Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

It wasn't too bad until the end and there's a couple gross scenes. The plot isn't awful, just a bit rote and done before, just not really a "Trek" storyline or at least a TNG one. I own the BR of season one and it's still pretty grainy. It would be nice to have a HD version that's well done, but I doubt I'll ever rebuy unless I happen across a deal that's too good to turn down.

I agree about you with Warf, it's a bit distracting at first, but I do get used to his features after a bit. It's only when you see an earlier version really close to an older one that it's really jarring.

I appreciate both ways! I know I'm more of a comment in the thread person, but both ways are great!

That is the hard part! I'm pretty good at opening the program up right away, though it helps that I'm usually on my computer while watching something, or have it near so it's not too hard at doing it right away.

TNG was the first Trek that I watched so it never really occurred to me that it should be different. As an adult watching it, those questions do go through my head-they are in dangerous situations so often, who would want their kids in that much danger?! But I'm assuming that the writers wanted families to help them write different story lines that hadn't been available to them before in space. And trying to draw a larger viewing base by having a lot of ages of actors. Wesley on the bridge doesn't bother me either-maybe it's because I liked it when I first watched it. I think they explained it pretty well in canon-by having the one alien (can't think of his name right now, but maybe the Traveler?) talk to Picard and persuade him that Wesley was special and he needed the knowledge of being part of the bridge crew and having their sponsorship would bring.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I have a question about whether or not a movie qualifies. The name is Paradox, it's from 2016 and the director is Michael Hurst. It is showing on Netflix Streaming. It is listed as Action, Drama on IMDB and Action, Thriller on AllMovie, although the sub-genres on Allmovie are Action Thriller and Supernatural Thriller. The movie's description shows it is about what happens when someone travels in time one hour and then returns. The plot keywords in IMDB include Time Travel, nonlinear timeline and time paradox. I would like to count it toward Time Travel for the checklist. Does anyone know of this movie or have any problem with it being used?

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Pretty sure Time Travel is still regarded as science fiction... ;)

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Nope, go for it. If you watch and for some reason you don't think it's sci-fi because the summary was misleading, you can use a wildcard. But as long as it has time travel in it, it would definitely qualify.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Thanks for the quick answers!

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I don't the think I'll go to Star Wars tonight. I'm leaving tomorrow night, so wore myself out today. I might watch it on my tablet though.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I finished S2 of Science Fiction Theatre earlier this evening. S2 was, overall, better than S1 in that it had more SF than melodrama with light SF nods as in many S1 episodes. It is a interesting precursor to series like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits but not one I feel I'll revisit often. Still, I'm glad I've seen it.

I then moved on to Star Trek: TNG and "Encounter at Farpoint." While I still feel it's a rather weak episode I must say the Blu-ray remaster is has superb PQ and audio. It's superior to the original DVD release in every way. Scenes that were dark/soft/grainy on the DVD are brighter, sharper, have better color, and exhibit little grain. The upgraded vfx are also quite good. I almost wish I'd not purchased those DVD sets but had I *not* purchased them I'd have likely not purchased the Blu-ray set as it was watching S1-S6 (I never made it to S7 although I do own it) that convinced me there are more good episodes than I'd given the series credit for having. It's still not my favorite of the Trek series (dead last on my list) but *is* better than many other SF series.

Next up, "The Naked Now" which is a blatant, and inferior, remake of the original series episode "The Naked Time." I've read Roddenberry wanted to remake many of the original episodes to take advantage of better effects technology but there was such a backlash from fans over this practice, and that TNG failed to take off as anticipated, that he backed off that plan. Had he not I doubt the series would have lasted beyond S1.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Likewise. My suspicion is that it's 80% "child" (i.e. putting a kid in Star Trek at all; children habitually tend to be/seem more annoying and worse at acting) and 20% the couple of episodes where he's the 'wunderkind' genius - creating life, being The Chosen One, saving the day (from his own problems), etc. - and therefore distracting from the other, more favoured, cast members.

A better question - especially from a marketing perspective - is why Dr. Crusher gets such short shrift, and why Tasha was completely ignored during the anniversary celebrations. And to add insult to injury, both often get passed over in favour of young Wesley..!


Hopefully it was clear that I was railing against people generally and not you specifically... I get why people read sexism (even misogyny) and the like into the comic. I can see why people would assume rape, and I even see why Barbara gets put with the WiR crowd as a woman-used-as-a-tool-to-add-motive-for-a-man (even Mr Moore has mostly agreed with this criticism). But while I understand it, I think it's unfair to read it that way. This is not Batgirl getting the short end of the stick. This is 'wrong place, wrong time'. This Joker/Batman/Gordon and everyone else is a pawn, not just Barbara. If it were Gordon's son in her shoes, everything would have played out identically. Which is - despite the circumstances - surely the definition of equality..?

Presumably an Oracle foreshadowing..? I haven't seen it, but that seems logical...

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

You're welcome! I just happened to be on. :)

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Got in two recent releases: Stranger Things and Star Trek Beyond. Stranger Things is very thrilling and enjoyable. I felt that it transcends the 80s gimmick and is its own thing while still providing plenty of nostalgia-baiting homages. Star Trek Beyond is definitely my favorite of the new movies. Plenty of action and lots of Bones, a character that is underused in the first two installments. This may be the thing that pushed it past the first film for me. McCoy is my favorite Star Trek character and is likely to remain so unless someone on Enterprise (or the new series) is better.

I am curious: who are your favorite Star Trek characters?

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm happy I got some sci-fi in on my vacation. Woke up in the middle of the night to a wet tent, so decided to stay up. I brought my tablet over to an outlet and watched the Season 6 episode of Ancient Aliens, 'The Power Of Three', on History Channel On Demand, on Sling TV.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I occasionally put comments in my lists, but they're only for my own future reference. I assume no one is going to read them. :)

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Trust me, no one on Enterprise will impress you speaking as someone who is going to wrap up that series today. My favorite Trek characters:

TOS - Uhura and Spock
TNG - Data
DS9 - basically everyone except Ezri
VOY - The Doctor and Seven
ENT - Mayweather and Hoshi

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I don't care much for the new Star Trek movies. For me they feel and play like generic actioners with Star Trek characters grafted on top. I've not yet seen "Beyond" but don't expect it to be any different.
TOS: McCoy, Scott, Spock
TNG: Dr. Crusher, Worf
DS9: Dax, Quark
VOY: The Doctor, Neelix
ENT: Dr. Phlox, Archer

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

STRANGER THINGS

looks like alot of folks on this thread other than me have watched Stranger Things. I cured that problem last night . I watched first three episodes and fell asleep halfway through the fourth. My GF said the fourth episode really got twisted towards the end, so im looking forward to completing it today

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I was going to answer and then I saw you beat me to it. I never wanted to watch TOS as a kid and I didn't care about TNG either. Then I got a job at a TV station and TNG was on before the news, so I was a captive audience. Still wasn't into it but I could watch it if I was at work and it was on.

So a kid being on the bridge just is what it is and I didn't know any better.

I also hated Dr Crusher's replacement. There would have been no possible way to have her character continue with the series while keeping the same attitude she had at the start. She did appear to try and soften up but you could still tell she was the same under the surface.

I work and sit next to two people like her. It's awful.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Diana Muldaur... she has that same demeanor in just about everything in which I've seen her. Oddly enough she's not that bad in the two TOS episodes in which she guest stars. She was near the top of the many reasons I stopped watching TNG part way into S2. She didn't fit, at all, with the rest of the cast. It didn't help that I had a crush on Dr. Crusher so, for me, Muldaur as the replacement was doubly bad.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Hey guys, haven't been a big part of this challenge but if there is any stat tabulation at the end I can add all the pertinent details to my "list" if requested.

+1 on the Stranger Things love

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Sorry, I called dibs.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Thanks to Chad's earlier comments about watching the colorized Earth vs. Flying Saucers on BR I looked up prices. Hmmm.... it was *less*expensive (about half the cost) than the DVD!?! I ordered a copy and it came in yesterday. I just finished a viewing of the colorized version. Like other Legend efforts, it's quite good. Without checking I'd say this is possibly the best one they've done. Many scenes look "natural" with only a few suffering from a "colorized" look, and those scenes are the ones which have issues on the BW print which is the root cause of the color issues. This is one I may opt for colorized in the future...

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I agree, she wasn't bad.

I prefer the uniform Deanna Troi wore in the first episode than the weird suit she wore most of the time. They should have stuck with the original series types of uniforms.

I have some of their other releases and the colored versions don't look bad at all. I'm old enough to remember when Ted Turner started colorizing old movies and remember how awful they used to look.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

I'm with you there. Those jump suit looking things just strike me as being wrong.
I have the other Harryhausen colorized films on DVD as well as a few other colorized efforts from Legend. Those are much better efforts that that early stuff from Turner. I have the I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched colorized seasons. Those are a bit better than the early stuff from Turner but not nearly as good as those from Legend.

One odd thing... After watching the colorized version I thought several scenes were excessively grainy so I pulled my DVD (in The Harryhausen Gift Set) to see if there were a difference in the prints. The DVD looks better overall - less grain and a cleaner image. I'd have thought the colorized one, also being Blu-ray, would have a slight edge but it did not.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

She was awful. I totally agree with you on that! I was so glad when she went away.
Don't usually do stats but please put at least a short (numbered) list down if you haven't already if you want to be eligible for the prize selection.

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Watching Predator at the moment. Who could have predicted two of its stars would be elected as state governors?

Re: The 9th Annual Sci-Fi/Fantasy Challenge Discussion Thread
 

Add me to the Pulaski haters club.