Deutsche Version

Star Trek: The Motion Picture

William Shatner … Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy … Mr. Spock
DeForest Kelley … Dr. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy
James Doohan … Cmdr. Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott
George Takei … Lt. Cmdr. Hikaru Sulu
Majel Barrett … Dr. Christine Chapel
Walter Koenig … Lt. Pavel Chekov
Nichelle Nichols … Lt. Cmdr. Uhura
Persis Khambatta … Lt. Ilia
Stephen Collins … Cmdr. Willard Decker
Grace Lee Whitney … CPO Janice Rand

A huge cloud travels through Klingon and Federation space. Who or what that cloud is, is unclear, but nothing seems to be able to stop it. What is certain, is its course: It’s directly heading for Earth. Admiral Kirk takes once again the command over the Enterprise, which has just been refit for 18 monts. Because another thing is certain: The Enterprise is the only ship that can reach the cloud before it comes to Earth.

My opinion:
“The only ship available” is a running gag which goes through all shows and movies. But when the Enterprise is in the orbit of Earth it becomes a bit implausible. That aside I think the refitting of the Enterprise worked very well, it’s a very elegant ship. And one thing is a given: this movie dwells in its pictures, in great panoramic views of the Enterprise, the universe and V’Ger. I also liked that not everything was sunshine and sparkles. I liked it when McCoy told Kirk off for being arrogant and that Kirk wasn’t infallable. BTW: Have you ever registered the fact that the two movies where the final solution was not a gun fight were both TOS movies?
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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Mini Marathon
Tags: Star Trek · Star Trek TNG · Star Trek TOS
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Deutsche Version | Part 2

Every story has a beginning and for a TV show it’s (often) the Pilot. I simply love pilots. It’s the one episode that I watch more than any other episode of the show.

I’ll watch them in the order in which they stand on my shelves, so there’s no secret master plan why one show comes before or after the next.

As Kosh would say: And so it begins.

Xena: Warrior Princess

What’s the show about?
The former warlord Xena has reformed and fights now for the good. She and her sidekick Gabrielle travel through the ancient world of Greece, North Africa and Asia. They fight with and against other warlords, demons and gods.

What happend before?
Xena is a spin-off of Hercules where Xena was introduced. Back then she was still a warlord until she lost her army due to a mutiny. After that she helped Hercules defeat a vicious monster.

“Sins of the Past”
Xena cannot escape her past even when she tries to. On the way to her hometown Amphipolis she saves a group of people – including a young girl called Gabrielle – from being captured and sold into slavery. The attackers are under the command of Draco. When she denies him a real fight he decides to destroy Amphipolis and kill everyone. Now Xena has to protect a town that does not want her to be there…

My Opinion
Since the character was already introduced in Hercules one doesn’t learn much new about Xena in the pilot. Even if she had an affair with Draco remains unclear.
I always favoured Xena over Hercules because it was a bit darker and her enemies (Callisto, Ares, …) were more interesting

But there is one thing that bugs me while I’m watching the show. While I grew up I read a lot of greek mythology. I’ve read the Iliad, the Odyssey, I watched every Hercules/Heracles movie there was. And I am still used to the german names of everything: Herkules, Achilles, Zeus, … . While the spelling is only slightly different, the pronunciation is completely different. Everytime I watch Xena or Hercules and they pronounce greek names it sounds totally wrong. Period.
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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Pilot Marathon
Tags: Alien Nation · Buck Rogers · Farscape · Firefly · Quantum Leap · Star Trek · Star Trek TNG · Stargate Atlantis · Stargate SG-1 · The 4400 · Xena: Warrior Princess
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Season 2 | Season 4

Point of No Return

Disc 1

Matters of Honor

Synopsis: A Ranger training post is sealed of with mines and one ranger who could escape asks Babylon 5 for help. Meanwhile Londo tries to cut his connections to Mr. Morden and his associates. Also a representative of Earth comes to Babylon 5 to investigate about the Shadow vessel that destroyed Lt. Keffer’s Starfury.

My opinion: I always liked Marcus and I sure love the White Star. But Sheridan has to be a bit mad to try a stunt like the one in this episode. Good introduction to the next step of the story.

Convictions

Synopsis: A series of bombings shake Babylon 5. Bombs planted by a person who has no political agenda but to spread fear. And when Lennier tries to save Londo he gets badly hurt.

My opinion: While I never really understood the motives of the bomber I really liked the tube scene between Londo and G’Kar. I also liked the arrival of the monks around brother Theo who will stay for a while on the station.

A Day in the Strife

Synopsis: A probe approaches Babylon 5 and transmits a message: When Babylon 5 can answer a series of highly complicated questions, they will receive important knowledge in return. If not, the probe will explode and take B5 with it.

My opinion: Another average episode, there’s not really much to say about it.

Passing Through Gethsemane

Synopsis: Again we see the monks. But one of them is troubled because he gets flashes of memories but he can’t remember the events. Meanwhile Lyta Alexander return to the station on a Vorlon(!) transprt ship. She has been to the Vorlon homeworld but is forbidden to tell about it. She now works for the Vorlons and must hide from the Psi Corps.

My opninion: Great episode about crime and punishment. To see the life of a mind-wiped person and how the victims of a crime can’t let go. I really liked the acting of Brad Dourif (Dune, Deadwood) and the actions of brother Theo at the end of the episode.
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Categories: B5 Marathon, DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon
Tags: Babylon 5 · Back to the Future · Highlander · Sliders · Star Trek · Star Trek DS9 · Star Trek TNG · Star Trek TOS · Terminator · The Last Samurai
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Pilot (Director’s Cut) | Season 2

Signs and Portents

Disc 1

Midnight of the Firing Line

Synopsis: A Centauri agricultural colony is attacked by the Narns and taken over. The head researcher of the Centauri happens to be the nephew of Centauri embassador Londo Mollari and the Narn have no intention of giving the colony back. Meanwhile unarmed transports are raided by people who seem to know exactly when and where a transport will be.

My opinion: This episode is somewhat of a second pilot. While it doesn’t introduce the station or the characters it sets certain things in order and makes changes to the staff and the appearence of certain aliens (e.g. Delenn, the Minbari ambassador). It also introduces the concept of a primary and a secondary storline to this show, a concept that many of the following episodes will use, too.
It’s not that great an episode but it shows the mutual hatred between the Narn and their former oppressors, the Centauri. But I loved Lt. Cmdr. Susan Ivanova from the start and while Lt. Cmdr. Takashima (from the Pilot) was ok, Susan seems much more powerful from the beginning.

Soul Hunter

Synopsis: An alien unknown to mankind “stumbles” through the jump gate and lands himself in the infirmary. To other aliens his kind is known as Soul Hunters because they catch the soul of people the moment they’re dying. And this particular Soul Hunter has come for a certain ambassador.

My opinion: I liked this episode because it discussed the different belives of what happens to a soul when the body is dying. And everyone was certain that his/her concept alone was to be the correct one and than one should act accordingly.
I also liked the hints that Delenn is hiding something from Sinclair and the first mention of Dukhat, although the events leading to his demise are not revealed yet.

Born to Purple

Synopsis: Londo falls in love with a Centauri exotic dancer and doen’st care much about his duties as ambassador of the Centauri Republic. Meanwhile someone uses illegaly the high priority communication channels known as “Gold Channel” and security chief Michael Garibaldi is determined to find him or her.

My opinion: I really liked the insight of the Centauri society because it showed that the Republic is more like an aristocracy with houses and titles and slaves. I also liked. We also learn more about Ivanova and that she is russian. OK, since Star Trek’s Chekov this is no new concept but I was always a fan of the idea that not every human in space is of american origin.

Infection

Synopsis: Babylon 5 has its second birthday and Sinclair is trying to evade from a InterStellar Network (ISN) News reporter. But more danger to the station are some artefacts from a world long dead and the realization that not one person of a species is a pure being of that species.

My opinion: I love enemies who mus be defeated in the great Star Trek tradition of “talk them to death”. While ST often used it on computers and confused them with logic, it works with bio weapons, too. And we learn that there are deserted worlds and civilisations long gone and the earth company InterPlanetary eXpiditions (IPX) sponsors such expiditions.
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Categories: B5 Marathon, DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon
Tags: 24 · Babylon 5 · Heroes · LOST · Star Trek · Star Trek TNG
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