunning, nice work, Bud.

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks for the compliment!

I created about 20 images like those for the "surface leave" scenes on the beautiful planet Tason in Sail the Sea of Stars. (<— link)

Click on the title above and scan through the text for more such images, like these.














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I sincerely believe that my descriptions of Tason (and its volcanic binary companion, Dante) equal the images I created.

I modified an actual photo of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io (<— link to NASA photo) for the faded images of it in Tason's sky, and this vivid view from space.





Ironically, I conceived the original premise for Sail the Sea of Stars, along with Dante's lava-covered surface, just a few months before the first close-up images of Io were taken in 1978, when astronomers discovered it's molten nature!. .

The first draft of my novel was written and copyrighted in 1981, three years later.

I think Sail the Sea of Stars would make a terrific movie!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[scotpens]

[Bud Brewster]

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Am I the only one who is annoyed by the way Scott Bakula often paces back and forth while addressing someone?

It drives me crazy!

As he talks to someone, he walks back and forth while he rocks from side to side. The poor cameraman has to keep Bakula in frame by moving the camera left and right.

Once I realized that Scott Bakula was convinced that this annoying behavior was a great way to look like a tough, energetic starship captain, I tried to relieve my frustration with a bit of humor. I'd mutter this whenever Captain Archer began his routine.

"Walking and talking and rocking . . . rocking and walking and talking . . . . . . talking and rocking and walking . . . "

It helps a little.

But I wish one of the producers had privately told Bakula that his character would project a more "captainly" manner if he'd stop roaming around the damn room while delivering his dialog!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

[Bud Brewster]

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Gord, I too have always been nervous about speaking in front of large crowds, so I respect your need to move around while doing so. Fortunately I haven't had to do it very often, so I admire your ability to find a way to do it well.

Actually, effective and charismatic public speakers always move around the stage, and they use both hand gestures and specific postures to keep their audience engaged. That, Gord, is why you were wise to abandon that damn podiums and project your presence to your audience!

However, what annoys me about Scott Bakula's habit is that he does it even when he's talking to a few people in a small room!

A person who's in a small room while addressing a few folks should definitely not be pacing around while rocking back and forth. It prevents him from making eye contact and using subtle facial expressions. He's deliberately choosing not to use the non-verbal skills which enhance the message his trying to convey.

Gord, whenever you choose to walk around on stage instead of standing behind a podium, you're giving your audience a view of your "'body language" — since you can't provide them with close "eye contact" under those circumstances.

And when you move around on stage, you're NOT doing Bakula's repetitive and monotonous "walking and talking and rocking" routine which I dislike so much. You're using hand gestures when they're effective, and you're varying your movements to punctuate your comments.

That is exactly what Bakula does NOT do. His mouth moves, and we hear his words, but he's just walking and rocking and talking — almost as if he's alone!

It's maddening!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)