–films
Pineapple Express

–tv
Star Trek: The Next Generation
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report

–music
Asobi Seksu (live! @ SXSW)
Cursive (live! @ SXSW)

–knitting
Lemongrass Cardigan (40%)
Lace Ribbon Scarf (55%)

–spinning
~400 yds

–research
Topics, Tropes, and Musical Idioms in Star Trek (1966–69)
analysis of George Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children, no. 2, “Me he perdido muchas veces por el mar”

–big stuff
SXSW this week in Austin, pra fun
ordered an Ashford Kiwi spinning wheel
relaxed a bit too much during Spring Break, am now regretting the lack of school work I did
hit 10 hours on Wii Fit; time piggy bank turned golden!

Why hello there! Happy 2009! I decided to put up my Doctor Who paper on here. Check out the links to the left. I’m still cleaning up some code, sorting out videos, and figuring out the best way to include my citations. So as of right now it’s at about 90%. I’ll get the rest sorted in the next few days. Enjoy, and please leave comments!

I’ll just get right to it. Here is the best episode of Star Trek. Ever.

1. The City on the Edge of Forever
S1E28, Originally aired April 6th, 1967
Written by Harlan Ellison; Directed by Joseph Pevney

Captain’s log, supplemental entry. Two drops of cordrazine can save a man’s life, a hundred times that amount has just accidentally been pumped into Dr. McCoy’s body. In a strange, wild frenzy, he has fled the ship’s bridge. All connecting decks have been placed on alert. We have no way of knowing if the madness is permanent or temporary, or in what direction it will drive McCoy.

Star Trek, "The City on the Edge of Forever"

Who didn’t see this coming? This is an absolutely incredible episode, and it deserves all of the praise it has received over the years since it’s first airing. The script is incredible, the acting is terrific (particularly Shatner, this is quite possibly his best acting ever), and the story has a great mix of comedy and tragedy.

I immediately knew I loved this episode when Kirk and Spock have their encounter with a 1930s police officer. It’s absolutely hilarious. When you watch a show like Star Trek it’s so easy to feel comfortable with the characters and their surroundings. Seeming them as powerless, as fishes out of water, makes them that much easier to relate to and somehow seem more “real.” Once you see them here, and see that they are infallible in a way yet to be explored by TOS, you really just love Kirk and Spock.

Edith Keeler and Jim Kirk

Time travel is always a tricky issue. I’m a huge fan of Doctor Who (as you’ll note if you know me and/or my research) so I deal with time travel and canon in tv quite regularly. What happens when you travel into the past? What changes? The implications and ramifications of time travel are mind boggling and so so cool to think about. The fact that this one person, Edith Keeler, is so instrumental seems totally far-fetched. But the ramifications of her life, or death, makes the story so compelling. Throw in Kirk, a lonely and love-starved star ship captain (a character trait little explored in TOS during the first season, but something famously exploited in the remainder of the show), and you know you’re in for a ride. A tragic, angsty, ride.

Please, please go watch this episode. Right now.

Not gonna lie; I had to decide on my #1 episode before I could commit to which one would be #2. It really is hard. I legitimately love so many episodes of this show. So here it is, the second best Star Trek episode.

2. Journey to Babel
S2E15, Originally aired November 17th, 1967
Written by D.C. Fontana; Directed by Joseph Pevney

Captain’s log, stardate 3842.3. We have departed Vulcan for the neutral planetoid code-named Babel. Since it is in our sector, the Enterprise has been assigned to transport ambassadors of Federation planets to this vitally important council. The issues of the council are politically complex, the passengers… explosive.

Star Trek, "Journey to Babel"

This is an entirely ship-based story, where the Enterprise is transporting a group of agitated diplomats to a conference regarding the inclusion of a planet into the Federation. Here we get our first glimpse of Spock’s family and a taste of the conflict between his human and Vulcan halves. This episode is also a predessor to the narratives of TNG, with all of the Federation politics, dignitaries, etc. that Picard often dealt with. This is their first go-around, though, and we get a taste of intergalactic peace-keeping Kirk-style.

Spock's Mother, Amanda

I admit a certain fascination with Spock’s parents, particularly his father, Sarek. How does a Vulcan decide that a human is the most logical mate? Perhaps that line towards the end was one of those “married couple jokes,” but I really do wonder how a Vulcan would come to that conclusion. Or how Vulcans decide on mates in general. But there really are more important things I should spend my time pondering.

Shras Endilev

I also really enjoy how Kirk has to trick Spock into giving up command. Spock’s loyalty to his duty as 1st Officer were so strong that he was going to let his dad die. Not cool, Spock, not cool. He’s an ambassador! Although they were in a tricky situation. Such a toss up. Good thing Kirk is so strong willed and able to pretend he’s not in excruciating pain while suffering from a punctured lung. Way to go, captain! Also, did I mention that Spock essentially blamed his father for killing Gav? Sometimes the logical, Vulcan way isn’t the right way. Oh well!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the best Star Trek episode of all time!

If you remember from my previous entry, I have decided to dedicate my final three days of Ten Days of Trek to my three favorite, and arguably the three best, Star Trek episodes. I am talking strictly TOS, not any of the spinoffs. This has proven quite difficult, as I love so many episodes from TOS. So after hours of toil and internal debate, here is the third best episode of Star Trek.

3. Mirror, Mirror

S2E10, originally aired October 6th, 1967
Written by Jerome Bixby; Directed by Marc Daniels

“Captain’s log, stardate… unknown. We are trapped in a savage parallel universe from which we must escape within four hours, or I will face a death sentence at Mr. Spock’s hands.”

Uhura, Kirk, McCoy, and Scotty in the Mirror Universe

Evil Spock & Kirk in the Mirror Universe

Perfect story, and well executed. A landing party consisting of Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, and Uhura is zapped into a parallel “Mirror” universe when being transported back to the ship during an ion storm. The USS Enterprise is now the ISS Enterprise, the entire ship is filled with henchmen and mercenaries, and Spock is evil because of his stylish beard. Spock’s logic prevails across both universes, however, as he’s the one that figures out that the returned landing party are fishes out of water.

The SF community can thank this episode for the establishment of bearded doubles being evil, and that baddies in general have beards. Two obvious examples are The Master from Doctor Who and Flexo, Bender’s identical brobot, in Futurama S2E11, “The Lesser of Two Evils.” Check out the commentary on that Futurama episode to hear the writers and producers support this claim.

Sulu & Uhura in the Mirror Universe

It’s really fun to see the actors play bastardized versions of themselves, especially Sulu and Chekov. As you may know, besides his role as Chekov in Star Trek, Walter Koenig is most well known for playing baddies. This may have been the logical starting point.

“Jim, I think I liked him with a beard better. Gave him character. Of course, almost any change would be a distinct improvement.”
“What worries me is the easy way his counterpart fitted into that other universe. I always thought Spock was a bit of a pirate at heart.”
“Indeed, gentlemen? May I point out that I had an opportunity to observe your counterparts here quite closely. They were brutal, savage, unprincipled, uncivilized, treacherous — in every way, splendid examples of homosapiens. The very flower of humanity. I found them quite refreshing.”
“I’m not sure, but I think we’ve been insulted.”
“I’m sure.”
- McCoy, Kirk and Spock

Stay tuned for #2.