ASSEMBLING THE AVENGERS

With the release of The Avengers just around the corner (look for my review within the next few days!), I figured now would be the ideal time to look at the films that led up to this big event. I’ve just re-watched all of them, with my 9-year-old daughter Maddie at my side, so she’ll weigh in too.

Chronologically speaking, the correct order to watch the films is Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America. I’ll follow that sequence here. And away we go…

Iron Man (2008)

Despite being an origin story, which always runs the risk of bogging things down in exposition and taking forever to get to the action, this movie pulls you right in.

Robert Downey Jr. is fantastic as Tony Stark—witty, charming, bursting with personality, and dead serious when he needs to be. As Pepper Potts, Gwyneth Paltrow is lovely and radiant and completely believable. Her chemistry with Downey is palpable. Jeff Bridges, in the role of Obadiah Stane, is very effective conveying false loyalty and camaraderie, and then shifting to insidious menace. Among the lead characters, Terrence Howard as James Rhodes is probably the least effective—not that he’s in any way bad, he just doesn’t make as much of an impression.

I do have some story problems with the second half, and some of Obadiah Stane’s dialogue and his motivations during the big climactic battle are a bit too hackneyed and “comic booky.”

Also, I felt that the film lacks a strong emotional core that was so present in Superman: The Movie, Batman Begins, and the first two Spider-Man movies. It’s not that director Jon Favreau and co. don't try—actually, some of the stuff between Stark and Pepper is quite good. But I didn’t feel myself get pulled emotionally into this film quite as much as I did with the ones I mention above. 

The special effects are fantastic. The humor works, for the most part. The in-jokes are very clever—and you really have to be sharp to get them all. I know I didn’t upon my first viewing! 

All in all, it’s an excellent and highly effective starting point for the Marvel Movie Universe.

MADDIE: “I guess this one is my favorite of all the Marvel movies. It was full of action and I liked all of the technology, all of the features in the suit. And it was funny. I liked the relationship between Pepper and Tony and I liked how Tony had a bond with the man who saved his life in Afghanistan, when his heart was injured at the beginning.”

Iron Man 2 (2010)

I found that this film doesn’t hold up on repeated viewings quite as well as I thought it would. The plot is a bit scattered, causing the narrative to drag in spots. Also, the motivations are a bit muddled in some areas. That said, this is a true sequel in every sense of the word. It picks up where the previous film left off and continues the story thread of Tony Stark revealing to the public that he’s Iron Man.

Probably the biggest disappointment about Iron Man 2 is that the conflict between Stark and the central villain, the vengeance-seeking Russian renegade scientist Ivan Vanko (played by Mickey Rourke), doesn’t reach its full potential.  It's handled somewhat superficially, in very broad strokes, and their final showdown is a bit anti-climactic—despite great special effects.

But the cast is uniformly terrific. Downey and Paltrow are just as good as they were in the original. As James Rhodes, Don Cheadle brings more warmth, humanity, and intelligence to the table than Terrence Howard did.  

Sam Rockwell is a hoot as secondary villain Justin Hammer. He's smarmy, weaselly, and conniving—sort of a less comical version of the character that Paul Reiser played in Aliens.

As Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff, Scarlett Johansson has great presence and acquits herself nicely and believably. Garry Shandling is very enjoyable as Senator Stern. And Samuel L. Jackson gets more screen time as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury, as does director Favreau as Stark’s bodyguard/chauffeur, Happy Hogan. In both cases, more is good.

Overall, Iron Man 2 is fun and exciting. A worthy sequel, for sure, coming close to its predecessor—but not quite managing to equal or surpass it.

MADDIE: “I thought it was a good movie, but the story was kind of hard for me to follow. My favorite part was when Tony was playing the recordings of his father and his father says that Tony is his greatest creation. I didn’t like how Tony was being out of control all the time, I thought there was a little too much of his craziness. I liked when he and Rhodey fired their hand-blasters at each other and it caused an explosion. I really liked the Black Widow a lot—my favorite part was when she took out seven guys and Happy could only take out one! I liked her martial arts moves and all of her gadgets. I thought that Ivan Vanko was kind of hard to understand because of his accent and I didn’t really get why he was out to kill Tony Stark. And I thought Justin Hammer was really pushing it when he came out on stage dancing and trying to be like Tony Stark.”

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Certainly the most underrated of the Marvel-produced films, this gets right pretty much everything that Ang Lee got wrong in his 2003 misfire.

Basically, this film is the old Hulk TV show on steroids. And by the TV show, I mean the GOOD episodes. Like the classic two-parter in which the Hulk confronts another, far more dangerous Hulk-like creature. Or the one where he gets captured by the military. Or the one where Banner experiments on himself and ends up accidentally corrupting the “Banner” side of his personality. I don’t mean the one where Banner becomes a cab driver and gets hassled by loan sharks. Or the one where he works in New York’s garment center and gets hassled by loan sharks. Or the one where he gets involved in midget wrestling. (No, I’m not kidding about that last one). 

There’s plenty of in-jokes in this movie, tying in to both the TV series and the comics. Stan Lee, Lou Ferrigno, and even the late Bill Bixby make appearances. Even the beloved theme music from the TV series turns up, and it’s used appropriately. 

The script is solid and shows imagination and care. While he didn’t receive official credit for writing the screenplay, star Edward Norton did a very good job and should be proud of himself. The same goes for director Louis Leterrier, who shows off his knowledge of all the good stuff from the TV series, both conceptually and visually. 

Norton is perfect as Bruce Banner. At times, he seems to channel Bixby’s interpretation of the role: noble, gentle, caring, sensitive, heroic, interesting, and thoroughly sympathetic. It’s a shame he won’t reprise the role in The Avengers.

Liv Tyler delivers the goods as Betty Ross. She brings soulfulness, energy, earnestness, and sweetness to the role, and you can understand right away why Banner loves her so much—and why she has the effect on the Hulk that she does. She’s also feisty and downright explosive when the situation calls for it.

William Hurt is GREAT as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross—massive, imposing, arrogant, and willing to cross the line to achieve his goals. There’s a real look of menace, ambition, and obsession in Hurt’s eyes as he plays Ross, and he’s one of the most interesting characters in the movie. 

Tim Roth is thoroughly enjoyable and believable as Emil Blonsky, and I’d love to see him return someday. 

As for the Hulk himself, he has only about three lines of dialogue, but each line is well chosen, delivered at exactly the right moment—with proper dramatic buildup—and well performed by Lou Ferrigno. He sounds exactly the way you'd want the Hulk to sound. 

I found that The Incredible Hulk, unlike Iron Man 2, holds up very well on repeated viewings.

MADDIE: “There are no boring scenes in this movie! Just when I thought things were going to slow down, it just picks right up again! I thought the movie was a little too violent, but I thought the Hulk looked really, really good, very realistic. I liked Betty’s boyfriend Leonard, because he plays Phil on Modern Family and he’s hysterically funny on that show. I liked the fight scene at the end in New York City—the Hulk was getting beat up but when he saw Betty in danger he started fighting back. I especially liked when he said, ‘Hulk smash!’ I would really enjoy knowing whether he and Betty ever saw each other again. I liked Betty, I could definitely see her and Bruce together. I thought Blonsky wanted too much power, and he was out of control when he got it. It was very cool when Tony Stark showed up at the end.”

Thor (2011)

This is sort of a mixture of Clash of the Titans, The Lord of the Rings, Superman, Iron Man, and even a dash of the classic Star Trek episode “Who Mourns For Adonais?” It’s thoroughly entertaining, it never drags, and it’s both exciting and touching.

With director Kenneth Branagh at the helm (an inspired choice, I must say), the uninitiated don’t need to be familiar with the Thor comic books to enjoy the movie. Everything is laid out clearly so that audiences with no prior knowledge can understand who all of the characters are, what they’re doing, and why they’re doing it. But if you are familiar with the comics, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at just how much of the Marvel Comics lore is crammed into the narrative. There are in-jokes aplenty, and cameo appearances from some of the folks who produced the classic comic-book stories on which much of this movie is based (Mr. Lee, Mr. Simonson, Mr. Macchio, take a bow!). 

The cast is uniformly great. Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is charming, powerful, arrogant, stubborn, good-humored, and regal—in other words, absolutely true to the comic-book version.

As Jane Foster, Natalie Portman turns in a fine performance and is quite believable as a romantic interest for Thor—despite the fact that he’s about twice her height. There’s real chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman—you totally get why they’re attracted to each other—and it’s fun to watch their relationship grow.

Anthony Hopkins is pretty much perfect as Odin, Thor’s father and the ruler of Asgard. It’s not a particularly large role, but it’s a very important one.

Tom Hiddleston is absolutely wonderful as Loki, Thor’s brother and trusted adviser. Comic book readers already know how Thor and Loki’s relationship develops, but it’s still fun to watch it unfold for the first time in live action—and the characterization for Loki is multi-layered enough that his story arc here should intrigue newcomers and longtime fans alike.

I also have to mention that Jaimie Alexander RULES as Sif, one of Thor’s most loyal friends. She’s one of my very favorite things about this movie. And Idris Elba, who was so great as Michael Scott’s boss, Charles Minor, on NBC’s The Office, makes for an appropriately imposing and enigmatic Heimdall, the guardian of the interdimensional bridge that connects Asgard to Earth.

The CGI is a little unconvincing at times, especially in the early scenes set in Asgard, but for the most part, the special effects are very impressive.

The slow build-up to The Avengers really starts to kick into high gear with Thor, seeing as how it introduces the villain that will cause the Avengers team to come together in the first place.

MADDIE: “I loved how Asgard looked! I really liked the scene where Thor pressured his friends to go with him to Jotunheim and he tries to take credit for Sif being such a great warrior and Sif says that she proved it on her own. And then Thor says, ‘Yes, but I supported you!’ Sif was very cool, very fierce and she really proved that a woman could be a warrior. I really liked Jane Foster—she really believed in Thor and she was good at physics. I liked Darcy a whole lot—she always had something funny to say! And I really liked Thor. At the beginning, he was very full of himself and by the end he learned to care more about others. He was very funny when he kept getting hit by the car, he got a shot in the butt by the doctors and it knocked him out, and I really liked it when Darcy tasered him! I liked that Loki was such a good liar—you think he’s a good guy and on Thor’s side, and then you find out he’s not. He wanted his father’s approval more than anything else and he wanted to rule Asgard and wanted to get rid of Thor. I liked Odin—you could see in Odin’s eyes that he was very wise.”

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

This has just the right amount of action, characterization, romance, and top-notch special effects to ensure two full hours of solid and satisfying entertainment.

Despite having to cover Cap’s origin, his emergence as an important military figure during World War II at home and abroad, his missions with the small band of soldiers known as The Howling Commandos (never referred to as such in the film, but that’s who they are), his burgeoning relationship with a beautiful female British military agent, and his earliest encounters with the Red Skull, the power-hungry Nazi madman who will become his number-one arch-foe, the film never really drags or feels bogged down. The storytelling is straightforward and well paced.

Director Joe Johnston shows his fine eye for period detail, transporting his audience to the past and making it look and feel authentic. Johnston resists poking fun of or demeaning Cap’s image as a square-jawed, purely good, totally moral, even slightly naïve super hero. The easiest, most natural thing in the world, especially during this particularly cynical age we live in, would be to portray Cap as corny and silly and to treat him with condescension or barely concealed contempt (a la the Adam West Batman TV series). But that’s not the case here. Cap is treated with the utmost respect and is hands-down the coolest character in the film, as well he should be.

Chris Evans does a masterful job bringing Steve Rogers to life. He gets considerable help in the first half of the film from some amazing and thoroughly convincing CGI artistry, which is used to make him the short, scrawny, 90-pound weakling version of the character. But the decency, the earnestness, and the determination with which Evans imbues “puny Steve” carries over even after the character is “super-soldierized” and Evans gets to show off his impressive physique.

The rest of the cast is equally good. Hayley Atwell brings a combination of beauty, brains, and (ahem) balls to the role of British agent Peggy Carter, who is definitely no damsel in distress. This lady can take care of herself, and isn’t intimidated by anyone. Atwell has great chemistry with Evans.

Tommy Lee Jones brings plenty of authority and strength to the role of U.S. Army Colonel Chester Phillips—and has some of the best, funniest lines. Dominic Cooper portrays Howard Stark, father of Tony, and you can definitely see an effort to both connect and contrast the two characters in terms of looks, attitude, and behavior. Sebastian Stan plays Steve Rogers’s best friend, James “Bucky” Buchanan, who emerges as one of the most likable characters in the film.

As the Red Skull, Hugo Weaving is very energetic, very committed, very entertaining. But I found that there was something missing. In fact, for me, the Skull is probably the most disappointing element of the film, and the problem is in the writing. The character is just not developed enough. He’s a bit too one-dimensional—there’s not much depth to him, and therefore, he’s not quite as interesting as he should be. He’s not nearly as complex as, say, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. I will say that the CGI artists did a great job depicting the Skull’s “true” appearance, which wouldn’t have worked nearly as well if it was Weaving simply wearing a red rubber skull mask.

MADDIE: “I really, really liked this one. I liked all the weapons and I liked that Steve Rogers kept pointing out all the spots in Brooklyn where he had gotten beat up! I liked Captain America’s relationship with Bucky—they always stood by each other. I liked when Peggy told Captain America that a lot of soldiers didn’t survive and his first thought was about whether Bucky was okay. I liked the team of soldiers that work with Captain America, especially Dugan—he was silly, drinking all the beer and he had that funny mustache! Peggy was pretty and tough! The Red Skull was very creepy—I didn’t like when he took off the mask. It was upsetting to me that Captain America never got to date the love of his life. It was very sad when he says to Nick Fury, ‘I had a date.’”

And there you have it. The end of Captain America: The First Avenger presumably sets up the beginning of The Avengers, and you’ll be able to read about that here very soon…

© All text copyright Glenn Greenberg, 2012.

MONKEE BUSINESS

Davy Jones died on February 29, but for me, it’s only starting to sink in now. I’m not sure why. Had it been someone like Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, or Brian Wilson, you can be sure I would’ve written a few hundred thousand words about it here by now. But truth to tell, I’m not really a big Monkees fanatic. At least, not since I was about eight years old. And Davy was never my favorite Monkee anyway. I always liked Mike Nesmith the best, followed by Micky Dolenz. Even as a kid, I felt Davy was a little too schmaltzy, too “showbizzy,” for my tastes. 

Nevertheless, back then I watched the reruns of the TV series every day after school and I enjoyed them immensely. My older brother and sister graciously gave me the Monkees albums they owned—The Monkees, More of the Monkees, and Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. (For some reason, neither of them owned Headquarters, one of the group’s very best efforts.)

But then, in 1977, I received my first Beatles album: The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl. And after that, for me it was pretty much, “Monkees who?”

Many years later, though, I began to reacquaint myself with the Monkees. And then my friend Greg Plonowski gave me a set of tape cassettes featuring all of the songs on Listen to the Band, the excellent and very thorough career-spanning 4-CD box set put out by Rhino Records in 1991.

And I liked a lot of what I heard, much of which was completely new to me. By the time I met my wife Ginny and her sister Wendy, both of whom have been HUGE Monkees fans for most of their lives, I was well versed in most of the group’s catalogue—a fact that served me very well, I must say. (More on that later.) 

I’ve seen the Monkees (Micky, Davy, and Peter) in concert twice—once in 2001 and most recently in June 2011. It was a shame that Mike wasn’t with them, as both shows were very enjoyable and his presence would have made them even better. But it’s well known that Mike has long sought to leave the Monkees part of his life in the distant past. Still, it’s nice to see that Mike attended Davy’s memorial service, reuniting with Micky and Peter for the first time in 16 years.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Monkees stuff over the last few days—like I said above, the passing of Davy took a while to set in with me. And as I’ve been zeroing in on my very favorite songs of theirs, it occurred to me to rank my top 20 here. As you’ll see from this list, Mike remains my favorite Monkee, followed by Micky. Davy and Peter Tork aren’t forgotten, but they certainly aren’t at the forefront. (Poor Peter got so few opportunities to shine during his time with the group anyway.) You’ll also find that I tend to veer away from the overly familiar hits and lean more towards the lesser known stuff—the “deep cuts,” if you will.

So, without further ado:

20. “Listen to the Band”

Written by Michael Nesmith

Lead vocals: Mike

Mike’s last major contribution to the Monkees before he quit the group in 1970 to pursue a solo career. I first heard it in 1986 when Entertainment Tonight showed a clip of Mike performing it live with the reunited Monkees at a concert in L.A., and I liked it immediately.

19. “I Won’t Be the Same Without Her”

Written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King

Lead vocals: Mike

Recorded in 1966 but not released until 1969. A surprisingly effective breakup song that really captures how you feel after a particularly painful split.

18. “Sunny Girlfriend”

Written by Michael Nesmith

Lead vocals: Mike (with Micky)

A fun, barely remembered track off of Headquarters. Hearing it for the first time in the early 1990s, I felt like I’d discovered a hidden gem.

17. “Nine Times Blue”

Written by Michael Nesmith

Lead vocals: Mike

Mike recorded several versions of this song over the years, but my favorite is actually the original demo, which was included on Rhino’s 1995 re-release of Headquarters. Nesmith performed the song live on The Johnny Cash Show with Micky and Davy in 1969 (Peter had already quit the group by that point), and the three of them really sounded great together. Makes me wonder why Mike didn’t have them doing the background vocals when he recorded the official Monkees version of the song, which actually didn’t get released until the Listen to the Band box set.  

16. “As We Go Along”

Written by: Carole King & Toni Stern

Lead vocals: Micky

A highlight from the soundtrack of the ill-fated Monkees movie Head, produced after the TV series went off the air.

15. “Porpoise Song”

Written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King

Lead vocals: Micky (with Davy)

Another fine song from Head.

14. “What Am I Doin’ Hangin’ ‘Round?”

Written by Michael Martin Murphey & Owen Castleman

Lead vocals: Mike

One of the many high points on Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone magazine calls this “one of the greatest pop songs ever.” I don’t know if I’d go that far, but I do like it a whole lot.

13. “A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You”

Written by Neil Diamond

Lead vocals: Davy

A very catchy song, with one of Davy’s most effective vocals.

12. “Pleasant Valley Sunday”

Written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King

Lead vocals: Micky (with Davy and Mike)

The biggest hit you’ll see on this list. A great song that paints a vivid picture of life in suburbia, both the good parts and the not-so-good.

11. “Salesman”

Written by Craig Smith

Lead vocals: Mike

Another winner from Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. One of Mike’s most engaging performances.

10. “You Told Me”

Written by Michael Nesmith

Lead vocals: Mike

The opening track of Headquarters. The count-in at the beginning is a spoof of the first few seconds of “Taxman,” the first song on the Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver. I liked this song so much, I used to perform it live when I was in the band Corporate Axe.

9. “Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)”

Written by Neil Diamond

Lead vocals: Davy

A great track off of the More of the Monkees album. (As an aside, I’m convinced there’s a very naughty lyric being sung in the background when Davy sings “lips like strawberry pie”.)

8. “The Kind of Girl I Could Love”

Written by Michael Nesmith & Roger Atkins

Lead vocals: Mike

A thoroughly enjoyable gem from More of the Monkees. Great for a guy to listen to right after he meets a girl and finds himself smitten with her.

7. “Sometime in the Morning”

Written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King

Lead vocals: Micky

Also from More of the Monkees, this features one of Micky’s most soaring performances. It’s not a direct love song, in that it’s about a guy expressing deep admiration for—and maybe even some jealousy about—his friend’s wonderful relationship with a girl. This one is always a pleasure to listen to.

6. “I’ll Spend My Life With You”

Written by Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

Lead vocals: Micky

The group recorded two versions of this very touching and heartfelt song, one of which appeared on Headquarters. But I prefer the earlier, less “countrified” version, which went unreleased until the Listen to the Band box set (and was then released again on the 1994 reissue of More of the Monkees).

5. “I Don’t Think You Know Me”

Written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King

Lead vocals: Peter (with Davy, Micky, and Mike)

Never released on any of the original Monkees albums and never played on the TV show, this stayed in the vault until the Listen to the Band box set. Different versions exist featuring Mike and Micky each on lead vocals, and those have appeared on various reissues and collections over the years. My favorite version, though, is the one in which Peter has the spotlight. His voice is admittedly imperfect throughout the performance—but charmingly so, displaying real and endearing vulnerability.

4. “The Girl I Knew Somewhere”

Written by Michael Nesmith

Lead vocals: Micky (with Mike)

I think I’ve loved this one since the first time I heard it. One of the very first songs I taught myself to play on guitar. A rare example of Mike not trying to inject a country flavor into one of his compositions.

3. “You Just May Be the One”

Written by Michael Nesmith

Lead vocals: Mike (with Micky)

There are two versions of this song. One appeared in the TV series and the other was on the Headquarters album. The Headquarters version has a slight edge over the TV one, owing to the fact that it features Micky on backup and harmony vocals.

2. “Papa Gene’s Blues”

Written by Michael Nesmith

Lead vocals: Mike (with Micky)

I’ve always loved this song, but it took on greater meaning for me in mid-1996, when I went on my first long drive with the gal who would eventually become my wife. It was fairly early in our relationship. We were cruising along the highway, she popped her favorite Monkee cassette into the tape deck, this song came on, I started singing along—and she was VERY impressed that I knew ALL of the words. I think at that moment, she realized that we were meant for each other.

1. “The Door Into Summer”

Written by Chip Douglas & Bill Martin

Lead vocals: Mike (with Micky)

When I “rediscovered” the Monkees thanks to my friend Greg, this was the song that I embraced more than any other. To this day, it never fails to put a smile on my face when it comes on, and I place it at the very top of the heap.

No, the Monkees weren’t in the same league as the Beatles or the Who or even the Beach Boys. But I’ve long since come to the conclusion that they didn’t need to be. They’ve got a history and a body of work that they can—and should—be proud of. 

© All text copyright Glenn Greenberg, 2012.

THE SHAT HITS THE STAGE

Geez, I just can’t get away from writing about stuff that’s somehow connected to Star Trek, can I? Oh well. Maybe next time. On Sunday, February 26, I went with some friends to see William Shatner’s new one-man show, Shatner’s World (We Just Live in It…) at the Music Box Theater in New York City. And I’m glad I did.

In just a few weeks, William Shatner turns 81. He and my dad (and Leonard Nimoy, incidentally) were born days apart. And what I find most remarkable about Shatner is how much energy, enthusiasm, and drive he still has at this point in his life. He’s still sharp as a tack. The man walked out on stage and delivered a non-stop performance for an hour and 40 minutes and didn’t seem the slightest bit drained at the end. He’s truly an inspiration.

The show itself is an entertaining, sometimes touching journey through his life and career, with lots of anecdotes—some I’ve heard before, many undoubtedly enhanced or downright exaggerated for dramatic effect (or humorous effect, as the case may be)—but always interesting. He talks about his parents, his experiences growing up in Canada, and how he developed an interest in acting. His father had been expecting him to join the family business. When Shatner announced his intention to become an actor, his dad told him that he couldn’t afford to support him in that pursuit—but if young Bill ever changed his mind and decided to join his father at the clothing store, there would always be a place for him. I heard more than a few “awwwws” coming from people in the audience.

He used that story as an example of the importance of love, and the different forms it can take, making the point that you can kid around with people, mock them, argue with them, insult them, but still feel love for them. To help illustrate this, he showed a clip from the infamous Comedy Central TV special in which he was roasted, a clip in which his former co-star George Takei delivers upon Shatner a brutal—but undeniably hilarious—verbal barrage. Shatner freezes the clip and points out the expression of utter disdain and contempt on Takei’s face. “That’s not love,” Shatner declares with mock dismay. “That’s hate!”

Shatner spends quite a bit of time discussing a project that apparently meant a lot to him, a 1964 TV pilot in which he played Alexander the Great. As Alexander, he got to work extensively with horses—a lifelong passion of his.

He addresses Star Trek, of course, but I wouldn’t exactly call it the centerpiece of the show. Shatner describes it as being not much more than an opportunity for an ambitious actor in his 30s to star in a network TV show, one that ended after three years. Much to his surprise, that show somehow came back years later as a movie series and there he was, once again in the center seat. Shatner doesn’t gush over Star Trek with a lot of love and sentimentality, nor does he mock it and tell anyone to “get a life.” He does admit that for many years he was somewhat defensive about his association with the series, that he felt a certain degree of embarrassment about it, but he’s now finally at peace with the whole phenomenon, and it doesn’t bother him anymore that he’ll always be best known for playing Captain Kirk.

Then he devotes a segment to the role that stands a very good chance of actually eclipsing Kirk in the eyes of many fans: Denny Crane of Boston Legal, for which he received two Emmy awards.

Alas, T.J. Hooker doesn’t get equal time.

Shatner doesn’t shy away from some of the lowest low points in his life. There’s no mention of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, but he does discuss the death of his third wife and how he was able to recover from it and find love again in its aftermath.

William Shatner is well known for being bombastic, overblown, narcissistic, hammy, charming, funny, and silly. And all of that is on display in Shatner’s World.

Realistically speaking, there may not be too many more opportunities to see William Shatner live on stage—same reason I’m going to see the Beach Boys (with Brian Wilson!) in May. So for anyone who has an interest in the man, his work, and his life, this show is definitely recommended.

At the very least, you’ll get to see William Shatner in probably the one and only show he’s ever done where he’s absolutely, positively adored by the entire cast.      

© All text copyright Glenn Greenberg, 2012.

STAR TREK THROUGH FRESH EYES, PART TEN

I’ve come to think of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country as the Abbey Road of the Star Trek movies. As with that legendary Beatles album, everyone involved went into the project knowing that it was probably the last time they’d all be working together, so they focused on making it as good a swan song as possible.  

In the wake of the less-than-stellar box-office performance of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, there was a strong possibility that there would be no sixth movie featuring the original cast. Longtime producer Harve Bennett had gotten approval from Paramount Pictures to develop a prequel, The Academy Years, which would show the main characters—primarily Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty—as young men enrolled in Starfleet Academy, meeting for the first time, taking part in an adventure together, and going their separate ways at the end, having no idea that they would be reunited years later aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Bennett’s goal was to take Star Trek in a new direction without abandoning the classic characters, and to bring down production costs—by 1989, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were commanding very high salaries for the films, and negotiations between the studio and the two stars got longer and more complicated with each new production. Bennett’s position was that recasting the roles with young, far less expensive actors would ease the strain on the budget and give the film series new longevity. 

Given the go-ahead by the studio, Bennett hired David Loughery, who had written Star Trek V, to write the new screenplay. Even more significant, the plan was for The Academy Years to mark Bennett’s debut as a director. But word leaked out about the project prematurely, and it was met with strong opposition from fans, members of the original cast, and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Then a sudden regime change occurred at Paramount, and the prequel was put on hold. 

Paramount still wanted another movie, to be released in time for Star Trek’s twenty-fifth anniversary in late 1991, but the new studio heads wanted a traditional film, one featuring the original cast. And they wanted it made as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Bennett turned down Paramount’s offer to oversee the project—according to him, he had no interest in producing another film featuring “the over-the-hill gang.” Nearly 10 years after first becoming involved with Star Trek and playing a major role in saving it, Harve Bennett made his exit from the franchise.    

To keep the project moving along, Paramount turned to Leonard Nimoy, who agreed to take over as executive producer but declined to return to the director’s chair.  Instead, he approached Nicholas Meyer, director/co-writer of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and co-writer of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Nimoy and Meyer worked out a storyline and Meyer wrote the screenplay with his colleague, Denny Martin Flinn. (Fun fact: Meyer had originally intended to use The Undiscovered Country as the title for Star Trek II, but was overruled by the Paramount execs of the time. Clearly, he had a strong attachment to that title!)

Filming began on April 16, 1991. Right around that time, a well-connected friend of mine gave me a copy of an early draft of the script. It was the first time I ever had the script for a Star Trek movie in my possession while that same movie was in production. Naturally, I dove right into it, spoilers be damned—after Star Trek V, I wanted to know ahead of time what I was in for.

I no longer remember exactly what my reaction was, other than the overall feeling that the script definitely had potential and that a lot would depend on the execution. Aside from a few significant revisions and deletions, which I’ll get to later, the script I read was pretty much the movie that opened on December 6, 1991. While certainly not perfect, Star Trek VI restores the dignity and the maturity to the characters that had been missing in the previous film and serves as a fitting and moving farewell to the original crew.

My nine-year-old daughter Maddie, having watched Seasons One, Two, and Three of the Original Series, followed by the Animated Series and the previous five movies, would now get to see how the “first era” of Star Trek drew to a close.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

The U.S.S. Excelsior, now under the command of Captain Hikaru Sulu, is hit by a massive shockwave originating from Klingon space. This leads to the discovery of a disaster at the Klingon Empire’s main energy-production facility—a disaster that has caused widespread ecological devastation. The Klingons are now forced to re-evaluate their priorities and establish peace talks with the United Federation of Planets. Captain James T. Kirk and his senior officers, due to retire in several months, are ordered by Starfleet Command to take the U.S.S. Enterprise to rendezvous with Klingon Chancellor Gorkon and escort him and his party to Earth for peace negotiations. Kirk, having grown embittered over the death of his son David Marcus at the hands of Klingons, strongly opposes the mission—which puts him directly at odds with Spock, who supports the peace initiative and actually volunteered Kirk and the Enterprise for the assignment. Gorkon and his senior aides—including his daughter Azetbur and his chief of staff, General Chang—share a tense dinner with Kirk and his senior officers. Later that night, Gorkon’s flagship is attacked—apparently by the Enterprise—and Gorkon is assassinated. The Klingons blame Kirk and Doctor McCoy for Gorkon’s death, arrest the two men, and put them on trial (during which their defense lawyer is Colonel Worf, grandfather of Lieutenant Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation and played by the same actor, Michael Dorn). Kirk and McCoy are found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on Rura Penthe, a harsh, frozen Klingon prison asteroid. Now in command of the Enterprise, Spock, aided by his female Vulcan protégé, Lieutenant Valeris, conducts an investigation into the assassination and discovers that Starfleet personnel are indeed involved. Meanwhile, Kirk and McCoy’s hours are numbered as a plot unfolds to kill them on Rura Penthe. Spock must expose the conspirators determined to derail the rescheduled peace talks and rescue his imprisoned friends—even if it means disobeying direct orders from Starfleet Command and the President of the Federation…

I’ve always felt that Star Trek VI has a pervasive “twilight of the gods” feel about it. The beloved iconic characters, still carrying out their familiar duties but now clearly past their prime, with the end of their careers in sight, are beginning the long fade into history. There are many touches throughout the film that convey this. McCoy mentions that he has a touch of arthritis. Kirk and Sulu have wisps of gray in their hair. Spock still functions as Kirk’s science officer and second-in-command, but he has one foot out the door, as he’s laying the groundwork for his next career. At one point, he wonders aloud to Kirk whether the two of them have grown so old that they’ve outlived their usefulness.

On top of all this, the interiors of the Enterprise are no longer roomy and bright—they’re now a bit tighter, narrower, and lit more dimly and moodier than ever before, as if to indicate that night, figuratively speaking, is descending upon this ship, this crew, this era. This is also conveyed through the music—there’s no bold, upbeat opening theme this time, but rather an ominous-sounding piece that begins quietly and ultimately builds into a loud conflagration of impending menace. And little musical moments throughout the film seem to say, “You’re seeing this for the last time.” (For example, the Enterprise-A departing from Spacedock, carrying Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the original crew on a new mission.)

But while the film directly addresses the now advanced ages of the characters and reinforces the fact that most of them are about to step down, it never pokes fun at them for being older, it never portrays them as anything less than totally competent and professional. When the main characters appear onscreen for the first time, it’s abundantly clear that they’re not the goofy near-caricatures of themselves that they were in the previous film. And that even extends to the Enterprise, which had been portrayed as a barely functional lemon in Star Trek V.  

In fact, as far as this movie is concerned, Star Trek V might as well have never happened. In wrapping up the movie adventures of the original crew, The Undiscovered Country makes references to each of the previous films in the series—all except for The Final Frontier and The Motion Picture (the other redheaded stepchild).

Speaking of making references, it’s important to note that Star Trek VI is very much a product of its time, with allusions to Chernobyl, the end of the Cold War, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. And yet, the film doesn’t really feel dated. After all, it’s not like there haven’t been any political assassinations, attempted governmental overthrows, or widespread environmental disasters over the past 20 years.

The film also allows Nicholas Meyer to indulge his inner fanboy—not for Star Trek, but for Sherlock Holmes, about whom Meyer has written three original novels: The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, The West End Horror, and The Canary Trainer. With a mysterious assassination and a vast conspiracy at the center of the plot, Spock essentially functions as Holmes, quotes him, and even obliquely refers to him as one of his ancestors.

Star Trek VI is very enjoyable, and I rank it as one of the better films in the series. It’s a gripping, fast-paced adventure-mystery-thriller with a lot of heart. But it does have some flaws. There are several inconsistencies and unanswered questions that stick out like a sore thumb. Why are all of the senior officers on the Enterprise retiring at the same time? Chekov is about 10 years younger than Kirk, and about 15-20 years younger than McCoy and Scotty, so why is he stepping down? It’s still conceivable that he could be given his own ship to command, like Sulu. 

Also, near the end of the film, it’s announced that the Enterprise will be decommissioned upon its return to Earth, yet Kirk says a short time later, in his final log entry, “This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew.” Uh . . . no it won’t. Not if the ship is being decommissioned. (Which raises another question: why is the Enterprise being decommissioned, anyway? At the time of Star Trek VI, the ship has only been in service for a few years. It was supposedly a brand-new ship in the previous two films.) Those are just a few—and probably the least spoiler-filled—examples.

However, there’s one confounding bit that’s long been interpreted by audiences and critics as a glaring error in the script, but in fact was a goof created during production. It’s established in the first scene that the Excelsior, under the command of Sulu, has spent the last three years cataloguing gaseous planetary anomalies in the Beta Quadrant. Much later, the Enterprise is trying to pinpoint the location of an attacking Klingon bird-of-prey rendered invisible by its cloaking device. Spock notes that, cloaked or not, the Klingon ship is expending fuel in the form of ionized gas.  In response, Uhura says, “What about all that equipment we’re carrying to catalogue gaseous anomalies? The thing’s got to have a tail pipe!”

A lot of people immediately concluded, “Meyer got the ships mixed up! It was the Excelsior that was studying gaseous anomalies, not the Enterprise!”

Well, it’s easy to see why folks would think that, but the fact is, the script had it covered. There was a brief scene written for early in the film, when Chancellor Gorkon and his party first beam aboard the Enterprise, in which this point is addressed directly. I don’t know whether it was filmed and edited out of the final cut, or if it was dropped from the script just before filming began. Whatever the case, here’s the scene, taken from a close-t0-final draft of the screenplay:

INT. R DECK CORRIDOR

leaving the Enterprise Science Labs...

GORKON

Your research laboratory is most impressive...

KIRK

Starfleet’s been charting and cataloging planetary atmospheres.

All vessels are equipped with chemical analytic sensors...

GORKON

This cannot be easy for you, Captain...

(off the look)

I would feel awkward if I had to give you a tour of OUR vessel...

The man’s courtesy makes Kirk feel guilty...

KIRK

Would you care to go topside?

CHANG

Very much.

CHEKOV

(pulling Kirk aside)

Captain, you’re not going to show them the bridge??

KIRK

(clenched teeth)

Full diplomatic courtesy, Mr. Chekov...

And there you have it. I’d love to know why this bit didn’t make it into the finished film, because its absence created a glaring plot hole.

In terms of revisions, the most significant one involves the new character of Valeris, played by Kim Cattrall.

It’s fairly common knowledge now that Valeris was originally written as Saavik. Director Meyer was hoping to get Kirstie Alley to play the role again. For whatever reason, Alley turned him down.  Meyer had no interest in bringing back Robin Curtis, who took over the role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, presumably because she didn’t fit his vision for the character. (Curtis had been Nimoy’s hire, after all, and she had brought a very different interpretation to the part.) When Cattrall was hired, the decision was made to create an entirely new character rather than have a third actress play Saavik. (Interestingly enough, Cattrall had auditioned for the role of Saavik back in 1981, for The Wrath of Khan, and was reportedly Meyer’s first choice.)

For the longest time, I was actually relieved that Saavik had been changed to Valeris. I didn’t like the idea that (SPOILER ALERT!) Saavik would betray Spock and the Federation (even though her motives for it would have been sincere and even understandable). Based on her previous appearances, I didn’t think Saavik capable of such actions, and I felt it would have been unfortunate for her go out that way. Plus, I liked the addition of Valeris. I thought she was different enough from Saavik that she was more than just the same character with a new name. (A lot of that had to do with Cattrall’s excellent performance, though. In terms of the actual writing, all Meyer and Denny Martin Flinn really did was cross out Saavik’s name and scrawl in “Valeris.” The dialogue remained virtually unchanged.)

Nowadays, however, as an experienced writer—one who’s even written Star Trek professionally—I’m far more conflicted about it. I do still like the fact that Saavik was spared from such a troubling twist to her character.  But I also readily acknowledge that it would have been far more dramatic, far more surprising, far more groundbreaking, far more gut-wrenching—and therefore far more powerful—to have such a long-running, established, and popular character as Saavik turn out to be a traitor. We the audience would have felt just as shocked, just as betrayed, just as heartbroken as Spock, because we, like Spock, had come to trust Saavik completely and to think that we knew her well. (The fact that she witnessed firsthand the Klingons’ murder of her friend David Marcus would have given her a much stronger motivation for trying to stop the peace talks than Valeris had. I’m intrigued by the notion that Saavik would have held her own deepening resentment toward the Klingons for all those years until she finally acted upon it.)

Bottom line: I’m glad Saavik is still one of the “good guys,” but I think I would have eventually come to accept the originally-planned outcome, particularly if Kirstie Alley had performed the role. I’ve little doubt that Alley would have brought all the nuance and complexity that would have been needed to make the revelation convincing and palatable. (Oh, but what a sucker-punch it would have been—we’ve finally got the original Saavik back, but it turns out that she’s in league with the bad guys! OOOOFFFF!) 

Kirstie Alley wasn’t the only Star Trek II veteran who declined Nicholas Meyer’s invitation to return. I remember being absolutely thrilled when I heard rumblings that composer James Horner would be returning to the fold. Alas, those rumblings proved to be incorrect. By 1991, Horner had become one of the most sought-after composers in the film industry, and according to Meyer, his asking price was just too high for Star Trek VI’s modest budget. However, other sources quoted Horner himself as saying that he felt his career had “moved past Star Trek.” (That didn’t sit well with me—it smacked of arrogance and snobbery towards something that helped make his career. I’ve always hoped that he was misquoted.) Meyer ultimately took a chance on Cliff Eidelman, a relative unknown—just as he’d done with Horner 10 years earlier.

While not quite as iconic or as penetrating as the scores by Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner, Eidelman’s work on Star Trek VI is very effective and appropriate. It’s certainly a lot stronger than what Leonard Rosenman did on Star Trek IV. Eidelman’s score is moody, dark, menacing, hopeful, and uplifting. 

Though Alley and Horner declined to return, George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), which had been absent on Star Trek V, came back to create the special effects. As usual, its team of artists did a wonderful job. They even broke some new ground—the massive shockwave seen at the beginning of the film was so impressive that Lucas later incorporated it into the explosions of the planet Alderaan, the Death Star, and its successor in his revised versions of Star Wars and Return of the Jedi.

It’s worth noting that some people—including Gene Roddenberry, who saw the finished film just days before he died—took issue with Star Trek VI because of the prejudice—the downright bigotry—that several of the main characters display toward the Klingons. It’s true that early in the film, Kirk declares that the Klingons are all animals and that they should be allowed to die out as a race. Uhura acknowledges that she’s been harboring her own anti-Klingon sentiments. And in a scene exclusive to the Director’s Edition of the film (released on DVD), Scotty refers to Gorkon’s daughter, the new Klingon Chancellor, as “that Klingon bitch.”

Yes, this is a bit more extreme than we’re used to from these characters. But given the fact that they’re older now, more set in their ways, with a long history of fighting Klingons—some of whom were quite loathsome and brutal—I don’t think any of this is out of line. Kirk in particular has plenty of cause to feel hatred toward the Klingons after the murder of his son. Having lost the chance to finally establish a meaningful relationship with his only child, it’s absolutely understandable that Kirk would have grown more and more bitter and resentful as the years went by.

But to focus solely on these less-than-flattering character moments and to criticize the film because of them is to miss the bigger picture: the characters come to recognize their prejudice, see the ugliness of it, and ultimately overcome it, thus saving the day and ensuring a brighter future. That, to me, is quintessential Star Trek.

The script is helped immensely by the all-around wonderful performances by the cast. They’re really back in top form here.

With Nicholas Meyer guiding him again, William Shatner is truly excellent as an older, harder-edged, more conservative, and more solemn Captain Kirk. It’s a very straightforward, no-nonsense portrayal, without any traces of the hamminess and goofiness that was on display when Shatner directed himself in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.   

Leonard Nimoy is a bit more intense as Spock this time around, showing more emotion than ever before—impatience, sadness, disgust, and smoldering anger. This Spock has come to the conclusion that “logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end,” thus continuing the evolution of the character that began in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and progressed throughout the other films in the series.  

In his last-ever appearance as Doctor McCoy, DeForest Kelley gets some very nice moments, particularly the scene in which he tries to save Chancellor Gorkon’s life and his interactions with Kirk on Rura Penthe. And as usual, McCoy gets most of the funny lines—one of which even gets laughs from a bunch of Klingons during his trial!

All of the supporting cast members are served well, as they get the chance to shine and make important contributions. Most notable, of course, is George Takei, now Captain Sulu (whose first name is finally officially established as Hikaru).   

I’ve already mentioned how good I thought Kim Cattrall was as Valeris. Of the other “guest stars,” David Warner—who was woefully underused as a Federation diplomat in Star Trek V—is quite effective in his somewhat brief appearance as Gorkon.

Christopher Plummer is a hell of a lot of fun as the bald, one-eyed, Shakespeare-loving General Chang. (And one of the great bits is when Chang really starts to overdo his quoting of the Bard, to the point where it’s testing even the audience’s patience, and McCoy snaps, “I’d give real money if he’d shut up!”) 

Iman is quite good as Martia, an alien prisoner who crosses paths with Kirk and McCoy on Rura Penthe.

Kurtwood Smith, best known for his roles as the vile Clarence Boddicker in the original RoboCop and as Red Forman in That 70s Show, does a nice job playing the alien President of the United Federation of Planets. Brock Peters returns as Admiral Cartwright, the character he played in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home—but with a twist (one that required Peters to say some dialogue that he was reportedly not at all comfortable with). And Mark Lenard makes a final, brief appearance as Spock’s father, Ambassador Sarek.

It’s also notable that the director’s cut of the film features a pre-Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rene Auberjonois as Colonel West, a Starfleet officer with a daring plan to rescue Kirk and McCoy from Rura Penthe—and full confidence that the Federation would easily defeat the Klingons in the inevitable war that would result from such an operation.

As Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was designed to be the final film with the original cast, it could easily have been a bloodbath, with Kirk and his crew going out in a blaze of glory (except for McCoy and Spock—at the time of the film’s release, we already knew, thanks to Star Trek: The Next Generation, that they would both survive well into the 24^th century). But The Undiscovered Country is not about death and tearing things down. It’s about change (and the fear of it), learning to trust, and building bridges. Far preferable, I think.

Star Trek VI ends beautifully. Kirk, quoting from Peter Pan, gives a final course heading: “Second star to the right… and straight on ’til morning.” (Meyer had actually intended that to be Kirk’s last line in Star Trek II.) The Enterprise then literally fades into the sunset and the main cast signs off in a final farewell. 

As far as I’m concerned, that’s the last we’ve ever seen of the original crew. There’s just no way to appropriately follow up on the sight of them passing into legend. Their ultimate fates—particularly Kirk’s—should remain unknown. (If you don’t already know what I think of 1994’s Star Trek Generations, take a guess.)

And now for Maddie’s comments:

MADDIE: “I liked it! I had no expections (expectations) going in, so I wasn’t disappointed.

“I thought after Star Trek V that they might look for something else, the way they had looked for God. So I was surprised that this movie focused on the Klingons.

“I liked how it was a mystery—who fired on the Klingon ship if it wasn’t the Enterprise? It was very cool that it turned out to be a bird-of-prey that could fire its weapons while its cloaking device was on! We know from Star Trek III that a bird-of-prey isn’t supposed to be able to do that, so it added to the mystery. 

“And then the old Klingon at the prison was going to tell Kirk who was behind everything and Kirk and McCoy got beamed back to the Enterprise just before they could get the name!

“I thought from the second I saw Valeris that she was a suspicious character. There was a look in her eyes when they did close-ups on her. You knew that you couldn’t trust her. I wasn’t surprised that she turned out to be working with the bad guys. But if Valeris had been Saavik, I would’ve been fooled!

“I think that when Spock found out the truth about Valeris, it made him feel very sad and disappointed in her. He was her teacher and he wanted her to be the best and to succeed.

“Spock seemed very angry when he smacked the phaser out of Valeris’s hand. That was really surprising, because Spock doesn’t usually show his feelings—so he must have been really angry!

“The movie was kind of funny. I laughed during the scene in the Klingon courtroom when McCoy was asked about his health and he said, ‘Aside from a touch of arthritis, I’d say it’s pretty good!’ I also thought it was funny when Spock asks McCoy to help him perform surgery on a torpedo and McCoy says, ‘Fascinating!’ And I loved it when the alien woman kissed Kirk and McCoy made a face and said, ‘What is it with you, anyway?’

“It’s great that we got to see everyone one last time. The movie didn’t focus only on Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Everyone got some attention, which was good.

“The Klingons were different in this movie. They wanted peace—except for Christopher Plummer. I never thought that Christopher Plummer could be a Klingon, after seeing him in The Sound of Music, but I guess I was wrong! Chang was mean and he wanted war with the Federation. Christopher Plummer played Chang very well—I was surprised he could play such a bad guy.

“I liked that they showed Spock’s father again.

“Kirk was very depressed and angry about the death of his son. But I think it was very weird for Kirk, of all people, to say, ‘Let them die.’ If I were in his place, I’d probably feel the same way, but I still wouldn’t have expected Captain Kirk to say something like that. William Shatner played him very well in this one—he was all serious.

“Good for Sulu that he’s got his own ship now! And he’s got the Excelsior—last time we saw that ship, it broke down, but it seems to be working fine now!

“I thought Sulu might die at the beginning when his ship was hit by that giant shockwave, but I didn’t really think anyone was going to die because this is the last movie and these characters are loved by so many people, and they would want the audience to be happy at the end, not devastated.

“I’m sad that this is the last one—it seems like yesterday that we were watching ‘Space Seed’ and ‘The City on the Edge of Forever.’ It’s like saying goodbye to people that I’d see like, almost every weekend!

“I’ll definitely miss McCoy the most!

“I liked when Kirk says, ‘Second star to the right… and straight on ’til morning.’ The Enterprise just fading away into the sunset was really very nice.

“The movie ends the way you really want it to—you don’t see them really say goodbye to each other. You can make up your own way for how they do that. They’ll always have a special bond, even though their adventures together are ending.

“It was very nice seeing the cast signing off at the very end. It was a way to say goodbye to the audience.”

“If I had to put the movies in order, starting with the ones I liked best, it would be like this: II, III, IV, VI, V, and I.”

And so, we’ve finally reached the last of the Star Trek adventures featuring the entire original cast. I’ve had a great time revisiting everything from beginning to end, but what really made it special, of course, was watching Maddie experience it all for the first time—and become a fan in her own right. The next generation, indeed!

Speaking of which—we won’t be getting into any of the later Star Trek TV shows, or the movies featuring the Next Generation characters. But Maddie and I will wrap up this special series of blog entries in the near future, with our comments on the 2009 film, Star Trek.

Until then, I intend to post some shorter pieces, on a wider variety of topics—which will undoubtedly be a relief to all of you non-Trekkers out there!

© All text copyright Glenn Greenberg, 2012.