The Shuttle From USS Enterprise Has Landed In Jersey

As Mr. Spock might say, "Fascinating." I found this old story from back in February on the New Yorker's website today when looking for Anthony Lane's review of the latest Trek adventure (in which the shuttle's play quite a major role in a number of action sequences). Lane by the way did not approve of the new film. I, however, loved it!

Anyway, it turns out that a shipbuilder/restorer in Atlantic Highlands bought the actual shuttle set piece used in the original STAR TREK TV show on eBay for 70K last summer.Now he is gently and lovingly restoring it in hopes of donating it to a science museum at some point in the future. He has a ways to go as it was in crap condition. But it's sorta wild that he would devote so much time and energy to this task as essentially an act of charity. May this dude Live Long and Prosper!

JJ Abrams To Direct STAR WARS: EPISODE 7

After a few months of wild speculation in Hollywood, the announcement yesterday that JJ Abrams would be directing the new Disney STAR WARS movie was a bit of a surprise (and blew up the Twitterverse). He'd publicly taken himself out of the running last fall, saying he had a number of his own projects to work on after the new STAR TREK movie was done. But either this was a PR fakeout or something convinced him otherwise as now he will be reviving the STAR WARS franchise with the new film, currently being scripted by Michael Arndt.

Given the way Abrams revived the defunct STAR TREK franchise a few years ago, this news bodes extremely well for STAR WARS fans. It will be exciting to have him bring the franchise back from the dead after Lucas's 1,2,3 prequels which may have looked cool but were dramatic duds. Abrams has been a vocal and rabid fan of that galaxy far far away so he will certainly bring to it his passion and his talents for making entertaining blockbusters that are not stupid. The new movie is due summer 2015.

Whatever Happened To Persis Khambatta

I put the original Star Trek movie on my Netflix after seeing "Close Encounters" earlier this summer at Bryant Park and loving it. I have to say "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" doesn't hold up as well, even in the reedited version available on DVD. It plays like a very long episode of TOS which would have been fine if it was 50 minutes long. Unfortunately, it's 136 minutes long which earned it the fanboy tag "Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture."

Like this year's "Star Trek" reboot, Bones steals the show and his scenes with Kirk and the old gang always crackle. Another standout is the lovely and mysterious beauty of Persis Khambatta, the bald Deltan who has an odd dual role in the film, playing Lt. Ilia and a robotic version of herself in a dangerously short mini-dress.

Joining the crew of the Enterprise was Persis' big break, having been Miss India in the 1960's and a well-known fashion/makeup model, most famously for Revlon. Unfortunately, her career didn't exactly hit warp drive after her role in "Star Trek". Her most notable role was in 1981's "Nighthawks" and a final part in the pilot episode of "Lois & Clark", playing the Indian ambassador....what imaginative casting!

In 1998, she suffered a heart attack and died suddenly. Her age is listed as 47 on Imdb and 49 on Wikipedia. Either way it seems too early....she was such a striking and enigmatic figure. It's a shame she didn't take off and have a more vibrant career. Her Hollywood debut, however, remains memorable. Even if the movie isn't all I remembered it to be.

Star Trek Meets "The A-Team"

There have been many versions of this genre of mash-up on You Tube, where someone takes an ensemble drama and mixes it into the opening sequence of "The A-Team". The "Star Trek" one is my favorite. Of course, I'm a big Trekker so that has something to do with it. But they've done the best job matching the original opening shot by shot...and there is one section where I consistently LOL, the freeze frame moment above where Spock jams. Check it out...and have a fun weekend!

Kirk Is A Rocket Man

With all things Star Trek hot for summer, this video is making the rounds again. It's William Shatner's infamous performance of "Rocket Man" on the Science Fiction Film Awards in 1978. Recently, even Shatner himself has admitted embarrassment over this performance which he claims was meant to be a joke. Hmmmmm...then why does he look so damn serious?

Star Trek Online...For Free

A friend in Virginia who is huge fan of the original Star Trek (or TOS) tipped me off to the fact that TOS fan favorites were on the MSN video site. Well, on further inspection, I discovered that in fact all 80 episodes are available for free, streaming on the site. Semi-unbelievable but true. Since then I've been watching one a day....it's sorta like my new daily vitamin. I feel so much better!

One of my favorites I watched last night was Episode 4, "The Naked Time". This is the one where everyone on the Enterprise catches a virus that makes them go crazy. Even Spock, who gets all teary...over a girl! George Takei aka "Sulu" has said this is his favorite episode, probably because he's running around without a shirt and brandishing a fencing foil--you go girl! :) I'm also convinced that this has to be one of the favorites of Star Trek 2.0 director JJ Abrams as there were a number of bits that ended up in the new movie; Spock admits to being in love with a crew member (and not the same one in the movie!), Kirk and Spock get in a big emotional fisticuffs, Bones shoots up an out-of-it Kirk with an antidote, and there is a spacey/trippy time travel moment at the end. Hmmmmm.

As they say, if you're going to steal then steal from the best. And this one is a TOS classic. Next on my viewing list, "A Piece of The Action" where the crew all end up in the 1920's brandishing "heaters" instead of phasers.

I'm Hailing Them On All Frequencies

OK--brace yourself for a Code Red geek alert. You can now buy a Star Trek communicator which works as a VoIP handset for your computer to talk on Skype or iChat. And it's certainly cheaper than some headsets at $44. It will not beam you up anywhere but it's still a pretty cool accesory for those Trekkers (not Trekkies!) out there. Including me :)

Star Trek Porn (SFW)

With the new sexed-up "Star Trek" opening across the country tomorrow, I was recently reminded how the original 1960's era show was pretty racy itself.

I was flipping channels late one night and came upon an episode "Star Trek" or TOS as the fanboys like to call it ("The Original Series"). It was the one where the Enterprise arrives at a planet where Nazi's are in charge, due to a Federation captain who thought he could take Hitler's model of government and use it for good. Well, that didn't quite work out how he'd planned.

Anyway, Kirk and Spock ended up in shirtless in jail and the whole thing looked kinda porny to me. Vintage Shatner was one of my first boyhood crushes but I didn't recall Spock being such a sexy otter! I created a slide show of some screen caps I took and, I gotta say, it sorta looks like scenes from a '60s prison porn flick. So here's the old TOS hunks workin' their shirtless magic.

To Go Where No Sequel Has Gone Before

Down in Austin last night, Paramount switched out a print of "Wrath of Kahn" with the new "Star Trek" reboot, courtesy of JJ Abrams. And if you want to believe the fanboys who saw this super secret sneak preview, the response was ecstatic. I have to say, since I saw the trailer earlier this year, it's been my most anticipated film of the early summer (it's out May 8). I was a little concerned about the release date, as I think May is traditionally reserved for summer stinkers ("Indiana Jones" anyone?) But who knows--maybe with this sexy cast and retro approach, they just might bring the franchise back the dead.