Anyone else getting flashbacks of Star Trek Into Darkness and that whole John Harrison deception? When Christoph Waltz joined the cast of Spectrerumours began to fly that he would be playing Bond’s classic nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Later it was revealed that his character went by the name of Franz Oberhauser but, since we know Hollywood always tells the truth, those Blofeld rumours kept coming.

Waltz recently spoke with British GQ to set the record straight on just who it is that he will be portraying.

That is absolutely untrue. That rumour started on the Internet, and the Internet is a pest. The name of my character is Franz Oberhauser.

It’s entirely possible that he won’t be playing Blofeld; Oberhauser could be an entirely separate character with Blofeld characteristics or perhaps the real Blofeld will make an appearance at the end and reveal himself to be the true mastermind. Basically, we’ll have to wait and see the film before we know for sure.

Waltz also touched on whether or not he hesitated when the offer to appear in a Bond film came his way:

I did, yes. I always hesitate… You ask yourself, hang on: what James Bond are we talking about? The thing about Spectre is that it is not the work of hack writers. It does not have a hack director. The actors are not hams. The action sequences in Mexico are extravagant to say the least. The scenes in Austria are traditional Bond action in the snow. These films with Daniel Craig have shifted the tone. They don’t depend on a set formula that forces actors simply to go through the motions.

To be honest, I don’t really care who Waltz’s character is, I’m already veryexcited to see Spectre on November 6, 2015.

It’s day four of Star Trek Week!  I see Graham and Ryan checking the clock and looking annoyed.  Don’t worry guys, it’s almost over!

Star Trek: Voyager (VOY) came around during a period of maximum Star Trek saturation.  Voyager premiered only a year after TNG ended and only two years after DS9 premiered.  This is most likely the point in which “Star Trek fatigue” took root, but more on that tomorrow.  Star Trek: Voyager debuted on January 16, 1995 with the episode “Caretaker” and, like its sister shows, would last seven seasons for a total of 172 episodes before closing with “Endgame” on May 23, 2001.

Hit the jump for my favourite episodes!

1. Eye of the Needle

“A micro-wormhole is discovered that leads to the Alpha Quadrant, and the crew make contact with a Romulan ship on the other side. “

The only flaw of this episode is that you that never really believe that the crew will be getting home, after all this was only the seventh episode of the first season.  However the explanation behind why and how they can’t get home is a unique one and helps to cement this episode as the best of Voyager’s first season.

Trek Trivia – Vaughn Armstrong, one of Star Treks most prolific guest stars, has his first of five Voyager appearances here.  He has played thirteen different characters spread across TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT.

2. Scorpion Part I & II

“Voyager must pass through Borg space, only to discover a new alien race that are even deadlier than the Borg.”

I’ve grouped the season three finale and season four premiere together because I think they work very well as a single episode.  These episodes features a beginning and an end for two main characters.  The character of Kes would cease to be a regular in season four.  She was a character whom I liked, but it was fairly obvious that they just didn’t know what to do with her and so she was written out.

In her place we got Seven of Nine, the “Borg babe”, who many accused of being added solely for sex appeal.  They were right of course but the character, thanks to Jeri Ryan, ended up being much more than that.  She became a more interesting character than Kes ever was and it wasn’t long before she earned her place amongst the cast and crew as a valued member.

Voyager was accused of overusing the Borg and I tend to agree.  The Borg were introduced as an unbeatable foe and throughout The Next Generation that’s what they were.  The Enterprise crew barely escaped by the skin of their teeth, yet here was this small ship marooned on the other side of the galaxy who managed to defeat and escape the Borg time and time again.  “Scorpion” was the first major Borg story that Voyager produced, so that “unbeatable Voyager” issue wouldn’t start to be a problem until later on.

Trek Trivia – In another cost cutting measure similar to “The Doomsday Machine” and “The Way of the Warrior”, this episode made use of Borg action figures to create the pile of dismembered Borg.  Many figures were cut up and then glued together to create the macabre display of body parts.

3. Year of Hell Part I & II

“Voyager creates a new Astrometrics Lab, which maps a new course that brings them into contact with a Krenim temporal ship that can erase things from history.”

Voyager did some great time travel episodes, even if they did hit the ol’ reset button a few times too often, and this two parter is one of them.  The character of Annorax (played by Kurtwood Smith) is a wonderful villain because his acts of genocide, while horrible, have a purpose.  He’s trying to reset time to right a wrong he made many years ago.  Wiping a species from time changes the flow of time and thus affects everything and everyone that species had contact with.  Annorax moves from place to place, making calculations to figure out which changes in the timeline will bring back his civilization and his wife.

It’s a shame this was only a two part episode, it really could have been transformed into a season long arc.  Seeing Voyager battered and broken as it limps across space and the crew struggling to stay alive would have made for a thrilling season.  One of the complaints I and many have about Voyager, is that they never made any effort to show the wear and tear that Voyager would have sustained being stranded so far from home.  Despite the numerous battles, the ship is always pristine and the crew never runs out of supplies (unless the plot dictates they should).  Episodes like this, in which we get to see Voyager slowly falling apart over the course of almost a year, give us a glimpse of what the show could have been like had it gone in this direction.

Trek Trivia – Voyager is depicted as being severely damaged in this episode. To achieve that effect without lasting damage to any of the permanent sets, acrylic sheets similar to those used when the sets are in storage were draped over most of the “clean” bulkheads, and were then sprayed with charcoal dust to simulate the effects of multiple explosions.

4. Message in a Bottle

“The Doctor’s program is sent to an advanced Starfleet vessel via a vast ancient communications network, but he soon discovers that only he and the ship’s own EMH remain to fight against Romulans who have taken over the ship and are attempting to return to Romulan space with it.”

Andy Dick guest stars in this episode, and that might be enough to make you run for the hills, but he’s actually quite good in this.  He and Robert Picardo have some nice verbal sparring throughout the episode which brings to mind the petty bickering that Dr. McCoy and Spock routinely engaged in throughout The Original Series.

This episode has one big fanboy moment that either has you groaning or cheering at the screen.  Remember how the Enterprise D could separate its saucer section?  Well this ship, the Prometheus, can split into THREE parts!  Aw yeah.  I have to admit, that was pretty cool.

Trek Trivia – The bridge of the Prometheus was a redress of the Enterprise-E bridge from The Next Generation films.

5. Living Witness

“A Kyrian museum curator 700 years in the future hopes a Voyager relic containing a copy of the Doctor can confirm their version of history.”

This episode is unique amongst Star Trek for two reasons, it takes place seven hundred years in Voyager’s future and none of the main characters appear as themselves.  The majority of the crew that do appear are simply holograms, and The Doctor appears only as a backup copy.  No matter which way you slice it…the crew you’ve watched for the past four seasons have long since died.  Their friends have died.  Their family have died.  Everyone is dead.  I like it.  Mwahaha

Trek Trivia – Several of the sets built for this episode, primarily the main museum set, were later modified and reused for Star Trek: Insurrection.

6. Hope and Fear

“Paris and Neelix return from a mission with a passenger named Arturis who knows more than 4,000 languages. He manages to decode a message from Starfleet that could lead to a way home.”

We get the awesome Ray Wise guest starring in this episode as Arturis, the alien who probably knows more than he’s letting on.

As with TNG, Voyager involved a ship constantly on the move; so the crews rarely had to face the consequences of their actions, be they good or bad.  Voyager had been meddling in alien affairs for the past four years in their quest to return home, and this episode brings up the realization that not all of those decisions were necessarily good ones when it came to other species.  In fact, they sometimes led to the complete and utter destruction of entire races.  If you remade this episode from the alien’s point of view, it would be fairly easy to paint the Voyager crew as the bad guys.

Trek Trivia – This episode required almost more than double the normal amount of visual effects shots for an episode.

7. Timeless

“Fifteen years in the future, Chakotay and Harry Kim attempt to prevent the Voyager from crash-landing on an ice planet.”

Another wonderful time travel episode, as well as another use of the reset button.  Star Trek episodes which peer into the future are always fun and this one is no exception.  Plus we get to see Geordi again!

Trek Trivia – In addition to his cameo appearance as Captain Geordi La Forge, LeVar Burton also directed this episode.

8. The Voyager Conspiracy

“After assimilating Voyager’s data for the past six years, through an enhancement to her Borg implants, Seven of Nine suspects the ship did not arrive in the Delta Quadrant by accident.”

Seven of Nine goes crazy and convinces both Janeway and Chakotay that the other had a hand in purposely stranding the ship in the Delta Quadrant.  Even though you soon discover that Seven is off her rocker, this episode does a fairly decent job of actually trying to convince you that there was indeed a conspiracy.  I almost wish that things were left unsolved, it might have introduced an interesting dynamic to future episodes.

Trek Trivia – This is the second instance in which a food that Neelix brought on board has caused a problem.  Get it together Neelix!

9. Blink of an Eye

“Voyager is trapped in orbit about a planet with a space-time differential such that, while its inhabitants live through years, Voyager experiences mere minutes.”

The idea of watching a civilization evolve and grow right before your very eyes is an intriguing one, and that’s exactly what happens in this episode.  In the several days Voyager is in orbit, they observe the planet’s populace evolve from cave dwelling primitives to a highly advanced civilization that actually saves Voyager’s ass by the end.  One standout sequence is when the aliens launch a spacecraft to investigate the “sky ship”,  and since they experience time at a much quicker pace than the rest of the galaxy, they find that the crew of Voyager appear to be frozen in time, motionless.

Trek Trivia – This episode originally had the title “Wink of an Eye” until they realized that a TOS episode had already used that title.  Both “Wink of an Eye” and “Blink of an Eye” feature aliens who exist at a much different rate of time than the crew.

10. Shattered

“Voyager is fractured into several time periods by an accident, and only Chakotay is able to move between them, in the process meeting old friends and old foes from the previous six seasons.”

Chakotay never really had a lot to do.  You get the feeling that the creators thought “you know what?  Lets add a Native American to the cast” and then didn’t really think any further than that.  He had vision quests, used a medicine wheel, said “A-koo-chee-moya” from time to time.  He was the stereotypical strong Native American character.  Not that a strong Native American character is a bad thing but…that’s all he was.  His character drifted through for seven seasons without changing.  The actor who portrayed Chakotay, Robert Beltran, was fairly outspoken against the series even calling it “punishment for everything in my life up till that point”.

I do like Chakotay, which is why his character arc, or lack thereof, was so frustrating.  That said, I enjoy this episode  because Chakotay actually has quite a lot to do this time around.  He’s the only person who can move between time periods and thus save the ship, plus by the end, he’s the only one who knows what actually went on.  But he’ll never tell, teehee!

Trek Trivia – This episode revisits time periods from six past episodes.

Well folks, you’ve seen my list so what are some of YOUR favourite episodes?  And make sure to join us tomorrow for Star Trek: Enterprise!

Mel Gibson and his epic beard return and this time, it’s personal! Written by Peter Craig (The Town) and directed by French helmer Jean-Francois Richet (Mesrine), Blood Father stars Gibson as an ex-convict who must protect his estranged daughter (Erin Moriarty) from violent drug dealers. It looks like fun and something that’s going to be on your video-on-demand listings right away, regardless, I would give it a shot.

The film also stars William H. Macy, Thomas Mann, Elisabeth Rohm, Diego Luna and Michael Parks.

The first trailer for The Girl on the Train has hit and it’s pretty great! It’s got mystery and sex, what more do you need? The cast is great with Emily Blunttaking the lead (can she do that for every movie?) in director Tate Taylor’s (The Help) adaptation of the bestselling Paula Hawkins novel from a script by Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary).

Blunt plays a lonely, alcoholic divorcee who uses her daily commute to fantasize about the seemingly perfect life of the couple—whom she dubs “Jason and Jess” (Luke Evans and Hayley Bennett)—she glimpses every day when the train stops at the signal. One day, however, she sees something shocking during the train’s routine stop, and subsequently becomes entangled in a web of intrigue involving a missing woman.

If it looks like Gone Girl, it’s because the novel also drew comparisons to that book (and fantastic movie). Still, I’m all over this one.

The Girl on the Train opens in theaters on October 7th.

Sideshow Bob is probably the greatest guest character that The Simpsons ever created, and the casting of Kelsey Grammer is the biggest part of what makes this character so enduring.  His voice, so rich and lyrical, brings Bob to life time and time again.  His character appeared in the very first season and has gone on to appear in eleven more episodes…well…twelve actually but one of those wasn’t really a  proper Bob episode…so we wont count that one.

As we approach the premiere of the 25th season of The Simpsons, I thought it would be fun to go through all those classic Sideshow Bob episodes…and rank the crap outta them!  So here we go, we’ll start from the worst and work our way up to…the very best Sideshow Bob episode ever.

11. The Italian Bob

Sideshow Bob: We are here to honor my old friends, the Simpsons. Tomorrow they return to America, taking with them my gratitude, my friendship, and my heartfelt wish that they never return.

Why do we want to see a Sideshow Bob who doesn’t want to take revenge on the Simpsons?  That’s right, we don’t.  The Simpsons discover that Sideshow Bob is secretly mayor of a small Italian town and…well that’s about it.  Not a lot of laughs, not a lot of fun, but thankfully Bob’s homicidal ways are restored by the episodes conclusion…although now he’s saddled with a wife and kid.

10. The Great Louse Detective

Sideshow Bob: Homer, how can one man have so many enemies? 
Homer: I’m a people person… who drinks.

To be honest…this episode probably doesn’t deserve to to be so far down the list, but it’s down here because it spits on one of my favourite episodes, Homer’s Enemy.  They bring back the son of Frank Grimes (apparently he liked hookers) who happens to look and sound just like his father and sets out to kill Homer in revenge.  Sideshow Bob helps the Simpsons uncover the culprit and as a reward is promptly set back to prison.

9. Funeral for a Fiend

Sideshow Bob: “Before you die, perhaps you’d like to know how I engineered my ultimate revenge.” 
 Homer:” I’d like to know if Wes Doobner is aware of what you’re doing in his restaurant!” 
 Sideshow Bob: “I’m Wes Doobner!” 
 Homer: “Mr. Doobner, I have a complaint: I work hard and when I go out with my family I expect a certain level of basic–” 
 Sideshow Bob: “Shut up!”

Although this episode does have several points going for it, namely John Mahoney and David Hyde Pierce playing Bob’s father and brother respectively, it ultimately falls flat.  Bob’s ploy to frame the Simpsons for his “death” never really finds its footing and ends up being more boring than it should be.

8. Day of the Jackanapes

Sideshow Bob: Rakes, my old archenemy! 
Bart: I thought I was your archenemy! 
Sideshow Bob: I have a life outside of you, Bart

After hearing that Krusty has taped over all the old episodes of The Krusty the Clown Show in which Bob appeared (blank tape was $3.99!) Sideshow Bob brainwashes Bart to kill Krusty.  The episode isn’t bad, although it suffers from being in the era directly after the golden age of The Simpsons.  The cliches of that period, random tangents and unbelievable plot points are all here.

7. Krusty Gets Busted

Sideshow Bob: Today’s show promises to be a marvelous celebration of the human spirit…but first I regret to say I see a youngster who looks troubled.  What’s your name young man?
Bart: Bart Simpson sir.
Sideshow Bob: Hrm, well perhaps we can shed some light on your problem in a new segment exploring pre-adolescent turmoil.  I call it…choices.

The very first Sideshow Bob episode is a little rough around the edges, but all the seeds are there.  The conniving frame-up plot, the maniacal laugh, Bob even sings his first song.  You could say the same for the whole first season of the show really, it’s rough but it’s definitely The Simpsons.

6. The Bob Next Door

Sideshow Bob: I can stand in one state, fire a gun in the second state, the bullet will travel through the third, hitting you in the fourth, so you’ll fall down dead in the fifth! No single act is against any law, but their sum total is the greatest murder since Snape killed Dumbledore! 
Bart: Oh, I haven’t gotten to that part yet! 
Sideshow Bob: It’s a four year old book. 
Bart: I’m a slow reader. 
Sideshow Bob: A fitting epitaph.

I was surprised that this episode ended up so high on the list considering its status as the most recent Sideshow Bob episode.  Why do I like it?  Well, after the previous few lackluster episodes this one felt refreshing because it offered a original story which returns Sideshow Bob to his menacing Bart killing roots.  The method in which he escapes prison and how he intends to kill Bart are rather clever and make for an all around enjoyable episode that brings a bit of the old style back.

5. Brother From Another Series

Sideshow Bob: “Just the thought of all that raw, surging power makes me wonder why the hell I should care.”
Cecil: “Because, you’ll be supervising the construction crew.” 
Sideshow Bob: “Oh great, whenever a woman walks by, I suppose it will be my job to lead the hooting  ‘Oh yeah! Shake it, madam! Capital knockers!’ “

Sideshow Bob doesn’t try to kill anyone in this episode, nor does he hatch any evil schemes.  Unlike the other episodes in which that happens…this one works.  The reason it works is thanks in large part to the wonderful wordplay between Bob and his brother Cecil, played brilliantly by David Hyde Pierce.  David is obviously no stranger to playing the brother to Kelsey Grammer, as he played Niles Crane on Frasier.  Of course that means we get several funny Frasier references through the show.  I can’t really picture this episode working without him, they’re such a perfect pair.

4. Sideshow Bob Roberts

Bart: We want the truth!
Sideshow Bob: You want the truth!? You can’t handle the truth! No truth-handler you are! I deride your truth-handling abilities!

The Simpsons taking on politics always makes for a good show, throw in Sideshow Bob and you have a great show.

3.Sideshow Bob’s Last Gleaming

Sideshow Bob: Well, if it isn’t my arch-nemesis, Bart Simpson. And his sister, Lisa, to whom I’m fairly indifferent.

One of the more…outrageous Sideshow Bob episodes (come on! He tries to detonate a nuclear device!) has Bob demanding the end of all television in Springfield.  It’s absolutely over the top from beginning to end as Bob actually wins…briefly, before he’s foiled by Bart, Lisa, and a clueless Krusty.

2. Black Widower

Sideshow Bob: Selma, would you mind if I did something bold and shocking in front of your family?
Selma: All right, but no tongues.
Sideshow Bob: Although kissing you would be like kissing some divine ashtray, that’s not what I had in mind. Selma, will you marry me?
Bart: Don’t be a fool, Aunt Selma. That man is scum.
Selma: Then call me Mrs. Scum.

Bob returns for the second time in an episode that’s a vast improvement over its predecessor.  Bob cons Selma into marrying him and Bart is the only one who realizes something is up.  This episode came around in the third season and during that interval between this episode and Krusty Gets Busted, the show had time to find its legs and strengthen its comedic sensibilities.

1. Cape Feare

Sideshow Bob: Bart Simpson, that mischievous little scamp that twice sent me to that dank, urine soaked hellhole. 
Parole Officer: Uh…We object to the term: “urine soaked hellhole,” when you could of used: “peepee soaked heckhole.” 
Sideshow Bob: Cheerfully withdrawn.

To be honest…there’s not a lot to say about this episode.  Not only is it the perfect Sideshow Bob episode, but it’s also the perfect Simpsons episode.  It has heart and most importantly, the laughs come hard and fast.  I’ve watched this episode a hundred times at least and I still laugh out loud every time.  I can’t think of any greater praise.

What about you folks?  Which Sideshow Bob episodes are your favourites?  You can even rank them for yourself in the comments!

merchantFans of Ricky Gervais will likely know about Stephen Merchant, [IMDB – WIKI – Official Site] he is the co-writer and co-director with Ricky Gervais on The Office and Extras among other projects they worked on together.  He’s a very funny man and now is giving us the pleasure of an official website.
His FAQ section I found most interesting as he gives insight on how one could get started in comedy and gives some words of advices based on his own career.  They say behind every great man is a great woman, in this case it’s a 6 feet, 7 inches tall lanky, goggle-eyed freak.

 

Here it is folks, the final day of Star Trek Week!

Star Trek: Enterprise (ENT), or simply Enterprise as it was known for the first two years, was the series that many fans blame for killing Star Trek.  It premiered the same year Voyager ended and by that point it was felt that Star Trek in general needed a break.  Waiting a few years to make people hungry for Star Trek again would not have been a bad thing in my opinion.  That said, I always enjoyed ENT and was disappointed that it wasn’t given seven seasons like its brethren.  That’s right, Enterprise was the first series since the original that did not last seven seasons.

The premiere episode, Broken Bow, debuted on September 26, 2001 to big ratings but for the next four years those ratings would slide down and never recover.  In fact, during the later part of season three, word spread that this could be the last season of the show.  Similar to what happened in 1968 with TOS, fans bombarded UPN and Paramount with letters begging for the series to be renewed, and as in 1968…it worked…for one more season.  Star Trek: Enterprise would last four seasons with a total of 98 episodes.  Its last episode, These Are the Voyages…aired on May 13, 2005 and would signal the end of Star Trek.  For the first time since 1987…there would be no Star Trek series in production.

1. Broken Bow

“First contact with Klingons; the Enterprise (NX-01) is launched. Archer finds himself in the middle of a Temporal Cold War.”

Star Trek has never had much luck when it comes to first episodes.  The series premiere’s of TNG, DS9, and VOY, while getting better each time, would never be included amongst their best episodes.  Enterprise, no matter what you thought of it, surely had the strongest premiere of of them all.  The story of the Enterprise crew coming together for their first adventure was a riveting one.

One of the aspects about Enterprise that I enjoy, and others seem to hate, is that right from the get go…they don’t have a clue as to what’s going on.  They’re on the first warp five ship ever built and they’re going further out into the galaxy than any human has before.  They don’t know what’s out there, they’re not really prepared for what’s out there, and when they find what’s out there, half the the time they don’t know how to handle it.  It’s a nice change of pace from the technologically superior Starfleet in most of the other series.  Theme song still sucked though.

Trek Trivia – This was the first Star Trek series not to have a physical model of the main ship built.  All visual effects on Enterprise would be CGI.

2. The Andorian Incident

“Archer, Trip, and T’Pol are taken hostage by Andorians in the Vulcan monastery of P’Jem.”

The Andorians make their return to Star Trek in this episode, with a very cool updated makeup which featured animatronic antennae that moved according to their mood.  The ongoing distrust between the Andorians and Vulcans is revealed here and would be an ongoing story point for the remainder of the series.

Trek Trivia – This is the first Star Trek episode to feature the Andorians in almost thirty years.

3.  Cold Front

“Archer finds out a crewman on Enterprise is helping to fight the Temporal Cold War against Silik and some of the Suliban.”

The Temporal Cold War was an aspect of Enterprise that not a lot of people liked.  I actually enjoyed that part of the series (I’m easy to please aren’t I?) so I find episodes like this to be a lot of fun.  The Temporal Cold War involved factions from different centuries in the future each attempting to manipulate history for their own benefit.  It was never really made entirely clear what all these people were hoping to achieve because it ended up being written out of the show in season four when it became clear that the audience wasn’t into it.

I will admit that the Temporal Cold War could have been handled better but it added a bit of ongoing mystery to Star Trek akin to The X-Files mythology.  Each time we would learn something new, or find out what we did know was a lie.

Trek Triva – For some reason this episode takes place a week AFTER the next episode.

4. Dead Stop

“Heavily damaged by a Romulan mine, Enterprise is repaired by an unmanned and automatic repair station with a mind of its own.”

Probably one of my favourite ENT episodes due to its subtle creep factor.  This episode followed one in which the ship was severely damaged due to wandering through a Romulan minefield.  The previous episode didn’t end on a “to be continued” or anything; it was all wrapped up, so it was a pleasant surprise to find Enterprise still showing the damage it had incurred.  This may well be the first Star Trek episode to show damage to the ship that had been sustained the episode prior.  I love that, one of the few aspects which Enterprise did better than its siblings.

Trek Trivia – Roxann Dawson, who played B’Elanna Torres on Voyager, directed this episode as well as providing the voice of the automated station.

5. The Expanse

“An alien probe attacks Earth, killing 7 million people. Enterprise heads home for refitting before being sent into the Delphic Expanse in pursuit of the attackers.”
The Expanse, the final episode of season two, kicked off the Xindi arc. It would last throughout the entire third season, a first for Star Trek.  This episode, and the season to follow, would establish Enterprise as being of the post 9/11 era.  The devastating surprise attack brings to mind images of that horrible day.  It’s interesting that the writers decided to go down this road, as it seems very…un-Star Trek.  But I suppose that’s just it; Enterprise wasn’t Star Trek, at least not yet.

During The Original Series and beyond, humans were the perfect ideal.  They had reached a state in which there was no hate, no racism, and plenty of compassion.  The humans of Enterprise’s era aren’t quite there yet, they’re more similar to us I suppose.  The Expanse makes its biggest impact, not through its action, but through the reactions the characters have to the attack.  Trip, the usually easy going engineer, loses his sister in the attack.  His response is one of anger and he thirsts for revenge.  Such a human reaction in TOS, TNG, DS9, or VOY would probably feel majorly out of place, but here it feels right.

Trek Trivia – This episode would mark the last appearance of Admiral Forrest (played by Vaughn Armstrong) until season four.

6. Proving Ground

“Xindi scientists test their new, planet-killing weapon in an asteroid field as Archer finds he has an ally in the Delphic Expanse.”

Another Andorian episode makes the list.  A large part of the success of the Andorians on ENT was due to Jeffrey Combs as Shran.  His character proved a wonderful foil to Captain Archer and it’s to Jeffrey Combs credit that, even though we like Shran, we’re never quite sure where his loyalties lie.
This episode, being smack in the middle of season three, is really just a small piece of the third season puzzle.  Yet it manages to grab several ongoing threads from different story-lines and weave them together to create a single enjoyable episode.

Trek Trivia – Shran pretends to be a scout from the “Andorian Mining Consortium” which is a reference to the 1992 video game Star Trek: 25th Anniversary.

7. Azati Prime

“After finding the weapon on Azati Prime, Archer embarks on a suicide mission to destroy it. T’Pol suddenly goes into an emotional tailspin as Enterprise suffers a devastating attack by the reptilian Xindi.”

The season long Xindi arc really comes together with this episode.  All the characters get a chance to shine as their ship and plans crumble around them.  Space battles! Weeee!

Trek Trivia – This episode marks the last time that Enterprise is seen to be free of severe damage.  It would not be seen in its intact form until the fourth episode of the fourth season.

8. Zero Hour

“The final showdown with the reptilian Xindi to stop the weapon from destroying Earth.”

One of the best season finales of the entire franchise in my opinion, it was able to build on the momentum that had been growing all season to produce an extremely thrilling, stylish, and action packed episode.  Everything comes to a head in a large battle to save Earth from the fast approaching Xindi weapon.

However…as much as I love this episode…I have to admit that the final act seems to want to sabotage the rest of it.  Now I won’t get into spoilers in case you haven’t caught up on this nine year old episode…wow…nine years old?  Really?

Okay, screw spoilers, here we go. ALIEN NAZI’S!  That’s right.  After destroying the Xindi weapon, Captain Archer is thought to have perished.  However, he was actually thrown back in time to the 1940’s during World War II.  As he lays unconscious in a German hospital, an alien in a Nazi uniform steps forward to examine him.  TO BE CONTINUED!  That’s it.  That’s the season finale. It’s quite honestly the strangest cliffhanger Star Trek has done and I really don’t understand why they did it.  It’s completely separate from the tone of the season as well as having little to do with it story-wise.  If they had just ended the episode ten minutes earlier we would have had a completely satisfying conclusion to a great year long story arc while still leaving unanswered questions to pick up next season.

Trek Trivia – In this episode we learn that T’pol is 65 years old.

9. Borderland

“Dr. Arik Soong restores his relationship with his genetically-enhanced children.”

The writers of Enterprise realized that they had a good thing going last season with the Xindi arc, so during the forth season, instead of reverting to a season worth of stand alone episodes, they began a series of mini-arcs.  Some three-part episodes, some two-part episodes, and a small handful of stand alone ones.

Borderland was the first of a three part arc that aired once they finished cleaning up the alien Nazi mess left over from last season.  Brent Spiner, who we all know as Data, guest stars as Arik Soong, the great-grandfather of Noonian Soong, the scientist who would go on to create Data.  He pretty much steals every scene he’s in and after seven seasons and four movies as the emotionless Data, it’s nice to see him get to stretch his stuff here.

Season four is when Enterprise started to fully embrace its prequel roots.  It seems like this would have been something they would jumped on from day one, but aside from references like “one day they should make a prime directive derrr” we never really saw them go further with it.  This episode features the Orions, a species not seen since TOS, and also adds an interesting element to the Eugenics Wars and the legacy of one Khan Noonien Singh.  It would be the beginning of a season full of filled in back-stories, revelations of things to come, and a sense of fun that had been missing from the series during the exceedingly dark Xindi arc.

Trek Trivia – The character of Arik Soong marks the second member of Data’s “family” that Brent Spiner has portrayed.

10. Babel One

“Andorians threaten war on the Tellarites after apparently being attacked by a Tellarite vessel en route to trade talks.”

The first of a three episode arc, Babel One brings to mind one of my favourite TOS episodes “Journey to Babel”.  This episode certainly has plenty in common yet forges its own path.  Captain Archer is transporting a group of Tellarite ambassadors to the the titular planet in order for Starfleet to mediate a dispute between them and the Andorians, a first step which would lead to the formation of he Federation.

Had Enterprise been renewed for a fifth season, the origins of the Federation would have been one of the major arcs.  It’s fun to see the first small steps taken here yet it’s also disappointing knowing we never get the rest of the story.  The series definitely stepped up during its final two season but unfortunately it was too late.  I would have loved to have seen where the final three seasons would have taken us.

Trek Trivia –  It was a few days after this episode aired that the show was officially canceled by UPN.

I’m certain Star Trek won’t be gone from the small screen much longer.  What form it will take or what era it takes place in I don’t know, but I do know it will be wonderful seeing Star Trek on the small screen once again.

Well that is it for Star Trek Week.  Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed putting it all together.  A big thank you to Memory Alpha for being a great source for all the bits of Trek Trivia!

Lets see what’s out there.

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pulp-20-years

In his own movies, Quentin Tarantino has created a world of coincidence, connections, Easter Eggs, and unanswered questions. People love to ponder about the theories and intertwining universes in a QT movie; it’s great entertainment. He places these things liberally throughout his screenplays, challenging the observant.

He has left a lot of scenes from Pulp Fiction up for interpretation and for people to theorize over. Let’s take a look at a few.

The mysterious 666 briefcase

The mystery of the contents of Marcellus Wallace’s briefcase has raged for years. Some say it’s Elvis’ gold suit from True Romance, others the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs. The most popular theory is that it’s Marcellus Wallace’s soul, hence the case’s glow, the Band-Aid on the back of Wallace’s head (where the soul is removed) and the combination – 666.

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Read more below:

Tarantino has said there is no explanation for its contents and that it is simply a MacGuffin (a pure plot device). For filming purposes, it contained a hidden orange light bulb that produced an otherworldly glow. The script’s co-writer, Roger Avary, says that the original idea was diamonds, but that it seemed too cliche and it was decided the contents would never be seen, leaving the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

Despite Tarantino’s statements, a strong similarity has often been observed with the 1955 film noir Kiss Me Deadly. That movie, whose protagonist Tarantino has cited as a source for Butch, features a glowing briefcase housing an atomic explosive. Pretty cool.

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The Band-Aid on Wallace’s Head

The band aid on Wallace’s head was used to cover a shaving scar suffered by actor Ving Rhames. That is all.

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The Gold Watch

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This is my favorite scene from the movie and to hear this in-depth analysis makes it all the more entertaining. Rob Ager, the film critic behind collativelearning.com gives an in-depth analysis of The Gold Watch scene in Pulp Fiction. He uses video and narrative to build a case that much more symbolism and story is being transmitted than first meets the eye.

For fun: Pulp Fiction in Typography

The “What does Marsellus Wallace Look Like” scene in Pulp Fiction portrayed using nothing but typography. By Jarratt Moody.

inception

Is it Nolan day or something?  Anything that Christopher Nolan touches seems to turn to gold.  The CoF staff is pretty excited and curious what the man has up his sleeve for INCEPTION.  And I haven’t asked them, but I am pretty sure we would all leave our significant others for Leonardo Dicaprio.  Here’s some news about Inception, NO spoilers.

The February issue of Empire Magazine  mentions in the “On-Set Preview” section, that Christopher Nolan has had the the idea for the movie brewing in his head for quite a while, conceptualizing the idea when he was only 16 years old.Secondly, Nolan further confirmed the leaked plot line from last year, with The Playlist reprinting a quote Nolan gave the magazine: Basically the film deals with levels of reality, and perceptions of reality which is something I’m very interested in. Its an action film set in a contemporary world, but with a slight science-fiction bent to it. Cobb [Leonardo DiCaprio’s character], who is the center of things and expert in a particular technology that the film revolves around, has put this team around him [Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon Levitt]. It’s very much an ensemble film structured somewhat as a heist movie. It’s an action adventure that spans the globe.
Lastly, when being interviewed by Movies.ie, lead actor Leonardo Dicaprio stayed tight-lipped about anything related to the story of Inception, but revealed the running time, saying: I can tell you it’s about two hours long, give or take,” DiCaprio smiles. “Anything more than that, and Chris has vowed to have me strung up by my tongue…