Star Trek XII Spoilers Regarding Nimoy and Cumberbatch

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As many of you may have heard, a couple of rumors that had been going around about Star Trek XII have been confirmed.

First, Leonard Nimoy is once again coming out of retirement to play Spock Prime. This excites me greatly, as it means we may bear witness to the rebuilding of Vulcan (or rather, the progression of New Vulcan).

The second confirmation has gotten people across the internet very worked up - and not, it seems, in a positive way.

Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing Khan Noonien Singh.

Some of the arguments against Khan being the main villain are that as this is a new universe, they would like to see new villains. I, on the other hand, do not think that would be wise.

I am incredibly excited to see Benedict play Khan - and sooner or later, Khan will have to be released from stasis. The timeline change only goes back so far, and the Romulan miners arrived nowhere near the 1990s. This means that Khan and his league of super-humans still launched into space, placed themselves in stasis, and are yet to be found. Perhaps this discovery will happen in the coming movie. It is perfectly logical that Khan becomes a major villain.

Many things have to happen now, actually. Not only must somebody face Khan again, but somebody is also going to have to bring back whales from the past. These things logically need to happen, because the timeline wasn't changed far enough back in time for the events causing the Eugenics war and the extinction of the humpback whales to be altered.

Another concern is that Benedict Cumberbatch is a poor choice to play Khan because, well, he's white and British. I feel that with Khan's makeup and some practice, he could definitely look and at/sound the part. I mean, Hugh Laurie has a British accent, but we hear not trace of it in House.

Of course, most of us have seen the leaked photos of Benedict as (what we now know is) Khan. These photos were not, however, of a high enough quality that one would be able to make a deduction as to resemblance.

And what if they are going to meet Khan in the past, when he is younger than when we met him in Space Seed? These things do happen.

My point is, I think it would be interesting watching the historic events we know from the past episodes and movies, and seeing how they might change in this alternate timeline. I think choosing Khan as a villain for the coming movie is a perfect (and logical) choice, and there must be somebody out there who agrees with me.

Edit: Another concern about Cumberbatch as Khan is that it is a "race failure", and that casting him ensures that an ethnic person is not cast as the part. I absolutely understand what they are saying, what it implies, and how it could be seen as a problem. My respectful opinion, however, is that a great actor for the part should not be discriminated against because he is NOT the same race, when they would do the part great justice. I was not at the casting, and so I do not know who was there/what ethnicity the actors were/how well they performed in respect to Khan.

Happy 81st Birthday, Leonard Nimoy!

To the man who made the Vulcan Culture what it is, the actor who never lost his sex-appeal - happy 81st birthday! May the wonderful Leonard Nimoy live long(er) and (continue to) prosper.

I still maintain hope that I will be able to meet him, as he is my absolute hero. He pursues is passions now matter what age, and excels at it - whether it be photography, acting, or music. He was amazing when he was young, and he is just as much of an epic bad-ass now.  In fact... I have been watching the alternate music video for "The Lazy Song". I hate the song, and am indifferent to Bruno Mars. The video, however, is hilarious. Let us all watch in honor of Leonard's birthday:

Star Trek: The Motion Picture - Bubble Gum Pack 1979

Here's a little anecdote: I was walking down one of the isles at the Comic and Toy Expo when I saw some old bubble gum packs with the Joker and Batman. The man behind the table, however, took one look (or I would assume it was only one look - maybe he took a few looks) at my "Mirror Mirror" shirt and beckoned me over to the other side of the table. There he rummaged though piles of items until he found the one thing I never knew I wanted:

So for a mere two dollars (I would have paid fifty, I swear) I found myself in possession of a pack of 33 year old bubble gum:

Fortunately, I was not after the gum. I don`t even like gum. I do, however, like Star Trek cards and stickers. In fact, I had previously seen scans of a few of these cards on tumblr and was wondering how one might procure a pack.

You don`t. Random packs procure you.

I have scanned the sticker and the cards that came in the package - both the front and back. On the backs of the cards are either bits of information or pieces of a puzzle. Unfortunately I do not have enough cards to make any of the puzzle pictures at the moment, but I am now on the lookout for more.

Quick notes: For those unsure of the species shown on the "Advanced Life Form" card, it is an Aaamazzarite. The sticker features a Saurian. On the "Terror in the Transporter Room" card, the woman with Commander Sonak is unnamed in the movie, but is named Lori Ciana in the novel. You can read more about her in the TOS novel "The Lost Years".

PS. Never try chewing 33 year old gum. My curiosity got the best of me - but it just crumbled into a weird paste in my mouth, and it tasted like pills.

January First 2012 AKA 18721 Days Until First Contact

It's a new year, and I have made some new year's resolutions. I realize I have been neglecting this blog lately, which may have to do with the fact that my laptop was dying. Luckily, I am now the proud owner of a new netbook that works just fine.

New netbook = answering hundreds of emails and finally getting around to finishing posts.

It also means that I can now edit party hats on to photos:

But I digress. I have quite a few new year's resolutions this year, the most relevent being a) Posting to all three of my blogs weekly and b) Becoming perfectly fluent in Vulcan.

(Another resolution was to meet Leonard Nimoy and go out to tea at a poetry reading, but I decided that I should make that a goal for the future instead.)

Already today I have quite a few posts (almost) ready to go, and have added a countdown to First Contact in the side bar. So far, so good.

Hollywood Walk of Fame Trading Cards - Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner 1991

It is Christmas. I sit here wrapped in a soft new blanket drinking eggnog, eating Ferrero Rocher, and admiring one of my gifts - two Hollywood Walk of Fame trading cards (mint!) from my sister, ordered off ebay. They are the most beautiful trading cards I have ever seen, and they will never leave their protective slips.

Leonard Nimoy's card has a publicity photo from "The Sun Also Rises" on the front:

And some interesting information on the back, including his birthday, the location of  his Walk of Fame star, and his career highlights:

The picture on the back seems to be from the time of his interview with Dr. Julius Strangepork in 1984.

William Shatner's card (No. 177 as opposed to Nimoy's No. 8) has a photo of the incredibly handsome man himself on the front. I am unsure of the source of this photo, however:

On the back, as on the other card, reads information such as his birth date, the location of his star, and the highlights of his career. For some reason the "the" in "The Kidnapping of the President" has a capitalized "h" as well as "t". These are important things to notice. The photo used is a publicity photo from T.J. Hooker:

I am actually very glad that they did not focus too much on their roles as Spock and Kirk, as they have done so much more in their lives. For instance, William Shatner was absolutely genius in Judgement at Nuremberg, and Spock was just as (if not more) sexy in his role as Dr. David Kibner in Invasion of the Body snatchers. I also loved him in the Sea Hunt episodes and in the Balcony. But especially in Sea Hunt.


I wish you all a Merry Christmas! To celebrate, let us all watch Leonard Nimoy in my favorite 1992 Hallmark Commercial:

Svi'nash-tevun-yonuk - kril'es heh kunli-sa'hat..

Leonard Nimoy on Directing Star Trek - Cinefantastique 1987

I have put up some scans from this double issue before - Cinefantastique 1987, with a focus on "Star Trek: The Movie Trilogy" (referring to The Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home). I love this issue, as it is practically taken over by interviews and articles on my favorite subject.

After directing "The Search for Spock", Leonard Nimoy was fortunate (and talented) enough to direct his second Star Trek movie - this time being one of the stars, as well.

This article also has fantastic pictures of the cast and directors behind the scenes. (Right click and open in new tab or window to see full size)

After the seriousness of the first movie and the deaths in the second and third, they wanted this "new" movie to be  "lighter in tone". Bring back time travel seemed like a must, and they had even considered having the crew go back to prehistoric times or the 1890s. Nimoy finally decided on 1986, because it "seemed to provide the greatest opportunities for fun".

Nimoy's plan: not a chase or malfunction, but "what if there's a problem in the 23rd century and the solution lies in the twentieth century?" After considering ideas such as medical problems that could only be cured by an extinct plant from the twentieth century (ideas that were filled with death and disease), the right one came almost be accident.

"I was talking to a friend of mine about endangered species and up came the subject of the hump back whales and the mysterious songs they sing. We don't know exactly what it is or what it means. I thought, 'that's it!' If we can pull that off, sending humpback whales 300 years through space, that would be exciting. And that's how the story evolved."

The Voyage Home is different in many ways - it is more comedic, and the most violent acts in the entire movie are a Vulcan nerve pinch on the bus and a slap in the face. There is just so much that makes it great - for any age.

"Our show is enduring because the kids can watch the show for the action and adventure and the fun and the aliens and the spaceships. Then you can revisit out shows six to eighteen years later and discern something that you were not aware of." This is true of every Star Trek episode and movie.

The Voyage Home (or "The One With the Whales" as many know it) has a very strong ecological message, Which reflects Nimoy's concerns (as a contributor to Greenpeace) but was not entirely intentional:

"I'm not a heavy contributor, but I get their newsletters and things. The idea of putting the spaceship between the whaling ship and the whale and being hit by the harpoon obviously has Greenpeace origins because that's what Greenpeace used to do to attract attention to the Save the Whale Campaign. They went out on rubber rafts in front of Russian ships to prevent them from firing their harpoons. That has always remained in my mind and that's where the idea came from. I didn't set out to do a film about ecology. You can say I'm concerned. But the idea of the Whales came because it seemed like a useful and romantic device. If we're helping the whales to get along better in the world, that's great."

To anyone who has never seen this movie, or even if it has been more than a year since you last saw it, I strongly recommend that you watch it again. It is, by far, my favorite Star Trek movie.

Dif-tor heh smusma!

Charles Correll on Leonard Nimoy as a Director

It's no coincidence that my favorite Star Trek movies of all time are The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home - Leonard Nimoy is a great director with superior insight into what Star Trek should be.

Below is an article I scanned from "Cinefantastique" June 1987 - Charles Correll on Leonard Nimoy as the director for Star Trek III, The Search for Spock. In the article he elaborates on Nimoy's casual and confidant approach to directing - so read it! Do it now, and click to enlarge:

This quote really stood out to me, and leads into my next post quite nicely (oh, you will see): "Trek is a victim of it's own history. You can't get too different. The audience doesn't want it. The formula works. It's a legend if not a religion."

Oh, isn't that the truth.

Leonard Nimoy Thinks Playing Volleyball and Skittles is Cool.

I was just going through some of my scans, and I came across a couple that I had totally forgotten about.

As it turns out, Leonard Nimoy enjoys taking his kids (Adam and Julie) to the beach to play Volleyball. I mean, can this guy get any more "down to earth"? He is my absolute hero - he has worked hard, deserves what he has, and tries to be family-oriented - he tries to follow his dreams and passions without leaving his loved ones behind.

It's small things like this that make us realize that he is not a god - just an ordinary man with great talent, and good fortune.

In the second scan we see Leonard and his first wife Sandi playing a game of skittles at their home. I didn't even know skittles was a game - apparently it's actually a sport! It seems to be (kind of) like bowling. I guess we just don't have it in Canada, or else I am blind.. Just look at the cute miniature version (table skittles) they are playing in the picture! (Thanks, google!)

Note: Click pictures to enlarge.

Sandi looks shocked! It must be his mad skill.

A permitted glimpse into any "idol"s personal life is always amazing, because sometimes as fans we begin to think of them as above us - gods - and we forget that they are human. I mean, Leonard as gone through periods of extreme poverty, divorce, and alcoholism - it is through faith and hard work he has made it to the very top.

Dressing Room Secrets of Star Trek - Spock's Make-up

We all know Spock - that green tinted, matte skinned pointy eared Vulcan. What many don't know is that it took plenty of trial and error to get Leonard Nimoy to look that way, and even when a professional knew what he was doing it took an hour and a half to apply the prosthetics and makeup.

I scanned these from the Files Magazine Spotlight on Spock (and they scanned it from something else in 1967) - a series of photographs showing the hour-and-a-half long procedure.

According to good Mr. Nimoy, the ears were very painful wear and to take off because of the glue. I recently read a cute story in "The World of Star Trek" by David Gerrold about his Girl Friday, Teresa Victor.

After working for Leonard for a while, she wanted to do something special to show her appreciation. She decided that on the last day of her trial period she would wear Vulcan ears. Now, it was difficult enough for Leonard to get the right ears - for Teresa it was almost impossible. 

One of the casting directors eventually got a pair for her, but they were molded to Leonard's ears and she had to use a strong adhesive. She spent an hour putting them on and wore them all morning, trying to cover her ears with her hair so nobody would notice (although the tips kept poking out). They were immenslely painful, but finally at the end of the day she met with Leonard and pulled back her hair to show him the ears. "I am dying from the pain!" He cracked up laughing, but realized how important is was to her that she show him how she felt.

More problems arose when she had to go to a party that night and she couldn't get the ears off - and none of them knew who Mr. Spock was.

Here's another interesting fact: Spock's skin was originally going to be red, but Leonard pointed out that most people still had black and white TVs, and on those sets Spock would look pitch black. (It would also make him look even more "demonic".)

I will leave you with this wonderful clip of the great Leonard Nimoy speaking on that exact subject:

Zombies of the Stratosphere - A Role He'd Rather Forget

The following scans are from the Crew Files Magazine Spotlight on Spock, 1987. Click to enlarge.

Before Paris, Tom Kovack, or Spock, Leonard Nimoy had a role as Narab - a Martian in "Zombies of the Stratosphere" in 1952 (his third role).

The twelve-chapter serial was filmed and aired in 1952 and featured Judd Holdren as Larry Martin, or as I saw him - Powdered Toast Man with a cardboard mask. Larry would leap into flight dramatically, laying out in the sky, and all I could think of was epileptic-fit-causing lights and the powerfully said phrase, "Poooowwwderrred Tooooast MAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Anyways, the film is about Martians coming to earth because their planet is too far from the sun. They want to use an H-bomb to blow Earth away from the sun, so that Mars can take it's place. Larry Martin has an experimental rocket suit that allows him to fly. It is up to him to stop these people from Mars.

By the way, the show has nothing to do with Zombies.

So what was Nimoy's role all about? Well, his charecter (Narab) and Marex go around stealing supplies for the bomb and looking utterly ridiculous. Narab eventually turns against the others and reveals the location of the bomb. Not really much of a pride-inducing role - but it's too bad Nimoy couldn't have more fun with it.

Still - I am a sucker for old films and serials, and had watched it a while ago on the internet. Unfortunately I can no longer find it, but if you ever get a chance to see it, take it! The low-budget effects and story are actually strangely compelling...

Spaced Out - The Very Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner

Quite a while ago I ordered a copy of "Spaced Out - The Very Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner"  from ebay. The day right after I finalized the order my mother came home with the very same CD that she got for me at Goodwill for two dollars. I enjoy having two copies, however - they are different releases. I had actually seen both versions for sale on ebay, but decided on the UK release.

I decided to order the UK version because of the design. first of all, Leonard and William Shatner are more visible (we can see Bill's snazzy striped pants!). Secondly, the colors are more appealing. Thirdly, the layout is super-simple and to the point: (Click images to enlarge)

The Canadian release (kindly brought to us by Space: The Imagination Station!) is simply cluttered and unnecessarily bold. William Shatner's cool striped pants are gone, the writing is in the most hideous combined colors known to man, and everything is all slanty. Not cool.

Still, however uncool - It is an awesome addition to my collection, and I will never pass up anything Shatner/Nimoy related. I play this one so that the other doesn't get scratched.

The selection of songs "sung" by William Shatner (from The Transformed Man, 1968) is fantastic, but I would have liked to see more of Leonard's original work and less covers (although I love his covers more than he originals). I would have liked to see on here original songs like The Sun Will Rise, Once I Smiled (in collaboration with Charles R. Grean, seemingly about Spock in "This Side of Paradise"), Maiden Wine, and Piece of Hope -  these are my favorite songs of his, along with Cotton Candy (written by Cliff Ralke). But hey, at least they put on the full version of Bilbo Baggins!

I will leave you with this gem - Piece of Hope written and sung by the wonderful Mr. Nimoy: