To the Journey--Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager was released to its backers a few days ago, and I watched it this morning. I didn't find this film nearly as strong as What We Left Behind--Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; it's a little too meandering, a little too unfocused, but To the Journey is well-intentioned and practically overflowing with empathy, though at the cost of glossing over some of the behind-the-scenes drama. I learned a few new things about the show's production, so I'm glad I backed it.
Plus, for the second time, I get to see my name in the credits of a Star Trek-related production. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how much that thrills me, even if all I did was tack on an extra $50 to my pledge. Hey, technically the money men are producers, right?
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Saturday, May 17, 2025
My Contribution to To the Journey
Labels:
Film,
science fiction,
Star Trek,
Star Trek: Voyager,
television
Friday, May 16, 2025
Newton Place Knicknacks
I didn't live in Newton Place for long, but it's where I watched the last season or so of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I remember hardly anything about the layout of the apartment, and I have very few photos of my time there. This is one of them.
Labels:
Action Figures,
Alberta,
Apollo 11,
art,
Canada,
Captain James T. Kirk,
CN,
Edmonton,
Newton Place,
Superman,
Trains,
University of Alberta
Thursday, May 15, 2025
Off to Vault 101
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Doomsday Coins
Labels:
computer games,
Fallout,
Games,
Nostalgia,
Nuclear War,
Roleplaying,
Soda Pop
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Bubo
Clash of the Titans, Ray Harryhausen's last, great stop motion fantasy epic, featured a host of memorable animated creatures. Among them was Bubo, Athena's clockwork owl. I've done my best to replicate the colour scheme used in the film.
Labels:
7TV,
Clash of the Titans,
Crooked Dice,
Film,
Games,
Painting,
Ray Harryhausen
Monday, May 12, 2025
Helmets Are for Chumps
This member of the Brotherhood of Steel has chosen to wear a suit of power armor without a helmet. Maybe he's not in combat or needs peripheral vision?
Labels:
computer games,
Fallout,
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare,
Games,
Painting
Sunday, May 11, 2025
Smug Raider
Labels:
computer games,
Fallout,
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare,
Games,
Painting
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Flin Flon Bombers Hockey Puck
While Mom recovers from pneumonia, Sean and I have been helping around her place, cleaning up and so forth. I found this Flin Flon Bombers hockey puck in the basement; until I found it, I'd forgotten we had it. I imagine Mom and Dad got it sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s.
Friday, May 09, 2025
Heidi Reitsch
Thursday, May 08, 2025
Wednesday, May 07, 2025
A Fantastic Foe in the Palm of His Hand
Labels:
Action Figures,
comics,
Fantastic Four,
Marvel Comics,
Mr. Fantastic,
Photography,
Toys
Tuesday, May 06, 2025
Why I Watch the Intro
I can see why some people might not find much value in the opening credits of television shows. Once you've seen an opening title sequence once, why watch it again for every subsequent episode?
I watch title sequences because they serve as a transition from everyday reality to the world of the show. The music and visuals evoke specific emotions meant not only to introduce us to the cast and other creators, but to put us in the right frame of mind for the drama or comedy to come. For genre or so-called "high concept" shows, title sequences often include a narrative thesis for new viewers, welcoming them to landscapes that might be difficult to grasp without some kind of introductory exposition. This was especially important in the days before the Internet made finding information as easy as typing a question onto a screen.
Imagine, for example, watching a random episode of Gilligan's Island sometime during 1965 without its famous title sequence:
The jaunty theme song tells us the who, what, when, where, and how of the show in a way that invokes lighthearted hijinks. The new viewer knows exactly what to expect: seven people with disparate backgrounds and personalities are castaways on an uncharted island, and they're hoping for rescue.
Then there's the brilliant opener for each episode of The Rockford Files:
Before we even see James Garner as Jim Rockford, the camera pans across his desk as someone (a different person each week) leaves a message on his answering machine, usually leaving some kind of bad news. Images of the titular private eye flash across the screen; Rockford usually looks pensive, pained, or puzzled, in keeping with the cheerfully fast-paced, liltingly ironic theme music. We also see images of Rockford's environment, the urban Los Angeles of the 1970s, along with a couple of shots of his father, a key supporting character. The fast-paced editing--which includes many shots of Rockford's signature vehicle, a gold Pontiac Firebird--suggests plenty of action and adventure, serving as a nice contrast to the music; subliminally, we expect some laughs to accompany the car chases and fistfights.
Finally, consider The Waltons:
Jerry Goldsmith's magnificent theme plays over images of a tranquil forested mountainscape and a cozy two-story home nestled in its valley. Here live The Waltons, a large extended family whose members clearly love and support each other, expressed without words as Pa brings home what is clearly the family's first radio. The fashions and technology on display, combined with the score, create a sweetly nostalgic sense of time and place; we imagine a time that perhaps included more struggle, but perhaps, too, more innocence. (We know it's an illusion, but a comforting one.)
A carefully crafted introduction is crucial to our understanding not just of a show's plot or characters, but its ethos. Would Law & Order feel the same without "In the criminal justice system . . .?" Would Star Trek be a cultural touchstone without "Space, the Final Frontier?"
I don't think so. And that's why I watch the intro. Every time.
I watch title sequences because they serve as a transition from everyday reality to the world of the show. The music and visuals evoke specific emotions meant not only to introduce us to the cast and other creators, but to put us in the right frame of mind for the drama or comedy to come. For genre or so-called "high concept" shows, title sequences often include a narrative thesis for new viewers, welcoming them to landscapes that might be difficult to grasp without some kind of introductory exposition. This was especially important in the days before the Internet made finding information as easy as typing a question onto a screen.
Imagine, for example, watching a random episode of Gilligan's Island sometime during 1965 without its famous title sequence:
The jaunty theme song tells us the who, what, when, where, and how of the show in a way that invokes lighthearted hijinks. The new viewer knows exactly what to expect: seven people with disparate backgrounds and personalities are castaways on an uncharted island, and they're hoping for rescue.
Then there's the brilliant opener for each episode of The Rockford Files:
Finally, consider The Waltons:
Jerry Goldsmith's magnificent theme plays over images of a tranquil forested mountainscape and a cozy two-story home nestled in its valley. Here live The Waltons, a large extended family whose members clearly love and support each other, expressed without words as Pa brings home what is clearly the family's first radio. The fashions and technology on display, combined with the score, create a sweetly nostalgic sense of time and place; we imagine a time that perhaps included more struggle, but perhaps, too, more innocence. (We know it's an illusion, but a comforting one.)
A carefully crafted introduction is crucial to our understanding not just of a show's plot or characters, but its ethos. Would Law & Order feel the same without "In the criminal justice system . . .?" Would Star Trek be a cultural touchstone without "Space, the Final Frontier?"
I don't think so. And that's why I watch the intro. Every time.
Labels:
Gilligan's Island,
Law & Order,
popular culture,
Star Trek,
television,
The Rockford Files,
The Waltons
Monday, May 05, 2025
Some Things to Consider
John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) is one of my favourite films, and one of a select few movies I like to call "perfect." By that I mean I can find no flaws in performance, editing, sound, story, or any of the other qualities that create a masterpiece.
The Thing needs no sequel. Therefore, I have concocted a list of possible titles for said unnecessary sequel:
Things 2 Come
That Thing Is You 2
Some Enchanted Eve Thing
Kill the Right Thing
2 Things I H8 About U
Needless Things
People, Places, and Things
Labels:
Bad Puns,
Bing Image Generator,
Film,
John Carpenter,
popular culture,
science fiction,
The Thing
Sunday, May 04, 2025
Saturday, May 03, 2025
Warlords with Submachineguns!
They're warlords, and they're on the march! Luckily, our side has ray guns. And, one hopes, better-painted faces.
Friday, May 02, 2025
Martian Week: Sol 5
Labels:
1950s,
1980s,
Books,
Film,
Painting,
Pulp Figures,
Ray Bradbury,
science fiction,
television,
The Martian Chronicles
Thursday, May 01, 2025
Martian Week: Sol 4
Labels:
1950s,
1980s,
Books,
Film,
Painting,
Pulp Figures,
Ray Bradbury,
science fiction,
television,
The Martian Chronicles
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Martian Week: Sol 3
Labels:
1950s,
1980s,
Film,
Painting,
Pulp Figures,
Ray Bradbury,
science fiction,
television,
The Martian Chronicles
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Martian Week: Sol 2
The Martians described in Bradbury's stories had golden eyes. Mine are a bit more yellow, but I think they stand out nicely.
Labels:
1950s,
1980s,
Books,
Film,
Painting,
Pulp Figures,
Ray Bradbury,
science fiction,
television,
The Martian Chronicles
Monday, April 28, 2025
Martian Week: Sol 1
Exogenesis, the latest collection of pulp figures from, well, Pulp Figures, takes its inspiration from the so-called golden age of pulp science fiction. One subset of Exogenesis, The Martians, features five figures clearly based on the Martians seen in The Martian Chronicles, the 1980 NBC miniseries, in turn based on, of course, The Martian Chronicles, the great fix-up novel by Ray Bradbury.
In the miniseries, the Martians all whore white robes. I've given my Martians a more colourful wardrobe and tried my hand at a bit of abstract art for each base.
This Martian wears a fearsome mask that really freaked me out as a kid. Turns out first contact isn't an easy thing . . . even when both sides have good intentions.
Labels:
1950s,
1980s,
Books,
Film,
Games,
Painting,
Pulp Figures,
Ray Bradbury,
television,
The Martian Chronicles
Sunday, April 27, 2025
River Pirate Rifleman
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Saucer Men
Labels:
Games,
Painting,
Pulp Figures,
science fiction
Friday, April 25, 2025
The Institute in a Radiation Suit
I haven't painted very many Fallout: Wasteland Warfare miniatures lately, focusing instead on finishing my collection of Pulp Figures. This guy is . . . okay, I guess. I like the look of the suit, but the base is pretty lackluster.
Labels:
Fallout,
Fallout 4,
Fallout: Wasteland Warfare,
Games,
Painting,
Pulp Figures
Thursday, April 24, 2025
Chu-Bops
Sometime between 1980 and 1983, probably on a road trip with the family between Alberta and Manitoba, I picked up these two Chu-Bops. Each Chu-Bop was a 3x3-inch album sleeve reproduction containing a pink bubblegum record. I was never much of a gum guy, but at just 35 cents each, these were a cool little novelty. I really love that Blue Oyster Cult art!
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Here Come de Jugde
Looks like the prop department was slightly off their game for the production of this fourth-season episode of Hill Street Blues.
Labels:
1980s,
Hill Street Blues,
popular culture,
television
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