My Favorite Martian Bloghop

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In this bloghop we're supposed to name our favorite alien. As I considered the various ones that came to mind, my first thought stayed my first choice. My family was all about SciFi. We watched all those hokey movies. This one--Invaders from Mars--scared the crap out of me when I was a kid. But it was horrible when I got a chance to see it a few years ago.

But when I was an young teen a new television show came about. It was a space opera, kind of a Horatio Hornblower in space. And it had an alien who captured my heart. Halfway through the third season, they canceled the show.

This was before syndication. When a show was canceled, it was gone. It wasn't until I was in college that syndication came about and suddenly it was on TV again. Huge crowds of people would gather at the TV lounge on campus to watch it. Somebody in Hollywood must have cottoned on to the fact that there was still an audience.

They made a movie. A horrible movie. But it was a hit. All those fans who'd been starved for something new went to see it again and again and again. So they made another one. A good one. One that captured all the great things that made me love the series in the first place.

And then they killed off my favorite character!

It was like my uncle had died. I bawled. But they made another movie and (kind of) brought him back. And they kept making movies. And then a new series in that world but in the future. And then they made more spin off series and more movies.

And then they finally got brilliant and went back to the original show in 2009 and made a new movie.

It ROCKED! I loved what they did with it. I saw it in the theater six times and grinned all the way through. I wasn't sure at first if I would be able to see Zachary Quinto as anything but Sylar the psychopathic serial killer from HEROS, but he's done a fabulous job following Leonard Nimoy as Spock

A bit of Star Trek trivia for you. For a futuristic show, the Classic Star Trek developers wanted a futuristic look. They decided on the bangs and sideburns Spock is now famous for. The cast members revolted. No way were they going to have to have those horrible bangs for a weekly TV series. So, good sport Nimoy got to be the only one.

Who's your favorite alien?

Where No One Has Gone Before -- Star Trek As We Know It Blogfest

Monday is Ellie Garratt's Star Trek As We Know It Blogfest. (Hey, it's Monday somewhere). I'm supposed to talk about five of my favorite Star Trek episodes. Now keep in mind, I became a fan, when Star Trek was being broadcast live, back in the day when you got summer reruns, and then the shows were never seen again. Yes. Back before syndication or cable.

I discovered Classic Star Trek when I was 13, and we were living on the Navy base at Sangley Point, in the Philippines. We never got newly run shows, so we were a season behind. You know what they say: There's nothing too good for our troops overseas. And that's just what they get, nothin' too good. I was so excited to get back to the States and watch the new season. Unfortunately, it was last (half) season. The network had tried to kill the show after season 2 but there'd been such an outcry from fans that they brought it back and put it in a time slot guaranteed to kill it.

It was several years before syndication came around, and we were finally able to see some of those old shows again. And I can't even tell you the thrill to see a Star Trek movie! Sadly, it was abysmal. If the fans hadn't been so rabid and dying for something new, I think the franchise might have died there. But then they did Wrath of Kahn, which for me, captured everything that had made Star Trek so fun.


Well, enough ancient history.

My five favorite episodes

Classic Star Trek 

City on the Edge of Forever

Poignant time-travel tale, when Kirk and Spock have to go after a drug-crazed McCoy (accidental needle poke) who manages to change something in the past so drastic they must put things right. Even if it means sacrificing the woman Kirk has come to love. If the urban legend is true, this episode brought the first swear word to broadcast TV, when Kirk says near the end, "Let's get the hell out of here."

The Trouble With Tribbles

I alternated between crushing on Spock and Scotty. I loved the scene in this episode where Scotty is keeping his cool while on leave with his crew mates as the Klingons insult everything they could think of. It's not until they insult the Enterprise that Scotty loses it and everyone ends up in a brawl.

Star Trek, The Next Generation

 I was excited yet resistant when this new series began. I wanted it to be good but felt a bit like a betrayer if I liked it too much. Well. It's my favorite of all the Star Trek variations.

The Child

One of my favorite scenes is in this episode, where the new ship's doctor doesn't get Data. Here's the interchange:
Dr. Pulaski: Dah-ta, look at this.
Data: 'Day-ta'.
Dr. Pulaski: What?
Data: My name. It is pronounced 'Day-ta'.
Dr. Pulaski: Oh?
Data: You called me "Dah-ta".
Dr. Pulaski: What's the difference?
Lt. Commander Data: One is my name. The other is not.

The bolding is mine. I love Data, which probably explains why the next is also one of my favorite episodes.

The Measure of a Man

This is one of my all-time favorite episodes. A Commander Maddox wants to understand how Data's positronic brain works and gets Star Fleet to authorize him to dismantle Data for research purposes even though it could destroy Data in the process. Captain Picard challenges the ruling and is given the opportunity to make his case. But Riker must serve as the opposing counsel and, if the judge determines he hasn't given his side of the argument everything he has, she will rule against data. Picard must prove that Data is a sentient being and a legal citizen rather than property of the Federation.

The Best of Both Worlds

This was a 2-part cliffhanger episode where Picard was taken by the Borg and brought into the Collective. Had us hanging on the edge of our seats all dang summer.

Resistance is futile.

Wanna bet?

Seven of Nine (my Leaky Lounge Name, btw) with Captain Janeway from Voyager

Seven of Nine (Dobby is freeeee!)

The Borg made such a delicious nemesis. So much better than the pathetic Ferengi.

Quark from Deep Space Nine

I thought Q was hilarious, especially as he evolved in the series.

Favorite Films

Star Trek (2009)

And the newest Star Trek film was freaktastic! I saw it in the theaters six times and sat there with a stupid grin on my face all the way through all six viewings.Seriously! Who would have thought Sylar could be Spock? Or Eomer could be Bones?

The Wrath of Kahn. 

I cried. It felt like my favorite uncle had died.

Star Trek IV, The Journey Home

This movie was hilarious! It showed all the fun interactions between the characters that made us fall in love with the series in the first place.

 Star Trek Generations

I loved this film that brought Classic ST Kirk and TNG Picard together on the same screen (even though episodes of TNG had both Spock and Sarek, Spock's father). It was a passing of torch. The King is dead. Long live the King.

Star Trek First Contact

 

Who couldn't love Data kicking the Borg Queen's arse or our unlikely hero in Zefram Cochran?

Star Trek Insurrection

I loved this film for a number of reasons. One was that it had lots of humor in it as the crew members experience a bit of rejuvenation (wish I could get some), Picard found a lady love (finally), and they fixed the messing up stuff they'd done between Riker and Troi (they were always meant for each other). Most of all I love that it's Data who sees the ethical thing that must be done and does it. His line: Lock and load.

I'll always remember a comment Nichelle Nichols made on a TV show many years ago. She said, "I'd rather be star trekkin' than star warin'." I'm a big Star Wars fan, too, but she raises a good point.

So what are your favorite Star Trek memories?