MetaFilter posts tagged with television and startrek

Reverse the Polarity

Artw — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:00:31 -0800

"Captain, the tech is overteching" - Ron Moore confirms everything you suspected about the Star Trek TNG approach to writing.

Bimah Me Up

mattdidthat — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:03:48 -0800

"The special moment when the Kohanim blessed the assembly moved me deeply, for it possessed a great sense of magic and theatricality... I had heard that this indwelling Spirit of God was too powerful, too beautiful, too awesome for any mortal to look upon and survive, and so I obediently covered my face with my hands. But of course, I had to peek."--Leonard Nimoy, I Am Spock

Leonard Nimoy discusses his inspiration for the Vulcan "live long and prosper" hand gesture. Rabbi Yonassan Gershom explains its Jewish origins, and discusses Jewish themes in Star Trek. Via Laughing Squid.

All Our Yesterdays

mattdidthat — Sun, 10 May 2009 01:53:20 -0800

Five galleries of candid and behind-the-scenes production photos of the Star Trek cast, crew, sets, and soundstages in and around Los Angeles, circa late 1960s. I particularly like this one. And this one.

Pilot School

Bookhouse — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:41:15 -0800

Pilot School. A nice collection of teevee show pilot scripts. Observe the embryonic state of many of the classics of the past few decades, including Buffy, The Wire, Hill Street Blues, Battlestar Galactica, The Sopranos and The West Wing. For people who aren't students of the form, the most interesting part may be the small changes that happen between script to screen. For instance, Twin Peaks was originally named Northwest Passage, Tony Soprano was named Tommy, and The West Wing's C.J. Cregg was described as "compact."

In bed with Captain Kirk

fearfulsymmetry — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:43:11 -0800

"We were treated like rock stars. I was told there were female Trekkies who kept lists of all the cast members with whom they'd slept. I was told this!" Extracts from 'Up To Now', the autobiography of William Shatner... from his time on Star Trek, where he comes over as the colossal jerk of legend, to his poignant recollections of the death of his third wife.

All the Kirk you can eat

ardgedee — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:00:22 -0800

Free Star Trek. The only Star Trek that matters -- the ones with Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the rest. Is that not enough time-killing, brain-eating sludge for you? Here's two years' worth of Twilight Zone. And a year's worth of MacGyver. A year of Hawaii Five-O. And Melrose Place. Sure, whatever.

The Final Frontier

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 02:30:11 -0800

Star Trek orgasms (nsfw). Bonus: Kirk, ultimate ladies man.

Laughs Tracks Being Used For Good, Not Evil

dhammond — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 23:31:02 -0800

To Boldly Redo What Some Man Had Done Before

fandango_matt — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 11:34:38 -0800

In 2003, Paramount proposed redoing the special effects for the original "Star Trek" series and rereleasing the episodes as "Star Trek Enhanced". Two CGI firms redid the effects for the teaser, the opening credits and title, and the first two acts of The Doomsday Machine as a proof-of-concept with no changes to the acting or the story. Paramount ultimately decided not to pursue the project, but it's interesting to see how two different CGI firms handled the transporter, phasers, and starship effects.

Michael Piller dies.

feelinglistless — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 02:22:39 -0800

Michael Piller has died. The man who was the father of modern Star Trek and television sci-fi in general.

Remember when the 'net was fueled by porn and Trek?

WolfDaddy — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 14:14:41 -0800

She's ~~dead~~ sleeping, Jim. With UPN's cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise (nee just Enterprise), the Trek franchise is, for the first time in 18 years, without a weekly broadcast show. While many might agree that Star Trek needs a rest, others continue to hope, while producer/right hand of Satan (depending on which Trekkie you talk to) Rick Berman says the series (which is a billion dollar baby for Paramount/Viacom) is going to be off the airwaves for at least three years. Here's to hoping the rest is what's needed for a phenomenon that's fueled a lot of geeks for a lot of years.

A group of nearby spaceships are not all oriented exacly like each other, in an upwards position.

Orange Goblin — Thu, 05 Feb 2004 11:34:59 -0800

Things We Will Never See On Star Trek

stevis — Sat, 12 Jan 2002 11:02:53 -0800

Cosmos Patrol: Star Trek for Communists In the late 60s, the Soviets copied the TV show Star Trek and used it as propaganda and entertainment. Set in the 23rd Century, the 400 galaxy-exploring crewmembers are led by a handsome Commander with a coldly logical First Officer. Ensign Chekhov assists as they encounter alien life forms and embrace them as brothers.

Steven Den Beste — Mon, 05 Mar 2001 06:27:35 -0800

Let it rest, already! The fifth Star Trek series is going into casting, with filming to begin in May for a release in Autumn 2001. From the character descriptions it looks like it's basically a remake of the original series. I think they've run out of ideas. (Link via GeekPress.)

darren — Tue, 20 Feb 2001 05:49:50 -0800

Trekkers Rejoice! Word is a new Star Trek television series is in development. Time to pull those rubber ears out of the dresser and head out on the SciFi convention circuit again.

Sal Amander — Tue, 10 Oct 2000 13:34:12 -0800

If you think that the monitor screens in Star Trek are cool looking, then you must check out this Screen Saver! Very well done. Mac version soon.

tdecius — Wed, 22 Sep 1999 18:40:21 -0800

George Takei's official Web site is kinda neat. One can buy Sulu stuff, too.