Saturday, November 3, 2007

Saturday Morning Cartoons!

"Star Trek: The Animated Series" (1973)




Buffy the Vampire Slayer is currently living out the eighth season of the television series as a comic book. As innovative as this is, Joss Whedon wasn't the first to continue a series in a different form. Gene Roddenberry created a fourth season of Star Trek for Saturday morning cartoons. What's amazing, is that he didn't just sell off the rights to Filmation and turn it over to some Saturday Morning schlock producers to dumb it down and give Kirk a comic sidekick alien. The scripts are intelligent and the science fiction is heady. While not fully regarded as canon, the show IS Star Trek. He assembled the original actors to do the voices, apparently through the insistence of Leonard Nimoy, and many veteran Trek writers wrote for the series. Walter Koenig (Chekhov on the series) was not asked to return, which, depending on who you ask was either a move to save some money or an opportunity for Roddenberry and the creators to add a very alien looking alien to the bridge. Koenig did, however, pen the episode The Infinite Vulcan.

While the animation and the pacing can be a little stilted, the scripts are top notch and the designs are very accurate to the original while also being very creative. Storylines and characters from the original often popped up continuing their themes and adventures. In this one, scripted by the always dependable D.C. Fontanna, the Guardian of Forever returns and it's the first time we see the effects of someone changing something in the past and how it affects the "present day" crew.

This is part one...



I recommend seeking out parts two and three. You can find them on You Tube by clicking HERE.

William Shatner is infamous for a few outtakes he did while recording this show, including one where the voice director very diplomatically corrects him on the pronunciation of the word "sabotage." You can see from this clip that Mr. Shatner doesn't take direction very well. It sickens him.





THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"The Westboro Baptist Church has been protesting at the funerals of U.S. soldiers because they believe what?"

12% decreeded "God hates war."
- I thinks/he does in theory, but not in practice.

Nobody figured it was "God hates funerals." or "God hates flags."
- I think s/he only hates it when people worship the flag.

88% know for a fact that "God hates fags."

According to the Associated Press, the fiery message of the Westboro Baptist Church has led its followers into a fight for what they say are their First Amendment rights. The church believes that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. The protesters carry signs bearing such slogans as "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags." On Wednesday, the church was found liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress and jurors awarded a the grieving father $10.9 million. The church will appeal and the judgment is expected to be thrown out. Sometimes the constitution protects assholes, too.