Let's get this geekfest back to action.
As mentioned elsewhere, I'm on sort of an epic Star Trek marathon. I recently finished watching the Original Series, leaving out a few episodes. In general, I made an interesting observation. I used to love the series as a kid, then re-watched it when I was older and didn't see much except awkward 60's camp. Having re-watched it again, I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does the series hold up incredibly well in general, but the individual episodes really do have some intriguing drama. This time around, I found it much easier to accept the 60's camp for what it really is, the budget limitations of an ill-fated television series. Yeah, the creature in The Devil in the Dark looks like a giant heap of pizza puke, but that doesn't really make the episode or its content any worse.
One thing I noticed however, is how incredibly sexist the times back then were. Considering how progressive Star Trek was for its time, and how sexist the show is by today's standards, I really wouldn't have wanted to be a woman back then. Sure, you see women in a lot of high-ranking professions, but if you look back at what the role of the female characters essentially had, Uhura being virtually the only exception, you'll find they don't come off particularly well. I read somewhere that the creators of the series had the best of intentions, but could only work within the straightjacket of conservative television norms. So I'm not really blaming them.
Still, it's a really good series all in all, more than a fond childhood memory, and really does warrant re-watching from time to time.
So now I'm re-watching all the films. I've seen them all again and again, but for most of them, it's actually been quite a while. The most recent viewings were about ten years ago, the only exception probably being VI. I just finished IV. Are they as good as I remember them? Wrath of Kahn certainly is an amazing film, and The Voyage Home also holds up pretty well for a mid-80's comedy (unlike, I confess, Ghostbusters). I know I'd The Motion Picture before, but I remembered virtually nothing from it, so it was pretty much a first time all over again, and I actually liked it. Search For Spock is the weakest of the first four, but still enjoyable. I'll probably do an in-depth review of all the films when I'm done with the marathon.
"All Power To The Engines"
