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Remake of Gene Roddenberry's The Questor Tapes in the works

Gene RoddenberryStar Trek creator Gene Roddenberry is still having his concepts used for television series. In this case it's not so much a creation as a remake. Imagine Entertainment is working with his son Rod Roddenberry to make The Questor Tapes, a series he created in 1974 which made it to the television pilot phase.

The series is about an android named Questor that is created with incomplete memory tapes. It then searches the world for its creator and purpose. A lot of the concept went into the Star Trek: the Next Generation character of Data. Maybe they could get Brent Spiner to play Questor, or would that be typecasting? I recall reading ages ago that Roddenberry originally wanted Leonard Nimoy to play Questor.

Tim Minear, who was behind The X-Files and much Joss Whedon stuff, is being pursued to produce the series. What do you think? Is it another Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda? Who should play Questor?

Some guy makes working Star Trek Phaser

Don't worry. It's not some lone nut with too much time on his hands and the entire Star Trek DVD collection to keep him company in his Northern Montana wilderness cabin.

He's taken a blu-ray laser from a Playstation 3 console and inserted it into a classic toy phaser. Apparently, it's only produces enough juice to burst balloons and isn't powerful enough to burn holes in walls. So what's the point of building one? Call me when you've figured out how to make a phaser that could make Scarface's "little friend" look and sound like a pea shooter.



[via Buzzfeed]

Star Trek sequel in 2012?

Star TrekIt was announced that the sequel to the recent Star Trek movie is going to be released on May 29th, 2012. This means we'll be able to catch the next Star Trek movie before the world ends, according to the Mayans.

Of course, a sequel was inevitable due to the fact that Star Trek was pretty much the biggest (and in my opinion the best) movie of this past summer. Paramount likely signed all the actors involved to multiple-movie contracts, so getting them back isn't an issue.

Continue reading Star Trek sequel in 2012?

You too can be wet and nerdy with Star Trek wetsuits

Star Trek wetsuitYou thought the waffles weren't enough? Now it's possible for deep sea divers to get their geek on with these Star Trek wetsuits available at Roddenberry.com. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was pretty good as the whole "selling out" thing upon the success of the series, so it's likely he would have approved of these items. Possibly he would have even incorporated them into the show.

If you see anyone wearing these wetsuits, then you can at least conclude that they're fairly wealthy nerds given the $470 price tag. If they have the guts to wear them in the first place then they're doing so well that they don't care what other people think. No doubt if this product is successful, wetsuit versions for Star Trek: The Next Generation will be released at some point in the future.

The red one should come with a warning label. "If you wear this suit, there is a higher chance of getting eaten by a shark, drowning or accidental harpooning."

Star Trek reaches new unexplored universe of merchandising with waffles

No Star Trek fans, you aren't seeing an accidental divine image of the holy ones in that breakfast carb cake.

Star Trek's never ending cavalcade of memorabilia already knows no limits, but this truly has gone where no ad man has gone before. Eggo released a line of official "limited edition" Star Trek waffles to coincide with the J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movie.

They feature images of the new cast, the Star Trek insignia and even the ol' Enterprise herself in all of its buttery glory. I wonder if they released any of the waffles with any special filling. Biting into a raspberry waffle as a "red shirt" falls to his or her doom would make for a mentally unbalanced breakfast.

Who knew that Klingons celebrate Christmas?

Apparently, someone has gone to the trouble to cram Star Trek into the holiday season because why should Star Wars fans be the only ones who have to suffer?

Christmas may have come and gone as fast as Santa on his dilythium crystal powered reindeer, but that doesn't mean you still can't enjoy the unintentional hilarity of A Klingon Christmas Carol. The sci-fi io9 found a clip of the show from a morning show interview they did on Fox 9 in St. Paul. Here's a bit of a spoiler: it's hard to tell that Scrooge has been rehabilitated in the end since all Klingon-speak sounds like an anvil has been stapled to their tongue.

Mythbusters to test Star Trek mythology

gorn_star_trek_kirk
How cool is this? On Mythbusters, the guys are going to test the Captain Kirk Gorn Cannon. If you have no idea what that is, you -- my Star Trek friend -- are not a Trekkie (or a Trekker depending on which camp you follow). If you do know, you have to watch, and if you don't know but are curious, you still have to watch Mythbusters on Discovery, Monday, December 28 at 9 p.m.

Basically, the Mythbusters will take a great scene from Star Trek and bring it to life. In the season one episode, Captain Kirk is put on a barren planet and forced to battle the commander of an alien ship in one on one battle. Some super alien is manipulating the two into fighting with the fate of their ships on the line.

Continue reading Mythbusters to test Star Trek mythology

Shatner takes on Limbaugh on upcoming Raw Nerve

William Shatner takes on Rush Limbaugh on Raw Nerve.It'll be a feast for the eyes for anyone who loves to watch doughy, puffed up, bombastic old men when Rush Limbaugh sits down with William Shatner on the Biography Channel series, Raw Nerve.

Airing this Sunday after taping last summer, the Shatner Vs. Limbaugh clash touches on everything from family background to health care. But the exchange looks like a couple aging members of a country club debating stock tips at the 19th hole.

I have no interest in the inevitable political jibber-jabber headed our way Sunday. But, I'd love to see these two square off over who gets the last piece of lasagna. The fatty grunts alone would blow out your TV speakers.

Continue reading Shatner takes on Limbaugh on upcoming Raw Nerve

Review: Stargate Universe - Justice

Stargate Universe: Justice
(S01E10) "You put ordinary people under enough stress, I think you'll find they're capable of anything. – Dr. Rush

While watching this episode of Stargate Universe, I kept thinking of the "Court Martial" episode of the original Star Trek series. Captain Kirk is tried for the wrongful death of a crewmate, but Spock discovers via a 3D chess game that the computer's system has been tampered with and presents the evidence at the trial. Yes, I'm that geeky.

Ok, so that's about all these episodes have in common, and there's only so much you can do with the "trial in space" story. It boils down to the characters, and in this instance, the battle lines were drawn even further in this compelling little murder mystery.

Continue reading Review: Stargate Universe - Justice

Star Trek + different theme music = Space: 1969

You've probably never thought "what would the opening of Star Trek been like if it was done in the style of Space: 1999?" Luckily, there are other people to think of things like that for you, including the person who made this mash-up of Trek and the theme/opening of Space: 1999.

[via James Lileks]

Celebrate the holidays with Star Trek uniform cookies

Star Trek cookiesHere's something for the Star Trek geek on your Christmas list: cookies in the form of various Enterprise uniforms! You have the orange shirt (Kirk), the blue shirt (Spock), and the red shirts (away team extra and other crew). You can also get Starfleet badges.

Geeky Cookies also has other, well, geeky cookies, including Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, power buttons, and Pokemon.

Star Trek collectibles multiply in time for Black Friday

The Spock teddy bear wants you to live long and snuggle.Can shoes or cologne be considered fanboy collectibles? We'll find out together as a very different breed of Star Trek collectibles arrives in time for the post-Thanksgiving gift buying frenzy.

J.J. Abrams made Trek sexy again -- especially the original TV show from the 1960s. So Paramount and CBS put their marketing and licensing people to work. What did they come up with from just inside the Windsor Gate on Melrose?

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company
is offering shorter, furrier versions of Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock (right) for about $100 each. I've acquired one of these, and they're well made with a lot of attention to detail in their little uniforms.

Also, make sure you check out the Airwalk Terrain Hi Skate Star Trek StarFleet Edition sneakers from Payless. For $50, you get a really well-made urban sneaker that just happens to bear a Starfleet insignia. And they come in the departmental uniform colors of the original Enterprise crew -- gold, blue and red.

Continue reading Star Trek collectibles multiply in time for Black Friday

Roddenberry on list of TV Hall of Fame inductees

This might sound more overdue than According to Jim's cancellation, but one of TV's greatest creators is getting the Hall of Fame treatment.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry will join the ranks of the Television Academy's Hall of Fame next year at a special induction ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Other inductees include Candice Bergen, production and art director Charles Lisanby, announcer Don Pardo, Tom and Dick Smothers and game show producer Bob Stewart. Is there anyone that they left off the list?

Harlan Ellison bests CBS Paramount over 42 year-old Star Trek episode

city_on_the_edge_of_forever_STYou have to admire the tenacity of writer Harlan Ellison. He filed a lawsuit against CBS Paramount accusing the company of not paying him for all the ancillary income the company earned from the episode of Star Trek he wrote in 1967, "City on the Edge of Forever." Yesterday, Ellison announced on his web site that he had settled with CBS Paramount and he was very, very pleased. He didn't reveal how much money he made, but he probably did quite well.

After all, CBS Paramount has done very, very well with that original Star Trek episode. It's regarded as -- and is -- the all-time best show in the entire original ST canon. Ironically, Ellison never liked what Roddenberry and company had done with his script.

Continue reading Harlan Ellison bests CBS Paramount over 42 year-old Star Trek episode

Get down to the bumping bass of 'SuvwI'pu' qan tu'lu'be'

If you thought the phlegm filled syllables of the Klingon language couldn't make ordinary human music sound as sweet as the innocent cheeps of a nest of newborn birds, then you'd be right.

Klenginem, a member of the Klingon tribe (I don't know what the politically correct term for Klingon is these days, Romulan-Americans?), has turned Eminem's self-serving ditty "Without Me" into a self-serving Klingon ditty.

Don't try and sing along if you aren't fluent in the words of the warrior, or it will turn your esophagus inside out.



[via Neatorama]

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