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CLL 35 - An Old Geek Begins His Star Trek
49 Plays1 year ago
On episode 35 of CLL, Jonathan is joined by John Ambrose from the Geek News Now writing team. Ambrose has been a staff writer for GNN for just about one year and he recently published his 100th article for the site. Ambrose has a lot of available spaces on his geeky bingo card and is launching a new project called “An Old Geek Watches” where he tries to catch up on the geeky things in media that he’s missed up to this point in his life. He’s starting to watch Star Trek from the very beginning to start to fill in those gaps. Jonathan wanted to bring Ambrose on to answer his questions about Trek and to find out what his awareness of the franchise consists of.
0:00 Introduction
3:00 HDYGTW
13:00 How’d You Start with GNN?
18:00 Wrestling Talk
21:15 Feature Discussion
58:15 Wrap Up & Outro
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Guest Information
Twitter/X - @GeekNNAmbrose
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Transcript
Introduction and Promotions
00:00:00
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Episode Setup and Guest Introduction
00:01:22
Speaker
Captain's logs. On the prologue. I'm Captain in the Millennium Falcon. This is Captain John Luke Picard of the Federation starship Enterprise.
00:01:49
Speaker
You're listening to Captain's Logs and Lightsabers, part of the Geek News Now podcast network.
00:02:00
Speaker
Hey, welcome to Captain's Logs and Lightsabers. This is episode 35, and we are the podcast with Geek News Now that discusses both Star Trek and Star Wars in the same show. Typically I'm joined by my co-host Chris, but he is taking off and we're going to record another episode very soon in the future.
00:02:22
Speaker
But I pulled from our GNN staffers for this episode, so I'm gonna introduce you all to John Ambrose. He is a staff writer for GNN.
Weekly Geek Activities
00:02:33
Speaker
How's it going, man?
00:02:34
Speaker
going great, man. Happy to be on. Good, good. So I know this is not your first podcast appearance, of course, but it's the first one first time you've been on this show. I'm excited to have you and I'm interested to see where this conversation goes because we'll kind of get into why I have you on. But first, we're going to talk about our exploits outside of Star Trek and Star Wars with how did you geek this week? And I'm going to let you start.
00:03:01
Speaker
You know on Geek this week I played some video games. I'm a huge baseball fan so I picked up the newest version of MLB The Show. It's obviously The Show 24 and it's a pretty cool game. It's actually educational. I like what they did with this year and last year they included
00:03:20
Speaker
The Negro League players and you can follow Negro League storylines and it's a real like informative educational journey into the history of a select amount of Negro League players. Last year you learned about Buck O'Neill and guys like Jackie Robinson and a couple other guys and this year you're learning about Jack, not Jackie, Josh Gibson and
00:03:43
Speaker
I forgot the other guy's name. I'm sorry. Rube Foster, who is a really good player. It really just does shed light on what is an overlooked part of baseball history. It's a lot of fun to play and it's a lot of fun to learn about. Yeah. I know here in Pittsburgh, we really respect what the Homestead Grays did for baseball in this area. I know our pirates always have Homestead Grays night every single season.
00:04:13
Speaker
It's good to see other projects bringing that up and talking about history that way. I think the greys split time between Pittsburgh and DC because DC claims them too. The Nationals have a bunch of the greys players in their Ring of Honor and they sell a lot of greys merchandise. I don't know if it was a slit, but yeah, it's pretty cool to watch.
00:04:39
Speaker
Yeah, so do they ever do like farm teams and like get you know, do you get to have that experience in those games? Yeah, that's the road to the show. Okay. I create my own player and you get drafted and you go through the minor leagues and you know, you work through the minors and then you eventually get called up to the team that drafted you. Nice. So you know, go ahead.
00:05:06
Speaker
So you don't really get to choose where you get drafted. It's just luck of the draw. But I think it's more fun to just do the luck of the draw. Sure. If you're going to start a career, why not do it the way everybody else actually does it, right? All right. That's awesome. I have never played a baseball video game that I can recall. Honestly, I don't think I've played a sports game since whenever they stopped making 2K football.
00:05:37
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, that's probably the last time I played anything sports related. But, you know, that's that's not typically my thing. I don't buy Madden anymore because Madden is just a $70 roster update. So yeah, I don't I gave up on that and probably about 10 years ago. The last copy of Madden I bought was for the Wii U. That's how long ago I bought Madden. Man, are you disappointed with the closing down of the eShop?
00:06:05
Speaker
Yeah, I thought the Wii U was marketed poorly. I think I still play. It's a great system. And if anyone can get it on the cheap, I would recommend picking one up, even though the online capabilities are done. But it's still a lot of fun. The touchpad was a lot of fun. It was a great concept. It's just Nintendo didn't market it properly. So it didn't really sell.
00:06:31
Speaker
and its lifespan was short as a result, but especially with the PS4 and the Xbox One coming out right at the same time. Yeah, you know, I think the Wii U could have really capitalized on the failure of the PS3. I mean, that was really not... It was just a difficult system to develop for, I think, and I don't know. There were just a lot of issues with the PS3. I think the Wii U could have had its time to shine, but
00:07:02
Speaker
Yeah, and they they just they didn't market it. People thought it was an extension of the Wii and it was unnecessary. And there was just a bunch of EA Sports had a partnership with Nintendo over it and then pulled out at the last minute. So all the other players, they didn't really have a third party library lined up for it. So it was it was it was a series of unfortunate events to the system. And I deserved a better fate than it got.
00:07:29
Speaker
Yeah, at least they made up for it with the Switch, right? I mean, that's been quite a moneymaker for Nintendo, so. Yeah, the Switch is really good, but I think Nintendo finally realized, though, that they don't – they have their own fans. They don't need to chase the quote-unquote game or market. Right. They don't need – no one's gonna – people are gonna buy a Switch. No one's gonna buy a Switch to play Call of Duty.
00:07:56
Speaker
I mean, you're gonna buy a switch to have like lighthearted fun. Maybe you're on the train to work, you'll get a couple of rounds of Kirby in, you know, it's not like the other game systems. Right.
00:08:10
Speaker
Yeah, I'm kind of hoping whatever the next follow up to the switch is that they at least introduce some of the just some of the quality of life changes that the PS4 and Xbox Series X have been able to make with just having the solid state drive, the quick resume features, I mean,
00:08:29
Speaker
I almost didn't realize what it was like to live without those things. Just the ability to hop in and resume a game exactly where you left off on either console.
00:08:45
Speaker
you can leave games running in the background, go to other apps or games and you still just pick up right where you left off because of what solid state drives are capable of and the hardware and everything with just being able to significantly reduce load times is also a huge feature that I don't want to see and not be part of the future of consoles no matter who makes them.
00:09:12
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I think Nintendo themselves don't want anywhere. They're going to continue to make consoles. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's just, you know, it would be nice to have some some of the modern conventions that the new consoles and current generation of consoles has. Yeah, I agree. Well, this is probably the longest we've talked about video games on this podcast, because Chris is not a gamer. So I usually don't get to
00:09:38
Speaker
you know, have this type of conversation with him because he just doesn't, it's just never been his thing. So I appreciate it.
00:09:46
Speaker
We're going to save what really the most recent thing I did this week was for when Chris and I record, so stay tuned for our next episode.
Nostalgia in Video Games and Writing
00:09:54
Speaker
But as far as my geeking this week, much like you, Ambrose, I am... I am balls deep in a video game. But this is Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, which is the second game in the trilogy of Final Fa-
00:10:13
Speaker
It's the second game in the trilogy of Final Fantasy 7, really expanding the story. And yeah, I'm just, I am chapter four and I am making sure to do every little thing, every mini game, every challenge. Because, you know, that's just how I like the game, I guess. I don't know. It's, it's been, it's, it's such it's, it's just.
00:10:37
Speaker
For me, it's pure nostalgia with a lot of modern conventions and a lot of, you know, just I like how they have
00:10:49
Speaker
blended the traditional turn-based Japanese RPG with more of an action RPG combat. Your primary physical attacks are real-time, but then your spells, your items, your special abilities, your team-up moves, all of that stuff is turn-based and you have to wait until you have enough energy to pull off one of these moves.
00:11:18
Speaker
It's a fun blend of new and classic RPG design. So yeah, are you a Final Fantasy guy at all? I've never played Final Fantasy. Okay, okay. For me, Final Fantasy VII was the entry point in the series for me, so I've always kind of had a special place. I think the cast of characters is
00:11:43
Speaker
just more you know it's just it's a great group of characters that you get to control and every every single person has their own unique personality and it really has been expanded in this series in this remake series so it's just it's it's the right way to do nostalgia in my opinion nice all right so i think we are going to get into the real reason why i had you come in today but
00:12:12
Speaker
First, I want to know a little bit more about how you got your start with GNN. My start with GNN started. They set out a thing over Facebook like they always do. I don't know what made me answer that ad over any of the other ads I've seen.
00:12:33
Speaker
But I did. And then I got a reply back from Dave Gramillian and I submitted an article with Dave Furr and I got the ball rolling and a hundred articles later, I'm still a part of it. Yeah. A hundred articles. That's, I mean, that's pretty significant, right? I mean, how long did that was three years, right? Uh, two and a half to three. Yeah. Okay. So, I mean, you're, you're averaging a little less than two articles a week, right?
00:13:02
Speaker
I am. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Which I mean, that's still that's pretty impressive output. Right. And yeah. And so what is your particular writing style? What what is it that convinced Dave and Dave to bring you on as as part of the writing legion? I think my writing style. You've read it. My writing style is sardonic. It's it's truthful. I don't beat around the bush.
00:13:33
Speaker
Which I see as a good thing because a lot of people's style is to kind of say things, but not say them directly. And I tend to be that guy that treads on the outside of the box and points things out. And if it's good, I'll give it its praises. And if it's bad,
Wrestling: Past and Present
00:13:57
Speaker
I'll eviscerate it.
00:14:01
Speaker
I mean, I think that's served my particular writing style well. Whereas, you know, we have a lot of, and we have an excellent staff of writers, but some of our writers are pragmatic. They don't like to say if anything's good or bad, they just give you the straight dope. Some writers will be truthful in their own way, but they'll sugarcoat it. Some writers will
00:14:30
Speaker
look the other way when it's something they like, which is understandable. I tend to just be truthful no matter what I'm writing about. My motto is, if everyone agrees with what you write, you're not doing your job. Yeah, that's pretty fair.
00:15:00
Speaker
What has been your most viral article that you've written with GNN so far? I don't know. I've had a couple. The mock issue, the mock, the mock article, the mock interview I did with number 45 has gained some traction. Yeah, I know that was a little slow at first to build any kind of reaction other than what, one or two comments. And then I had anything I write with Star Wars.
00:15:30
Speaker
You can't win with Star Wars. Right. Right. Right. I could become I could I could Jeff Bezos could die and leave me his fortune and I could just write a glowing article about the Star Wars franchise and send every single Star Wars fan a hundred dollar bill and they would complain that the bill was wrinkled.
00:15:55
Speaker
You can't win. That's where most of the viral articles come from. And it's not even anything that's worth arguing about. The thing that I love about Star Wars fans
00:16:16
Speaker
and also hate is the attention to detail. You'll write an article about the Sarlacc pit scene in Return of the Jedi, and someone will chime in and be like, you were wrong. Lando is facing northwest, away from the sun. His blaster wasn't drawn, and Boba Fett came in southeast towards the sun, and you're just like, I mean, it's like a memorable match. I'm just trying to...
00:16:49
Speaker
Oh, it's funny that you mentioned Royal Rumble because since we're recording this on WrestleMania weekend, it's I tuned in for a little bit of the show yesterday, but I don't know. I just I maybe maybe I just am past my wrestling era. I don't know. I just couldn't get into it. I used to love wrestling and then they got rid of them really like the gimmicks and what made it fun.
00:17:15
Speaker
Right. Right. Now it's like all serious. Like, you know, you used to have like clowns and people playing with snakes and the road warriors. I mean, you kind of have that still with the new day. They're kind of, you know, they're they're a bit of a like they're small, stable, more of a more of a tag team, I guess. But yeah, I mean, they were kind of they kind of got big for their antics, you know, both on the way to the ring inside during the match and
00:17:44
Speaker
Yeah, it's, it's kind of fun. It's very, very tongue in cheek, you know, with, with, and they don't take it too seriously, which is kind of, I guess it's, it's a way that they're trying to capture the spirit of the attitude era, but without going, you know, full bore TV MA, you know? Yeah. Well, I also find it hard to watch now because
00:18:10
Speaker
We always knew that Vinny Mac was not the best guy in the world, but there was still a lingering doubt. So we were willing to give the benefit to that doubt. And now that the door has been busted wide open, it's like, oh, man, that's been hidden the whole time. Like, God, this is like cringe worthy now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I I I always had a feeling in the back of my mind
00:18:38
Speaker
And it, this is just confirmed that I always had a feeling that the, uh, the, the Mr. McMahon persona that he adopted, you know, when he was on camera was more in line with his actual. Self, you know, it wasn't really much of a caricature. Yeah. But like I said, there was still that nugget of doubt. Right. Right. Right. Well, now that it's been blown open, it's like, uh, I really can't.
00:19:07
Speaker
Uh, I can, I can't do this right now. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I know he's not directly, well, I don't know anymore. He wasn't directly involved with the day to day then he was, and now he's not again. I don't know. I can't keep up with it, honestly. So yeah. Anyway, we could probably continue on this tangent if we really wanted to, but I don't think you're here for wrestling and video game discussions.
00:19:37
Speaker
Who is your guest? We'll talk about whatever you want to talk about. Well, that's fair. That's fair. Don't get technical with me. Warchick, it is the beginning of the wisdom of Maris, not the end. It's a time to use the Force for knowledge and defense. I actually do want to get started because, you know, you had initially talked about starting your journey into watching Star Trek.
John's Star Trek Journey
00:20:06
Speaker
a couple weeks ago after you had appeared on an episode of the Scare of Scuttlebutt podcast, right? Yeah, he was doing the spaces and I did a quick talk with him on Twitter spaces, which is a really nifty tool. You can just pick up and do it and it's interesting. You just have a conversation on a whim and it's like a mini podcast.
00:20:32
Speaker
me, him, and a couple other people had about a 15-minute talk, and he was talking about Star Trek. There's no real reason why I didn't get into Star Trek, and I kind of am interested in watching it.
00:20:52
Speaker
One of the reasons is because most people cite it as like, oh, you're a Star Wars fan, Star Wars fans hate Star Trek and vice versa and that and this and that. And that's not really the case because I never really bought into that because I never really cared what anyone else watched. I think that the reason why I never got into it is I view Star Trek as something
00:21:18
Speaker
that is a generational thing. I think a lot of it is passed down. Your parents watched it, so you watched it. It's like a media heirloom. Neither of my parents were really into it. No one in my family was really into it, so I never really gained interest in it. That's pretty much why I never really watched it.
00:21:48
Speaker
Yeah. Now that, you know, the, I'm sure I've told this story way back in the early days of, of captain's logs and lightsabers, but, you know, I kind of came to Trek on my own. My dad had, you know, watched the, he had watched TNG and deep space nine in, you know, cause they did a syndication model, you know, it wasn't ever on us on a specific network. It was, you know, it's just sold to syndication and whatever station would run.
00:22:20
Speaker
I believe it was on UPN once that network had been established, but I think prior to that, at least in 88, 89, whenever the first season of TNG aired, they didn't have a network. Of course, NBC wasn't going to agree to bring it back after they lost a bunch of money on the original series. They weren't going to take another chance on Star Trek, so I think syndication was the only way that
00:22:49
Speaker
the gene could really, you know, find a buyer for Star Trek. And hey, I mean, it worked. So I mean, Star Trek would have been really, you know, at least as, as, you know, on the TV medium, it would have been dead in the, you know, in the sixties whenever, well, yeah, it would have been dead in the sixties whenever the original series ended its 30 season run. You know, I mean, if not for the motion pictures, you know, the,
00:23:19
Speaker
I don't think I think Star Trek would have been completely forgotten to time. I just. Yeah, I don't I'm. Yeah, I don't know where we would be if we didn't have TNG, you know. Well, and the problem with Star Trek as a television show wasn't Star Trek itself. The movies were always king back then and television was seeing a kind of.
00:23:46
Speaker
a fad. It was seen as kind of, you know, a thing to do in your room to entertain when you had guests over or whatever. It wasn't the institution that it is today. So the shows were until like the 70s, the shows were really kind of hokey and no one really liked it. They were like these goofball comedies like Bewitched or, or, or, you know, it was like,
00:24:13
Speaker
Dick Van Dyke being like, oh, what would happen if I tripped over this Ottoman? And that's what TV was. It was that and the news and sports. And no one really cared. So when Star Trek came on, it was a good program, but it was TV and no one really cared about TV.
00:24:39
Speaker
Yeah. And then asking for your attention, you know, to an entire 40 some minute episode, you know, that wasn't joke after joke. It wasn't a sitcom format. It wasn't a comedy. You know, it was, it was hard sci-fi, but I mean, it was relatable because, you know, shows,
00:25:03
Speaker
It was a Western in space is how it was pitched. And I just yeah, I just don't think that. I just don't think the general public latched onto it that way. I think they saw it as too heady to to cerebral. Yeah, that's that that could be true, too. I don't know. I mean, Twilight Zone had. Yeah, yeah. But I mean, but yeah, but Twilight Zone had a pretty good following, though. I mean, it certainly did better than Star Trek did.
00:25:33
Speaker
Yeah, it did. But I think it was canceled a couple of times. Yeah, well. Yeah, I mean, it really was the was it was Twilight Zone, the first anthology series? I had to think back. I don't know. My TV history isn't what it used to be. Yes, I think it was before the Outer Limits. Mm hmm. It was either Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
00:26:01
Speaker
Oh, that's right. I forgot about Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Yeah. Yeah. I would say that probably started before Twilight Zone. I want to say that started in the 50s where Twilight Zone was definitely a debut in the 60s. I'll check out Alfred Hitchcock Presents is on Roku channel now, so I'll check it out when I get off here. Nice. Nice.
00:26:25
Speaker
What, so, okay. So you are deciding to go through and watch Star Trek really, you know, take a seat and watch Star Trek for the first time in, in your life. And you're, you're, you're looking to tackle as much of it as you can. What prior to this undertaking, what was your experience with Star Trek? Very minimal. I had friends that watched it. I have friends that love it.
00:26:51
Speaker
thing out of cons. I knew what a red shirt was. So I was in on that joke. Other than that, not really like I get the cultural references that you can't really miss. Like, you know, all the Spock references and but other than that, it was really I'd maybe watched two or three episodes of my entire life. One of them, one of them, I remember all of them were next generation.
00:27:20
Speaker
And one of them, I remember it was. What's that? What's that guy that's always crying online his name? Star Wars theory. He played Wesley. Oh, well, we use and stand by me. Yeah. Well, wait. Yeah. Well, there was one where there was like a thing where like they had a visor that like brainwashed people. OK. And he had to like save the day. That was like the that's the only episode I really actually remember.
00:27:50
Speaker
It was like some sort of game, right? It was some sort of strategy game, and yeah, it ended up being a brainwashing tool or something. Yeah, yeah, I do remember that episode somewhat fondly. It was corny, it was cheesy, like much of, you know, TNG was in its early few seasons, but I want to say that was probably a Season 2 or Season 3 episode, if I had to guess. I can't remember offhand.
00:28:17
Speaker
Yeah. So had you seen any of the theatrical films? No. Okay. Okay. So you really are coming in with just the basic amount of knowledge that that one can have about Star Trek, which is
00:28:31
Speaker
Which is, I mean, I'm excited for you because I want to see, you know, looking at Star Trek as a middle-aged man for the first time. I'm interested to see what you take away from, uh, from the experience. So where, where are you planning on starting? The original series. Okay. Okay. Original series. And then I'm going to watch.
00:28:57
Speaker
After the original series, I've been told the two essential movies I need to watch are Star Trek The Motion Picture and Wrath of Khan. Yeah, I know Dave Gromillion is a huge Wrath of Khan fan. I know he watches the film at least once a year, I believe. Yeah, so I'm going to check that out.
00:29:20
Speaker
I think you should keep going, you know? Yeah. I've got, I would like thousands upon thousands upon thousands of hours of content to
Marvel Cinematic Universe Discussion
00:29:31
Speaker
watch. So that's, that's, that's phase one, as Kevin Fagie's hat would say. Now we're going to move on to phase two. Oh, why does everything have to be phases and multiverses now, right? Right.
00:29:49
Speaker
Okay, yeah, that's that's kind of a trope I'm getting over but hey, it's it's not slowing down anytime soon because that's where the money is Yeah, yeah
00:30:05
Speaker
I mean, look, I'm not gonna say that I'm not at least partially to blame because I do see every Marvel film in the theater. I know I've talked to you about the whole A-list thing. I would not see anywhere near as many films as I do in theater if it weren't for that. So, yeah, I probably wouldn't consume every single Marvel movie if I didn't essentially have an all-you-can-eat pass.
00:30:32
Speaker
Here's the thing that boggles my mind about the box office. Like, if you're a fan of a sports team and the team is terrible, you don't go to the games. If you go to a restaurant and your meal is terrible, you don't go back to the restaurant. So why do people keep going to Marvel movies?
00:30:58
Speaker
Because the general public has been conditioned to look at every Marvel film as an event. And I think with phase four, phase five, it's just been a disaster, to say the least, as far as the fan reception. How do you fix it? I think there needs to be some firings, but I don't think that's going to happen.
00:31:25
Speaker
Not as long as the money keeps coming in. I mean, if there's another unsuccessful phase, perhaps there's a chance that there might be a leadership shakeup, but. I mean, I think Kevin Feige and his hat should go separate ways. I think the maybe send the hat to like Lucasfilm and fire Kathy Kennedy and then Kevin Feige can run Marvel. His hat can run Lucasfilm.
00:31:52
Speaker
And maybe if they're separate, they'll do a better job. I don't know. I don't know. I just keep I keep hoping that they're, you know, that everything I'm hoping that Deadpool is, you know, I'm hoping that Deadpool and Wolverine is the thing that brings people back to Marvel. It gives them a chance to
00:32:20
Speaker
Basically reset everything right if they really wanted to yeah, I mean the opportunity is there female silver surfer that was just announced I Mean to be fair, you know, that is a character that has existed in the comics. It's yeah Yeah, I I know and I knew I know that arguments gonna come out whenever I bring it up But that's not the character we want when we're doing a traditional fantastic or movie
00:32:48
Speaker
Yeah, it's not. And I'm sorry, you can't convince me. It takes a lot of convincing to get me to believe that Pedro Pascal is the smartest man in the universe. Yeah, that's I. That is that is the one casting from this new film that I just don't think is right.
00:33:15
Speaker
Like, I mean, I'd be sitting there as a script supervisor, like, you don't know what any of this means to you.
00:33:27
Speaker
Yeah, I just I wonder what they're going to do with this film. So what this supposedly the Fantastic Four film takes place in a different one of the Marvel universes, perhaps one that we saw in Multiverse of Madness or Spider-Man No Way Home or you know, I I don't know.
00:33:52
Speaker
I don't know what the pitch is for this film. I just don't see Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards at all. I still can't. It's almost like, hey, who should we get? Pedro Pascal, that's a terrible choice. You're fired.
00:34:13
Speaker
Who should we get? I think Pedro Pascal is a good choice. Do you? No, that's terrible. I don't even think he's that smart. You're fired. Who thinks Pedro Pascal should be Mr. Fantastic? You? All right, you're in charge of the project. Oh, anyway. Yeah. Okay, so.
00:34:38
Speaker
Now, if I were Chris, I would tell you that after you watched the three seasons of the original series, that you should actually watch the animated series from the 70s. There were only two seasons, but it is meant to function as the fourth and fifth years of the five-year mission that got cut short whenever TOS got canceled after season three. So I still think it's worth your while.
00:35:07
Speaker
I think it'll scratch that nostalgia itch for you because it's that 70s animation style that you just don't get anymore, that hand-drawn animation style that really blew up in the 70s. I think you'll enjoy it actually. I think it's worth your time. Sounds good. It'll break up the live action
00:35:34
Speaker
And, you know, you won't go straight from, you know, from live action television to a live action film. You'll have a little, a little detour in between, which is nice. So what? All right. I'll give you the chance to turn the interview around and ask any questions you have before starting your journey. Ah, hmm.
00:36:02
Speaker
Are there any walls in the series? Like, does it get really boring? I mean, there are certainly a lot of episodes in the original series that are a little hard to digest just because Gene Roddenberry relied heavily on romantic
00:36:31
Speaker
a romantic period of literature. And he was a fan of Shakespeare. So a lot of the episodes have a Shakespearean feel to them. A lot of the episodes have a lot of connections and sometimes the basis for an episode of Star Trek might have been related to the writings of William Blake.
00:36:59
Speaker
So if you're familiar with William Blake, if you're familiar with Shakespeare, I think you'll have a greater understanding and an appreciation for some of the early episodes because that's what Jean was into. I mean, there are some episodes that don't work. And I think that's true in any TV series where, you know,
00:37:21
Speaker
where they were operating under the 20 to 25 episode per season model. You're going to have some episodes that just don't work. You're going to have
00:37:32
Speaker
Star Trek is very famous for the concept of a ship in a bottle episode, where if the budget wasn't there, or if they had overextended the budget on a previous episode, they might really scale back one or two of the episodes that season, and it's going to be more of a character story. It's going to be limited sets. You might not even see an episode that takes place on a planet. It might just all take place on the ship.
00:38:01
Speaker
That's kind of always been Star Trek's thing. You know, sometimes they'll put a lot of time and the budget into some of the signature episodes. Some of the ones that you've probably heard about just through general interaction with the geek community. Yeah, I will be honest. I have it has been, it has been a very, very long time since I have watched the original series from start to finish.
00:38:31
Speaker
And I don't feel like I gave every episode my undivided attention when I did watch it. For me, the original series is a blind spot. I'm much more familiar with TNG and Deep Space Nine Enterprise for certain. Enterprise and DS9 are my two absolute favorite Star Trek series.
00:38:56
Speaker
just because they weren't afraid to do something a little bit different. Deep Space Nine was, for the most part, it took place in one location. It took place on a space station. The first stable wormhole was discovered near the space station, which opened up travel between two vastly distant quadrants of the galaxy.
00:39:26
Speaker
It was a bold choice. It was something that really shook up the Trek model that had been established with the original series and with TNG. Instead of traveling among the stars, the stars travel to Deep Space Nine. It's my favorite series because it wasn't afraid to be different. And then Enterprise,
00:39:54
Speaker
you know, say what you will about prequels. I didn't quite, I didn't quite appreciate it the first time when it was on its initial run in, you know, in the UPN days, you know, and then I believe at some point it went to the CW towards the end of enterprises, three season run. Maybe assumed. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then it seems like the CW is going to go the way of the dinosaur here real soon.
Television Networks and Shows
00:40:24
Speaker
Yeah, that is true. They're they're not looking too. They're not looking too hot. No, no, I just I don't think people are watching those soapy teen dramas anymore. You know, it's. I don't know, I guess I mean, it was something we're like. I don't I don't know how to define it, but I know it when I see it like you could watch a show and be like, it looks like a CW show, you know, like.
00:40:54
Speaker
there's there's a certain quality to them that is not inherently good. And yeah, you're watching a show on TV and you're like, this has to be a CW show. There's no way any other respectable network would have like this janky, whatever this is, and try to pass it off as a real show. I mean, there there have been some
00:41:21
Speaker
Okay shows that have made it, you know, that have been on the CW that have been okay. I mean, I, I, more seasons in the Flash were good. Arrow was good. Yeah. Yeah. I really liked Supernatural. I mean, I, I, I think I've watched about five of the, however many seasons there were. I, I hear towards the end, it kind of gets a little not good, but I might eventually return to it.
00:41:51
Speaker
As weird and as hell, as weird as it was at times, I actually kind of dug Riverdale, which was, you know, which is a, it's a teen soapy dark dimension version of Archie comics. Like desperate housewives with teenagers. In a way. Yeah. Yeah. There was a lot, I mean, there was a lot of occult stuff that kind of got introduced in the first few seasons.
00:42:21
Speaker
Yeah, the first season was a pretty basic, it was a very basic murder mystery, you know, set up one of the characters, you know, his body is found murdered. And it's a very prominent member of the richest family in Riverdale. So that was kind of the jumping off point for the first season. And then it just got weird as hell.
00:42:49
Speaker
Like, the last season was a battle for heaven and hell? I don't even know, but I will say that of... I've seen a lot of TV shows end badly. I will say that of all of the TV that I've watched, you know, from start to finish, I think they nailed the ending better than
00:43:17
Speaker
most other shows you know you always you always kind of expect the you know i don't know i don't know you know when you when you watch a show you always expect something other than what they deliver in the final episode and this is not this is the case with riverdale it was just i think they they the way that they took their time to give every character a an ending it may not have been a good ending for the character but every character
00:43:48
Speaker
that has ever been that had ever appeared in the show got at least five minutes for their story to wrap up, which is something that a lot of TV doesn't do. You know, they don't always wrap up all the loose ends. People get left out, you know, as far as, you know, always wonder what happened to this character. Well, Riverdale actually gives you an answer for that, which in its final episode, which I really appreciate it. I think the one show I used to like, but I don't
00:44:17
Speaker
Really add the more I thought about it, the more I found it to be weird was Buffy. Yeah. So she starts that show. She's like 15 and Angel is like 300. And there's got to be some sort of like moral quandary there. Like, you know, like, yeah. Law is being broken in that relationship. I mean,
00:44:47
Speaker
It was a different time back then, right? Yeah. I mean, in our post me too world, that's probably a little icky, but, you know, having them over for dinner and be like, so what do you do? Uh, you know, I do odd jobs. So really, how old are you? 350.
00:45:17
Speaker
uh yeah i don't know i i i came to buffy late i really enjoyed it i thought i mean it kind of it kind of it gave me a different side of oh jeez why am i blanking on his name
00:45:35
Speaker
Seth Green, Seth Green.
Star Trek Films and Future Plans
00:45:37
Speaker
Yeah, because he he appeared on that show in this at least the third and fourth seasons. And, you know, prior to that prior to Buffy, I had only really known Seth Green from Robot Chicken and Family Guy. So it was kind of. Oh, yeah, that's right. He was Dr. Evil's son, right?
00:45:59
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I forgot about that. But yes, yes, Austin Powers, of course, I had seen all of those movies when they came out. Yeah, I don't know. It just it kind of gave me, you know, gave you a different gave me a different opinion of him. You know, he wasn't just the weird slapstick, you know, off the wall bonkers comedy style of both robot chicken and family guy, you know. Yeah.
00:46:25
Speaker
All right, so we've kind of we really took quite a few detours. What was the original question? Oh, oh, any any any episodes that were a little slow, right? That was the original question. Did I even know my second question? You did answer that. OK. My second question.
00:46:51
Speaker
is that I absolutely hate JJ Abrams. I don't think he has an original bone in his body. I think he has to watch his wife rush her teeth in the morning so he knows what to do. So are the movies that he made necessary? Are they necessary to understanding the 50 plus year history of Star Trek? No, they are. Essentially,
00:47:21
Speaker
The jumping off point for the JJ Abrams films and it essentially created a split timeline, a split, you know. So yeah, they're, they're, they're completely unnecessary to mainstream television theatrical, you know, films that feature the original cast, you know, William Shatner, Nimoy, DeForest Kelly.
00:47:47
Speaker
Yeah, Nichelle Nichols, you know, that entire crew. Yeah, I don't think it's necessary at all. And if you wanted to watch everything else Trek before going to the Abrams verse, you won't be missing a damn thing. Except Carl Urban as Bones. I do think he's worth watching though, as Dr. McCoy. I do think at the very least, Carl Urban is the best thing to happen to those films.
00:48:16
Speaker
All right, fair enough. So yeah, but yeah, ultimately put that aside, get to it when you've watched everything else or if you need a palate cleanser, you know, just something to break up. You know, you're probably going to be watching. Close to 400 episodes of television by the time you're done. Yeah, that doesn't even. Right, right. So yeah, if you if you need a break, maybe put on the first one and see if you want to continue.
00:48:46
Speaker
I will say that Into Darkness is a misfire completely, but I really enjoyed Star Trek Beyond.
00:48:56
Speaker
It was different from the rest of those films. It took chances, but I think that after Into Darkness, people were turned off of the Abrams films or the Abrams produced films at that point because he did not direct the Star Trek Beyond. Yeah, I just think the whole bait and switch with Into Darkness, this isn't con.
00:49:27
Speaker
We're kidding. This is con. I just think it was a misfire. We swear they're not dead, guys. They're totally not dead. They're dead, aren't they? No, they're not dead. They're not dead. No one's dead. Then the last episode, hey, yeah, they were all dead. Well, I mean, that's JJ Abrams for you, right?
00:49:54
Speaker
Cause he had to have, he had a big hand in that series. Yeah. And it's like, we called it the first episode and you sat there and you're like, do it like a toddler. No, I didn't steal the cookie. I didn't steal the cookie. Okay. I stole a cookie. Can I have the milk? So, all right. Any other questions for me? No, you guys covered it for me in the chat.
00:50:23
Speaker
I got a large, I got a large turkey to carve here. Well, I mean, you have some time on your hands because this, this whole, the other part of this journey that we didn't talk about is, you know, you, you had a pretty major knee surgery recently and you're going to be, you know, real resting for quite some time before you're ready to be a hundred percent again. So this is, that's the main reason why you, you started, you're, you're, you're deciding to take this on now, right? Right.
00:50:50
Speaker
So let's, let's, let's wrap up with something that I know you talked about in our GNN chats, the whole concept of an old geek watches. Are you planning to do more with that than just watch Star Trek? I'm planning on doing more with that because the more I go through like streaming, streaming services, the more like I've watched Twilight Zone, but I could add that into it.
00:51:17
Speaker
I've never watched Quantum Leap. There's enough content out there for me to do this as a serial set of articles where I can have a good amount of material. So yeah, it's something where I'm almost 40 and it might be when I can get on my two feet and edit and not be in the pain I'm in right now with my knee.
00:51:47
Speaker
It might be a small show as well where I do some analysis, but it's going to be kind of like a column for GNN, old geek watches, and obviously Star Trek will be the first one. Then, you know, I'm not just going to do Star Trek as a franchise, but like Star Trek, the original series. Then I might take a break from that and be like Quantum Leap season one.
00:52:11
Speaker
And then I might bounce back and forth, do some movies here and there, and it'll be Mark, Mark flight. And it'll be, I mean, it's, it's an interesting concept. I'm kicking around in my head. Yeah. I, I, I mean, I'm here for it. I really.
00:52:29
Speaker
There are times where you and I do not see eye to eye with our opinions of certain things, and there are times where we do. I'm interested to see your unfiltered take on something that is really near and dear to both mine and Chris's hearts, for different reasons, of course.
00:52:51
Speaker
When I finished the original series, if you'll have me back on, I'll be happy to come on and talk about it with you. Heck yeah, absolutely. This is what I'm hoping is just the first of many appearances for you.
Conclusion and Sign-Off
00:53:01
Speaker
All right, cool.
00:53:03
Speaker
All right, so let's wrap this up. Tell the good people who actually spend time and listen to this stupid little show of mine, tell them where we can find you, whether it's a writing assignment or whether it's one of your appearances on our many, many shows like MCU Mondays and the Cantina Hatney Hour.
00:53:25
Speaker
Okay, well you can find me on Twitter at GeekNNAmbros. You can also find me my writing on geeknewsnow.net. I'm not really on any other podcast right now. I've been busy. But yeah, those are the two places you can find me. So follow me on Twitter and follow me on the website.
00:53:45
Speaker
All right, we will definitely include your Twitter link in the show notes. And is there a way where I can search just for your articles on GNN? Yes, there's an author's page. So if you go to the website and you click authors, all the current writers have their own page. Perfect. I will make sure that I link to that so that if somebody wants to catch up on your articles, they can do it in a one stop shop.
00:54:15
Speaker
Awesome, man. All right. Well, thanks again for coming on Ambrose. I appreciate you taking the time to really kick off your journey into Star Trek with our show. All right, man. All right. So until you hear from us again,
00:54:36
Speaker
This has been Captain's Lovers. This was episode 35. We will be back very, very soon with Chris and I with our regular format. Yeah. Hope you'll continue listening. Have a good night.