The SciFi Diner Podcast
SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 154 - Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History by Robert Greenberger
SciFi Diner Podcast Ep. 154 Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History by Robert Greenberger The SciFi Diner Podcast A 2012 Parsec Finalist
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Tonight’s Diners: Scott & Miles
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Menu: Interview: Our Interview with Robert Greenberger, author of Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History Trivia: Trivia this week! Win Thomas Dekker TV News: Blood and Chrome; Farscape and SG1 Alumni Joins CW’s The Arrow Movie News: Man of Steel - NOW IN 3D!; (And Superman Quits His Day Job); Mark Wahlberg in T4? That’s Transformer 4); Howard Shore and The Hobbit; Princess Leia Wants In The Sequels TWIST: The Only REAL Star Trek Captains and ST:NG Season Two on Bluray SciFi 5 in 5 : Great Serenity Quotes New Trivia:Trivia:Trivia
Question: Who was Starman, in the movie by that name?
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Trek News and Views - special thanks for combining our interviews
Tuning Into SciFi TV Podcast
Our Interview:Robert Greenberger
A writer, editor, and project manager, Robert Greenberger has been working in publishing since 1980. A lifelong fan of comics and science fiction, he watched dreams become reality when he first joined Starlog Press in 1980. There, he created Comics Scene which he edited during its initial run. In 1984, he moved to DC Comics where he worked as an editor or administrator until 2000, earning plaudits for his work on the Star Trek comic book. After a brief sojourn to the Internet, he returned to comics in 2001, this time working as an executive at Marvel Comics. This turned out to be a stormy, frustrating year and in 2002 he returned to DC as a senior editor in their growing collected editions department. In 2006, he left DC and found himself having the time of his life as Managing Editor at Weekly World News unitl its clueless management shuttered the paper.
Since then he has been a freelance writer, working on media tie-in properties, original fiction, non-fiction for your young adults and adults, and whatever else has come his way.
Currently, he writes a weekly op-ed column for the Fairfield Patch and a semi-monthly column for Westfield Comics. He makes his home in Connecticut where he is a Fairfield representative to the Greater Bridgeport Regional Planning Agency. For more, check out his website: www.bobgreenberger.com.
To get you own copy of Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History, please visit here.
TV News:
Blood and Chrome
We're just two days away from the debut of the new Battlestar Galactica prequel web series Blood and Chrome, and if you weren't already stoked, this clip will definitely put you over the edge. Long before he was an admiral with the fate of humanity in his hands, William Adama was just one damn good pilot.
In this clip from the 10-part series, a partnership between Syfy and Machinima, young William Adama (played by Luke Pasqualino) finds himself in a dogfight with two Cylon fighters, and his Viper is a little worse for wear. To even his odds, he pulls off a daring, almost suicidal and seriously badass maneuver.
Pretty cool, right? And in case you wanted another primer, here's the official description:
An all-new chapter in the Battlestar Galactica saga, Blood and Chrome takes place in the midst of the first Cylon war. As the battle between humans and their creation, the sentient robot Cylons, rages across the 12 colonial worlds, a young, talented fighter pilot, William Adama, finds himself assigned to one of the most powerful battlestars in the Colonial fleet: the Galactica.
The first installment of Blood and Chrome will hit Machinima's YouTube channel Friday, with the rest following over the next month. Then, next year, we're getting a full-length movie follow-up from Syfy. What do you think? Does this clip have you more pumped for the show?
Farscape and Stargate SG-1 fan favorite joins The CW's Arrow
When it comes to sci-fi alumni, Arrow is the place to be. The CW hit has added another guest star to its growing roster. What would be better than a visit from Captain Jack Harkness? How about one from Cmdr. John Crichton?
It's being reported that Ben Browder is heading to Arrow. The actor's been cast as the DC Comics character Ted Gaynor. He'll make his debut in episode 11, where he comes between Oliver and Diggle's budding partnership.
Gaynor and Diggle served together over in Afghanistan. At the time, Gaynor was his commanding officer. Now he's in Starling City, working as a bodyguard for the Blackhawk Squad Protection Group.
Browder's best known for his roles as John Crichton on Farscape and Cameron Mitchell on Stargate SG-1. He's recently appeared on episodes of Chuck and Doctor Who. Browder makes his Arrowdebut early next year.
Arrow airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on The CW.
What do you think of Browder joining the show?
Zack Snyder says we'll get the chance to watch Man of Steel with 3D glasses
You didn't ask for it, but you're getting it anyway. Superman's latest outing, Man of Steel, will be released in 3D. Warner Bros confirmed the decision on Wednesday.
As we all know, Man of Steel wasn't shot in 3D. Therefore, the film has to be converted in post-production. It's a process that doesn't have the best reputation. But the studio has more than seven months to get it right.
In the press release, director Zack Snyder said, "The film is going to be a visually exciting experience in all formats: 2D, 3D and IMAX. Anticipating how audiences today embrace 3D, we designed and photographed the movie in a way that would allow Man of Steel to captivate those moviegoers, while respecting fans who prefer a more traditional cinematic experience. We've taken great measures to ensure the film and the story come first, and 3D is meant as an enhancement."
Hmm, do you trust his judgment?
Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White and Russell Crowe as Jor-El.
Man of Steel hits theaters June 14, 2013.
Will you be watching Superman in 3D?
Clark Kent quits newspaper job
Writers says character is likely to start his own blog
DC Comics
(CNN) —
In the comic book series' latest issue, which went on sale Wednesday, an outraged Clark Kent quits his job at The Daily Planet after his boss berates him.
"I was taught to believe you could use words to change the course of rivers -- that even the darkest secrets would fall under the harsh light of the sun," the superhero's alter ego says in a newsroom outburst. "But facts have been replaced by opinions. Information has been replaced by entertainment. Reporters have become stenographers. I can't be the only one who's sick of what passes for the news today."
In Wednesday's issue, Kent tells his editor he's been a journalist for barely five years.
But for decades, his job as a reporter at The Daily Planet has been a mainstay of Superman's story.
Word of the superhero's career move drew attention from media critics and others who've watched the newspaper industry's struggles.
"It seems very overly dramatic," said Erica Smith, a former newspaper employee who's tracked U.S. newspaper industry layoffs and buyouts on her Paper Cuts blog since 2007. "It doesn't seem to me to fit either the industry or the character."
If he'd been laid off or taken a buyout, like more than 2,000 others in the U.S. newspaper industry this year, "it would have been a little bit more realistic," Smith said with a laugh.
The proportion of Americans who read news on a printed page is declining, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. The center said in a September study that just 23% of those surveyed said they read a print newspaper the previous day -- an 18 percentage point decrease over the past decade.
But online and digital readership is growing, the study said.
Did the Internet just land Mark Wahlberg that Transformers gig?
A couple of weeks ago we heard whispers that Michael Bay's next Transformers flick could star Mark Wahlberg, a rumor that Bay himself promptly quashed. But now it seems Bay might be reconsidering, and we really could be headed for a Marky Mark-headlinedTransformers 4 thanks to ... well, you people.
The initial rumor that Bay and Wahlberg could be teaming for the next Autobots vs. Decepticons showdown seemed to be a misunderstanding of actual news, as Bay did confirm that he and Wahlberg were doing a different project together. But now it seems that their previous work may be inspiring a future collaboration of the Transformers kind.
Here's what Bay had to say on his blog:
"I squashed a rumor that was on the internet last week. It was about Mark Walhberg. Mark was rumored to be staring in Transformers 4. We are working on another movie together, not T4. I had such a great time working with Mark on Pain and Gain, and he gave such a great performance - well let's say that very internet chatter gave me some ideas. We are at the inception of our story process right now on T4. Let's say some ideas are gaining traction with me and my writer - so I'm here to say thanks internet chatter."
So it would seem Bay has reconsidered ruling out Wahlberg for his next alien robot superblockbuster, thanks (at least in part) to all you guys out there who wouldn't stop spreading and discussing the rumor (and hey, we'll take some of the credit for that too). The question now is whether we really want a Wahlberg Transformers flick, since it's a little closer to really happening.
So, how about it? Is Bay heading in the right direction?
1st gorgeous cut from Hobbit soundtrack sets Middle-earth mood
Aside from the stunning visuals, Howard Shore's gorgeous soundtrack to Lord of the Rings was one of the greatest parts of Peter Jackson's trilogy. The legendary composer has thankfully returned for the Hobbit prequels, and now the first full track has leaked online. Want to hear?
Dubbed "Radagast the Brown," the atmospheric orchestral track definitely evokes the same vibe as the classic Lord of the Rings tunes. The track's title refers to the animal-loving wizard played by former Time Lord Sylvester McCoy.
Judging by the title alone, it's likely this tune will pop up at about the same time as McCoy's character. This tidbit also implies that we'll meet Radagast in the first installment of the Hobbit trilogy when it opens Dec. 14.
And now Princess Leia wants back in for new Star Wars trilogy
We already know that Harrison Ford is willing to come back and play Han Solo one more time, but he ain't the only icon who's interested. Could it be that Han's soulmate in a galaxy far, far away would come back, too? Looks like it!
Carrie Fisher was accosted on the street by TMZ (as they are wont to do) and asked what, frankly, we all wanted to know—will she come back, if asked, to play Leia?
Well, first they asked her how it felt to be a Disney princess, to which she answered, "Fantastic. Made my day." Then they asked if she'd be in the new Star Wars movie. "Yes, sure," was her response. Then, just to be obnoxiously sure, TMZ pressed on with, "So you will be in the new one?"
"Wouldn't you?" was her dry response.
So Disney would basically be fools to not sign Han and Leia up for a return. After all, that means Jaina and Jacen Solo (Han and Leia's twins in the expanded-universe novels) can also appear. How awesome would that be?
This week in Star Trek:Kate Mulgrew says Picard and Janeway were only REAL Trek captains
It is a truth universally acknowledged among fans everywhere that there are five captains in the Star Trek universe: James T. Kirk from The Original Series; Jean-Luc Picard fromThe Next Generation; Benjamin Sisko from Deep Space Nine; Kathryn Janeway fromVoyager and Jonathan Archer from Enterprise.
However, according to actress Kate Mulgrew, who played Janeway for seven seasons onStar Trek: Voyager, that's not exactly true.
What the heck is this? "What in the Alpha Quadrant is Kate Mulgrew prattling on about?" is what you guys must be thinking right about now, right?
In an interview with Splitsider, Mulgrew was asked about a certain comment she made "that there were only two real captains, yourself and Mr. [Patrick] Stewart."
To which Mulgrew replied, "No, this is gonna go viral."
Then the journalist also mentioned that Shatner was not necessarily one, to which Mulgrew then said:
Well, there are only two captains who were lost in space who did seven years, okay?Deep Space Nine was a space station. Shatner only did three seasons. [Scott] Bakula was cancelled after four.
As you guys well know, Picard was never "lost in space," but he did do seven seasons of Star Trek: TNG and four films, so he was relatively busy in space as the captain of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D and E).
Then the journalist mentioned that Avery Brooks was only a commander (which was true at first, but fans will recall that he was promoted to the rank of captain in the season-three episode "The Adversary").
That's what I'm saying, it was a space station. He wasn't in space, lost in space. Patrick Stewart and I — Picard and Janeway — were the only two intrepid, lost-in-space captains. I really think that's true, right?
Do you agree with Kate Mulgrew's comments?
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 Blu-ray Release Date Set
For all of you TNG fans, (and come on, who isn't?), Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 is headed to blu-ray December 4th. Hey, just in time for Christmas, or Picard Day, or whatever. The new release will include a special edition of "The Measure of a Man" that includes deleted scenes and different angles from the broadcast version. Pretty cool.
Also included in this special release; a must-see reunion of the cast, who were brought together earlier this year in Calgary in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the series. Produced exclusively for the series' Blu-ray, this never-before-seen reunion roundtable chat features all of the best known cast regulars, joining together for the first time in years to tape a discussion about the legacy of the series.
You can get your copy of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2 on Blu-ray from Amazon .
Great Firefly/Serenity Quotes
5. Inara: (pissed) "What did I say to you about barging into my shuttle?"
Mal: "That it was manly and impulsive?"
Inara: "Yes, precisely. Only the exact phrase I used was 'don't'."
4.Kaylee: (pointing to a pink frilly dress) "Say, look at the fluffy one!"
Zoe: "Too much foofaraw. If I'm going to wear a dress, I'd want something with some slink."
Wash: "You want a slinky dress? I can buy you a slinky dress. Captain, can I have money for a slinky dress?"
Jayne: "I'll chip in."
Zoe: (to Jayne) "I can hurt you."
3.Mal: "So, she's added cussing and hurling about of things to her repertoire. She really is a prodigy."
Simon: "It's just a bad day."
Mal: "No, a bad day is when someone's yellin' spooks the cattle. Understand? You ever see cattle stampede when they got no place to run? It's kind of like a...a meat grinder. And it'll lose us half the herd."
Simon: "She hasn't gone anywhere near the cattle."
Mal: "No, but in case you hadn't noticed, her voice kinda carries. We're two miles above ground and they can probably hear her down there. Soon as we unload, she can holler until our ears bleed." (to River) "Although I would take it as a kindness if she didn't."
River: "The human body can be drained of blood in 8.6 seconds given adequate vacuuming systems."
Mal: (to Simon) "See, morbid and creepifying, I got no problem with, long as she does it quiet-like."
2.Mal: "Cut her down."
Villager: "The girl is a witch."
Mal: "Yeah, but she's our witch-" (cocks gun, points it at him) "-so cut her the hell down."
1.Bandit #1: "And I think maybe you're gonna give me a little one-on-one time with the missus."
(Husband) Jayne: "Oh, I think you might wanna reconsider that last part. See, I married me a powerful ugly creature."
(Wife) Mal: "How can you say that? How can you shame me in front of new people?"
(Husband) Jayne: "If I could make you purtier, I would."
(Wife) Mal: "You are not the man I met a year ago." (they suddenly draw their guns on the bandits, Mal slowly pulling his bonnet off)
Mal: "Now think real hard. You been bird-dogging this township a while now. They wouldn't mind a corpse of you. Now you can luxuriate in a nice jail cell, but if your hand touches metal, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet: I will end you."