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'Star Trek: Discovery' and 'The Orville': To Boldly Go Where We've Already Gone

Whereas Star Trek: Discovery continues to explore ideological complexities, so far The Orville seems little more than a celebration of Seth MacFarlane's love of the Star Trek property and his ability to indulge in expensive cosplay.

Television

'Star Trek' and the Evolution of "The Kiss" Controversy

From its first interracial kiss on TV in 1968 to the interspecies relationship in the reboot, Star Trek wants viewers to understand what it means to be mixed race and have interracial relationships.

Chelsea Adams

Film

What Is 'Star Trek Beyond' Trying to Accomplish?

Can the rebooted film franchise keep what is special about Star Trek, but boldly go where no director has gone before?

Film

I Can Do Zat!: Anton Yelchin's 'Star Trek' Legacy

Remember how Yelchin wrestled with vampires, neo-Nazis, pirates, and adultery to earn his place as Chekov aboard the USS Enterprise?

Television

'Star Trek': Space-Time Compression and the Eventual Death of Money

Did Gene Roddenberry realize how “Marx-like” the world he imagined was?

Carl Bozman and Tom Jeannot

Film

Future Technology in the 'Star Trek' Reboots: Complex Future(s)

Star Trek doesn’t foretell a type of future as a concrete inevitable outcome and final destination, it presents us with a fictional diegetic vision of how the world could be.

Carl Wilson and Garrath T. Wilson

Film

Future Technology in the 'Star Trek' Reboots: Tethered and Performative

If space is the “final frontier”, then the technology that facilitates the adventure is one of the central mechanisms by which we can learn new things about ourselves and our society.

Carl Wilson & Garrath T. Wilson

Film

Star Trek at 50

On 8 September 1966, the sci-fi television show Star Trek aired its first episode, setting into motion a chain of events that would leave no aspect of pop culture unchanged.

Books

'The Autobiography of James T. Kirk': Backstories for Everyone!

Filled with in-jokes and subtle references to the show, uber-fans will love this "auto" biography of Star Trek's Captain Kirk and the stories of the people in his life.

Comics

'New Life and New Civilizations': The 'Star Trek' Saga in Comics

This is a deep and intelligent look at the various incarnations of Star Trek on the gridded page -- and not just from super fans and convention-goers.

Reviews

Comic-Con Offers an Unmatched Kaleidoscope of Sci-fi / Fantasy / Superhero Pop Culture

There was a spectacular display of goods from almost every pop culture property one could think of all in one place, making Comic-Con feel like a cross between Christmas and Halloween (as well as Black Friday).

Interviews

My Afterlife As a Comic Book Character: Reflections from the Cast of 'Star Trek'

A visit to Seattle's Star Trek convention reveals the conflicted feelings cast members have towards being immortalized in comic form.

Daniel W. Rasmus

Film

Celluloid Androids: The Big Screen's Fascination with Robots

Robots and Replicants... Between utilitarian tools and far too human replacements lies the Uncanny Valley. The Next Reel explores Cinema's love/ hate relationship with the automaton.

Film

An Open Letter to J. J. Abrams: 'Star Wars' Ain't 'Star Trek'

Just a reminder that revamping the Star Wars universe won't be as simple as tackling the once tired Star Trek franchise. One's for thinkers. The other's for doers.

Books

A History of the Future: 'Star Trek: The Complete Unauthorized History'

Books like this can give fans and historians context and insight, but at their worst they’re little more than obituaries, an account of what’s been lost.

Reviews

The Star Trek PADD iPad App Boldly Improves on the Trek Trivia Experience

The proprietors of Star Trek’s 24^th century, CBS Interactive, have released the second generation of the Star Trek PADD software for Apple’s arcane (by 24^th century standards) iPad.

Games

E3 2012: Notes from Day 3

Day 3 E3 highlights include plenty of hands on time with the Wii U, new information about Assassin's Creed 3, and the balance between creation and destruction on the show floor.

Television

No Contract for Old Men: 5 'Old Folks' in Pop Culture That Are 5Xs Tougher Than You

It'd be a shame if the endless emphasis on youth results in a lack of "grown-up" concerns in pop culture. Here are five examples of the old kicking ass and refusing to give way to the young in mainstream pop culture.

Theatre

O Captain! My Captain! Going Where No Octogenarian Has Gone Before

As "Bill" explores the meaninglessness of celebrity, "Shatner" embraces the shallow and the superficial like an Andy Warhol soup can come to life.

Books

The 'Dark Passenger' Attends Philosophy 101: 'Dexter and Philosophy: Mind Over Spatter'

A fantastically simple hook creates a baffling philosophical paradox in Dexter.

Television

Television's Evolution of the Major Black Antagonist

When TV historians talk about the black image in the 21st century, they’ll note that 2011 was the year that network TV consistently portrayed black people as major antagonists in search of the same brass rings that their white counterparts sought for nearly 60 years.

Television

The Best of the Worst Acting From the Original 'Star Trek'

Let's focus on the co-stars, many of whom clearly relished their roles as intergalactic rogues, vagabonds and ragamuffins. So much scenery was chewed by bit players between 1966-69, it's no wonder the series was forced off the air.

Technology

iPhone 4: Wherein Science Fiction Once Again Becomes Sad Fact

Aside from lightsabers, proton packs, warp drive and teleportation, many of my favorite sci-fi gadgets have become a reality. The latest: iPhone 4.

Comics

Freeze Frame: How Best to Capture Film in a Comic Book?

For both writers and artists working on adaptations of movies and TV shows, the challenge is to find a working space wherein one's own sensibilities can be effectively meshed with the look and feel of the original text and into a book that works for readers.

Television

Starfleet Unitards for Women

Trekkie compilations and more cocoa in Starfleet to confront viewers with the show's embedded sexism.

Television

Thrills, Trills and Outcasts, But Still No Happy Homo in the 24th Century

Is Star Trek only able to come out on the Internet?

Diepiriye Kuku

Reviews

Star Trek (2009)

Stylish, action-packed, and a helluva lot of fun. What was the last Star Trek film you could truly say that about?

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Pon Farr perfume

Pon Farr perfume [$30]

Film

OscarMatters: Oscars Resurrected?

With 2009's awards season about to ignite, it is time to analyze the ups and down of the recent rule changes, including what truly benefits from the expansion of Best Picture nominees and how this affects representation of cinematic excellence.

Film

Captain Obama and the Final Frontier

Obama's four-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new kinds of political confusion; to boldly go where no rational health-care reformer has gone before.

Film

'That's a Bingo!': The Best/Worst Films of Summer 2009

Reviews

MetalMatters: The Best New Heavy Metal Albums of November 2020

'Step It Up and Go' Gives North Carolina Music Its Dues

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The Best Classic Films on Blu-ray in 2020

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This is a timeless list of 20 thrilling Star Trek episodes that delight, excite, and entertain, all the while exploring the deepest aspects of the human condition and questioning our place in the universe.

Whereas Star Trek: Discovery continues to explore ideological complexities, so far The Orville seems little more than a celebration of Seth MacFarlane's love of the Star Trek property and his ability to indulge in expensive cosplay.

From its first interracial kiss on TV in 1968 to the interspecies relationship in the reboot, Star Trek wants viewers to understand what it means to be mixed race and have interracial relationships.

Can the rebooted film franchise keep what is special about Star Trek, but boldly go where no director has gone before?

Remember how Yelchin wrestled with vampires, neo-Nazis, pirates, and adultery to earn his place as Chekov aboard the USS Enterprise?

Did Gene Roddenberry realize how “Marx-like” the world he imagined was?

Star Trek doesn’t foretell a type of future as a concrete inevitable outcome and final destination, it presents us with a fictional diegetic vision of how the world could be.

If space is the “final frontier”, then the technology that facilitates the adventure is one of the central mechanisms by which we can learn new things about ourselves and our society.

On 8 September 1966, the sci-fi television show Star Trek aired its first episode, setting into motion a chain of events that would leave no aspect of pop culture unchanged.

Filled with in-jokes and subtle references to the show, uber-fans will love this "auto" biography of Star Trek's Captain Kirk and the stories of the people in his life.

This is a deep and intelligent look at the various incarnations of Star Trek on the gridded page -- and not just from super fans and convention-goers.

As with any beloved performer, there was more to Leonard Nimoy than a pair of pointy ears and a catchphrase. Much, much more.

There was a spectacular display of goods from almost every pop culture property one could think of all in one place, making Comic-Con feel like a cross between Christmas and Halloween (as well as Black Friday).

Screenwriter Roberto Orci has no previous experience as a director. So naturally Paramount just hired him to direct Star Trek 3.

A visit to Seattle's Star Trek convention reveals the conflicted feelings cast members have towards being immortalized in comic form.

Robots and Replicants... Between utilitarian tools and far too human replacements lies the Uncanny Valley. The Next Reel explores Cinema's love/ hate relationship with the automaton.

Just a reminder that revamping the Star Wars universe won't be as simple as tackling the once tired Star Trek franchise. One's for thinkers. The other's for doers.

Books like this can give fans and historians context and insight, but at their worst they’re little more than obituaries, an account of what’s been lost.

The proprietors of Star Trek’s 24th century, CBS Interactive, have released the second generation of the Star Trek PADD software for Apple’s arcane (by 24th century standards) iPad.

Day 3 E3 highlights include plenty of hands on time with the Wii U, new information about Assassin's Creed 3, and the balance between creation and destruction on the show floor.

It'd be a shame if the endless emphasis on youth results in a lack of "grown-up" concerns in pop culture. Here are five examples of the old kicking ass and refusing to give way to the young in mainstream pop culture.

As "Bill" explores the meaninglessness of celebrity, "Shatner" embraces the shallow and the superficial like an Andy Warhol soup can come to life.

Every generic hero on TV can finish a poetic quotation or identify a poignant quatrain (down to the line numbers). But few can spit Tennyson or Yeats with such venom as these guys.

A fantastically simple hook creates a baffling philosophical paradox in Dexter.

When TV historians talk about the black image in the 21st century, they’ll note that 2011 was the year that network TV consistently portrayed black people as major antagonists in search of the same brass rings that their white counterparts sought for nearly 60 years.

Let's focus on the co-stars, many of whom clearly relished their roles as intergalactic rogues, vagabonds and ragamuffins. So much scenery was chewed by bit players between 1966-69, it's no wonder the series was forced off the air.

Aside from lightsabers, proton packs, warp drive and teleportation, many of my favorite sci-fi gadgets have become a reality. The latest: iPhone 4.

For both writers and artists working on adaptations of movies and TV shows, the challenge is to find a working space wherein one's own sensibilities can be effectively meshed with the look and feel of the original text and into a book that works for readers.

Trekkie compilations and more cocoa in Starfleet to confront viewers with the show's embedded sexism.

Is Star Trek only able to come out on the Internet?

Stylish, action-packed, and a helluva lot of fun. What was the last Star Trek film you could truly say that about?

Pon Farr perfume [$30]

With 2009's awards season about to ignite, it is time to analyze the ups and down of the recent rule changes, including what truly benefits from the expansion of Best Picture nominees and how this affects representation of cinematic excellence.

Obama's four-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new kinds of political confusion; to boldly go where no rational health-care reformer has gone before.

The proprietors of Star Trek’s 24^th century, CBS Interactive, have released the second generation of the Star Trek PADD software for Apple’s arcane (by 24^th century standards) iPad.