Tag Archive for 'the viewscreen'

alternate wednesday: Star Trek (2009)

Posted by ecmyers on 05/15/2013 at 8:37 PM in Film and Science Fiction and Fantasy.

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I’m pretty excited about finally getting to see Star Trek Into Darkness tomorrow night. I’ve been dodging internet spoilers like it’s my job, and I’m one of the devout Star Trek fans who really digs J.J. Abrams’ take on the franchise. It doesn’t take a lot to please me: Give me time travel, alternate timelines, and Leonard Nimoy, and I’m a happy geek. (Props to Abrams and Fringe for also delivering on all three!)

I just re-watched the 2009 Abrams film, which (spoiler!) I did like a hell of a lot, and I’m happy to say I still enjoy it. In honor of the release of the new film, here’s my non-spoilery review of Star Trek from way back in 2009, which launched me on my Star Trek Re-Watches at Tor.com and The Viewscreen. In the comments, let me know what you think of the Abrams’ films, but no spoilers on Into Darkness until 10:00 p.m. EST tomorrow night, please.

Continue reading ‘alternate wednesday: Star Trek (2009)’

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links to the past

Posted by ecmyers on 04/17/2013 at 8:00 AM in Business, Novels, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Short Stories, Television and Writing.

Apologies for the lack of my Alternate Wednesday posts of late; oddly enough, it’s a matter of not having enough time for them. I thought the biweekly schedule would be manageable, but with a novel to revise and multiple deadlines for various projects (including several other blogs I contribute to–see below), it has been the easiest thing to put aside. But I enjoy writing them, and I hope some of you enjoy reading them, so they will continue–but perhaps on a sporadic basis for the moment.

"Yesterday's Enterprise"That said, I’m double-dipping this week. It’s no surprise that many of my favorite episodes of Star Trek (in all its incarnations) involve time travel and/or alternate realities. So last week I was happy to cover one of the very best of these in the ongoing Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-Watch at The Viewscreen: “Yesterday’s Enterprise“. Here’s an excerpt:

But I tell you, this episode is exciting, not least because it fills in some of the time between Kirk’s era and the TNG years, with the introduction of the Enterprise-C. (It hits some of the same buttons for me that “Babylon Squared” on Babylon 5 does, my favorite episode of the first season in which the Babylon 4 station reappears due to a temporal anomaly…) And I love this vessel, a beautiful melding of the best features of the Constitution-class and Galaxy-class designs. “Yesterday’s Enterprise” also has high stakes, gruesome deaths, and it looks and sounds more cinematic than anything on the show previously. I’m also a sucker for stories in which one ship or one person makes a huge impact for others–even in failure; we always root for the Enterprise to survive, but the idea that one crew’s sacrifice could still be a victory of sorts is gratifying.

Pop over there to see my episode recap and read reviews by me, Torie Atkinson, and our fine commenters.

I also had two other guest blog posts this week, if you haven’t had enough of me:

And finally, here’s a link to download a free PDF of Sybil’s Garage No. 7, which among many fantastic pieces includes one of my favorite short stories that I’ve written, “My Father’s Eyes”. It’s even kind of YA-ish, though with a slightly older main character, a photographer named Ambrose. And here’s the editor talking about the issue, Anne Frank, Justin Bieber, and the band Neutral Milk Hotel.

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Kirk out.

Posted by ecmyers on 08/16/2011 at 8:30 AM in Admin, Books, Media and Television.

*crickets*

It’s been a little quiet around here… Too quiet, I know. But I’ve been hunting wabbits edits, revising my novel. So that’s coming along.

Happily, my blogging hiatus is nearly over, though; I have a slew of posts planned, and a wee bit of “free” time opening up soon, because (drum roll) the Star Trek Animated Series Re-Watch has just concluded! It’s been a hell of a ride*, and fortunately the series ended on a high note with “The Counter-Clock Incident.” You can read our reflections on the entire series here, and of course, check out all our reviews of the cartoon and the original series over at The Viewscreen.

“What’s next?” you might ask. I’ll pretend you did, anyway. Torie and I are planning to continue our Star Trek re-watch with the films, probably beginning in September. In the meantime, we’ll have a few open discussion threads running on the site and we’re hosting virtual viewing parties for the movies so we can share the delights and pain of the even and odd installments, respectively. So let us know if you’d like to join us for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan on Saturday, August 27 at 2 p.m.

It hasn’t been all work and no play, even if it often feels that way. I finally started The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (on the Wii)–not much progress yet, but it’s fun–and have been working my way through Mad Men and Skins (UK) and various other shows whenever I can justify the downtime. I’ve also been reading great books, most recently The Demon’s Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan, The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey and The Magicians by Lev Grossman (finally!).

So what have you been up to while I’ve been gone? Have any good television or book recommendations?

_____________

*That could really mean anything, right? Take it however you like.

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welcome to toontown

Posted by ecmyers on 05/26/2011 at 9:30 AM in Media and Television.

The brief hiatus at The Viewscreen is over, which means I’m as busy as ever: writing reviews, revising a novel, and juggling all sorts of miscellaneous tasks in addition to the day job. I have a small vacation coming up this weekend, and I really need it.

This time Torie and I are (re)watching Star Trek: The Animated Series. Though I went into this re-watch with some trepidation, so far I’ve been enjoying the show immensely. As with the original series, you have to overlook some flaws inherent to the budgetary constraints placed on the show, but these animated adventures often aspire to the same depth and quality of the live-action stories. Not many people have seen them and the series is rarely talked about, but they are very much an important part of the franchise’s long history.

This week we covered the first two episodes, “Beyond the Farthest Star” and “Yesteryear,” the latter which is D.C. Fontana’s quasi-sequel to the classic episodes “The City on the Edge of Forever” and “Journey to Babel.” I think they’re well worth your time, and fortunately you can now watch the entire series for free at CBS.com. Episodes are only 24 minutes long, so why not watch along with us and tell us what you think? You can also just read our lovingly-crafted recaps and commentary and share your two cents without having to watch a thing.

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shimmery goodness

Posted by ecmyers on 04/21/2011 at 10:00 AM in Media, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Short Stories, Television and Writing.

In what’s becoming an annual tradition, a new short story of mine was just published in a small press fantasy magazine, this time Shimmer magazine. I certainly feel lucky that my story “All the Lonely People” is in issue # 13, now available for order (in electronic and print editions). I’ve wanted to be published in Shimmer since I saw the second issue, which gives you an idea of how long I’ve been sending them fiction and the value of persistence.

Some of you may recall that I read “All the Lonely People” at the Altered Fluid reading at NYRSF last June, where people didn’t hate it. Here’s a brief excerpt:

I found the woman in the last train car; her kind is usually drawn to the edges of things, wherever they can be alone, wherever they can go unnoticed. She was reading a poster on the back wall, both hands gripping the seatbacks on either side of the aisle as if they were holding her up. I could see through her to the poster, an ad for classes at some community college.

She was a fader.

That’s what I call them, those caught in that limbo that claims more and more people every day. I don’t know what that makes those of us who can see them. I assume there are others like me, but it’s not like I got a membership card and a list of instructions the day I discovered my ability. No one told me what it’s for.

You should also pick up the magazine to check out great stories by other authors: K.M. Ferebee, Erik T. Johnson, L.L. Hannett, Richard Larson, J.J. Irwin, Georgina Bruce, Stephen Case, Ferrett Steinmetz, and Poor Mojo’s Giant Squid.

And if you want to read something free while you wait for the issue to arrive in your mailbox or inbox, you can always read an interview with me at Shimmer or my shortish essay on my history with Star Trek in today’s series wrap-up at TheViewscreen.com.

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