Trektember: It’s Only a Paper Moon
Thanks to my gift of procrastination, I am writing this piece just days after the death of Aron Eisenberg, discussing reflections of the Divine in probably his greatest performance in by far his most well-known role, Nog. Read my tribute…
Trektember: The Seige of AR-558
Quark: Let me tell you something about hew-mons, nephew. They’re a wonderful, friendly people as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working. But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put…
Trektember: Treachery, Faith and the Great River
“Treachery, Faith and the Great River” contains, from my point of view, the second-funniest line ever written in the entirety of the Star Trek canon. Weyoun: Let’s just say I left Cardassia because my life was in danger. Odo: From…
Trektember: The Sound of Her Voice
Star Trek doesn’t do ghost stories very often. In an intentionally pro-science, anti-supernatural universe, the unusual always has an explanation; gods are advanced shape-shifters, prophets are nonlinear aliens living inside a wormhole, and spirits do not haunt our heroes. This…
Trektember: In the Pale Moonlight
What makes for a moral dilemma? It cannot be as simple as a hero choosing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good, nor can it be the courage of one’s convictions against overwhelming odds. No; while those are worthwhile stories,…
Trektember: Far Beyond the Stars
“You are the dreamer…And the dream.” So the street preacher tells Sisko/Benny in the back of the ambulance when he asks (understandably), “Who am I?” Dressed in Sisko’s Starfleet uniform, he still wears the watch, ring, and glasses of Benny…
Whose Playground Is This?: The Florida Project (2017) & The Beach Bum (2019)
Florida was a meme long before the internet. A vacation destination, a retirement home, a place where dreams came true—all the manufactured joy money can buy. For all of Florida’s appealing façade, it often seems that common sense gets trapped…
Trektember: The Dominion Invasion
The breadcrumb trail begun in the second season ends here: the Dominion Invasion. Its events span the fifth and sixth seasons, from Sisko’s loss of Deep Space Nine during the season 5 finale to his recapture of the station seven…
Trektember: Waltz
My four-year-old daughter only likes the shiny things in Star Trek. “Star Strike” as she calls it (the mispronunciation is too cute to correct) really only fascinates her when the ships are jumping to warp or firing photon torpedoes. The…
Reel World: Rewind #041 – Sunshine
On this episode of Reel World: Rewind… Reel World staff members Josh Crabb and Blake Collier are discussing Danny Boyle’s 2007 thought-provoking Sci-Fi movie, Sunshine. A portentous movie about a not-so-implausible future where the sun is dying, Boyle’s movie ponders transcendence,…