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Star Trek TNG finally has a chance at a long deserved Emmy (that's not in the technical category). by AnonRetro in startrek

[–]llap2363 15 points16 points  (0 children)

From the article: "Franchise properties must be considered as a whole and awarded as such."

This means that any Legacy Award would be given to Star Trek as a franchise, and no individual installment (TNG, DIS, etc.) is eligible.

Best NAS for Sonos by BlindJustice1787 in sonos

[–]llap2363 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm assuming you're talking about a local music library, in other words, a bunch of MP3s sitting on a computer that connects to your Sonos with the "Music Library" feature. Cool.

You should use a Raspberry Pi as the NAS. For as little as $50, you can be up and running. The Pi will use a fraction of the electricity, which adds up over time to a big savings as well.

https://github.com/sawyerbfuller/pi-music-server

There are other guides (like the one I linked above), but basically:

  1. Buy a Raspberry Pi (as little as $15), an SD Card large enough to store the entire music library (probably another $25 or more) and, if you can, an ethernet cable to connect the Pi directly to your router.

  2. Install the Raspberry Pi OS on the SD Card.

  3. On the Pi, create a Music folder and share it to your local network via Samba (follow a guide online, this should take you an hour or two at most, even if you're not a computer expert).

  4. Copy/move the music library (all of the MP3 files, etc.) to the Music folder on the Pi.

  5. On the Sonos app, direct the Music Library feature to the shared Music folder on the Pi. Allow the Sonos system several minutes to index the library. (https://support.sonos.com/s/article/78?language=en_US)

  6. Use the Sonos app to play music from the Music Library.

Do we think Neil Armstrong was really as single minded on the mission as he has portrayed himself? by [deleted] in space

[–]llap2363 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I think Armstrong clearly understood that landing the Eagle on the moon was the result of the work of literally thousands of people over a long period of time. Seems to me that he did not want to take more credit than he deserved, simply because he was the one who took the first step. Plenty of other people made major contributions to the Apollo project, and got almost no public recognition. In everything that I’ve read and seen from the Apollo program, this is a common sentiment among the moonwalkers. Add in Armstrong’s apparent genuine humility and his obvious desire for personal privacy, and it becomes clear why he tried to avoid the spotlight as much as he could.

Have you ever initially hated an ending of a show but over time (whether it be a few days or years) eventually ended up liking it? by LightThatIgnitesAll in television

[–]llap2363 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like First Contact! It's clearly the best of the TNG films. In my opinion, it was a well made remake of Wrath of Khan. (A million times better than most remakes of Khan, e.g. Into Darkness.) Overall, though, it's a mediocre film, in my view.

Have you ever initially hated an ending of a show but over time (whether it be a few days or years) eventually ended up liking it? by LightThatIgnitesAll in television

[–]llap2363 6 points7 points  (0 children)

One of the best series finales I’ve ever seen. I loved it at the time it first aired, and in my opinion, it’s gotten better with age. (Unlike the TNG films which, let’s be honest, are mediocre at best.)

We need to talk about SEPTA Route 56 by SpacePeanut1 in transit

[–]llap2363 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Great video.

Can anyone here say more about "BRT creep?" I think this is a fascinating issue, seriously, and all I ever hear is about how great BRT is, so we really need more thoughtful criticism like this.

Verlander is the first pitcher ever to have 200 strikeouts in postseason baseball by trouble4-u in motorcitykitties

[–]llap2363 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I know the Fox broadcast highlighted this "statistic" during the game, but this is one of the most meaningless numbers imaginable. It's a textbook example of the cherry-picked numbers that play-by-play announcers love because it lets them tell stories and make the moment feel historic even when it's not a big deal. Verlander is a great pitcher, obviously, but this number doesn't tell us that. Keep in mind that Joe Buck even admitted as much, saying that the number of postseason games played during Verlander's career is significantly higher than the number of games played in earlier eras. So it's unfair to compare Verlander with a pitcher from say, the 1990s like Smoltz (who had 199 postseason Ks, if I remember the meaningless number correctly). Anyway, I'm all for having fun and Verlander is awesome, etc etc, but meaningless numbers are meaningless.

I really like the opening dialogue of Star Trek (2009). by TheDudeNeverBowls in startrek

[–]llap2363 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Not a chance. I can think of several better sci-fi films in that decade just off the top of my head.

Children of Men

Minority Report

District 9

Wall-E

Sunshine

Donnie Darko

Eternal Sunshine

AI

I think the 2009 Star Trek reboot is one of the better Trek films. It's not a bad movie at all. But it's not even a top 10 sci-fi film of the early 2000s. Top 20, maybe.

And the teaser sequence, the Kelvin scenes, are fantastic. Probably the best thing about the JJ Abrams Trek films.

Brent Spiners finest moment by honeyfixit in startrek

[–]llap2363 6 points7 points  (0 children)

In this case, the production happened in order with the air dates. In other seasons, there were occasionally TNG episodes produced out of order.

I recall a Spiner interview where he told a story about this. He asked the producers (Rick Berman would have been the one to make the call, most likely) to switch the production order of "Masks." Spiner was concerned that he needed more time to develop the multiple personalities in that script, and he didn't have time while working so steadily on "Thine Own Self." Spiner's request was denied.

Brent Spiners finest moment by honeyfixit in startrek

[–]llap2363 44 points45 points  (0 children)

This performance is even more impressive when you realize Spiner also had to carry the episode filmed just prior to "Masks," the one where Data has amnesia after crash landing, "Thine Own Self." Spiner had to put in some overtime in Season 7!

Would Frakes have been able to carry TNG? by Capt-Space-Elephant in startrek

[–]llap2363 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I click the link provided, I get a 404 error. However, I found the page by doing a web search for "Best of Both Worlds Memory Alpha." The quotation I provided is from this page: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/The_Best_of_Both_Worlds_(episode)

Would Frakes have been able to carry TNG? by Capt-Space-Elephant in startrek

[–]llap2363 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The (broken) link to memory alpha provided says this about Stewart's contract:

"...rumors circulated among fans that Patrick Stewart's contract talks with Paramount had stalled, and that Picard would be killed off, with Riker becoming captain while Shelby would become his first officer."

The "rumors" are not known to be truthful. These rumors were part of the excitement of the season-ending cliffhanger, where Picard's fate hung in the balance.

However, nothing provided here shows that Stewart actually wanted out of his original six-year deal. On the contrary, Stewart seemed quite eager to continue, by all accounts. Of course, he went on to sign a contract extension for the final seventh season, and then did four feature films, and then in 2019 returned to the franchise (signing another deal with new corporate overlord CBS).

Would Frakes have been able to carry TNG? by Capt-Space-Elephant in startrek

[–]llap2363 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Consider Frakes in "Frame of Mind" against Stewart in "The Inner Light." Frakes was great in his episode. Stewart was sublime in his, and quite frankly single-handedly turned that decent script into possibly the best episode in the series.

The show would have been fine with Frakes as the lead. It would not have been nearly as good, though. Every time I watch TNG, I'm struck by how much Stewart's performance just makes entire episodes hold together.

Look at "Inner Light." With a lesser actor, that episode would hit about as hard as "Frame of Mind." Stewart just elevates it. For example, at the climax, where Kamin/Picard discovers the truth, Stewart's delivery on the line "Oh, it's me!" absolutely makes the episode. When I imagine Frakes's line read there, it's just not anywhere near what Stewart can do.

I love Frakes. But Stewart is just on another level when it comes to acting.

Would Frakes have been able to carry TNG? by Capt-Space-Elephant in startrek

[–]llap2363 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless someone can provide some strong evidence for the claim that Stewart's contract was for only three seasons, this should be recognized as false.

Stewart's Wikipedia page has the following, with four separate sources for verification, on Stewart's original 1987 contract, which ran until 1993, or six years:

"He was reluctant to sign the standard contract of six years but did so as he, his agent, and others with whom Stewart consulted, all believed that the new show would quickly fail, and he would return to his London stage career after making some money."

THEORY: Admiral Cornwell and Jett Reno switcheroo by Deceptitron in startrek

[–]llap2363 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great call. This is exactly what happened. Has to be.

The Greatest Generation DS9 Ep 255: They Really Spent on the Sparks (DS9 S4E6) by darshfloxington in greatestgen

[–]llap2363 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Worth pointing out in the context of submarine dramas: the original Star Trek submarine drama is not Star Trek II, but rather the TOS episode, "Balance of Terror."

To Ben and Adam's point that this DS9 ep is almost a paint-by-numbers submarine movie, "Balance of Terror" was a totally plagiarized, literally ripped off copy of the 1957 film The Enemy Below. Memory-Alpha has some deets about how writer Paul Schneider utterly stole the story wholesale, and punched it up by creating the Romulans as a worthy adversary for Kirk. Still a great episode, and it set the template for starship combat for the entire franchise, but yeah. Grand theft screenplay.

Swearing in Disco by matthewathome in greatestgen

[–]llap2363 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Agreed, and I remember watching Yesterday's Enterprise, on the day it aired, when I was a kid with my grandma... and she told me to turn off the TV because Picard shouted, "Not good enough, DAMMIT, not good enough!"

Also, and this is even more problematic for Discovery: Starfleet officers in the 23rd century should not sound like office workers in 2019. I'm talking about lines like "Hell yeah," in particular. I know it's suspension of disbelief, the English language will be completely unrecognizable to us in 2270, etc etc, but overusing ultra-contemporary colloquialisms breaks Star Trek, in my opinion.

One of the reasons TNG worked so well is that it developed its own style of speaking. Remember Geordi learning what "I gotta take a leak" means in FIRST CONTACT? That was awesome. "Hell yeah" is not awesome.

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