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Ryan: Dead to me; Breaking meth lab update; Star Trek, then and now
Monday Ryan did something that earned him the award for Most Clueless Act Ever Performed by Someone Not Named President George Bush: He texted me asking for permission to give my number to Lucy because "she needs a workout buddy." Not "Would you like to be Lucy's workout buddy?" (Answer: I would not).
I wondered why HE couldn't be her buddy. I knew he was planning to start counseling with John, so I joked to Tery that he was going to ride off into the sunset with him and leave Lucy with me. I guess the week-long silent treatment wasn't enough of a lesson in how I feel about Lucy.
It turns out, as I learned Tuesday, that was exactly his plan. John closed on a house Friday and Ryan wasted no time arranging to move in with him. After only one therapy session and a weekend free of arguing. Possibly one of the stupider decisions of his life (not being made with the big head), but you can't tell him that.
Part of his grand scheme is to ask Lucy to rent his condo from him (Lucy of no job or income). Yep. Definitely no big head thinking going on here.
Whatever. He can live his life and make his own mistakes, but he shouldn't try to foist his friends off on me when they become inconvenient.
~*~
In FCW news, the surveillance software is first class, but as it turns out my handy peephole spycam is pretty useless at night -- you can vaguely make out people-sized shapes, but she could be carrying crates of fully automatic rifles into her place and it would be impossible to tell. So I tracked down a second camera with night vision that I can position on the balcony facing the stairwell. This is how determined I am to catch her at SOMETHING.
Today I finally got a call back from Narcotics Division, an officer with a dry sense of humor who assured me he's had her on his radar this entire time, and would love nothing more than to kick her door in and find something to put her away, except that "pesky Constitution" has his hands tied without more substantial evidence.
I was happy I didn't get a "Meth lab what? Tracey who?" He also seemed very interested in my little camera scheme. Tery thought I was a huge dork, but I'm sure he wishes more private citizens stepped up and took a more active role more often. Part of it is my hatred of drug users. A bigger part is a strong desire not to have my home blown up.
He did say, somewhat ominously and mysteriously, "I have information that might suggest she's starting up again." He didn't elaborate, and obviously this comment didn't do much to put me at ease. I wanted desperately to ask about the odds of her getting off so easy after a second offense, but I'm always hyper-self- conscious when I talk to coppers.
So now I'm back on garbage watch, which the cameras should make much easier. If I know anything, so too will you.
~*~
Okay, F-list, your squeeing has not fallen on deaf ears. Monday I went to see Star Trek.
I was an ENORMOUS fan of the series growing up. Me and my best friend Lisa. Of course, back in those days there were no VCRs, let alone DVD, so we just watched the episodes live whenever we could catch them. My favorite was every Thanksgiving, when they would have a 24-hour marathon and air all the favorites. I would camp on my parents' couch, set the alarm clock, and grab quick naps during episodes I didn't like as much.
Lisa and I were perfectly matched: She was a fan of Kirk. I was Spock's girl all the way. We had a trivia quiz book we thumbed through so much it was dog-eared and ragged. I used to know Spock's serial number (so apparently my memory hasn't always been this brokedown sieve I'm working with now).
What's not to love? The devastating intelligence. The rail thin physique. The saturnine features. The icy stone reserve you're dying to ruffle even a little. The keeping on of his shirt (with the exception of one episode, "Patterns of Force"), unlike Kirk who disrobed to display sweaty pink pecs for every stiff breeze that came along. Yep, Spock all the way.
So, speaking as Spock's #1 fan, I heartily approve of this movie. Specifically I heartily approve of Zachary "Sylar" Quinto, who did a pitch perfect characterization of the younger Vulcan. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever there.
Chris Pine (previously seen as the scuzzy hippie in Bottle Shock) also made a fine young Kirk. He kept his shirt on (which made me happy), and showed the beginning of a long tradition of James T. getting the pants beat off him. For all his chest flashing, this man consistently got the crap beat out of him for 79 episodes.
Speaking of tradition, I was pleased to see McCoy (Karl Urban) on the bridge during an especially tense moment, protesting that he was a doctor, not a __________. Because McCoy was ALWAYS on the bridge in the old days, for no discernible reason, but it was the only way to keep poor DeForest Kelley working.
All the rest of the cast were just as good, but none so much as Simon Pegg as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (note: James Doohan was my closest brush with celebrity, having ridden in the elevator with him and his agent at a convention once. Lisa and I giggled in the corner like the schoolgirls we were). I had just whispered to Deb, "Where's Scotty??!!?" and he appeared in the very next scene. That's what I call service. Like Rickman, he made the most of very limited screen time.
The whole back story of the crew was very well done. The story in general was very well done, involving as it does time travel and screwed up history, but I never once got confused like I normally do with temporal rift scenarios.
And Spock gets it on (briefly and discreetly) with Uhura. My three favorite eps from the show were "Plato's Stepchildren," where Spock is forced to kiss Nurse Chapel by godlike mentalists, "All Our Yesterdays" when he reverts to a more primitive version of himself and romances a very irresistible Mariette Hartley, and (winning in all categories across the board), "Amok Time," when Spock has to return to Vulcan for an ancient mating ritual, but not before being comforted by Nurse Chapel. So yeah, I'm down with any action Spock gets from the ladies.
Which brings me to the bad: Spock gets it on with Uhura. Because this is supposed to be a prequel, right? But Spock and Uhura didn't have the slightest hint of anything going on during the show. Maybe if there had been a Nurse Chapel character.... My sister would shrug it off as an alternate universe thing, which means they have to make another movie to correct the timeline.
Because b.) Spock's mother dies in this movie (sorry, spoiler), but she's alive and well in the show. How now, JJ Abrams?
Some other problems not related to the original series: Eric Bana's Romulan, Nero. He could have made an effort to put ANY other accent on. He sounded like he was trying to escape his roots in the Bronx neighborhood of Romulus.
I also don't buy the Romulans as so helpless that the entire fate of their world rests exclusively in Spock's hands. They might have done SOMETHING to help themselves before the planet imploded. Way to emasculate a whole race to create a plot point, JJ. Also their North Face parkas were a little ridiculous.
What else? Oh yes. Considering the Prime Directive of the entire series is a policy of zero interference with developing species, you'd think that would go quadruple for coming face to face with your younger self. As cool as it was to see Leonard Nimoy and Zachary meeting, I can't believe it was necessary for Elder Spock ("Spock Prime," which sounds too much like a Transformers episode) to hint to Young Spock that he really, really wanted to be James Kirk's friend. If they worked it out in the original timeline, wouldn't it happen again? I mean, assuming they'd have some together time once they weren't busy saving the universe.
But to end on a good note, what was AWESOME was Admiral Pike ending up in a wheelchair, as those of us old skool fans remember the actual pilot of the series was all about Captain Pike, who later is in a wheelchair in the reworked two-parter "The Menagerie." Kirk wasn't in the pilot (trivia: IMDb lists Nimoy before Shatner, being in 80 episodes to Shatner's 79. This here was the discrepancy).
Final impression: More enjoyable than some of the films made with the original cast. I'm definitely looking forward to more films being made with these young 'uns. Particularly Mr. Quinto.
I wondered why HE couldn't be her buddy. I knew he was planning to start counseling with John, so I joked to Tery that he was going to ride off into the sunset with him and leave Lucy with me. I guess the week-long silent treatment wasn't enough of a lesson in how I feel about Lucy.
It turns out, as I learned Tuesday, that was exactly his plan. John closed on a house Friday and Ryan wasted no time arranging to move in with him. After only one therapy session and a weekend free of arguing. Possibly one of the stupider decisions of his life (not being made with the big head), but you can't tell him that.
Part of his grand scheme is to ask Lucy to rent his condo from him (Lucy of no job or income). Yep. Definitely no big head thinking going on here.
Whatever. He can live his life and make his own mistakes, but he shouldn't try to foist his friends off on me when they become inconvenient.
~*~
In FCW news, the surveillance software is first class, but as it turns out my handy peephole spycam is pretty useless at night -- you can vaguely make out people-sized shapes, but she could be carrying crates of fully automatic rifles into her place and it would be impossible to tell. So I tracked down a second camera with night vision that I can position on the balcony facing the stairwell. This is how determined I am to catch her at SOMETHING.
Today I finally got a call back from Narcotics Division, an officer with a dry sense of humor who assured me he's had her on his radar this entire time, and would love nothing more than to kick her door in and find something to put her away, except that "pesky Constitution" has his hands tied without more substantial evidence.
I was happy I didn't get a "Meth lab what? Tracey who?" He also seemed very interested in my little camera scheme. Tery thought I was a huge dork, but I'm sure he wishes more private citizens stepped up and took a more active role more often. Part of it is my hatred of drug users. A bigger part is a strong desire not to have my home blown up.
He did say, somewhat ominously and mysteriously, "I have information that might suggest she's starting up again." He didn't elaborate, and obviously this comment didn't do much to put me at ease. I wanted desperately to ask about the odds of her getting off so easy after a second offense, but I'm always hyper-self- conscious when I talk to coppers.
So now I'm back on garbage watch, which the cameras should make much easier. If I know anything, so too will you.
~*~
Okay, F-list, your squeeing has not fallen on deaf ears. Monday I went to see Star Trek.
I was an ENORMOUS fan of the series growing up. Me and my best friend Lisa. Of course, back in those days there were no VCRs, let alone DVD, so we just watched the episodes live whenever we could catch them. My favorite was every Thanksgiving, when they would have a 24-hour marathon and air all the favorites. I would camp on my parents' couch, set the alarm clock, and grab quick naps during episodes I didn't like as much.
Lisa and I were perfectly matched: She was a fan of Kirk. I was Spock's girl all the way. We had a trivia quiz book we thumbed through so much it was dog-eared and ragged. I used to know Spock's serial number (so apparently my memory hasn't always been this brokedown sieve I'm working with now).
What's not to love? The devastating intelligence. The rail thin physique. The saturnine features. The icy stone reserve you're dying to ruffle even a little. The keeping on of his shirt (with the exception of one episode, "Patterns of Force"), unlike Kirk who disrobed to display sweaty pink pecs for every stiff breeze that came along. Yep, Spock all the way.
So, speaking as Spock's #1 fan, I heartily approve of this movie. Specifically I heartily approve of Zachary "Sylar" Quinto, who did a pitch perfect characterization of the younger Vulcan. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever there.
Chris Pine (previously seen as the scuzzy hippie in Bottle Shock) also made a fine young Kirk. He kept his shirt on (which made me happy), and showed the beginning of a long tradition of James T. getting the pants beat off him. For all his chest flashing, this man consistently got the crap beat out of him for 79 episodes.
Speaking of tradition, I was pleased to see McCoy (Karl Urban) on the bridge during an especially tense moment, protesting that he was a doctor, not a __________. Because McCoy was ALWAYS on the bridge in the old days, for no discernible reason, but it was the only way to keep poor DeForest Kelley working.
All the rest of the cast were just as good, but none so much as Simon Pegg as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (note: James Doohan was my closest brush with celebrity, having ridden in the elevator with him and his agent at a convention once. Lisa and I giggled in the corner like the schoolgirls we were). I had just whispered to Deb, "Where's Scotty??!!?" and he appeared in the very next scene. That's what I call service. Like Rickman, he made the most of very limited screen time.
The whole back story of the crew was very well done. The story in general was very well done, involving as it does time travel and screwed up history, but I never once got confused like I normally do with temporal rift scenarios.
And Spock gets it on (briefly and discreetly) with Uhura. My three favorite eps from the show were "Plato's Stepchildren," where Spock is forced to kiss Nurse Chapel by godlike mentalists, "All Our Yesterdays" when he reverts to a more primitive version of himself and romances a very irresistible Mariette Hartley, and (winning in all categories across the board), "Amok Time," when Spock has to return to Vulcan for an ancient mating ritual, but not before being comforted by Nurse Chapel. So yeah, I'm down with any action Spock gets from the ladies.
Which brings me to the bad: Spock gets it on with Uhura. Because this is supposed to be a prequel, right? But Spock and Uhura didn't have the slightest hint of anything going on during the show. Maybe if there had been a Nurse Chapel character.... My sister would shrug it off as an alternate universe thing, which means they have to make another movie to correct the timeline.
Because b.) Spock's mother dies in this movie (sorry, spoiler), but she's alive and well in the show. How now, JJ Abrams?
Some other problems not related to the original series: Eric Bana's Romulan, Nero. He could have made an effort to put ANY other accent on. He sounded like he was trying to escape his roots in the Bronx neighborhood of Romulus.
I also don't buy the Romulans as so helpless that the entire fate of their world rests exclusively in Spock's hands. They might have done SOMETHING to help themselves before the planet imploded. Way to emasculate a whole race to create a plot point, JJ. Also their North Face parkas were a little ridiculous.
What else? Oh yes. Considering the Prime Directive of the entire series is a policy of zero interference with developing species, you'd think that would go quadruple for coming face to face with your younger self. As cool as it was to see Leonard Nimoy and Zachary meeting, I can't believe it was necessary for Elder Spock ("Spock Prime," which sounds too much like a Transformers episode) to hint to Young Spock that he really, really wanted to be James Kirk's friend. If they worked it out in the original timeline, wouldn't it happen again? I mean, assuming they'd have some together time once they weren't busy saving the universe.
But to end on a good note, what was AWESOME was Admiral Pike ending up in a wheelchair, as those of us old skool fans remember the actual pilot of the series was all about Captain Pike, who later is in a wheelchair in the reworked two-parter "The Menagerie." Kirk wasn't in the pilot (trivia: IMDb lists Nimoy before Shatner, being in 80 episodes to Shatner's 79. This here was the discrepancy).
Final impression: More enjoyable than some of the films made with the original cast. I'm definitely looking forward to more films being made with these young 'uns. Particularly Mr. Quinto.
FIRST
I don't know why you can't just trust that the Filthy Crankwhore might actually be going straight. She seems like such an upstanding character. Oooh, have you tried looking through her balcony window with a telephoto lens? Or going through her garbage? This is such spy stuff, you must be having so much fun with this.
You're a dork. It's not meant to be a prequel, it's meant to veer off from the show entirely. It's an alternate reality. One where Spock finally gets some and everybody has dead parents. They don't need to correct the timeline, because they are no longer working on the same timeline at all. I'm really excited to see if there will be more movies with brand new adventures not originally in the show. Maybe Spock Prime didn't want his handsomer younger self getting in his way on the Vulcan colony, stealing his celebrity, so he cleverly pushed him in the direction of the Enterprise? ;)
I have nothing to add to your review - spot on. I've seen this movie twice already and loveloveloved it. My only complaint (which is normal for this type of film) is the "original" fans I had to sit next to in the theater. Yeah, we all know Uhura wasn't so skinny, but she is considerably younger than she was in the show. No, I don't think Kirk should've read the end lines, despite tradition, because they were kind of going for a Spock theme here. Shut up and stop nitpicking, people, you are ruining it for me.
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J.J. Abrahms supposedly was going for an alternative universe, so he could break canon.
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I saw this too and thought it was great. New Spock nailed it! My only nit to pick is that .... "Considering the Prime Directive of the entire series is a policy of zero interference with developing species, you'd think that would go quadruple for coming face to face with your younger self." YES!!! I think this directive was touted a helluva lot more in TNG than it was in the original. In the first series, Kirk was always interfering. Maybe Spocktimus Prime has gotten a little lax in his ancient age.
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