Star Trek: Starfleet Academy drops next year. Excited? Sorry, if you are, but I'm not at all. And it wasn't the less than thrilling trailer which cooled any enthusiasm I may have had. Years ago, Harve Bennett, producer of several classic Star Trek movies, proposed a movie one-off or film series called The Academy Years. It would focus on icons - Kirk, Spock, etc - as cadets. We'd see them grow & mature into Starfleet officers we love today. Good idea. A TV show - running for years - solely focused on nobodies which nobody has connection to or love for - other than a few older 'instructors' we've seen in past shows seems really weak or even boring. Most notably, Robert Picardo returns as the EMH from Voyager. I never disliked The Doc, but he certainly was never a favorite. I actually pitched an episode idea to ST: Voyager show runner Jeri Taylor with Doc as lead and she loved it, unfortunately they had a similar show in development. That said, this inclusion shows what a calculated move by PP producers to simply include an artificial life form - one who doesn't age, so is immune to a far future timeline. In the end, he seems like a nostalgic bone tossed to older Trekkers. Sad. Shameless.

Ultimately, Star Trek is best told with and has always excelled in EXPLORATION. 'Boldly going' No matter the amount of 'classroom' time outside or how much they wish to cheat on giving fans an exploratory feel, this show appears DOA. Paul Giamatti - an actor I greatly admire - is a weird Klingon-Tellarite mash-up and he's a super big baddie. Yeah. Sure. Whatever. Snore. Who cares.... Give us a Starship or Space Station (yes DS9) or even a lost vessel (VOY) or a plain five year mission (TOS) with real officers, scientists and even oddball civilians. Write episodes full of heart stopping, mind bending tales brimming with spirit, philosophy, real emotional pay-offs against a backdrop of science based awe inspiring wonders. EXPLORE! Let's see what's out there..... Don't humor us or take us for granted. Don't throw us pitiful bones. Don't desperately demographic Star Trek to a youthful Saved By The Bell audience. If I want to watch Harry Potter & his witchy, wizard pals, I'll use my wacky, yet wonderful wand to stream MAX watching Hogwarts Academy while downing a sixpack of Butterbeer.

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I watched Karate Kid: Legends over the weekend, and sadly, it's all around a pretty weak nostalgia laden effort. Likable new faces do abound. Joshua Jackson is certainly good as an over the hill fight club veteran. All the lead actors also mostly shine, but story/script is truly meh. Not at all inspiring. Predictable... lackluster...

Most egregious of all is Ralph Macchio is barely in it. Jackie Chan appears more, a role reduced to the old mentor. The Yoda like Asian Master showing a young buck way of the fist. Seen that. Done that. Tired.

To produce a 'Karate Kid' movie where Daniel San waxes on & off in the backseat is shady, but - since Cobra Kai is an AMAZING show - to not include Cobra Kai goodness is truly criminal. Yes, William Zabka's Johnny shows up in a cameo. It's fun, but too brief & slotted in as a fan egg afterthought.

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Krypto! Here, boy, go fetch that super sized bone! C’mon, boy, why are you just staring at me so cute and real looking… and… Wait a minute, that’s right, you’re digital. You’re a fake. Never mind! *Emily Latella Voice*

This is what we get in James Gunn’s new Superman flick. We get a fake flying alien man named Kal-El. We see fake chimps using social media to dis and ding the fake flying alien. So much overwhelming, glorious fakery. But above all of them is one really important fake character - the Kryptonian super powered pup, Krypto.

Any Superman fan knows who Krypto is and what he means to Kal-El. We finally see him on the big screen, except it’s not him. He’s not real. He’s like so much in this movie - a slickly realized lie. Let’s talk about DCU digital fakery!

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Early critique of James Gunn's Superman 2025 is becoming something of a unifying consensus among reviewers of the already divisive film. Kal-El needs constant help from faces familiar to comic readers throughout Gunn’s summer blockbuster. Clark Kent gets his butt kicked savagely and repeatedly. It’s said to be almost laughable.

Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific - even the super dog, Krypto is always assisting Kal-El Kent as if he was completely out of his league. Batman has Alfred. Captain America has Bucky. Why would Superman, of all our spandex clad pantheon of modern day heroes, need so many sidekicks to get through his super duper day?

Superman - arguably - is far more powerful and infinitely more resourceful than any other superhero except for perhaps the always clever, yet necessarily high tech assisted Batman. Is this a Superman film or a big trailer for a future Justice League Super friends movie? Does that marketing vibe bother you or maybe excite you?

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Gene Hackman was truly an actor’s actor.

Much like Marlon Brando, Meryl Streep or Al Pacino, Hackman not only became a favorite with movie fans all over the gjobe, but he remained an admired role model for his brilliant performances within the acting community. Sadly, the Oscar winner and his wife were found dead at their home in New Mexico.

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Substack motivates the world of newsletters. After joining up, it motivated me to try out podcasting. I really loved it. Recording audio - or video - allows a unique creative freedom of expression which only text articles simply can’t match. Later, I created my Sci-Fi Guy YouTube Channel.

Today marks two years since launching my Sci-Fi Guy YouTube. Thanks to everyone for making things so interesting, challenging, stimulating and definitely always fun!

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Khaaaaaaaaan! - Admiral James T. Kirk - Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan 1982

After William Shatner called me a b******t artist, it’s the line I screamed, except for one little important change, Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiirk!

Being charged with b******t, being called a b******t artist by the great, legendary, the iconic the one and only in the galaxy William Shatner - Captain Kirk, TJ Hooker and Denny Crane - remains one of my more fond memories while writing in Hollywood for Star Trek. The celebrated Starfleet officer simply couldn’t comprehend that a writer without an agent could sell a script to a top TV show such as Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Well, yeah, it happened, Bill, it happened. Take a listen to my story and enjoy!

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Bigfoot is a BIG SUBJECT. It fascinates millions. Even Dr. Jane Goodall - one of the world’s most respected primatologists and anthropologists - says there probably is a heretofore unknown hominin species many people see in every country on Earth.

Let’s start searching for Sasquatch aka Bigfoot to his close, personal squatchin friends!

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The aliens are coming… The aliens are coming… The aliens are here.

That’s the wondrous sci-fi vibe and a truly compelling truth if you love a short lived TV show about exotic extraterrestrial visitors who have been fully integrated into our Earth culture. Alien Nation only ran just one season for 22 episodes, yet it remains a dearly beloved, dedicated cult-powered TV show. It’s based on a feature film starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, released in 1988.

Knowing about space borne aliens has basically been our sci-fi tale for decades. Science Fiction fans, much like their passionate hero Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) born of mega television hit, The X-Files, don’t wonder or speculate much on aliens. We watch alien adventures regularly on TV and movies. One creative associated with an alien exploring pastime is writer/producer/director, Kenneth Johnson.

Johnson’s creative credits are found on iconic shows such as The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman (he also created Bionic Woman) the classic mini-series, V (remember the shocking guinea pig eating scene?), and many more. Johnson expanded the 1988 feature film to give us a well conceived universe fans still love.

C’mon my Alien Nation series lovers, let’s talk Detective Matthew Sikes (Gary Graham) and partner Detective George Francisco (Eric Pierpoint) and all the inspiring wonder this compelling show has to offer.

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Engage… Let’s see what cash is out there…

These are the words best spoken and recalled when chatting up the financial net worth of the stars of Star Trek: The Next Generation. As one of the most successful TV shows in broadcast and syndicated history, our hard working and beloved cast was compensated for their acting efforts incredibly well. Add in all the many merchandise royalties they get from action figures and other collectible stuff with their likeness and you have one nice Hollywood payday, indeed.

Patrick Stewart and the rest of the TNG cast are now starring in Star Trek: Picard, season three, currently streaming on Paramount Plus. It’s the final season - sort of their final farewell tour, I suppose. Of course that beautiful boomerang, Cher, said much the same and ended up having three farewell tours. C’mon let’s talk cold hard cash, or in Star Trek terms, gold pressed latnium, to find out the outer space salary of the valiant crew crew of USS Enterprise 1701- D.

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