Two Memes for the Price of One

I've been tagged a couple of times in the past week, so I better get to it. Stephen of Comic Book Weekness was first with 3 Questions About Comics and Me:

1) What was the first comic you remember reading?
That's easy. It has to be the first I ever owned: Tintin's Coke en Stock. I have an independent recollection of it from when I was 3½ years old and learning to read with it. Yes, my parents created a monster. While an extremely accomplished example of Hergé's work, I have to say it's a difficult piece for the 3-4 year old. It's a later album where many characters who appeared before return, and one of the story points is an African slave trade. Still, I read and reread that thing so many times, it's now coming apart at the seams.

2) What was the first comic that made you realize that you might be in this for the long haul?
Must've been that one, but I have no memory of the realization. In fact, the hobby was probably thrust upon me. I had an uncle who collected the big names in European bande dessinée (Tintin, Asterix, etc.) and the easy birthday and Christmas present from my entire family was either one or more books.

3) If you had to make a snap decision to take one comic or one comic run to a desert island, what would it be? Don’t think too hard!
On gut instinct, I'd say a complete run of Who's Who. I can flip through and make up my own stories.

The second tag comes from Aqua-Rob! at Hey, Kids Comics! and it's an intriguing little experiment that I'm not sure will bear fruit:

Turn to the nearest book, turn to page 123, locate the fifth sentence, and then post the next three sentences on your blog, and then tag five other people.

Well, I never tag out, but the nearest book is: Michael Chabon's The Final Solution (which I'm reading right now). The three sentences the meme wants me to list are:

For a long moment nothing emerged from his paralyzed throat. The room beyond the wardrobe door was deeply , almost audibly silent, as if all creatures there were waiting to hear whatever it was that Bruno might - must - manage to say. In the instant before he lost consciousness he felt, rather than heard, the low guttural chuckle that bubbled up from him, and the words of the inspector beyond the door.

Well, I hope that didn't spoil anything for me.

They're memes people, consider yourself tagged only if you'd like to be. Siskoid out.

Star Trek 520: Darkling

520. Darkling

FORMULA: The Enemy Within + The Swarm

WHY WE LIKE IT: The philosophical underpinnings.

WHY WE DON'T: Kes' fits.

REVIEW: When the Doctor tries to incorporate new personality traits into his program, it quickly becomes a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation, though initial symptoms simply seem to turn him into a dirty old man. Robert Picardo is good in the dual role, of course, though the nature of the Dark Doctor does lend itself to OTT acting. Using medicine for evil purposes, he gets to be very creepy and dangerous indeed, whether he's skulking above B'Elanna's paralyzed body or dissecting the great figures of history on the holodeck.

The discussions about whether life is essentially good or evil are interesting too, with Kes' take about cellular cooperation really standing out. Of course, the intriguing bits are a little lost in the obvious "he's investigating himself" plot, a plot full of holes for that matter. (The Doctor's murderous beam-down undetected, for example, and an exciting climax resolved by cheating.) I do like the coda with the Doctor reciting the Hippocratic Oath however. It's a little odd, but resonant nonetheless.

The object of the Doctor's affection is Kes, but this isn't a strong Kes episode. She's apparently undergoing a "change" in her life, but I can't tell if they're setting her up to leave already, acknowledging the events of Warlord, or simply trying to make her sexier with a romantic subplot and slinkier outfit. In any case, she looks haggard here, as if the actress, more than the character, hasn't slept in days. It's part of the story, but she still seems off, both in look and in characterization.

LESSON: Ghandi's a closet badass.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Picardo can certainly carry an episode, and the ideas in the episode are Trekkish enough, but the plot is clunky and Kes has seen better days.

Spaceknight Saturdays: Now With 20% More Pictures!

Continuing Spacekight Saturdays, Rom #3 features a cover by Frank "before he was a star" Miller and Terry "X-Men" Austin. So now I can't stop myself from imagining Rom in Sin City style. The color scheme would definitely work. And so would the badassery.

As if to let me know my idea makes perfect sense, the first ad in the comic is for a BB gun, aimed squarely at "smaller kids". Check it out:
But where's our story at? Ah yes, the Dire Wraiths have infiltrated upper echelons of the US military complex and are using their power to convince last issue's criminal element, Archie Stryker, to kill Rom in service to his country. Dude's been hysterical since he saw Rom send a bunch of people to limbo anyway, so why not?
Korea in 1953, eh? Seeing as the comic takes place in 1980, that would make Striker 45 at the very least, depending on when he enlisted and how long his tour of duty was. The Wraiths appear to think that a guy who was fit for battle 27 years ago still has enough moxie to go up against a Spaceknight. What's wrong with Vietnam as a battle experience? Maybe they're just feeding him a line. In any case, the Wraiths are CRAZY and before turning Stryker into a supervillain, they try to kill him in an exercise that features live missiles.
I must say he does pretty well for a guy who might be pushing 50. The plan: Bond him to a Spaceknight suit skinned off a dead Knight. Ooh, grisly.
But you didn't come here to read about the secret origin of Firefall! Where's Rom? Well, Mantlo is still giving us HIS origin one drop at a time, and what's an issue of Rom Spaceknight without proper agonizing?
Yes, Rom, your hands have been turned into oven mitts. The horror... the horror... Rom is superior to the Silver Surfer in every way. Even in the whining. Why? Because he's got a RIGHT to. Any issue of Rom is like epic poetry.
The dank tunnel leads to a secret Dire Wraith cave where the monsters are tapping into the Earth's geothermic energy to power a transporter device that might retrieve their brethren from limbo. Rom's reaction?
Oh no you DON'T! In human form, the Wraiths must apparently use human means to fight Rom:
But silly Wraiths, don't you know? If there's one thing Rom is very good at, it's throwing cars around!
And so the transporter is destroyed, screwing not only with the Dire Wraiths' plans, but with every electrical device in Virginia. (No, I didn't know they had electricity either.... I'm KIDDING!) Then Stryker arrives and it's easy to see why he would think ROM is the monster.
Those human-shaped piles of ash are certainly damning. Stryker attacks and oh my, he's using Galadorian power!
How does Rom get out of this one? HE THROWS THE FIRE RIGHT BACK AT HIM!
That's right. Rom can throw off flames. Don't question it. Embrace it. As for how this fight ends (as if there's any doubt), come back next week. In the meantime, I leave you with a Marvel Masterwork Pin-Up by the great Al Milgrom.
It's Clamp Action Rom Spaceknight!

Star Trek 519: Unity

519. Unity

FORMULA: I, Borg + The 37s + Behind Enemy Lines + Hippocratic Oath

WHY WE LIKE IT: The Borg are back. I guess.

WHY WE DON'T: A boring Chakotay romance.

REVIEW: This is the last episode to take place inside the Nekrit Expanse, and as far as I'm concerned, only the second one. It is described here as sparsely populated, and it's true that we haven't seen much life since Fair Trade, but those big pink clouds have been absent too. An "expanse" could indeed be a wide area of space with a common property, and the clouds seemed to be that property when we first saw them. And here they are again. It's just odd, that's all. But maybe I shouldn't be picking on details when the episode also stars humans who were assimilated by the Borg at Wolf 359. Those that were on Locutus' Cube. The same Cube that got blown up real good at the end of The Best of Both Worlds.

The plot focuses on Chakotay, wounded and alone on a makeshift colony world inhabited by former drones who have been cut off from the Borg Collective, many of which are representatives of Alpha Quadrant races. Riley Frazier is the love interest, though she's basically an infodump machine. She's there to tell the story of the "Cooperative", then their true story, then their plan to unify the colony though the Borg link. There's also some silliness involving the collective consciousness having healing properties, and so Chakotay gets to "link". Shades of Odo boogieing with the Founder Leader, it's a seductive experience. But Chakotay basically having sex with himself an hour later? The romance just turned from dull to dull AND creepy.

Meanwhile, Voyager discovers a dead Borg Cube and the Doctor reawakens a drone by mistake. There's a fairly high production value here thanks to sets and costumes left over from the First Contact production, and nice atmosphere as well. Later, Chakotay will be manipulated by the Cooperative to turn the Cube back on and as drones are waking up, make the Cube self-destruct. A small taste of excitement about the episodes ahead.

As for the Cooperative, they force their collective consciousness on the whole of the colony and establish peace. If the Borg have often represented dehumanization in an industrial or totalitarian context, it has never had the emotional background to model a cult. But that's what the Cooperative feels like. A group of slightly zonked-out indoctrinators who keep Chakotay in a bunker and reprogram him. When we lose our individuality to the collective will, we become Borg, no matter the reason. Unity has a strong idea behind it, so it's too bad it comes off as just a little bit boring.

LESSON: Once a drone, always a drone.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium: A lot of talking and a protagonist reeling from a headache all the way through. The Borg returning is cool, but they're not QUITE back yet. Voyager head count update: 143.

Uurogo's 18 Demons (Part I)

The mythology of Tom Herpich's Gongwanadon. Let the fighting begin.

They must all be defeatedArmed with only sword and kilt.
Their hate cannot abide.
9 down. 9 to go. Demons die. Only Bahlactus lives on.

You Don't Want Me on the Road

It's spring and some drivers have already taken their roadsters out of storage for a spin. Showing off the classics, roof rolled down, wind in their hair... Show-offs, one and all. Hope you enjoy those two weeks of Canadian summer before they have to go back into storage. Now me, I don't drive. Not even a driver's license. It's one of my excentricities. But if I WERE a rich driver, I'm pretty sure I'd have a geek car in storage somewhere. But which one? Oh the possibilities...

BatmobileThis is the obvious one. Too obvious. It's had many permutations over the years, but the 60s longbody remains the most iconic. There's room for you and a buddy, a nice red trim on the black finish, and a direct uplink to the 10k Bat-Computer. But you'd get all of Adam West's stalkers.

Voodoo
I don't drive, but I play Grand Theft Auto. A design in the same style as the classic Batmobile is the Voodoo. I could get my Haitian groove on in this classic drag racer. Extra features: Great suspension, fire coming out its exhaust pipe. Unfortunately, it is VERY easy to steal.

Bessie
There's classic and then there's ANTIQUE. The 3rd Doctor's car is deceptively fast thanks to Time Lord technology, but I'd still like something a bit more modern. And don't mention the Whomobile. Really. Don't.

General Lee
I've lived in the Southern United States, but the General Lee calls attention itself a bit much. I don't know if it's the overt reference to defending slavery, the flashy orange color or the silly horn. Extra feature: Can jump over a creek like nobody's business. Unextra feature: Doors welded shut.

K.I.T.T.
If all I care about is turbo boosting over stuff, might as well go with the Knight Industries 2000. It has more personality and a lot more kit (if you'll allow the pun). None of that crappy TV movie KI3000 either. Wow, that sucked.

Christine
I might have mentioned K.A.R.R. instead of K.I.T.T., but as long as I'm exploring more evil possibilities, might as well go with the true classic of evil cars. Isn't Christine a beauty? And just like a girl, she'll crush you. Or gas you. Or run you over. Lovely. But "Bad to the Bone" is the only thing that plays on the radio, and I like a more varied tune selection.

Mike the Stuntman's 1970 Chevy Nova
For something less dangerous to the driver, there's the car from Death Proof. It's fast, it's cool, it's powerful, and it's safe. Well, safe for the driver. Who's the only person I care about really. Cuz the car makes me bad.

Frankenstein's Corvette
I'm a fan of Car Wars, so this would be perfect. Eats up the competition! Of course, the modifications are a bit on the heavy side, but still the best car here to score some major points.

The Love Bug
Ok, maybe I don't want to ride evil wheels. What are my options? Well, if I still want a car with personality, there's ol' Number 53, Herbie (and again, the classic, none of that Lindsay Lohan bollocks). Herbie's like a dating service (so long as the girl has a cute car), but I might not fit in a Beetle. 6'4" and everything...

Village Taxi
Other options I might as well strike off the list right now include the taxi from The Prisoner. It's a glorified golf cart, and you should see my handicap.

Flintstone Family Car
And while this car is a loot roomier than Barney Rubble's Tree Trunk Coupe, I don't think I'd want to suddenly start driving only to be walking. Extra feature: The most eco-friendly car on the list. What's the least?

De Lorean
An atomic-powered sports car that drives through time? Bad for the environment AND the timeline. Sure, its gets cleaner after it goes to the future, but I prefer not to think about Back to the Future, Part II. Still, hard to resist a time travelling car. Bottom line: I just hate the way the doors open.

So I'm down to two choices, completely different.

Torchwood SUV
For maximum amount of kit, this is mini-van of choice. GPS, armored skin, bigger on the inside than on the outside, and computer terminals in the back so the kids can keep quiet while they hack into Pentagon files. I do have to learn to drive on the right side though.

Veronica Mars' LeBaron
Probably a more sensible choice. Sure, it's a used old heap, two-tone even, and I don't have a friend like Weevil to keep it running. Risky, sure. But it's been tried, tested and proven to be non-descript enough to run surveillance on grungy motels. Maybe I was just sorry to see it go after the second season. That Saturn hybrid sure doesn't have the same chic.

"What?" You ask. "No Aston Martin?" Yeah, I know. None of the James Bond cars really do it for me. Except maybe the amphibious one. But what's YOUR sweetest geek ride?

Star Trek 518: Blood Fever

518. Blood Fever

FORMULA: Amok Time + Meld + Fascination

WHY WE LIKE IT: Sexy, sexy B'Elanna.

WHY WE DON'T: The Doctor's sexual healing.

REVIEW: Blood Fever retreads familiar ground by undergoing pon farr much like Spock did in Amok Time. The twist is that he has zero chance of getting back to Vulcan in time and must choose a mate aboard Voyager. The marriage proposal is amusing, but it quickly turns into sexual harrassment and B'Elanna is somehow "infected" with pon farr. Oh, those crazy telepathic races!

From then on, B'Elanna isn't quite herself, but the challenge is making her unusually aggressive when she's a pretty aggressive character already. Dawson does a good job, actually, her impatience coming off as ebullient rather than hostile at first. It also allows her to show real, breathless, savage passion for Tom Paris. His attraction to her has been made plain in the previous episodes, but at least they go so far as to say she knew and ignored him on purpose. And yet, who does she go to when she needs to mate? Voyager has had some ridiculous and badly set up relationships, but this isn't one of they, and this is a key episode. I've got to say however that for a guy with a bad boy reputation, Paris is a real gentleman. Rain Robinson understood him best as a nerd-hunk, I think.

Vorik's pon farr will end in ritual combat just as Spock's did, and his fight with B'Elanna is well choreographed and violent. A better solution than the Doctor's, who makes a glorified blow-up doll for him in the holodeck. This is a pretty icky premise despite being Quark's obvious use of holosuites in DS9. I doesn't work either, and probably in part due to the telepathic link that must occur in Vulcan mating (impossible with a hologram). Good thing it didn't, too, because the Doctor seemed way too happy with the idea of programming porn for every member of the crew.

A few other details... The guest aliens had an interesting camouflage make-up, though they disappear a little too suddenly at the end, but the real alien star is the Borg drone corpse found on the planet. Yes, we've reached Borg space, which should provide some excitement. And if you're keeping count, Vorik mentions 73 males on the crew, so that must mean 70 females and 1 hologram (I presume) because we're currently at 144. So not a girl for every boy. (And among these girls is untouchable Janeway and baby Naomi.)

LESSON: Love is both blind and angry.

REWATCHABILITY - Medium: Certainly not perfect, but a good episode for B'Elanna and holds the promise of things to come.