101 replies to this topic

[Davey Jones' Locker]

Some bloke named William Campbell has died. Originally an obscure B-Movie actor, he achieved cult status because of his roles in Star Trek:

http://en.wikipedia....ll_(film_actor)


"Campbell has also obtained cult status for his guest starring roles on Star Trek, appearing first as the mischievous super-being Trelane (in part a parody of Liberace, whom Campbell resembled), in an episode of the original series called "The Squire of Gothos." Campbell also appeared three times as the Klingon Captain Koloth. Campbell first played Koloth on the original Star Trek series in the classic episode "The Trouble With Tribbles." He reprised the Koloth role on the series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, some thirty years later. Campbell appeared at several Trek conventions in the 1980s and 1990s and many Star Trek fans consider Campbell's portrayal of the Trelane character as the first introduction of the "Q culture" to the series."


Looks like a race to the grave has started between Blake's 7, Who and Trek actors with the fierce competition in the last few weeks...

[Spade_Cooley]

Leonard Nimoy has made his last ever appearance at a Star Trek convention.

Whether this is related to his deteriorating health condition, a desire to no longer spend his free time with neckbeards or just a ruse to increase his payment to appear at TREKCON2012, who can say.

[Davey Jones' Locker]

Not quite Star Trek but it turns out Robert Kinoshita, the bloke who designed Robbie the Robot for Forbidden Planet and B9 for Lost in Space, is still around at age 97:

http://en.wikipedia....obert_Kinoshita

Turns out there is a B9 Robot Builders' Club out there too: http://www.b9robotbu.../kinoshita.html

[Davey Jones' Locker]

Davey Jones' Locker, on 29 November 2011 - 05:08 AM, said:

Not quite Star Trek but it turns out Robert Kinoshita, the bloke who designed Robbie the Robot for Forbidden Planet and B9 for Lost in Space, is still around at age 97:

http://en.wikipedia....obert_Kinoshita

Turns out there is a B9 Robot Builders' Club out there too: http://www.b9robotbu.../kinoshita.html

The voice of the Lost in Space robot has fallen silent:

http://en.wikipedia....iki/Dick_Tufeld

[VSBfromH]

Warren Stevens

As reported in main thread, the The veteran character actor has died aged 92. He appeared as Doc Ostrow in "The Forbidden Planet" and as "Rojan", leader of the Kelvans, an advanced race from the Andromeda galaxy, in the "Star Trek" episode "By Any Other Name".

[Grande Pablo]

James Doohan's ashes released into space. Get you.

http://www.contactmu...n-space_1332031

[Davey Jones' Locker]

Grande Pablo, on 23 May 2012 - 10:23 PM, said:

James Doohan's ashes released into space. Get you.

http://www.contactmu...n-space_1332031

"He's dead, Jim."


By the way, this is off-topic but there is a minor scandal brewing in the Star Trek camp because of the casting in the new film (currently in post-production). The film marks the return of Kirk's arch-nemesis, Khan Singh, who is meant to be an Indian/Asiatic genetically engineered superhuman. However, they have cast the very, very white English actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the role, so they are facing accusations of racism (so far confined to the web)...

Examples: http://zoedangerawes...casting-as-khan

http://www.thestuden...d.php?t=1987270

LOL - so Hollywood is less progressive now then it was in the 1960s. I wonder if they will just leave him white or try to tint his skin somehow with CGI? The latter has strong echoes of the old blackface minstrel shows, so they are damned either way. It will be interesting to see the reaction when this reaches the mainstream media.

[Davey Jones' Locker]

Some on-set photos of the lily-white new Khan clobbering Spock:

[angryGreatness]

Davey Jones' Locker, on 24 May 2012 - 05:44 AM, said:

Grande Pablo, on 23 May 2012 - 10:23 PM, said:

James Doohan's ashes released into space. Get you.

http://www.contactmu...n-space_1332031

"He's dead, Jim."


By the way, this is off-topic but there is a minor scandal brewing in the Star Trek camp because of the casting in the new film (currently in post-production). The film marks the return of Kirk's arch-nemesis, Khan Singh, who is meant to be an Indian/Asiatic genetically engineered superhuman. However, they have cast the very, very white English actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the role, so they are facing accusations of racism (so far confined to the web)...

Examples: http://zoedangerawes...casting-as-khan

http://www.thestuden...d.php?t=1987270

LOL - so Hollywood is less progressive now then it was in the 1960s. I wonder if they will just leave him white or try to tint his skin somehow with CGI? The latter has strong echoes of the old blackface minstrel shows, so they are damned either way. It will be interesting to see the reaction when this reaches the mainstream media.

I don't think Ricardo Montalban was Asian or Indian either, so you can't argue a lack of progress here

[Davey Jones' Locker]

angryGreatness, on 24 May 2012 - 07:17 AM, said:

Davey Jones' Locker, on 24 May 2012 - 05:44 AM, said:

Grande Pablo, on 23 May 2012 - 10:23 PM, said:

James Doohan's ashes released into space. Get you.

http://www.contactmu...n-space_1332031

"He's dead, Jim."


By the way, this is off-topic but there is a minor scandal brewing in the Star Trek camp because of the casting in the new film (currently in post-production). The film marks the return of Kirk's arch-nemesis, Khan Singh, who is meant to be an Indian/Asiatic genetically engineered superhuman. However, they have cast the very, very white English actor Benedict Cumberbatch in the role, so they are facing accusations of racism (so far confined to the web)...

Examples: http://zoedangerawes...casting-as-khan

http://www.thestuden...d.php?t=1987270

LOL - so Hollywood is less progressive now then it was in the 1960s. I wonder if they will just leave him white or try to tint his skin somehow with CGI? The latter has strong echoes of the old blackface minstrel shows, so they are damned either way. It will be interesting to see the reaction when this reaches the mainstream media.

I don't think Ricardo Montalban was Asian or Indian either, so you can't argue a lack of progress here

Just looked - he was indeed a Mexican. So, yes, Hollywood was just as sloppy then as now. Interesting how the Trekkies trumpet the fact the show had the first interracial kiss and the Enterprise featured an international crew but then they did things like that.

If they really wanted to keep that vibe of international harmony today, they should add an Afghan or Iraqi character to the ship's crew. That would have the same impact on the mainly American audience that the Russian, Chekov, did back in the 1960s.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see the reaction that white Brit Khan receives from the media when the film debuts early next year.

[themaninblack]

Mr Cumberbatch should have blacked-up like his mother did when she played one of the Khazi's wives in "Carry On Up the Khyber"...

[Davey Jones' Locker]

themaninblack, on 24 May 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

Mr Cumberbatch should have blacked-up like his mother did when she played one of the Khazi's wives in "Carry On Up the Khyber"...

He certainly isn't going to curry any favour with the Indians by doing this.

[CarolAnn]

Quote

Just looked - he was indeed a Mexican. So, yes, Hollywood was just as sloppy then as now. Interesting how the Trekkies trumpet the fact the show had the first interracial kiss and the Enterprise featured an international crew but then they did things like that.

At least Montalban was Mexican and as such a combination of Aztec and Spanish, making for an exotic appearance....and he had an amazing voice. Even in his 60s in The Wrath of Khan that was his actual chest.

I really loved that man.

[Davey Jones' Locker]

CarolAnn, on 25 May 2012 - 03:17 AM, said:

At least Montalban was Mexican and as such a combination of Aztec and Spanish, making for an exotic appearance....and he had an amazing voice. Even in his 60s in The Wrath of Khan that was his actual chest.

I really loved that man.

As an uber-straight bloke, I am no judge of male chests but I thought he gave a good performance too. He was clearly having a lot of fun in that role and walks all over Shatner (though that wouldn't be hard!) I haven't seen this Cumberbatch bloke act but I understand he is popular on your shores at the moment due to his role in the latest Sherlock Holmes revival.

The thing is that, when I watched Star Trek II as a kid, I was actually on Khan's side. I always thought Kirk was an arrogant egomaniac throughout the film series and he clearly did the wrong thing by Khan: he may well have been justified in marooning him on a planet where he couldn't cause too much mischief but to not even bother to go back and check up on him once in fifteen years was rough. He clearly didn't even bother to tell his superiors what he had done, either. What a toss-pot.

Anyway, the point is that they will have to work hard in this new film to make Khan the same blend of villain and sympathy figure. Given that the writers behind this project did an abysmal job (IMHO) with the last Trek film and were also responsible for the Transformers revival*, I am not holding my breath.

* Note I haven't seen the Transformer films but my office colleagues tell me they are virtually unwatchable.

[Davey Jones' Locker]

After all of that, the "white Khan" thing might just turn out to be an internet myth:

"This time, Pegg isn’t the only Brit in the world of Starfleet. Benedict Cumberbatch has been cast as a villain. Pegg is full of praise for Cumberbatch’s baddy, whom he describes as “not just another disgruntled alien. It’s a really interesting… sort of… thing,” he squirms.

“Obviously I can’t talk about it.” Given internet rumours that Cumberbatch has been cast as Kirk and Spock nemesis Khan, will this be a very different “wrath of Khan” from the 1982 film of the same name? “It’s not Khan,” replies Pegg, annoyed. “That’s a myth. Everyone’s saying it is, but it’s not.”"


http://www.telegraph...a-big-fish.html

[Davey Jones' Locker]

LOL - I think Star Trek itself just died. The synopsis for the new film has just been released by the Paramount marketing team. Leaving aside the awkward grammar and ridiculous levels of hyperbole in the synopsis, the film itself sounds dire:

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness.

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

The film's script is by Roberto Orci (of Transformers infamy) and Damien Lindelof (who wrote Prometheus), which doesn't augur well either. I think the best thing about that synopsis is that Paramount have the honesty to call it "an explosive action thriller" because it sure isn't science fiction.

I wonder if this will be a Prometheus/John Carter-style flop that will put the franchise on hold for a while or if the marketing machine will rescue it. Poor old Benedict Cumberbatch's Hollywood career might end before it takes off if this thing turns out to be as bad as it sounds.....

[Bibliogryphon]

Davey Jones' Locker, on 28 November 2012 - 04:44 AM, said:

I wonder if this will be a Prometheus/John Carter-style flop that will put the franchise on hold for a while or if the marketing machine will rescue it. Poor old Benedict Cumberbatch's Hollywood career might end before it takes off if this thing turns out to be as bad as it sounds.....

I haven't seen a Star Trek movie since Generations but I think I will be dragged to this one because of the presence of said Cumberbatch. I have heard different things from Prometheus one person said it was brilliant and another less than brilliant (abbr). The scriptwriter should not be held responsible for Transformers as the script was quite witty but the action sequences tedious beyond belief.

I watched John Carter on a plane and thought it was quite good. I may not have been so magnanamous if I had paid £30 for the whole family to go and see it in glorious 3D.

[Davey Jones' Locker]

Yes, I think Cumberbatch will give it a lot more gravitas and dignity than it deserves. Based on that synopsis though, the film sounds like utter horse sh*t.


I read something interesting about the last Trek film's box office takings recently: most of these big Hollywood blockbusters make around 50% of their box office earnings domestically and the other 50% from the international market. Trek is the one big exception to this: I can't remember the exact figures but it was really disproportionately in favour of the USA. Internationally, it only performed strongly in the UK, and moderately well in Germany and Australia. In other countries, it is actually a fairly unknown franchise and there isn't that much brand recognition of it.

[Whitehouse]

Unexpected death; USS Enterprise.

You know it's over when even Captain Kirk comes around to say farewell.