A Star Trek Theme Park Attraction Needs To Happen!

There's a lot for a Geek to do in Orlando, Florida.  Harry Potter fans that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter & Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Orlando.  Star Wars fans have Star Tours, Star Wars weekends (and hopefully much more soon) at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  Transformers fans at the Transformers: The Ride 3D, also at Universal.  Avatar fans will be getting an Avatar land at Disney's Animal Kingdom soon.  Well, what about us Trekkies??   A few years ago we had Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas, but it's been closed for years now.  And the museum tour (Star Trek: The Exhibition) is fun-- but it's no theme park attraction!   There seems to a huge hole in the geek world.  A hole that can only be filled with a Star Trek Theme Park!

On the international level, this problem is being solved.  The Paramount Studios Park in Murcia Spain that's under construction now will have a Tomorrowland type section called Plaza Futura that has a great Trek presence.    Here are some images.  You can find much more over at Trekmovie.com. 






This land includes a motion simulator ride and a "warp speed roller coaster".  Sounds great!  More of that, right?  A few years ago there were reports of Star Trek being a part of a Red Sea theme park in Aqaba, Jordan-- it sounds like that that idea might be dead now.  

But what here in the US?  Sadly, there are no Paramount parks here anymore (they sold them a few years ago).  But Paramount/CBS could still license Star Trek to a theme park.  Paramount did just that with the Transformers film franchise and Universal Studios, Orlando!   I think they should do that with Trek as well! It's a perfect fit, right?  These two companies are already friends!!

I'm not the only one to have thought of this.  In fact, back in the late 80s / early 90's Universal Studios totally did have attraction called "Star Trek Adventure".   According to Wikipedia, it was

"A $7 million attraction located inside the Panasonic Theater based on the Star Trek TV series where guests volunteer to put on costumes and be placed on sets from the show. Once all scenes were captured, the finished product was shown to the audiences. The audience members were also to be able to buy a copy of the video."

Curious?  Of course you are!  Lucky for you, a number of these VHS tapes were so loved that they've been digitized and uploaded to youtube.  The resulting 10 minute clips are... well pretty terrible.  But still fun in a vintage "when green screen seemed like a magic" kind of way.  And it's great that they got all the original actors to shoot this!  Here you go:

Why am I bringing all this up now?  Am I just whining?  No!  I'm bringing this up because according ThemeParkTourist.com, some patrons at Universal Studios were recently asked to take a survey.  On that survey they were asked what properties they would be interested in seeing in the park.  What was on the list (along with many other things)?  STAR TREK!  This might seem like nothing- but the guys over at Pardon the Pixie Dust Podcast seem to think otherwise.   And so do other theme park bloggers and excitable Trekkies like myself.  I think that this idea has a lot of potential.  Hear me out:

• They don't need to build a whole land (ala Harry Potter).  They can just build one amazing attraction (ala Transformers) and I'd be pretty happy.  
• There is a built in fan base.  This property is coming up on it's 50th anniversary and while it's not as popular as it was in the mid-late 1990's, it's still a potential cash cow. 
• There's no end in sight for this property.  A 3rd "JJ-verse" movie is in the works.  Most people in the know say that a new TV show will probably follow soon once the movies wrap.  Not to mention the books, comics, and other creative content that's still being produced. 
• Speaking of, there are several crowd funded fan films out there and more being shot as I type this--- professional quality films funded 100% by fans.  WE WILL SPEND MONEY ON STAR TREK! 
•  Speaking of cash cow, the 2009 and 2012 films have grossed a combined $486,508,680 (according to boxofficemojo.com) 
• Disney owns Star Wars now and is highly likely to roll out plans for a new Star Wars land at Disney Hollywood Studios soon.    Star Trek would be a great property to compete for those vacation dollars.   
• Currently the biggest Star Trek convention in the US happens in Las Vegas.  Build a Star Trek land in Orlando and I bet a a huge convention could happen there and bring in more money for the city.  

What do you think??  Let me know your thoughts!  

I Don't Read (A Therapy Session in Blog Form)

I'm going to treat this blog entry like a therapy session.  Get ready.

I'm currently in the 10th week of a performance run at work.  It's a simple show and doesn't demand much of the crew.  We come in 90 minutes prior to curtain, spend about 5-10 minutes setting up and then we have time to kill.  The rest of the crew fill this time reading.  Currently they're all re-reading the Harry Potter books while I've been reading Batman: Court of Owls.  I never picked up the New 52 Batman series so now I'm catching up.

The other day someone asked if I'd read any of... some author.... I don't remember who.  I said "No." But then decided to be more honest and admit "I don't really read.  And when I do, it's usually comic books."  She looked SHOCKED.  She'd just assumed that since I'm a geek that I'm an avid reader.  I mean, it's true-- most geeks consume sci-fi and fantasy books like crazy.  But I've never read the Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, the Narnia books, Twilight, Stephen King novels.... just to name a few.  I started the first Harry Potter book but didn't finish it.  Same thing goes for Wicked.  I didn't even get out of the 1st chapter.  I have finished a few Star Trek novels and a hand full of other random non-fiction books and biographies.  

For years friends have suggested authors to me, insisted that I borrow books, and bought me books as gifts-- always saying "I know you Mike, you're going to love this book!  You won't be able to put it down!"  But invariably I do put it down.

I'm not proud of this fact.  Honestly, I used to lie about not reading.  I used to always have a book in my bag, one of my night stand, a full bookcase at home-- all because I wanted to be seen as someone who reads.  A few years ago I finally took my copy of Wicked out of my bag because I realized how torn up it was getting by being carried around all the time.  And the bookmark (now bent and torn) was still sticking out of chapter 1.

Anyway-- my point is I don't really read but I feel like I should, ya know?  I want to be a reader.  So what's stopping me?  Why don't I read more?   Let's take some time to explore some possible reasons.

1. I get distracted by my own thoughts.  Sometimes when I'm reading a find that haven't been paying attention.  I have to go back and re-read paragraphs because it's like I wasn't listening.  
2. I'm used to multi-tasking.  When I watch TV or a movie at home I'm also on the computer, surfing the web, writing blog posts like this, or working a project.  When I listen to podcasts or books on tape I'm also cleaning the house, scrapbooking, or driving.  But when I read I really can't do anything but read.  It's hard to fight the impulse to get up and fix a snack, check Facebook, throw the dog's ball... etc.  
3. This is related to #2, but I have a full on internet addition.  I have a bunch of e-books for my iPad but I can't ignore the "new mail" sound or the urge to flip to Tweetbot or Facebook and see what's going on in the world.  
4. Comic Books are a faster read and have a visual element that I really enjoy.  (Tumblr also feeds this desire for visual stimulation btw)
5. I find that I constantly check the clock.  Like when I'm reading I can't tell how fast time is passing.  Then I end up setting goals like "I'll read for 15 more minutes"-- then I look at my watch every 30 seconds like I'm going to be late.  I have no idea why I do this. 
6. If I've seen the movie it's really hard to read the book.  I can't get Daniel Radcliff's face out of my head when I'm reading Harry Potter.  And I constantly think "Was this in the movie?"  Then I end up just putting down the book and popping in the DVD.  
7. I'm a slow reader.  Or at least I feel like I'm a slow reader.  When I read I typically hear the words  in my head like a voiceover narrator is saying them-- basically I read at the speed that Morgan Freeman speaks.  
8. I have to fight the urge to move my lips.  I definitely move my tongue as if I'm speaking the words.   This instinct makes me feel stupid-- like only people who lack intelligence move their lips when they read.  
9. To be honest, 6 & 7 are probably related to my undiagnosed (or self-diagnosed) dyslexia.  I have been known to flip words-- especially when I'm "on book" in rehearsal feeding lines to an actor.  I have to be very careful to read the exact line and not change it.   I know I don't have a very strong reading disorder or anything-- I just flip words sometimes.  
10. I'm lazy.  #truth
11. Listening to audio books is so much easier!  And if I listen to an audio book I still credit myself for having read the book.  Is that a lie?
12. I get motion sick if I try to read on the subway or in any moving vehicle- so audio books are better there.  

Hmm... those seem to be the only reasons I can come up with.  #10 might be the real culprit.  Maybe I should stop writing this and load a book onto my iPad and read it!

Do have have any thoughts?  Comments on what I should read (or try to read)?  Advice on how I can get over some of these hurtles?  Leave a comment below or e-mail me! 

Batman Day

DC Comics declared June 23rd, 2014 Batman Day and who am I to argue?  I love Batman and I'm always up for a geeky celebration, right?  So I printed out some masks from the DC site & put them up backstage by the callboard with a note that read:  "Happy Batman Day!  If you'd like to celebrate with at Bat-Selfie, masks are provided."

Here are some of the results-- :)

Lola’s face when I told her that she has to stop barking.

Star Trek Phase II / The Motion Picture Concept Art

I saw these images on Tumbler and just had to share.  Just stunning, don't you think?

Harry Potter and the 35 Year Old's Realization

The other day I noticed a co-worker reading a well worn copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.   I asked her if she was enjoying it and she told me she'd decided to re-read the series this Summer because she loves them so much-- which I totally understand.  Then she showed me that some scribblings on the side of the book.  "You can see my handwriting on the side" she said.  "This is my copy from 3rd grade."  I was stopped in my tracks - my mouth fell open.  Without thinking I said "OH MY GOD YOU'RE THAT YOUNG!"

You see, I know that Harry Potter books are children's literature.  But plenty of adults read them too.  In fact, I know all my friends were reading them during and after college.  But it hadn't occurred to me that the books came out so long ago that the kids who grew up reading Harry Potter are now adults!  I had to look up the dates.

The first Harry Potter book (The Philosopher's Stone) was published in June of 1997 about a month after I graduated from high school.  It's described on the web as being written on a 5th grade reading level.  So let's use that as our base.  A 5th grader is what, 10 years old?  So, someone who was in 5th grade when the 1st book came is now... 27 years old?!  Is that right??

Things that make me feel old?  This blog entry.

Top 10 Captain Picard Episodes!

Happy Captain Picard Day, everyone!!

Every June 16th we take time to celebrate one of the great characters in Star Trek (and all of Sci Fi for that matter): Captain Jean Luc Picard. :)  tradition is based on a scene in the episode "The Pegasus" where we learn that the children on the Enterprise have an art contest where they celebrate Captain Picard Day.  Later it was decided that this day is June 16th.    So-- how else to celebrate then by watching the best Picard episodes in an all day marathon!  With that goal in mind, here is my list of the top 10 Picard episodes!!

1. The Big Goodbye.  Season 1, Episode 12.  This is a good start in our examination of Picard. We can learn a lot about a person by looking at his or her hobbies and interests.  In this episode we learn of the good captain's fascination with detective mysteries.   It's also just a fun romp in the Holodeck and an easy way to start a marathon.  :)

2 & 3. Best of Both Worlds Parts 1 & 2.  Season 3/4, Episodes 26/1.  After starting off easy we get busy with the heavy hitting stuff.  Arguably, the best 2 episodes of Star Trek TNG, we see Picard's humanity stripped away as he is used by the Borg as an instrument of destruction.  It's easy to watch this two parter and not really think about the psychological impact of something like that.  That's why you have to also watch...

4. Family. Season 4, Episode 2.  One of my favorite episodes, Picard goes home to France for some shore leave / re-evaluate his life time.  There's some really great character stuff in this episode.  I can't watch it without crying.  I also have to point out what an amazing actor Patrick Stewart is in this piece.

5. The Inner Light.  Season 5, Episode 25.  Also a fan favorite, in this episode Picard lives out a whole other life!  Crazy, right?   The best part is that his experiences in this other life help mold his character from here on out.  I wish the writers had gone a little farther with this idea-- but still we get a sense that he is wiser after this experience.  The easiest way they show this is with his flute--- which he now knows how to play.  

6 & 7. The Chain of Command Parts 1 & 2.  Season 6, Episodes 10/11.  The best Picard stuff is in part 2, but you need to see part 1 to understand it.  This goes back to the "brutally breaking down the man" kind of story that Best of Both Worlds gave us-- only this time it's a painfully human experience.  Just try to watch this episode and not gain respect and empathy for Picard.  

8. Tapestry.  Season 6, Episode 15.  One of John deLance's favorite episodes, Q gives Picard the chance to go back and fix the "mistakes" that he's made in his life.  Kind of like It's A Wonderful Life, Star Trek style-- we learn that the choices we make shape who we are-- for good or bad-- and if we were to change them, we change ourselves.  Heavy.  

9. Lessons. Season 6, Episode 19.  Remember that flute from #5 on our list.  Yeah, he still plays it!  That might seem silly, but what I think really resonates in this episode is that his "other life" really did leave an impact on him.  We also get to see him fall in love.  It's really a good episode. :) 

10. All Good Things.  Season 7, Episode 25/26.  Ok- technically this is another 2 parter.  But it was shown as a one long episode so I counted it as one.  The series finale-- and another contender for the best episodes of Trek-- ever.  We see Picard at 3 stages in his life... kind of.  It's a thrill to watch every time.  :) 

That's it!  I hope you enjoy your Captain Picard Day Marathon!!  Let me know what you think of my list. :)