Star Trek: Captain! enterprise finale spoilers
From the Chicago Tribune (via the Sun Sentinel):
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features...ment-headlines
(Please follow the link for the complete article, which is too long to post in its entirety here.)
From the Chicago Tribune
TELEVISION: THE WATCHER
Captain! We're losing power!
Saying goodbye (for now) to 'Star Trek'
By Maureen Ryan
Tribune staff reporter
Posted May 12, 2005, 12:12 AM EDT
**snippity doo-dah**
To the "Trek"-ian mandate -- to "boldly go" into new realms of human endeavor while holding on to compassion, ideals and a commitment to freedom -- we say, live long and prosper. But of course, we couldn't let the TV franchise go without looking over the last 18 years of televised "Trek" and revisiting some high and low points.
Series with the skimpiest female costumes: "Star Trek: The Original Series" ("TOS"), which foisted thin strips of silk and sequins on most female guest stars and had the nerve to call those scraps "costumes." An honorable (or, more accurately, dishonorable) mention should be given to the producers of "Enterprise," who had Jolene Blalockcq (the Vulcan T'Pol) strip down to her skivvies -- or less -- every time the show's ratings slipped another few notches.
Biggest missed opportunity: The mixture of rebel Maquis crew members and Starfleet personnel on "Star Trek: Voyager." They got along far too well most of the time, which seemed weird, considering the Maquis had been at war with the Federation before the two groups were accidentally thrown together aboard Voyager.
Most ambitious series: "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" ("DS9") which, by the last couple years of its run, had created an incredibly rich brew of stories involving war, the Founders, the Jem'Hadar, the Vorta and, the Cardassians -- not to mention the tons of intrigue among the Federation and Bajoran types on the Deep Space Nine station. Plus, Worf got married!
Unluckiest in love: "DS9's" likably brainy doctor, Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), was the anti-Kirk; he was very rarely lucky in love or even lust with women of any species (though Siddig, who's in the big-budget film "Kingdom of Heaven," did have a child with "DS9" co-star Nana Visitor in real life).
Most enjoyable comic-relief character: Dwight Schultz as the excitable Reginald Barclay, a lovable nerd who popped up in several "Trek" series.
Romance we most wanted to see: Capt. Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and smoldering first officer Chakotay (Robert Beltran) kept flirting with a relationship, but it never panned out. Dang!
Coolest race: The Klingons. They just rule! And fans of the Klingon way of life - and of the language invented for the "Trek" movies by linguist Marc Okrand - are just as cool: They've translated "Much Ado About Nothing" ("The Confusion Is Great Because of Nothing"), created Klingon greeting cards ("When do we attack?") and they've put together a Klingon Google (www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/). MajQa'! (That's Klingon for "well done!")
Most romantic love affair: "DS9's" shape-shifting constable, Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and the prickly Bajoran, Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), who put aside their mutual mistrust of all life forms to create an incredibly sweet inter-species love story.
Worst villains: "Voyager's" Kazon could master space travel, but had a hard time locating … water?
Best villains: The Borg, of course! Followed closely by the Klingons, who ended up as allies of the Federation (well, most of the time).
Best doctor: Robert Picardo as the holographic doctor aboard "Voyager." He gave the virtual doc both a snippy edge and a human core -- not to mention a believable crush on Seven of Nine.
Funnest tribute: "DS9's" "Trials and Tribble-ations," which seamlessly wove together footage from the classic "TOS" episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles," with a new "DS9" plot. The result was a hoot, not to mention a technical knockout.
Most socially progressive aspects of "TOS": The international array of men and women -- and one Vulcan -- on the command deck of the very first Enterprise, and the interracial kiss -- daring for its time -- between Lt. Uhura and Capt. Kirk.
Least socially progressive aspect of "TOS": "Mr. Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That's the only planet in this galaxy that can make that claim." Kirk said that, not surprisingly. We wish those kinds of sentiments were rare on the original "Trek," but they weren't. Between the skimpy female costumes and "TOS'" adherence to the principle that what most alien women needed was some Kirk-style lovin', the future for women on "TOS" could seem pretty retrograde at times.
Best save: Jeri Ryan coming onboard "Voyager" as Seven of Nine, a Borg-human hybrid. Seven was a worthy foil for Capt. Janeway, and Ryan was an excellent actress and - OK, we'll admit it, though it may sound caddish - she looked amazing in that catsuit.
Most fun holodeck adventures: Data and Geordi from "TNG" engaging in Sherlock Holmes-style adventures (complete with a canny Dr. Moriarty) aboard "TNG's" holodeck.
Least fun holodeck adventures: Capt. Kathryn Janeway's wretched excursions with Leonardo Da Vinci in "Voyager's" holodeck. Painful.
Best utility player: The essential Jeffrey Combs, who memorably played Commander Shran (a ferocious, blue-antennaed Andorian) on "Enterprise," as well as Weyoun (an unctuous Vorta) and Brunt (a fear-inspiring Ferengi) on "DS9." He also squeezed in a guest spot on "Voyager."
Best surprise guest: Leonard Nimoy, who guested on a great "TNG" two-parter about the Romulans and Vulcans.
Worst premiere episode: "TNG" was terrific in later years, but it had some horrid episodes in its first year or two; one of the worst outings was the series opener, "Encounter at Farpoint." It's hard to decide what was worse: Empath Deanna Troi'scq painfully earnest voice-overs or her frightfully short skirts.
Scariest recurring character: Lxawana Troi, mother of Deanna Troi, played by Majel Barrett Roddenberry, "Trek" creator Gene's widow (she was also the voice of various "Trek" ship computers and Nurse Chapel on "TOS"). Sure, the demanding mom eventually grew on us -- a little -- but her imperious streak and emotional neediness could be wearisome.
Most impressive recurring character: Marc Aliamo as Gul Dukat on "DS9." Was Dukat a genocidal lunatic or a visionary leader - or just an adept survivor? Whatever made this complicated character tick, Aliamo made him enthralling to watch.
Most mystifying substitution: Gates McFadden was the capable Dr. Beverly Crusher on "TNG" (where we always enjoyed her chemistry with Jean-Luc Picard), but during Season 2, Crusher was gone and Diana Muldaur inexplicably pulled med duty. McFadden returned in Season 3, and we're still not sure what that was all about.
Most irritating whine: We have nothing against Rosalind Chao, who played Keiko, the wife of engineer Miles O'Brien, but why did the "DS9" writers make her character such a nag? We could have done without all those scenes of Keiko screeching "But Miiiiiiiiiles!"
"TNG" cast members we missed most: Michelle Forbes, who had a memorable run on "TNG" but left for other opportunities, including stints on "Homicide" and "24" (you can catch up with Ro's later adventures via the "DS9" series of novels), and Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar in the first year of "TNG"; her character was lamely killed off by a pile of alien goo. Crosby later made a couple of fun documentaries about the Trekkie world.
Coolest captain: Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Some may say James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was the man, but we like Shatner better on "Boston Legal." As for Picard, you have to love his reserved charisma and his taste in tea (Earl Grey. Hot.)
Least likable captain: Jonathan Archer of "Enterprise." We wanted to like him, and Scott Bakula tried hard, but we just never warmed up to him. Sorry.
Most thankless characters: Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) on "Enterprise." If this poor guy got more than two lines per episode (beyond boilerplate such as "They're coming at us fast, sir!"), we were not aware of it.
Most emotionally satisfying character development: B'Elanna Torres' attempts to get in touch with her half-Klingon roots were among "Voyager's" -- and the entire "Trek" universe's -- most thoughtful moments.
Best post-"Trek" bloggers: Wil Wheaton, whose WilWheaton.net is one of the most popular blogs on the net; and Ronald D. Moore, former "TNG" and "DS9" writer who's got a terrific site (blog.scifi.com/battlestar) chronicling the creation and ongoing production of Sci Fi's reimagined "Battlestar Galactica."
Best hair: Lt. Nyota Uhura from "TOS." She rocked that beehive.
Worst hair: T'Pol from "Enterprise. That bowl cut she sported at first was pretty awful.
Most hairstyle changes: Capt. Janeway on "Voyager."
Most painful-looking accessory: That thing in Uhura's ear.
Most annoying plot device: Mirror universe episodes in all "Trek" series, which are always an excuse for the cast to engage in the worst sort of overacting and blatant hamminess.
Best cast dynamic: On "TOS," Dr. Leonard McCoy disliked Spock's cool cerebral nature; Spock, for his part, was mystified by Capt. Kirk's red-blooded space-faring machismo. Even if there wasn't much dramatic tension in a particular episode, the zingy tension among these three always livened up the original "Trek."
Best club: Vic's, the holographic nightclub and casino on "DS9," where the star attraction, crooner James Darren as old-school Vegas entertainer Vic Fontane, became an integral part of the show.
Best use of Academy Award winners: Whoopi Goldberg as "TNG" barkeep Guinan and Louise Fletcher as holy warrior Kai Winn on "DS9" were two of our favorite recurring characters, and both were played by terrific actresses who'd won Oscars for their previous big-screen work.
Best costume design: The zippy primary colors of "TOS" (though, as any "Trek" fan knows, those wearing red shirts often did not fare well down on the alien planet).
Worst costume design: The outfits forced on teens Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) on "TNG" and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) on "DS9." These unfortunate young actors were forced to wear the dorkiest unitards and nerdiest sweaters in the entire universe. Why the costume designers inflicted their most sadistically ugly costumes on the youngest cast members is still a cosmic mystery.
Best financial advice: The Ferengi "Rules of Acquisition," which "DS9's" Quark (Armin Shimerman) quoted at every opportunity.
Most intriguing makeup choice: Blue eye shadow for Spock. It matched his shirt quite fetchingly.
Silliest historical reference: In the enjoyable but daft "Qpid," the "TNG" crew was transformed into Robin Hood and his merry men (though Worf protested, "I am not a merry man!")
|*|(*)|*|(*)|*|
Morjana
SG1-Spoilergate
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SG1-Spoilergate/
Richard Dean Anderson Fans
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/rdandersonfans/
Fans of Joe Flanigan
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/fansofjoeflanigan/
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features...ment-headlines
(Please follow the link for the complete article, which is too long to post in its entirety here.)
From the Chicago Tribune
TELEVISION: THE WATCHER
Captain! We're losing power!
Saying goodbye (for now) to 'Star Trek'
By Maureen Ryan
Tribune staff reporter
Posted May 12, 2005, 12:12 AM EDT
**snippity doo-dah**
To the "Trek"-ian mandate -- to "boldly go" into new realms of human endeavor while holding on to compassion, ideals and a commitment to freedom -- we say, live long and prosper. But of course, we couldn't let the TV franchise go without looking over the last 18 years of televised "Trek" and revisiting some high and low points.
Series with the skimpiest female costumes: "Star Trek: The Original Series" ("TOS"), which foisted thin strips of silk and sequins on most female guest stars and had the nerve to call those scraps "costumes." An honorable (or, more accurately, dishonorable) mention should be given to the producers of "Enterprise," who had Jolene Blalockcq (the Vulcan T'Pol) strip down to her skivvies -- or less -- every time the show's ratings slipped another few notches.
Biggest missed opportunity: The mixture of rebel Maquis crew members and Starfleet personnel on "Star Trek: Voyager." They got along far too well most of the time, which seemed weird, considering the Maquis had been at war with the Federation before the two groups were accidentally thrown together aboard Voyager.
Most ambitious series: "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" ("DS9") which, by the last couple years of its run, had created an incredibly rich brew of stories involving war, the Founders, the Jem'Hadar, the Vorta and, the Cardassians -- not to mention the tons of intrigue among the Federation and Bajoran types on the Deep Space Nine station. Plus, Worf got married!
Unluckiest in love: "DS9's" likably brainy doctor, Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), was the anti-Kirk; he was very rarely lucky in love or even lust with women of any species (though Siddig, who's in the big-budget film "Kingdom of Heaven," did have a child with "DS9" co-star Nana Visitor in real life).
Most enjoyable comic-relief character: Dwight Schultz as the excitable Reginald Barclay, a lovable nerd who popped up in several "Trek" series.
Romance we most wanted to see: Capt. Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) and smoldering first officer Chakotay (Robert Beltran) kept flirting with a relationship, but it never panned out. Dang!
Coolest race: The Klingons. They just rule! And fans of the Klingon way of life - and of the language invented for the "Trek" movies by linguist Marc Okrand - are just as cool: They've translated "Much Ado About Nothing" ("The Confusion Is Great Because of Nothing"), created Klingon greeting cards ("When do we attack?") and they've put together a Klingon Google (www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/). MajQa'! (That's Klingon for "well done!")
Most romantic love affair: "DS9's" shape-shifting constable, Odo (Rene Auberjonois) and the prickly Bajoran, Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), who put aside their mutual mistrust of all life forms to create an incredibly sweet inter-species love story.
Worst villains: "Voyager's" Kazon could master space travel, but had a hard time locating … water?
Best villains: The Borg, of course! Followed closely by the Klingons, who ended up as allies of the Federation (well, most of the time).
Best doctor: Robert Picardo as the holographic doctor aboard "Voyager." He gave the virtual doc both a snippy edge and a human core -- not to mention a believable crush on Seven of Nine.
Funnest tribute: "DS9's" "Trials and Tribble-ations," which seamlessly wove together footage from the classic "TOS" episode, "The Trouble With Tribbles," with a new "DS9" plot. The result was a hoot, not to mention a technical knockout.
Most socially progressive aspects of "TOS": The international array of men and women -- and one Vulcan -- on the command deck of the very first Enterprise, and the interracial kiss -- daring for its time -- between Lt. Uhura and Capt. Kirk.
Least socially progressive aspect of "TOS": "Mr. Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That's the only planet in this galaxy that can make that claim." Kirk said that, not surprisingly. We wish those kinds of sentiments were rare on the original "Trek," but they weren't. Between the skimpy female costumes and "TOS'" adherence to the principle that what most alien women needed was some Kirk-style lovin', the future for women on "TOS" could seem pretty retrograde at times.
Best save: Jeri Ryan coming onboard "Voyager" as Seven of Nine, a Borg-human hybrid. Seven was a worthy foil for Capt. Janeway, and Ryan was an excellent actress and - OK, we'll admit it, though it may sound caddish - she looked amazing in that catsuit.
Most fun holodeck adventures: Data and Geordi from "TNG" engaging in Sherlock Holmes-style adventures (complete with a canny Dr. Moriarty) aboard "TNG's" holodeck.
Least fun holodeck adventures: Capt. Kathryn Janeway's wretched excursions with Leonardo Da Vinci in "Voyager's" holodeck. Painful.
Best utility player: The essential Jeffrey Combs, who memorably played Commander Shran (a ferocious, blue-antennaed Andorian) on "Enterprise," as well as Weyoun (an unctuous Vorta) and Brunt (a fear-inspiring Ferengi) on "DS9." He also squeezed in a guest spot on "Voyager."
Best surprise guest: Leonard Nimoy, who guested on a great "TNG" two-parter about the Romulans and Vulcans.
Worst premiere episode: "TNG" was terrific in later years, but it had some horrid episodes in its first year or two; one of the worst outings was the series opener, "Encounter at Farpoint." It's hard to decide what was worse: Empath Deanna Troi'scq painfully earnest voice-overs or her frightfully short skirts.
Scariest recurring character: Lxawana Troi, mother of Deanna Troi, played by Majel Barrett Roddenberry, "Trek" creator Gene's widow (she was also the voice of various "Trek" ship computers and Nurse Chapel on "TOS"). Sure, the demanding mom eventually grew on us -- a little -- but her imperious streak and emotional neediness could be wearisome.
Most impressive recurring character: Marc Aliamo as Gul Dukat on "DS9." Was Dukat a genocidal lunatic or a visionary leader - or just an adept survivor? Whatever made this complicated character tick, Aliamo made him enthralling to watch.
Most mystifying substitution: Gates McFadden was the capable Dr. Beverly Crusher on "TNG" (where we always enjoyed her chemistry with Jean-Luc Picard), but during Season 2, Crusher was gone and Diana Muldaur inexplicably pulled med duty. McFadden returned in Season 3, and we're still not sure what that was all about.
Most irritating whine: We have nothing against Rosalind Chao, who played Keiko, the wife of engineer Miles O'Brien, but why did the "DS9" writers make her character such a nag? We could have done without all those scenes of Keiko screeching "But Miiiiiiiiiles!"
"TNG" cast members we missed most: Michelle Forbes, who had a memorable run on "TNG" but left for other opportunities, including stints on "Homicide" and "24" (you can catch up with Ro's later adventures via the "DS9" series of novels), and Denise Crosby, who played Tasha Yar in the first year of "TNG"; her character was lamely killed off by a pile of alien goo. Crosby later made a couple of fun documentaries about the Trekkie world.
Coolest captain: Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Some may say James T. Kirk (William Shatner) was the man, but we like Shatner better on "Boston Legal." As for Picard, you have to love his reserved charisma and his taste in tea (Earl Grey. Hot.)
Least likable captain: Jonathan Archer of "Enterprise." We wanted to like him, and Scott Bakula tried hard, but we just never warmed up to him. Sorry.
Most thankless characters: Travis Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) on "Enterprise." If this poor guy got more than two lines per episode (beyond boilerplate such as "They're coming at us fast, sir!"), we were not aware of it.
Most emotionally satisfying character development: B'Elanna Torres' attempts to get in touch with her half-Klingon roots were among "Voyager's" -- and the entire "Trek" universe's -- most thoughtful moments.
Best post-"Trek" bloggers: Wil Wheaton, whose WilWheaton.net is one of the most popular blogs on the net; and Ronald D. Moore, former "TNG" and "DS9" writer who's got a terrific site (blog.scifi.com/battlestar) chronicling the creation and ongoing production of Sci Fi's reimagined "Battlestar Galactica."
Best hair: Lt. Nyota Uhura from "TOS." She rocked that beehive.
Worst hair: T'Pol from "Enterprise. That bowl cut she sported at first was pretty awful.
Most hairstyle changes: Capt. Janeway on "Voyager."
Most painful-looking accessory: That thing in Uhura's ear.
Most annoying plot device: Mirror universe episodes in all "Trek" series, which are always an excuse for the cast to engage in the worst sort of overacting and blatant hamminess.
Best cast dynamic: On "TOS," Dr. Leonard McCoy disliked Spock's cool cerebral nature; Spock, for his part, was mystified by Capt. Kirk's red-blooded space-faring machismo. Even if there wasn't much dramatic tension in a particular episode, the zingy tension among these three always livened up the original "Trek."
Best club: Vic's, the holographic nightclub and casino on "DS9," where the star attraction, crooner James Darren as old-school Vegas entertainer Vic Fontane, became an integral part of the show.
Best use of Academy Award winners: Whoopi Goldberg as "TNG" barkeep Guinan and Louise Fletcher as holy warrior Kai Winn on "DS9" were two of our favorite recurring characters, and both were played by terrific actresses who'd won Oscars for their previous big-screen work.
Best costume design: The zippy primary colors of "TOS" (though, as any "Trek" fan knows, those wearing red shirts often did not fare well down on the alien planet).
Worst costume design: The outfits forced on teens Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) on "TNG" and Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton) on "DS9." These unfortunate young actors were forced to wear the dorkiest unitards and nerdiest sweaters in the entire universe. Why the costume designers inflicted their most sadistically ugly costumes on the youngest cast members is still a cosmic mystery.
Best financial advice: The Ferengi "Rules of Acquisition," which "DS9's" Quark (Armin Shimerman) quoted at every opportunity.
Most intriguing makeup choice: Blue eye shadow for Spock. It matched his shirt quite fetchingly.
Silliest historical reference: In the enjoyable but daft "Qpid," the "TNG" crew was transformed into Robin Hood and his merry men (though Worf protested, "I am not a merry man!")
|*|(*)|*|(*)|*|
Morjana
SG1-Spoilergate
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SG1-Spoilergate/
Richard Dean Anderson Fans
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/rdandersonfans/
Fans of Joe Flanigan
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/fansofjoeflanigan/
why? there was no real purpose to his death, other than to squeeze the fans hearts into their necks. 
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