Remastered Star Trek Episode The Doomsday Machine

The remastered version of the fan-favorite Star Trek episode, "The
Doomsday Machine" premieres in syndication nationwide during the
weekend of February 10, 2007. The remastered "The Doomsday Machine"
features over 100 all-new digital visual effects shots, the most of
any episode of the original Star Trek series.

William Windom guest stars as Commodore Matt Decker, commander of the
wrecked Starship Constellation. Decker tried desperately to save his
crew from the doomsday machine, only to be forced to watch in horror
as they were all killed by the alien robot.

The centerpiece of the new visual effects for "The Doomsday Machine"
is a digital rendering of the alien "planet killer," a miles-long
robot spaceship that destroys worlds, then eats the rubble for fuel.
CBS Digital created the new version of the massive weapon, based
closely on the original, but gave it a battered, more realistic
appearance. Another highlight of the episode is the Constellation, a
sister ship to the U.S.S. Enterprise. When discovered by Captain
James Kirk (William Shatner), the Constellation is a shattered hulk,
nearly destroyed by the doomsday machine. The hull of the
digitally-damaged Constellation has been torn open, revealing details
of a mangled and charred interior, underscoring the awesome power of
the planet killer.

"The Doomsday Machine" is regarded by many fans as a classic of
television science fiction, and was penned by noted s-f writer Norman
Spinrad. The episode was honored with a Hugo Award nomination in the
"Best Dramatic Presentation" category by the 1968 World Science
Fiction Convention. (Ironically, "The Doomsday Machine" lost to
another Star Trek classic, "The City on the Edge of Forever.")

The highly-anticipated remastered version of "The Doomsday Machine"
premieres nationwide during the weekend of February 10, 2007, starring
William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr.
Spock, with DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy. The original episode was
first aired in October, 1967 and was written by Norman Spinrad and
directed by Marc Daniels. Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry.
Star Trek remastered is distributed in nationwide syndication by CBS
Paramount Television.

See images at: http://www.scifislacker.com/television/star-trek-doomsday-machine.shtml

Hyperscan – Not Up To The Hype.

Last year Mattel announced a new gaming console that was going to be the next best thing to sliced bread. The Hyperscan. The Hyperscan combines the best of the hottest toy properties today, video gaming and collectible card games all into one neat little package. It is aimed at boys in the “tween” years [8-12]. Using RFID [radio-frequency identification] chips the game lets the players scan in new or upgraded powers for their characters. Sounds pretty cool doesn’t it?

The games, however, are very low def, so to speak. The X-men game that comes with the console is a lot like the first generation Mortal Kombat games. Low quality graphics and not a lot of moves make this a very cheap looking system. But I guess the old adage; “you get what you pay for” really does hold true in this case. The game system, which includes the X-Men CD-ROM, 6 collectible X-Men cards a controller and the game console, only costs about $70. [We picked ours up on clearance for $13].

So the concept is you collect and trade cool character, offense and defense cards to upgrade your characters and their moves. As you play the game you scan your card again to save the information. Sounds cool until you have to sit there and wait for the card to scan. Then sit there and wait for the game to load. Then sit there and wait to the card is scanned again to save your data. There is a lot of sitting and waiting in a world of fast moving video games. Not such a good thing.

So this system is really recommended for those 7-8 year olds who have not had any experience with other gaming consoles and have parents who don’t mind the slightly violent games [they are all pretty much fighting games]. Current games include X-men, IWL Wrestling and Ben 10. According to the website www.hyperscangamer.com [which was not working when we stopped by] there are new games in the work. Artwork suggests Marvel Heroes and Spider-Man.
For images and more info head to:http://www.scifislacker.com/news/mattels-hyperscan-gaming-console.shtml

Saul of the Mole Men

Okay, so those of us who grew up in the 70s all remember those live action Saturday morning TV shows like Land of the Lost, Space Academy, Sigmund and the Sea Monster, Bugaloos, Far Out Space Nuts and the like. Well, this new Adult Swim series follows suit and brings us psuedo sci-fi along with all the cheezy special effects, bad acting and even puppets just like when we were kids. Each episode is 15 minutes long [like most of the Ault Swim shows] which might be all we can handle out of this one. But Star Trek fans might find a similarity [at least to the background of the promo clips shown on the network's website].

Check it out. At least this live action series has a link to the animated world, albeit a small one, unlike previous network blunders like Saved By The Bell [what the hell were they thinking?].

Saul of the Mole Men: On a mission to the Earth’s core for the government’s STRATA agency, Saul Malone crashes his drill ship and stumbles upon the Mole Men.

Baffled by their customs and rituals, Saul runs afoul of the Mole Men by injuring their elder leader, killing their god and spreading disease. But Saul of the Mole Men is about more than just a stranded scientist. It involves political intrigue, time travel, and, of course, vampires.
Saul of the Mole Men, created by Craig Lewis, uses the most advanced mid-20th century technology, such as green screens and puppets, to deftly combine live-action and animation. Twenty episodes are in production.

Saul of the Mole Men is a 15-minute, serialized comedy-adventure combining live-action and puppetry and is shot entirely in front of a green screen. Saul of the Mole Men is executive produced by Peter Girardi, Craig Lewis and Tom Stern and is inspired by the work of Sid and Marty Krofft (Land Of The Lost), serialized sci-fi (Tom Baker-era Dr. Who) and the Planet of the Apes franchise.

Saul of the Mole Men premieres on Adult Swim on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at 12 a.m. [Cartoon Network]. Check you local listings.

Check out the previews:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwlk9DKpOwk
http://www.adultswim.com/shows/saul/index.html

More at: http://www.scifislacker.com/television/saul-of-the-mole-men.shtml

"Journey to Babel" airs weekend of February 3, 2007

The Starship Enterprise hosts an explosive gathering of interstellar diplomats in "Journey to Babel," an episode of Star Trek Remastered, premiering nationwide during the weekend of February 3, 2007. "Journey to Babel" is regarded by many fans as a pivotal episode of the series, introducing Mark Lenard as Ambassador Sarek, Spock's father, and Jane Wyatt as Amanda, Spock's human mother. In the episode, an alien spy nearly kills Captain Kirk (William Shatner), putting Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in temporary command of the Starship Enterprise while the ship comes under deadly attack. The situation pits Spock's logical duty to his ship against his all-too-human desire to reconnect with his dying father. 

 

Although most of the episode takes place on the Starship Enterprise, D.C. Fontana's script afforded the visual effects artists at CBS Digital the opportunity to show off the Enterprise's shuttlecraft hangar deck with an all-new shuttle landing sequence. They also reimagined the mysterious alien raider ship. In the original 1967 version of the episode, budget limitations forced the show's effects team to use a simple spinning wheel of light to represent the attacking spacecraft. For the 2007 remastered edition, digital artists remained faithful to the original effect, but embellished it by creating an ingenious ship design that used the spinning lights as a powerful alien propulsion system. Finally, this episode offered one of the original show's only glimpses of Spock's homeworld, Vulcan, as seen from space. 

 

Mark Lenard's character of Sarek proved a favorite among Star Trek's fans, so much so that Lenard later reprised his role in three Star Trek movies and two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The versatile Lenard had previously played the Romulan Commander in "Balance of Terror" during Star Trek's first season, and he also played a Klingon captain in the first Star Trek movie. Lenard is known to genre fans for his numerous roles in science fiction productions, including the regular role of Urko in the television version of Planet of the Apes. Jane Wyatt also reprised her role of Spock's mother in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Wyatt won three Emmy Awards for her performance as Margaret Anderson in the beloved sitcom, Father Knows Best. 

 

The newly-remastered version of "Journey to Babel" will premiere nationwide during the weekend of February 3, 2007, starring William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock, with DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy. The original episode was first aired in November, 1967 and was written by series story editor D.C. Fontana and directed by Joseph Pevney. Star Trek was created by Gene Roddenberry. Star Trek Remastered is distributed in syndication by CBS Paramount Television. 

 

Images attached: 

 

1. Touchdown. An Enterprise shuttlecraft makes a perfect landing in the ship's hangar deck. The shuttle carries Ambassador Sarek and his wife, Amanda to an important interstellar conference in "Journey to Babel," this weekend's episode of Star Trek Remastered. 

 

2. Shuttle turntable. An assemblage of Federation dignitaries and Starfleet crew members gather to witness the arrival of Spock's parents  on the Starship Enterprise in "Journey to Babel," this weekend's episode of Star Trek Remastered. The gathered ambassadors and Enterprise officers, glimpsed in the windows of the upper observation galleries, are cameo appearances by most of the visual effects artists and technicians who are working on the remastered visual effects. (Most of them appear more than once in different windows!) 

 

3. Vulcan orbit. The Starship Enterprise departs orbit of planet Vulcan, heading to the neutral planetoid Babel for a vital interstellar conference. Unfortunately, dark forces conspire to disrupt the mission in "Journey to Babel," this weekend's episode of Star Trek Remastered. 

 

4. Orion attack. A mysterious alien spaceship makes a deadly attack run on the Starship Enterprise in "Journey to Babel," this weekend's episode of Star Trek Remastered. 

 

Episodes and air dates for Star Trek Remastered: 

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/25835.html  

 

US stations carrying Star Trek Remastered: 

http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/25835.html?page=1  

 

For more information: 

http://www.startrek.com/ 

 

For Images:
http://www.scifislacker.com/television/star-trek-journey-to-babel.shtml