The trek series that could have been ...

While Revenge of the Sith hogged most of the limelight as the great sci-fi story coming full circle, there was another story for some fans that was coming full circle. Another great sci-fi franchise recently torn to pieces by critics and fans that attempted to circle back to the present. Yep Star Trek Enterprise ended it's troubled four year run with a 2 hour long Friday showing.

I think fans of cult series like these are overly critical of the shows/movies. I know the new Star wars or the Enterprise did not live up to expectations of many but I think there were times when fans of these franchises would bitch about things without rhyme or reason. I think both, Star Trek-Enterprise and Star Wars I-III, were decent stories told nicely and I enjoyed of them. But I've already been to the galaxy far far away in one of my earlier posts. Lets come back to the alpha quadrant and to the United Federation of Planets.

I know Enterprise DID get boring for a while in between. They did not develop any major arc or storyline and the writers were going along with the "crisis of the week" thing. But to be very fair, every Trek series has done that. There are some very mediocre episodes in every series and on the flip-side some absolutely smashing ones. To the credit of Enterprise, it's final season (much like the final installment of Star Wars) was a pleasure to behold. It was one of the best seasons seen by the Trek franchise. And maybe the finale did notlive up to it, maybe it could have been made better by NOT including old characters and focusing on the story at hand, maybe even making it a two-parter. But the season on the whole was a thing of beauty and as I read someplace else, "a love song dedicated to the trekkies/trekkers" of the world. Every character showed a depth that is usually reserved for one or two in a series like this. The stories were nicely written and beautifully filmed. The actors too seemed to be having more fun than they had in previous seasons.

I know people are sad that Star wars ended. I also know there are people like me who are equally and maybe slightly more sad that Trek has come to a grinding halt for a while now. The last movie was not a success and this series did not live it's full life. Time for changes and reassessment. I do however hope that this crew of Enterprise gets a chance at a movie. I think they deserve it. I know Trek movies are generally not as big hits in theatres as Star Wars but they have an audience and some of it needs to be shown the way back to a theatre playing a good Trek movie.

Adios Enterprise, for now. You did not live long nor prosper, but you did go out with a silent flourish.

Oh Sith !!!

Star Wars ended on a good note last Wednesday night. Tied up the ends as neatly as it could and was filled with some nice goosebumpy moments, not the least of them being the "A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away" screen right at the beginning.

What made this movie better than it was, was the fact the everyone knew where it was going. And it wasn't going somewhere pretty was it? Everyone knows that made it even more fun. You knew this love story, this friendship, this good world was going to turn sour very soon. I think people love when they can connect with things too. They could feel a lot of dialogues from the movie. Granted, the romatic dialogues were not great but how can they ever really fit into a story like this. There were certain utterances however that fit in, not only with the movie but with the general state of the world, prompting comparisions with Iraq and Bush-bashing and stuff. The declaration of Palpatine to set up an empire to bring peace, the talking of absolutes and taking sides in a war and the now oft reported "If you are not with me you are my enemy", all brought forward connotations galore.

As pure entertainment the movie was much better than Clones. And although some people absolutely despise Phantom Menace, it's one movie I kinda like. This one beat both of them hands down though. The fights were awesome and I think the Obi Wan - Anakin fight lived up. Ewan McGregor was good enough in Phantom Menace, surprisingly bland in Clones and pretty much brilliant here. I think he kinda thrives when there's a bit of mischief thrown into his character (for reference see Trainspotting). Hayden Christensen was pretty bland in Clones too, to put it mildly. Just did not seem interested in acting there. This time though he beautifully acted out Anakin's desparation, confusion and ultimate fall. The Emperor was brilliant and Yoda was....well Yoda he was yes??

The only disappointing bit in the movie...so little of Natalie Portman..but then she is one of my favorite actresses and even if she took up 90 percent of screen time, i'd still say she could have had more. :)All in all..a nice completion to a much-maligned (and often undeservedly) trilogy. I think Lucas did manage to redeem it to a large extent even in face of mindless, belittle-all critics.Nice work...as I say this was some good sith.

Of some stupid bride and the morons who follow her

I am perturbed by this country and utterly fascinated at the same time. Today the headlines in every major newspaper and every major site including the almighty google scream out in bold letters about a bride who decided at the last moment to ditch her wedding. Yes, yes we know Julia Roberts did it a few years back in a movie and people seemed to love it for some inexplicable reason but today - ding - reality check, and voila we have a runaway bride.

But what perturbs me and fascinates me at the same time is how taken up people are by this story. Does it even warrant more than a small paragraph on the local newspaper? Obviously you have made out by now that I do not think so. I was a bit confused by the whole country reacting to a certain Peterson murder or some carpet/mattress sale guy and his wife thing a few months back. That, was still a murder case. But to get so worked up over a bride who did not want to be one, this is beyond my realm of uderstanding.

Why?? That one word sums up all my question. Why focus on this incident?? Why not focus on all the other divorces and husband/wife spats then? Why not focus on all jilted brides, grooms, husbands, wives, partners? Why not be taken up by any person going through anything tragic? Why not talk about one of your dying soldiers in Iraq, who is leaving behind a wife who's sadness and plight far outweighs some jilted groom? Why not shower attention on a person heading your country sending out people to die all over the world for no reason at all? Why not headline in a major major way the genocides, mass murders and terrorist activities that may define this era in the history books? Why not devote time to thinking about millions dying just because they have nothing to eat, drink, live in, clothe in or even live for? And hey while you are at it why not think about yourself and the people you love?

On second thoughts, I am just perturbed. My fascination just went flying out of the window. Wonder where it's headed? New Mexico maybe !!!