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Attention geek girls, whether or not you already own the slave Leia costume, you can now attract your nerdy catch by smelling like the sexy princess as well. Better pre-order now, Star Wars shop is officially starting to sell the Slave Leia perfume on August 30.
Link Via Foolish Gadgets
Deviant Art user CyberDrone has a great collection of printable Doctor Who characters and icons for your geektastic pleasure. She even has each of the eleven doctors, so you get to play with your favorite.
Tom Baker, Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant can finally try to out Doctor each other at my beck and call. Mwahaha.
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Ever wonder what Doctor Octagon’s room looks like or what Wonder Woman is up to behind closed doors? Enter the excellent photography of artist Ian Pool. WebUrbanist has a great collection of his images featuring geek icons doing what they do when no one else is watching.
Two weeks ago, while finishing up the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise, I wrote about my affections for Captain Jonathan Archer. I’ve now completed the entire run, and thoroughly enjoyed it — especially the fourth and final season. So I’d like to address the criticisms leveled against the show. Spoilers after the jump.
Tom Baker, who played the Fourth Doctor on Doctor Who, is sometimes referred to as the American Doctor. This is because it was during his tenure that the series was widely distributed in the United States. So Baker came to define the original Doctor, though he followed others. As one fan recently told me, those that came after Baker seemed weird.
Who is your favorite Doctor?
Image: BBC
This is for all you new people: I only have one rule. Everyone fights. No one quits. You don’t do your job, I’ll shoot you myself. You get me?
Cartoonists Mike Cornnell and Dana Wulfekotte have a great idea. Hollywood, please make this movie.
Link via Culture Kills
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Artist Faith Pearson recreated scenes from Star Trek, Godzilla, and King Kong using old printer ink cartridges. You can view four more images at the link.
Tony Chavira of Master Planning examined the livability of five futuristic cities depicted in science fiction franchises: The Jetsons, Futurama, Blade Runner, and Star Wars (Coruscant and Tatooine). Here’s what he has to say about the disadvantages of Luke Skywalker’s home planet:
Tatooine has very few natural resources aside from sand and water. The indigenous “sand people” are violent and roam around in packs with weapons with few in authority to stop them, which makes it dangerous to be outside at night (or during the day in some cases). On top of that, there is really no centralized authority on the planet aside from an area that is deliberately sectioned off for an international mafia family. Similar to the way “thug life” is structured, the Hutts give back to the community it exploits, and runs the planet like a fiefdom. Because of this, and as there is little possibility for economic growth deriving from the planet’s natural resources, it is a very difficult and harsh environment to live day-to-day.
deviantART user Tara Reich made this outfit that looks like a TARDIS. The Fourth Doctor scarf from Limebarb adds to the groovy 70s look. Reich does some amazing work and her cosplay gallery is worth a click.
Link via Topless Robot | Gallery
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These Whovians are getting quite data-focused. I’ve previously posted about a spreadsheet detailing every villain or foe in Doctor Who. Now The Guardian created a similar workbook in Google Docs showing each time that the Doctor has traveled in time. You can download it so that you can run your own custom calculations.
Comments Off Every year, Atom Films hosts an online competition for Star Wars fan films. The film above, entitled “The Unconscious Sith” is a well-directed depiction of a young boy entering a comic book and moving from panel to panel, gradually becoming a Sith. It won the George Lucas Selects Award.
I’m not sure if that’ll make you more or less likely to watch it.
2010 Finalists via Geekosystem
One emerging Internet meme is to take Justin Bieber songs and slow the tempo by 800%. soundcloud user charliejane2 did something similar with eleven theme songs, including those to Doctor Who, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica.
Image: Paramount
Today is the birthday for the late Gene Roddenberry, Jonathan Frakes, and Diana Muldaur.
Roddenberry would have been 89, Frakes in 58, and Muldaur is 72.
So think of it as the Trekkie equivalent of All Saints’ Day.
Okay, that’s probably not a good analogy. But it’s enough of one to make me break out the Romulan ale.
via GeekDad | Images: Paramount
Star Wars Uncut is a crowd-sourced project which divided Episode IV into fifteen second segments and then invited people to recreate and film them. All segments have been completed and compiled, and developer Casey Pugh is working on the legal issues that are delaying its release. Anyway, many clips are available at the link, which is the project page.
Link (self-starting sound) via blastr | Screenshot: Star Wars Uncut
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One of the highlights of Star Wars Celebration V was that R2D2 tied the knot. You can watch the video of the grand spectacle here (warning: self-starting). He married Bonnie Burton, the editor of StarWars.com.
Really, she’s deluding herself if she thinks that he’s going to be faithful.
via io9 | Photo: StarWars.com
“How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him.” — Collected Sayings of Muad’Dib, Dune.
“The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife.” — Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #48, Star Trek.
“The one beside you is yourself.” — Dalek proverb, Doctor Who.
“Understanding is a three-edged sword.” — Vorlon saying, Babylon 5.
What are your favorite proverbs from science fiction?
Image: Paramount
YouTube user qcotms wrote lyrics for the orchestral music that opens Star Trek: The Next Generation. In this video, he performs them. At his YouTube channel, you can also hear his lyrics for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
In our most recent Questions of the Day, we discussed our favorite episodes of classic Star Trek and The Next Generation. To conclude the topic, let’s talk about Deep Space Nine.
I thought that this series was a bit boring until the Dominion War got rolling in Season 4. Deep Space Nine broke with the episodic tradition to present a long, serialized story arc — a risky venture, as the broadcasting experience of Babylon 5 illustrates.
Nonetheless, my favorite episode is Season 1′s “Duet“, not a story from the Dominion War narrative. A Cardassian war criminal passes through the station and is promptly locked up by Major Kira. Gul Darhe’el does not deny his actions, but joyfully boasts of slaughtering Bajorans during his world’s occupation of Bajor. Yet as the investigation continues, his story begins to unravel. This is not Gul Darhe’el, but a mere military filing clerk who, overcome with guilt about his participation in war crimes, is pretending to to be Darhe’el. Aamin Marritza’s hope is that by going on trial on Bajor, he will force the Cardassian people to come to terms with the atrocities they committed.
Kira wants to hate this Cardassian — all Cardassians, actually — but she can’t. She can’t help but sympathize with Marritza and his misguided attempt to heal the wounds of war.
This episode was a glorious piece of writing. Harris Yulin, a veteran actor of vast experience, executed the role of Marritza masterfully. I can watch it again and again.
What’s your favorite episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?
Image: Paramount
It’s been done before, but not this well. This one is finely executed, down to the warped film and John Williams theme played on a piano. It was made by a French team in 2007 and modified this past June.
via technabob
Previously: The Empire Strikes Back (1950)
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In our last Question of the Day, I asked readers to identify their favorite episode of classic Star Trek. Commenter Kevin R proposed that we talk about some of the other series, including The Next Generation, and I think that’s a fine idea.
Mine is “The Inner Light.” In it, an alien probe causes Jean-Luc Picard to experience a full life — including marriage, friends, children, and grandchildren — in a single moment. Then it was gone, like the civilization that built the probe. It is a sad and wistful tale, brilliantly crafted, and greatly deepened Picard’s character.
What’s your favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation?
Image: Paramount
What is the meaning of a double rainbow, asked Yosemitebear. The greatest minds are still pondering this mystical conundrum. In the meantime, YouTube user Disasteradio remixed the double rainbow video with scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey in which Bowman approaches the monolith.
via reddit
Comments Off In a brief 2009 interview, Mark Hamil denied ever shooting the long-lost lightsaber scene from Return of the Jedi.
It’s a conspiracy!
In the comments, propose elements of and motivations for this plot.
via blastr
OMG! Shatner was fooling around at a con and decided to photobomb some Trek cosplayers posting for a picture!
Well, possibly. But look at the name in the bottom left corner. It’s Rachel McCauley, a professional photograher and photoshop artist.
Be assured that if The Shatner wished to photobomb you, you would be photobombed. Nothing could stop him. But I suspect that this isn’t real.
Since I was about seven years old, I loved Star Trek and had managed to watch every episode in syndication by the time that I was ten. Although there was competition, to me, the most gripping episode was and remains “The Doomsday Machine.” The dramatic tension is riveting, especially when Kirk and Scotty managed to bring the Constellation back into combat and then drive it down the planet killer’s throat. And William Windom’s depiction of the mad Commodore Matthew Decker was excellent in its exquisite detail. Quite appropriately it was nominated for a Hugo Award and was Jimmy Doohan’s favorite. You can watch the whole episode here.
Which is your favorite episode from the original Star Trek?
Image: Paramount
“I say that we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.” You know, over the years, I’ve found that there are very few problems for which this is not an appropriate solution.
via reddit
A long-lost scene from Return of Jedi was displayed at Star Wars Celebration V. It shows Luke tinkering with a lightsaber. Someone secretly recorded it and uploaded it to YouTube. Watch it while it’s still available.
via Ace of Spades HQ
At Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, George Lucas presented The Daily Show host Jon Stewart with an action figure modeled after him. It comes with an interchangeable head — one with a goatee and one without. You can view more pictures at the link.
Link via blastr | Photo: Techland
A computer animation studio called Moonlight House created this modern remix of the title song from the musical Singin’ in the Rain. This time, Stormtroopers and R2D2 take the place of Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor.
via Fanboy
In Back to the Future II, Marty McFly purchases a sports almanac providing 50 years of sports statistics in the hope of gambling his way to wealth. He doesn’t use it, but in an alternate timeline, Biff Tannen does. An infographic (excerpt above) from NFL Injury argues that the scheme wouldn’t be profitable for several reasons.
Link via Geek Tyrant
Cracked has an infographic (selection above) illustrating how long-running TV shows rise, plateau, decline, and die a slow death over time. Scott Edelman at blastr thinks that it’s particularly applicable to science fiction. I agree, and Stargate SG-1 springs immediately to mind. That show lingered on too long. But episode 200, which was explicitly fan service, made it all worthwhile.
Which science fiction shows do you think suffered particularly prolonged deaths?
