Archive for the ‘Humor’ Category

Wincing at “Wink of an Eye”

If today is Thursday, then this must be the Star Trek Re-watch! Over at TOR.COM, fellow Trek-nerd Dayton Ward and I sharpen our rhetorical knives and carve a few chunks out of the third-season original series episode “Wink of an Eye.” You remember: pretty people in silver pajamas, led by a gal in half a dress, who live in hyper-time and sound like mosquitoes.

I won’t lie to you, friends—this was not a highlight of the series. If you don’t believe me, you can watch it for free on the CBS website (U.S. residents only, sorry).

On the other hand, if you like people in silver pajamas who slip roofies into your drink, then you’re gonna LOVE this…

For those of you just joining our train wreck of a weekly column, here’s a recap of what Dayton and I have recapped and analyzed so far:

  1. Spock’s Brain
  2. The Enterprise Incident
  3. The Paradise Syndrome
  4. And the Children Shall Lead
  5. Is There in Truth No Beauty?
  6. Spectre of the Gun
  7. Day of the Dove
  8. For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
  9. The Tholian Web
  10. Plato’s Stepchildren

Remember to leave a comment on the TOR.COM articles to let us and our corporate masters benefactors know you were there. They like that sort of thing.

Until next week, beware of Scalosian blondes who slip roofies into your coffee.

Disowning “Plato’s Stepchildren”

We’re back, Trek fans! Alas, it’s to bring you our Star Trek Re-watch recap and commentary on one of those episodes that most acolytes of The Great Bird of the Galaxy like to pretend didn’t happen: “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Yes, the one where a dwarf rides Kirk like a horse and Spock sings “Maiden Wine.” I think Kirk’s expression in the photo below sums up our reaction perfectly:

Aw, go on, click the link and read the recap and analysis. You know you wanna. And in case you haven’t been keeping up, here’s the quick list of the weekly third-season recaps and analyses written by Dayton Ward and yours truly for the fine folks at TOR.COM —

  1. Spock’s Brain
  2. The Enterprise Incident
  3. The Paradise Syndrome
  4. And the Children Shall Lead
  5. Is There in Truth No Beauty?
  6. Spectre of the Gun
  7. Day of the Dove
  8. For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
  9. The Tholian Web

Read, laugh, enjoy — and remember to leave a comment over on TOR.COM so we know you’re out there. (We can hear you breathing, but that doesn’t impress our masters at Tor.)

Until next week, may all your meals be laced with kironide.

Catching up with Star Trek Re-watch

Another turn of the page-a-day calendar brings us once more to Thor’s day (or Thursday, for those of a more modern persuasion), and that can mean only one thing: a new installment of Tor.com‘s weekly feature Star Trek Re-watch, by Dayton Ward and yours truly.

A combination of illness, travel, and a holiday kept me from promoting last week’s Re-watch column, so this week you get a double feature — and what an “odd couple” of episodes this is. Back to back, we find one of the original series’ most laughable entries followed by one of its most laudable.

First up is “For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.” If you just couldn’t get enough of “The Paradise Syndrome” five weeks ago, then you’re in luck—most of that episode’s tropes (and effects shots) are recycled here for your viewing pleasure.

Then get ready to grab something heavy, because the next episode will blow you away: “The Tholian Web“ is far away one of the finest hours in the 40-plus years of the Star Trek saga.

For you completists, here’s the list of my and Dayton’s contributions to the Star Trek Re-watch:

  1. Spock’s Brain
  2. The Enterprise Incident
  3. The Paradise Syndrome
  4. And the Children Shall Lead
  5. Is There in Truth No Beauty?
  6. Spectre of the Gun
  7. Day of the Dove
  8. For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
  9. The Tholian Web

Go check ’em out, and leave a comment over there to let us know you’re paying attention!

Star Trek Re-watch: “Day of the Dove”

Another sunrise brings us another Thursday, and with it another Star Trek Re-watch column by Dayton Ward and Yours Truly!

This week we release the hounds on “Day of the Dove,” one of the third season’s less-awful hours of entertainment. It has everything you could ask for: swordfights, race hatred, hot Klingon babes, and a completely unexplained antagonist.

So, if you haven’t already been checking out our Re-watch columns, now is your chance. Head on over to Tor.com and enjoy!

The Mack & Ward Star Trek Re-watch Archive

1. 3×6 “Spock’s Brain” Sept. 20, 1968
2. 3×4 “The Enterprise Incident” Sept. 27, 1968
3. 3×3 “The Paradise Syndrome” Oct. 4, 1968
4. 3×5 “And the Children Shall Lead” Oct. 11, 1968
5. 3×7 “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” Oct. 18, 1968
6. 3×1 “Spectre of the Gun” Oct. 26, 1968

Lock & Load for Star Trek Re-watch!

Rise and shine, campers! (And not just because it’s 2:30 in the afternoon.) It’s Thursday, and you know what that means — a brand new installment of TOR.com‘s weekly feature, Star Trek Re-watch by Dayton Ward and yours truly. This week we take on the third-season episode “Spectre of the Gun“ with both guns blazing.

What are you in for? Half-built sets, floating heads that look like mutant broccoli, and James T. Kirk up against the most infuriating no-win scenario since the Kobayashi Maru. It’s a good one this week, kids, so enjoy!

Blind Devotion on Star Trek Re-watch

It’s a dreary, drizzly Thursday here in New York City, but there’s a bright spot in the gloom: a brand-new installment of the TOR.com series Star Trek Re-watch by yours truly, ably aided and abetted by Dayton Ward.

This week, Dayton and I sink our teeth into the third season’s fifth aired episode, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?“ — and, for once, we’re not in complete agreement about its merits.

Watch the episode for free on the CBS website, then read our review and leave a comment to tell us what you think!

Thursday Snark: Star Trek Re-watch

She's crying because she knows this shitty episode will be listed on her IMDb profile forever.

It’s that time again, kids: me and my buddy Dayton Ward return with another installment of Star Trek Re-watch on TOR.com.

This week’s season-three stinker is “And the Children Shall Lead.” Because Dayton and I suffered through watching this misbegotten turd from the south end of The Great Bird of the Galaxy, the least you guys can do is go read what we managed to write about in between failed attempts to claw out our own eyes.

But be warned: you’ll want to have a few stiff drinks first. This one really is that bad.