Star Trek XI : Salvation?

Captain's Log: Stardate 20090603. Following receipt of a message indicating that there is going to be yet another Star trek film, I wondered again at which point the film and television industry stop flogging the horse once it has died.

I love the original Star Trek. I grew up with it. It always seemed to be on television after school during the summer months (at least it was where I lived - but of course, these would have been syndicated repeats as even I am not that old!).

The Original Series was something that was greater than the sum of its parts. My own feeling is that it succeeded even in spite of what Gene Roddenberry might have wanted at times, but without a doubt he created the best science fiction television series we are ever likely to see.

OK, the effects were at best dodgy and there are some episodes which are just so awful I still can't watch them (especially the one with all the singing and Spock grinning like the devil while playing the lyre. grrrr!), but the stories were so brilliant and the ideology so spot on and outward thinking you don't really notice the bad bits. It's like watching a stage production. Does anyone who is at the theatre complain that the sets are made of cardboard? “The play's the thing, wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king” (Hamlet and Star Trek)

It's hard to believe that it was also scandalous - with the first inter-racial kiss ever on TV between Kirk and Uhura and one episode ('The Empath') banned because of the torture scenes. Hot stuff back then! Imagine a television series now advocating peace, diplomacy and equality!

I have two favourite episodes, which are practically poles apart in style. 'The Trouble with Tribbles' was just so funny. The Klingons were funny. Cyrano Jones was funny. The tribbles were funny and Kirk and Spock were funny. Everything worked.

One the more dramatic side, 'City on the Edge of Forever', with a script by Harlan Ellison could easily have been a stand alone feature film. Performances from Joan Collins and the regular cast were just superb. You know the story...McCoy gets a superdose of something from a hypo, goes mad and beams down to a planet where there is a gateway to the past. He goes back in time and changes something. Kirk and Spock follow through the gate after discovering that the change McCoy makes wipes out their existence. In the past Kirk falls in love with the Joan Collins character, Edith Keeler. The dilemma is that the change McCoy has made relates to whether Edith Keeler lives or dies. The friendship of the Kirk, Spock and McCoy triangle is really at the centre of the work and the dynamics of those three characters is really what sets the series apart from all those that followed.

OK, the original series also had some pretty cool gadgets. The transporter was one, but the tricorder was the most fascinating...funny how life has imitated 'art' and now, on my rather small mobile phone, I can not only take photographs and video recordings, send email and access the internet, but also use the GPs map system to know where I am and plan where I am going and will soon be able to pinpoint where friends are located. (If I'm lucky, sometimes it works as a phone as well).


Alas, it was probably the reliance on gadgets, though, that made me lose interest. The Next Generation was just dull, despite having updated special effects and hence, gadgetry. The Next Generation seemed introspective and detached and too much focus on tech stuff. There never seemed to be any believable interaction between the main characters and I always felt that rather than advocating equality and integration, the differences between the characters were given too much prominence. Lt. Worf was different because he was a Klingon, Engineer La Forge was different because he was blind, the counsellor was different because she was a woman and so on. Data was just irritating. The idea of kids in space was also very bad. If the whole idea wasn't bolted onto the idea of Star Trek, it never would have got off the ground (pun intended).

As for what came next...Deep Space Yawn, Voyager to the Bottom of the Sea, and Lack of Enterprise...let's just say I was never an avid fan of them.

I really, really lost interest in the whole Trek business when people started constructing and speaking the Klingon language and courses were offered on such at Universities. Hello? It's only a television show...it's not real!

Slowly getting around to the point - I was also never that fond of the films. With the exception of The Wrath of Khan (II), the Voyage Home (IV) and the Undiscovered Country (VI), they were a pretty dire bunch. It is well documented that the first film was only made because of the success of Star Wars and the general feeling was that it was so long and dull, the only thing that the Nicholas Meyer could do on the second feature was to pretty much ignore the first film. Isn't it funny how in the Wrath of Khan everyone was more or less reunited again? I would also have to agree with the idea of the 'Star Trek curse' that it was only the even numbered films which were any good. I would only add that this was true up until number six, after which they were all rubbish. By the time of the Voyage Home I had pretty much stopped keeping track and don't remember seeing any of the ones after that at the cinema.

So it was with a sinking heart that on hearing about the new film that I read the snippets of information. It's going to be about the younger years of Kirk and crew (groan), about how they met up (louder groan) and set off of their first adventures (just kill me now).

But wait...'What's this?' I thought, on seeing that Wynona Rider was to be involved. Wynona is usually a sensible type. Is she short of cash? This was something curious. But there was more. Simon Peg? I'm sure I must be one of the five people that actually watched 'Hippies'. OK, now I'm getting curious - maybe it will be a comedy? Wynona, huh. I think the last film I (sort of) saw her in was 'A Scanner Darkly' - which was far better than I thought it would be (yeah, I'm a Phillip Dick fan and had read that story years ago...). Spock's mother they say.. Very curious.

Next thing I see is a logo. Well, they would have to use the same style logo, really, wouldn't they? Maybe. It's a rather nice logo, though.

Then the trailer...not a good start. A teenager. In space. Then...well, actually that guy does seem to do a pretty good Spock impression. Was that someone that looked like Captain Pike? Is that *gasp* an original style uniform? OMG was that Uhura? And was she wearing a red tunic? That set looked a bit like a simple coloured Bridge! Oh, explosions, special effects and a fat bald bloke with a tattooed face wanting to take over the universe. Well...still I had to watch it again. I have never done that before after seeing a Trek trailer.

Do I dare to hope that this time it will be a good one?

One last chance. Set phasers on stun, just in case!


In the meantime, since I finally found the Spizz song 'Where's Capt. Kirk' on MP3 enjoy!

Athletico Spizz - Where's Captain Kirk?

Arrivederci, Simone.

I really, really want to like Au Revoir, Simone. On paper they sound great. An indie band from NY. The reviews have always been good. Many of these have compared the band to the likes of Slowdive or the (great) Cocteau twins even, talking of wistful, dreamy pop tunes and breathy ethereal vocals. I had visons of hearing a modern Marine Girls or new Sundays or maybe some new version of reinvented shoegazing dream pop. I would be happy with them just being a modern Tom Tom Club even.

Having finally got around to hearing 'The Bird of Music', I was soooooo disappointed! I keep waiting for the songs to start properly, or for the music to to go somewhere or to just ... do something! After several attempts to listen to the album, I ghive up because it still just washes over me like music in an elevator. No worse actually , because I have to stop the urge to jump to then next track. Even the supermarket has better background music these days. What should sound like Nouvelle Vague, without the tongue in cheek attitude, just ends up sounding flatter than Dido on a bad day.

I fear that they try to hard to be twee or are holding back in a misguided attempt to stay indie or just aren't actually interesting. Whatever the case, I give up. I wish them well, but I do not like Au revoir, Simone.


Au Revoir, Simone do not sound anything like Slowdive.

On the other hand, I really did NOT want to like Tegan and Sara. The thought of a pair of adolescent Canadian, helium-filled, girly-Avril Lavignesqe vocals backed by sparse noise from guitar and occasional plink-plonk tune of a toy piano was too horrible to contemplate and the mere idea of it made we want to retreat into the comfortable gloom of, say, X-mal Deutschland just to purge the whole idea from my brain!

But I am honest enough to admit when I am wrong. It's the complete reverse of Aur Revoir, Simone - while all the elements sound awful individually, when put together they just work and I can't say why. I can, however, see why The White Stripes covered 'Walking With the Ghost', because whatever Tegan and Sara have, they have it by the bucketful. I like them and despite the fact that they have got into my head, I don't mind having them there for the moment.

It could prove difficult trying to explain to people why it is I'm listening to Canadian chipmunks, though.

For your listening pleasure (or otherwise), in addition to the well titled Sad Song and a T & S oldie, I've also included Nouvelle BVague's unique cover of the Dead Kennedys 'Too Durnk to Fuck'.

Au Revoir Simone - Sad Song
Tegan and Sara - I Bet It Stung
Nouvelle Vague - Too Drunk To Fuck

It's the pelvic thrusts, that really drive you insa-a-a-a-ne...

Let's do the time-warp again!

I thought it would be fun to 'take a jump to the left' and have a look a songs which have a science fiction theme...and they are an intersting and gruesome bunch.

I heard one of these on the radio, which set me thinking... what goes through the minds of a band (not to mention a record label) when they record anything a bit off the beaten track, whether it be one of these space-oddities, a novelty record or - adn probably the worst - a country and western song.

OK, to be sure, some have become classics - like David Bowie's 'Space Oddity', to which he even recorded a sequal of sorts (Ashes to Ashes). Most just provide some brief amusement and there is no doubt that plenty of today's Pop
Princesses use lots of SF imagery in their videos - Rhianna, Sugababes, Christina, Britney...but I am not sure that any of their songs will qualify for the list. I'll have to think a bit further on that one (wasn't Britney on Mars for the 'Oops, I did it again' Video? Why??).



I've put together a short list, which is hardly extensive or exhaustive and I'm only including songs which actually have a SF theme or reference, so no Aerosmith, thank god!, and I refuse to ever include an Elton John song no matter what, because he is a grumpy, fat old git - so no Rocket Man.

I give you Darkweather's Science Fiction pop songs!

Another Girl, Another Planet - The Only Ones
Are Friends Electric? - Gary Numan -
Black Planet - Sisters of Mercy
Calling Occupants... - Carpenters
Do You Believe in the Westworld? - Theatre of Hate
Doctorin' the tardis - Time Lords
Flight 19 - BA Robertson
Girl From Mars - Ash
International Rescue - Fuzzbox
Mulder and Scully - Catatonia
O Superman - Laurie Anderson
Planet Claire - B 52s
Planet Earth - Duran Duran
Planet of Sound - Pixies
Space Oddity - David Bowie
Science Fiction - Divinyls
Sex Crimes (1984) - Eurithymics
Space Girl Blues - Devo
Star Trekkin'- The Firm
Starship Trooper - Sarah Brightman
Super Hero Suits - Those Dancing Days
Surfing on A Rocket - Air
Technologic (and, well, anything really) - Daft Punk
Time Warp - Rocky Horror
Twighlight Zone - Gloden Earring
Where's Captain Kirk? - Spizz



Definitely gruesome!

Mercury Theatre on the Air ... again.

Although for so long I have resisted having a blog, finally I figured that I may as well add my ramblings to the endless babble that spews forth from the internet, even if it's just to amuse myself . But then, after all, if only one person reads my blog and gets something from it, I figure it's worth it. Music would be my blog of choice, but to constrain it to such a narrow subject would be an injustice and I do want to try to be interesting or at least entertaining...

Which brings me to the title of the blog. I am not that old that I remember, or even heard about Mercury Theatre on the Air when I was young. It wasn't until University and seriously getting into 'fringe culture' that I came across the reference to this 1930's radio drama show. That and my older brother's punk rock records.

Dealing with the 1930's radio show first, while it may not be immediately recognised, if I said 'Orsen Welles' and 'War of the Worlds' you might start to get the idea. (Unless you only associate War of the Worlds with Steven Speilberg in which case you can just ... go away). Imagine the times - between the two World Wars and a good way into the Great Depression. It couldn't have been a lot of fun and there wasn't even You Tube! Mercury Theatre on the Air was, essentially, a stage theatre on radio, with interpretations of classics performed for broadcast. Treasure Island, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and a variety of others, performed for entertainment. Imagine that! What a concept! Welles' radio broadcast of the 'War of the Worlds' alien invasion was a masterpiece of production and played on the public fear of the time to create a real hysteria.

If you want to read all about it and listen to the programs this link is probably a good place to start: Mercury Theatre On The Air

The 1970s, I'm told, were not a lot of fun either, but althought that decade may not have been as bad as the Great Depression, there was plenty of economic and social unrest to create enough gloom and despondency. By the time the 80s arrived, Punk had fortunately sprung up and hippies were becomming an endangered species. Fear and hysteria, however, were still not far away. No one liked change and certainly anything that challenged the established order was frowned upon.

So it was 1983 that Action Pact! released 'Mercury Theatre on the Air!' which always struck me as a somewhat amusing and audacious title, but looking at it now, maybe even more appropriate than intended? Well, they certainly had
something to say and while the fear may not have been from an alien invasion, punk rock scared the public enough!



I missed almost all of the whole punk thing, but was fortunate enough to ride on the coat-tails of my older brother, absorbing the history like a sponge. It was fortunate that we shared the same black humour and taste in music! On
the downside, it meant that all the Ation Pact records were his and not mine. I am sure one day I'll get around to getting my own copy of 'Suicide Bag'!

..and just while I am on the subject of punk and it's waning, it really is a kick in the stomach to hear the likes of the pathetic and insipid Sandi Thom wailing 'I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair'. Unless the flowers were impaled on a spiked mohawk, methinks todays yoof haven't got the faintest idea - which is a shame, as punk ethic was a DIY reaction to tedious prog-rock guitar solos. If you are going to make a reference to the past, at least understand it...

I think I've lost the plot somewhere here, though. I guess, in a roundabout way, I am just wondering: In these days of terrorism, financial crisis and recession, Is the time right for another Mercury Theatre to take to the air?

I really would love to post some Action Pact!, but I can't. Instead I will make do with some Pixies.

Velouria, from the 1990 album Bossanova. The cool thing about this is the use of the theremin, a wierd musical instrument played by waving your arms about - which was the instrument for 1950s science fiction film soundtracks, perhaps best used in 'Forbidden Planet.'

I'm sure I'll come back to this.

The Pixies - Velouria

I hate Coldplay!

Please spare me from boring, pompous rock and the likes of Coldplay, one of the worst offenders. Who actually buys their miserable, self indulgent records? Middle aged women having a mid life crisis?

I mean really, they do give the mega-boring U2 a run for their money.Rush of Blood to the Head? To the arse, more like!

...and I'm seriously pissed by 'Viva La Vida' because the intro sounds just like that used on 'I'm Fed Up' a couple of years ago by the French Pop Nymph Alizée, which everyone ignored.

So, two fingers up to Coldplay (Tossers!) and thumbs up to French Pop!

Heres 'I'm Fed Up' in both French and English!

Klaatu Barada Nikto

To put it mildly, I am fed up.

I've always liked Science Fiction. It's hard to imagine that once upon a time it was really nerdy to like Science Fiction.

When I was young, I was hard core. Classic Science Fiction movies and books were my entertainment. Authors like Arthur C. CLarke and Robert Heinlein sat on my bookshelf alongside H G Wells and Jules Verne. It was a treat to catch an old classic onTV like 'War of the Worlds' or 'Planet of the Apes'. The days before elaborate special effects, when story content counted.

So we now have a new version of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Scinece Fiction will be peddled as mindless entertainment again. Why does Hollywood insist on plundering all my favourite films and remaking them into some grotesque parody? It's been happening for years ...Time Machine, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Planet of the Apes, War of the Words, Iam Legend (Omega Man). I'll make an exception for 'Solaris'.

It seems bad enough that this latest offering has Keanu Reeves in it, one of my least favourite actors of all time, but the trailers for the film show the usual sort of global mahem and destruction that goes with every blockbuster. Yawn. Hasn't anyone heard of suspense anymore? I am fed up of bad remakes and brainless blockbusters.

OK, I haven't seen the film so I can't comment on how good or otherwise it is. I am just noting my view. I seriously doubt it will be a classic and will probably be cheap in the DVD shops in a month's time and then forgotten. I hope so.

And for the record, I have read H E Bates 'Farewell to the Master'. I do not expect the new film to be like the story. The original 'Day the Earth Stood Still' was based on the story, but did not follow it exactly. That's one reason it has become a classic.

"You lot - quit hanging around, take your new film and piss off!

Or else I'll set my Master on to you!"