The Servant's Quarters

A friend of mine asked me to share my thoughts about the new Star Trek movie either here or in private e-mail. Since I obviously never want to miss an opportunity to share my incredible brilliance with the world, I'm opting to make it a blog entry. (In case you didn't realize it, this particular entry is already dealing with the fantastic and the fictional!)



First, a little background on me for the uninitiated: I am a huge Star Trek fan. I've watched the various TV shows going back to the late 60's/early 70's. I own the entire original series and most of The Next Generation on DVD. I have thousands of incredibly useless Trek trivia facts taking up valuable space in my brain. If knowledge of Star Trek was a saleable skill in the job market, I could not only make a living at Star Trek, I'm sure it would make me a millionaire many times over. The least used game at my house is a Star Trek card set that's compatible with Trivial Pursuit. No one will play with me because I am unbeatable.

As you may guess, I have more than a passing familiarity with Star Trek. I know it, and I like it a lot. Anyone who wants to "relaunch the franchise" and re-tell the origins of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock is going to find an interested but highly skeptical fan in me. I love the continuity of the series, and a movie that admits up front that it is rewriting the history of what has gone before is, in my opinion, already in trouble.

A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend of mine (a fellow Trek fan) and I each brought several of our kids to the theater to see the latest Star Trek movie. Rita couldn't make it, and her heart wasn't broken by that. She had already decided that this new movie looked "lame." We found our seats, passed out the popcorn and drinks, and waited for the lights to go down. When they did, the wild ride began.

Let me bottom line it for you before I do into my extended (mostly spoiler free) review: Star Trek was the most fun I've had in a movie theater in a long, long time. At just over 2 hours, it was a nonstop thrill ride that never let up. It was a funny, exciting, tense, smart, well acted, stunning film. When we walked out of the theater, EVERYONE was smiling. We eagerly compared notes about how good the movie was. No one had anything bad to say about it. At all.

James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is a troubled young man. Born on the day of his father's death, he's rebellious, rude, irreverent, and a trouble-maker. On the planet Vulcan, young Spock (Zachary Quinto) is having problems of his own. Half human, he is the object of endless taunting by his peers. He tries to control his emotions, but his tormentors are relentless.

On the cusp of manhood, each of them reaches a crisis and makes a decision that will change their lives forever - they decide to enlist in Starfleet. And they do so just in time to face a dark, sinister menace from the future.

And therein hangs the tale....

The movie is outstanding in every way. The special effects are breathtaking. The script is witty and fresh. The casting is excellent. I admit that it took me a bit of time to get used to these new faces on characters that I've been familiar with for about 40 years. Chekov and Scotty were two who took a while to get comfortable with. What's really amazing is how well some of the actors slid into their parts. Pine is perfect as Kirk, and I dare say, I think he may even be an improvement on the original. He's every bit Jim Kirk without William Shatner's troubled acting style. Quinto could hardly improve upon Leonard Nimoy's Spock, but he's more than adequate to portray everyone's favorite Vulcan. And speaking of Nimoy, he's outstanding here. I was wondering how the elder Spock would fit in with all these young, fresh faces. The answer is... not bad at all. In fact, it took me a few minutes to happily realize that a scene between Pine and Nimoy was the first original Kirk/Spock scene I've witnessed in years. (Aside from the Pine/Quinto scenes, that is.) And it came off great.

The new Enterprise is beautiful. A marvelous update to the old girl. Yes, it looks a lot better than the cheesey sets from the original series, and we can overlook this. What???? Did I type that? Mr. I Love The Continuity Of The Old Series is actually being generous with changes that this movie makes to my beloved canon? That's right. You see, thanks to a pretty lame but beautifully executed plot device, the creators of this flick actually manage to not rewrite any Trek history. All the episodes on my DVDs at home are still just as valid in Trek continuity as ever. This movie just..... puts them on the shelf for a while.

Were there any negatives? Sure. There were a few. The plot at times STRAINS believeability too much with its reliance on coincidence and chance. Things sometimes just fall into place a bit too easily for our heroes. The movie is rated PG-13, which means that it does stray into dangerous territory at times. There's some language, although most of it is the kind of stuff you could expect from one of the later TV series. There's really only one scene where the boundaries are truly strained. It's a somewhat humorous send up to Kirk's lengendary habit of bedding alien women of various colors. I wish my kids hadn't seen it, but as there's no nudity and things get interrupted before they get too hot and heavy, I'd say it's fine for the older crowd.

So, this one gets a huge thumbs up. As a matter of fact, I'm looking for a free weekend to take my beautiful wife on a date to the theater. I can't wait to see it again!!!

Just a couple of belly laughs for today. (WARNING: If you choose to visit the Failblog, my strong recommendation is that you click the link at the top of the page that shows you only G-Rated fails. The unfiltered site can be quite inappropriate. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!)

















(I've think I've been to churches like this.)

Well, it has taken me long enough. Please excuse my tardiness, but things have been a bit on the busy side.

Here's a picture of our newest family member, Molly!!!

In case anyone reading this is in doubt, let me clear it up for you - GOD IS GOOD!!!

By His very nature, He is good. He doesn't have to do anything to prove that He is good. But when He favors us by giving us what we ask for, it is only right that we proclaim it to the world.

So, let me say that..... GOD IS GOOD!!!

Mom was taken into surgery at 7:30 this morning. I hunkered down in the waiting room for the long haul. I had brought lots to do. There was a wifi hotspot, so one of the first things on my todo list was to update my blog. I then answered some e-mails.

Then, a funny thing happened.

I was called up to the front desk. There, an attendant waited to take me back to the Recovery Room.

The Recovery Room?

It was around 8:30. An hour? What was going on?

I was then informed that the surgery was over. Actually, that's not right. It had been canceled. The doctor had been able to set both of the broken bones in Mom's arm from the outside. No surgery had been necessary. Another hour or so in recovery, and we were on our way home.

I'm typing this entry from my parent's bedroom. I'll be here today, tonight, and a good portion of tomorrow until my brother comes to relieve me.

The prayers of the saints are still very much appreciated as the next few days will present some challenges. But nothing compared to what they would have been if the surgery had taken place.

A very sincere and heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been praying for us this morning. My friends, I can't express it on my blog. You are loved. I appreciate you all.

And thanks be to Almighty God, who has once again shown that He loves his children and delights in blessing them. Father, I love you and thank you.

All right, Prayer Warriors! Start your engines!!!

I'm spending the day today at Annapolis Hospital in Wayne. (As a matter of fact, I'm typing this right now from the Surgical Waiting Room.) No, it's not me that's going under the knife.

I'm afraid Mom is one who'll be going under the knife today.

Here's what's happening - About a week ago, Mom took a bad fall while out for dinner with my Dad and Uncle Jim. She broke her arm in two places right above the wrist. After a few days at home with a temporary cast, she finally got the word that the type of break that she has can't be set. It's going to require surgery and the insertion of a plate to allow the bones to heal normally.

So, here I am. I'm expecting to be here for most, if not all of the day. Mom's back being prepped right now. I'll get to see her briefly before the operation.

Dad is home alone, and that's another exciting adventure in itself. Rita is going to be keeping an eye on things there and helping him out if he needs it.

Here're our prayer requests:

- The operation to set Mom's broken bones will go without problems
- Comfort for Mom after the surgery
- Quick restoration of the bones in her wrist and no problems with her getting the use of her hand back
- Protection for my Dad today as he stays at home alone waiting for word on how Mom's doing
- Provision for the care of my both Mom and Dad in the days to come
- Protection for my Aunt Fran as she travels downstate to spend a few days providing in home care for my folks
- And while we're at it, A HUGE THANK YOU to the Lord for providing help in the person of Aunt Fran. This is not the first time she has been an angel of mercy to my folks. She is very caring and very generous to take time out to come and serve so selflessly. I truly do thank the Lord for her. Please join me in a prayer of gratitude.