New USS Enterprise 1701 !

This is a rendering by http://www.gabekoerner.com a digital effects artist.
Looks amazing, I hope the USS Enterprise in the new movie looks half as good as this.

NEW STAR TREK XI PHOTOS >>

USS Enterprise 1701 Firing Phasers

USS Enterprise 1701

NEW STAR TREK XI PHOTOS >>

Photos from the Star Trek XI Set

Official Star Trek Photos are Here ! >

Spy Shots from the Star Trek XI Set

Spy Shots from the Star Trek XI Set

Spy Shots from the Star Trek XI Set

Spy Shots from the Star Trek XI Set

Spy Shots from the Star Trek XI Set

Official Star Trek Photos are Here ! >

Photos from the Set of the New Star Trek XI Movie,

www.startrekmovie.com

Star Trek XI Visual Effects

The last time Industrial Light and Magic worked on a Star Trek film was Star Trek : First Contact and personally I think the effects in that movie were amazing, they still look great, also Star Trek Generations still boasts amazing ILM visuals even though it was done in 1994.

Great effects should have longevity and those films have it, but what the hell happened after that? they cheaped out is what. Star Trek : Insurrection's visuals were, hmmm good, so-so and Star Trek Nemesis had that amazing Enterprise ramming scene, but the rest were, well hmmm so-so again.

So, ILM is getting back in on the action in the new Star Trek film. Hallelujah!

I am sure they will do a great job and if the Teaser is anything to go by, then they have already done some awesome renderings of the Enterprise..

Cant wait til May 2009!

New Star Trek Trailer Analysis >>>

www.startrekmovie.com

TNG's Finest Moment !

The Defector:

In my opinion is Star Trek The Next Generations finest moment and possibly one of the finest episodes in all of Trek.

Here we have the Federation under threat from an apparent build up of enemy forces in the Neutral Zone via information from an apparent Romulan defector.

The Defector is played by none other than the great James Sloyan who portrays a conscience weary Romulan Admiral Jarok, who intends to inform the Fereration of the Romulan build up to prevent another conflict and save his daughter, indeed all Romulan children falling victim to another war.

The episode is all about Pride, Patriotism and Loyalty. The tragic character of the defector loses his entire life and is branded a traitor by his own people and his own family out of his desire to prevent another war. "My daughter will grow up thinking of her father as a traitor. But she will grow up"

The defector is met with suspicion by the federation and it takes some persuading to get Starfleet to intervene in the crisis, eventually a plot involving dis-information on the Romulans behalf is revealed to flush out the Defector "they let you escape, with an arsenal of worthless secrets!"

The Defector has lost everything and the Enterprise has been lured into a trap, all seems lost until Picard pulls out an ace and the story ends with one of the finest showdowns in history. The acting, the tension all contributes to a thrilling finale which allows the Federation to come out on top yet again. The defector commits suicide and a lesson is learned.

An epic episode full of twists, drama, action and sacrifice. My Fav!

what do you think ?

Star Trek Metaphors of the Real World (according to me)

• Romulans = Suspicious closed society, Burma? North Korea? USSR?
  
• Kingons = Any Violent tribal culture where honour reigns supreme
• Ferengi = Capitalist Humans
  
• Cardassians = Military Dictatorship, North Korea? possibly China ?
  
• Bajorans = Highly Religious cultures
• Vulcans = Upper Class Snobby Humans
• The Federation = Socialists / Communists
• Changelings (Dominion) = Persecuted people who exercise power and will over their neighbours, hmmmmmm ?
  

What do you think? am I wrong? do you have any to add ? Comment below !

Stargate Atlantis Season 5 Episode 6 "The Shrine"

Spoiler Alert

Stargate Atlantis Wallpaper >>

"Wow, that was a great episode" is what I said about 2 minutes ago when I finished watching this one. Such a great story of science versus spirituality with a convenient link thrown in to save our beloved character at the end.

What happens if you gate to another world and that worlds gate is underwater? "cooooool" I thought when I saw the visuals to illustrate it. But that's just the awesome Stargate Atlantis eye candy. What this story is really about is the dilemma of giving someone who is wasting away from the equivalent of Alzheimer's disease, the chance for one more day of clarity to say goodbye to their loved ones and then bam! they're gone.

McKay has become infected with a parasite which makes him more stupid by the hour, near the end a suggestion is made to take him to a "shrine" where people suffering from this disease called "the 2nd childhood" can go and spend a final day if normality before dying.

Dr Keller of course doesn't believe a word of it but in the end they go and it works, but of course Rodney and Keller want to discover why it works and make it more permanent.

What I loved about this episode was that the writers concentrated more on the relationships between McKay and his friends during his last hours, via flashbacks of his deterioration.

There are some touching scenes between McKay and Sheppard which really solidifies their bond and lets the viewer know of the journey these people have been on over the last 5 years.

All in all, a great installment for the 5th season. This episode made me love the Atlantis characters more than I already did, especially McKay, Sheppard and even Woolsey!

A surprising line of dialogue is left to the very end, a really cherry on top of a well written story.

Stargate Atlantis Wallpaper >>

Other blog reviews of this episode (1)

Greatest Moments in Science Fiction History

The Picard Music Video

Battlestar Galactica Wallpaper

Battlestar Pegasus Final Moments 1600 x 1200

Cylons on Caprica 1280 x 1024

Battlestar Galactica Cylon Battle 1600 x 1200

Wallpaper courtesy of the TheSciFiWorld.net, an amazing source of high quality desktop wallpaper / backgrounds, please visit their site.

Wallpaper used with permission.

Why Scifi?

Yep, that's what many people think.

Science Fiction Sucks!

I guess it is understandable to a certain extent, on the surface, Science Fiction can come across as weird and geeky.

How do you explain Science Fiction to someone who just doesn't get it? and whats more just doesn't care anyway?

I often defend Science fiction by stating that all the other genres are easily incorporated under the Sci Fi umbrella , comedy, action, romance, drama, horror, all of it, has been done brilliantly within the realm of Sci Fi and continues to be done by sci fi.

OK, I admit that if you love to watch gangster, mafia type dramas then you are not going to stop watching the Sopranos and start watching Star Trek and if you are an avid fan of Coronation street then no, you are not going to get the same "Soapiness" from Battlestar Galactica.

My argument however is, as a Sci Fi "geek" I live in the real world everyday, I see arguments, workplace politics, divorces, romances and even the odd car chase. So why do I need to go home and watch it again on TV or at the movies?

Sci Fi is escapism (anti-ordinary), much like most TV is, however most TV is already based in the real world and in my opinion is therefore bound by real world rules and physics. The storytelling must take place within these constraints.

Sci Fi mostly creates its own rules, its own universe from the ground up, an epic task for the writers and production staff to say the least and therefore a lot of Sci Fi can crash and burn if it is not well produced.

The thing about Sci fi for me is, and I admit, it has turned me into a snob.

After watching some of the most intricate, original and intense storytelling through the realm of sci fi, I find it very hard to come back down to Earth so to speak and enjoy something else to the same level.

Sci Fi challenges and inspires the mind in ways that no other 'conventional' or 'normal' genre can. Sci fi asks hard questions about life, religion, ethics, philosophy, ideology....the list goes on. Sci Fi also provides alternative answers to these questions.

How many other show can tackle in an entertaining way such topics as, abortion, terrorism, the death penalty and minority rights all in a single regular episode?

Science Fiction to me is escapism, and its also a blank canvas. Scifi is something that I can produce my thoughts and images upon without any rules of real world doctrine getting in my way, Sci Fi is freedom to think about whatever you like without someone with a closed mind saying "you're weird"

"'Providing hope is something science fiction should be doing. It sounds arrogant to say it, but if we don't do it, who the hell will? Norman Spinrad

Battlestar Galactica : Last Supper

Babylon 5 Wallpaper

A Shining Beacon in Space - Babylon 5

Jumpgate Fleet - Babylon 5

Babylon 5 - Minbari War Cruisers

Babylon 5 Wallpaper courtesy of the TheSciFiWorld.net, an amazing source of high quality desktop wallpaper / backgrounds, please visit their site.

Babylon 5 Wallpaper used with permission.

Stargate Atlantis Wallpaper

Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper

New Stargate Atlantis Desktop Wallpaper >>

Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper 1600 x 900

New Stargate Atlantis Desktop Wallpaper >>

U.S.A.F. Daedalus : Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper 1600 x 1200

New Stargate Atlantis Desktop Wallpaper >>

U.S.A.F. Daedalus : Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper 1280 x 1024

New Stargate Atlantis Desktop Wallpaper >>

U.S.A.F. Daedalus : Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper 1600 x 1200

New Stargate Atlantis Desktop Wallpaper >>

Stargate Atlantis : Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper 1600 x 1200

New Stargate Atlantis Desktop Wallpaper >>

Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper courtesy of the TheSciFiWorld.net, an amazing source of high quality desktop wallpaper / backgrounds, please visit their site.

Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper used with permission.

Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper mit freundlicher Genehmigung der TheSciFiWorld.net, eine erstaunliche Quelle für qualitativ hochwertige Desktop Wallpaper / Hintergründe, besuchen Sie bitte die Website.

Stargate Atlantis Widescreen Desktop Wallpaper werden mit Genehmigung verwendet.

Star Trek Wallpaper

USS Enterprise 1707-A 1600 x 1200

USS Nautilus 1600 x 1200

USS Enterprise 1701-E 1600 x 1200

Uss Enterprise 1701-A 1600 x 960

Uss Enterprise 1701-A 1600 x 838

Uss Enterprise 1701-A 1600 x 1200

Uss Enterprise 1701-D 1600 x 1040

Uss Enterprise 1701-E 1600 x 1200

Wallpaper courtesy of the TheSciFiWorld.net, an amazing source of high quality desktop wallpaper / backgrounds, please visit their site.

Wallpaper used with permission.

Battlestar Galactica Widescreen Wallpaper 1024 x 768, 1152 x 864, 1280 x 960, 1600 x 1200

Suitable for 1600x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1152 x 864 & 1024 x 768 Desktops and Monitors

Battlestar Galactica háttérkép

Battlestar Galactica Wallpaper Part 2 >>

Daybreak Part 1 ; Review >

Battlestar Galactica Battleship
Desktop Wallpaper

Battlestar Galactica Battleship
Desktop Wallpaper

Battlestar Galactica and the Fleet
Desktop Wallpaper

Is Battlestar Galactica Just for Geeks ?

Battlestar Galactica Battleship
Desktop Wallpaper

Battlestar Pegasus Battleship
Desktop Wallpaper

Battlestar Galactica / Pegasus Wallpaper courtesy of the TheSciFiWorld.net, an amazing source of high quality desktop wallpaper / backgrounds, please visit their site.

This is how Battlestar Galactica Will End.

Battlestar Galactica Wallpaper Part 2 >>

Battlestar Galactica háttérkép

Battlestar Galactica Wallpaper used with permission.
Suitable for 1600x 1200, 1280 x 960, 1152 x 864 & 1024 x 768 Desktops and Monitors

Science Fiction Wallpaper

Awesome Science Fiction Wallpaper...

1600 x 1200 : 1680 x 1050 : 1280 x 1024
1440 x 900 : 1280 x 800 : 1600 x 1000

• Battlestar Galactica Wallpaper
• Firefly Wallpaper
• Stargate Atlantis Wallpaper
• USS Enterprise J Wallpaper
• Babylon 5 Wallpaper
• Star Trek Wallpaper

Top 50 Science Fiction Shows of all Time !

Boston.com's entertainment staff came up with this top 50 list but their site is spread across 50 pages! therefore I have decided to condense the list for your reading pleasure.

I have to say that I don't know what they were smoking when they wrote it but how the hell can "Wonder Woman" be a better Sci Fi show than "Stargate Atlantis" ???

The original article can be read here.

• 50. Earth - Final Conflict
• 49. The Wild Wild West ( never heard of it )
• 48. 3rd Rock from the Sun ( does this really qualify ? )
• 47. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
• 46. That was Then ( Wtf? )
• 45. The Grestest American Hero ( Wtf? )
• 44. Lois and Clark - Superman
• 43. Nowhere man
• 42. Science Fiction Theatre
• 41. Futurama ( Awesome but... )
• 40. The Thunderbirds ( I give up..... )
  
• 39. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
• 38. Batman ( Wtf ? )
• 37. Space 1999
• 36. The Bionic Woman
• 35. Battlestar Galactica : Original Series
• 34. The Avengers
• 33. Lost in Space
• 32. My Favourite Martian
• 31. Alien Nation
• 30. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
• 29. The Six Million Dollar Man
• 28. Adventures of Superman : Original TV Show
  
• 27. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• 26. Stargate Atlantis
• 25. The Jetsons ( OMG WTF? )
• 24. Wonder Woman
• 23. Tales from the Crypt
• 22. Andromeda
• 21. Quantum Leap
• 20. The Hitchhiker
• 19. Dark Angel
• 18. V
• 17. Firefly
• 16. Flash Gordon
• 15. Logans Run
• 14. Star Trek: Voyager
• 13. The Outer Limits
• 12. Xena - Warrior Princess
• 11. Lost
• 10. Sliders
• 09. Mystery Science Theatre 3000
• 08. Dr Who
• 07. The Twilight Zone
• 06. Stargate SG-1
• 05. Babylon 5
• 04. The X-Files
• 03. Star Trek: The Next Generation
• 02. Battlestar Galactica : New
  
• 01. Star Trek : Original

And where the hell is Deep Space Nine ?

Stargate Atlantis Season 5 Episode 5 ( Spoliers)

( Ghost in the Machine )

I thought this episode was magic!

The Replicators are back!, sort of, in the form of a disembodied Elizabeth Weir and her we-tried-to-ascend-but-screwed-it-up cronies,

Weir arrives at the city in the form of a computer virus tapping in from subspace and she tries to get Atlantis to help her and her mates back into corporeal bodies after a royal screw up while trying to ascend.

It was very clever to bring her character back one more time without actually Torri Higginson herself appearing, I suppose there was some kind of contractual dispute or royalty thing going on here, but never mind.

The episode was full of interesting stuff and of course McKay and the rest of them were at their finest, the chick who plays Fran ( the Replicator template ) is really awesome and her morality of Weir inside her shone through to ultimately sacrifice herself and her mates so that the Atlantis crew would be safe.

Sheppard did not trust her and I think he regrets it at the end when he discovers her real motive to neutralise the replicator threat.

Another fine instalment by Stargate Atlantis.

How Awesome is Stargate Atlantis!!!

OK, first I saw the film Stargate back in the late 90's and I loved it! then came SG1 and I thought "uh oh, cheap crappy TV low budget spin off trying to ride off the success of the film" and I slammed it!

I never did like the Stargate shows after the film. Why? maybe because they had the same characters but different actors, ( I hate it when they do that! ) also the visual morphing effects in the film were replaced with clunky cheap helmets in the show! Such superficial reasons I know but then I was only about 20 at the time.

Cut to around 10 years later, like about 6 months ago and a colleague of mine asks me "have you ever watched Stargate Atlantis?" "Well no I said" and explained the above reasons.

I suddenly said to myself, "Wait! I am a Sci Fi fan after all, and a Star Trek fan in particular so why should I not practice what sci fi tells us and show an open mind"

So I started watching it. Now I am watching the 5th Season in HD and I am hooked!

It is definitely a much lighter show than BSG or even DS9 to a certain extent but I am amazed how great this show is and surprised how I never realised this earlier!

A new universe to explore, new ships, aliens, galaxy and new characters. As soon as I saw the wraith I was hooked, they are such fantastic baddies with a great motive ( I think all baddies are only as good / bad as their motive ) and what a motive! To Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeed. That's it! the buggers just need to feed. The great thing is that nothing or no-one will stop them from feeding, on us that is.

The characters on Atlantis are also great at hooking you into their world, Stargate easily has created a family of loveable characters in much the same way that Star Trek did.

I think one of the best things about this show is that it is set in the present day, therefore we, the viewers can easily relate to the characters from Earth since they have grown up in the same world as us, but with that added sense of wonder provided via the world beyond the Stargate.

If any of you have turned your nose up at this show for similar reasons, I urge you to reconsider and give it a go. Its awesome!

Firefly... A Tragedy

OK so who's great idea was it to cancel this show?
maybe the decision was made before the top brass realised how original Joss Whedon's creation was.

I have to admit, I was recommended this show a few years back and at first I thought "western, in space?, nah..." but I gave it another chance and now I am firmly in the camp of those who consider this show as a sci fi great!

The characters are brilliant, the story lines are gripping and everything from the Emmy award winning visual effects to the quirky dialogue is spot on.

Like I said about Battlestar, things appear to be a bit more darker in sci fi these days, but I think Firefly sat very nicely in such a theme, it has / had the moral appeal of Star Trek in trying to always do the "right thing" but with the gritty reality of trying to survive in a dog eat dog world.

I really liked Serenity, and I wish they would do more sequels, I hate being introduced to an amazing new universe filled with an unlimited amount of new characters and story lines to explore, only to have it snatched away! :-(

Science fiction appears to be drying up in my opinion yet this show seemed to offer a real possibility of re-igniting a genre which needs new blood.

A tragic mistake to cancel a show filled with such greatness!

1600 x 1200

More Firefly Wallpaper >>

Firefly / Serenity Wallpaper courtesy of the TheSciFiWorld.net, an amazing source of high quality desktop wallpaper, please visit their site. Used with Permission.

R.I.P. Firefly.

No More Utopia?

Well it seems that the 24th century optimism of Star Trek is dead, for the moment. The theme is now more along the lines of the amazing Battlestar Galactica with its darker more military and contemporary feel.

Can Star trek ever come back? is there room for both? Battlestar is so stylish that I'm afraid any Star Trek show would be unable to stand next to it in such an image driven world.

I guess we will find the answer in the next film due 2009, it appears to have gone for the dark reboot à la Batman Begins and Superman Returns. Fingers crossed that JJ Abrams can make it look good. From the teaser it looks as though we are in for an amazing film and with George Lucas's ILM back at the helm of the VFX I am more optimistic about this film than any of the recent efforts. bring back trek!

So what now for Science Fiction?

I have watched all of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Farscape ( although I wasn't too keen on it anyway ) Firefly and of course I'm currently watching Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Atlantis. What's next?

Battlestar will be ending soon and Atlantis will probably go for a couple more years but then what????

I hope the soaps and dramas of the world do not suck me back in with their cheap yet easy to follow and catchy story lines.

Kia kaha fellow Sci Fi fans, kia kaha.