In our big Star Trek giveaway from Trek Week 2, we offered the new Star Trek 2-disc special edition DVD and IDW’s prequel comic trade paper back, Star Trek: Countdown.  All you had to do to enter the contest was tell us your recommendation for the Trek sequel.

We had many entries and lots of great suggestions such as following up on the Vulcan refugees who perhaps have fallen victim to Klingon exploitation, a re-imagining of the Gorn, and a stern recommendation to fire the writers. (continue reading…)

JJ...put me in Trek Two or I will end you! Priceline Negotiator!

It’s been long confirmed that the writer’s of the new Star Trek film had a hard time figuring out how to include James Kirk Prime (The Shatner) into the new movie, considering he died on-screen in Star Trek: Generations.  Sure, William Shatner himself brought him back to life in a Trek novel, but the regular moviegoing public doesn’t really know that.  Still, they did find a way and the description of the long-rumoured “birthday message” that Kirk leaves for Spock Prime is now available at Trek Movie.

Reading it, I think it’s a shame they didn’t include it.  They say it’s because Shatner has a strict “no cameo” policy.  But I guess they’ve never seen Fanboys?  Or Dodgeball?  Did he say no?  Did they not ask him?  Are they really going to put him in the sequel somewhere?  I guess only time will tell … but either way, this scene seems like it would have been a great capper to the film.  Sure, Chris Pine did an excellent job, but Shatner would have killed this scene.

Would you watch a tv show starring this man? I would.

So Star Trek blew up in cinemas over the summer and, with it set to be released on DVD this coming week (and blu-ray, for us cool folks), the question has come up many a time as to when Trek might return to its native roots – that is, to say, television.

While I don’t think we’re going to see a return to TVland for our beloved Enterprise (or any Federation ship, honestly) in the near future, I’d venture to say we might see one eventually.  Probably after a third movie is released in theaters, I’d imagine.  Paramount knows they’ve got a good thing going with the movies, and the way those corporate types work is that sometimes they’d imagine that TV (especially in the case of Trek, which was killed by poor TV shows) will dilute the experience of the movie series, which is their cash cow right now.

Still, with Trek’s hopefully inevitable return to television, what new can be brought in that we haven’t seen before?  I’m sure we don’t want to just see alternative universe portrayals of The Next Generation, or Deep Space Nine.  Do we need a new series about exploring new life and new civilizations?  The stationary space station thing has been done before, the “lost in space” thing has been done before…what’s left?

• Star Trek Undercover: Okay, so the title is stupid, but I’m serious about the premise.  The deleted scenes for Abrams’ recent Trek movie show a much more militaristic, almost terrorist take on Klingons.  While the scene was deleted and, thus, not in continuity, how about a Wire-type series based within the Klingon terrorist ranks?  A young cadet in Starfleet, or an outcast from Klingon, must join ranks with a Klingon terrorist group to thwart their attacks?  While I admit the premise doesn’t lend itself to seven seasons of television, with enough effort, we could get a very striking, almost gritty edition to the new Trek mythos.
• Star Trek – The Adventures of Dr. Bones: Out of all of the cast members of the new Trek movie, I think we all were most impressed by Karl Urban’s portrayal of Bones the most.  And with Urban’s theatrical career kinda shaky (I mean, I like the guy, but has he EVER been the headliner in a hit movie?), I think it might be time for him to look at headlining a television show.  And what better television show could there be than a medical drama….IN SPACE!  If this comes after movie three (and, let’s be honest, do we expect more than three movies with that cast?), it would be more than fine to see Bones leave the Enterprise to start a medical clinic, perhaps in the alternative universe DS9?
• Starfleet Academy: While I’m not entirely sold on this idea, it would probably be the most likely route the franchise would take.  A Starfleet Academy series/movie has been suggested for years (since the days of Star Trek V), and with the focus on the Academy in the new Trek movie, it might be interesting to see a class go through the paces, and the drama that unfolds.

What say you guys?  Any ideas? (PS – any comments on this post will be automatically entered into our Star Trek glass giveaway!)

I’m a pretty big Trek geek.

Had you asked me yesterday how many pilot episodes there were of the original Star Trek television series I’d have said two.  And would have argued any other answer provided with a sneering superiority.

And then I read this press release announcing yet another unaired Star Trek pilot had been found (remember when they “found” THE CAGE?):

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (November 12, 2009) – “When we first discovered the original film print existed, we jumped at the chance to give STAR TREK fans the opportunity to add this never aired pilot to their collections,” said Ken Ross, executive vice president and general manager of CBS Home Entertainment. “It will be a real treat for fans to see and hear how it all could have begun.”

(continue reading…)

So the big news last week was that the long awaited Star Trek MMO will be released in February 2010.  Hot damn, right?  Now, the big question… will your system run it?

And more important, will mine?

According to Star Trek Online in a FAQ updated this week:

System Requirements

• OS: Windows XP SP2 / Windows Vista / Windows 7 (32 or 64-bit)
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8 Ghz or AMD Athlon X2 3800+
• Memory: 1GB RAM
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce 7950 / ATI Radeon X1800 / Intel HD Graphics
• Sound: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Soundcard
• DirectX: Version 9.0c or Higher
• HDD: 8GB Free Disk Space
• Network: Internet Broadband Connection Required
• Disc: 6X DVD-ROM

Well, CRAP!

I’m running 1.6 Ghz on my laptop.  And I’ve got some Intel video nonsense that doesn’t sound like it’s near cool enough to handle the game.

Makes me wanna kick a tribble.

Remember those wicked cool Star Trek glasses that Burger King sold when the movie came out in theaters?  They looked like this:

Made of actual glass, not cheapo plastic!

Want a set?  Sure you do!

We’re giving away a full set of all four glasses, and all you have to do to enter for a chance to win is:

Send an email to ideologyofmadness.com@gmail with “STAR TREK GLASSES CONTEST” in the e-mail title.

One entry per person, please.

One lucky winner will be chosen at random, and will win the entire set of four glasses!

Items will only be shipped within the continental United States.

You must be 18 or older to enter.

Contest ends Friday, November17th at midnight Eastern time.

Good luck!

Star Trek: Of Gods and Men

Sure, seeing Spock in the recent Abrams’ Trek film was all sorts of awesome, but what about another adventure starring the original crew, or even some of the cast members from the various TV shows?

What is Star Trek: Of Gods and Men?  Only one of the most elaborate fan films I’ve ever seen!

Star Trek: Of Gods and Men stars Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols (Uhura and Chekov of the original series) and Alan Ruck (Captain John Harriman of the 7th Trek feature film, Star Trek Generations) along with Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand of the original series). Joining them are Garrett Wang (Star Trek: Voyager) and Ethan Phillips (Star Trek: Voyager as well as Star Trek: The Next Generation); Cirroc Lofton, Chase Masterson and JG Hertzler (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Gary Graham and Crystal Allen (Star Trek: Enterprise), Herb Jefferson (Battlestar Galactica) plus Tim Russ (reprising his role as Tuvok from Star Trek: Voyager), who also directed. The same team that created the hit “Roddenberry on Patrol,” currently in DVD release, and also directed by Russ, is producing the webisode mini-series.

Set in the original series timeline, the story picks up twelve years after Kirk’s death, in an alternate universe where we get a much darker tale, and once familiar and welcome faces take a sinister turn!

You’ll never see a fan film with this much interaction from the original cast, and with such high production values!

The entire film can be seen for free on its official site, but Renegade Studios has also made a limited edition DVD available via its store!  Of course, as it’s not official Trek, they can’t charge you for it, so you get the limited edition free when you purchase anything from their store, which directly goes to funding their next big project!

The DVD contains pop-up commentary throughout the movie, compiled from the memories of cast and crew, includes behind the scenes facts, production trivia, and more.  The DVD also includes interviews with the cast and crew!

Watch the trailer below!

A fan of the old Star Trek blooper reels and the old Mego action figures, this send-up tickled the pon-farr out of me.  Seriously, it makes me wish I still had those old guys hanging around.  If only I hadn’t set them on fire/blown them up with m80’s.

Sniff.

While the reel below looks like those TOS blooers, it is actually a preview for a 3-part series found over at Hoserlu Studios.

What happens if you don’t win our super damn ass cool Wrath of Contest (enter here!) and you actually have to buy the movie (gasp) with your won hard-earned cash?  Well, where do you buy it?  After all, Star Trek is one of the biggest blockbuster movies of the year – there’s sure to be some store exclusives, right?  Well…as it turns out, there’s a TON!  Thanks to Trek Movie, we’ve got the full listing and wow…it’s going to be hard to choose just one!

Amazon - limited edition replica gift set (the pic you see at right – click it to purchase!)

Hollywood Video – rent or buy the movie to be entered into a contest to win a signed poster by Zoe Saldana

Transworld (FYE/Coconuts/Suncoast) – a sweet looking steelbook packaging!

Best Buy – collectible packaging with four steel pins of Starfleet insignia

Target – Limited Edition Collectible Starship Enterprise Packaging on both 2-Disc DVD and 3-Disc Blu-ray. [disks are in saucer]

Check out the full listing of exclusives at TrekMovie!

Everyone’s got their favorite Star Trek captain.

For some, it’s that wild, cowboy-diplomat Jim Kirk.  For others, it’s that smooth talking badass Ben Sisko.

For me?

It’s Captain Hitler.  Remember Star Trek: Erster Kontakt?  Der Fuhrer kicked those Borg schädlinge all the way back to the Delta Quadrant.