Star Trek nod in Absolute Justice...
Goyer and Jonah Nolan Writing Next BATMAN Movie?
Feb 08 | While his "Lost" co-stars prepare to pack up and leave Hawaii, Daniel Dae Kim can plan to remain there for at least a few more months. Mr. Kim, who plays the time-traveling tough guy Jin on "Lost," has been the first actor cast in a coming remake of the crime drama "Hawaii Five-O," The Hollywood Reporter said. He has been cast as Chin Ho Kelly, a detective played by Kam Fong in the original series, which began in 1968. The "Hawaii Five-O" revival is being developed by the screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci ("Star Trek," "Fringe") and Peter Lenkov, an executive producer of "CSI: NY."
Feb 03 | William Shatner has paid tribute to his former Boston Legal co-star Justin Mentell, who died in a freak car accident on Monday. The 27 year old was thrown from his Jeep after swerving off the road near Madison, Wisconsin and died at the scene of the tragic crash. The Star Trek legend was saddened to hear of Mentell's passing - as he's convinced the actor was destined for a glittering career. In a post on his Twitter.com page, Shatner writes, "I'm deeply saddened to hear about Justin Mentell. There's no telling how far up the ladder he may have climbed. My sympathies to his family."
Feb 01 | Journalist Edward Gross posted an article at SciFiTVZone.com called "The Making of the Star Trek Pilots, Part 3: "Assignment Earth"" which takes a retrospective look at the making of the Gene Roddenberry unsold TV pilot "Assignment Earth" filmed at Desilu Studios as a second season Star Trek episode. The article feature rare interviews - including authors involved with the character of Gary Seven in comics and in novels.
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New Computer Voice. Do You Want Marina Sirtis as the Computer Voice in Star TreK XII?
By BWilliams / 09:18, 24 October 2003 / Reviews - Books
Synopsis: In 1893 a time-traveling Jean-Luc Picard encountered a long-lived alien named Guinan. During this "first encounter", Picard saved Guinan's life, a favor she would never forget. But he remembers a different first encounter with the mysterious El-Aurian, and this is the story of that fateful first meeting.
Review: "It's a relationship that goes beyond friendship..." – Guinan, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
I'll just come out at the start of this review and say it: Michael Jan Friedman has hit gold once again. After the average paint-by-the-numbers storytelling of THREE, he delivers a solid, fast-paced story from start to finish with OBLIVION, the latest entry in the STARGAZER series.
As we know from THE NEXT GENERATION, the complex and rarely mentioned relationship between Captain Picard and the enigmatic Guinan became one of the staples of the series in its seven-year run and in the GENERATIONS feature film. Fans wondered about the depths of this relationship - was it based on trust? Was it romantic? Where and how did it all begin?
Picking up shortly after the events of THREE, Picard finds himself exploring the ruins of a wrecked freighter on a distant world called Oblivion. His mission from Starfleet Command is to locate an acquaintance of his and retrieve vital information that will help the Federation in its tenuous negotiations with the Cardassians. Something goes wrong, however, and Picard finds himself at the heart of a bombing investigation on Oblivion and the chief suspect. When he is imprisoned for crimes he did not commit, he befriends a mysterious female who knows Picard differently. Together, Picard and Guinan work to locate his contact, retrieve the information, and clear his name in the bombing incident.
The Cardassians, however, have other plans. A Cardassian landing party led by an ambitious glinn attempts to retrieve the same information from the same contact, and it soon turns into a cat-and-mouse race against time. To go into detail any further would ruin the intensity of the story, but I will say that it's a taut page-turner from start to finish.
Friedman not only delivers in the story of OBLIVION, but he also sets up certain events that will occur in the NEXT GENERATION timeframe, specifically in certain aspects pertaining to Picard and his future that we know and love. One light-hearted moment occurs with the loss of something Picard holds dearly, but it's something we can't imagine Picard having much of in the first place from the first frames of NEXT GENERATION, and the lack of it only adds to his character. As for the aforementioned Cardassian glinn who appears in the story, he's a ruthless killer who takes great pleasure in killing and torture for the fun of it. To reveal his identity would ruin the surprise, but let's just say that fans will get to see more of him, and his son, aboard a certain former Cardassian space station in a few decades. And that's one of the fun aspects Friedman brings to OBLIVION, as he lays the groundwork for things to come.
While the novel also delves into other matters aboard the Stargazer itself, including on-ship romances, fights between crewmen, and even betrayals, the central focus on the novel is the Picard-Guinan story. Friedman keeps the reins focused in delivering a tale that is fast-paced, at times humorous, packed with action and hints of events to come.
OBLIVION is one of Friedman's best novels to date, and it's safe to say that we haven't heard the last of Picard and Guinan yet. It's solid reading from start to finish.
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