The Speed of Sci-Fi
Why was Captain Archer's Enterprise so much cooler-looking on the inside than Captain Kirk's? Why did Robert Heinlein say we'd store computer data on tape spools? Why did Londo's quarters have a pillow...
View ArticleBook review: “Zero Sum Game” by David Mack
After the demise of the Borg, our Star Trek heroes needed a new Big Boss to fight. So the editors gave us the Typhon Pact. "Zero Sum Game" is the first in the miniseries, and... well, I'm a little...
View ArticleBook Review: “Rough Beasts of Empire” by David R. George III
We love Spock. We love Sisko. But will we love them in the same book at the same time? A review of David R. George III's Rough Beasts of Empire reveals that... well... we won't.
View ArticleBook Review: “Paths of Disharmony” by Dayton Ward
Here's the basic plot of Paths of Disharmony: For 200 years, these dudes have been our friends, ever since we helped them make peace with these other dudes who were our friends even longer. But now...
View ArticleIt can’t beam me up. Yet.
In 1987, the Star Trek TNG commbadge was pretty cool. You could touch it and be instantly connected to the ship. But my new Evo is pretty cool too, and it does way more. Which would you rather have?
View ArticleBook Review: “Seize the Fire” by Michael A. Martin
I've always enjoyed the Star Trek: Titan novels, as they've taken up the mantle of single-episode stand-alone novels. The Titan entry to the Typhon Pact series, while not flawless, is a worthy addition...
View ArticleBook Review: “Blind Man’s Bluff” by Peter David
For fourteen years, Peter David has been writing about Captain Mackenzie Calhoun of the U.S.S. Excalibur. In his latest New Frontier novel, Blind Man's Bluff, he continues in the fast-paced adventure...
View ArticleMusic and Magic: The Harry Potter Soundtrack Retrospective — Part 9 of 10:...
Alexandre Desplat's soundtrack for Deathly Hallows 2 provided a fitting musical end to the Harry Potter saga. I especially enjoyed what I'm calling Cycles -- the Battle Cycle, the Snape Cycle, and the...
View Article“The Gift” of Choice… Unless You’re a Borg
When I first saw the Voyager episode "The Gift", I thought Janeway had done a good thing saving a human from the Borg. Now, fourteen years later, I wonder just what the hell Janeway -- and the writers...
View ArticleBook Review: “11/22/63″ by Stephen King
The assassination of JFK was a watershed event in human history, one that many people believe should never have happened. In Stephen King's new novel, 11/22/63, we learn that, no matter what we think...
View ArticleMy Problem With Graphic Novels (Part 1 of 2)
I have a problem with graphic novels. Actually, I have four. In the first part of my two-part article, I'll tell you about a couple of them.
View ArticleMy Problem With Graphic Novels (Part 2 of 2)
I have a problem with graphic novels. Actually, I have four. In the second part of my two-part article, I'll tell you about the rest of them.
View ArticleHow Bad Technobabble Hurt A Good Episode: “Our Man Bashir”
I recently watched "Our Man Bashir", and I was reminded just how flimsy the "malfunctioning transporter/holodeck" plot can be. Here's what I mean.
View Article25 Days of TNG, Day 1: An Introduction
In 1987, my dad came home with the VHS tape of Star Trek IV: the Voyage Home, which we'd seen in theaters the previous fall. Attached to the beginning was a trailer for a new version of the show called...
View Article25 Days of TNG, Day 2: Episode Review —“Encounter at Farpoint”
Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her continuing mission: to explore strange, new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no...
View Article25 Days of TNG, Day 3: The Best and Worst of Season 1
Given how underwhelming most of the first ten episodes of TNG were, it's a wonder the show didn't get cancelled. Had it aired last year (instead of 25 years ago), it wouldn't even have gotten past...
View Article25 Days of TNG, Day 4: Meet the New Ship, Not the Same as the Old Ship, Part 1
One thing that we as Star Trek fans had to deal with was the idea that there was going to be an entirely new Enterprise on our screens. While the pause between the Original Series and the first film...
View Article25 Days of TNG, Day 5: Meet the New Ship, Not the Same as the Old Ship, Part 2
Although the bridge was pretty important, there were two other equally-well-used rooms on Deck One. Oddly, neither was the bathroom.
View Article25 Days of TNG, Day 6: The Best and Worst of Season 2
Season Two is generally considered to be the worst of all the TNG seasons, and with good reason: there were some truly atrocious episodes. Of course, the Borg were introduced in Season Two, so it can't...
View Article25 Days of TNG, Day 7: The 10 Best Recurring Characters
While Star Trek: TNG had a strong core cast, sometimes it was guest stars and recurring characters that made certain episodes work. With that in mind, here are the ten that I consider the "best".
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