SciFiUSA

Advent Rising: Is it a computer game, novel or a movie?

If you can’t tell, I’m catching up on my PCGamer Magazines. In the December 2005 issue there is a review for a game called Advent Rising, it’s an action-adventure game that got an above average score. Though the reviewer didn’t seem to like the game, the things he didn’t like were the things that intrigued me the most. The story is written by Orson Scott Card and a review for the Xbox version on Amazon.com written by Terry Mesnard stated, “Card’s influence can be seen everywhere. In fact, I was waiting for the main characters to break out in a discussion of Varelese and Ramen in terms of aliens (read the Ender’s series if you didn’t get that).â€? But the PCGamer Reviewer, Brett Todd, complains “The story development is so overwrought – and cut –scenes so frequent (I counted around seven per level), so wordy, so long, and so **** irritating – that I might as well have been watching a cheap SCI FI Channel flick like Mansquito.â€?

He continues with, “Actual action sequences seem like interruptions stuck between the cinematics. Unfortunately, the author’s tale about a ‘glorious’ future humanity being hunted to near-extinction by reptilian alien Seekers is far more memorable than the repetitious running-and-gunning that picks up whenever the cut-scenes stop.�

Personally, I’m putting it on my wish list.

Join Starfleet and see the galaxy. It more that a job, it’s an adventure.

Star Trek online has recently signed Michael Okuda to work on the game as a design consultant. He earned 3 emmy nominations for Best Visual Effects for his work on Star Trek: The Next Generation. You can keep up with the progress at http://startrek.perpetual.com as they work their way to a 2007 release date. “Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer online game where you will join Starfleet and explore the greatest wonders and discoveries from our galaxy and beyond. You will team up with thousands of other players as you advance from Starfleet Academy and master your skills aboard a starship. Your journey will take you to far-away posts at the fringes of known space where you will carry out missions to establish contact with new civilizations while protecting the values of the Federation during a time of rising tensions. Rising through the ranks will test your abilities as a warrior, diplomat, explorer, and most importantly: a leader. Play your cards right and you will one day become Captain of your own starship and chart your own course to the final frontier.” It looks interesting, we’ll see what they can deliver. Personally, I haven’t played any Online Multiplayer Games. I feel it’s a waste of money if I don’t devote and hour more to it a day. We used to run an Unreal Tournament server so we could moderate players (boot players who are obnoxious and ruin the game for everyone else), but I hesitate to join a game where I’ll run into poor sports.

Who is Dr. Who?  If you’re here, you probably know already, but then with all the hype about the new BBC production of Dr. Who, maybe you want to know why he’s so popular.  Dr. Who belongs to a race of beings called Time Lords.  He jumps into his time and space machine, the TARDIS, which looks like a telephone booth and travels the universe or Earth history.  The show ran from 1963 to 1988 but with several different actors playing the part of the good doctor.  When the first doctor retired, the producers didn’t want to end the show so they recast the role and explained that the Doctor could “regenerate� a tired or injured body and take on a new persona.  
 
The show was resurrected and began broadcasting March 26, 2005.  There were rumors that the SciFi Channel would show episodes here in the United States, but at the time, executives decided to pass.  Just recently they announced a change of heart and will air the first season starting in March on Friday nights at 9 pm ET/PT.  The BBC announced that they will not release the first season on DVD in February as previously announced, but it will launch July 4. 
 
For the full Dr. Who story visit the BBC at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/doctorwho/news/briefhistory

I have recently caught the Star Trek TOS (The Original Series) phaser replica bug.  I recently ran into a cool ezboard group, ASAP (A Site About Props - requires membership to view).  Many of the members of this group are talented prop makers or replicators, some of who have Hollywood credentials.  The really cool thing is that I’ve been able to read up on some really good prop building advice and methodologies especially for recreating the TOS phasers I & II.  One build up that is of particular interest to me is the Art Asylum Trek Tek Phaser upgrade.  Some of the builders on this site have done some beautiful and highly screen accurate (in my opinion) recreations.  Everything from the paint colors to the correct lines are discussed.  Pictured here is one build up by one of the greats there on ASAP.

So I’m really excited about creating my own!  I’ve been able to get the right color paints which seem to be determined as Krylon Shadow Gray for the phaser II body and Rustoleum Dark Bronze Metallic for the phaser II handle.  For the phaser I body, it seems to me that most dark gray primers will work and I’m going with Rustoleum Dark Gray primer.  It’s a bit of work for the modeler who want’s a nice piece, like sanding, filling, and more sanding, filling followed by primer splash coats, more sanding and filling and then the final color coats.

For the Art Asylum upgrade, I want to replace the plastic nozzle with a machined aluminum version as well as the side knob and front top ‘forehead’ piece.  I’d also like to replace the handle with a heavier resin reproduction, but I could make due with the Art Asylum version.  The metal parts is where the challenge comes in.  I’m not a pro modeler or prop maker by any means, and I have zero skills in machining parts, let alone owning any machining equipment.  So I’m at the mercy of the great’s out there who machine their own parts being willing to sell me some metal parts without breaking my wallet.

This bug is killing me and the only cure is to build my own phaser!  Someone help me, I’m suffering on a daily basis!

PS: To the originator of the phaser photo: If you don’t want me to post your phaser photo here, or want more detailed credit for your work, please notify me and I’ll make any changes you request.  Thanks!

The March issue of Starlog has a nice interview with Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation) based on his appearance in the show Threshold, but after the interview, and before it could be published, CBS cancelled the show.  It lasted less than 3 months.  I remember reading about it last summer in USA Today.  I was interested in watching, but to be honest, my TV time is between 10 pm and midnight.  I rented a lot of TV shows on DVD because I never got to see them on TV.

Recently, we got DirecTV with TIVO.  We’re loving it.  Every other week or so I program it to record everything we might possibly want to watch.  The red record light is on almost constantly, and then at 10 pm, we veg in front of the boob tube.  (We even record documentaries and educational TV, so we’re not becoming entirely brain dead.) 

Anyway, the Starlog article says that if Surface and Invasion prove as popular as Lost, it could prompt a Trek resurrection.  I think Trek fans are in trouble.  We won’t find out until May if Surface will get a second season.  The first season ended February 7 and the delay doesn’t seem like a good sign to me.  Invasion was put on hiatus but will be back in April, but only 2 episodes are listed and rumors abound that there will be no second season.
But beyond all this doom and gloom there was a part of the article I have to share with you.  Spiner is talking about his role as Devlin Bowman.

“Isn’t that funny?” says Spiner, whose own son, Jackson, is now three years old.  “The Master of Disguise was just [critically] killed, brutalized - and not necessarily undeservedly-but it had its moments.  I remember checking out Rotten Tomatoes [the website], and I think out of 72 reviews we had 71 bad ones.  The one good review was from some kid on the Internet.  Most of the comments were like, ‘Even kids would not think this movie is funny.’ But when you become an adult, particularly a cynical critic, you forget what it’s like to be a child.  Kids did find the film funny.  Dana-who’s a really, really creative guy-designed The Master of Disguise for his own children, to make them laugh.  

“To this day, I run into kids who like the movie,” Brent Spiner says.  “I was having dinner the other night with some friends and their kids, and the parents said, ‘Did you know that Brent was the farting villain in The Master of Disguise?’ and the kids went, ‘Duuude!’ and high-fived me.  So there’s something for everyone in everything.” 

I went to the library to check out A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  I could have saved myself a trip, the copyright has expired and there are several places on the internet (such as http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/pmars-table.html) where you can read the entire book, but I still like to read off paper.

The librarian who checked the book out for me thinks it’s one of the greatest books ever written.  He couldn’t believe it when I told him it was being made into a movie called John Carter of Mars.  He wanted to know who and what, but I couldn’t remember.  I just wasn’t as excited as he was.  I’m a big fan of the Tarzan series.  The first three are my favorites, but I just didn’t like the John Carter story.  However, I can see how it will make a great movie and I’d love to see it. 

The book is full of details of the inhabitants of Mars and their customs and architecture, but the story was written in 1912 and the style of writing is very different from now.  My teachers were always on my case — “Show!  Don’t tell!â€?  Burroughs’s stories are just the opposite — lots of telling and very little dialogue.  It worked for me with Tarzan because I loved the characters.  I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next, and I could hardly put the book down.  With John Carter, I never grew to love the characters.  With a good movie script, I’m sure I could care about them more and I look forward to seeing the Martians come to life in all their ferocious glory. 

When is the Paramount movie coming out?  Who knows?  It has been in pre-production since 2004.  It’s on its 3rd director (Jon Favreau of Elf and Zathura) and the script written by Mark Protosevich (The Cell) was rewritten by Ehren Kruger (The Skeleton Key, The Ring, The Ring 2) and now Favreau is looking for another writer. 

Surprising?  Not really.  They brought back the TV show and that is doing well and with CGI technology becoming the norm today, why not another movie to boost the sales of backpacks, shirts, action figures, etc.

The CGI film is set to release March 30, 2007 but we should see the trailer during “Ant Bully” which appears in theaters July 28.

What do we know?  The film is grittier than the live-action films and has already received a PG rating.  Kevin Munroe, who wrote and directed the film, consulted with Peter Laird, the co-creator of the comic books, so we expect a story worthy of the TMNT.  At ign.com you can see a video of the game being developed in conjunction with the movie.  The movie trailer is at Apple  – you may have to upgrade to Quicktime 7 to watch it.  The animation is very fast, but I think the Turtles’ movements  look more like frogs than turtles.

A quick Star Trek 11 update.  Paramount has tapped Lost and Alias creator, JJ Abrams, to produce and direct Star Trek 11 (though Paramount is saying Variety jumped the gun on that announcement).  In an interview with Robert Sanchez, of The Movie Reporter, Abrams’ friend Greg Grunberg has no problem discussing the possibility of Abrams writing a script involving a younger Kirk and Spock as they first meet at Starfleet Academy and their first mission to space.

While many fans are foaming at the mouth, personally I think it would make a better TV series than movie.  Forget Spock and Kirk, just tell the stories of a couple of kids in Star Fleet Academy.  The inter-personal relationships between different cultures and species could be great.  We could follow them on their first assignments as Ensigns.  There are plenty of films and series that have dealt with teenagers and the angst of growing up different from everyone else - Harry Potter, Smallville, etc.  There were several stories involving the Academy mentioned in TNG and they could just take it from there.  It would also attract youth interested in science fiction.  Think about that, Paramount - it would add at least another 50 years of life to the Star Trek franchise!

Or, if they are going to do a film, have Star Fleet meet some really interesting aliens.  Use CGI to give us things that are obviously not humans in costumes.  How about Orson Scott Card’s Buggers and Piggies or James Doohan’s Fibians?  How would the Federation react to C.J. Cherryh’s Atevi and their assassins guild?  If they could get Cherryh to agree, the story is all set up for the Atevi to meet the Borg.  The Atevi have just met the Kyo out in space and are warned of an even more dangerous people on the other side of Kyo territory.

Voyager and Deep Space Nine show that you can set the story in STNG time, but tell totally different stories.  It’s a big universe out there.

Have you seen “How William Shatner Changed the World�?  It was an okay documentary but didn’t add much to what fans already knew.  I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought my cell phone was like a communicator.  Still I think it’s worth watching for the shot of two guys pulling ropes on either side of a plywood door so we could see this cool door opening automatically for the captain to leave the bridge.  Hey!  We’ve got those now too.  I remember when the first motion detector doors were installed at my local mall – a bunch of dogs managed to get in.  It was fun watching management chasing them out.

Still, Star Trek continues to infiltrate our culture.  There was reference to red shirts in Lost and lots of references to Star Trek and Star Wars by Hiro on Heroes.  Everyone knows about teleporters and warp drive.  And just recently I was reading about a universal translator.  The original article by Renae Merle appeared in the Washington Post and talked about how our soldiers were testing  a “Phraselator�, the beginnings of the universal translator, which took the soldier’s English phrases and spit out “prerecorded Arabic translations with an Iraqi accent.�  It isn’t quite ready for deployment yet.  There are too many dialects in the country and a simple question like “What is your name?� would require several variations to be understood. I wonder how they can watch TV? Still there are three manufacturers out there that haven’t given up.  “Each of the three has developed systems that use mathematical algorithms to interpret speech, even if it is slurred, accented or muffled, into Arabic and the Arabic response into English.  After a second or two, a synthesized male voice produces a response.�

We saw a couple new shows on TV.  The first was Hyperdrive on BBCAmerica.  I made it through about 3/4 of the show before I gave up and deleted it (I use Tivo).  Someone out there must like it, because they just finished filming the second season; however, I found the humor predictable, gross, and vulgar.  As you might have seen from the ads, the alien delegation wanted to rub their genitals on the heads of the humans to seal a contract.

 I’m sorry, but I figure any alien species capable of negotiating a contract with humans would have the diplomatic skills to realize this would be highly offensive.  Then there was a bunch more stupid and predictable events.  There is a trigger-happy officer named York that I thought was interesting, but then it became evident he was a moron and his character became pretty stereotypical.  Maybe it improved during the last couple minutes I missed, but I couldn’t stand to waste another minute of my life on it.

As for trigger-happy morons, my favorite is Jane from Firefly.   (Yes, it’s a big, muscle bound man with a woman’s name.)  My favorite scene is where Jane is lugging this huge gun and Captain Mal thinks the time has finally come; Jane is going to blow him away.  Then Jane gets all emotional and teary eyed about his gun.  The rest would be a spoiler so I won’t tell you but I highly recommend the show.  The movie Serenity ties up a lot of the lose ends left by the abrupt cancellation of the show, but I don’t like the ending.  I don’t think anyone liked the ending.  Still, Firefly had a good combination of adventure and humor that I really enjoyed.

The other show is The Dresden Files on the SciFi.  It is about a wizard using his powers in a modern world to solve crimes involving the supernatural.  There have been hints about a ‘Council’ that our main character, Dresden, is trying to avoid.  It will be interesting to see where the show takes us.  Another supernatural crime-solving show I like is Supernatural, it just gets better and better.  This week’s episode suggests that an angel is going to join the battle.  It makes sense to me, if you’ve got demons running rampant on earth; why not send in the other side.

And of course, we’re watching Dr. Who, Heroes, and Lost.