Author: Maurice Mitchell
U as in USS All the Federation starships in the Star Trek universe have the designator USS, like USS Enterprise or USS Voyager, but what does it mean and where did it come from? Officially, the designator means “United Star Ship (Federation of Planets).” The creator of the show, Gene Roddenberry, was a US Navy man and his vision of Star Trek was of a Naval vessel in space. In fact, the original pitch had the name USS Yorktown after a World War II aircraft carrier. It’s usage dates back to the seafaring days when the US Navy used U.S.S. to mean …
S is for Sarah Jane Elisabeth Sladen passed away on April 19, 2011 at the age of 63. She was best known for her role as investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith on the long-running scifi series, Doctor Who. Sarah Jane was the most popular of Doctor Who’s companions, having been a sidekick for the Third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker). She made guest appearances on the series in later years, and in 2007 proved to an enduring heroine on her own when she starred in the popular spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. It’s hard to express…
Q is for Q The aliens of Star Trek have always been imaginative, from the menacing Klingon to the bizarre Andorians. But, sometimes the make-up department made an alien that took them a coffee break to make. The all-powerful Q looked exactly like us. His omnipotent powers allowed him to have a British accent though. Here are nine other Star Trek aliens that took very little effort.10. Nagilum (Star Trek: The Next Generation) Distinguishing feature: Eyes and mouth suspended in space Supposedly, an inter-dimensional being of immense power it manifested itself as a two eyes, a nose and mouth in space.…
P is for Papercraft Science-FictionChildren have been playing with paper dolls for hundreds of years, but these 3-D paper dolls will crush all in their path using flamethrowers, chainsaws and machine guns.Grab a sharp pair of scissors, a glue stick and make some of the toughest papercraft models in the universe.10. Boba FettI first ran across Shunichi Makino’s SF work when I was looking for a good picture for the Jango Fett post. I was amazed at his intricate paper designs. Here, the ultimate bounty hunter Boba Fett is ready to lay waste to the “Raggedy Ann” paper doll next to him. Courtesy of…
O is for Uncle OwenKenner finally got around to making Star Wars Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru action figures…[Image Source: rebelslair] This post is “O is for Uncle Owen,” part of the “A-Z Blogging Challenge.” We’ll be posting something on our blog every day in April except Beesler, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Jen Daiker, Candace Ganger, Karen J Gowen, Talli Roland and Stephen Tremp. Visit them today and every day for the next month!
Tom over at “The Theory” sent us their amazing entry into the Sci-Fi London National 48 Hour Challenge 2011 and it’s a simple film that manages to give an emotional punch to the gut in less than five minutes. It’s called, simply, “Sketch Pad.” I don’t want to give anything away, but, it reminds me of District 9.
Every week for the next few months, we’ll be creating the ultimate starship crew from the greatest sci-fi characters of movie and TV. You can help create the “Spaceship Dream Team” by voting in the sidebar. The results of this week’s spaceship “Dream Team” poll is in and our communications officer is Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) from the Joss Whedon show Firefly! While Inara has virtually no technical experience at communications, she does posses a perfect sense of diplomacy. She’s warm, kind and tolerant and should be a great spokeperson for the ship. Her current job as a high-society courtesan (prostitute) could diminsh her value in…
Yesterday, the “Geek Twins” got an email about legendary music composer Alan Howarth (They Live, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Escape from New York, Mask): “Having composed scores for Halloween, Escape From New York, and a slew of other John Carpenter flicks, Alan Howarth may be the consummate ’80s boogeyman: http://www.thirteen.org/riffcity/alan-howarth “For Riff City, the composer speaks about fright music, strange sound contraptions, and working with Snoop, Dre, and Nate Dogg.”Growing up in New York, I remember the public television station WNET with great fondness. It was thanks to that station that I first got to watch Doctor Who!…
K is for Khan Khan Noonian Singh (Ricardo Montelban) was a Star Trek character and world conqueror of 1996, but only genetic perfection could allow anyone to follow his advice. Here are six words of wisdom on desire, revenge, parties, fear and ear worms that would send you to the hospital if you follow them.
J is for Jango Fett When Lucas made the Star Wars prequel Episode II – Attack of the Clones, he introduced us to a new character in the form of bounty hunter Boba Fett’s father. It turns out the apple fell far from the tree as he was the most worthless bounty hunter ever. If you disagree, read on to find out why.
H is for Henry Cavill Superman: the Man of Steel, the upcoming reboot of Superman, stars Henry Cavill and we have a few things you should know about him, plus some pics that show his superhero qualities.
Every week for the next few months, we’ll be creating the ultimate starship crew from the greatest sci-fi characters of movie and TV. You can help create the “Spaceship Dream Team” by voting in the sidebar. The results of last week’s poll is in and our new Weapons Officer is Jayne Cobb from Firefly! What’s interesting is that Jayne is a mercenary and probably won’t join the crew. Does that mean we’ll have to keep the paychecks coming or he’ll jump ship? Only time will tell, but his intensity and steady shooting hand should make him perfect for the job…
F is for Forbidden Planet Forbidden Planet is not only a classic of science-fiction, but, would you believe it was also a dynamite stage play? Read on for more on that show along with nine other plays that are based on science-fiction movies. 1. Return to the Forbidden Planet Based on: Forbidden Planet (1956). Loosely based on the movie of the same name, the crew of a spaceship is marooned on an alien planet along with Doctor Prospero and his daughter Miranda. More closely connected with Shakespeare’s The Tempest than the movie, it does feature a retro 1950’s and 60’s soundtrack and a…
D is for Doctor Who The trailers for the new season of Doctor Who are hilarious and we’re counting them down. They’re filled with horrific scenes, terrifying creatures, people screaming and promises the Doctor’s “darkest hour.” Its also got some of the funniest lines. As scary as Doctor Who gets the show always manages to make you laugh. For those not familiar with the show, its a highly popular British science-fiction show about an eccentric adventurer, known only as “The Doctor,” who travels across time and space looking for adventure. 5. Doctor Playing with an Astronaut helmet (BBC trailer) Who wouldn’t…
NBC has cast Adrianne Palicki as the super-heroine “Wonder Woman” for the new TV series, and we now present a quick profile of the actress along with five hot pics. Born April 6, 1986 in Toledo, Ohio. Adrianne loves to read comic books and her brother, Eric, is a comic book artist. Appeared as a supervillian in the unproduced Aquaman pilot Rose to fame as a series regular on the US television show Friday Night Lights (2006) Palicki loves science-fiction and successfully auditioned for the role of 16-year-old Judy in the failed Lost in Space pilot directed by John Woo. She played Kara, the first Supergirl, in the Superman origin…
Darth Vader gets down to M.C. Hammer’s 80’s rap hit “U Can’t Touch This” at Disney’s “Star Wars Weekend.” Who knew Darth Vader was so mobile? Guess they installed dancing shoes when they put on his new legs. Via MTV What song would you like to see Darth Vader dance to? Who else would you think is a good dancer?
SPOILER ALERT! – This is a reference to the film Soylent Green. How good would you taste?Via Boing Boing [Image Source: http://markarayner.com/vintageads/]
Every week for the next few months, we’ll be creating the ultimate starship crew from the greatest sci-fi characters of movie and TV. You can help create the Spaceship Dream Team by voting in the sidebar. First, we’d like to apologize for dropping the ball last week. Blame sun spots. But here are the results of the last poll. Thirty-one votes later, the winner of our medical officer’s spaceship “Dream Team” is Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy! This one was an interesting poll because another Star Trek alumni has made it onto the ship. He’s going to fight with Mr. Spock…
George Lucas has announced that Star Wars: The Phantom Menace will be released in theaters in 3-D on February 10, 2012.He’s also planning to convert the six Star Wars films into 3-D and this has launched a firestorm of criticism and praise. To help unite the two sides we now present the top 25 scenes that will be made better or worse by 3-D. You decide.1.The Star Wars logo receding into the background (Better).That, and the musical sting (ba-bummmmm), always makes my heart jump. In 3-D, I’d go into cardiac arrest with excitement.2. The Opening Text Crawl (Worse).It’s hard enough reading the miles…
He’s fought Klingons, lizards and living rocks, but one of Kirk’s greatest battles is with the word “sabotage.” In this famous outtake, the Canadian actor argues with the director about how to say the word. Topless Robot and others have said J.J. Abrams use of the “Beastie Boys” song “Sabotage” in Star Trek was an in-joke based on this clip. Did Kirk win this battle? Is there a word you always pronounce differently than other people?
Your choice for the engineer of the Spaceship “Dream Team” is Kaywinnit Lee “Kaylee” Frye from Firefly! This is another cracking good choice guys. I was wondering if we’d get any “Browncoats” on our crew. Kaylee is a lot of fun. She has a great sense of humor and should really keep the crew light-hearted. Best of all, she’s a great mechanic. If she can keep the broken down “Firefly” running, she should be able to fix anything the “‘verse” can throw our way. If you’d like to read more about our fabulous Spaceship “Dream Team” poll go here. For more…
The latest cast members to join the NBC television reboot of Wonder Woman by producer David E. Kelley are Cary Elwes and Elizabeth Hurley. Elizabeth Hurley, the British bombshell best known for the Austin Powers movies, will play Veronica Cale. Cale is the main villain of the pilot. As head of Cale-Anderson Pharmaceuticals, a company producing a drug that makes people stronger, she jealously vows to take down the Amazonian superhero. Cary Elwes, the British actor most famous for playing Wesley in the cult film The Princess Bride will play Henry Detmer, the acting CEO of Themyscira Industries. Diana Prince (Wonder Woman) owns…
The show Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) still stands the test of time as the penultimate vision of Gene Roddenberry. From introducing the heart-warming Data (Brent Spiner) to reintroducing the warrior Klingons, the show touched millions. If you’re a newcomer to the series, our handy guide offers a thorough basis for understanding the entire show. Watch these ten episodes and you’ll become an expert Star Trek TNG Trekker/Trekkie. 1) “The Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 & 2” Season 3 Ep. 26 Season 4 Ep.1 A cube ship containing the cold cybernetic alien Borg destroys a colony and is headed for Earth. As…
We asked and you’ve voted. With 31% of the votes, you selected “Rommie” from Andromeda to be the pilot of our “Spaceship dream team!” This is one of the more interesting and surprising choices. Andromeda was a moderately successful science-fiction show from the mid-2000s about a crew fighting to unite the galaxy in a warship. It featured an intelligent computer with a robot avatar they called “Rommie.” Essentially, we’ve chosen the computer to be the pilot of our ship. She is very loyal to her crew and protects those in her care. As a warship computer she is always ready to fight and will work hard to keep…
The Internet is full of funny pictures of cats and funny Star Wars pictures. Mod Cat Love has collected them into a Galactic Empire of funny. So, this is the pic of the week.Actually, it’s more like 28 pics of the week. They’re all hilarious. This one is my favorite.Source: http://modcatlove.com/2011/02/19/a-caturday-collection-star-wars/Which is your favorite picture?
The winner of our spaceship “Dream Team” captain poll is: Han Solo!Everyone’s favorite Star Wars smuggler will guide our spaceship across the galaxy.The results of the poll was surprising. As of last week, it looked like Captain Kirk would be the winner. In a last burst of voting, Han Solo took the lead. He’s a good choice. Solo’s used to working with all types of people. While his personality can be abrasive, it guarantees that the crew will get in line or get off the ship. A man like Solo won’t shrink from danger, but he won’t stick his neck out if he doesn’t have…
Pic of the Week: Fresh Ground Jar-Jarvia http://www.funatiq.com/funny-celebrities/funniest-ever-star-wars-pictures/1. Ender’s Game Ready to Begin?Producer Robert Orci, recently talked about the the highly anticipated movie of the Orson Scott Card novel Ender’s Game he said, “We’re finally in the year when an audience is sophisticated enough.” He added, “…they crave original stuff, and that is why we decided right now to take it out, and hopefully we’ll have good partners.”Q: Are audiences sophisticated enough for “Enders Game?” MauriceM I don’t think so. In fact audiences are craving simpler films. A movie with this level of sophistication would go over their heads. Look at…
What if you could travel the galaxy with anyone? Who would you choose for your spaceship “Dream Team?” The best starship crew isn’t from the “Enterprise.” The best starship crew isn’t from the “Millennium Falcon.” The best starship crew is from all of the above. For the next seven weeks, we’ll be choosing the best of the best for our starship “Dream Team.” Here are the positions to be filled UPDATE – Captain (Commander) Han Solo UPDATE – First Officer (Second-in-Command) Mr. Spock Mechanic (Engineer) Tactical (Security Officer) UPDATE – Pilot (Navigation Officer) “Rommie” Doctor (Medical Officer) Communications officer Together we’re going…
As part of the “Top Ten Horror/Science Fiction Movie Quotes Blogfest” hosted by Ellie Garratt and iZombielover, we now present the Top Ten Science-Fiction Movie Quotes.1. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. And the one.” – Spock (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)2. “I aim to misbehave.” – Capt. Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (Serenity)3. “E.T. phone home.” – E.T. (E.T. The Extraterrestrial)4. “Use the Force, Luke.” – Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars IV: A New Hope)5. “You’re waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take…
]This fanmade short is incredibly short and needs a better story, but it’s the best TMNT fan movie ever made. I love the shell.