Forward! Always Forward.

The end of one year and the start of another is always an opportunity to reminisce and reflect on the passage of time, but this year hit me moreso than previous ones.  Time has always been strange for me (as it doubtless is for most of the human race)... events from half a lifetime ago sometimes feel like they happened yesterday while stuff that happened a few days ago seem eons away.  However, I think it finally hit me this year: the formative years of my childhood and adolescence are long gone.  I realized this many years ago, obviously, but this year in particular was a big reminder.

See, this year Star Trek: Deep Space Nine turned 20 years old.  TWENTY YEARS OLD.  I watched that show when I was a kid all the way through high school.  I always thought of it as being one of the "newer" Trek shows.  Now it is comfortably in the past (with crappy reboot Trek being in the present - nope, gonna keep this post positive... no nerd rage here....).  On a related note, a lot of the PC games I played as a kid (never owned a console) turned 20 this year too.  Lucasarts' X-Wing, Day of the Tentacle, and Sam and Max Hit The Road in particular.  20 year old computer games - and I still play them on a semi regular basis (well, the adventure games, anyway).

And it's funny because in the grand scheme of things twenty years isn't piffle.  Even in the course of human history it is nothing.  But in your average human life it can seem like a long time... even when you swear that it sometimes feels like yesterday.

Well, here's to 2014 and the inevitable forward march of time.  Until we invent some sort of time machine the past will have to remain in our memories and our stories.  Which is the best place for it really... progress doesn't happen by looking backwards.

Happy New Year.

The Greatest Pleasure In Life

I was originally going to do a real movie review here but the fact that I have been working retail during the holiday season, combined with the fact that I have been stupidly sick for the last few days has prevented me from doing do (Meds are fun - all I see are little DOTS DOTS dots dots dots).

So instead, accept this warm, genuine holiday message from me to you.  This Christmas (whether you celebrate it or not) spend your time with the people you love, people who will love you and accept you no matter who or what you are, people you cherish and would do anything for.  Feast with your family and friends, and feel the spirit of peace comfort you this holiday season.

Merry Christmas.

There Is No Comparison... Until Now

Today, no review but a quick rumination on a film I both re-watched and watched for the first time recently:

1979

Director: Robert Wise

It’s funny how your perception of something can change. I have always liked Star Trek: The Motion Picture, at least I thought I have. See, ever since I was a kid I have watched it either in the extended VHS cut or the DVD Director’s Cut… but until about a week ago I had never seen the original theatrical cut, since it hadn’t been available on home video until recently. I had always wondered about all the hate for the movie… yeah, sure, it is slow and things seem to be a bit muted compared to the original TV show

And yeah, okay, the costumes are horrible.

but there is a good science fiction story and some actual character development once you look past all the pretty special effects and music and such.

Well, after seeing the original theatrical cut I understand now how people back in 1979 would have been less than plussed with this film. The movie feels choppy and confusing, with sudden cuts and lots of stuff left out. I had read before about how the film was cut down for the original release but I was still surprised at how many scenes that I took for granted were *not* in the theatrical version. The biggest omission was the key moment with Spock weeping for V’Ger (“Logic and knowledge are not enough”).

*Manly Tears*

Leaving this scene out basically destroys his character arc for the movie – STTMP is partially about Spock’s journey to find himself and attain spiritual fulfillment, and leaving out this self-realization *really* hurts the film.

Watching the theatrical cut also got me to thinking about director’s cuts of movies in general. In 2000 Robert Wise was given a chance to go back and finish Star Trek the way he wanted to back in 1979. The results are pretty good. While there is some playing around with SFX for the sake of playing around (the tram station looks pretty but was it necessary), mostly he just tries to make things look like the original storyboards (Vulcan looks sooooo much better) and what things in general would have looked like had he had time to actually finish the movie.

He thus does not engage in the George Lucas wankery of making a movie from the seventies look like some unholy hybrid of that era and the modern day (“Hi, you are watching a movie from the SEVENTIES oh now WHACK! It’s 2003!”).

For the most part the director’s cut looks like a movie from 1979 (there are a few spots where the CGI is obvious). And that’s what a director’s cut *should* be, not an excuse to go back and keep fiddling with something that you were never satisfied with because you’re a compulsive perfectionist neurotic. GEORGE.

If this were a George Lucas movie there would be
robots and lizards in the background, or something.

The only beef I have is that the 1980s TV extended cut is not on DVD (it was only ever released on VHS). While it is bloated (they threw just about everything they had in there) and there is one scene with a glaring special effects failure (the set wasn’t finished so you see scaffolding and lights) it would still be cool to have it to view for reference on DVD or Blu-Ray (for all you people with money out there). Maybe a three or four disc Mega Ultimate Special Edition? So for all of you who saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture back in the day and hated it, I understand. Pick up the Director’s Cut on DVD (it isn’t out on Blu-Ray yet) and see what you missed out on in the theatre. For those of you who haven’t seen the original theatrical version, pick it up and watch it and understand why it inspired so much ire from fans – and why they hailed the sequel.