About Author: Torie Atkinson & Eugene Myers

Website
http://www.theviewscreen.com
Description
TORIE ATKINSON is a NYC-based law student (with a focus on civil rights and economic justice), proofreader, sometime lighting designer, and former Tor.com blog editor/moderator. She watches too many movies and plays too many games but never, ever reads enough books. EUGENE MYERS has published short fiction in a variety of print and online zines as E.C. Myers. He is a graduate of the Clarion West Writers Workshop and a member of the writing group Altered Fluid. When he isn’t watching Star Trek, he reads and writes young adult fiction. His first novel, Fair Coin, is available now from Pyr.

Posts by Torie Atkinson & Eugene Myers

10

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch: Season 3 Wrap-Up

Has TNG finally emerged from its turgid first few seasons? I think our ratings speak for themselves.

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68

Re-Watching Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Screenplay by: Nicholas Meyer & Denny Martin Flinn
Story by: Leonard Nimoy and Lawrence Konner & Mark Rosenthal
Produced by: Steven-Charles Jaffe & Ralph Winter
Directed by: Nicholas Meyer

Release date: December 6, 1991
Stardate: 9521.6

Mission Summary

A mining accident destroys Praxis, a Klingon moon where energy for the entire Klingon Empire is produced. With only 50 years of life left to the Empire as a result, the Klingons open a dialog with Vulcan ambassador Sarek about ending hostilities with the Federation and dismantling all bases around the Neutral Zone. Spock has recommended Kirk for the diplomatic honor of escorting the Klingon High Chancellor Gorkon to a peace summit. This enrages Kirk, who has come to despise the Klingons for killing his son David.

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44

Re-watching Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Screenplay by: David Loughery
Story by: William Shatner & Harve Bennett & David Loughery
Produced by: Harve Bennett
Directed by: William Shatner

Release date: June 9, 1989
Stardate: 8454.1

Mission Summary

Shore leave at Yosemite Park is cut short by a hostage situation on the planet Nimbus III, where a Vulcan named Sybok has taken three ambassadors hostage. The Enterprise is dispatched to resolve the situation, and they find that Sybok is Spock’s fully Vulcan half-brother. He has a unique ability to purge a person’s pain, a neat trick that both Spock and McCoy take him up on (Kirk refuses, saying his pain makes him human). Unfortunately, Sybok also happens to be a raving cultist in search of god at the planet Sha Ka Ree in the center of the universe. Meanwhile, a Klingon named Klaa is in pursuit of Kirk, for personal glory and because the movie needed explosions.

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36

Re-Watching Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home


Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Illustration by Bob PeakScreenplay by: Steve Meerson & Peter Krikes and
Harve Bennett & Nicholas Meyer
Story by: Leonard Nimoy & Harve Bennett
Produced by: Harve Bennett
Directed by: Leonard Nimoy

Release date: November 26, 1986
Stardate: 8390.0 (aka 1986)

Mission Summary

The crew of the Enterprise has been court-martialed by Klingon request for the ship stolen and the lives lost in Star Trek III. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, a mysterious probe that disables just about everything is headed straight for Earth. The probe sends a signal no one can understand, and when it doesn’t get a response it begins to vaporize the Earth’s oceans and ionize its atmosphere: a recipe for disaster. Spock, newly born again, discovers that the signal is the song of the humpback whale: extinct since the 21st century. In classic Star Trek fashion, the crew go back in time to 1986 San Francisco to nab themselves some humpback whales.

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21

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch Wrap-Up

With just 22 episodes, we have come to the end of The Animated Series. Here’s a breakdown of our ratings:

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10

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch: “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth”

How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth
Written by Russell Bates and David Wise
Directed by Bill Reed

Season 2, Episode 5
Production episode: 22022
Original air date:  October 5, 1974
Star date: 6063.4

Mission summary

In an ominous beginning, a mysterious space probe takes a scan of Earth’s system and then self-destructs. The Enterprise’s mission is to trace the imploded propulsion system’s destructive matter trail to its origin and find out where it came from and who sent it.

They don’t make it very far before they find a huge “crystalline ceramic” ship twice the size of the Enterprise. It’s pretty far away but they can’t get any closer for inspection–some kind of “globular force field,” firm yet flexible, has entrapped them. As the offending ship becomes more visible they realize it looks like a giant winged snake. Needless to say, it’s not anyone the Federation has had contact with before.

Luckily, this week’s minority helmsmen is Walking Bear, not Sulu, and he recognizes the ship’s design immediately: it looks kind of like the winged serpent Kukulkan.

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14

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch: “The Practical Joker”

The Practical Joker
Written by Chuck Menville
Directed by Bill Reed

Season 2, Episode 3
Production episode: 22021
Original air date:  September 21, 1974
Star date: 3183.3

Mission summary

The Enterprise is on a routine geological mission exploring asteroids. Kirk notes that they’re ahead of schedule and “the cruise has been uneventful,” which is filed with “They’ll never find us here!” or “What could possibly go wrong?” in the Ways You Should Not Tempt Fate folder.

As if alerted by the hubris, a trio of Romulan ships begin to fire on the Enterprise.

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12

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch: “The Pirates of Orion”

The Pirates of Orion
Written by Howard Weinstein
Directed by Bill Reed

Season 2, Episode 1
Production episode: 22020
Original air date:  September 7, 1974
Star date: 6334.1

Mission summary

Aboard the Enterprise, an outbreak of some nasty disease called choriocytosis is finally under control. The good doctor assures the crew it’s no longer “even as serious as pneumonia”–which is, um, actually pretty serious? In any case, Kirk tries to drum up excitement for the dedication ceremony they’re en route toward at Deneb V:

KIRK: It’ll be nice to play diplomat for a change, eh, Spock?

And then Spock keels over. Diplomacy is intolerable.

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4

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch: “The Eye of the Beholder”

The Eye of the Beholder
Written by David P. Harmon
Directed by Hal Sutherland

Season 1, Episode 15
Production episode: 22016
Original air date:  January 5, 1974
Star date: 5501.2

Mission summary

The Enterprise is in orbit around Lactra VII, an M-class planet where a science crew of six disappeared. A recording shows that acting commander Lt. Commander Markel went against the book and beamed down the last three teammembers, himself included, for a rescue mission and were never heard from again. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy decide to repeat history and investigate. What could possibly go wrong?

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6

Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch: “The Ambergris Element”

The Ambergris Element
Written by Margaret Armen
Directed by Hal Sutherland

Season 1, Episode 13
Production episode: 22013
Original air date:  December 1, 1973
Star date: 5499.9

 

Mission summary

The Enterprise is in orbit around Argo, a run-of-the-mill class M planet that was submerged underwater due to seismic activity. Starfleet is interested in the hows and whys of this global catastrophe because an identical Federation planet may soon suffer the same fate.

Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and a redshirt board the “aqua shuttle,” a catamaran-like shuttlecraft, and hope to spend a lazy afternoon on the planet’s oceans collecting algae and other samples. But wouldn’t you know it, these plans are violently disrupted by a giant red tentacled Cthulhu from the deep.

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