Happy Star Trek Day

Paramount Studios/CBS Home Video

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September 8th, 1966, Star Trek aired its first episode Mantrap, and the world has never been the same.

I was born in 1961 and as I mentioned in my post My Tangled History with Star Trek this series has always been a part of my life, re-runs of the original cast in the 70s and 80s, the one season of Star Trek: The Animate Series, and to limited amounts the various takes on the Universe and its characters since the show’s inception.

Beyond fandom Star Trek has left its imprint on the world and its events. In 2020 when a deadly pandemic swept the globe and the United States launched as massive drive to find a vaccine, and find it fast, the effort was named Operation: Warp Speed and no one had to have that moniker explained to them. Therapists speak of the need for people to ‘lower their shields’ and they are not referring to metaphorical iron and steel but force-walls of defensiveness. Perhaps the cultural impact that will live the longest beyond this beloved series is the concept that your evil twin sports a Spock style goatee.

Star Trek can be brilliant, such as combining the themes of Moby Dick and the madness of Mutually Assure Destruction in the unforgettable episode The Doomsday Machine. It could be profoundly silly with comedic episodes such as The Trouble with Tribbles, question the nature of identity with episodes like What are Little Girls Made Of, or The Serene Squall (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds), proving the versatility of the premise and science-fiction in general.

Of the show could be stupid too, taking swing that should never been attempted, Spock’s Brain, Turnabout Intruder, or Patterns of Force where I contend Spock uttered his most idiotic line in any film or episode when he named Nazi Germany as a model of efficient government. (Hell, man, The Fascists of Italy ruled longer than the ones of Germany. I have always envisioned someone off camera forcing Leonard Nimoy to speak such drivel.)

Star Trek has seen many series, movies, and even timelines. Fans can argue endlessly and to great amusement and entertainment which series or captain was best, which episodes were best or worst, which run had the best writing, which timeline which show is in, but what cannot be argued and must simply be accepted is that Star Trek made reality its own ‘strange new world.’

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Movie Review Exorcist: II The Heretic

Warner Brothers Studio

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Four years following the harrowing events of The Exorcist Regan McNeil (Linda Blair) is a 16-year-old girl studying at an arts and performance school in New York City and apparently still unable to recall her possession and exorcism.

The Catholic Church dispatches Father Lamont (Richard Burton) to investigate the death of Father Merrin (Max Von Sydow) during Regan’s exorcism. Lamont, himself a survivor of a botched exorcism, inserts himself into Regan psychiatric treatment by Dr. Tuskin (Louise Fletcher) discovering through hypnosis and a psychic link with Regan that Merrin did not die of his well-displayed heart condition but rather from the demon psychically manipulating Merrin’s heart. Lamont pushes forward his investigation to discover why Regan was targeted for possession and to validate Father Merrin’s heretical theories about humanity.

Oh god, this movie is bad.

First off as a sequel it makes no sense. The Church is concerned about Merrin and what happened to him, as though an elderly man with a heart condition having a heart attack and dying is at all more peculiar than a healthy young priest defenestrated to his death. However as far as this movie is concerned Father Karris never existed. The movie always undercuts one of the main mysteries of The Exorcist, why her? Why Regan McNeil? In the longer released version Merrin speculates, correctly, that it is to make us feel that we are animals, unworthy of God’s love. When that scene was cut from the film it damaged to friendship between the writer Blatty and the director Fried kin because Blatty believed it to be so critical to understanding the meaning of what he had created.

This ties to the second reason this movie doesn’t work; it simply isn’t Catholic enough.

Now I am a non-believer. I do not believe in any gods or goddesses. The universe is ruled by physical laws and when we die, we end. That said, if you are crafting a work that hinges on religious theology then you need to stay true to that theology as it is the reality of that world. Blatty was a Catholic and wrote the novel and screenplay for The Exorcist exploring his deeply held faith and what evil means in the world he viewed as fallen. Part of the reason The Exorcist is so compelling and is because it comes from a sincere belief in its truth. Exorcist II: The Heretic abandons all that for uber-psychics with special mental healing powers and their destiny to unify humanity into one grand loving mind. That is pretty damned far from any Christian theology.

Aside from the lackluster script the movie is further damaged by some of the most blank, lifeless line readings I have ever seen on the screen. It is as if director Boorman, in an attempt to live up to his surname, instructed everyone to play their parts in a bad imitation of Star Trek’s Vulcan race. This movie has some real acting talent in it, Max Von Sydow, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, and James Earl Jones, but there is not one scene of genuine emotion in the entire movie.

The film’s score by the great Ennio Morricone is discordant to the point of distracting and quite possibly the worst score that man has ever composed.

Exorcist II‘s art direction is equally damaging to any suspension of willing disbelief. The sets look like sets, with studio lighting and backdrops only marginally better than what had been achieved on television a decade earlier.

The Exorcist is a film I revisit often, Exorcist II: The Heretic I last watched 40 years ago and revisiting it was a mistake.

Exorcist II” The Heretic is currently streaming on Max.

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In the 70s Psychic Abilities Were Everywhere

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The other night I began a rewatch of The Exorcist II: The Heretic. It has been 40 years of so since I last watched this sequel to the fantastically successful The Exorcist and most of the film had slipped into the forgotten realms. (Not surprising even 40 years I was unimpressed, and this is often considered the weakest film in the series.) Release in 1977 this movie has many of the hallmarks of cinema of the 70s, particularly genre films and their fascination with psychic powers or it was nearly always referred to then, ESP.

Now Science-Fiction’s love affair with ESP well predates the 70s, Star Trek’s original pilot The Cage fixates on it and it is the foundation for all of the weird and fantastic stuff in Herbert’s Dune. It is in the 70s that this shit exploded across television, film, and books.

ESP and its associated ‘powers’ seemed to erupt in all sorts of fiction even when it was terribly mismatched to the genre. The Devil’s Rain a supernatural horror film about a coven of satanist and the struggle to possess a vital artifact utilizes, in addition to magical powers granted by the lords of hell, ESP in it plot. In the novel The Exorcist Father Karris must exclude by proof that the objects moving about in Regan’s room are not being manipulated by telekinesis. Psychic powers are so assumed to exist as part of the natural world that they have to be eliminated before he can move on to demonic possession. (This bit was wisely dropped from the film’s script.)

ESP showed up in SF films, soap operas, and horror films with amazing regularity. This fascination vanished fairly quickly in the 80s with the study of psychic ability being coded for ‘con man; in Ghostbusters. The 70s were a wild ride.

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I SUPPORT WGA/SAG AFTRA

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I have not made much in the any of public posts, but I want it to be clear that I support the Unions WGA and SAG-AFTRA in their fights for fair wages, fair compensation, and fair treatment particularly when it comes of residuals and abusive artificial intelligence application.

I have been chomping at the bit to see Dune pt. 2 since Part one finished screening the first time I watch it. This is a masterful interpretation and now the second part of the story will be play in theaters until next year.

Is this frustrating to me? Yes. Am I impatient for this move? Yes. Am I going to waver in support of the strikers for my personal entertainment desire? Fuck no.

There has been movement lately but the suits need to understand that while for them these issues are at the margin of how much profit they take back for their companies for the working actor and writer these are questions of career existence. You aren’t going to break them with PR pieces and low-ball offers.

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Why An Armed Society is NOT a Polite Society

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‘An Armed Society is a Polite Society’ is a phrase I first encountered in the 1948 Science-Fiction novel Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein. In the novel a futuristic society populated by eugenically bred and genetically manipulated humans one aspect is that people routinely go about armed and that dueling is not only socially acceptable for socially valued. This society is portrayed as prosperous, civil, and peaceful.

Today American society, while heavily armed, is far from polite. Armed people often brandish and use their firearms for minor altercations and annoyances, to say nothing of the epidemic of mass murder that shows no sign of abating.

 Why is that? Why doesn’t the knowledge that others around you may be very likely carrying lethal firearms promote more caution and deference in our society.

Heinlein himself provides what I believe is the reason that his ‘armed’ society is not a polite and civil one with the quote ‘Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal.’ (Tunnel in the Sky 1955)

I do not know if Heinlein ever reconciled these contradictory sentiments.

The armed society is only polite if it is rational. If the people can calmly, dispassionately recognize that in any incident of violence they are the potential losers. Perhaps only super humans, bred for exceptional intelligence and mental stability, can achieve this armed yet peaceful society.

People are rationalizing. It is rational to wear seatbelts every time to ride on a motor vehicle, but many do not because they have rationalized that they are excellent drivers and will not cause a crash. Vaccines have plenty of evidence for the effectiveness and safety, but people rationalize not getting vaccinated because they will not get sick. It won’t happen to them.

Firearms are subject to the same faulty rationalizations. The viewpoint is not that ‘they’ might use their weapons on me, but I will be safe because I will use my weapons on them. The gun makes me the dominate in the power struggle, it makes me the victor, imposing my will on the dangerous and unpredictable world.

At our hearts humans remain tribal, hierarchal, social creatures for whom social standing is a powerful motivator and the alure of firearms to ‘elevate’ one’s status to a dominate position eradicates most ability to be truly rational.

Of course the irony is that if were coolly rational not only would we not need to be armed to be polite we would no longer even be human.

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My Tangled History With Star Trek

CBS Studios

Credit: Paramount Pictures

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When Star Trek first hit the air in 1966, I was a wee lad of five. I have some memories of watching the series then, being confused as to how the Enterprise blasted-off from Earth, (I was an avid watcher of the American space launches) until the concepts ‘built in space’ and ‘never landing’ was explained to me. It was the 70s that cemented by love for Trek, with the afternoon ‘stripping’ of the series where episodes were shown in random order each weekday afternoon usually alongside other classics such as Gilligan’s Island or Green Acers.

When Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit the silvered screens in 1979 I was there for multiple screens in my local theater. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains one of my favorite films. Of course, in 1988 Star Trek: The Next Generation was released into syndication, and I was pleased to have new Trek in my life.

However, I never loved Next Gen the way I loved the original series. I watched it weekly for most of its run, but by season six found that the storylines and writing simply didn’t command my attention. I went to the theater for some of this cast’s feature films but was so repelled by Star Trek: Insurrection that even that stopped being one of my activities.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine came along and it was (shoulder shrug) alright. I watched a few seasons, but not as much as I had Next Gen and dropped out of regular viewership before they progressed to their ‘war’ storyline.

Star Trek: Voyager I managed to choke down three episodes before I fled from it. I found too much of that series either poorly thought out or simply stupid to continue watching save for an episode here and there written by a friend.

Star Trek: Enterprise held promise that enticed me. The idea of going back to a less tech advanced Federation I found fascinating, but I managed only the pilot episode and walked away. It was not for me, and I had absolutely no interest in a ‘temporal cold war.’

Star Trek: Discovery held my attention for several episodes, but I have a clear memory of switching off an episode when they mentioned a ‘space sonar’ and I never returned.

Star Trek: Lower Decks I watched several episodes and generally found I liked it on the same level as The Next Generation but ultimately the characters grated on my nerves. Farce is fine on limited doses, but I have a low tolerance for it as a running series.

Which brings us to Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

I adore this show.

It is difficult to understand why this series is working for me when so many of the others repel me. I do think part of the reason is that it has embraced an episodic format. While not as episodic as television of the 1960s where the episodes were intended to be ‘stripped’ and shown out of order,Strange New Worlds has enough continuing storylines that the order of the shows is vitally important, but it also has the freedom to do episodes with standalone stories much like the original series. Not every episode is a banger and some certainly engage me more than others, but the series overall has grabbed.

This set of characters are far more interesting than the fairly bland set from Next Generationwho were presented as far too perfect for my tastes. Chapel has become one of my personal favorites instead of the one-note cardboard cutout as presented in the original run. After all, did anyone really notice her absence in Wrath of Khan?

For those people who love the various variations that didn’t work for me I am happy for you. What a boring world it would be if we only loved the same things. Strange New Worlds hasn’t worked for everyone and their big swings like the cross-over with Lower Decks and the musical episodes have sparked strong emotions but that is so far better than a bland meh. Take swings in your art, try something outrageous, most of all create what you want to see.

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Not a Proper Review: Ahsoka

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Last week on Disney+ the latest series et in the Star Wars universe, Ahsoka released the two episodes.

Disney Studios

Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) is a character from the animated Star Wars Series Rebels and has been briefly depicted by Dawson in the companion series The Mandalorian. The series Ahsoka centers on the chaos and rebuilding following the fall of the Galactic Empire including threats from still loyal Imperials along with the return of a much-feared Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen.)

This is not a proper review because I feel that to fully analyze the success or failure of a piece you must continue to the conclusion. It is in the ending that films and stories ‘come together’ and a botched ending can undermine and ruin an otherwise strong piece. I will not be following Ahsoka to its conclusion as the series in the first two episodes failed to give me any sort of emotional connection that compelled anymore of my time.

I have seen on social media that a number of fans are quite pleased with the series and thrilled to watch more. I am happy for them. It is good to find the art that speaks to you and thrills you and makes you happy. Happiness is a resource all too scarce in these days and years and I will not gainsay anyone for the art that gives it to them.

For me, however, Ahsoka, came across as flat in its characterizations. Not one the major characters presented in the first two episodes seemed to have any real interior life, speaking and acting solely in service of the plot. The plot itself felt like a retread, a McGuffin hunt with a device already employed in the sequel trilogy, a map to lost character. While the visual effects, particularly the ‘Volume’ set are impressive and make locations unavailable to television budgets a reality, and the fights are well-choregraphed there is not enough on the screen to hold my interest.

I hope the fans are happy and I hope for them that the series delivers the excitement and drama that it promises but for me this is a miss.

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Foreign Series Review: Shadow Lines (Nyrkki)

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Finland, 1955, following the cataclysm of the Second World War, is a country caught between the East, dominated by the Soviet Union and the West, led by the Americans NATO. After fighting two wars within 20 years with Soviets the Finns are rightfully apprehensive about their nuclear armed, expansive, and communist neighbor maintaining a knife’s edge neutrality in the freezing danger of the growing Cold War.

In this environment of lies, shadows, and covert threats the ‘Fist’ as dedicated group of Finnish Security agents conducts operations against Soviet and American intelligence agents and even against their own political parties to defend, protect, and ensure Finland’s independence.

The television series Shadow Lines is quite difficult to review and discuss in a short article because it is so dense with characters and plot lines that weave together is a tale of shadowy warfare that would have made John le Carré proud. The series’ various factions include;

  • The Fist – The above-mentioned Finnish security team, with member willing to murder their own to secure Finland’s future.
  • The KGB – Soviet Intelligence working in both the USSR and Finland. Itself riven by political dissentions as power struggles continue at the USSR’s highest levels.
  • The CIA – working to elect, by any means within their ability, their preferred candidate to Finland Presidency, but riven with agents harboring personal secrets utterly unacceptable in 1950s.
  • Rogue Soviets — The political warfare within the USSR includes officers and politicians willing to risk war defying their own leadership to seize control of Finland and its vital strategic location.

Shadow Lines is a compelling cynical and realistic espionage series. The program avoids the glitter and glam of a James Bond adventure for the dirty and ambiguous approach of realism. The technology presented isn’t the Sci-Fi of Q branch but the crude and often dysfunctional machinery of the post-war world. Characters, nearly every single one, harbors secrets and agendas that motivate them and bring them into conflict with their factions and fellow agents. While the high-level plotting of the series is about geo-politics and the gamesmanship of the Cold War the stories at the ground level are about people, their messy lives and loves, and the faults and flaws that drive them on.

Shadow Lines streams on Sundance+ and is available to purchase on VOD. We watched it via DVDs loaned from the local Library.

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A More Apt Nazi Germany Analogy for the GOP

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This is coming off the top of my head, but I think there are some useful analogies to be found here.

Fascist Italy: This is the Old Guard Republican Establishment. With the ‘Southern Strategy’ and playing directly to disaffected racist voters they built the new Fascism believing that the dominate position would always be theirs, dreaming of a great Empire that would never materialize. Now they find themselves the powerless junior partner, locked out of their own systems and suffering at the system that they created.

Nazi Germany: This is Trump and his death-cultist, poisoned by the Flavor-Aide and devoted to the one man, the one leader, that is leading them to destruction. Trump seized the machine built by the Establishment and made it serve himself and only himself. Trump and his cult are the driving force of the conflict and they will never stop believing their own deluded lies and myths.

Austria: Remember that Austria was an independent Republic that was ‘annexed’ by Nazi Germany, well these are the Evangelicals. They share a language and a culture with the Trumpists at their side but had until the death-cult ‘annexed’ remained their own force in Conservative American Politics. However, after enthusiastically welcoming the new strong man across their borders they have lost all that independence. Look to that new survey that reports more Republicans trust Trump to tell them the truth than their own pastors. They are now indistinguishable from the Trumpists.

Romania and the minor Axis Powers: These are the wealthy seeking their tax cuts, the businesses looking to escape any and every regulation that impedes even a single penny to their coffers, and the gun-right enthusiasts. They have signed the Axis pact; they have supplied the men and material for the invasions and conquest but now see that they have lashed themselves to a foundering ship. They desperately want to be saved from the consequences of their own actions but are wholly occupied by the death-cult and there is no escape. Their fate, deservedly so, is tied to the cult’s.

Finland: These are the ‘Anti-anti-Trumps’. For these there is no greater enemy than ‘liberals.’ And like Finland they’ll give resources and co-ordinate attacks against the shared ‘enemy’ with the Trumpists all while tutting the co-belligerents war crimes, genocide, and racism. I also suspect that they will also flip the moment their own survival is imperiled turning on those that had just moments before been defending.

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The Werewolf Experiment Continues

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My work in progress, an un-outlined novel about werewolves in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho has reached or nearly has reached the half-way point.

I am aiming for a novel from 80,000 to 90,000 words in length. Yesterday the total word count for the project passed 40,000 as I wrote the unfinished chapter 12.

As I have laid out in earlier posts, my approach to this novel is quite different, starting with a scene that I had no concept of where it might belong in the story and spinning out from there. While there is no formal outline and certainly nothing like the monstrous ones I have produced in the past for other novels, there is a single page document laying out the five acts and very rough plot points that might occur in each of those. But even that is subject to inspirational and sudden change. Last Friday as I reclined in the dentist’s chair while they implanted a socket in my skull for an implanted false tooth a new understanding of the story’s third act, the one I am currently in, came together in an epiphany.

I am unsure of the market for this piece. The genre I am aiming for is horror, modern, real-world set but with fantastic elements horror. Currently there are a lot of werewolf type stories out for people, but an awful lot of the prose ones are romances, with commanding ‘alphas’ as dominate, sexy leads and that is pretty much the opposite of what I am trying to craft.

This work is in theme much closer to the subtext of Siodmak’s The Wolf-Man with a commentary on fascism and how that brutal ideology can be seductive. My werewolves, discarding the discredited ‘alpha wolf’ theory for the junk science that it is, is focuses on wolf family dynamics, transforming these werewolves into ‘Family Value’ fascists. That’s a lot of political weight to carry in a horror novel but I firmly believe that stories have to be about something more than plot and horror needs more than gore.

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