TVSquad

(S02E08) As much as I enjoy this show, I'm always afraid that it's going to start becoming too Sheldon-centric. Sheldon is easily the quirkiest character, so falling into the trap of, "hey, check out this ridiculous thing that guy said," over and over again would be quite easy. So far though, the writers have managed to avoid that; which is why I was happy to have a Wolowitz episode this week.

Of course, Sheldon was still there being his ridiculous self, but he wasn't there to move the plot along; much as his "Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock" game didn't move anything along (everyone always picked Spock).

I knew that the new Star Trek movie was going to be an origins story, but I didn't realize how far back they were going to go.

The first trailer (not counting that lame teaser trailer that debuted months ago and was only aimed towards hardcore fans who get off on Enterprise blueprints) for the movie is now available. It is attached to some copies of Quantum of Solace (though, sadly, not the place where I saw QoS the other night, damn it) and Paramount has also released the official version online so we don't have to sit through YouTube videos that someone shot in a dark theater.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

Ever since I was allowed to make my own decisions, I have tried to emulate Jim Kirk. Whenever I have a tough choice to make I ask myself WWJTKD? When I became a father, I continued that practice and it's helped out immeasurably.

You Can't Make Everybody Happy
During his career, Captain Kirk has been forced to make unpopular decisions. Even though the decision is always the right one, there are always people (sometimes a lot of people) who end up wanting him court-martialed or worse. As I became responsible for people other than myself, I had to realize that like Kirk, I have to make the decision that I know is right even if it makes my kids hate me.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Do the TV networks secretly want a writers' strike?
  
• You know what hurts the ego? Getting sent home from Dancing with the Stars even though you're really good at the dancing part.
  
• Like music? Maybe you need Spock ears. (Update: Hi, I'm gullible. I guess this thing is a hoax... but still...)
  

The video's embedded below, or you can subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, you can also download the file directly.

Here's some cool news for any Star Trek fans who have been enjoying the new digitally remastered Star Trek episodes currently airing in syndication:

CBS will re-air "new" digitally-cleaned-up episodes of the original Star Trek series starting next month. Forty episodes will be shown in total, starting September 15, 2007 and ending August 2, 2008. You'll have to check your listings to see what time they're airing, though it'll be either on a Saturday or Sunday.

There is a certain amateurish charm to most YouTube fanvids, especially when they have to do with unconventional romances between characters that aren't explicitly stated in the show's canon. Usually the videos consist of poorly chosen clips from various episodes, cut together to kind of, sort of look like knowing glances and to kind of, sort of feel like sexual tension. However, every once in a while, I stumble across a fanvid so outrageously well-done that I am compelled to share with everyone I know, fans and non-fans alike.

When it comes to television, Comic-Con is one enormous marketing machine for early adopting fanboys and girls. Each panel is constructed around dropping one or two spoilerific bon mots to the core fanbase so let's not waste any time and just cut to the chase. I'll follow-up with full panel reports, but in the meantime, here's the big news from Comic-Con this Thursday, July 26th.

(WARNING: Potential spoilers for all things pop culture and most things J.J. Abrams-related ahead.)

Rumors are still abound as to who is playing whom in the upcoming Star Trek prequel from Lost and Alias creator JJ Abrams, but according to the NY Post, at least one man is out: William Shatner. Despite wanting a cameo role in the prequel, Shatner was not offered one. That's kind of a bummer, but what makes it even moreso, if the rumors are true (and it's the Post, so I'm skeptical), is that Leonard "Spock" Nimoy was offered a cameo role, instead.

Ostensibly, it seems unfair to give Nimoy a brief role and shut Shatner out completely, but having no idea the context of Nimoy's supposed cameo, it's tough to have an opinion about it one way or the other. Perhaps the cameo situation is such that it would only work with Nimoy and not Shatner --some kind of clever inside joke-- but I guess we won't know until the movie comes out.

[via Dark Horizons]

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Dina Lohan is trying for her own reality show, all about her role in pushing the two younger Lohan siblings into entertainment careers.
  
• Leonard Nimoy has a new interest, and he really needs to keep the whole "Spock image" out of it.
  
• Rumors, rumors. Will American Idol judges Randy and Paula be replaced by Britney Spears?
  

The video's embedded below, or you can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed. Plus, now you download the file directly again!

(S05E09) For the first time in a month and a half, we finally have a new Family Guy. I'm not sure I understand the thought process behind the programming at Fox, but the bright side is it means we'll have plenty of new episodes for the second half of the season.

The FG team went back to familiar territory this week, bringing us another "Road to..." episode. If you close your eyes really tight, you can almost see the eventual special edition DVD commercial. Like "Road to Rhode Island" and "Road to Europe" before it, this one was split into two separate stories that had virtually nothing to do with each other. And also like those that came before, I preferred the Stewie and Brian story.

I'm referring to Spock from Star Trek, not Dr. Spock the baby expert. Although, I'd have loved to see a baby book written by the latter while he was on drugs. That would certainly be entertaining. At any rate, my good pal Wild Bill sent me a link to a video consisting of some trippy scenes from the original Star Trek set to Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit." The video mostly features Spock, Bones and Kirk from the episode "Shore Leave," which is one of few Star Trek episodes I actually remember. Sorry, I was a Star Wars nerd and always will be.

I'm not sure if this video should be viewed as pro-drug or anti-drug. Spock certainly seems to have trouble coping with altered perceptions, but Sulu doesn't seem to have a problem with it at all. My conclusion? If you need help with your math homework, call Spock. If you want to party, call Sulu.

I'm talking about the clothes he wears in that Star Trek-themed commercial for DirecTV.

Obsessed nerds Trekkies Trekkers have a love/hate relationship with the ad. They love seeing anything Star Trek and love to see Shatner reprising his role as James T. Kirk (who, you remember, died a lame death after fighting Malcolm McDowell in one of the movies), but they have a few complaints:

• the Starfleet badge is too small
• the collar is too small
• the belt buckle is wrong

My main problem with the ad? Shatner's hairpiece looks awful.

[via TV Tattle]

Some clever soul has spoofed inspirational posters using wisdom from Star Trek. The person who did it also must have a lot of time on his/her hands because there appear to be a lot of screen caps from various episodes and movies. My personal favorite is 'Expendability', which I posted at the top of this blog entry.

I'm not really a fan of the original Star Trek so maybe these are funnier than I think. Or not. Check out all 34 of them here.

[Via Metafilter]

Back in 2004, writers and producers J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, The Twilight Zone) and Bryce Zabel (Dark Skies, M.A.N.T.I.S) actually wrote a Star Trek script that would have "rebooted" the franchise. Like the new J.J. Abrams-produced movie will do (supposedly), having the original characters of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, this script did as well, only as Zabel puts it, "...not as young officers in Starfleet Academy. We wanted to do what they do in the world of comics, create a separate universe so we could embrace the good stuff, banish the bad, and try some new things."

Take a look and let us know what you think of it (click the above link and scroll down to the PDF file).

[via Lee Goldberg]

Stay calm, Trekkers, but this is big news: a big-screen return for Star Trek is in the works for 2008, according to today's Variety.

And who will direct the movie? Why, J.J. Abrams of Lost/Alias/Mission: Impossible 3 fame! Probably a good choice. He  knows how to mix the big action with the character drama, and he'll bring some buzz to the franchise too.

The movie will focus on the early days of Starfleet, when Kirk and Spock first met. Hmmm...readers, who do you think should play the young Kirk and Spock?