Author: Nick Brobeck

Trek Review: “A Taste of Armageddon”

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What do you think of when you think of war?  The first thought that would probably come to everyone’s mind is devastation, chaos or innocent people who are caught in the middle of the conflict.  Now imagine if that same scenario played out, but there was no actual bloodshed.  Instead, the attacks are carried out by computers and the casualties are tallied up on a computer.  The victims of the “attack” have to step into a disintegration chamber and die willingly.  I’ve just described what is going on between the planets of Eminiar VII and Vendikar in the episode “A Taste of Armageddon.”

The subject of war is a very touchy subject, especially in 1967.  The Vietnam war was in full swing.  While this story wasn’t a direct result of that conflict, the end result of what took place on Eminiar VII certainly could be construed as a commentary about the war that was going on.

Think about this: any conflict is still a conflict, no matter if someone is actually shot or not.  People still die, especially in a disintegration machine.   That’s the point that Kirk hammers home, and it’s a very good one.  War is hell in every sense of the word.

In the case of these two planets, they’ve been at war for hundreds of years.  The conflict was handed down from generation to generation.  But why?  Why does an entire culture just blindly keep going on with the same thing that continues to cause death?   That would be an interesting philosophical debate.  I can only imagine that the terror of doing anything different is what kept the Eminians and their terrestrial neighbors on Vendikar locked into the conflict. Eventually, our heroes convince the two sides to negotiate and resolve their differences.

When I first saw this episode, that ending is the one I was hoping for.  I have a good feeling that it was what everyone viewing the show for the first time would have hoped for as well.

Spock practicing his mindful skills

If there is one cool thing I always liked in this episode, it’s the scene where Spock uses his mind probing techniques to get one of the guards to open the door to the room in which they are being held.

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, a great episode all around with themes that are just as prevalent today as they were 50 years ago.  Next week, an episode that was almost called “The Way of the Spores”!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDGIHJzS0E4

Why Do I Do What I Do

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I’m sure at one time or another in life, you have probably stopped for a second and asked yourself, “Why do I do what I do?”  All of us at one time or another might stop for a moment and reflect on who they are, what they do, what they contribute, etc.  There was a time that I asked myself this very question.

I know what you’re thinking.  You’re saying to yourself, “Is he second guessing himself?”  No, no, no.  Not in the slightest bit.  Just a mere reflection.

I have believed and am still confident that my job is important.  People turn to a TV station for many things.  The foremost thing is information.  Information about what is going on in their world.  News, weather, sports, community events, and so forth.  It’s important that the community has a voice.  It’s also very important that those who govern have their say too, but at the same time, since they serve the public interest, they need to be held accountable for the job they do in such service.  This is of paramount importance in news.

But, while you think that directing a newscast is all I do, that’s not all I do.  I have a job to see that the public is given entertainment too.  There isn’t an hour of the day on my station that I haven’t touched at one point or another in my current job.  People turn to us to try and forget the challenges of their day, to be distracted if nothing, at least for a little while.  That part of my job I take seriously as well.

You’d be right to ask yourself what brought this on.  With all of the accusations thrown around lately of “fake news,”  I have never in my life felt more strongly about what I do and who I am.  It’s important that people have essential information to make informed decisions.  That won’t change no matter what.  I’m proud of who I am and what I do.  I think you will agree.

Future Plans

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I don’t want to be looking too far forward in the future.  However, in this topsy-turvy world that we live in today, I have vowed to remain positive and optimistic about our future plans.  Needless to say, this is subject to change, but I always want to record my thoughts here, so here it goes.

Next year, around mid-2018, our desire is that we will finally take the next step in our careers, and move to a higher market.  We are looking at Atlanta.  I think that Greg is superb and awesome at his job, and I think I’m not too shabby myself.  There are *lots* of opportunities down there for both of us potentially.  I think it’s a great move.

The next thing to obviously think of is, would we want to do anything past that?  Well, we don’t know.  We have thrown around the possibility of moving to the Big Apple someday, but that is not a 100% assurance by any means.  It all boils down to a simple thing:  could we ever afford to live in a place like that and be comfortable and happy?  If not, it’s not for us.  It’s called being practical.  I’m afraid that not a lot of people (at least from my point of view) do that these days.

There are certain people I know of (not naming names) that tend to overspend and live higher than their means.  I was always under the impression that you need to save money.  Save as much as you can and be careful and thrifty.   We will always live by this philosophy.

Now get off my lawn! 😛

Trek Review: “Space Seed”

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This episode.  This one right here.  The definition of a true classic.  I can say that up front with certainty because that’s what “Space Seed” is.

Khan Noonien Singh is the quintessential Star Trek villain.  He’s formidable, he’s smart, he’s strong.  It also helps that he’s been genetically engineered too.  It’s a gripping tale that is quite frightening for someone watching in 1967 to think that the 1990’s might hold such catastrophic events as predicted by this episode here.  Of course, in hindsight now, the 1990s was two decades ago, and there wasn’t a World War then, nor were there genetic supermen ruling the world.  However, to put yourself in the context of when this first aired, it still is very frightening and very unsurprising all at the same time.

When you think about where humanity has been and where we are going, maybe the suggestion of the events in this episode isn’t too far off, just the timing is wrong.  Look at what’s happening in the world now.  Things are happening in many facets of life that we never would have considered before, yet they are happening around us.  That’s what happened in the back story of “Space Seed.”  It’s a cautionary tale for sure.

Ricardo Montalban just proves how much he’s an awesome actor.  Whenever I see something he’s starred in, I am just drawn to him.  His presence,  his charisma, it’s so powerful.  He was one of a kind.

Even though the big fight at the end of the episode, which is the second fight in as many episodes to take place in Engineering, is obviously handled by stunt doubles, it is still very tense and dramatic.  You think I’m kidding?  Look at these screenshots:

Please, leave your disbelief properly suspended at the door!

Oh, and one more thing.  This episode has always been significant on another level for me.  Way back in 1992, this episode was one of the first VHS tapes I ever bought with my own money.  I still have that VHS:

That sucker cost $14.95 at Wal-Mart in Big Stone Gap, VA.  VHS was expensive, even then.  Just look at the adjustment for inflation!

I only got 2 or 3 of those at that price, and not all at the same time.  Imagine buying 80 of those to collect the whole series.  Before tax, that is $1,196. I think anyone’s parents would laugh while saying no to that idea.

Next week, let’s voluntarily step into a disintegration chamber!

https://youtu.be/3k4HCBRqg3Y

Trek Review: “The Return of the Archons”

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What would a society be like if all the wild emotional spark that makes everyone their own unique, individual person was taken away and instead you were left with a drab, soulless personality?  Now imagine that across an entire society.  That’s what’s going on at the center of “The Return of the Archons.”  Well, that is, until the Festival, in which for 12 hours everyone goes insane and loots, pillages and commits atrocities only rivaled by anyone in “The Purge” film franchise.

The idea of this episode isn’t so far fetched.  With the current state of affairs in our culture today, there are lots of living beings that wish they could control a society such as this one.  The fundamental difference of course is that it isn’t probably what the original Landru had intended.  If you’ve seen the episode you know that it isn’t really Landru in control, rather it’s a computer that he programmed 6,000 years prior to the story that is running the show.  Of course, a computer doesn’t know how to control a society, as Kirk demonstrates in his always to keen ability to outtalk and outsmart a computer.  I always enjoyed that quality about him.  It’s one of Kirk’s endearing characteristics.

It’s also fun to see Dr. McCoy after he has been “absorbed” into the body.  He gets to play the happy, soulless non-individual.

I’m sure there were people in the audience that couldn’t help but laugh at the silly people running around with long metal poles and in long robes.  As unintended as that is, I can’t fault them for that.  After all, it’s a weird situation so not everything is what you would expect it to be.

This episode ends up being slightly above middle of the road status for me.  I enjoy it, but it’s not the most memorable of episodes.

Next week, a true Star Trek icon makes his first of two appearances in the franchise:

https://youtu.be/u6K3GbQEeZ4

“Stranger Things” Season One Thoughts

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As my friends on Facebook have no doubt reminded me, I am way late in watching this show.  I must say that I agree.

This hands down is one of the greatest shows that I have ever seen.  It it so fascinating these days that great shows can come from sources other than broadcast or cable television.

Let’s get into what’s great about Stranger Things:

The cast.  No matter what group of characters we are spending any given moment with, you can bet that I was constantly engaged and fascinated with every last point of plot development.  Most people have been drawn towards the kids on the show, Mike, Dustin, Lucas and El (short for Eleven.)  I can see why.  They are the focal point in the search for their lost friend Will Byers.

It’s great seeing Winona Ryder back in a great role, along with Matthew Modine (who I first saw in Vision Quest many years ago).

One of the greatest things I like about this show is that I feel like I am immersed in the creepy vibe that was very prevalent in early 1980s horror fare.  The one thing that really drives this home is the music score by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein.  I have always had a penchant for moody electronic-style synth music.  Creepier it is, the better it sounds to me.  If it can put me in a certain vibe, it’s effective and I appreciate it.  Most film and TV music does this rather well, and the music of this show does that to great effect.

If you want a sample, just listen to the main title theme:

That right there will just make your skin crawl listening to it.  Even if you haven’t seen the show, if you don’t understand the mood from just the music alone, then I can’t help you.

As of this writing, I still have two more episodes to watch.  I won’t give any spoilers on the plot here, but I already can’t wait for Season Two to come out!  In case you don’t know, it will be released October 31st, 2017.

Let’s go find the Upside Down.

Stupor Bowl 51

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As you probably know, the Birds blew a 28-3 lead and lost to those other guys.  My friend Chelsea posed this question on Facebook:

My response is: the Warriors.  They were so heavily favored to win the NBA Finals last year, and they blew that lead, and the record winning season was all for naught.  That was the worst of the three, in my opinion.

Is it baseball season yet?  Ironically, the Indians pitchers and catchers report in one week, February 12th.

Life Status

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I realize that I haven’t blogged much lately, at least in this forum, about me.  How am *I* doing?

Well, frankly, I am OK, but I’ve been better.  I can be better.  I procrastinate doing anything constructive that will make me feel better.  Why, you ask?  I probably couldn’t tell you.  At least I am going to a sleep clinic next week to try and get my sleep habits in order.  I probably will end up having to use a machine to help me breathe properly while I sleep.  I need to get my weight under control.  I’m going to end up putting myself under if I don’t do anything about it.  If anything else, I need to do it for the sake of the man who loves me.

Why is my apathy at an all time high?  Am I too afraid to fail?  Am I too afraid of judgmental pricks?   I know what you’re thinking, fuck them!  And you would be right.  But I need to find the drive to do better.  I found it once a while back, and then it went away.  Maybe I just misplaced it somewhere.  I will keep looking for it, and when I find it, I won’t let it go easily.

Stay tuned…

EDIT: Just minutes after I published this post, Greg had a migraine so bad that I had to take him to the ER.  We were in an out of there in less than three hours.  His health is important to my health.  At least he’s OK.

Trek Review: “Court Martial”

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Oh me, oh my, where do I begin with this episode?  As you can tell by the tone of that introductory statement, “Court Martial” has never been one of my favorite episodes.  It’s not that the concept of the story was bad, but the execution was very, very lacking.

I’m sure you know the story, Kirk’s old friend dies under his watch… the computer has been altered to make the evidence damning against him, etc.  Herein lies a problem:  how that evidence was damning.  Observe this screenshot from the playback of the visual log:

As suggested in the story, Captain Kirk pressed the jettison button himself.  Why in all creation would he have that button conveniently on his panel?  And for that matter, the Yellow Alert and Red Alert?  And just how can a visual log be that detailed anyway?  A lot of plot contrivance in my opinion.

Also, at the end of the episode, they use a “white sound device” to try and isolate Finney’s heartbeat and establish that he isn’t actually dead.  Dr. McCoy has to go through the process of eliminating everyone else’s heartbeats.  It has been established in previous episodes that the Enterprise can scan and find people on planets, but why in the world can’t they scan their own ship and find a nefarious crewman that has gone rogue?  Very confusing.

There is a good story in there, but I don’t think it was presented to its fullest potential.  Not one of the better episodes of the first season.  I can see why the powers that be wanted to hold it back for telecast at the end of the season.

Next week: Landru!

https://youtu.be/cr55as-HBzI

Trek Review: “Tomorrow is Yesterday”

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If you will recall, at the end of “The Naked Time,” the Enterprise traveled back in time 71 hours escaping the situation that they were in.  That was not the original way that episode was supposed to end, however.  As has been documented in countless books and documentaries, the original ending was for our heroes to end up in 1969 instead.  Well, that part two didn’t happen there, but the idea of it didn’t go away.  It was made later in the season and became Star Trek’s first foray into the past, which is almost the present, in the all-time classic “Tomorrow is Yesterday.”

Roger Perry plays Captain Christopher, an Air Force pilot who ends up on the Enterprise, which has been placed in 1969 by way of an accident after trying to escape the pull of a black hole.

All of the drama and a little hilarity that ensues is top notch Trek.  I always loved the scenes on Earth in the Air Force base.  Especially, the “What was that?”, “What was what?” (which was coyly brought up again in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home during a similar situation.)

One minor thing however, is during all of the attempt at the end of the episode to get back to their present time is that if you’re not paying attention, you probably will get lost.  There are a lot of moving parts and pieces to what’s going on, what with having to go back in time, then forward in time involving the magnetic pull of the sun.  It’s actually interesting to me, and I wonder if the theory would actually be true, or is it truly science fiction?  I probably won’t be alive if we ever achieve any level of star flight to be able to test that theory, but still, I wonder…

This episode has always been one of my top 10 favorites. That will never change.

If only it was that Part Two… if only….

Next week, Kirk is in trouble, and there is a few plot holes here and there to boot…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZt4CSNJL3k