Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1, Episode 16
Original Air Date: January 5, 1967
 |
| via Wikipedia |
 |
| via Memory Alpha |
*****
 |
| via Wikipedia |
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Star Trek: The Galileo Seven
Episode: "The Galileo Seven"
Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1, Episode 16
Original Air Date: January 5, 1967
Among the devoted, "The Galileo Seven" is best known as the episode which introduced the shuttlecraft - named, of course, Galileo. Up to this point, the show had used the transporter instead of a shuttle because the effects were cheaper. How funny to think that what began as a cost-saving measure became such an iconic aspect of the Star Trek franchise!
More importantly to me, the first episode of 1967 is a great Spock vs. Bones story. Spock and Dr. McCoy lead a seven-person crew (thus the title) on a scientific investigation of a quasar-like formation. Naturally, disaster strikes and the shuttle is forced to land on Taurus II. Out of communication with the Enterprise, Spock assumes command of the stranded party. Predictably, the crewmen take exception to his management style, informed more by cold logic than emotion. Bones does his best to steer Spock to a more balanced approach. Meanwhile, tensions mount as hope of rescue fades.
Don Marshall (Lt. Boma) was born May 2, 1936 in San Diego, California. He made his professional acting debut in the 1961 film The Interns. In 1964, he starred opposite Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura) in a made-for-TV movie, Great Gettin' Up Mornin'. His scifi credentials extend beyond Trek. Cast in a leading role in Land of the Giants, Marshall was one of the first African American men to feature prominently in a science fiction series.
Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1, Episode 16
Original Air Date: January 5, 1967
Monday, December 2, 2013
Double Barrel #12
Title: Double Barrel
Issue #12
Release: November 2013
Writers: Kevin and Zander Cannon
Artists: Kevin and Zander Cannon
With this, the twelfth issue, season one of Double Barrel finally comes to a close. Both Zander's Heck and Kevin's Crater XV wrapped up nicely. Both stories are available in graphic novel form for anyone keen to read from the beginning.
A second season is promised, eventually. Both Cannons are full-time freelancers in the comics biz so their other projects are going to keep them busy for a while. Zander's been doing a lot of DC work recently, including a Justice League book with Geoff Johns. According to Zander, the second season of DB will be different - more episodic stories released maybe three times a year rather than monthly. I'm looking forward to following the work of both creators in the meantime.
Issue #12
Release: November 2013
Writers: Kevin and Zander Cannon
Artists: Kevin and Zander Cannon
 |
| via Top Shelf |
A second season is promised, eventually. Both Cannons are full-time freelancers in the comics biz so their other projects are going to keep them busy for a while. Zander's been doing a lot of DC work recently, including a Justice League book with Geoff Johns. According to Zander, the second season of DB will be different - more episodic stories released maybe three times a year rather than monthly. I'm looking forward to following the work of both creators in the meantime.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Family Movie Night: From Up on Poppy Hill
Title: From Up on Poppy Hill
Director: Goro Miyazaki
Original Release: 2011
Choice: My Wife's
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Full disclosure: this movie was virtually guaranteed at least a 4-rating from me for the setting alone. Yokohama is near and dear to my heart. Frequent visitors already know that I've spent five years of my life in Japan - three as a child and two as an adult. I was born a diplo-brat in Tokyo. When I went back, it was to teach English in Yokohama. Without a doubt, it was the great formative experience of my young adulthood and the spirit of the city will course through my veins until my dying day.
Not surprisingly, my Yokohama of the mid- to late '90s had changed a great deal from the early '60s version in From Up on Poppy Hill. By my time, the street cars were gone, the roads were all paved and the buildings were taller. But some parts of the city - the downtown area and the walk along the harbor at Sakuragi-cho - while certainly less developed, were instantly recognizable, inspiring audible sighs from me and eye rolls from My Wife. No mere Tokyo suburb, this city of 3 million is fiercely proud of its maritime history and the movie showcases that very nicely.
Of course, there's a story, too, based on Kokuriko-zaka Kara, a serialized comic by Chizuru Takahashi and Tetsuro Sayama. Umi is a teenage girl who raises maritime flags every day as a message to her long lost father. One day, she meets Shun, a boy at school who is working with his friends to save an old clubhouse. They fall in love, but there are complications as mysteries about their family histories are unraveled.
Like I said, I was predisposed to liking this film from the start. But in addition to my affection for the city, I found Umi's and Shun's relationship to be entirely authentic. No over the top romance here, just a simple warmth that draws them together. They belong to one another. Love is everywhere in movies, as if it's something that happens as a matter of course and we as the audience are expected to accept it without question. Every once in a while, though, I see love I truly believe. Such was the case here. I felt their pain when the complications came.
From Up on Poppy Hill was Goro Miyazaki's second film. While I enjoyed the first, Tales from Earthsea (review here), this one feels like a big step up. The critics were much kinder, too.
Finally, Kyu Sakamoto's "Ue o Muite Aroko" is featured prominently in the movie. A major international hit, the song better known to the English-speaking world as "Sukiyaki" topped the Billboard charts for three weeks in 1963. I sang the song to the school at my farewell assembly, half in Japanese, half in English - so, an obvious sentimental attachment for me there.
Here's one English version, by 4PM:
Sakamoto was from Kawasaki, another city in the Tokyo megalopolis, wedged between Yokohama and Tokyo - 1 million strong in its own right. He died in 1985 at age 43 in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123, the second deadliest airplane accident in history with 520 dead and only 4 survivors. I leave you with Kyu, in Japanese, with a literal translation of the lyrics:
Director: Goro Miyazaki
Original Release: 2011
Choice: My Wife's
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
 |
| via Wikipedia |
Full disclosure: this movie was virtually guaranteed at least a 4-rating from me for the setting alone. Yokohama is near and dear to my heart. Frequent visitors already know that I've spent five years of my life in Japan - three as a child and two as an adult. I was born a diplo-brat in Tokyo. When I went back, it was to teach English in Yokohama. Without a doubt, it was the great formative experience of my young adulthood and the spirit of the city will course through my veins until my dying day.
Not surprisingly, my Yokohama of the mid- to late '90s had changed a great deal from the early '60s version in From Up on Poppy Hill. By my time, the street cars were gone, the roads were all paved and the buildings were taller. But some parts of the city - the downtown area and the walk along the harbor at Sakuragi-cho - while certainly less developed, were instantly recognizable, inspiring audible sighs from me and eye rolls from My Wife. No mere Tokyo suburb, this city of 3 million is fiercely proud of its maritime history and the movie showcases that very nicely.
Of course, there's a story, too, based on Kokuriko-zaka Kara, a serialized comic by Chizuru Takahashi and Tetsuro Sayama. Umi is a teenage girl who raises maritime flags every day as a message to her long lost father. One day, she meets Shun, a boy at school who is working with his friends to save an old clubhouse. They fall in love, but there are complications as mysteries about their family histories are unraveled.
Like I said, I was predisposed to liking this film from the start. But in addition to my affection for the city, I found Umi's and Shun's relationship to be entirely authentic. No over the top romance here, just a simple warmth that draws them together. They belong to one another. Love is everywhere in movies, as if it's something that happens as a matter of course and we as the audience are expected to accept it without question. Every once in a while, though, I see love I truly believe. Such was the case here. I felt their pain when the complications came.
From Up on Poppy Hill was Goro Miyazaki's second film. While I enjoyed the first, Tales from Earthsea (review here), this one feels like a big step up. The critics were much kinder, too.
Finally, Kyu Sakamoto's "Ue o Muite Aroko" is featured prominently in the movie. A major international hit, the song better known to the English-speaking world as "Sukiyaki" topped the Billboard charts for three weeks in 1963. I sang the song to the school at my farewell assembly, half in Japanese, half in English - so, an obvious sentimental attachment for me there.
Here's one English version, by 4PM:
Sakamoto was from Kawasaki, another city in the Tokyo megalopolis, wedged between Yokohama and Tokyo - 1 million strong in its own right. He died in 1985 at age 43 in the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123, the second deadliest airplane accident in history with 520 dead and only 4 survivors. I leave you with Kyu, in Japanese, with a literal translation of the lyrics:
Saturday, November 30, 2013
The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: December Blog List
Greetings to all! I hope you'll join us for the next installment of the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, an online gathering of bloggers who love books. The next meeting is set for Friday, December 27th. If you're interested, please sign on to the link list at the end of this post.
The idea is simple: on the last Friday of each month, post about the best book you've finished over the past month while visiting other bloggers doing the same. In this way, we'll all have the opportunity to share our thoughts with other enthusiastic readers. Please join us:
Friday, November 29, 2013
The Cephalopod Coffeehouse: November 2013
Welcome one and all to the Cephalopod Coffeehouse, a cozy gathering of
book lovers, meeting to discuss their thoughts regarding the tomes they
enjoyed most over the previous month. Pull up a chair, order your
cappuccino and join in the fun. If you wish to add your own review to
the conversation, please sign on to the link list at the end of my post.
Title: Star Wars
Author: George Lucas (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster)
I've made a couple of previous attempts at reading the novelization of the original Star Wars movie. I first checked the book out of the library as a small child for my mother to read to me. She had really enjoyed the movie but thought the book was terrible so she gave up. I was too young to tackle it on my own. I tried again as a young man but didn't make it much further.
I'm not sure what was different this time but I breezed right through it. Perhaps it was a matter of expectations. Knowing the books don't exactly measure up to the sci-fi classics, I read as a curious, lifelong Star Wars fan. At this point, I feel I know the story backwards and forwards. In addition to watching the movie dozens, if not hundreds, of times, I've also listened to the radio drama multiple times and read the comic book adaptation. As such, there wasn't much in the way of new material. There's one scene with Luke and his Tatooine pals that was cut from the movie but does appear in other renditions of the story. The character of Biggs, almost entirely cut out of the 1977 film, plays quite an important role in the novelization. There are other, more subtle changes here and there. Basically, it's close enough to the movie to bring plenty of smiles to the long-devoted fan but also different enough to keep things interesting.
The novel was published several months before the film release, in December 1976. The book reads more like storyboard plotting than a polished novel. Setting descriptions of Tatooine and Yavin are quite thorough. Characters, on the other hand, are not nearly as engaging as they are in the film. Narrative tone changes are abrupt and awkward - editing clearly wasn't a high priority. Most of the dialogue is at least recognizable to the devotee. The "Let the Wookiee win" line, however, is nowhere to be seen.
In short, if one is expecting a satisfying science fiction novel, probably best to give this one a pass. But if you're looking for new perspective on an old favorite, the Star Wars novelization is a pleasant romp.
Please join us and share your own review of your best read from the past month. This month's link list is below. I'll keep it open until the end of the day. I'll post December's tomorrow. Meetings are the last Friday of each month. Next gathering is December 27th.
Title: Star Wars
Author: George Lucas (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster)
 |
| via Wikipedia |
I've made a couple of previous attempts at reading the novelization of the original Star Wars movie. I first checked the book out of the library as a small child for my mother to read to me. She had really enjoyed the movie but thought the book was terrible so she gave up. I was too young to tackle it on my own. I tried again as a young man but didn't make it much further.
I'm not sure what was different this time but I breezed right through it. Perhaps it was a matter of expectations. Knowing the books don't exactly measure up to the sci-fi classics, I read as a curious, lifelong Star Wars fan. At this point, I feel I know the story backwards and forwards. In addition to watching the movie dozens, if not hundreds, of times, I've also listened to the radio drama multiple times and read the comic book adaptation. As such, there wasn't much in the way of new material. There's one scene with Luke and his Tatooine pals that was cut from the movie but does appear in other renditions of the story. The character of Biggs, almost entirely cut out of the 1977 film, plays quite an important role in the novelization. There are other, more subtle changes here and there. Basically, it's close enough to the movie to bring plenty of smiles to the long-devoted fan but also different enough to keep things interesting.
The novel was published several months before the film release, in December 1976. The book reads more like storyboard plotting than a polished novel. Setting descriptions of Tatooine and Yavin are quite thorough. Characters, on the other hand, are not nearly as engaging as they are in the film. Narrative tone changes are abrupt and awkward - editing clearly wasn't a high priority. Most of the dialogue is at least recognizable to the devotee. The "Let the Wookiee win" line, however, is nowhere to be seen.
In short, if one is expecting a satisfying science fiction novel, probably best to give this one a pass. But if you're looking for new perspective on an old favorite, the Star Wars novelization is a pleasant romp.
Please join us and share your own review of your best read from the past month. This month's link list is below. I'll keep it open until the end of the day. I'll post December's tomorrow. Meetings are the last Friday of each month. Next gathering is December 27th.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Star Trek: Shore Leave
Episode: "Shore Leave"
Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1, Episode 15
Original Air Date: December 29, 1966
After an intense drama like "Balance of Terror," a lighter story such as "Shore Leave" makes for a nice palette cleanser. Our heroes visit a strange but beautiful planet, a seemingly ideal vacation spot for an overworked crew. But of course, there is a great deal more than initially meets the eye. Dr. McCoy encounters a large rabbit with a pocket watch, followed by a dead-ringer for Alice of Wonderland fame. Other crew members have strange encounters of their own. One-shot Yeoman Tonia Barrows is kidnapped by Don Juan. Sulu fights a samurai. Kirk first runs into an old Academy nemesis, then a long-lost girlfriend. Initial assumptions that the planet was uninhabited were clearly less than accurate.
"Shore Leave" is kind of silly as Star Trek adventures go. However, one can see the seeds planted for Holodeck-centered episodes in later Trek series. It's nice to think that even characters in a fantasy world have daydreams of their own. I also like the idea that stories central to our culture now will continue to be vital in centuries to come.
Perry Lopez (Lt. Esteban Rodriguez) was born July 22, 1931 in New York City. Initially a stage actor, he signed with Warner Bros. in 1955, appearing in Mr. Roberts, that same year. (It's a fun movie, if only for Martin Milner's highly amusing monologue as Shore Patrol Officer.) Lopez's most famous role, however, was as Lt. Escobar in Chinatown. He reprised the role in 1990's The Two Jakes.
Lopez died of lung cancer in 2008. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among people I've featured in this section - a lot of smokers at those 1960s TV studios!
Series: Star Trek: The Original Series
Season 1, Episode 15
Original Air Date: December 29, 1966
 |
| via Memory Alpha |
"Shore Leave" is kind of silly as Star Trek adventures go. However, one can see the seeds planted for Holodeck-centered episodes in later Trek series. It's nice to think that even characters in a fantasy world have daydreams of their own. I also like the idea that stories central to our culture now will continue to be vital in centuries to come.
*****
 |
| via Memory Alpha |
Lopez died of lung cancer in 2008. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among people I've featured in this section - a lot of smokers at those 1960s TV studios!
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Family Movie Night: Casablanca
Title: Casablanca
Director: Michael Curtiz
Original Release: 1942
Choice: Mine
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
One of the most celebrated romance stories in the history of American cinema, Casablanca wasn't expected to be anything special upon its initial release. Made on an average budget, compared to the sweeping epics with which it is frequently compared, Casablanca was only a modest box office hit as well. But the critics raved. On the strength of its iconic protagonist and solid screenplay, the movie has endured and is now considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made. I'm not sure I'd go that far myself but it's fair to say the story holds up quite well 71 years later. It certainly doesn't hurt that Ingrid Bergman is one of the most beautiful women in world history.
The story takes place in 1941 Morocco. Rick (Humphrey Bogart), an American ex-pat with a shady past, owns a thriving night club in Casablanca. One evening, an old flame (Bergman) walks into the place: Ilsa, the love of his life who abandoned him in Paris when the Nazis invaded and they were both scrambling to leave the country. Now in Morocco, she and her activist husband are trying to stay one step ahead of the Third Reich. Running into Rick, however, was never part of the plan.
As Bogey puts it,"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
It's an interesting movie to watch from an historical perspective. The United States had just entered the Second World War by the time Casablanca was released. In fact, the opening was rushed to capitalize on the recent Allied invasion in North Africa. Watching in 2013, we all know how the rest of the war turned out. But the viewing public in 1942 didn't. The prospect of the Nazis occupying London, for instance, would have been a genuine concern.
Casablanca is the source of film's most famous misquotation. The line "Play it again, Sam" never actually occurs. The initial line, delivered by Ilsa, is "Play it, Sam, for old times' sake." The song in question is "As Time Goes By." The song was written in 1931 by Herman Hupfeld for the Broadway musical, Everybody's Welcome. While not yet the American Songbook standard it would become thanks to Casablanca, "As Time Goes By" would already have been familiar to many of the audience in 1942. Dooley Wilson, the actor who played Sam, was a drummer by trade, not a pianist. It's his voice in the film but the piano is dubbed.
Director: Michael Curtiz
Original Release: 1942
Choice: Mine
My Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5
 |
| via Wikipedia |
The story takes place in 1941 Morocco. Rick (Humphrey Bogart), an American ex-pat with a shady past, owns a thriving night club in Casablanca. One evening, an old flame (Bergman) walks into the place: Ilsa, the love of his life who abandoned him in Paris when the Nazis invaded and they were both scrambling to leave the country. Now in Morocco, she and her activist husband are trying to stay one step ahead of the Third Reich. Running into Rick, however, was never part of the plan.
As Bogey puts it,"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."
It's an interesting movie to watch from an historical perspective. The United States had just entered the Second World War by the time Casablanca was released. In fact, the opening was rushed to capitalize on the recent Allied invasion in North Africa. Watching in 2013, we all know how the rest of the war turned out. But the viewing public in 1942 didn't. The prospect of the Nazis occupying London, for instance, would have been a genuine concern.
Casablanca is the source of film's most famous misquotation. The line "Play it again, Sam" never actually occurs. The initial line, delivered by Ilsa, is "Play it, Sam, for old times' sake." The song in question is "As Time Goes By." The song was written in 1931 by Herman Hupfeld for the Broadway musical, Everybody's Welcome. While not yet the American Songbook standard it would become thanks to Casablanca, "As Time Goes By" would already have been familiar to many of the audience in 1942. Dooley Wilson, the actor who played Sam, was a drummer by trade, not a pianist. It's his voice in the film but the piano is dubbed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)