Media Musings

Greetings, Programs!

Commander Noah Masterson, Outpost Phoenix XO, here with the first installment of Media Musings.

 

In this, I'll be exploring some of the various iterations of Trek. In each article, I'll be covering: 

• Something to Read: novels, reference material, comics, fan articles

• Something to Watch: franchise episode, fan-film episode, documentary, movies

• Something to Hear: audiobooks, podcasts, audiodramas, soundtracks

• Something to Play: board games, video games (any platform), VR/ AR, general apps

For this first article, I'm going to use a theme, just to keep me on track. This article's theme: The Best of TOS

Read: "Booklet of General Plans, USS Constitution Class" by Ballantine Books

Watch: ST-TOS "Balance of Terror" (S1:E8)

Hear: "Star Trek: The Motion Picture (Original Soundtrack--20th Anniversary Collectors' Edition)" by Jerry Goldsmith

Play: "Star Trek: Timelines" for Android

DISCLAIMER

It's hard to imagine that I'd need to say this in this day and age of ST proliferation but, consider yourself forewarned:

THERE BE SPOILERS HERE!!!

Read

For those that don't know about me, I inherited my love of ST from my father. He exposed me to ST at an early age (8 or 9) by two means: by watching the syndicated episodes of TOS and encouraging me to watch as well and by having and making available the Franz Joseph Technical Manual and the Franz Joseph ship schematics.

The Booklet of General Plans: USS Constitution Class is a collection of 12 collated but unbound sheets, each containing a schematic plan of the Constitution class Heavy Cruiser. Each sheet is drawn is a facsimile "blueprint" for the major decks of the Constitution class and no details are missed. Although not much to read, per se, the set makes for an interesting look at the ship that started it all.

Watch

"Balance of Terror" (S1:E8) consistently ranks as one of the best written and acted episodes in TOS and that's easy to see. The entire episode is fraught with tension of one kind or another: the tension of Starfleet/ Federation ideology vs Romulan ideology; Kirk vs Romulan Commander; Stiles vs his own prejudices; the question of Spock's (and all of Vulcan's) connection to the Romulans. This makes for great storytelling! And why not? Two of the biggest influences on this episode are the movies "The Enemy Below" and "Run Silent, Run Deep". For those that don't know, these two movies, generally speaking, deal with destroyers (in Balance of Terror played by the Enterprise) that are on the hunt for elusive submarines (played by the Romulan Bird of Prey).

What makes "Balance of Terror" stand apart, however, is the "bookending" of the main story with a little human drama, in this case provided by the interrupted wedding of Tomlinson and Martine and the subsequent death of Tomlinson.

Next to "Amok Time" (S2:05) and "The Trouble with Tribbles" (S2:E13), "Balance of Terror" is one of my favorite TOS episodes.

Hear

Despite everyone's dislike of ST:TMP (except me…it's my favorite ST movie), you should do yourself a favor and listen to the soundtrack. Jerry Goldsmith (who was a scoring legend in his own right) composed an interesting music journey to accompany an equally interesting visual journey. The score ranges from Williams-esque (it was composed in 78 and released in 79 after all) with its use of leitmotifs and themes to bizarre and coldly sci-fi reminiscent of Goldsmith's earlier experimental score for Planet of the Apes. While many may malign the soundtrack for its use of the "Blaster Beam" (that sound you hear signifying V'Ger), those same folks also forget that Mr. Goldsmith also gave us "Klingon Battle".

Despite the beauty of 'Illia's Theme", the track named "Enterprise" still gives me chills and I think is the better love theme.

Of course, the sequence "Enterprise" is used in is often cited as one of the film's worst sequences (it's claimed to drag on forever), taken together the viewer gets the full context. We see Kirk, who's been flying a desk for the last few years, reconnecting with the only lady he really ever loved: his ship. And make no mistake, he really is reconnecting. She is completely different, inside and out. But she's still the Enterprise…Jim Kirk's most dependable lady and we hear all of that through Jerry Goldsmith's score.

This score is constantly in rotation on my playlists, either when I writing logs or just listening to good film scores. Give it a listen…you won't regret it.

Play

ST: Timelines for Android (no, I won't be covering Apple; I don't dabble in Heresy) isn't only TOS but rather a unique way to encompass all of Star Trek in one game that makes a Trek sort of sense.

A brief synopsis:

Q enlists all of Starfleet (past, present, Mirror and Prime, and all other iterations) as well as her allies and foes to fight the Borg. That means that you might be commanding a TNG vessel, crewed by crew members from TOS, TOS: Mirror, TNG, DS9 and DISCO while fighting any number of foes.

Not convoluted enough for you?

Ok, now throw in Skirmishes between players in three different divisions (Commander, Captain and Admiral) as well as Live Events and Gauntlets (not sure about these as I haven't participated in them), Cadet Challenges and Shuttle Missions. If you can't find something on this game that excites you as a gamer, you might need to look harder!

I can't tell you how many hours I've wasted…uh…I mean enriched my life with by playing this game. There really is something for every type of Trek fan and/or gamer.

That's all for this issue of the PADD. I'll be back next issue with a whole new slew of Trek Media to share with you. Give some of this issue's media a try, you may find something you love.

But, as another Trekker once said, you don't have to take my word for it…