In the history of home entertainment, few stories are as fraught with ambition and failure as the tale of the RCA Videodisc. This relic from the early 80s serves as a fascinating case study of technology that almost was. Let’s…
When it comes to the golden age of action figures, one name stands out with a legacy as colorful and dynamic as the characters they created: Mego Corporation. From the 1970s through the mid-1980s, Mego was synonymous with innovation and…
A while back (almost 14 years ago, to be precise) I brainstormed about Disney potentially adding Star Trek as an IP in their Walt Disney World parks. This was obviously before Disney bought both Star Wars, Marvel, and 20th Century…
In 1973, just a few years after the original “Star Trek” series concluded, a new but familiar adventure began, not in the vastness of space, but in animation. As we mark the 50th anniversary of “Star Trek: The Animated Series”…
When we think of Gene Roddenberry, the visionary mind behind “Star Trek,” we often picture him as a pioneering writer and producer who took us on interstellar journeys where no one has gone before. However, before he ventured into space…
It was a dreary November evening that found me before the fire in my study, pipe in hand, when a knock sounded at my door heralding the arrival of my friend Mr. Spock of Vulcan. “Come in, come in, Mr.…
Fifty-seven years ago today, on September 8th 1966, the first episode of Star Trek “The Man Trap” aired. And fifty years ago today, Star Trek: The Animated Series also debuted. Here are a few interesting facts about the series: Diversity…
So the Writers Guild of America is on strike, and one of the main sticking points is the use of AI for writing. If a strike took place a year ago, this would not be a factor or an issue,…
Sometimes, inspiration comes from interesting places. I occasionally watch long-form YouTube videos on pop-culture. Some of them are semi-documentary “did you know?” pieces that teach me something that I didn’t know, while others critically analyze movies and TV shows, and…
This past week I was reading Twitter feeds, which is my favorite way of wasting time, and I saw this post: Seeing the Star Wars movies does not make you a Star Wars fan. Actual Star Wars fans have done…
This week is the 40th anniversary of the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I never saw it in theaters, but I do remember playing the HECK out of that movie on an RCA Videodisc when the family bought…
Last month I was reminded of something I did a long time ago – 1989, to be precise. Thirty years ago, i found out that the independent station in Birmingham, WTTO Channel 21, was putting together plans to promote Star…
I was quite fortunate to chat with the great Bjo Trimble last month. Trimble, if you don’t know, worked with her husband John to save Star Trek in 1968. The letter writing campaign they spearheaded convinced NBC and Paramount to…
I’ve been rewatching Star Trek lately – not Deep Space Nine, not The Next Generation, not even Voyager or Enterprise. I’m old school, so when I say I’m watching Star Trek, that’s what I’m doing. Paramount and CBS would like…
NOTE: This piece was originally written for TrekMovie.com. After they received it they decided to not post it, for reasons I will not detail (reasons which I 100% disagree with). Here is what I wrote, and I again thank Ray…
It was a LONG time ago: May 1987. I was living in Pinson, Alabama and I had always wanted to go to a go to a “real” Science fiction convention. I had attended a couple of small events in Birmingham…