After several months of reading (hey, I've got a lot of hobbies...), I finally finished "The Time Patrol" by Poul Anderson.

It's a compilation of short stories that I got when I joined the Science Fiction Book Club.

The story chronicles the efforts of Time Patrol agent Manse Everard to restore timelines that have been damaged by evil time travellers.

Though it was graphic in a few spots, the majority of the stories were very well detailed, and an interesting read. I'd recommend it, especially if you like historical fiction as well as science fiction.

Last week was a very busy week for Sci-Fi and myself.

Amazon FINALLY shipped my Star Wars Trilogy on DVD, but it was 3 days late as far as I'm concerned. If I pre-ordered 3 months early, you'd think that would be plenty of time to figure out how to ship it to me THE DAY of public availability.

I got Star Wars Battlefront for PS2 the day it was available, and it is a great game. The depth of the plot isn't quite there like other SW titles, but the game play is fun and the Dolby Pro-Logic II sound is incredible. I've been working my way through the historical campaigns, so I've been on Naboo, Kashykk, Kamino, and am now on Rhen Var. I can't wait to try multiplayer. Check out the Dork Tower comics this week. They crack me up! Yeah, I'm a lot like Igor.

I went with a friend to the Denver Pavillions to catch THX-1138 in the theater. I hadn't seen it before. It's worth seeing once, but not worth $9 or buying the DVD, IMO. It had some decent sci-fi themes, which were interesting, but some heavy 70's surrealist scenes. The nudity wasn't gratuitous, and helped promote some of the storyline, but I think the R rating was justified.

By far, the best Sci-Fi of the week was "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". Filmed completely in green screen, I was quite impressed with the classic Flash Gordon look and feel. In the credits, I counted at least 14 different special effects companies that worked on the film, including Industrial Light and Magic. The result is spectacular, and it's good, clean fun, too. I think I could actually take my kids to see this movie. I hope Hollywood takes notice, and produces more of this caliber of film. We don't need all the violence and sex that they've been churning out for so long, IMO.

One other sci-fi note. There is discussion of rating Star Wars Episode III as PG-13. This would be unfortunate, since I want to take my boys (6 and 3) to see it. I know it will be a darker film, since Anakin turns into Vader, but I'm still hoping it can be done in a PG format. We don't need excruciating detail of Anakin burning in lava, to know why he wears the life-support suit. Mr. Lucas, despite all of your critics, I think the story should still cater to the imaginations of the younger audiences. I liked Episode 1 and 2, and can show them to the boys without concerns of too much violence.

So in a nutshell: Go see Sky Captain, get Battlefront on your favorite platform, don't pre-order DVDs, and skip buying THX-1138.

Ahh, today is a good day for many a Star Wars fan. Not only is the original Trilogy (okay Special Edition) available for the first time ever on DVD, but the spectacular Star Wars Battlefront game is available to experience the movies yourself! Check out this cool article on the gaming experience: http://www.starwars.com/gaming/videogames/news/f20040920/index.html.

I wasn't going to be allowed to get Battlefront until I conquered Disney's Kingdom Hearts on PS2, but thankfully I completed it this weekend! Kingdom Hearts is a terrific game, that I would highly recommend after it took me 60 hours to complete.

For a comical look at the controversial changes to the Star Wars Trilogy, check this out: http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=2374

Also, theforce.net reported some audio changes to the DVDs, and this quote from Lucasfilm:

We are always impressed with how closely fans listen to the many different sound mixes we have made for the Star Wars movies over the years. It is flattering to know that, indeed, the audience is listening. Consequently, each mix comes out differently and any changes that you hear on the all-new Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX tracks on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set are deliberate creative decisions. We can confirm that there are no technical glitches as has been reported.

Unfortunately, amazon.com says I won't get my Trilogy DVDs until 9/28, so I can't confirm any of the changes ;-). I will be going to get Battlefront today, though! I won't be able to play it tonight, because I'm going to the theater re-release of THX-1138, George Lucas' first film. Like SW Special Edition, this version of THX-1138 has a lot of computer enhancements.

Interesting story on Reuter's Oddly Enough, about a German site that has added Klingon information! The site is at: http://klingon.dw-world.de/english/index.php.

If you are a huge Trek geek like me, try taking up Klingon from these sites:

• Klingon Language Institute
• Klingon Imperial Diplomatic Corps
• Google Search (Klingon language interface)
• Klingon bo logh (blog)!
• and if speaking Klingon isn't hard enough, try writing it!

Amazingly enough, a search for Klingon on amazon.com yields 864 resources!

Qapla!

I've been a member of Bill Petro's mailing list since I worked with him at SunSoft in Colorado Springs. His history articles are always interesting and informative.

Today's post is the History Of Star Trek. Very interesting read.

In other news, Slashdot reported on a new Star Trek MMORPG today. Wonder how similar it will be to Star Wars Galaxies? I'd like to play, but I only do PS2 now. I couldn't keep financing the PC upgrades...

I started watching "The Day the Earth Stood Still" last night. That's got to be one of my favorite Sci-Fi's of all time. I can't wait for Destroy All Humans! to be released. The soundtrack is supposed to be similar to Bernard Herrmann's themes.

BTW, if you ever go to Disneyworld, make sure you eat at the Sci-Fi Diner in MGM, near Star Tours. I've been there twice now, and it's always a treat!

Mr. Spock was one of my favorite Sci-Fi characters growing up, but I've always held a special place in my heart for Scotty on Star Trek.

He was highly technical, and Scottish to boot! I always liked the episodes and scenes where he wears his kilt. ("Is There No Truth in Beauty?", "The Savage Curtain"). I also liked his crossover to Star Trek:The Next Generation in "Relics".

Today, James Doohan gets his star on the Hollywood Walk of Stars. Doohan will receive his star in front of the Hollywood Entertainment Museum at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard at 10:30 a.m. Congratulations, James!

Here are a few links featuring James "Scotty" Doohan:

• http://www.imdb.com/Name?Doohan,+James
• http://www.planetxpo.com/doohan/
• http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/features/specials/article/6527.html
• http://www.wilwheaton.net/#001678
• http://www.fry16.freeserve.co.uk/startrek.htm

Finally, some new Sci-Fi news.

Starwars.com is reporting that the very popular Ewoks and Droids animated series will be coming to DVD in November! Just in time for Christmas, too...

I never really got into Ewoks that much, but I absolutely loved the Droids series. I faithfully watched every Saturday. We need a return of good Saturday 'toons.

I've been feeling much more nostalgic lately, because I've also been playing Midway Classic Treasures on PS2, including my favorite arcade games: Gauntlet, Road Blasters, Rampart, Rampage, Joust, and more. I just need Xevious, Zaxxon, Space Invaders, and Pacman to complete my favorite childhood gaming on PS2. I grew up on the Atari 2600, and Space Invaders was by far my favorite -- even my dad would play with me on that one.

The new Clone Wars animated shorts probably won't make it on DVD until next spring or summer, because there will be a new installment just prior to the release of Episode III. Then, they will all be combined and released on DVD.

September looks to be busy for Star Wars fans, as the Original Trilogy Collection and Star Wars: Battlefront will both be released on the 21st!

I was fortunate to catch the Star Trek Science exhibit in 1994 at the Denver Museum of Natural History. There were many great interactive exhibits on sensors, tricorders, the ship computer, warp drive and more! Unfortunately, I do not think the exhibit is travelling any more.

However, it looks like we've finally achieved another product of Star Trek Science: Transparent Aluminum! Prominently featured in Star Trek: The Voyage Home, transparent aluminum was widely used to make the windows in the Starships in Kirk's era, and to make the holding tanks to transport humpback whales to the 24th century!

The real science is pretty interesting. Check out the article here: http://physicsweb.org/article/news/8/8/9.

Here are some other interesting links about Star Trek Science:

• http://ssdoo.gsfc.nasa.gov/education/just_for_fun/startrek.html
• http://www.exn.ca/mini/startrek/startrek.cfm
• http://www.cakes.mcmail.com/StarTrek/

There have been rumors for several months about the title for the last installment of the Star Wars films. I personally thought "Rise of the Empire" was the best title.

The title is now on the official Star Wars site:

starwars.com is pleased to announce that Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is the full title of the next Star Wars film, scheduled for release on May 19, 2005.

Guess I'll need to update my Star Wars topic map now.

I can't wait for May. My son will have just turned 7 by then, and I can't wait to take him to the first Star Wars theater release that he will remember. We took him to Phantom Menace, but he was barely a year old back then, and won't remember that. Clones was too scary to take a 3 year old, so this next one should be just about right. Hope it's not too scary, since this one is all about the fall of Anakin and the rise of Vader.

Trek Today reported that Academy Award-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith passed away at age 75 yesterday.

Among Goldsmith's Star Trek scores are Star Trek: The Motion Picture, whose title theme he adapted for Star Trek: The Next Generation; the music for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, First Contact, Insurrection and Nemesis; and themes used most recently in the Star Trek: The Experience show Borg Invasion 4D.

He also did the music for Planet of the Apes, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Total Recall, and more. I'm a huge fan of all of those films.

Too bad he didn't get a chance to re-write the theme song for Enterprise...

The Force.Net posted a story about a Life-Size AT-ST about to take out a mini-golf park in Nags Head, N.C.

I'd love to go see it. I've seen the full size AT-AT walker at Star Tours at Walt Disney World, which is also impressive. There's also a Speeder Bike you can pose on...

Anyone know of any other Imperial outposts in the real world? They would be a cool place to put GeoCaches, too.

According to Trek Today:

Star Trek: Enterprise officially moves to Fridays on August 6th with a rerun of the episode "Hatchery." ... No fall season premiere date has yet been announced.

That's great news. Hopefully the show will benefit from the better timeslot.I've been a huge fan of the show, except for that stupid theme song. I love the visuals, but the song needs to be re-done for the new season. PLEASE!

Also for your DVR, Stargate: Atlantis premiers this Friday!

I grew up on Star Trek, ever since my mom let me watch the show when it started in syndication. You can tell from my blog title that I'm a Trekker and a geek.

My favorite series in order are:

1. Star Trek: The Next Generation
2. Star Trek: The Original Series
3. Star Trek: Enterprise
4. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
5. Star Trek: Voyager

Granted, I never really got into DS9 or Voyager. I thought Babylon 5 had a much more compelling storyline, so I'm a huge B5 fan.

On the topic of favorite SciFi shows, I wish the SciFi channel would rerun:

• Space: Above and Beyond
• Buck Rogers
• Battlestar Galactica (original)

I'm hoping for the Battlestar series on DVD for my birthday, but I've already pre-ordered the Star Wars Trilogy, so that might have to wait.

In other Sci-Fi DVD news, I got The Day The Earth Stood Still/One Million Years B.C. in a two-pack from Costco yesterday for $13!

And on the gaming front, keep scanning for Destroy All Humans! coming on PS2 soon. It's supposed to have a soundtrack similar to Bernard Herrmann's (The Day the Earth Stood Still)

A few weeks ago, I got YACCO (yet another credit card offer). This one, however, offered a Master Card with your choice of Darth Vader or Yoda, in addition to a free collector's bust of Jango Fett from Gentle Giant Studios.

You may not know, but I'm a HUGE fan of both Jango Fett and Boba Fett! This was a no brainer. I got the Darth Vader card, and this weekend, I got the Jango Fett bust (number 1687/5000)! I was surprised at the quality of it. Most credit card gifts are pretty cheesy, but this bust is substantial!

Here's some more info on the bust: http://www.rebelscum.com/ggMBNAjangofett.asp.

Looks like the original Star Wars Trilogy is expected to sell out on DVD, so you better get your pre-orders in now!

Okay, it's not really the original Trilogy, they are the Special Edition versions, but that's all you can expect to get from LucasFilm now. I actually liked the Special Editions, as they included some details from the original books that didn't make the cut. They also rounded out some of the scenes. Empire Strikes Back had some great additions, specifically in the Wampa Cave and Cloud City.