William Shatner on Tech TV's The ScreenSavers Tonight

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/">http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/</a><br /><br />Yeah, I know. This is <b><i>so</i></b> off topic it isn't funny, but hey, this is Captain Kirk for Pete's sake! William Shatner will be on The ScreenSavers tonight talking about his career and how he uses technology.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2003/20030508-kirk.jpg" /><br /><br />Shown above is a scene that unfortunately is on the cutting room floor at Paramount. It was when Kirk rushed to reconfigure an EPS conduit or some other technobabble device and needed his iPAQ 9700 to help him complete his mission. Sadly, as we all now know, the Enterprise B didn't survive. Probably because EUU2 hadn't been applied.

[mar2k]

Looks like two centuries have passed and Microsoft is still at 320x240 resolution....... 8O

[GoldKey]

About time you post more Star Trek news here! :D

[rtrueman]

&lt;nerd>
Ugh, Enterprise B did survive. Kirk, did not! Well... 0X
&lt;/nerd>

[Ed Hansberry]

&lt;nerd>
Ugh, Enterprise B did survive. Kirk, did not! Well... 0X
&lt;/nerd>
oh yeah. :oops:

'C got whacked. And D. And A now that I think about it. B is the one that should've been whacked.

[drop]

Thank you for that lost photo. Get a chuckle out of that one.

Is there any interest on how William Shatner uses technology? May be there is. I don't know. I am a "TNG and beyond" trekkie. :robot:

[Pony99CA]

Looks like two centuries have passed and Microsoft is still at 320x240 resolution....... 8O
First, Star Trek took place in the 24th century, so it's more like three or four centuries (as the original Pocket PCs came out in the late 20th century).

Second, how do you know what the resolution is? The screen aspect ratio looks the same, but unless you can see the pixels, you have no idea what the resolution is. :lol:

Steve

[CESkins]

Is there any interest on how William Shatner uses technology? May be there is. I don't know.
I doubt that there is except insofar as his diminishing hearing. However, the picture that Foo posted shows some rather innovative uses for an iPAQ. Looks like he is using it to control the EPS power going to the warp engine manifold via the dilithium crystals. Although the interface is "quaint" to quote Commander Scott from ST IV: TVH.
I am a "TNG and beyond" trekkie. :robot:
The original series is one of the best IMHO. TNG simply put a new spin and faces on already great ST stories and added a few new villians. How many times did Picard spend punching out the bad guys and winning the hearts/minds/etc of every female encountered. ;) TOS is the wild-west of ST. :D "Resistance is futile....you will be assimilated" into liking the entire Trek films/TV-episodes...."Your life as you have known it...is now over". :robot:

[bdegroodt]

Shatner must be trying to upstage Wil Wheaton. Let it go already Cpt Kirk. Go back to singing stupid songs for Priceline. :devilboy:

[Foo Fighter]

The Enterprise D was the ugliest design I've ever seen. The most elegant starship design still is, IMO, the Excelsior. Very graceful and sleek.

[rlobrecht]

Resistance is futile....you will be assimilated" into liking the entire Trek films/TV-episodes...."Your life as you have known it...is now over". :robot:

I liked last night's Enterprise with Borg who had been frozen on Earth since First Contact. It was one of the best episodes yet.

[bdegroodt]

The Enterprise D was the ugliest design I've ever seen. The most elegant starship design still is, IMO, the Excelsior. Very graceful and sleek.

Foo! You bought a Zire 71? Did you post your thoughts (Secretly. I know Jason tried to chase out the Palm lovers from the other threads. :D) on it anywhere?

[kaiden.1]

Whatever?! :roll:

[Ed Hansberry]

The Enterprise D was the ugliest design I've ever seen. The most elegant starship design still is, IMO, the Excelsior. Very graceful and sleek.
Uhg. The Excelsior looked like something out of the "trendy" side of GM's design department. Slap some black plastic and make stuff look bolt on and people will buy it!

The D was far more graceful.

[CESkins]

The Enterprise D was the ugliest design I've ever seen. The most elegant starship design still is, IMO, the Excelsior. Very graceful and sleek.
Foo by Excelsior, are you referring to the ship that Scotty pulled the plug on in "The Search for Spock"? If so, I would have to disagree. :) The Enterprise E is even slicker...Personally, I prefer the shape of Voyager with its retractable/elevating nacelles or Cisco's ship "The Defiant". Why do all Trek ship have to have these vulnerable pods/nacelles hanging off stalks....that design increases vulnerability if you ask me. The Borgs had it right, just create a cool looking cube. :D

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nef/trekall.jpg

[CESkins]

I liked last night's Enterprise with Borg who had been frozen on Earth since First Contact. It was one of the best episodes yet.
WHATTT!!!??? I missed it. I love the Borg. Got to catch the rerun this weekend. Hopefully they didn't turn this Borg into another pet. :(

[bdegroodt]

The one qualification I am lacking to be considered a true geek is the Star Trek passion. :oops:

I like the last ship in that stack. If I was in the market for a cool space ship, that's the one I'd buy.

[Pony99CA]

I liked last night's Enterprise with Borg who had been frozen on Earth since First Contact. It was one of the best episodes yet.
WHATTT!!!??? I missed it. I love the Borg. Got to catch the rerun this weekend. Hopefully they didn't turn this Borg into another pet. :(
They didn't. :-) It was a very cool episode, so I won't spoil it.

Steve

[CESkins]

The one qualification I am lacking to be considered a true geek is the Star Trek passion. :oops:

I like the last ship in that stack. If I was in the market for a cool space ship, that's the one I'd buy.
"Passion is irrelevant"..."Qualifications are irrelevant"..."We are the Borg...you will be assimilated as easily as others have been" :D :robot: The last ship in the stack is the Enterprise E (NCC-1701E). Hmmm...maybe we should start a poll...nah :)

[Pony99CA]

Foo by Excelsior, are you referring to the ship that Scotty pulled the plug on in "The Search for Spock"? If so, I would have to disagree. :) The Enterprise E is even slicker...Personally, I prefer the shape of Voyager with its retractable/elevating nacelles or Cisco's ship "The Defiant". Why do all Trek ship have to have these vulnerable pods/nacelles hanging off stalks....that design increases vulnerability if you ask me. The Borgs had it right, just create a cool looking cube. :D
Personally, I liked the ship Riker commanded in "All Good Things" (the final episode of ST:TNG). It cut through those Klingon ships like soft butter.

Of the Enterprises pictured, I like Picard's from TNG the best. However, that picture neglected the first one (the one Archer is commanding in "Enterprise"). Does anyone else think they should have made that Enterprise cruder looking than the original "Star Trek" one, not cooler?

Steve

[GoldKey]

Personally, I liked the ship Riker commanded in "All Good Things" (the final episode of ST:TNG). It cut through those Klingon ships like soft butter.


Agreed, the tri-nacelled version of the Enterprise D with the canon on top is the best! After that the Defiant is a favorite.

[CESkins]

Personally, I liked the ship Riker commanded in "All Good Things" (the final episode of ST:TNG). It cut through those Klingon ships like soft butter.

That ship was a modified version of the Enterprise D (the 4th ship from the top in my earlier post). It had 3 nacelles instead of 2, a phase-cloaking system, faster transporter re-integration, and enhanced weaponry. Otherwise, same outer hull design. If you are really looking for beautiful and cool ships, check out the Voyager episode when they supposedly get a ship from StarFleet with slipstream technology...now that ship rocks. Also if you are a Babylon5 fan, the Vorlon ships are absolutely stunning especially the ambassadorial ships with the 4 leaf clover nacelles.

[Foo Fighter]

Well that's me, I guess. Excelsior looks much more attractive in my eyes than any previous Enterprise...although I will say the Enterprise E looks very cool. Actually, if you follow its lines, E appears to be an evolution of all previous Enterpri (is that a word?).

Another REALLY kick ass cool ship was the Akula class from First Contact.

[DaleReeck]

The Enterprise D was the ugliest design I've ever seen. The most elegant starship design still is, IMO, the Excelsior. Very graceful and sleek.
Foo by Excelsior, are you referring to the ship that Scotty pulled the plug on in "The Search for Spock"? If so, I would have to disagree. :) The Enterprise E is even slicker...Personally, I prefer the shape of Voyager with its retractable/elevating nacelles or Cisco's ship "The Defiant". Why do all Trek ship have to have these vulnerable pods/nacelles hanging off stalks....that design increases vulnerability if you ask me. The Borgs had it right, just create a cool looking cube. :D

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nef/trekall.jpg

I think in the Star Trek writer's guide, it says something about how warp fields are formed/used, hence the vulnerable stalk look. They had a technical reason for it :)

That Enterprise episode was good and I guess they are going the more dire route in season 3 (think Deep Space Nine Dominion war years). In the final episode this season, they will end up killing 7 million humans on Earth in an atack that will set up next season. But, at least for this season, I did notice a concerning trend of using things that have continuity problems with the ST world. For instance, in this current episode, Earth encounters the Borg. While they may not have known what they were called, certainly when Picard and crew met them in the future for the first time, there would have been some kind of record of the encounter 200 years ago. But it was like TNG crew had no clue about them. Next time, they need to check the ol' database :) Same thing with the Ferengi showing up when they shouldn't. I know they want to bring back fan favorites and sometimes you need to go against the timeline for dramatic affect, but they can't go crazy either and completely throw out the established timeline.

Overall, Enterprise is a good show that could use some tweaking.

[TrojanUO]

Well that's me, I guess. Excelsior looks much more attractive in my eyes than any previous Enterprise...although I will say the Enterprise E looks very cool. Actually, if you follow its lines, E appears to be an evolution of all previous Enterpri (is that a word?).

Another REALLY kick ass cool ship was the Akula class from First Contact.

Akira Class. ;) Akula's are Russian Attack Submarines. You watched Crimson Tide on TV last weekend, didn't ya? :)

http://www.shiporama.org/akira.htm
http://www.shiporama.org/images/akira/akira51.jpg

[Foo Fighter]

Oh yeah, sorry! :oops:

[Foo Fighter]

The strangest Starfleet vessel I've seen was Doctor Crusher's ship..the Pasteur from "All Good Things". It looked like a throwback to the old Deadalus class which pre-dates the Enterprise. FYI: rumors have it that the Deadalus was to be the first Enterprise, but the design got thrown out.

[Duncan]

FYI: rumors have it that the Deadalus was to be the first Enterprise, but the design got thrown out.

At the Star Trek: Experience exhibition in London there were design sketches for Enterprise (the series) showing all the designs they went through and how they evolved. One of the earliest rejected designs looked a bit like the Pasteur - many of them looked rather more dart/triangle like - but there were some scribbled notes about adding nacelles to foreshadow future Starfleet designs.

[drop]

I liked last night's Enterprise with Borg who had been frozen on Earth since First Contact. It was one of the best episodes yet.
WHATTT!!!??? I missed it. I love the Borg. Got to catch the rerun this weekend. Hopefully they didn't turn this Borg into another pet. :(

Yeah, that was good.

The whole "Enterprise" is technologically frustrating. OK, the transporter doesn't work (most of the time) - I got it!!!

BTW, the Vulcan will be in heat next week. I think it will be a 2-hour episode. I still like :robot: better.

[Jonathan1]

They didn't. :-) It was a very cool episode, so I won't spoil it.

Steve

Yah I was all set to get pissed that they dinked with Star Trek history (Being that they never encountered the Borg, sounds Swedish, until the 24th century) and they up and make a good plot! What is up with that! ;)

Seriously though. My Star Trek obsession, which was huge at the time, seriously diminished after TNG if for no other reason then the over commercialization of Trek. TNG’s blend of crew, ship, tech, and plots were and are, IMHO, still the best of any Trek series. The original series was good at the time. There still are a few episodes from TOS that still stand out today but most of them are half-baked garbage. Fortunately the movies redeemed the original crew of any wrongdoings. ;)

TNG has its fair share of crap episodes (Lonely Among Us, Arsenal of Freedom, Attached , and the horrid shades of grey to name a few.) but I think the overall production and entertainment value was higher then TOS. Don't get me started on DS9 and Voyager. DS9 I stuck with it until season 3 and still couldn’t get into it. Ditto with Voyager. Usually Star Trek series get better after the 2nd or 3rd season. I personally thought neither Voyager or DS9 did. Again IMO.

Enterprise. Maybe it’s just me but it’s a total mixed bag. One episode I hated, the next I liked, the next 2 I hated. And so on. The most recent Borg episode was fantastic. Without giving anything away to the plot I can at least say they didn't pansify the Borg this time like they all to often did in Voyager. ICK!

I’m still waiting for a Star Trek game with all the crews from all the shows in a Mortal Kombatish game. Data beats the crap out of Scotty and his life bar is down to 10% and he yells “She canna take much more keptin” :wink: Then there’s is the patented Kirk karate chop that can decrease your opponents life bar by 90% with one hit. Sorry I couldn't resist.

[Duncan]

DS9 I stuck with it until season 3 and still couldn’t get into it.

Pity. You left before it got good! The Dominion War had some of the finest moments in Trek history...

[CESkins]

Why do all Trek ship have to have these vulnerable pods/nacelles hanging off stalks....that design increases vulnerability if you ask me.

I think in the Star Trek writer's guide, it says something about how warp fields are formed/used, hence the vulnerable stalk look. They had a technical reason for it :)
Hmm...if there is a technical reason for the nacelles, then why don't other Warp-capable species like the Ferengi, Borg, or Cardasians use nacelles? At some point, it would be nice to loose the nacelles. Maybe Q will pop-in and give StarFleet some technical advice.

The strangest Starfleet vessel I've seen was Doctor Crusher's ship..the Pasteur from "All Good Things"
Agreed! Looked like something out of one of my bad design days...or nightmare. Guess it didn't have to be sleek or loaded with weapons as it was a medical ship.

Akira Class. Akula's are Russian Attack Submarines. You watched Crimson Tide on TV last weekend, didn't ya?
I was wondering about that name. Did a Google search and could barely find any info on the Akula class ships. That was the ship that Kahn took over. Very nice but still no match in looks or firepower to the USS Defiant.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nef/dauntless.jpg
The "StarFleet" ship with slipstream technology (looks like an arrowhead with nacelles)

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nef/defiant.jpg
USS Defiant (this ship even looks aggressive)

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nef/wolf259.jpg
StarFleet getting its butt kicked by a single Borg cube (the Borg rock) :robot: :rock on dude!:

Pity. You left before it got good! The Dominion War had some of the finest moments in Trek history...
Including the battle to end all battles...never saw so many ship engaged in combat before. Hundreds of 'em on screen. Made the defense attack on the Borg pictured above look like amateur night. :)

[TMAN]

For all of the Trekkies out there, here is a screensaver that is pretty damn sweet.

http://www.mewho.com/system47/

[Foo Fighter]

That was the ship that Kahn took over. Very nice but still no match in looks or firepower to the USS Defiant.


That was Reliant.

[Ed Hansberry]

The strangest Starfleet vessel I've seen was Doctor Crusher's ship..the Pasteur from "All Good Things". It looked like a throwback to the old Deadalus class which pre-dates the Enterprise. FYI: rumors have it that the Deadalus was to be the first Enterprise, but the design got thrown out.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2003/20030508-redalert.gif

The conversation is getting waaaaay too geeky.

[CESkins]

For all of the Trekkies out there, here is a screensaver that is pretty damn sweet.
Waayyyy too cool...this will be my favorite screensaver for a long time to come...beats the ATI ants on the Mobius strip. :)

[T-Will]

Let me guess...the technology he uses every day...hmmm...I wonder if it could be the Priceline.com(c) Super Computer that allows you to name your own price for airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacations, cruises, home finance, and more! :roll:

Can't wait to watch that free advertisement...

Just wondering though, is Captain Kirk really that much of a techie?

[Foo Fighter]

The conversation is getting waaaaay too geeky.

Yes, Captain. Beam me up Scotty, there's no more need for discussion here.

[Pony99CA]

That Enterprise episode was good and I guess they are going the more dire route in season 3 (think Deep Space Nine Dominion war years). In the final episode this season, they will end up killing 7 million humans on Earth in an atack that will set up next season.
If you're going to talk about stuff that hasn't been seen, put a SPOILER WARNING around it. :really mad:

Why don't you tell us what happens in the next two Matrix movies, too? :roll:

Steve

[Jason Dunn]

DS9 I stuck with it until season 3 and still couldn’t get into it.

Pity. You left before it got good! The Dominion War had some of the finest moments in Trek history...

Here here! In fact, even though after spending over $1000 CAN on ST:TNG last year, I SWORE I wouldn't get suckered into buying another over-priced series, but the lure of seeing those awesome end-of-series space battles between Starfleet and the Dominion was just too much...so I bought both season one and two at the same time. 8O

[DaleReeck]

That Enterprise episode was good and I guess they are going the more dire route in season 3 (think Deep Space Nine Dominion war years). In the final episode this season, they will end up killing 7 million humans on Earth in an atack that will set up next season.
If you're going to talk about stuff that hasn't been seen, put a SPOILER WARNING around it. :really mad:

Why don't you tell us what happens in the next two Matrix movies, too? :roll:

Steve

OK.

HUGE SPOILER WARNING BELOW

****************************

****************************

****************************

****************************

****************************


Stuff for next season:

****************************


T'Pol gets kicked out of the Vulcan military. She also gets a new wardrobe and hairstyle.

Tripp's sister is one of those killed in the big attack on Earth and has the revenge thing going.

A new alien race that wasted all those people was testing a "probe" weapon. That means something even bigger is coming. Seems that 400 years in the future, humans destroy the alien's homeworld and, apparently they are rather pissed and come back to take care of the problem before it happens.

Archer sacks up finally and becomes hard core.

Enterprise will be fitted with more advanced weaponry, including the first photon torpedoes.

[spg]

All this talk about which ship is best, and I can't believe you left out the coolest Starfleet ship of all time (even if it was just a prototype). The NX-59850, USS Prometheus. If you recall, this ship could split into three different vessels when in attack mode, then come back together after the mission was complete. This was in the Voyager episode "Message in a Bottle".

[DaleReeck]

Why do all Trek ship have to have these vulnerable pods/nacelles hanging off stalks....that design increases vulnerability if you ask me.

I think in the Star Trek writer's guide, it says something about how warp fields are formed/used, hence the vulnerable stalk look. They had a technical reason for it :)
Hmm...if there is a technical reason for the nacelles, then why don't other Warp-capable species like the Ferengi, Borg, or Cardasians use nacelles? At some point, it would be nice to loose the nacelles. Maybe Q will pop-in and give StarFleet some technical advice.


Starfleet vessels tend to be more safety conscious, having many backups and such. A warp field generated by nacelles far apart is more stable than those of ships with self contained designs. Starfleet ships are generally faster and can take more damage than other alien ships, though usually they are not as well armed.

I don't know if there is any basis in actual physics for this reasoning, but this is what I have read.

Another thing that bugs me that was mentioned ealier in the thread. The transporters. Will they start using the damn things already? They think they are unsafe, yet are willing to climb into a crappy little shuttle while ships are shooting at them and each other. They think this is safer?

Their fear of the transporter was cute at first, but now it just doesn't make any sense.

[CESkins]

Another thing that bugs me that was mentioned ealier in the thread. The transporters. Will they start using the damn things already? They think they are unsafe, yet are willing to climb into a crappy little shuttle while ships are shooting at them and each other. They think this is safer?

Their fear of the transporter was cute at first, but now it just doesn't make any sense.

Let us not forget that fear of transporters did not go away for everyone even after StarFleet refined their function. Recall that now famous quote from Star Trek: The Movie where Bones says, "You go ahead and see how it scrambles your molecules"...Bones even up to the beginning of the ST: TNG where he appears I believe as an old admiral touring the Enterprise D before she departs space dock preferred to use a shuttle over transporters. By the time of TNG, transporter technology was almost 100% foolproof (at least I never saw anyone getting his molecules scrambled in routine operations).

[Foo Fighter]

One reason why I've always hate TNG and subsequent series spin-offs is because the Federation is such a wuss. Mankind is too sanitized..too clean..too pacifist. Federation starships are always getting their asses kicked by Romulans, Klingons, Borg, Jem'Hadar, or some other alien species. We are an interstellar doormat for everyone to walk all over. And Picard is a talker, not a fighter. Kirk was the man!

[Brad Adrian]

This thread is so distressing that I won't be able to sleep tonight. So many people whose opinions and comments seem so otherwise lucid and normal have revealed a side I wish I hadn't seen.

I guess the stereotype about the pocket protector-wearing, calculator-toting, Star Trek-loving nerd exists for a reason. ;)

Now, Battlestar Gallactica, THAT'S something entirely different...

[T-Will]

One reason why I've always hate TNG and subsequent series spin-offs is because the Federation is such a wuss. Mankind is too sanitized..too clean..too pacifist. Federation starships are always getting their asses kicked by Romulans, Klingons, Borg, Jem'Hadar, or some other alien species. We are an interstellar doormat for everyone to walk all over. And Picard is a talker, not a fighter. Kirk was the man!

I agree...and Voyager has to be the most Politically Correct Star Trek yet...

[wizardmaster2k]

I guess the stereotype about the pocket protector-wearing, calculator-toting, Star Trek-loving nerd exists for a reason. ;)

Yea, I thought I was into star trek.... I actually found a few people at my high school that are into, or rather watch trek. USS Prometheus has to be one of my fav. ships. Keep on trekin!

[Abba Zabba]

Personally, I liked the ship Riker commanded in "All Good Things" (the final episode of ST:TNG). It cut through those Klingon ships like soft butter.


Agreed, the tri-nacelled version of the Enterprise D with the canon on top is the best! After that the Defiant is a favorite.

Definately the Defiant. it's like a sporty space space craft for those looking for some excitement in their life :wink:

[Abba Zabba]

One reason why I've always hate TNG and subsequent series spin-offs is because the Federation is such a wuss. Mankind is too sanitized..too clean..too pacifist. Federation starships are always getting their asses kicked by Romulans, Klingons, Borg, Jem'Hadar, or some other alien species. We are an interstellar doormat for everyone to walk all over. And Picard is a talker, not a fighter. Kirk was the man!

I think what they were trying to portray was a nicer cleaner civilized society. something that is truely lacking in todays world. But I do have to agree maybe too squeaky clean :mrgreen:

[GoldKey]

Here here! In fact, even though after spending over $1000 CAN on ST:TNG last year, I SWORE I wouldn't get suckered into buying another over-priced series, but the lure of seeing those awesome end-of-series space battles between Starfleet and the Dominion was just too much...so I bought both season one and two at the same time. 8O

Trust me, worth every penny. They are about $100 US per season here. Which comes out to about $5/episode. Much better deal than TOS on DVD. Those were $20 for 2 episodes on a disk. Just never could lay out the money for them. Hopefully, they come back and redo them by season like the next gen sets. I have all the next gen and the first two DS9. Since they come out every other month, it is not TOO bad on the wallet. It is scary to think that by the time I get through Voyager I will have over 2 grand in these. Ds9 had horrible time slots here, so I missed alot of episode and never got overly into it. I have been pleasantly suprised in watching the first two seasons on DVD.

[Jeff Rutledge]

DS9 I stuck with it until season 3 and still couldn’t get into it.

Pity. You left before it got good! The Dominion War had some of the finest moments in Trek history...

Here here! In fact, even though after spending over $1000 CAN on ST:TNG last year, I SWORE I wouldn't get suckered into buying another over-priced series, but the lure of seeing those awesome end-of-series space battles between Starfleet and the Dominion was just too much...so I bought both season one and two at the same time. 8O

Same here. I dished out for TNG and have already pre-ordered DS9:S3 from Amazon.ca.

I'm planning to stand fast and not get the Voyager discs. Ahhh...who am I kidding. Once I have the first 14 seasons, I'll have to get the last 7. :roll:

Actually, I didn't watch much Voyager. I had heard it got good by about Season 5. Anyone care to agree/disagree?

[Ed Hansberry]

Actually, I didn't watch much Voyager. I had heard it got good by about Season 5. Anyone care to agree/disagree?

I much preferred Voyager to DS9. I quit watching DS9 though managed to catch most of the Dominion episodes in reruns.

[Steven Cedrone]

Now, Battlestar Gallactica, THAT'S something entirely different...

That was a great show!!! Well except for: Muffy the dagget, the monkey in a robotic-dog-suit...

Steve

[Steven Cedrone]

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2003/20030508-redalert.gif

The conversation is getting waaaaay too geeky.

Man, you opened up a can of worms... :wink:

Nothin' like Bill Shatner and an Ipaq to bring out the best/worst in us... :lol:

Steve

[beq]

Man I could never scrape the $$$ for TNG/DS9 DVDs. And now I probably have to budget for anime (Cartoon Network is relentlessly turning out awesome stuff like clockwork)... Trigun for one...

[Mitch D]

Now, Battlestar Gallactica, THAT'S something entirely different...

That was a great show!!! Well except for: Muffy the dagget, the monkey in a robotic-dog-suit...

Steve

Battlestar Galatica was good but Babylon 5 kicked butt over all the shows. :werenotworthy:

[CESkins]

That was a great show!!! Well except for: Muffy the dagget, the monkey in a robotic-dog-suit...
That was the worst pet ever created for a TV series. Everyone would be running for their lives from the Cylons and someone would have to stop to get that darn dagget...Dr. Z was one of my favorite characters on that show. :) :way to go:

Battlestar Galatica was good but Babylon 5 kicked butt over all the shows
B5 like you said has no equals to date on TV. Clearly the best SciFi storyline ever written. I thought that Earth Final Conflict would come close but that show self destructed after season 2.

[Jeff Rutledge]

... but Babylon 5 kicked butt over all the shows. :werenotworthy:

Yeah, I've bought B5:S1&2 too. If I keep committing to these multi-season series' on DVD, I'd better hope my kids get athletic scholarships or something becuase I won't be able to send them. :?

I really liked B5 as well. I found the writing a little much sometimes, but the story was great. And the third and fourth seasons were incredible.

[Foo Fighter]

I much preferred Voyager to DS9.

Voyager was the worst of all Star Trek lore. Lost In Space meets Doctor Who.

[Jeff Rutledge]

Voyager was the worst of all Star Trek lore. Lost In Space meets Doctor Who.

That's how I felt when I did watch it. I watched almost all of the first two seasons, but it just didn't grab me. I tried again when they switched Kes for Seven, but I was too far gone for them to bring me back. However I have seen a couple episodes of the later seasons and it seemed to have improved. I've also heard a couple people say the later seasons got quite a bit better.

Still, I'm happy to hear the "Voyager isn't worth it" comments as it will save me CDN$1000 on the DVD's (see my above post). 8)

[CESkins]

I really liked B5 as well. I found the writing a little much sometimes, but the story was great.
The writing may have been complex at times but who can forget Kosh's great lines like (1) "the truth speaks for itself", (2) "understanding is a 3 edged sword...my side, your side, and the truth", or my personal favorite (3) "the avalanche has already started...it is too late for the pebbles to vote"
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nef/kosh.jpg

[Steven Cedrone]

Battlestar Galatica was good but Babylon 5 kicked butt over all the shows. :werenotworthy:

But you have to remember, for it's time, BG was awesome!!! I think it cost $1,000,000.00 per episode, that's incredible for a sci-fi series at that time...

Steve

[qmrq]

But you have to remember, for it's time, BG was awesome!!! I think it cost $1,000,000.00 per episode, that's incredible for a sci-fi series at that time...

Steve

uhmm in the 1960s US $1M was a lot of money. Are you sure about this?

[qmrq]

B5 like you said has no equals to date on TV. Clearly the best SciFi storyline ever written. I thought that Earth Final Conflict would come close but that show self destructed after season 2.

ahhhh, it's good to know that I'm not the only one who didn't get anythingabout that show after the first season . . .

[Steven Cedrone]

uhmm in the 1960s US $1M was a lot of money. Are you sure about this?

Battlestar Galactica was the late 70's early 80's... And yes, I'm sure...

Steve

[CESkins]

uhmm in the 1960s US $1M was a lot of money. Are you sure about this?

Battlestar Galactica was the late 70's early 80's... And yes, I'm sure...

Steve
Hmmm...maybe that's why they pulled the plug...Now today you can do all they did back then on your home computer with the right software for a miniscule fraction of the cost per episode. Heck B5's special effects were done using Video Toaster and regular old PCs. :)

[qmrq]

Yes, late 70's and 80's I was off a bit ... I'm still pretty sure that nowhere near $1M was spent per episode though. :P

[Ed Hansberry]

Yes, late 70's and 80's I was off a bit ... I'm still pretty sure that nowhere near $1M was spent per episode though. :P

http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=308

"Created by Glenn A. Larson, the original Battlestar Galactica ran for 22 episodes between 1978-1979. The series was eventually cancelled because of high production costs - each episode cost $1 million to make, an astronomical figure for the day."

[qmrq]

yowza 8O

*wonders how they made money off that*

[Mitch D]

Battlestar Galatica was good but Babylon 5 kicked butt over all the shows. :werenotworthy:

But you have to remember, for it's time, BG was awesome!!! I think it cost $1,000,000.00 per episode, that's incredible for a sci-fi series at that time...

Steve

Oh I am not knocking BG, it was (and still is) one of my favorite shows as a teenager. The Viper was one kick ass fighter! 8)

[Steven Cedrone]

Yes, late 70's and 80's I was off a bit ... I'm still pretty sure that nowhere near $1M was spent per episode though. :P

Wait a second...Who was screaming STFW at people not too long ago??? :twisted: :wink: :wink: :wink:

Steve

[Ed Hansberry]

Yes, late 70's and 80's I was off a bit ... I'm still pretty sure that nowhere near $1M was spent per episode though. :P

Wait a second...Who was it just a week or two ago that was screaming STFW at people??? :twisted: :wink: :wink: :wink:

Bingo. :werenotworthy: Not to mention he was wrong about what he was yelling STFW about. :roll:

[Jason Dunn]

B5 like you said has no equals to date on TV. Clearly the best SciFi storyline ever written. I thought that Earth Final Conflict would come close but that show self destructed after season 2.

Interesting. I had high hopes for B5, but in all honesty I just couldn't stomach the 1996-era computer graphics. Everything looks so...cheesy. Chessy costumes. Cheesy graphics. Cheesy acting. I thought the storylines were cool for the most part, but I could just never get deep into it...too much sticky cheese for me. 0X

Earth Final Conflict was awesome! So much potential, then...poof. Kind of feel apart. The time slots here kept bumping around, very hard to watch it...

[CESkins]

Interesting. I had high hopes for B5, but in all honesty I just couldn't stomach the 1996-era computer graphics. Everything looks so...cheesy. Chessy costumes. Cheesy graphics. Cheesy acting. I thought the storylines were cool for the most part, but I could just never get deep into it...too much sticky cheese for me.
Jason if you get the SciFi channel there in Canada, B5 is showing (at 9 AM EST here in the USA) Mon-Fri. Once you get past the 1st season, everything gets progressively better. Sinclair (the original B5 commander) was one of the worst actors I ever came across. His face hardly ever showed any emotional range...Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) on the other hand, who took command in season 2, is a much better actor with wider range. The core plot is laid out is season 1 and develops from there. However, the graphics, music, acting, and storyline really pick up in season 2. Reminds me of the 1st time I saw ST: TNG. Picard was stiff, the acting poor w/cliche-filled dialog, and the characters one dimensional. Things got much better as the actors grew into their characters. The 1st time the crew of TNG met the Ferengi, I thought I was looking at a bunch of backward savages the way the Ferengi were portrayed (fur outfits with electric whips...grunting and howling)...quite a departure from Quark. Same thing holds with B5. If you get a chance to see the B5 pilot, "The Gathering" and then see the 1st season, you will see just how much better the makeup got...Delenn (the female Mimbari ambassador) looked like a man in the pilot thanks to the bad make-up job and costume design. By season 3, the action really heats up (unlike EFC which cooled down) and just keeps getting hotter. You should take another look @ B5, preferably on DVD if someone has it. Unlike Star Trek where you could miss 20 episodes and still follow the storyline, B5 requires you see all the episodes (even the not so good episodes hold subtle clues). :) The end of B5 left many fans crying (the show had that much emotional resonance)...of course being the strong man that I am. I didn't shed a tear :roll: :oops: The end of TNG left me asking the question, "What?...that's it?"

[Pony99CA]

Now, Battlestar Gallactica, THAT'S something entirely different...
That was a great show!!! Well except for: Muffy the dagget, the monkey in a robotic-dog-suit...

The SciFi Channel occasionally runs "Battlestar Galactica" marathons. I enjoyed the series, but what about the goofy "Galactica 1980" follow-up? No Apollo, no Starbuck, no future. :-D

Steve

[Pony99CA]

I had high hopes for B5, but in all honesty I just couldn't stomach the 1996-era computer graphics. Everything looks so...cheesy. Chessy costumes. Cheesy graphics. Cheesy acting. I thought the storylines were cool for the most part, but I could just never get deep into it...too much sticky cheese for me. 0X
I agree. Everyone seemed to rave about the "Babylon 5" graphics, but I thought they looked cheap. I understand the limitations of the technology, and enjoyed B5, but there was no reason to say the Video Toaster effects were awesome.

I also wasn't impressed with the Video Toaster effects in "SeaQuest DSV".

Steve

[Steven Cedrone]

The SciFi Channel occasionally runs "Battlestar Galactica" marathons. I enjoyed the series, but what about the goofy "Galactica 1980" follow-up? No Apollo, no Starbuck, no future. :-D

Steve

Not to mention the fact that they re-used every special effect from the original series to cut costs...

Steve

[Steven Cedrone]

Reminds me of the 1st time I saw ST: TNG. Picard was stiff, the acting poor w/cliche-filled dialog, and the characters one dimensional. Things got much better as the actors grew into their characters.

Being a die hard fan of ST:TOS, I thought the first ST:TNG show I saw was lame (but I was already "jaded"). I had to force myself to watch it. As things went on, it became a great show!!! I still don't like to watch the first season shows though... :wink:

Steve

[CESkins]

I agree. Everyone seemed to rave about the "Babylon 5" graphics, but I thought they looked cheap. I understand the limitations of the technology, and enjoyed B5, but there was no reason to say the Video Toaster effects were awesome.
I thought the graphics from the 1st season looked relatively simple but by the time you got to years 3-5, the graphics looked great and kept improving as the technology got better...you saw more fighters in squadrons, better explosions/ship disintegration, etc. The Encounter @ Farscape graphics from TNG also looked cheap relative to the graphic refinements seen in later episodes (not to mention later Trek series).