WARP SPEED AHEAD FOR THE RE-IMAGINED "STAR TREK"

An unbeatable cosmic duo: Mister Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) in the re-imagined STAR TREK. Images: PARAMOUNT.

Boldly going further than Man has been before would never be more interesting, or exciting, than in writer/film-maker J.J. Abrams re-imagined STAR TREK feature film from 2009 (showing on CHANNEL 4 HD in the UK tonight at 6pm (its terrestrial premiere)), a fast paced and complex time travel character drama/ action thrill ride hybrid that spectacularly put Gene Roddenberry's generation inspiring sci-fi series about the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise, under the command of Horatio Hornblower inspired hero character of Captain James T. Kirk (now played by the youthful Chris Pine), back on the map of success with not only fans of all ages of the original Classic Series, from which this new re-imagined character genesis movie was spawned, but also attracting millions of new followers and general cinema audiences around the world in the process-making it the most box office successful movie of the entire theatrical release series and putting warm profit smiles firmly onto the faces of PARAMOUNT Executives who had took a sizable risk of bringing the franchise back after it had seemingly stalled with audiences only a few scant years back-primarily due to the company's own greed in generating TREK series overkill on the small screen.

Trailers: Star Trek Movie 2009 (Trailer 1 / Trailer 2 / Trailer 3 / Tv spot) - YouTube

With a wait that seemed like forever, the lively and acclaimed new cast playing Kirk, Spock, Bones Uhura, Scotty et all will definitely back for filming the next TREK film Summer 2012, for release by at least Christmas 2013 (hopefully) and Abrams himself has finally ended months of speculation and worries by film fans by announcing that he too will be returning to direct the next movie, currently being crafted into a script by FRINGE/LOST's team of Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, all of whom are well aware that they have to create a new adventure with heart and depth that lives up to the primary reasons why their first movie was so successful in the first place. They also have to stay true to Gene Roddenberry's legacy as well - an original and very human exploration format that has endured for so long. Still under top secret creation, there's still no real indication of what the big idea/plot for the sequel will be (arch enemies the Klingons, whose appearance in the previous film were cut, were rumoured to appear but it now looks unlikely, as is a future cameo from William Shatner as an older version of the original Kirk) though it has been officially released info-wise that the randy Captain will get a love interest (a new re-imagining of his lost love, Dr. Carol Marcus (seen in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN), perhaps?). And will there be any truth to the rumours of the establishing of the new Vulcan, previously destroyed by nasty Romulan Nero (Eric Bana) in the last movie, playing a part in proceedings? We'll eventually find out...

On the colourful Bridge set of the Enterprise, populist film and TV series creator/writer/director J.J. Abrams goes through a scene with his stars.

To make up for the long wait between movies (sadly we never got to see a new film ready for the 45th Anniversary), the popular US comics publisher IDW, currently the home of all things TREK, have produced an original story that gives a new spin on the classic TREK episode "Where No man Has Gone Before' (the original William Shatner TREK pilot) and transferred it into this re-imagined TREK film Universe. The first issue, published a month ago, proved a critical success and was an immediate sell-out needing quick re-printing. Check out more info on the series here:
Star Trek New IDW Comic Series Debuts Tomorrow and Star Trek Orci, Johnson Talk Trek Comics, Movies And More

The movie poster for the most recent TREK movie.

A new sequel to the first movie book, by acclaimed sci-fi fantasy novelist and film/TV series novelisation adaptor Alan Dean Foster, previously delayed from release by US TREK publisher DEL REY, also looks set to materialize (sorry, couldn't resist it!) sooner rather than later...

A TALE OF TWO WORLDS: THE RETURN OF "FRINGE"

Crossing the dangerous and disturbing borders of science once again: Peter (Joshua Jackson), Olivia (Anna Torv) and Walter (John Nole) in Season Three of FRINGE. Image: FOX.

The persevering and gifted FBI agent Olivia Dunham (Anna Torv) may have escaped the parallel universe from which she had been prior trapped (of which her alter-ego had temporarily stolen her identity in our universe at the same time), but that doesn't mean that the evil Walter-nate's plans for revenge against Humanity are over-far from it- as FRINGE Season Three finally resumes after a long break (so much for SKY's much lauded "showing days after the States" statement- there have been at least four FRINGE episodes previously shown in the US this year before its UK re-commencement on SKY ONE HD tonight). And the alternate Olivia-who left a lot of emotional wreckage for the real Olivia to clear up in her wake (including a relationship with Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson)) certainly hasn't gone away-she will return (and rumours are that she'll be pregnant, too!). As for boy genius Peter, emotionally conflicted and trying to resume his life after discovering that hes not the man he thought he was, is still the vital living component to a biological "Doomsday Weapon" that had been stored in pieces across the globe going back to the age of the Dinosaurs, and the time of a lost race called the "First People", with the alternates slowly but carefully making plans to get him back so as to activate it, whilst his loopy Dad, Walter (the always superb John Noble), is terrified and awed by the worlds around him, living dangerously fractured within each other, and troubled by just how much damage he's inadvertently caused to them when he previously crossed the line of scientific curiosity and, acting in desperation, kidnapped and saved the life of the alternate Peter he continues to love today. With all this going on, its no surprise to me that FRINGE retains such a loyal fan base fascinated with its plots and intriguing, complex characters, and despite FOX's constant time slot changing, of which their good intentions-which it feels is in the best interest of the show- have so far proved to be a disaster. Could there be an evil Walter-nate at FOX planning the show's demise?

Whatever the eventual outcome of this unique and daring series in its behind the scenes making (and it's future really is still up in the air-though the shows writing staff are confident that it'll get renewed, despite its being a very expensive show to make), there's still lots to enjoy this season conceptually and story-wise, including high profiles acting cameos from the likes of BACK TO THE FUTURE's Christopher Lloyd as a hippy musician who comes in to aide Walter and one of those baldy men Observers (once more played by Michael Cerveris, who thinks hes made a time sensitive mistake affecting Earth's present day) and LOST's Jorge Garcia, there's obviously the aformentioned return of multiple parallel universe threads (it looks like we may finally see another version of scientist Nina Sharp (as played by the seemingly under-used Blair Brown), as well as the return of Olivia's cab driver helper, Henry (Andre Royo) from the opening season episodes, and possibly, back from the dead, Sebastian Roche as the evil plotter Thomas Jerome Newton, there's some intriguing new one-off monster types stories, in the best OUTER LIMITS/ TWILIGHT ZONE/ X-FILES tradition, of which the show has excelled at in the past, including a Soul Vampire, and the much welcome return of the late MASSIVE DYNAMIC founder William Bell (but not as we know him-prepare to experience Bell-ivia!), with additional recent TWITTER news that Leonard Nimoy, who turned eighty this year, may be coming out of retirement to play the character one more time.

Even with all this happening, whats the bet that the writers won't hesitate to throw their colourful deck of cards up into the air again and end the series once more on a massive game-changing cliffhanger! My bet is that we'll see a third universe opening up that will add all kinds of chaos to the two we're already experiencing. Could the already seen two Earth's cope with another Walter Bishop? I think we're going to find out soon enough!

UPDATE 25/3/2010. Great news from States-side: despite the low ratings, FOX have renewed the series for a fourth year!

KOOL TV REVIEW: "HAWAII FIVE-O" PILOTS OLD AND NEW

Surf's up! There's a new tide of crime-fighting action in HAWAII FIVE-O. All images: CBS PARAMOUNT

It worked for STAR TREK, but has Producer/writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman pulled off a second miracle with their creative hands turned towards re-imagining the crime thriller drama HAWAII FIVE-O? Well, judging from the opening episodes, I think it’s fair to say they’ve done a good job here, too, with a series that I think will get improve further with subsequent episodes. This new series opener proved a slick, fast paced and exciting production from the get-go, though I think it could have had a slightly longer running time so as to have allowed it to breathe a bit better. With the re-imagined characters of Steve McGarrett (played with strength by Alex O’Loughlin, though sadly he doesn’t yet compete with Jack Lord in the original role: Lord was a true one-off!) and Danny “Danno” Williams (nicely played by Scott Caan-and a true highlight of the series), the producers and writers obviously decided to have the opener start off with the kind of main plot thrust that had made their re-booted STAR TREK film franchise such a success two years ago, by having the two leads acting antagonistically towards each other before settling them down into the heroic buddies they will become over subsequent episodes. The script, from ex-24 staffer Peter M. Lenkov, as well as making a few subtly successful references to the original 1967/68 pilot of the first series, also quickly and interestingly introduced the rest of the supporting squad well, and gave them a potentially great bad guy to fight who will have escaped his watery fate to come back in the future (Victor Hesse, as played by BUFFY’s James Marsters), as well as dangling some unresolved loose ends from the plot that will be sorted out over the next few episodes.

Beyond the great opening titles and the return of the legendary title music by Morton Stevens, film director Len Wiseman gave it all a nice look and pace. On the action side, it was tough and brutal and the final ship cargo container fight had more than a few stylistic nods to the kind of action showed by Daniel Craig as James Bond in the opening sequence in Jamaica for CASINO ROYALE. And on the location side it was nice to see Hawaii being Hawaii for a change rather than substituting itself for other climes and continents as it had done in TV such as LOST and films like JURASSIC PARK, backed up with the kind of glossy cinematography you see these days in CSI: MIAMI that makes travel agents go all funny with pride. Besides the visuals, the new series has even greater potential story-wise in using the island, its important positioning in the world, and its characters than the original did, especially as crime, and its purveyors, are much more inventive and dangerous than ever.

As Steve McGarrett and his new team settle into their new offices, will I be joining them for the rest of their adventures showing on SKY ONE and HD every Sunday? You can bet your Big Kahuna I will!

KOOL TV RATING: Big dumb fun with a lean and mean pilot episode script-wise and visually, which will bring in the new younger fans and also no doubt, with its enthusiastic production team and new cast coming together over the season, eventually winning over the shows original sixties to eighties viewers, too. 3 out of 5

Jack Lord: the original Steve McGarrett!

In celebration of the new HAWAII FIVE-O, I decided it would be nice to go back in time and also watch, in comparison, the original 1968 feature length iconic pilot episode, mysteriously titled COCOON, starring the original team led by McGarrett, as then played by the super-cool Jack Lord, and I have to say that, despite its age, it had worn pretty well indeed. Like the new series opener, it had a good pace about it, a fine central story from the shows late creator, Leonard Freeman, that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Bond film or early MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. episode (involving the kidnapping and torture of top American Intelligence agents), lots of action against some great Hawaiian locations, and a very centralized dug well into the story lead actor/character showing lots of tough verve and enthusiasm (as well as a nice little side-line in humour) who had lots to do, with support from his team including legendary characters like the more portly early versions of Chin Ho Kelly (Kam Fong), Kono Kalakaua (as played by the mighty Hawaiian actor Zulu), and McGarrett’s chief compatriot, Danny “Book ‘em Danno!” Williams, albeit played by a different actor, Tim O’Kelly, before the iconic James McArthur, alongside stylish direction from regular MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE TV series helmer Paul Wendkos. Later seasons and episodes of the show became a little less high octane plot-wise, but this was certainly a great and memorable start to the series, with a fine guest cast including Frank Drebin-to-be Leslie Nielsen, and Nancy Kwan playing a rare love interest for McGarrett. And, like the new FIVE-O, this show also spawned a regular and memorable series villain. In this case, the bald and nasty Chinese agent Wo Fat (as played by Khigh Dhiegh)

COCOON certainly held its own as the original series launcher, as an American series pilot in general from the sixties and certainly against today’s new HAWAII FIVE-O pilot, too! You could see that it was going to be a memorable hit, and it's well worth checking out if you ever get the chance.

KOOL TV RATING: Jack Lord at the top of his game in a stylish and fast paced series opener. 4 out of 5