Tag: Star Trek

The Way of the Warrior: Strength & Honour

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Mini Marathon

Deutsche Version

After I was done I was in the mood for a battle. Thus I started a mini-marathon under the theme
The Way of the Warrior: Strength & Honour.

The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Gladiator

Russell Crowe … Maximus
Joaquin Phoenix … Commudus
Connie Nielsen … Lucilla
Oliver Reed … Proximo
Richard Harris … Marcus Aurelius
Derek Jacobi … Gracchus
Djimon Hounsou … Juba

Synopsis: General Maximus who has just conquered Germania is supposed to take the leadership of the Roman Empire after the emperor has died. But the emperor’s son kills his father, assumes the throne for himself and tries to kill Maximus. He can escape but becomes a slave and is being sold as “fresh meat” for the arena. There he makes a name of himself as “the Spaniard” until the day he faces the new emperor again.

My Opinion: Great movie. Loved it from the first time I ever saw it. Had to buy the extended version at once. Has a lot of quotable scenes in it that I can recite both in english and in german. While I am oppsosed to dubbing in general they did a great job with this, the german voice of Maximus is well chosen. I loved the battles in the arena, especially the “battle of Carthage”.
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Stargate SG-1: Season 10

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Season 9 | The Ark of Truth

I have bought the first nine seasons of Stargate SG-1 here in Germany. Each one had an average price of 80-90€. Back in the days that were simply the prices for season boxes, Star Trek boxes had cost a similar amount. But times change and I was no more willing to pay 77€ for the 10. season in Germany. Thus I bought the complete box in the US for 135€. And it does look nice. I will chip the first nine seasons on eBay.

Disc 1

Flesh and Blood

Synopsis: The defence of the Supergate ended in a slaughter of the defenders. The four Ori ships had no problems with breaking through. Aboard one of these ships Vala has just given birth to her daughter. But she is growing very fast and she is supposed to become the leader of all Ori troops in this galaxy.

My Opinion: The more often I encounter the story it the less interesting it gets: chosen childs. Offhand I can recall: Gabrielle’s daughter Hope (Xena: Warrior Princess), Xena’s daughter Eve/Livia (Xena: Warrior Princess) and of course Angel’s son Connor (Angel). If we add movies, we can also add Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader (Star Wars).
I was also a bit disappointed that Bra’tac has learned very few since he first encountered G_1 over eight years ago. Back then he also wanted to prepare for death after they had successfully sabotaged Apophis’s ship.

Morpheus

Synopsis: SG-1 visits one of the planets where they hope to find Merlin’s weapon. But there isn’t a single living being, not even animals. But the inhabitants of the village seem to have died peacefully in their beds.
In the meantime Vala has to undergo a psychiatric examination before she can join the Stargate program.

My Opinion: This episode was literally soporific.

The Pegasus Project

Synopsis: Daniel hopes to find more information about the location of the weapon in Atlantis. And Carter has developed a plan to render the Supergate useless with the help of a black hole in the Pegasus galaxy.

My Opinion: This episode I liked again. McKay was great and the way Daniel and Vala blew the cover of the Ancient “Morgan le Fay” was also good. While there are significant difference the Ancients and the Ori strongly reminded me of the Vorlons and the Shadows (Babylon 5) in this episode. All four are far superior to the normal Humans and within their universe they have a mutual exclusive point of view on how to interact with the Humans. Although the Ancients are the only ones of the four that don’t intervene at all (with the usual exceptions to that rule).
The “phone bill” of this episode could be interesting. Atlantis in the Pegasus galaxy calls the SGC who in turn call Teal’c at the Supergate and he relays the message through the open wormhole to the Odyssey in the Pegasus galaxy. 😉

Insiders

Synopsis: The allegedly real Ba’al comes to Earth and offers his help to find the weapon. But for this, SG-1 would have to kill all his clones who have uprisen against him. But every clone insits on being the real Ba’al and soon the SGC is swarmed with Ba’als.

My Opinion: Oh Sam, come on! Have you learned nothing from the RepliCarter disaster? I am annoyed that this highly intelligent woman falls for such plans. Yes, granted, she was in a hostage situation but how many lives will it cost when Ba’al is successful?
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Stargate SG-1: Season 7

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Season 6 | Season 8

Disc 1

Fallen

Synopsis: SG-1 is still searching for the “Lost City” or – as Jonas translates it now – “City of the Lost”, a city of the Ancients that wasn’t fully completed. They try to find the city with the help of the Gate addresses Jack entered into the computer when he had the knowledge of the Ancients. But they find something different – someone, to be precise.

My Opinion: The attack on Anubis’s ship was a nice homage to the battle above Yavin in Star Wars IV, including Jack’s comment that his F-302 (it’s obviously not eXperimental anymore) should have the call sign “Red Leader”. Michael Shanks has re-joined the main cast and returns to his role as Dr. Daniel Jackson. And while I liked Jonas, Daniel is somehow better. Jack and Daniel know each other for over seven years and even in the end Jonas was still “the new guy”. The chemistry between Jack and Daniel worked instantaneously again in terms of: they like each other but are totally different.

Homecoming

Synopsis: Daniel and Jonas are still aboard Anubis’s ship which hovers now over the capitol of Kelowna. Anubis wants to have the Naqahdriah and the knowledge of how to create a stable reaction.

My Opinion: On one hand it’s understandable that Jonas returns home. Daniel is back and all three countries on his home planet know about the Stargate now. It’s a bit sad, though. But since Daniel and he had basically the same role within SG-1 it would be hard to acknowledge this fact in future scripts.

Fragile Balance

Synopsis: When Jack awakes one morning, he is a teenanger of fifteen years. No one believes that he is Colonel Jack O’Neill. After his DNA has been confirmed they try to find out what happened and how to reverse it.

My Opinion: This time I even looked on the clock. The first appearance of RDA was in the 31st minute of this 42 minute episode. On the other hand one has to get used to it since his screen time will drop considerably from the 8th season on.
But it was good to see that not all Asgard are good and perfect, that even they have black sheeps.

Orpheus

Synopsis: After T’ealc has been wounded on a mission, he begins to doubt himself. Since he has lost “Junior” and has begun to inject Tretonin he doesn’t feel as a full-fledged Jaffa anymore. But then there’s a new crisis arising, Bra’tac and Rya’c are prisoners in a work camp that one only leaves dead.

My Opinion: A very good episode to show that something has changed for Teal’c. A symbiote has been part of his body for about 90 years (Teal’c is approximately 104 years old at this time) and now this part is missing. I can imagine that this is hard to get used to. I also liked the scene where his son helped im through the crisis by letting Teal’c kill the other Jaffa with his bare hands.
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Stargate SG-1: Season 6

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Stargate SG-1: Season 5 | Stargate SG-1: Season 7

Disc 1

Redemption

Synopsis: For three months Jonas Quinn has been on Earth and in the SGC. Now he is allowed to leave for the first time, SG-1 takes him with them to Area 51, where the X-302 has been completed. After the X-301 disaster the X-302 is completely man-made and with the help of the Naqahdriah it even has an hyperlight drive – the Death Gliders don’t have one.
But then Teal’c has to return to Chulak because his wife is dying and his son blames him for that. While he’s there someone opens the Stargate to Earth but it doesn’t close again.

My Opinion: As predicted, Anubis now turns his attention to Earth but obviously he doesn’t dare to trike openly – yet. The X-302 has its charme because she really looks like a mixture of stealth bomber and Death Glider. I also like Jack’s question if it has Phasers when Sam enumerated all the features.

Redemption, Part 2

Synopsis: A little more than 50 hours until the Stargate overloads and will blow up the state of Colorado and poison the atmosphere. The Stargate can’t be disabled and ths SGC has no way to contact the Asgard. But then Jonas has an idea and Bra’tac, Teal’c and Rya’c do their best to save Earth.

My Opinion: A good conclusion to this two-parter, especially because they didn’t find a technobabble solution to close the Gate but really had to dispose it. And the second Gate didn’t come out of nowhere thus it was no miracle solution. Ironically the now installed Gate is the original one and the blown up one is the Antarctica Gate.
BTW: This was the fourth time a Battlestar Galactica cast member made an appearance: Aaron Douglas (Chief Tyrol in BSG) played of of Anubis’s Jaffa.

Descent

Synopsis: A Ha’tak has entered orbit around Earth but it doesn’t attack. SG-1 – whose most recent addition has been Jonas Quinn – and Jacob/Selmak fly to the ship in a Tel’tak. The ship has been abandoned and it is the same ship in which Thor was held prisoner.

My Opinion: I like Jonas. He has an innocent, curious nature. He hasn’t yet seen what SG-1 has seen and one really believes that he wants to become a part of it.
A really good effect was when the ring transporter “beamed” Jonas and the water pillar.

Frozen

Synopsis: Four years after the Antarctica Gate has been discovered a young woman is found – but she is not Jaffa but instead several million years old. She is one of the Ancients but she looks like a human. That means today’s humans are only the second evolution of this form on this planet and that can’t be a coincedence.

My Opinion: I don’t know why but Ayiana always reminded me of Leeloo from The Fifth Element. We also see that Jonas has the same talent Daniel had when it comes to connecting with other beings. Apart from that the episode wasn’t that interesting.
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Stargate SG-1: Season 5

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Season 4 | Season 6

Disc 1

Enemies

Synopsis: Caused by the explosion of the sun and the activated Hyperdrive SG-1s Ha’tak has been catapulted into another galaxy. But Apophis is also there with his huge motherhip. But as soon as they have arrived another ship is apporaching that attacks Apophis’s ship. It is the Replicators.

My Opinion: Nothing against a good deus ex machina now and then, but this time they’ve overdone it. First they land in a remote galaxy, then the Replicators arrive, then Teal’c has been brainwashed somehow and in the end the Replicators kindly bring SG-1 back home. Honestly! At least Apophis has breathed his last breath.

Threshold

Synopsis: Teal’c is still brainwashed. According to Bra’tac, the only way to get him out of this, is to remove the larva and bring him to the brink of death.

My Opinion: Even though the events that led to this were rubbish, this was a very good compensation. It showed us how Teal’c became the man he is and how Bra’tac tought him all this. A great character drawing.

Ascension

Synopsis: SG-1 discovers a device that could be a powerful weapon. But then Sam faints and has to be brought back to the SGC. When she is put on leave and comes home, she is awaited by a non-corporeal being. It declares that it comes from the planet Sam has just been to.

My Opinion: The most important information in this episode was the fact, that Teal’c has watched Star Wars nine times while Jack has never watched it. 😉 That aside this episode was a goof examply why in Star Trek a Prime Directive exists: Because it is not predictable, what happens if one interfers with the developement of a culture. But the extinction of that entire planet was also over the top, they simply could have taken the Stargate away.
The appearance of John de Lancie (Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation) was also nice, especially because it won’t be the last.

The Fifth Man

Synopsis: Sam, Teal’c and Daniel return to the SGC under heavy fire while Jack and Lieutenant Tyler are grounded. But the real problem is: In the SGC no one knows this “Lieutenant Tyler”. Only SG-1 can remember this man.

My Opinion: I liked this episode, too. Another fact has cought my eye here: Stargate SG-1 has found a good balance regarding the number of alien races. The universe isn’t as crowded with non-humans as the Star Trek universe. But it is also not as empty as the Battlestar Galactica universe. While most of the aliens are still humanoid they aren’t simply knobbly-nose-aliens but really alien-aliens.
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"Stargate SG-1" Marathon

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, SG-1 Marathon

Deutsche Version | Stargate SG-1: Season 1

First I thought about a re-run of Smallville but I have watched this in the middle of last year and it’s been a while since I’ve watched Stargate SG-1.

In order to watch Stargate SG-1, one has to watch Stargate first.

Stargate

Kurt Russell … Col. Jonathan ‘Jack’ O’Neil
James Spader … Dr. Daniel Jackson
Alexis Cruz … Skaara
Viveca Lindfors … Catherine
Mili Avital … Sha’uri
John Diehl … Lieutenant Kawalsky
Leon Rippy … General W.O. West
Erick Avari … Kasuf
French Stewart … Lieutenant Ferretti
Jaye Davidson … Ra

Synopsis: Dr. Jackson is not very renowned in the scientific community. But he is convinced that the great pyramids weren’t build during the fourth dynasty 5,000 years ago. He believes that they are much older. A digging back in 1928 confirms his suspicions: buried in the sands of Egypt under a great cover stone with unknown symbols – not hieroglyphs – the Door to Heaven Stargate was found. The Stargate is an ancient device to open an intergalactic connection to the planet Abydos. Dr. Jackson and Colonel Jack O’Neill (and a group of soldiers) go there. O’Neill’s job is to evaluate the danger of the situation they are facing.

My Opinion: Unfortunately I haven’t seen this movie in the theatres (I went to Star Trek: Generations instead). The idea that alien cultures have been to Earth and have had an influence isn’t new, but it was interestingly presented. I also liked that the Abydosians really spoke abydosian (a variant of ancient egyptian) and not just english. The fights were very well choreographed, too, I didn’t have the feeling that the weapons of the humans were a match to the ones of Ra’s.
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Angel: Season 5

Angel Marathon, DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon

Deutsche Version | Season 4

Disc 1

Conviction

Synopsis: The gang tries to settle in with their new lives at Wolfram & Hart. Angels new assistant is Harmony who doesn’t know yet about the fate of her friend Cordelia. Gunn is being re-clothed. And then there is this client of W&H’s who threatens to kill all the people of California if he gets convicted for the crimes he has done.

My Opinion: Cordelia has left the show. 🙁 On the other hand, Spike isn’t as dead as it looked like at the end of Buffy – ok “not as dead” as a vampire can be who additionally is a ghost now. While I liked the season opener, it’s pity that they lift Angel’s restirctions more and more. The show loses its dark touch a bit. The idea to upload a lawyer’s knowledge directly into Gunn’s brain was very matrix-y but really cool.

Just Rewards

Synopsis: The gang uses the resources of W&H to find out what happend to Spike who isn’t happy with his life as a ghost at all. Despite their mutual despise, Angel and Spike work together to stop a necromancer who gets his dead bodies via W&H.

My Opinion: One can feel how they both really like each other. I liked Spike back in Buffy and I like how he badgers Angel – this season has to be good.

Unleashed

Synopsis: A young femal jogger is bitten by a werewolf and the full moon will be up for another two days. Spike on the other hand has the problem that his essence is more frequently and longer being pulled into the direction of hell. He asks Fred for her help, to return him into a body of his own.

My Opinion: Spike won’t be a ghost for the entire season, that much is certain now – in my opinion. I presume that he will return to his body within the next few episodes. The story about the werewolf was ok, but currently I am more interested in Spike. Unfortunately Angel has again abandoned a human – even if he had a werewolf bite – even though he knew that he would die. I still don’t like that.

Hell Bound

Synopsis: Suddenly Spike is not only a ghost, now he is a ghost no one can see or hear. And he starts to see dead people who are disfigured.

My Opinion: “I never told anyone this, but I liked your poems.” – “You like Barry Manilow.” Yes, Spike gives the show a new spice. This foru episodes have already made me forget the last season and even Harmony fits in. I am just a bit sad that Angel doesn’t believe in his mission anymore.
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"Star Trek" Mini Marathon

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Mini Marathon

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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The Pilot Marathon Part 3

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Pilot Marathon

Deutsche Version | Part 2 | Part 4

Thunder in Paradise

What’s the show about?
R.J. “Hurricance” Spencer has built a very special boat. It is very fast, specially armored and has a lot of special features. He and his partner Brubaker go on special missions for their country.

“Thunder in Paradise”
Spencer is in financial trouble because of the boat he’s built. And the hotel owner Megan Whitaker has the problem of finding a husband within two days. So they make a deal…

My Opinion
Of all the “super machine” series I’ve watched (and I watched them all 😉 [Knight Rider, Airwolf, Street Hawk, The Highwayman, Viper, …]) this one is the cheesiest. The internal measurements of the boat are way larger than the external measurements and the acting is not very good. Ok, what do we expect from a wrestler. 😉 It’s definitivly more a fun series than anything else.
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The Pilot Marathon Part 1

DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Pilot Marathon

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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