Trek the halls with Bones and Scotty Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la! ”Tis the season to be Spock-y, Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!
So I know this is right in the middle of our 30 Day challenge, but I wanted to take time out to do one more Star Trek post.
This year I was hoping to do more as it was its anniversary year, but I just wasn’t able to.
Yes, I’m sorry. I hope you all had a very Star Trek-tastical year. I did:
And even though Star Trek didn’t really celebrate Christmas, I don’t care. I had a lot of fun coming up with that song. I wanted to add another line about Kirk and the Enterprise, but couldn’t come up with any more rhymes. 😦
But I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
And may the spirit live on through the next year:
So my goal was to post 25 Christmas carols leading up to Christmas, but things didn’t quite go as I planned.
First I actually added a few extra posts so we will have 28 Christmas Carols instead of 25.
Wow
And I haven’t been able to finish them all. I have eight posts still to do, so I most likely won’t have every song posted on here when it is published.
But don’t worry, I will continue to post them as I make them up. Just like I did in Horrorfest V.
So our final Christmas Carol, Deck the Halls. The earliest known version of this carol dates back to 1862 by Welsh John Thomas, while the music comes from the Welsh New Year’s carol Nos Galan from 1794. The English version most know today comes from Thomas Oliphant, a Scottish musician.
I chose the Bing Crosby version as you all know how much I love hearing him sing.
So I hope you enjoy you day, and the carols I choose this year!
As this year marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, I thought why not add an episode to Horrorfest? I know some of you might think it is weird, but they meet all kinds of different…creatures and specimens on their adventures that some are quite horrific.
So the Starship crew has been called to pick up a 17-year-old boy found by another Earth ship, Antares. He was found to be the only survivor of his colony, living alone for years and surviving we don’t know how.
He’s been living there on his own since he was a child? how is that possible?
And because he has been living on his own, he has no idea how to be with people.
Not good
He is introduced to Yeoman Rand and it is his first time meeting a girl.
He locks in on her which is not good.
Not good
Now Dr. McCoy and Kirk notice some strange things about him, in how he interacts with everyone but they just shrug it off as he doesn’t know what he is doing.
He gets Yeoman Rand a present, her favorite perfume. But how did he know? And where did he get it from as they don’t sell that in the ship’s stores. I don’t know about you, but to me that says CREEPY!!!
Later they are having recreational time and Charlie wants to spend it with Yeoman Rand, showing her his card tricks he learned. But Rand wants to listen to Uhura’s singing. So Charlie gets rid of Uhura’s voice and takes over the attention in the room.
This is not good
What Charlie wants, Charlie gets. And he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process. And that it why I choose this episode, while it isn’t a more monstrous creature, its the behavior that is monstrous and scary in the way he hurts other but how this is something you could actually come across in the real world. Like last year’s Buffy the Vampire episode, the scariest ones are ones that personality and characters could be something you’d come across in real life.
The Antares ship is destroyed disappeared…no one knows why or how. I have a thought…
Charlie!
Captain Kirk is distressed about what has happened with the Antares, and speaks of it to Spock during their chess game. Spock you know is always thinking, and has settled that there is something odd about Charlie.
He and Spock play chess, but when he loses he gets upset.
And melts the chess game with his mind!
Yeoman Rand tries to introduce him to a girl his age, but he’s not interested. There’s only one girl on his mind.
Rand tells him it isn’t going to work out and then goes to Captain Kirk. Kirk says he will talk to Charlie but he doesn’t understand how far his obsession with Rand has gone. I mean:
Charlie is
So Kirk talks to Charlie:
Capt. Kirk: There are a million things in this universe you can have and a million things you can’t have. It’s no fun facing that, but that’s the way things are.
Charlie Evans: Then what am I going to do?
Capt. Kirk: Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does.
But it doesn’t really get into Charlie’s head. Kirk senses that Charlie needs an outlet for his adolescence emotions
And takes him to the gym to teach him self defense, control, and how to release anger and such in a good way.
But when someone laughs at him he sends them away. Yes, like Billy in The Twilight Zone episode “It’s a Good Life”, he has incredible powers and people who upset him are destroyed.
Kirk tries to assert his power of being Captain:
But Charlie is no longer interested in listening. He wants what he wants and he wants it now!
And that’s what makes him terrifying. Billy was scary as a kid with icredible powers, as kids act on feelings and don’t have the capability of deeper thinking yet. While a teenager IS capable and knows right from wrong; and is choosing the wrong.
He then takes control of the ship, the people, everything. If anyone talks back, they vanish too. Kirk and Spock try to come up with a plan and almost get him; but Charlie is too powerful. He is going to destroy them all, but then everyone is seized by the Thasins, an ancient species thought to be destroyed.
The Thasian: We gave him the power so he could live. He will use it – always. And he will destroy you, or, you will be forced to destroy him.
They take him away:
Charlie Evans: I wanna stay… stay… stay… stay… sta…
And return the crew and everyone else Charlie disappeared. And continue on their mission.
So today marks the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and I wanted to create a lovely post in honor of it. I know I just talked about Star Trek on Sunday, but you can never have enough.
Now as you know, I am a diehard Star Wars fan. Many people ask me how can I love both Star Wars and Star Trek? How can I debase the fan base by loving the other too?
I don’t understand why it has to be either/or; and it shouldn’t be either/or. I’m loving both and if you have an issue with that, you best watch your step.
So of course I love this show because of the great stories and the awesome characters. They had just the perfect people working on this to make it the hit it is today. And of course, no celebration is complete without me counting off my favorite characters.
Of course, first of all there is Kirk. He’s always been my first and foremost favorite. A great leader, listener, friend, etc. Hard to get better.
Then we have the second member of this dream team, Spock. At first adhering to the rules and regulations of the Vulcan code; he eventually lets some of that culture slip to become a great friend; allowing his emotions in carrying for those others on the ship.
I also cannot get enough of how well he and Kirk (Nimoy & Shatner) play off each other. They are just perfect.
And last but not least in this team of perfection, Bones. Words cannot express how much I love his caring for Kirk and sassiness to Spock. He is sarcastic, pessimistic, and hilarious.
So it has been a while since I last did a fangirl post. All I can say is sorry! Unfortunately life cannot always be structured the way I wish.
Oh well
So here we go with a few more of my favorite things.
Star Wars
Words cannot describe how much I adore Star Wars, although I have tried pretty hard in the past to explain it. While Episodes 1-3 & 7 had a few good moments, nothing will beat the original. Episodes 4-6: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, & Return of the Jedi will always be number one to me.
I can’t remember exactly when I first watched the series, I know I was young because when the Phantom Menace came out in 1999 I was only seven and a diehard Star Wars fan.
Episode 4: A New Hope is one of my all-time favorites. I just love the characters and the dialogue. Everything about it was just so perfect. I mean you have the adorable Luke who you can connect with his dreams and hopes. The hunky Han Solo, a rascal but has a heart of gold:
Wanted in my life
Darth Vader who was one of the best villians ever! Powerful, charismatic, scary, and has the best theme music and voice of all time.
I mean we don’t know anything about him. but we do know he is not a man to be messed with.
And then there was of course, the one woman I aspired to be like and who’s traits I tried to fold into my own personality: Princess Leia.
I mean she was just SOOOO cool! Here was a Princess that was intelligent, powerful, strong, political, beautiful, a problem solver, rebel leader, could hold her own against torture, willing to fight and die for what she believed in, could handle a variety of weapons, a quick thinker, witty, rescues herself (with a little bit of help) etc. She was just altogether AWESOME!!! I couldn’t think of a better role model to any young girl. Thank you George Lucas and Carrie Fisher.
The Empire Strikes Back was just an amazing film as well. The action, the great continuation, yet giving it its own flavor; and that reveal. I mean you all know what I’m talking about (that have seen the film) but I won’t say just in case for those who haven’t watched it. Although that’s just crazy talk. I mean join us Star Wars fans already!
Or should I say Star Wars side?
And then we have Return of the Jedi. In here we see the final progression of Luke’s character. First we have an idealistic young man, turned pilot, turned rebel, turned Jedi padawan, to Jedi Knight. He has been able to conquer the force in a short amount of time and ready to continue on. But first he must face one person and defeat the dark side.
Return of the Jedi has some of the best moments in it. Like when Luke saves his father by believing that his father still is a good man, and willing to fight for him; even dying if necessary to reawaken the human side the the dark side ate long ago. Completely refusing to give in to the dark, this causes his father to receive the redemption and return to him, even if it was for a moment. Sometimes saving and helping others isn’t going in and beating people up, sometimes it is making sacrifices and risking yourself for others.
I of course am such a fan that I have a huge collection of Star Wars items. If it is something that has to do with the original series, I’m all over it like butter on toast. And I mean anything!
These three films are fantastic. Anyone who tells you different is a liar and unenlightened.
There are those who say that it is impossible to love Star Trek and Star Wars and here is what I say:
Majorly
You can love both and I most definitely do.
In fact I am not just fan of the Original Series, although it is my favorite, I have watched every single reincarnation of this show. It is a lot to cover so I will try and hit the highlights.
Of course the original is the best (and BTW Thursday marks the 50th anniversary). I loved Captain James T. “Jim” Kirk as I thought he was just amazing! Strong, powerful, intellectual, eloquent, charismatic, a problem solver, and what a hunk! He would think through every decision making sure that he chose the best for his crew. But if he had to, he would get his hands dirty.
Then we have Spock. Logical, efficient, unable to understand sarcasm, etc. I also liked that he was biracial too, there are not enough characters out there that are for those of us who also are to connect to. And even with that Vulcan personality and his looks are not what you would categorize as a dreamboat but he definitely is one.
Then we have Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. The best thing about Bones is his wit and sarcastic nature. I love all his sayings, I mean every word that drops from his mouth is just so sassy and fun. He is so hilarious and part of the dream team that made Star Trek a hit.
Then we have Star Trek: The Next Generation. And let’s all face it, as much as I thought Captain Picard was the best; for me it is all about Data. What an awesome character and just downright hilarious.
I also had such a thing for Riker. I think it was that beard.
Although he was quite the hunk without the beard as well.
Deep Space Nine was okay, but not a fav so let’s keep going. Voyager was alright, my favorite character being Neelix, the cook. He was just the sweetest thing.
Enterprise was also okay, but not nearly as good as TOS.
The new movies that came out were done very well, much better than the revamped Star Wars. The only thing I don’t like is that they made the new Kirk a little more brawn and less brain. Oh well, you can never repeat the original.
While Star Trek may go through numerous changes, I’ll always love it.
As I mentioned in a previous post that I was a huge fan of Hercules: The Legendary Journey, it was only natural that I would watch its counterpart.
I thought Xena was pretty cool and one awesome warrior, although I did think she needed a more covering outfit to fight in. I mean seriously, they always put women in these outfits that are not the best for crime fighting.
Growing up I never saw a lesbian relationship, I always thought of the two as BFFS, going out and fighting to help others. I still don’t think of them that way, but I guess to each fan their own view?
Anyways, I still remember it being a big part of my childhood.
So I’m sure some of you are thinking what a loser.
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened
So I have been postponing this post as I wanted to give people plenty of time to watch the film. But just in case…
***Contains Spoilers***
So a lot of people have been asking me what I think about the new Star Wars film. And why not? After all you know how much I love Star Wars.
So let me say right away:
Yes, I did not like it.
It wasn’t absolutely horrible but I felt that it was far from the great raves everyone gave it. I was greatly disappointed.
So let’s count down my issues with the film. And remember, this is just my opinion: you can take it or leave it; read it or skip it; love it or hate it; etc.
1) Who Are You?
So one of my biggest issues with this film is that we were given hardly any backstory on these characters. We don’t know Rey, Finn, or Poe’s hopes, dreams, goals, histories, etc.
Now some of you are probably saying that J.J. Abrams just wants to surprise us, well there is a HUGE difference between surprise and no information.
Think about Episode IV: A New Hope; we knew that Luke wanted to get off the desert planet,; that he wanted to fight in the rebellion against the Empire; that he was “too much like his father” which was a bad thing; that he had a crush on Princess Leia; and that he was well versed in fixing mechanical things.
In the revamped Star Trek that Abrams did we get to see Spock and Kirk at different parts in their lives. We see Kirk’s father sacrifice his life to save all the others, we see Kirk getting into trouble with pranks as he is acting out against his stepdad, and we see him at the Academy getting on track. We also see Spock as a young boy trying to figure out who he is with being biracial, along with him as an adult and instructor at the Academy. So Abrams can do it, and so it well. So why didn’t he?
In my opinion I think he was afraid.
I think after Star Trek: Into Darkness‘ villain was leaked and we all knew that it was Khan; Abrams overcorrected to protect the “secrets” and “surprises” by giving us nothing. And I hated it. In order for us to care for a character we need to know something about them. Otherwise they are just strangers and we don’t care if they live or die. When Poe was “killed” I was like oh that’s sad but not devastated or anything, because I had no idea what his role was in the grand scheme or if I was supposed to be devastated. Instead I was just like whatever.
As for Finn; I guess with his brainwashing he doesn’t know that much of anything so I’ll give him a half pass. As for Rey, I know that Abrams wants to surprise us with her being Luke’s daughter but still give us something. I mean you could have had her talk about wishing the Jedis were still alive, or how she always heard stories of them, or even who or why she was left on the planet. What happened to the person she was supposed to be taking care of? Who is she waiting for? Come on give us something!!
Take your cues from George Lucas, he knew how to film one heck of a reveal. Still can’t get over how amazing this scene was built up in Episode IV and V.
2) Boom! We Here!
My second issue with the film was the pacing. It was way, way, too fast.
With the original we have substance. It takes time for Luke to find Obi-Wan, get a plan together, get a ship, create a plan to save the princess, find the princess, escape, help destroy the Death Star; etc.
This same thing was continued in the rest of the series and prequels. It took time to get from one planet to another aspect of the universe. And the directors used this time. We were able to really get to know the characters and have some of the best scenes.
In The Force Awakens it too fast, completely losing the journey aspect. In this it was like bam we are there, bam next planet, bam bam bam. Everything was too quickly reached, found, etc. I didn’t like that at all.
There is a certain style to these films. Star Wars essentially is a Western film set in space, building off those components. And what are Westerns based on? Knight stories. And Knight stories are based on Greek mythological tales. The reason why the original films did so well was that they stayed true to the type of tale they are based on; following the elements of a journeytale. There was no weight to the film in the same sense the other films had in unfolding the tale. There was no journey, making this a weaker film and not as long lasting.
In a few months/years I believe that everyone will be over the hype and realize this new film just doesn’t measure up.
3) Finn Wields a Lightsaber
I also didn’t care for how quickly the characters seemed to adapt to the situations. Really a stormtrooper who has never even fought in real life before and only used a blaster has the ability to wield a lightsaber, something he knows literary nothing about, not even how to turn on, and be able to not only do it, but hold his own in not one but two fights; and one being against a person who has been training on how to fight with a lightsaber for at least ten years.
You have to remember this is a weapon that hasn’t been used for over sixty yearsexcept by three people; Anakin, Luke, and Kylo Ren. Do you think that someone who hardly knows anything besides what he has been brainwashed could use technology from sixty years ago when he doesn’t even know what Jedi are or have ever seen a Jedi? He didn’t even see Kylo Ren open his lightsaber.
And yes, he did lose both fights, but he did lot of attacking that I thought was way to advance for someone who has never even fought in a battle with a blaster. For someone who was so traumatized by war he had to run away, he got over that PTSD rather quickly.
Some of you might argue say that he just “picked it up” or has “jedi blood.” But even if you argue that he has Jedi abilities inherited from his family, whoever they are, it takes training to know how to wield one. When you are trained in using swords you practice first with fake ones as one of the first things you usually do is hit yourself with it. This is a much stronger weapon than a swords, and multi-edged. It is not something you just pick up and can do.
After all idea of using a sword is different than using one in battle. Yeah you point it toward the other person but it is more complicated when actually attacking another person, especially when your weapon can slice through almost any material, and all sides can injure you.
4. Rey Masters the Force
Rey also too quickly managed the force, especially for one who thought it was a myth. One of the reasons why the original series was so amazing was that it had weight and a feeling of reality. Luke has to trainto use his natural abilities, to build up his faith in the force.
And even though he has so much untapped reserves,he had trouble controlling the force when he was in stressful situations, like wanting to help his friends. I thought her telling the stormtrooper to leave was good, but her other uses were just too fast. Let’s remember she has no clue what a Jedi is and has zero training. At least Luke had dreams and believed in it. He just had to believe in himself.
And even though I believe she is Luke’s daughter and therefore has an extremely strong connection to the force; but if Luke, Anakin’s son and therefore one with an even stronger connection, has trouble picking up things and concentrating on the force, and also had a stronger belief, Rey shouldn’t have picked up on as easily as she did.
I will say that at least her fighting was defensive and involved more running away than anything else. I thought that was more realistic for someone who has never used a lightsaber before.
5) It’s All About Looking Great
I felt this film also ran into the same mistakes as the new Avengers film were they concentrated on constant action every where, not always completing the move.
For instance Kylo Ren kills his father and is below on a bridge. Rey and Finn are above, with at least a 20 mins headstart and Kylo manages to not only reach them, but be in front of them? Can he teleport now? Even if he had a secret passageway or path known to him, how did he get there? And so quickly?
Or their giant death star/planet thing. How can it take power from the sun to decimate planets on the other side of the galaxy (as the guy says they will destroy a planet far, far, away) and be able to hit with such precision, not destroying all the many things in the pathway that exist in outer space? How could they have such precision in such distance? How can they manage to take the sun completely to destroy everything, but not destroy the planets around them as they have removed the sun?
I mean it is science fiction and they are going to push the boundaries of your beliefs, while creating new technology; but I felt the other films (the original Star Wars, Star Wars prequels, and Star Trek remakes) while not explaining everything had stronger ties to what could be happening in reality. In this they seemed to focus on let’s “look good” or have “great action” rather than make sense to what was going on.
I didn’t like the action as it wasn’t as choreographed but more messy and at times hard to follow. It was like The Avengers: Age of Ultron in which some parts resembled a video game rather than a film.
6) Han Solo’s Death is a Crime
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
So I knew going in that they were going to kill an important character and famous actor. I mean we have Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope; Liam Neeson as Qui Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace;I knew it was going to be one of the dream team; most likely Harrison Ford.
Noooooooooo!!!!!!!
So the fact that they killed Han Solo is a completely horrible thing to do, but the fact that they killed him before he and Luke had a reunion and forgave each other was inexcusable. He should have been involved in the journey to find Luke.
A journey that in my opinion should have been saved until the second film as if he was hiding somewhere impossible for all these people to find, even with a map it has got to take time; and I am sure they are to encounter storms, asteroids, obstacles along the way. It shouldn’t be instantaneous.
I just don’t know if I can watch a Star Wars film with no Han Solo.
I need him in my life
7) Story Has to Be Surprises Not Substance
Wow
I thought that the story/dialogue was okay but felt that they focused way too much time on trying to outwit you and surprise you then writing a cohesive whole. I wish the people who wrote Jurassic World wrote the new Star Wars movie as they were able to capture aspects of the past and place it in a new storyline; one that pleased fans and new viewers.
Take note, rest of Hollywood.
I think on a whole the film would have better if they went off the canon that Lucas had made, that was ghostwritten/published.
But J.J. Abrams wanted to surprise people with his own thing.
So that’s my opinion. You can agree with me and think I am a genius in my critique:
Or that I am completely unenlightened and crazy:
Guy you suck!
Either way it is just my personal opinion and you are free to share yours as well if you want.
One thing still remains. The original Star Wars is still extremely amazing and because of this new movie there have been tons of Star Wars products that I can buy and add to my collection.
janeaustenrunsmylife 