To Boldly Go Where Everyone Has Gone Before

Sports Night: Season 2, Episodes 1, 2, and 3

Date: April 11, 2021

Season 2, Episodes 1, 2, and 3

Music Video of the Day:

I’ve always loved this music video and how they surprised so many couples on their wedding day.

Interstellar News: I’m feeling froggy, so lets do THREE Sports Night episodes tonight.

Episode 1 – “Special Powers”

Dana talking to the audience because they're on a delay — “Hello, my name is Dana Whitaker. I’m the executive producer of Sports Night and I’m interrupting this broadcast to tell you that Casey took gymnastics after school for 7 years. How’s he looking to you now, girls?”

“It’s 60 days. Whatcha been waiting on, McCall?”: 90 days have elapsed since Gordon and Dana called off their engagement and Casey spends the whole episode being awkward around Dana. Jeremy and Natalie have been fighting, but figure it out, and Isaac is recovering from his stroke. Casey and Dana finally kiss and it’s absolutely adorable. It’s a wonderful way to start the second season and some foreshadowing of what is to come.

Episode 2 – “When Something Wicked This Way Comes”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous, Dana. Everybody likes me.”: Isaac hires Sam Donovan, a ratings guy, to help improve the ratings of Sports Night. Sam is played by William H. Macy, who I adore from all kinds of things (including Mystery Men). Dana goes to a biker themed bachelorette party, which allows her to wear a smoking hot outfit but turns out to be the start of the world’s worst dating plan. Dan spends money to support Hillary Clinton, whom he has a bit of a crush on, and totally messes something up and obsesses over it… classic Danny. Another episode that moves this season along, after all of Season 1 was “will they, won’t they” it’s now just a matter of when or a “set number of women” as Natalie posits.

Episode 3 – “Cliff Gardner”

JJ and his two analysts — “One last thing, the first and last decision-making authority on this show will rest with Isaac Jaffee until Isaac Jaffee says otherwise, and if you disrespect him in my presence again, I will rededicate the rest of my life to ruining the rest of yours. And if you think I’m just mouthing at you, you should ask around about me. I have absolutely no conscience about these things.”

“Men like the sound of a woman whispering in their ear. They get playful.”: The show is stiff and Sam Donovan proves he’s worth his money by playing absolutely everyone and stealing their scripts and turning off the teleprompter so Dana and Natalie have to “whisper in Casey and Dan’s ears”, and it’s wonderful. JJ and two of the network’s directors come to “give notes” and the meeting doesn’t go well (though I get to see Tim DeKay who was phenomenal in White Collar), but Sam shows them the door in the most amazing way with a wonderful story about the guy who invented television and his brother-in-law. This episode shows Sam drawing a line in the sand and the audience gets to see he doesn’t side with the network, even though Dana and the gang don’t really know where he quite fits yet. Casey keeps trying to progress past Dana’s absolutely ridiculous dating plan, which is okay in spirit but terrible on paper.

TA Out!

VOY: “Live Fast and Prosper”

"i guess it was a case of mistaken identity" CSI guy Horatio

Date: April 10, 2021

Season 6, Episode 21

Music Video of the Day:

I absolutely love this song, it’s such a bop.

Interstellar News: I watched this episode FOREVER ago and am finally writing it up. I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long. The last few weeks have been rough, but I really have missed writing.

TL;DR: Neelix and Paris get conned by a trio of aliens that go on impersonating Janeway, Tuvok, and Chakotay throughout the Quadrant. The real Voyager catches up with the trio and are able to capture the imposter captain. She eventually escapes but Paris and the EMH are stowed aboard and some shenanigans happen to make it a good ending.

Favorite Quote:

Janeway: I have to admit, I’m impressed.
Dala: I wish I could say the same. The great Captain Janeway. Somehow I expected you to be taller. I make a better you than you.
Janeway: Oh I don’t know, I’d say we’re very much alike. Resourceful, intelligent, ambitious. But with just one tiny difference.
Dala: And what is that?
Janeway: I’m not a liar and a thief.
“I only lied about being a thief”. If you don’t get that reference, we can’t be friends.

fake Janeway and Tuvok — “Janeway” and “Tuvok:”

“I know it’s hard for you to believe, but occasionally some of us tell the truth.”: The last 10 minutes of this episode were the best. In the beginning you can tell something fishy is happening and once I find out it was Neelix and Paris who got conned, I started to lost interest. I mean it’s funny because they’re the two resident “bad boys” on Voyager and they got had, but it happens to the best of us. Unfortunately for them it’s causing the rest of the ship a bad name and it has to be rectified. The bit at the end where they fake out the other two aliens and it’s really the EMH is wonderful and it is nice to see the boys get their groove back and fake out the EMH too. I’m super torn about what to rate this episode because it says a lot about something when only the last 10 minutes are “good”. Husband and I watched Doom tonight, and it was awful. The best part was when they spent a few minutes in first-person shooter mode as a nod to its origins as a video game, but even that got old after 5 minutes. So I guess that’s the rating – 5 minutes in a 1990’s video game.

TA Out!

My Desktop Is Back!

Date: April 8, 2021

Music Video of the Day:

Happy to have my desktop back!

Life has been interesting and I have been just completely exhausted. It is my fondest intention to get back to Star Trek and writing on this blog more frequently.

My desktop died, but not really. At first it was randomly shutting down. Then the wireless card wouldn’t connect and when I used the troubleshoot to fix it, the entire system would freeze. The husband person who is also an electrical engineer and helped build this desktop thought it was the thermal paste and some other things, so he took apart the beast and put in some new parts (oh and got rid of some of the cat hair that was hiding despite vacuuming recently). Come to find out those things helped, but it was really just a bad update after his desktop displayed some of the same bad behavior.

We also had some guests recently. Two dear friends, who are fully vaccinated and desperately needed a road trip, as well as my in laws who came to collect some family items. They all left and so did hubs for a business trip, and it was three days of being a single parent to five fur children. Work has also finally slowed down, hubs is back, and I’m finally over not feeling great (despite the plant sex happening outside). I am hoping to write either a Star Trek or Sports Nights post tomorrow or Saturday. Missing you all!

TA Out!

April 1, 2021

Date: April 1, 2021

Music Video of the Day:

I heard this was a FAVORITE song of a dear friend of mine 😛

Happy April everyone!

I’m sorry I’ve been MIA the last few weeks.

After my awful reaction to the Covid vaccine, life happened and I’ve been completely swamped at work. My brain has been a giant pile of mush and I just haven’t had the energy to write.

I’m hoping things will slow down in the next few days and I can finally get around to finishing Voyager.

Since I was unable to finish the rest of Women’s History Month in music, here are some female led bands and artists you should give a listen to on top of the ones I already mentioned:

No Doubt
Paramore
Hole
Garbage
Adele
Alicia Keys
Shakira
Lizzo
Amy Winehouse
Demi Lovato
The Bangles

Wishing everyone a great Spring so far and Let’s Go Yankees!

Boondock Saints Double Feature Picture Show

Date: March 20, 2021

Music Video of the Day: Happy 20th Day of Women’s History Month !

So. Much. 80’s. Hair.

From THE BOONDOCK SAINTS "Where you goin? Nowhere". — oh, my dear green beans.

Interstellar News: Still feeling foggy today, so we finished up our annual viewing of Boondock Saints and Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. I haven’t had the head for Trek lately, so you’re all in for a double review. Spoilers ahead.

Boondock Saints original movie — The original.

“Well, that certainly illustrates the diversity of the word.” I can remember the first time I watched Boondock Saints. It was 2004 and I was a first year student in college. I was hanging out with a bunch of my friends and my soon-to-be roommate and instantly fell in love with the movie. “Fuck” has always been my favorite curse word, and this movie is chalk full of its use. I always joke that “F” has been my favorite letter because there’s a picture of my from kindergarten wearing a big letter F at some presentation our class did on the alphabet. I can quote this movie anytime and I do, often. There’s even a Star Trek reference in the first part of the movie when there’s a Russian enforcer named Chekov and I never even caught it until last year’s viewing after starting my journey. I love every character in the original, I love how things just keep happening, and I love how it all comes together. It’s got some racy moments and some language I wish was different, but it’s perfect for an irreverent movie. I mean, this is the only movie where an animal gets hurt and I don’t actually get upset because it’s so absolutely absurd. I cannot hype this movie up enough, it’s just so wonderful and you should watch it when you’re in the mood for something completely insane and awesome, with LOTS AND LOTS of gratuitous violence.

Boondock Saints II: All saints Day — The sequel.

“Who ordered the whup ass fajitas?” 20 years later in the real world and 8 years later in the movie’s world, All Saints Day is dropped on the world and continues to be part of our St. Patrick’s Day festivities. There are some noticeable absences, but not, and it’s nicely done. Rocco may be dead but he shows up a few times to provide the boys with some inspiration, just like in the first film. Smecker died off camera but then we find out that’s a lie, and it’s so good to see him back and sassier than ever. Romeo joins the team, we see what’s become of the Yakavetta crew, and we find out what the brothers have been doing. There are a lot of new players, and some of the old mixed in, and it’s a very fun follow up to the original. Greenly and Noah die at the end, both very sad but noble deaths, and it’s unclear how Romeo fares since he’s still unconscious. The thing that never sat well with me here is how Smecker talks about busting them out of jail and “going bigger”, but the boys did nothing for EIGHT YEARS after Boston. It’s not like they went to other cities or countries and killed more bad guys, they just laid low. I think Smecker is talking about using them kind of like a Suicide Squad, especially if justice does not prevail through the courts, but it’s just not clear what’s been happening in the intervening 8 years. The dialogue is still awesome, though risque, and the rant Rocco goes on about men being men is absolutely misogynistic… but it fits. It doesn’t overshadow the original but is a worthy follow up and I enjoy watching it every year.

Sláinte, TA Out!