The end of an era R.I.P. TV GUIDE

[Super Monkey]

500 channels.
And they're still nothing on....

I hear that. I very rarely watch TV anymore.

The new Doctor Who series is good.  As are Star Trek: New Voyages and Star Trek: Hidden Frontier.

These are the only shows I watch - not only are they the only shows that I enjoy, but they're the only shows that I find watchable.

You'll note that none of them is made by a big network in New York or California; and none of them is available on cable TV.

A new Dr.Who Box set has been released:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0009AK57Y.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009AK57Y/203-3585656-6571943

But you need a Region Free DVD Player to play it in the US.

[Great Rao]

But you need a Region Free DVD Player to play it in the US.

For those U.S.-based Doctor Who fans who don't want to spring for a region free player, the Region-1 DVDs will be coming out in Canada in a couple of months.

But here's another reason to get a region-free player:

The first Asterix movie, with Gerard Depardieu and Roberto Benigni, and which out blockbustered Phantom Menace back when it came out.  It  was released in every country except the U.S.A.

[Super Monkey]

I have a Region Free player

[Klar Ken T5477]

I've seen the Asterix film (available in R1 as a HK import w/ English  subs).

One of the best film/comics adaptations EVER - so many of the actors look just like their comix counterparts its spooky!

[King Krypton]

500 channels.
And they're still nothing on....

I hear that. I very rarely watch TV anymore.

The new Doctor Who series is good.  As are Star Trek: New Voyages and Star Trek: Hidden Frontier.

These are the only shows I watch - not only are they the only shows that I enjoy, but they're the only shows that I find watchable.

You'll note that none of them is made by a big network in New York or California; and none of them is available on cable TV.

I think what shocks me the most is that New Voyages has sparked some Trek fans to call for a full-blown revival of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy era with new actors, either on the big screen or on TV. (The idea being that if Superman and Batman can be played by several actors, the classic Trek group should be no exception.)

But yeah, I don't watch much TV anymore myself. Network TV doesn't appeal to me, and most of the really good cartoons aren't even in reruns anymore. It's all DVD stuff now.

[Great Rao]

I think what shocks me the most is that New Voyages has sparked some Trek fans to call for a full-blown revival of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy era with new actors, either on the big screen or on TV. (The idea being that if Superman and Batman can be played by several actors, the classic Trek group should be no exception.)

Part of the reason that New Voyages is so good, is because it is made by people who completely understand and love Trek; know what Roddenberry's message is; and who aren't motivated by making Big Money.  I've met these guys and I trust them a lot more than I would trust Paramount.

If the exectuvies took it over, they'd most likely kill it's soul - like they tried to do to Trek in general with Enterprise - where they filled it with sex, hatred, violence, and no message; which is the complete opposite of what Trek should be about and is something that I have absolutely no interest at all in watching.

[nightwing]

I think what shocks me the most is that New Voyages has sparked some Trek fans to call for a full-blown revival of the Kirk/Spock/McCoy era with new actors, either on the big screen or on TV. (The idea being that if Superman and Batman can be played by several actors, the classic Trek group should be no exception.)

The difference is Superman and Batman began life outside of film and, in the end, are bigger than the people who play them.

Kirk, Spock and McCoy, on the other hand, were created as much by Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley as by any writer.  The characters' gestures, inflections, mannerisms, etc are part of who they are in our minds, and all those things came from the actors.  And the chemistry they had together was one of those lucky strokes you can't predict or engineer; it just happens.  I think the idea of re-casting those parts is just as wrong-headed today as it was when Paramount considered it for the first film in '79.

Some of the New Voyages are fun, but I agree with Rao that it only works because nobody from Paramount is involved.  And even then, it's still not as good as most episodes of TOS, even on the one-thousandth viewing.

Anyway, I wouldn't put money on new Trek product of any kind.  It's dead.  Let it be a lesson to people who think they can keep milking the same tired cow forever (are you listening, Eon productions?)