Wow, is the first word that came to mind when I saw the teaser for the new Star Trek movie, Star Trek Into Darkness which will hit theaters on 5/17/13. The look and feel of this movie looks intense and very serious. I am definitely excited about this film and if you’re a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch, who stars in Sherlock Holmes, then you’re in luck as he has made his way into the next chapter of the Star Trek universe. Check out the exclusive teaser trailer below!
NASA has recently discovered what they think is the most distant object to ever be observed. This object is actually a galaxy named MACS0647-JD and it’s so far away that normally we wouldn’t be able to see it, even with our best telescopes. So, how are we able to see it then? Well, we lucked out, we got a little help from a cluster of galaxies known as MACS J0647+7015. Large celestial objects like galaxies have such large gravitational influence that they can actually distort and bend light passing near them. In the case of MACS J0647+7015, NASA was able to use this gravitational distortion as kind of a deep space magnifying glass. This effect is what enabled NASA to capture the light of this distant galaxy.
The light of MACS0647-JD has taken nearly 13.3 billion years to reach Earth. We are essentially looking at an object from the theorized beginning of the universe (the big bang). This amazing discovery actually gets me thinking about the distances between objects in space and how long it takes for light to travel between them.
What if we could somehow instantaneously appear 65 million light years away from Earth, and what if we had a telescope with us that was capable of zooming in all the way to the Earth’s surface. Would we see dinosaurs walking the Earth? Theoretically, yes, we should. This raises some fun ideas about what’s possible in the universe. What if we just went a fraction of our first trip away from Earth? Perhaps we only go far enough away to witness the early beginnings of human civilization and maybe we could just get it all on video. This video would be our exact history, nothing unchanged or lost from our true story. How amazing would that be?
Assuming that in our hypothetical world we can travel to almost any distance, we could actually watch the beginning of our solar system. We could know truly how the Moon was formed and perhaps even watch our solar system form, maybe even watch the Milky Way form. Of course we would need to somehow move our camera closer to the objects we are observing at a relatively quick rate in order to watch the creation of large objects like the Milky Way form in a reasonable amount of time, basically a galactic time lapse. Just a little food for thought.
To see a full article on the new discovery, head over to the official NASA post.
Disney has purchased Lucasfilm, which is owned entirely by George Lucas himself, for $4.05 Billion. Lucas will receive approximately half of that amount in cash and half in Disney shares. Disney will completely take over Lucasfilm Ltd., LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, and yes that means the Star Wars franchise as well. Lucas mentions that he feels it’s time to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers and that a large corporation like Disney will help protect Lucasfilm.
Disney has already made plans to continue the Star Wars franchise by creating another installment with George offering a few tips here and there but not taking any major role in the film making process at all. The new installment will be Star Wars Episode 7 and is scheduled to be released in 2015. It is important to note that Disney has been very successful in working with Marvel and Pixar, so this whole deal seems a little less scary when you take into consideration the talent that Disney has.
Many may be delighted to see George Lucas finally hand over the reins to someone else, while purists may find the move a bit upsetting. I remain skeptical but optimistic and as always the proof is in the pudding. The fact is that the deal is done and work is already underway. We will just have to see what they come up with, but again considering Disney’s ability to not only turn film into gold but create quality films, I think this may be the best possible way to move all of Lucas’ creativity forward.
Star Trek The Next Generation was a great show and I think it’s about time that we bring Star Trek back to television. I was sitting at my computer thinking about the hit television series The Big Bang Theory after I watched this seasons first episode, and then I started thinking about Wil Wheaton and the rest is history. I want the sci-Fi series back and I think as long as it’s done well it should be able to gain an audience.
In a recent interview with Wired, Michael Dorn -who played Worf in the Star Trek series- mentioned that todays science fiction television lacks the optimism that previous television series like Star Trek The Next Generation had. Dorn talks about how we need a show that can help us escape from all of the day-to-day crap that goes on in the real world and that can leave us with a positive feeling.
I believe there is a large audience out there for a new Star Trek project but as Dorn mentions in the interview, sci-fi has taken on a different look and the original formula that made Star Trek work back then will not work now. The series would most likely need to take on a new approach in order to get a green light and gain viewership. Dorn also mentions how it would be nice for Star Trek to be a catalyst for change, which I think we need desperately.
I’m not saying that there isn’t any good sci-fi out there, I am just saying there isn’t enough. Many new shows fail to hold my interest and the quality of the storyline and production effort are just laughable. In a day and age where reality television has dominated the air waves, I believe it’s time to move on toward better writing.
There are so many great sci-fi stories out there could easily make for great television, it just seems that networks don’t care to look for them, especially if they don’t all involve some type of post apocalyptic storyline. Again, there are a few good shows out there including one that I think is done really well, the Fox series Fringe. Fringe pulled me in right away and I love the idea of playing around with parallel universes and trying to understand complex issues with time.
For now we can only hope to see something come together that will inspire us and capture our imaginations. Don’t forget that we don’t have to wait for big television networks to bring us a good story though, there’s plenty of great sci-fi out there to read and if your looking for a place to start I would like to direct you toward the science fiction and fantasy themed book club, Sword and Laser.