The Unknown Poster

Yes this is my issue. I was really looking forward to seeing a slow development and a dissent into chaos. I wanted to see more of the fight against the virus and how it impacted the government. Instead, things escalated rather quickly and its basically the first season of TWD now. They promised to show us something new but didnt.

Right, the Earth Defense Codes. Too bad Vulcan didnt have any of those.

Spock had been working towards reunification between Romulans and Vulcans for awhile (he was on Romulas during TNG). So he had the Vulcan's working on a solution to the SuperNova (the Black Hole created by Red Matter). Unfortunately Spock goofed up the time frame and didnt make it in time to save Romulous. So yeah, Nero was mad, but his anger was not overly logical.

Yup. They chose to NOT ask for a reduction in the games as an option and went for a home run, arguing that there was no infraction and no suspension required.

Now now, as a long winded but incredibly fast two finger typer, I enjoy some in depth analysis!

Some interesting developments in the franchise with a new film out in July and a new series out in January. The Movies thread inspired me to whine about why the new films sucks...but I got long winded so thought I'd start my own thread. Here's why Star Trek 2009 disappointed me: I liked the 09 films as sort of a jumping off point. STID was awful and made 09 worse because whereas I was cautiously optimistic after 09, STID drove that expectations into the ground and you can go back and see the issues in 09 were not just minor, they were inherent with these film makers. Orci points out, rightfully so, that the writers strike hit when filming on 09 began so they couldnt make changes. But that doesnt explain why STID was worse. The idea of doing the Prequel/Sequel thing was to connect it to the original to capture those fans but to free themselves from "canon". I reject the notion of freeing from canon because to me thats an excuse to be lazy. Try to maintain canon...makes it harder and more committed as a writer. But the worst part was they never actually explored this idea of "new" canon. It was just an excuse to shrug off their errors. They used canon whenever they could to show their "Trek Cred" and generally screwed it up. Off the top of my head (havent seen the film for awhile), my issues: - All of Nero's backstory was revealed outside of the film. You had to read the comics to understand how a mining ship became so weaponized. That's bunk. Further, Nero's motivation was silly. His wife died. That wasn't Spock's fault. If we accept that Nero snapped and irrationally blamed Spock, okay, I can accept that, but everyone on his ship also snapped? No one talked any sense into him? And if your family and all your people die, isnt the best thing that could happen, next to undoing that, be to suddenly be thrown back in time to a place where they all exist? Even if its years before HIS wife would be around, he can go "home", warn his people etc. He does none of this. It's simply an irrational hatred of Spock. Why? Because it serves the plot, not reality. - The Kelvin scenes were the best in the entire new Trek film series. A perfect example of taking technology that is supposed to pre-date The Original Series from the 60's and using modern SFX without making a mockery of accepted "canon". I thought the ship looked and felt like a gritty pre-Kirk vessel. The uniforms were a perfect mix between Enterprise and TOS. Very well done. But why was Kirk's mother on this ship in her advanced pregnancy stage? The Kelvin was in pretty deep space near the Klingon border (a subplot was cut that after Nero's ship was hurt by the Kelvin, Klingons captured it and the crew) and yet a very pregnant Winona Kirk was on board. Okay, let's assume that either she got knocked up while on a deep space assignment so they werent going to turn the ship around just for her. Somewhat irresponsible of her and George. Or we can accept that medical tech was advanced enough that Starfleet didnt think twice about deep space births. Except, in The Voyage Home, Kirk reveals he was born "in Iowa", not on a ship. Star Trek canon was the same in both universes up until Nero arrived. This is a major violation. I can live with it because it was dramatic...but still, its the first indication that the rational for creating a new Universe didnt matter. - Kirk as a wild, disobedient kid. I disliked this because it's such a cliche. ofcourse he lacked disciplined...uh huh. There are now different influences on him since his father died but I just thought this was too obvious of a plot point. Ill come back to this. - Spock as a child. They played this correctly but got Sarek wrong. Missed a golden opportunity actually. Ill come back to this. - Chekov shouldnt even have existed. In the timeline this was taking place (too lazy to get dates right now), the crew is basically coming together several years before they would in the "prime" universe. Chekov should have been a kid. There was no reason to include him. I liked him, but again, it spoke to the writers' lack of concern for Star Trek. Keeping Chekov out of it until the second or third film would have served the series better. - Changing the Enterprise. In The Search for Spock, when Kirk blows up the Enterprise, it's legitimately a major development. Fans were upset. The ship was played as a sort of cast member in the original. Here, the ship is almost unrecognizable. The "excuse" is that Nero's arrival with advanced technology caused StarFleet to develop a bigger, better Enterprise. But it changed the dynamic of the ship from an old car that everyone thinks is junk but it still always get you where you need to go and back home again. It had no character. It was much too big and flashy. The Bridge was awful. - The whole scenario that brought Kirk into Starfleet was laughable. Even if we just accept that they decided to build a new ship in the middle of Iowa for some reason, why were Starfleet personnel and cadets (some new, some already established) hanging out in a bar in the middle of Iowa, and supposedly on their way to Star Fleet in San Fran? Made no sense. But it was done to push the story forward. Thank goodness Pike walked in when he did and had that great speech ready to go. Had he not walked in, had Kirk not been there, had there not been a fight, then Kirk never joins Star Fleet even though Pike is apparently stalking Kirk...but never thought to go visit him and have this talk with him previously? The story relies on these incredible coincidences to keep happening. Ill come back to this too... - The Kobiashi Maru test. This one really bugged me. The Wrath of Khan established this "No Win Scenario" test for cadets in the command path and it became a pretty neat little thing in Star Trek lore. In WoK, Kirk explains he took the test three times, presumably trying two different scenarios in the first two attempts and failing, since the test was designed to always fail. He re-programmed the test so he could win the third try and received a commendation. This set up the statement "I dont believe in the no win scenario" and the idea that Kirk had never truly faced death because he was always able to overcome any situation. It was an insight into the character. In the film, he does the same thing except he makes a mockery of the test. While it was never said in WoK, I think it was implied that he re-programmed the test so that it could be beat through ingenuity and effort, not any idiot would win because it was now impossible to lose. I wanted to see a Kirk on the edge of his seat barking commands and dramatically overcoming the no win scenario. This was a joke. It made Kirk into a joke. And ofcourse, he is about to be court Martialed, not given a commendation. - Spock is played way too emotional throughout the film. They wanted to let Quinto act...blah blah blah. I didnt like Quinto in the first film at all. Bad writing and bad directing. The one time he is stoic in the face of adversity is when Vulcan is destroyed and his mother killed. And then in STID, he's weeping like a baby over the death of a guy he knows only as a co-worker and barely a friend. - Spock Prime. The whole scenario where they meet him is ridiculous. Spock ejects Kirk from the ship. This is basically attempted murder. Its not reasonable. But they do it because they have to move the story along. Kirk crashes, just coincidentally close to Spock. But ofcourse we need a monster chase scene. Thank goodness Kirk got away from the monster or Kirk is dead. Spock is just chillin in a cave, even though he knows there's a Star Fleet out post nearby and a mad man with advanced technology and knowledge of the future on the loose. Spock explains the whole plot to Kirk in such an anvil-over-the-head way that they might as well have had the film pause and JJ Abrams appear on screen to explain it himself. Not to mention the fact Nero is so insane that he doesnt hurt or kill Spock, he ditches him on a planet where there is a Star Fleet out post to apparently witness the destruction of Vulcan which somehow shares an orbit with this same planet but is uneffected by the destruction of Vulcan and creation of a black hole. Not to mention, Scotty, seems unaware this happened even though he's manning the outpost and a planet just blew up outside. - Spock basically shrugs off the idea he's giving Scotty advanced technology. Okay, hes fighting fire with fire and hes too old to really give a damn. I can accept that. But Kirk has to initiate a fight with Spock Quinto, dont tell him the truth, at all costs. Even though Spock Prime ends up telling him later. Sarek is the only one who can control Spock. I like this...Sarek then gives Spock a speech about loving his mother yadda yadda yadda. I like that. But because Sarek is mis-played earlier, this scene lacks the emotional depth it should. In TOS, Sarek and Spock were estranged because Spock rejected the Vulcan Science Academy in favour of Star Fleet. Even though Sarek married a human he rejects Spock's human half. In this film, he gives young Spock a pep talk about choosing his own path, even though thats exactly what Sarek doesnt want to happen. Makes no sense. - Spock gives up control of the ship. Even though he believes Kirk is wrong, he seemingly doesnt care. He completely brushes off his responsibility to the ship and Star Fleet and ignores the final order Pike gave him. And now Kirk is in command. Lucky us. Good thing that happened and good thing Sulu was there to witness it. - When Pike is being tortured by Nero (I cant even remember why), Nero uses an ear slug that is eerily similar to the one in Wrath of Khan. But they call it something else. Why? I dont know. Pike even tells Nero that Romulus is fine. Nero doesnt care. Okay, maybe he's nuts. But so is his whole crew? And hey, where are the Klingons? If we read the comic (and you pretty much had to to make sense of this plot), Nero broke out of Rura Pente, the Klingon prison, and stole back his ship (which begs the question, why didnt the Klingons tear the ship apart in an effort to reverse engineer it?). You'd think the Klingons would be hot on Nero's trail. Oh well. - Kirk saves the day after a fight through the ridiculously designed Rumulan ship where one wrong move and you'd fall to your death. Nero's ship is being pulled into a black hole and Kirk does the humane thing and offers to help. But we need to show Spock has a sense of humor and take this inopportune moment to make a joke while also showing that Spock is vengeful and wants Nero and all his people to die. Meanwhile,, the Enterprise is also being pulled into this black hole and has to eject the warp core to escape...at warp...even though they ejected the core. Not to mention the fact that the last time Nero was pulled through a black hole he simply ended up in the past...so why does no one think the same thing happened? Nero might be roaming around the middle ages or something! - Pike is in a wheel chair to wink at his fate in TOS but this never pays off anywhere and he's fine in STID. Kirk gets promoted to Captain from Cadet in the most ridiculous scene in the entire series. Remember he was about to be court martialed but not he's Captain. Oh and good news, the whole crew is back together. LAME! - Spock Prime is just wandering around Star Fleet. He should be the most wanted man in the universe since he knows EVERYTHING. But nope, just chillin. Does he feel no obligation to warn Star Fleet of impending disasters? What about when the Klingon moon explodes (oh wait, for some reason that happens way earlier in this universe as shown in STID). Did he warn the Romulans about the super nova that would eventually destroy their planet? Did he tell Kirk not to get on the Enterprise B or better yet, tell Star Fleet to make sure the Enterprise B has a tractor beam? Here's what should have happened. The Kelvin should have been the original Enterprise as we know it, captained by Robert April. This would be a nice nod to the franchise. Blow it up as we did, which immediately tells us this film is different and history has changed. Kirk should not be a wild child, but a thoughtful genius (Pike said he was) who longs to follow in his father's footsteps but feels an obligation to his mother who fears space now. Pike keeps visiting and encouraging Kirk to the anger of his mother and finally Pike convinces Winona who gives her consent and Kirk is on his way. If the Kelvin is the Enterprise this provides a reason for the new Enterprise to be build in hero George Kirk's hometown and gives James a shadow to try and escape from. it provides more sense of destiny when he's gazing at the ship. Play the Kobiashi Maru for drama, not laughs. Get rid of Chekov. At the end, have the crew going their separate ways with the tease of hey maybe we'll see each other again one day...(ohhh foreshadowing). Have Kirk get his commendation for original thinking for beating the test and be promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the Farragut (as he was in TOS). There you have it...lol should we dissect STID now?

I could talk Star Trek all day....lol In fact I wrote out a long list of why the new Trek sucked. Maybe Ill make a new Trek catch-all thread for like minded Trekkies!

Expect the hotel at True North Square to be a Sutton Place Hotel. The luxury hotel chain operates in Vancouver, Revelstoke Mountain Resort and Edmonton. Sutton Place Hotel Vancouver is considered one of the foremost hotels in that city and is on the Conde Nast Traveler Gold List. The Winnipeg hotel will be built opposite the Convention Centre on Carlton Street and is expected to have at least 275 rooms. “This is a fabulous brand for the downtown,” an official close to the deal told 680 CJOB News. The source did not have permission to speak officially about the deal. Sutton Hotel Winnipeg, Inc. was registered at the Manitoba Companies Branch earlier this month. A full announcement on the $400-million plus True North Square development is expected next week. ***Thats an interesting development for a few reasons. It's basically an independent "chain". From what I read its owned by a group Called Northland that has one in Edmonton and one in Vancouver. But the Edmonton one isnt that great which was the one the company wanted when it bought in. The Vancouver one is supposed to be fantastic but the company had to take it in the deal. So they seem less of a proud luxury hotel provider than this might seem. Its possible this is a franchise arrangement and it wont be the head office running it. Supposedly the Convention Centre people wanted a large chain because for the regular traveller, loyalty points are a big deal. I know from a friend who owns a hotel that they have people that stay there solely because it's part of a major points program. Additionally, per the NHL contract, NHL has to use a 4 Star or better Starwoods property. Where one doesnt exist (like Winnipeg), they can stay in any 4 Star or better hotel. Right now they use the Fairmont. Most assumed True North's hotel would capture the NHL deals. Under this arrangement it still can, assuming Sutton will be a luxury high end hotel. But if someone opens a 4 Star Starwood property, Sutton would be left out of the deal...which seems weird for the owners of the NHL franchise in this market.

I liked Days of Future Past because the concept was interesting and the fact they took two X-Men films series' that originally werent meant to be connected and connected them! Neat idea. In a similar vein, I've argued with Star Trek writer Bob Orci about, well many things, but I've maintained that his Sequel/Prequel idea for the first Trek film was brilliant (just horrible execution). I like these time twisting concepts...

Unfortunately Im old enough to best remember him from Punky Brewster!

I love that the PA didn't ask for a reduction. Their position was the suspension was completely unfounded. Pretty tone deaf.

I read it as a joke. Not impressed with Fear TWD. Hopefully it improves. Just seemed like a pale imitation of the original without showing us anything new.

Feb 4th. Heroin overdose. Smackdown is getting better treatment because it's on USA now. Needs to produce better ratings.

Well that's an interesting strategy.

okay, you guys have convinced me. i withdraw my complaint.

Thats a good example of not being able to take what a player says to the media. What's he going to say. "Yeah, man, Im out of here." If he wanted to stay, unless Tampa is low balling him, he'd be signed. Compare it to Winnipeg where Ladd says he wants to stay (and we believe him) but the Jets seem to be the ones unsure about wanting to keep him. Stamkos is a top rate player...pay him top rate money.

Well then, the debate could all be moot as I said. If he re-signs in Tampa. He very well could have a deal with Yzerman behind the scenes.

I loved the Nolan Batman films. Dark Knight is an all time classic and I loved Heath Ledger's more realistic Joker. I've read a backstory for him where he was actually a US soldier who returned from the Middle East. Interesting... DKR wasnt as good but it was still pretty good. I was worried about Ann Hathaway but I love her Catwoman.

Rich my point was conditional on fact we dont yet know. It was "if" Stamkos knows he's leaving and wont waive his no trade clause, then yes he's a jerk. Maybe the GM slept with his gf so Stamkos is right to be sour. Who knows. But on the surface, based on what we know, when a player says they want to help the team but wont entertain the idea of waiving their NMC, then they are lying. Perhaps to themselves too.

Should the Jets decide part ways with Ladd, the Toronto Sun’s Mike Zeisberger believesthe winger could be the biggest name available at the trade deadline. The rumor mill has Ladd linked with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild. Those aren’t the only clubs who could pursue Ladd. The Anaheim Ducks still need a boost on the left side, while the offensively anemic New Jersey Devils could look into his services. With winger Marian Gaborik sidelined until the playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings could also have interest.

Ah i see, you meant to do it. Doesnt really feel anything really. Since you dont know me. My thought was that it was hypocritical of you and odd for a moderator. So it spoke to me about you, not about me. I also never judged Stamkos per se, since the end result hasnt come to pass. I am speculating about him and conditional on certain facts which we arent privy to. But you'd feel Stamkos is a wonderful person if he knows right now that he has no intention of remaining in Tampa but wont waive his NMC just because he doesnt feel like it? I think that would speak to his character. You can disagree. Thats the cool thing about opinions. We both have them.

That's a weak argument because it implies Stamkos did more for the team than the team did for Stamkos. And regardless, doesnt change the basis of my point. "All I want to do is help this team." "Will you waive your NMC so we can recoup something for you if you're just going to leave anyway?" "No."

So you think I am judging him without knowing him and then you immediately judge me without knowing me? lol "Rich" is right ;-) Im not remotely vindictive. In my business I've been wronged many many times and I always extend the olive branch later. Its who I am. But if our team paid a guy millions of dollars, he said he wasnt resigning here and then wouldnt let us trade him, it would certainly reflect on his character. if he has a dying mother in Tampa Bay or a sick child in Tampa Bay, okay, I'd reconsider. But there are very few things that will keep a guy from being traded between March 1 and April 5th (or whenever the season ends) that suddenly are totally fine to move on after that. its a player saying nah, I'd rather stay here for another month and set the team back then let the team that drafted me, developed me, and paid me, recoup some of their investment. The choice is Stamkos', not the GM.

Ladd has no choice. Stamkos does. Again, this is all moot if there is an agreement behind the scenes. But assume its like Sundin, Mr Leafs who just wanted to help his team...by refusing to be traded and walking away in the off season. Im not saying he doesnt have the right. Im saying he's a liar if he says he wants to help the team and wont waive his NMC. The player is not bound by the clause. Its not like "oh I have a NMC, I cant accept a trade". Ofcourse he can accept a trade. You draft a player, you develop the player, you pay the player a TON of money. The player tells you he'd rather go to free agency and probably sign somewhere else. You ask him, would you please do us a favour and let us trade you at the deadline? No. Well, then screw you. That's classless. Its not skin off a player's butt to be traded for six weeks when he already knows he's playing somewhere else. This isnt Shane Doan spending his entire career with one team and saying he'd retire rather then leave. Is it legal? Sure. Is it the team's fault? Somewhat. is it classless? Absolutely. And if Andrew Ladd, who I love, had a NMC and said screw this, I aint being traded for six weeks, I'd call him classless too. If you come out and say "look, I have a NMC and quite frankly, I dont feel like moving in March, so I am going to stay and I dont give a rat's ass that it hurts the team and by the way Im out of here for more money at the end of the season then hey, at least he'd not be lying. And if he said that, you'd all say wow, what a classless jerk. But because he LIES, it's a great guy who is just doing business? Not a chance.

Hey Calgary, we have a goalie you can have. Cheap.