First, some comments from previous columns . . .
Television Series Cross-Overs
Beginning with Omer Belsky's comments in the 3/20/98 column
Joe Griffin: [Concerning "Dago Red" and Father Mulcahy,] "Dago Red" was Fr. Mulcahy's nickname in the novel, hence the character Rene played was Fr. Mulcahy, although he may not be referred to as such in the film (I think he is, though).
Phil: Thanks to Mike Cheyne for sending this information along as well.
Patrick Sweeney:
I just saw James Cromwell on MASH for those who are interested. He was drinking bad alcohol too!Gordon Davie
: On the subject of crossovers, Star Trek is set in the same universe as '2001: A Space Odyssey'! Take a look at the Encyclopedia - on page 500 there's a picture of the cover of 'Technology Future' magazine with a portrait of Henry Starling (from "Future's End"). The cover also has details of other articles to be found inside the magazine: one of these is "Heuristic algorithms in Urbana".The novel of "2001" states that Hal 9000 is a Heuristically-programmed Algorithmic computer (hence his name) and he was assembled at the HAL plant in Urbana, Illinois!
(Actually, Arthur C. Clarke has mentioned 'Star Trek' in several of his novels; this is presumably the Star Trek creators returning the compliment.)
Bullies on the Playground and the End of the Nitpicker's Guides
Beginning with Phil Farrand's comments at the end of the 5/15/98 column
Mike (Criticize this message and I'll sue ya!) Gurwitz: I would just to remind all the folks who are bashing lawyers in the "Bullies on the playground" thread that lawyers exist to protect your rights, and in a court of law, the meekest is equal to the most powerful. Of course, there are greedy lawyers, and of course, the richer you are, the more lawyers you can hire, and therefore the greater your chance of success (Exhibit A, O.J.). Still, lawyers are often in the front lines in the war against injustice. People should also remember that it is not lawyers who bring lawsuits, but THOSE WHO HIRE THEM. Save your wrath for Paramount, or any other person/corporation which brings the lawsuit. Enough of this kneejerk lawyer bashing. Remember, the phrase "First let's kill all the lawyers" was uttered by two Shakespearean villains who planned on overthrowing the government and installing a dictatorship.
Phil: True . . . but I often wonder if some of the suing that goes on isn’t merely an attempt by lawyers to keep themselves in "billable hours." I think the main problem that people have with lawyers is that they expect those in the legal profession to be on the side of truth and justice when, in fact, any lawyer who is really doing his or her job has but one agenda: Win the case. Right and wrong have little to do with our court system. From what I’ve observered, those who prevail in our court system are those who make the most convincing argument. It’s a contest of words not a pursuit of truth and I think at a fundamental level, those outside the judicial system find that disturbing. Now . . . I am happy to say that I know several honorable, justice-oriented, truth-seeking lawyers who are happy to apply their skills to protect the innocent but—honestly--that’s not really the point of the tort system, is it? I do agree that those directly reponsible for Paramount’s actions are the executives at Paramount and Viacom. However, I must also admit that I fid it difficult to hold harmless those who pull the trigger! (And I say this with the benefits of at least a tiny bit of "frontline reporting": Then I spoke with Sam Ramer, the author of "The Joy of Trek," he had a few choice words about the lawyer he faced during his recent run-in with Paramount! ;-)
Harvey Kitzman:
I think someone might have mentioned this, but have you ever thought of going "official" with Pocket Books? If not them, what about Bantam, who published the original novels and are still reprinting them? As I said before, I am saddened by Dell's actions - I was looking forward to a new DS9 guide. Just a thought for you.Phil: The thought has crossed my mind! No word yet, however.
The Death Of Jadzia
Beginning with Matt Greer's comments in the 6/12/98 column
Harvey Kitzman:
I just wanted to let everyone know that there is an interview with her in the latest Starlog, #254. While I was sad to see her go, she does have some valid points.Corey Hines:
So who does Worf get the right of Vengence against, The Pah-Wraith or Gul Dukat?Phil: My guess would be Dukat. Klingons are exactly subtle. I have a hard time believing that Dukat’s "I was possessed!" protestations would make much difference to an enraged Worf.
The Music For The Movie Trailers of Seven Year In Tibet and Mulan
Beginning with Paul Steele's comments in the 7/10/98 Column
Vince Hamilton
: Ok, this is another question relating to commercial background music. What's the name of the song that plays during both the TV trailers for "Mafia" and the Chips Ahoy commercials. It's a real jazzy tune that I hear a lot. This is a pretty common piece of music, so I'm sure everyone but me knows its title (I've been racking my brain but it just won't cometo me). BTW just FYI, in the ATC column section labeled "The Music for The Movie Trailers of Seven Years In Tibet and Mulan" you say it began with my comments (Vince Hamilton's) in the 7-10 column, however, it was actually Paul Steele who asked this question (you were close, my question was just above it).Phil: Oops.
Sheet Music for The Inner Light Theme
Beginning with Aaron Nadler’s comments in the 7/17/98 Column
Kevin Weiler:
The only sheet music I know of for the Inner Light is written for piano. Its by Jay Chattaway, and is available from Hal Leonard Publishing. Its serial code is HL00294018.That Big Red Barn in Gettysburg
Beginning with Brian Henley’s comments in the 7/17/98 Column
Brian Henley: No Barn info? Ah, well. 24th century arms dealers and 19th century real estate brokers. Ya can never find 'em when ya need 'em. :)
I still don't know where this barn is, except that I found myself in the Barnes & Noble (no pun intended) store last week, and found a picture tome called The Barn Book Thumbing through it I saw a picture of a barn that was of the style I described. It looked almost exactly the same. I found out that the style is called a "banked barn" and it's of German archatectural style. The barn pictured was in the Midwest somewhere, and I doubt it was the same one featured in the movie Gettysburg. But I could be wrong. do know that most of the flick was shot on and around the National Military Park, So I was kind of assuming that the barn would be somewhere in the PA-MD-VA WVA area. after all, would they really fly all those actors out to the midwest just for a few location shots? (Okay, maybe they would- but did they?)
So, looks like I'm the only one thus far with any info on my barn. Lemme know if you hear anything!
The Aesthetics of the Enterprise E
Beginning with Josh K’s comments in the 7/31/98 Column
Scott Newton: With regard to Josh K's question about the design of the Enterprises D and E:
I thought the Ent-D looked much better on the movie screen than on the TV screen. The bright TV screen brought out the flattened-pancake look of the saucer. On the larger/darker movie screen, it looked more 3-dimensional. Still, I think the Ent-E looks sleeker, and, thankfully, does not come equipped with children.
One nit: Where in this Dominion war was the Ent-E? I know the creators can't afford to pay all those guest stars, but doesn't the flagship deserve at least to be mentioned?
IRC Servers, Channels and Trek
Beginning with Philip McGachey’s comments in the 7/31/98 Column
Kevin Weiler:
Regarding Philip McGachey's question about Trek IRC servers and Channels: The only one I know of is owned by Paramount, and is on port 6667. The server is "chat.paramount.com", and the two main rooms are #starfleetacademychat and #starfleetlounge (Note: the # has to be in front of the room name). For info on what goes on in the chat, you can go to http://www.startrek.com, they also have info on the daily events. Also, special events are set up periodically with celebs from the shows and they come and chat, its loads of fun. I recommend using the chat program MS Chat or mIRC. Both are free to download. MS Chat is available from http://www.microsoft.com.Andrew Corcoran: Anyway, the main reason I'm here is that someone asked about IRC rooms involving trek. It reminded me a while ago that I thought It'd be a great idea to set up a #nitpicking room on IRC, where nitpickers can meet at a specific time (preferably at the weekends) and chat! Either you or a nitpicker could run it. What do you think?
The one I set up on ICQ didn't really work because no-one knew about it. IRC is used by most Internet users and there would be loads that would love a live chat with other nitpickers - or maybe even you! :-)
Phil: My problem is time! If the chat room was affiliated with me in any way, I would feel the need to monitor what went on inside and that would take too much time!
Barbie Does The X-Files
Beginning with the comments of someone identified only as Tushiee in the 7/31/98 Column
Patrick Sweeney:
X-Files Barbie and Ken: The whole recall thing was insignificant according to the manufacturer, and the major toy news sources (I am a toy collector), and these dolls are not worth $65, as they can still be purchased at most toy and dept stores for normal retail price. I saw about 5 sets this past weekend.On to the questions . . .
Scott Neugroschl: In "Who Mourns for Morn", at the end, the fake latinum is referred to as "worthless gold". When did Latinum supplant gold? And more to the point, when did gold become worthless? In "The Last Outpost", the Ferengi are amazed that the Enterprise away team uses valuable gold for the comm badges. (Incidentally, Armin Shimerman (sp?) played the Ferengi Away team leader in that episode.)
Phil: Noticed that didja? ;-) I’m sure the creators have some long-winded explanation for this discrepancy but Iw ould suspect that the simplest answer is that the creators didn’t know about gold-pressed latinum until a bit later in the cycle of the series!
Matt Nelson
: For all the fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (my current favorite TV show), there's a tip of the hat to that series in Deep Space Nine. Here's the info from the Info Club FAQ:Q: My Trekker friends tell me that there's some reference to the series on the set of "Star Trek: Deep Space 9." What is it? A: The directory on the Promenade includes a listing for "Tom Servo's Used Robots."
Phil: I suspect that will not be possible! No doubt, it’s printed in a font that’s too small to be read on television.
Hans Thielman
: Do you intend to add "The Truman Show" or "Saving Private Ryan" to your movie file?Regarding "Private Ryan," I have heard comments to the effect that Captain Miller (as played by Tom Hanks) should not have been wearing a helmet with captain's bars on it, as this would have made the good captain an open target.
Phil: I do not plan to add brash reflection files for any other summer movies (well, maybe for the Avengers). My schedule has just been wacky this summer. However, at some point, I may start updating the files again so if you’d like to send the nits!
Brian Kelly: I recently got a book titled All the Other Things I Really Needed to Know I Learned From Watching "Star Trek: The Next Generation". In one section, author Dave Marinaccio says that nothing is perfect, not even "Star Trek". He says "There are enough examples like this to write a book. In fact, someone did." Gee, I wonder...
Phil: Eeeyup! ;-)
Leeann C Walker
: Say, Phil, I was just reading over this XF part of the newsletter... and I just read over what you had to say about the kiss/bee sting... you're no 'shipper, are ya? Personally, I think that scene was GREAT. You may have heard that during the filming, they actually DID kiss. She drove him against the wall, I heard. So would you stop watching if something like that DID happen in the actual show? Granted, I don't want "The X Files" to become "The XXX Files," but I'm 100% for the UST that's constantly in the show.... and I would like them to reslove some of that sexual tension once in a while!!!Phil: Personally, I think the creators are handling the relationship between Mulder and Scully exactly right. How many shows do you know of that keep their energy after the male and female lead get together?
John Latchem: (Spoilers involved, which involve the ending of the movie): [In "Saving Private Ryan,] Do you or any other nitpicker know what Tom Hanks' last words were. . .what he said to Matt Damon when he died? I want the exact quote. . .I think there were two parts to it. . .He started to say something, paused, then said it again.
Phil: Haven’t seen the movie so I couldn’t say! Anybody?
Christopher Querry
: What's the deal with going to warp in a solar system? Kirk mentioned the risk of it in the first motion picture, and Dax recently referred to the problem on DS9. However, earths' first warp flight was done in the solar system as seen in First Contact. And, Kirk went to warp even before he left earths' atmosphere in ST IV.Phil: The deal is that when the writers need the tension of the rule that states, "no warp in a planetary system," there is "no warp in a planetary system." And . . . when they would rather dispense with that rule, they dispense with it.
Corey Hines:
What was the reason Gates McFatten left the second season of TNG anyway. Did she want to do movie projects but saw that Crosby wasn't going anywhere so she quickly came back?Phil: From what I’ve heard there’s the official and the unofficial version. If I recall, the official version was that the writers kept trying to hint at the fact that Wesley was Picard’s illegitimate son and Roddenberry got tired of heading off that plot twist. Then, there’s the unofficial whispers. Some say that Gates was a bit of a problem during that first year. She had never acted in a television series before. (By trade, she’s a dancer and choreographer.) So, the story is that she would do things like have her hair cut in the middle of week--halfway through the taping of an episode! This is a bad thing in television. ;-) Anyway, after the "Year of Pulaksi," Gates came back but her contract required her to wear a wig (which she did until the fifth or sixth season if I recall correctly.)
Have a great weekend, everybody!
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Copyright 1998 by Phil Farrand. All rights reserved.