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Crusher Crushed from Nemesis
Ant sent in a link to Wil Wheaton's weblog where he writes a surprisingly heartfelt piece on being cut from ST:Nemesis. Its a strangely bittersweet little entry that really speaks volumes, especially considering Wil's fairly public disagreements with
Rick Berman. Apparently Wil's bit was cut along with 48 whole minutes of the flick- its just the nature of filmaking. But
I guess if nothing else, they've got tons of stuff for the DVD now!
Snarky comments about Wheaton and/or Crusher in 3... 2... 1...
Er, pardon my ignorance, but who is Wil Wheaton?
Damn, that's a long movie. It takes the GodFather to pull that off. Granted I'm a Trek fanboy, so I'd have enjoyed the 3 hours, but I don't think my wife would have.
BTW, I saw the trailer before K-19, and it looks pretty good. It appears they've made a return to some good quality action!
they've got tons of stuff for the DVD now!
Yeah because if Paramount has shown anything, it just loves to pack extras into their Star Trek DVDs.
If you're the kind of person to make an angry distinction between "Trekkies" and "Trekkers", I'm honestly surprised you don't have a Wesley Crusher action figure.
I moderate "-1, Fool"
"The night features world-class electronic music artists and a special treat: celebrity boxing with Wil Wheaton and Barney! Wil Wheaton, of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Stand By Me fame, will take on Barney in a celebrity boxing matchup for the history books. Watch and see if Wil with his backing from EFF can protect free speech and parody on the Internet and defeat Barney and his team of corporate lawyers."
http://www.eff.org/cafe/2002/
Give that vomitous terrycloth reptile hell, Will!
Stefan Jones
No way. I've got two words for you, buddy. Well, actually it's one word, but it's so annoying that you actually have to say it twice:
Dang. I could only bring myself to type it once, and my fingers are already blistering, like I dipped them in acid or something.Stop talking on your mobile phone while you're driving through residential neighbourhoods!
Quote from the article:
Of course, I tend to not put a whole lot of stock in what I read online...if I did I'd be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of hot teen bitches who want to get naked for me right now, and I'd be rolling in Nigerian money.
Exactly, Will. Most bigshot, part-in-Star-Trek-gettin' movie stars already have those problems.
...
Because not everyone reads Fark. If slashdot never posted a story which anyone else linked to, it would never have any news. Sometimes there's a delay, but what do you expect?
it would have been better if Mr. Crusher could have made a little appearence somewhere in the background or in another portion of the movie. Last night's "Enterprise" rerun had a lot of people from the Deep Space 9 playing different characters. They want the crossover. What was even funnier is when Trip said "What are you going to do? Program a holographic doctor?" An obvious poke at those who watched voyager. It's stuff like that which makes Star Trek interesting.
But a 3 hour star trek!?! Jeez, talk about long!
Oh fuck, I feel old. This is all I needed after finding my first grey hair last week.
Overall, I suppose anything that makes the end film better is a Good Thing. Still, it sucks that it had to happen -- I can't imagine the weirdness of putting, what, 7 years of my life in as a particular character and then having my last chance to play him yanked out.
At least Wil seems very grounded about it. Unless, of course, he just omitted some drinking-drug-and-wife-beatin' binge he went on after the end of the blog.
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
I know this is some crazy shit, but usually people's personal sites are really hard to beat for up to the minute news about that person. Just a thought..
Finally, math books without any of that base 6 crap in them.
Maybe I'm being horribly naive or stupid or both but I can't understand how they managed to find 40+ minutes of unimportant material to cut out AFTER they've already filmed it! Shouldn't they be trimming stuff out of the story while they're refining the script? Whenever I write something I start by letting my ideas flow onto the paper (actually word processor). Then I make several passes through the story to make the logic and dialogue stronger. I also cut out non-essential stuff if I feel the story is too long. It's not difficult at all. Given how much money it costs to make a movie, shouldn't these guys in Hollywood work hard to make sure the script is really "tight" and there's no fluff in it BEFORE they start the shoot?
As I said, I know nothing about the filmmaking business but the fact that they were able to find 40+ minutes of stuff they could cut out it sounds an awful lot to me like they didn't plan things very well and were just in a rush to get another poorly-thought-out Trek product to market.
Insightful responses welcome...
GMD
watch this
...Wil need to update his FAQ?
Will you be in any of the movies?
I sure will. Look for me in Star Trek X (Star Trek OSX.1, if youre a Mac user) .
Not everything that can be measured matters; Not everything that matters can be measured.
And I have to admit, with you hanging out amongst the throngs of hardcore geeks I have to respect some of your hobbies also. ;)
You'll always have the jerks that will associate you directly with that character for years to come, but your number one in my book man.
He puts in a good plug for Lindows and Mandrake. The article itself is great, Wil seems like a fellow who hasn't let Hollywood go to his head. Kudos for not putting your happiness in the hands of others, Wil.
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
"It has been my understanding that Wil would be in about a dozen or so episodes of Enterprise over the next 2 years. I was hearing he would be part of the whole Temporal Cold War storyline. I wonder if he will be getting cut from this too? "
:)
So what you're really asking is 'How will the change of plot affect it's sequal?'.
You're a Star Wars fan, arentcha?
"Derp de derp."
I mean, the guy called him "kid".
Do you not think that Trekkers & Trekkies would gladly sit through 3 hours...heck they would probably sit through 4 hours! Look at the first Movie...nothing can be as boring as that...and it made a great deal of money!
Speaking as a Trekker myself, I would gladly sit thorugh 3 hours of good action, story, etc to be in the Trek Universe on a big screen with a super sound system. And I think that I would love to see a resolution of Wil's charactor from the Trek universe...
ttyl
Farrell
CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
I have a feeling we might see a deleted Wesly scene.... Hell, this may be one of the first DVDs that includes deleted scenes that aren't complete wastes of time.
Star Trek II: ugly space skanks (what happened to those hot chicks from "Space Seed"?)
Star Trek III: better looking Savek
Star Trek IV: cute but annoying whale-lovin' chick
Star Trek V: sexy muscular Klingon chick
Star Trek VI: boring, regal chick in charge of conference
Star Trek VII: Whoopi Goldberg, ugh
Star Trek VIII: creepy-looking overconfident Borg chick
Star Trek IX: beautiful mature quail who says one too many "live life to its fullist"-style quotes.
I dunno, I'm not seeing much of a pattern here....
GMDwatch this
I dunno.. Kathy Ireland from 'Alien from L.A.' was trying harder than Jar Jar to be annoying.
Youz guys are in so much trouble now.
Get a grip. I see plenty of people driving with children right there in the car with them, not muzzled or anything.
If he'd crashed in to one of those trees and died, I bet that 48 minutes would have been reinserted. It's about time talking on phones when driving was made illegal.
Not only would his footage have been restored (although the entire 48 minutes wasn't about him), the movie would have been dedicated to him as well. And we'd have to sit and listen to the other cast members praise/remember him on talk shows.
I second your call for making driving while phoning illegal. You need to make a cell-phone call? Pull off to the side of the road and talk. When you're ready to dedicate your attention to driving, come back and join the rest of us on the roads!
GMD
watch this
What the hell is wrong with people? Wesley wasn't a bad character. He had his annoying moments (largely in the earlier years,) and I'm not entirely certain I ever believed he was as brilliant as the scripts made him out to be, but he was a reasonable part of the show.
And Wil Wheaton isn't Wesley Crusher. He's a seemingly levelheaded, decent guy. I wish people could get past their hangups and insecurities and be nice people.
There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
Max V.
NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
From his website's FAQ:
Hey, I watched Weakest Link. What was that all about?
Heh. Well, see, Weakest Link is all about making people look bad, and making Anne Robinson look good. I thought that I'd have fun with her, by being even ruder and more offensive than she is. I thought the best way to accomplish this, would be to play a condescending A-hole.
Mission. Accomplished. >:-)
Yeah he would have been in Star Trek X if he had been using OSX
Are you sure she was trying? That movie was so bad, the MST3k was unwatchable.
There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
Max V.
NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
He had one scene. They cut it.
I mean, that's pretty much a cameo. It's not as though there's never been one shoehorned into a Trek film for any other actor before, right?
Was this decision taken by someone who actually gives a damn about what Trek fans want, who understands that we love to be thrown a little treat every so often? Or was it taken by a self important accountant-slash-IP-lawyer wearing a straggly pony tail and trying to pass himself off as one of the creative crew?
It's not as though they couldn't read the script and do some basic storyboarding to work out how long the thing was going to be. Harsh, harsh cut.
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
But at least if you turn the volume down Kathy looks great!
Not everything that can be measured matters; Not everything that matters can be measured.
This happens to lots of movies, and many of them turn out great despite (or even because of) the cuts. Witness The Gladiator, which had at least 40 minutes cut out. (Most of those scenes appeared on the DVD btw.) Not to mention LoTR: FoTR, which will have 30 minutes of previously cut material reinserted for the DVD in November.
-- If no truths are spoken then no lies can hide --
Trekkies.
Nobody else cares.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
That's pretty bold, given that I have only seen the trailer, but here's why I think it'll be bad.
First, the trailer makes it out to have wanna-be horror elements. It's too dark for StarTrek; even First Contact and other encounters with the Borg (by far, the most powerful enemy the Federation knows) are nowhere near as intense. If it hadn't been for familiar characters, I would have said that the trailer was for a budget-hyped Babylon5 episode from the Shadows series.
Second, it seems too action oriented. Yes, we all love the StarTrek blow-up-the-other-ship action. If done well, battles are good and add a lot to the story (DS9 had a few episodes with epic battle scenes with Cards - incredibly cool). This movie just seems to have lots of fighting action without meaningful substance. There's also this ATV with guns driving around on rough terrain, then later jumping into another vehicle much better suited for transportation. That makes little sense to me (I can see arguments, but why?)
My third reason will get me flamed by all the horny geeks out there. The movie appears to have an explicit sex scene. While sex between two characters had been implied frequently in the past, it was never explicitly shown. This destroys an element of the StarTrek universe that I've always found charming: it's always had a childish innocence. A fun element. This kind of subject matter seems to turn ST into a different animal. (This reason is purely subjective.)
Fourth and last, all this spooky, "don't fear..." nonsense that just seems way to ominous to be believable (and quite cheesy - I laught when that bald guy says that in the trailer). This sort of ties into part of reason one. Again, the movie is trying to be something StarTrek isn't.
Overall, I get the strong impression that Rick Berman is not targeting geeks, but rather, the mainstream gun/sex/action oriented entertainment. "Blow stuff up and fuck the girl!" That seems great in a lot of ways, but I've always turned to ST for entertainment of a more intellectual sort.
Rick Berman is pulling a Lucas and not staying loyal to the fans.
Why bother.
I mean, how old is that guy now running the Romulan Empire? 12? Who you do think is going to defeat this cross between Peter Wiggum and Scott Evil? Data? Picard? Pshaw, as if.
No way, it'll be the annoying little punk with phenominal cosmic powers (as taught by the Traveller).
Somewhere in Brooklyn, Wesley Crusher falls silent forever.
Driving in New York? While talking on a cell phone? Tsk tsk.
And yes before people scream, I'm aware Wil does not live in New York.
The Right Reverend K. Reid Wightman,
is a God!!!
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
When did it happen? Or is it just the usual array of socially inept geeks, snickering behind the cuffs on their black trenchcoats that make it seem that way? This guy poured his guts into this essay of his. He was obviously stunned by the news, disappointed, hurt even, though he denied it in his story. He had to know it was coming, but it sounds like that knowing didn't help. I was sincerely touched by this.
I was just as annoyed as anybody at Wesley Crusher, but I think Wil Wheaton did the best he could when he was handed what were, frankly, pretty insipid lines. I grew more and more fond of the character as the show and character matured, most particularly the last show he was in regularly.."Final Mission" I think it was. And his character grew even more intriguing with his guest appearances, like the fascinating "The First Duty." At any rate, I looked forward to seeing him in Nemesis. I wish he could have been more a part of it. I wish him the best in finding a successful adult career, and I hope that he puts the unfortunate image that Wesley Crusher has given him through no fault of his own, behind him.
Trolls: The high-tech version of those morons that scrawl obscenities in public bathrooms.
I only need to know one thing -- where to send my pleading fan letter. I'll gladly sit through a longer Trek film if it gives me what I want -- character development, backstory, FEELING. I grew up with ST:TNG -- this is part of my long-lost childhood they're cutting goddamnit.
We know Nemesis is probably gonna be weak, and we know it'll be the last TNG film -- of which not one to date has lived up to the Trek movie franchise. Why can't they leave in the few things that might make it a really special gift to the fans??
I mean really -- Christian Slater gets his cameo but Wil-fucking-Wheaton gets chopped? This breaks my heart. Even ten seconds of Wesley Crusher dying in a space-battle -- even a glimpse of Wesley in the background as an inside joke -- would delight the fan in me.
Case in point: Tasha Yar. How popular was that? 'Nuf said.
- Sean
He works as a writer but doesn't know the meaning of the word "admonish".
Actually it's more of a sin that he wasn't more incorporated into the script. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Wesley was supposed to be some super-navigator who unified space, time, and thought, wasn't he? By the time his character would have been 30, I'll bet some damn interesting things would have happened to someone as gifted as him.
That would be a GREAT story line for a movie -- Wesley ending up in super-secret Starfleet intelligence and dabbling in deep 23rd century metaphysics, but something going wrong which required the attention of the Enterprise and maybe more Vulcan philosophy....
It's too bad they just turned him into a Starfleet Academy throw-away and left that whole great plot line. If anyone has any more details about the plot line, I'd be curious to learn them.
http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/1 0/29/173252&mode=thread&tid=129
He's actually a pretty cool guy. It's a shame to hear that he got cut, but it happens.
I have a feeling that was his last chance to be part of Star Trek and I'm sure he'll miss it.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
I picked up Anti-trust, because I have a habit of buying movies that I want to see when they are $10 or under. Its nice, no trips to Blockbuster and I have a bunch of films lying around.
The storyline didn't make any sense. Watched the deleted scenes, where a MAJOR part of the plot was cut. Makes more sense.
Some of the deleted scenes from Dogma gave a LOT more insight into the characters.
Alex
"Are you sure she was trying?"
Yes I am. She doesn't sound like Steve Urkel in real life.
I look foward to Andromeda each week. Everyone comes over to my place for Enterprise, we dread it, yet feel compelled to watch.
They don't seem like pioneers, AT ALL.
Captain Archer is an awful character. Earth's first mission, and instead of making new friends and allies, hes imposing his morality on those around him. Earth has no new friends because of him, and hes pissed off the one they started with.
WTF?
Alex
Even though I couldn't stand Wesley Crusher on STNG, I think Wil Wheaton is a great dude. I'm bummed for him but glad he's not in the movie all at the same time. Somebody needs to write him into a better role somewhere because I really do hope he finds more success.
Eye think the spell checker wood have accepted that line
I read a rumor that this was going to be the last of the ST:TNG movies, period. If that's the case, then that means there's likely not much of a chance for him to reprise his character ever again (baring temporal anomalies).
Hope that's not the case....
Hire a Linux system administrator, systems engineer,
Maybe its a stretch but don't you think the very fact that he is going around and imposing his morality on others has only led to pissing people off is indicative of the what happens in real life? Case in point...
While doing research on perceptions of the World's only superpower (the U.S. -- I'm American) in the eyes of outsiders I found the very same thing. The U.S. goes around (along with some of its western europeann allies) and imposes its morality on others. Many times, that morality is just differing opinion but it leads to a lot of people who get pissed off and say "who the f*** is America to tell me how i live my life?". Maybe that isn't the central theme of Enterprise, maybe its not even intentional but I think it gives it a very real flavor. I would think that humans would act like that if they went to space.
talking, putting on makeup, reaching around to take care of a baby/kids, getting dressed, drinking a soda/coffee and eating food have been statistically proven to be many *many* times more dangerous than simply talking on a cellphone.
Please provide a URL link to the statistic that shows that more accidents are caused by people getting dressed while driving than from people using cell phones while driving. I'd be interested in seeing it.
Now, accidents being caused because some hot chick is getting undressed while driving I can understand... :)
GMD
watch this
Somewhere on Wheaton's website he referes to an "accident" at Waffle House which he referred to as the "pigs-in-a-blanket-fiasco".
But I couldn't find out what this was...can anyone enlighten as to 1) what this guy did at Waffle House, and 2) What was the supposed fiasco ?
Nice! I never thought I'd see a link to BB's site on Slashdot :)
Strangely enough, I never thought of his audition tale as a tale of woe... I found it rather inspirational, myself.
-----
PGP Key ID 0xCB8FF658
Hilarious. The reason Berman gave Wheaton for the cut, it "didn't advance the story." Since _WHEN_ is that an applicable rule for editing a Star Trek movie?! Wil, you're cool, have a great attitude and I really wished you'd been given even a small amount of screentime. You're _owed_ that much. But don't for a _second_ believe that shit. Just watch some of the previous ST: TNG movies for proof that that isn't a valid reason. Star Trek: Insurrection is a prime example.
The one good thing about this movie that I can tell from the trailer - they seem to have discovered 'cinematography'. Finally. But how many movies did it take?
Another character I'd like revisited: Guinan. (yeah, good luck)
I'd just like to say that Wil is a class-act. I have a lot of respect for celebrities that know how to handle fame gracefully, and even more for those who know how to set priorities in their life for what really matters.
Fame is fleeting - family lasts forever...
It's gotta be twice as difficult to be an actor with a wife and kids and keep everything together. Wil seems to be doing just fine.
N.
"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
If you were a true geek, you wouldn't have to ask who Will Wheaten is. You would Just Know.
But, fool, you are only a nerd. The truly productive members of our technological society who runs his GCC and puts strange Paul Graham quotes in his slashdot signiture. Yet you ask who Will Wheaten is.
Posting here on Slashdot is only a sign of True Geekiness. But I must ask you, do you have a Geek Code? If you are over 16, do still own any action figures? models?
Do you watch cartoons?
These too are only signs of True Geekiness. But your True Nerd may kill the Geek within. You may spend the rest of your miserable life learning about the workings of the Universe, building vast technological systems, and watching reruns of Gilligan's Island.
But one day you become old and gray, and you suddenly discover what you believe to be the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything; and you bring forth this information to the Council of True Geekdom. And they laugh. And Geeks throughout the world learn of your pitiful endeaver and they, too, laugh.
To reconcile, you will be forced to stand on your knees and beg: "Thou art geekier than I."
And then, for the first time, you may learn what we already Just Know.
There is no Spoon.
Jar^2 (or (Jar)(Jar)) expands to Jar Jar
Or, if you assume ^ is a binary XOR operation then Jar^2 evaluates to Jah
My nick is like the inscription on Vincent's wallet in Pulp Fiction. It means I'm a bad mutha fucka.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
[banning radio nonsense]
Actually, listening to music while driving keeps you from sleeping when you are driving long distances.
"...lay off phone users, many of whom are very careful and attentive drivers."
Them are not the ones I'm worried about.
How about we just band cell-phones from the uncarefull, unattentive drivers...
Actually, the first and only time I watched it was when the Star Trek characters were on it.
Proof how much a trekkie I am.
~ kjrose
It sucks for Wil that he got cut, but hey - them's the breaks. He's cool by it and kudos to him. Hopefully Berman will throw him a bone, put in a word, or perform some other cliche. Wheaton's an under-rated talent - hopefully a mainstream director will agree.
But what the crap do I know? I'm a programmer.
There's a first time for everything.
Next thing you know, we'll Slashdot Mike Keneally's site.
Looks like alt.wesley-crusher.die.die.die finally achieved its goal. 8-)
Look at the amount of links posted on Fark per day, compared to a day of slashdot. Fark probably has close to a 10-to-1 ratio.
Also, look at the nature of Fark postings. They're one-liners, littls more than a link and a description. Now look at the articles on slashdot. They consist of small synopses of the linked articles, often offering more than just a one-lined description.
I'm not putting down Fark in any way. Fark and slashdot are the 2 sites I hit most often while surfing. It's just that they are two different types of sites, and should be regarded as such.
I have to say. If you're an actor, being on a gameshow is one of the few times a majority of your fans can see you when you're not being completely spoonfed what to say, and how to say it.
(I considered talk shows, but they spoonfeed you the general stuff. Promote the movie, smile, say it was a challenging but fun project... there's a reason they all sound the same.)
So, with that being said, perhaps he shouldn't have been such a cock-boy. Is cock-boy hyphenated?
...no [BOOBIES] links on slashdot. We don't need 'em here, since most slashdotters get a wood on from reading about "*nix now ported to unexpected device n".
Freedom: "I won't!"
Is cock-boy hyphenated?
I don't know. Is anal-retentive?
In mathematics, one does not understand things, one merely gets used to them.
--VonNeumann
I read a rumor that this was going to be the last of the ST:TNG movies, period.
:( :( :( Sad really, last of the good Star Trek stuff, end of an era and all that. Between voyager and now enterprise, ST has been, err, well not ST as of late. (as of late refering to the last, what, 5, 6, 7 years now???? my word has the suckage been going for THAT LONG??? !!!!!)
Actualy I realized that given how old the actors are, that yah, this likely will be the last movie.
I say it is about time to take a hit out on that asshole producer of the current series. . . .
Need help treating your acne? Come here!
So does conversation.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
When's the last time you heard someone here speak of the American Standard Code for Information Interchange? Discussions on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (or worse, the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act) would get unnecessarily verbose were it not for the various abbreviations and acronyms that are in common use.
Abbreviations to refer to the various Star Trek movies might confuse in a forum with a more general audience...but in a forum (such as this) that's visited mainly by geeks and with Star Trek as the subject, it's not unreasonable to expect a certain minimal knowledge of common jargon used by that group of people.
(Besides, a simple Google search would point a n00b in the right direction. If you're not willing to do a minimal amount of fact-finding on your own, maybe you'd find this service more to your liking.)
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
Beyond Wil Wheaton being axed from Nemesis, it's really a tragety for anybody looking for a real story when they go to the theaters, not the chopped and boxed two hour edit. So many movies out there could have been great if the man with the axe had only shown a bit more restraint and a bit more faith in his fanbase. They're basically saying we as an audiance can't handle a deep plot and don't have the attention span to sit through three hours of movie. It annoys the crap out of me.
A good example and everybodies favorite here on Slash-- Lord of the Rings. Damn near 3 half hours and I loved every single minute of it . I didn't get bored. I didn't wince at the complex plot. I was thrilled that a director actually broke from the pack and lengthened the movie, ultimately making it a par excellent experience. I can't imagine how a two hour Cambells condensed soup version would have added up. Makes you wonder what how the extended edit will fair if the movie is this good now...
Back to the point, I've been waiting for a decent Trek series/movie for years. TNG? Booorrrring... They were the UN of outer space. DS9? Better. It depicted the edgier side of the Trek universe, but it was still pretty damn sanitized. Personnally, it only got good when large quantities of ships began blowing up... Anyway, Voyager? It had it's moments. Too bad they were far and few between. The movies? Wrath of Kahn. Hands down. Undiscovered Country? It was OK filler until the next great movie... Which was... Umm... Sorry, but I wasn't inspired by any of the TNG movies, though First Contact and Insurrection were OK. It wasn't anything that you hadn't seen in the series before. It comes down to this- I'd be willing to bet an extra hour would do the new movie a world of good. The Trek universe is rich and full of plot and the fans want to see it. It's the reason it's been kept going all these years. For once, I wish they'd take break the mold and create an experience, not just a movie.
On Wil Wheaton, it is kinda too bad. Just a hunch, but I'm betting he'd actually be good in something other than that "annoying naive teen" roll he was cast in for 90% of the series. It's a misjustice all the way around....
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Isn't it about time Wil got his own section on Slashdot? :-)
Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
The problem with that is trying to combine the phrases 'star trek' and 'well-written'. The two very rarely go hand-in-hand. I always found it amusing that they had Q afraid of Guinan, but could obviously never figure out a reason _why_, when her species was essentially decimated by the Borg, who were nothing to the likes of Q. A neat idea for that episode, but it showed a severe lack of planning. Another reason why I always appreciated Babylon 5, despite it's problems. Planning the major bits of a series out years in advance SHOWS on the screen.
What I'd really like to see is some close to series I liked that didn't get a chance to have a true finale. Space: Above and Beyond is at the top of that list. And despite the extra-crappy nature of many episodes and especially the last episode, I'd love for a true finale to Dark Angel.
Usually you use acronyms when the phrase itself is already part of daily conversation. Like you can say TV, FYI, etc. to most people, and they know what you mean, because it is so commonly used. DMCA and CBDTPA get mentioned enough on their own that most people know what they are already. Things like TWOK don't- where that acronym might make sense on a fansite, it means nothing to most of the people here.
Independent of all that, was the AOL shot at the parent's parent post really necessary?
slashdot!=valid HTML
That news was announced on April First.... you do the math.
Sorry, not gonna happen. ):
Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
Things like TWOK don't- where that acronym might make sense on a fansite, it means nothing to most of the people here.
I just thought it was some porn I haven't seen yet.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
It starts here.. Cloak(TOS) and moves on to Rogue(TNG), Abyss(DS9), and Shadow(VOY). Pretty good reading, and shows that the Federation has a dark underside...
Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
Dude, I hate to burn karma on an idiot like you, but you are obviously one of these fucking morons who can tell us exactly why Wolverine's Adamantium skeleton is affected by magentic fields in current Volume 4 Issues 8-12, but not in previous Volumes 1-3, while explaining to everyone that you were "before we were punk", why you are more of a fan of band X because you bought their first album before they were popular, etc etc etc. Maybe you're one of those real nutcases who has himself convinced that he can speak Klingon, or perhaps you learned to speak Japanese from watching Anime.
Kids, the moral of the story is this. Being a "nerd", reading comics, loving fantasy and sci-fi stuff, etc, is all fine. Seriously. But trying to be the expert of one little thing and correcting people based on irrelevent semantics, exposes that you are not merely a nerd, but a FUCKING INSECURE MORON. You're about as impressive as those guys who run around spouting about the advantages of the v-tec system in their 10 year old 4 cyl stock Honda (which they senselessly red-line daily).
In short: Being an idiotic expert in the semantics of something no one cares about, makes you look like a jackass.
Actually there is a DIRECT and MEASURABLE comparison between brain activity on the road and cell phone usage. A study was done where people would wear a piece of headgear that would not only measure the placement of one's eyes but also brain activity while driving. Turns out that people talking on cellphones spend less time looking at the road and the parts of the brain which are active while concentrating only on the road are less active while the operator is talking on the phone. Similarly, while intoxicated, and they used this exact comparison, the brain is less concerned with the road and more concerned with other thoughts.
This doesn't even take into account the reality that most people still hold their cell phones with their hands, rather than using the headset.
Your racecar analogy is bogus for reasons that any reasonably intelligent person can see. However, since we're posting on Slashnerd I'll elaborate. A racecar driver has certain commands and phrases that he says to his pit crew that he has said hundreds of times before. There is no conversation and there is no intensive cognitive thought involved. Therefore the portions of the brain which are focused on the road remain focused on the road when these pre-programmed phrases are uttered. Clearly arguing with your girlfriend is more demanding on the brain than "I need gas."
He said he spent two days on the set doing his scene, but it was cut. I always wondered, would he (or another actor) get paid (something) for the work they did, or do they only get paid if it hits the screen?
I really did want to see Wil in Nemesis, but there's always a good side to this:
At least we won't get to hear about Wes' journey with the Galactic Pedophile.
/^[A-Z0-9._%+-]+@[A-Z0-9.-]+\.[A-Z]{2,4}$/i
Er, pardon my ignorance, but who is Wil Wheaton?
He's a songwriter on Not That Kind by Anastacia. No, really he is.
Wil Wheaton is a world famous slashdotter. His nick is 'CleverNickName'.
Best Slashdot Co
Did the old Star Trek Concordance, right?
Best Slashdot Co
never have mod points when I need them.
Best Slashdot Co
There's nothing that can't be reversed with time travel or alternate universes...the ultimate plot extrication tools! :(
Really? You looked through the thread twice? What a complete waste of time. Why not look at his user page http://slashdot.org/~clevernickname instead, then you would have seen that the last post made was on the 31st July.
BTW not sure what browser you're using but I think quite a lot have the find command these days, you could also use that instead of "scanning" the page over and over.
He who defends everything, defends nothing. -- Fredrick The Great
This doesn't even take into account the reality that most people still hold their cell phones with their hands, rather than using the headset.
You realize you've also just said, people holding conversations while driving can't pay attention to the road, therefore having passengers is just as dangerous.
"I can't give you a brain, so I'll give you a diploma" - The Great Oz (blatently stolen sig)
Race drivers regularly use in-car radio systems and if they can do that at 150mph+, then there is nothing inherently dangerous about a cell phone.
Right, a pro racing driver can have a conversation and drive on a racing track at the same time. Fine. I can vouch for that. I've been driven, and drove myself with pro racing drivers around on racetracks. The pros seem to have no problem taking and driving at the same time.
On the other hand, I, a mere mortal, have driven around on racetracks at high speed at the limit of my ability, and I can tell you, whem I'm breaking into a corner and there's traffic either in front or comming up behind, I'll stop talking in mid-sentence (or even mid-word), and use all of my powers of concentration on controlling the car.
Believe me, it's very difficult to drive on a racetrack and talk at the same time.
Not to mention that a race track is far safer and a normal road. On a race track, I only have to worry about passing the slower cars in front of me, and watching for the faster ones from behind. I never have to worry about children running onto the track.
I'm sorry, you comparison is wrong. Talking (on the phone, with a passanger) while driving does affect your ability to control the car.
"The best part? I became an ordained minister while not wearing pants." -- CleverNickName
I go to the movies a lot. I seldom pay to see sequels at the theater. Mostly because the suck. LOTR will be an exception. When it comes the ST:TNG having Will in the movie would have been a definite plus. It sounds like I'm in the minority here, but after Picard, Wesley Crusher was my favorite character. When he left the show ST:TNG went from "must see every week" to "if I happen to be around the TV on Saturday eveneng when they replay it". I think it was because his character was so intriguing. Like Q and Guinan(sp?) he had the potential for power and it was still up in the air which way he would go. But then again, I'm still waiting for #1's evil twin to reappear:)
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
Passengers are easily silenced with non-verbal communication, like making a left turn through a busy intersection.
A cell-phone conversation in the same situation doesn't skip a beat... well the driver may not respond as fast, but their mind is focused on what the other person is saying.
Thank you for your enlightening commentary on my browsing habits. There are just two thing that I would like to point out.
It could be I was interested in other posters comments thus "scanning".
Or maybe I'm a dumbass who dosen't know how to click Edit>Find in this Page under Mozilla 1.0.
I guess it must suck to be me. Going thoughout my life wasting time with piss-poor webbrowsing skillz, damn I should just put a bullet in my head and save myself the misery.
Oh wait there is worse things then being a dumbass who dosen't know how to use a computer.
One is being an eccentric anal-retentive racing stripe in Jesse Venturas underwear. Someone who has nothing better to do then bust on somebody for their web-browsing habits. Could that person be.... nzhavok.
Possibly.
>
Maybe we could have an icon of a Borgified Wesley Crusher or something. . .
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
Even though I couldn't stand Wesley Crusher on STNG, I think Wil Wheaton is a great dude.
... I suspect an older, wiser Wesley Crusher who has the larger view, and the ability to unify space, time, and thought with almost Q-like prowess wouldn't be anybody's lackey, not even Star Fleets. Forget the double-secret Star Fleet agent nonesense. Wes would be more likely to be that external, powerful force, kindly disposed toward Star Fleet but far beyond their petty concerns, and unwilling to interfere in Star Fleet's natural evolution.
... as he refuses to use his powers to fend off a Borg attack which the Fed loses, for example. "These years of darkness are critical to the evolution of the Federation and humanity" or something like that, while the fleet burns near the outer edges of Sol's Oort cloud...
I agree. After having read some of his comments and articles here on slashdot, I've come to really like the dude. He seems to be a genuinely nice, interesting person, who doesn't need an image consultant to make him that way, and that is, I suspect, a rarity in Hollywood.
I'm bummed for him but glad he's not in the movie all at the same time. Somebody needs to write him into a better role somewhere because I really do hope he finds more success.
I disagree. The later Wes (the one who got set back a year at the Star Fleet Academy and ultimately dropped out to go hang out with the Indians on whatever-that-soon-to-be-Cardassian planet was, and then became the Traveller's apprentice) was becoming a very interesting character. That could have been explored in a variety of ways
Indeed, his character provides an interesting opportunity to look at the Prime Directive from the other point of view
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
I'm sorry, you comparison is wrong. Talking (on the phone, with a passanger) while driving does affect your ability to control the car.
So does eating, listening to the radio, talking with passengers, yelling at kids in the back, looking at them in the mirror, etc. I've decided that the minimal additional risk to you and every other driver on the road when I talk on my cell phone is worth it. And that's my decision to make in most jurisdictions. Sorry if that upsets you, but driving is inherently risky and with the absurdly low speed limits on our roads, combined with bumper-to-bumper traffic, there's a greater risk that the boredom will drive me to have an accident than will talking on a cell phone.
Your racecar analogy is bogus for reasons that any reasonably intelligent person can see. However, since we're posting on Slashnerd I'll elaborate. A racecar driver has certain commands and phrases that he says to his pit crew that he has said hundreds of times before.
And I've also listened to them explain, in detail, handling eccentricities of the car, problems that they sense with the engine, etc. So please don't pretend that the only thing ever said on those in-car radios are pre-arranged code words.
Clearly arguing with your girlfriend is more demanding on the brain than "I need gas."
And it's even more demanding when she is right there beside me and I have not only verbal processing but also the natural human tendency to look at her while arguing.
Anyone who actually makes this "distinction" needs to be beaten into unconsciousness.
A spade is a spade, sir.
- A.P.
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
What was the weakest link thing? I didn't hear anything about it, let alone good or bad.
_Everyone_ thinks they're an above average driver.
Half of them aren't.
I've been riding motorcycles on the streets in one of the most congested areas in the country for more than 20 years. I'm not dead or crippled, so I am above average.
One-size-fits-all is the only way to be fair and enforcible.
Police spend way too much time enforcing arbitrary and capricious laws rather than protecting public safety. The majority of tickets written are for speeding on superhighways where speeding has little to do with accidents. What we need is fewer laws about what one can and cannot do in a car and more cops patrolling the roads ticketing people who drive recklessly.
But if you still demand more laws, I'll be happy to give up my ability to use a cell phone in my car when the legislature:
1. Makes it illegal to use rear-view mirrors for looking at children in the back seat.
2. Makes it illegal to do personal grooming while driving.
3. Requires one adult for every child in a vehicle (except buses driven by professional drivers).
4. Makes it illegal to eat while driving.
5. Limits the sound level of in-car radios to a such that it does not interfere with the driver's ability to hear.
6. Makes it illegal to drive with the seat reclined to the lay-down position.
7. Makes it illegal to change CDs while driving.
and so forth.
The reality of it is that there are a million and seven distractions that any given driver can give himself. A good driver minimizes his distractions when in complex traffic patterns, reserving things like cell phones for uncrowded roads or highways.
I must admit I hated Wesley Crusher and the teenage persecution fantasies that Rodenberry played out using him as the vechicle. The whole teenage genius misunderstood by the lessor mortals around him must have been how Gene remembered his own childhood ...
But my respect for the actor is growing with every article posted to Slashdot about him -- he can write at the very least :-)
Now, when are we going to see Voyager or DS9 movies?
You realize you've also just said, people holding conversations while driving can't pay attention to the road, therefore having passengers is just as dangerous. You are correct. There was a peer-reviewed paper, "Carrying passengers as a risk factor for crashes fatal to 16- and 17-year-old drivers," published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Mar 22/29 2000, pp.1617-8) that did indeed conclude that conversations between the driver and passengers dramatically increased the risk of a fatal accident for newly-licensed drivers.
Strange... I don't remember any pornos named "The Wang of Khan"...
I would say that's a good thing in life.
Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
that did indeed conclude that conversations between the driver and passengers dramatically increased the risk of a fatal accident for newly-licensed drivers.
There seems to be a line of thought that has cropped up in the last few decades that goes something like this: If someone dies, a law must be passed making illegal whatever directly, or indirectly, lead to their death. The people espousing that line of reasoning seem to believe that once we have enough laws, there will be no more deaths. People will become immortal.
Kids can't ride their bicycles without helmets any more. Lawn darts have been banned. Infants must be tucked away in approved child seats in the back seat of the car. All cars are required to have airbags. We've lowered the blood alcohol level for DUI/DWI multiple times while raising the drinking age.
I have sad news for these people: You cannot legislate death out of existence. People are going to die and some of them will die because of accidents rather than old age. Even if cell phones are banned, there will be traffic accidents just as there were before cell phones existed.
I know: -1 offtopic.
a little more depth to Wil than I've given him credit for. I almost feel bad for aome of the things I've said, but then I flash back to shope Next Generation episodes and I want Wesley DEAD :)
Sorry Wil......
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
IOW you are not alone with a few dozen experienced drivers on your street when you're car-phoning. And I also doubt you have anywhere near the reflexes of a race driver.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
You should have searched Google Groups. Or ignored people called "Twok" or who use "TwoK" instead of "2K".
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
If it was that big of a deal, you could have emailed me privately.
You don't have to be facetious.
Maybe I'm just boycotting html.
Or read this, it explains how to copy and paste.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, they're saying that since they they don't expect the audiance to turn out in large enough numbers to make a 3 hour showing worthwhile, be that because of attention spans, stereo typing, etc., they'd cut it down to the "regular size". They obviously thought LotR could pull it off, but not StarTrek? Odd. Both have absolutely huge fan bases and a rich background to draw from, so what's the determining factor? (beyond LotR being absolutely fabulous, obviously).
And the seedier side of the Trek could have been wonderfully executed as you suggest. It definittely could have benefited from a few shades of darkening. It was also something I was hoping for with ST: Enterprise-- They're on the Frontier, unpowered and outclassed in the unknown at nearly every turn, but it's still so damn sanitized it's pathetic. Cripes, I was drawing up scripts for damn near the same thing 4 years ago (it seemed like the only other place Trek could possibly go at the time) with that in mind. Unfortunately Enterprise got there first and my hopes were crushed... Another TNG, but lower tech. ~sigh~ I like Kevin Sorbo in Andromeda better than the last 4 Trek series... (I know, another (post) Roddenberry production). Yes, I'm jaded. I'll step down from my soapbox now.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Good point. I haven't read the books but I can't possibly see this movie fitting into anything less than three hours and still be good. Given the fine job they did, I think I look forward to the "uncut" DVD and think there'd be no such thing as too much of a good thing if they expanded out to 6 movies...
You need a FREE iPod Nano
They're already their... Just visit any fast food joint and they'll take your order.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
In the study I read about (same one?) they were testing many different situations, because they wanted to find out why people "never saw it coming" in most accidents. From analyzing a large number of accidents they found that even though there was a clear view of the oncoming car or pedestrian people wouldn't see them until just before impact.
The research showed that using the brain for different activities while driving affected the ability to process visual data, creating blind spots that varied in size accordingly.
Talking to a passenger while keeping one's eyes on the road wasn't nearly as bad as operating a hand held cell phone. But cell phones and food consumption left the driver effectively impaired as if they had driven after consuming several drinks.
Sure. But they don't have oncoming traffic, intersections, kids crossing the street etc.
Having driven cars and bikes at their limits of adhesion, I can assure you that the concentration needed to handle intersections and pedestrians in a neighborhood street at 25-30mph is nothing by comparison.
And I also doubt you have anywhere near the reflexes of a race driver.
I turn a pretty quick lap, so don't be too sure. Besides, most race drivers don't have incredible reflexes. They have coordination and learned skills. The difference between their driving and yours probably has less to do with how quickly they react and more to do with how they react. That's why many race drivers remain competitive into their 40's -- and beyond.
Yes it is, among Trekkers. IOW most of those who would read this article about a (sorry Wil) minor actor in a minor role being cut out of the next Star Trek movie.
Lars T.
To the guy who modded me down from perfect to terrible Karma - Apple haters still suck
Wil Wheaton is the actor who is best known for playing Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Turns out unlke the character, Wil is quite cool, a linux user, runs a pretty good blog, and supports most of the goals of the EFF.
<conspiracytheory>
Aha! Now we know the real reason he was kicked out of the movie! Expect his character to suffer an off-screen, between-movies death. Jack Valenti doesn't like fifth-columnists!
</conspiracytheory>
Hollywood. Perspectives. Wil Wheaton, or Jack Valenti. Which do YOU choose? if you DON'T choose Wil, I suggest -1 GET_A_FSCKING_CLUE_IDIOT :D
My best guess is that Berman never intended to use the Wesley footage, and Wheaton is in denial over the fact that he's been conned yet again.
What's really irritating is this "it's all for the trekkies" BS. That might wash with the mentally challenged types who never take off their Starfleet uniforms, and insist that people address them by naval rank. For those of us who live in the real world, this is nauseating tripe.
But WTF. I was a Star Trek fan 3/4 of my life, but the stupidity of Enterprise finally put me over the edge. I deliberately read all the Nemesis spoilers just so I wouldn't be tempted to go see it. And anyway, real space opera is finally returning to TV, so who cares?
Too late to likely get a response, but what the hell...
The US is the world's only super power. It CAN impose its morality on the world.
In ST:TNG, the Federation is rediculously overpowering, it CAN impose its morality on the world.
In Enterprise, United Earth is a fly on the wall, it should be finding allies.
That's the difference.
I think that Americans, the first time in deep space, would be looking for new weapons and the ability to establish themselves.
Archer is MORE than welcome to beat up on little guys. Its his possession of the Klingon ship and trying to help them, that bothers me. Grab the schematics and figure out how the weapons work. If a Klingon wakes up, shoot them. Next encounter with the Klingons, you're not as much at their mercy.
That's my problem.
America imposes its strategic interests on the world, that's a MAJOR difference. Archer is imposing his morality to the DETRIMENT of the Earth's strategic interests, that's what bothers me.
Alex