Day 150: This is what happens when a coworker is cleaning off their shelves and comes to the office with a box of free-for-the-taking DVDs.
TV And Films
The shows and movies I like (or don’t).
📚 The Romulan Prize by Simon Hawke
52/2023 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A better-than-average Romulan villain and a quest for a mysterious quarantined planet make this one quite enjoyable. Wraps up a bit quickly at the end, but even so, does so while bringing in some fun threads that could lead to more stories down the line (though I have no idea if the author wrote more Trek or followed up on any of those threads).
Year 50 Day 133
Day 133: It’s my first day back in the office in a month, after vacation and a week of working from home. The Head seemed a little put out by being ignored for a month, but was mollified when it saw that my desktop Star Trek ship collection is gaining the USS Cerritos from Lower Decks.
📚 Grounded by David Bischoff
47/2023 – ⭐️
Uff. Bad enough that the characterizations are off for everyone, especially Picard, and that the threat comes off as a bad B-movie monster. But on top of that, one of the introduced characters is described as “having Autism”, which is presented as a disease in a way that may have been acceptable 30 years ago, but is just offensive now, and, of course, which later gets tied to psychic abilities and is apparently curable. Cannot recommend.
Year 50 Day 129
Day 129: Happy Star Trek Day to everyone* who celebrates!
* Everyone except whoever decided to pull the plug on Discovery so suddenly that they had to re-shoot key moments of the last few episodes to cobble together a series finale instead of a season finale, whoever decided to pull the plug on Prodigy so suddenly that they’re still finishing the second season and hoping that someone else picks it up to broadcast it, and whoever decided that an appropriate Star Trek Day celebration was a 22-minute “special”, the first two episodes of Strange New Worlds on broadcast TV, five “very” short animated bits (only one of which debuts today), and a 25% discount on the online Star Trek store. Seriously, why are the Ferengi Pakleds in charge of this franchise?
(Updated to change Ferengi to Pakleds. The Ferengi are far too profit motivated to do this bad of a job keeping the fans engaged.)
📚 Nightshade by Laurell K. Hamilton
44/2023 – ⭐️⭐️
Some potentially interesting situations hobbled by poor writing and in need of at least one more editing pass. Characters seemed to make out of character decisions because that was what was needed to move the plot along. Not one of the more impressive TNG novels.
🎥 The Last Starfighter
The Last Starfighter (1984): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sure, the effects don’t match what can be done today, but they still perfectly capture the state of the art for the time, and the story is still a lot of fun. Plus, you have to love seeing Robert Preston in full Prof. Harold Hill mode once again.
🎥 Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (1964): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Always a wonderful film to watch, but it was especially fun watching it in our hotel room with a view of Tower Bridge after spending a couple days wandering around London. The painting used for the opening and closing credits could almost have been painted using the roof of our hotel as a vantage point!
🎥 Speed 2: Cruise Control
Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997): ⭐️
Wow, that was bad. I didn’t even go in expecting very much, and it didn’t even close to meeting my lackluster expectations. But it was an entertaining choice to watch while on an ocean voyage, so, one star for existing and giving us something to snark at one evening.
🎥 Bridget Jones’s Diary
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001): ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Late ’90s/early ’00s Hugh Grant is always fun (Hugh at his peak Hugh Grant-i-ness), and this (along with one other) was a perfect choice to watch on an evening in during our New York to London voyage.