Must. Swim. Faster.

I am currently drowning in Christmas shopping and driving around, and filling 8×10 orders (sent out about 40 yesterday, I hope the lab will have my prints ready tomorrow morning so I can get the rest of the orders out by Saturday.)
However, I have a moment to raise my head above water, draw a breath, and share the following:
1. Saw Two Towers last night. Loved it. Darker and scarier than Fellowship. I’ll write up a full review when I have more time . . . in 2004.
2. Just found out that “The First Duty,” which I think is one of Wesley’s finest episodes (even if he *is* the Narc Of Nova Squadron) is on TNN tonight, at 8PM Eastern.
3. I have been totally overwhelmed with e-mails and comments from people who saw The Screen Savers. Thank you to those of you who took the time to let me know that you liked what I did. I had a blast, and I will go back any time they ask me.
4. I haven’t seen Trek X yet, so I can’t give it a review here. However, the emails I’ve gotten from people are pretty much split 50-50, love it and hate it. Based on the box office, I think it’s a safe call to assume that the TNG movies really are finished.
I am ready for the “sitting around the fire with friends and family while drinking egg nog” part of Christmas to begin.
Are we there yet?

93 thoughts on “Must. Swim. Faster.”

  1. I loved Nemesis. It was wonderful. Yum. I was especially pleased to see that you weren’t entirely cut. I saw you at the wedding and I was like “There’s Wesley!” 0o

  2. Ah, last minute Christmas shopping. The stress, the aggravation, the weeding your way thru shop-lifters taking advantage of the extra distractions so the clerks can’t see whats going on. These are just a few reasons why I try to get all my shopping done as early as possible. This year I finished in record time -two weeks before Halloween! I decided everyone is getting a book this year. So, I went online, did a little searching then a lot of purchasing.
    Regarding Nemesis, it was enjoyable yet I did want more ‘something’. There is so much talent in the TNG cast -and not all of it or even most of it is from Patrick Stewart, as wonderful as he can be. I hope there is another TNG movie, I think if Berman were not involved, it could finally reach the potential that TNG is capable of.
    As for TTT, oh my god! I loved it. I loved the conversations between Gollum and Smeagol. I loved the little scenes that drew parallels between Gollum/Smeagol & Frodo. I loved the Ents. I loved the costumes. I loved the arrangement of the scenes. I can’t wait to see it again!
    [And I’ll probably see Nemesis again while my friends START their Christmas shopping this weekend.]

  3. damn. 830. should’ve paid more attention when I scanned the star trek section of the tv guide. oh well, theres always next week (on a homework free night, too)
    =( Mel

  4. Well Wil I just wanted to let you know that even though I didn’t get to see you on that techtv show I am glad you had fun.
    I use to have satillite,but I love Roadrunner too much to give it up.
    LOL
    Anyway I’m hoping you will just relax and enjoy time with the wife and kids.
    Cheers!
    Nanny

  5. Next Gen movies over? NAAAH we are talking about paramount here…they may wait 4 years..but star trek is their baby…all the licensing funds they get from trek…no way its over…just wait for the DVD to come out with extra extra footage..then you will see some changes.

  6. Wil is it true you play the Dark Lord Sauron in “The Return of the King”? You may want to get some visine for that eye… Did somebody say there’s a new Star Trek movie out? I hadn’t noticed…

  7. :o( ST X doesnt come out here in Britain til Jan 3rd. But still, ITS CHRISTMAS!!!
    I love this time of year soooo much. In fact I always get depressed after watching the Queens Speech on TV cos its over for another year! But not this year cos I’m off to Spain for New Year! WOO HOO.
    Hope you all have the bestest christmas ever. I raise a glass in your honour and salute you.
    ps. Joke read earlier from a christmas cracker at my office party:- (Stop me if you’ve heard it)
    Q: How many ears did Cartain Kirk have? A: 3. A left ear, a right ear and a FINAL FRONTIER!!!

  8. Go see “Nemesis”, Wil.
    A lot of us want to know what you think, after the ride you’ve taken us on over the last few months with all of the Star Trek ups and downs.
    Think of it as closure.

  9. Wil
    I hope you have finished all your shopping. Star Trek X was good, but nothing compares to ST II. I don’t think any of the other star trek shows could support a movie, so I beleive we have seen the last trek movie.
    Have a great Holiday.

  10. hey, i live in the UK so didn’t get to see you on Screen Savers, however, on the same day, you were on The Weakest Link over here!! very cool dude!
    don’t we all love sitting around the fire at this time of year! I know i do!!!
    anyway, I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year…
    love
    Rach
    xxx

  11. oh yeah, forgot to mention…i think that ‘The Game’ is undoubtedly the best episode! My sister and I have it on video, and whenever we are stuck for things to do, we put it on and cheer ourselves up!! I LOVE THAT EPISODE!!!
    Love Rach
    xxx

  12. I liked? Nemesis. Okay maybe liked is too strong a word given that you can’t really get the tonal inflection of my mind’s voice thinking it. Was I biased because Wil’s scenes were cut? Yeh, it didn’t seem right to just have him sit there at the wedding reception and that be it.
    I had read in TV Guide that Michael Dorn was not into doing this movie and they had to literally beg him. I can see why. There was nothing much there for Worf but some one-liners and grunts really.
    For all the hype that TV Guide gave to Nemesis being helmed by a die-hard Trek fan in John Logan (director\screenplay) the story really didn’t go as high or as far as I expected. Then again Logan’s treatment got re-worked by Berman and Brent Spiner, so it may have been more kickass originally.
    I agree with Wil that this movie looks like a probable end of the TNG film run. Anyone want to take bets against Nemesis not making it back to, its respectable, #2 box office spot a second weekend straight? No disrespect intended but a few of TNG’s luminaries are looking more weathered in age than I’d have thought… has it been that long?
    The Nemesis plot to me came off as a bit threadbare. I liked the action but I sure would’ve liked a more engaging well rounded out story. TNG the series had quite a few well rounded out stories and stories in stories that were exceptional. The TNG movies haven’t managed to pull it off. It may now be too late.
    I recall something that Patrick Stewart said in the TV Guide piece about his feeling that this wasn’t the end of TNG @ the movies. He based it on the box office more than anything else. Trek is a strong franchise but I feel it’s been hampered by too much Berman vision. The series ‘Enterprise’ is evident of this as it sags in the ratings Berman has promised to juice up the action and sex appeal of the show. Hmmm like the 7 of 9 add-in to help Voyager pull itself from a similar slump?
    The best that Trek has to offer may have already passed with TNG and DS9. All that has followed has been more or less retread Treks. Yeh there’s some good in it, the actors are some of the best and undeniably most loved in Trek lore. As fans we adore them and their efforts to breathe life into Star Trek but actors can only do so much with what they are given.
    Data dies and we get Picard chatting it up with B4 (an heir apparent Data in the making)? Can we say hokey? Yes I think we can. I’d have much rather seen Lore in the film. Surprisingly, the Enterprise survives being destroyed just as I was contemplating an Enterprise-F, go figure.
    Want another hokey point? Scimitar’s grand weapon of mass destruction was just a bigger version of the weapon at the start of the movie just with a ship attached to it. Don’t want to hear anyone saying that was one of those full circle thingies either… NO it was just hokey.
    Nice to see the old TNG gang it was. Nicer it would have been if they had a better story to engage one and all.

  13. Yay… Term’s over, my chapter’s in, I’m at home for nearly a month, and I just finished the paper I’m presenting over New Year’s (OK, it doesn’t have an opening. So shoot me.) But *now* I get to shop, and I have to find my nearly-sister-in-law a present too, and I don’t have much money. That sucks.
    And figured I’d share this thought from a very wise green frog:
    “I don’t know if you believe in Christmas/ or if you have presents underneath the Christmas tree. But if you believe in love/ that will be more than enough/ for you to come and/ celebrate with me.”
    Happy Holidays to all, and thanks, Wil, for giving us all a place to hang out. You rule.

  14. Is there really an unwritten rule in Hollywood that the last sequel is always the one to lose money?

  15. mmm, nog…sounds good right about now.
    I just turned on TNG, I forgot which one “First Duty” was, so I *had* to see. WW and RDM look so hot! (I know, I’m supposed to be commenting on WW acting ability, but I can’t help it, “Wesley” was one of my teenage crushes, ah, the days of my innocence…) 😉
    The whole time I’m watching the eppie, I keep thinking why haven’t I checked out “Starfleet Academy” (aka The Japanese Gardens). I’ve lived in SoCal all my life and live less than 10 minutes away from it and I’ve never been there. I even pass by the street it’s on, on my way to work…maybe it’s my aversion to being near sewage, the Gardens are a part of a water reclamation plant…it can smell pretty nasty, even when you’re just passing by…

  16. You saw The Two Towers before Star Trek? I think that says it all.
    I saw them both openning night, and I have to agree that TNG is dead. Of course, comparing those two movies is like comparing little league to the majors – one just ends up looking silly for making the comparison. I love Star Trek precisely because it isn’t just another sci-fi action series. Hopefully someone will come along who can put the soul back in the series sometime soon. And that person isn’t Rick Berman.

  17. Perhaps the true fans, like us, should all get together via the net and devise a Trek movie…bringing Wesley back…and have
    non-demeaning roles for all of the cast members. Heh! Wouldn’t that be grand! :}
    I dunno. I just don’t think Data should have went out like that. I think it should have been Worf. Since Dorn supposedly hated having to do all that makup so much, and from what I understand, was never happy about being on the series anyway…
    Oh but then there is that “Only Klingon in Starfleet” thing…
    Data was the only Android in Starfleet. Why should that have been any different? Besides, I’m tired of the Klingons! I’d like to see a Romulan on board a Fed ship. Yes, a Romulan in a Starfleet uniform! Now wouldn’t that just put a thorn in the Vulcans’ sides?

  18. Man did that Trek X sucked galactic ass. I mean, all the next Gen Treks pretty much sucked.. but this almost topped that horrid last one in suckiness. I snuck into it after seeing LOTR2. I’m glad I saw it though just because it gave me and my nerdy friends hours of entertainment making fun of how bad it was. We never said one thing to each other abour Rings. The flaws are far too numerous to mention here, so I won’t get into it. I think Brent Spiner and his Shatner-sized ego can be to blame for a good chunk of them. I wish Wil would explain what exactly the scene was that got cut. Did it explain why he gave up exploring the glorious wonders of the universe with the Traveler and returned to the exciting life of a StarFleet officer? I’m sure it didn’t, just like they never even bothered to mention data’s other brother Lore. Maybe the TNG films exist in another universe from the TV show.. kind of like Power Rangers the show and Power Rangers the movie. The TV shows certainly are written a hell of a lot better. I doubt (unfortunately) that this will be the last Trek. There are enough nerds out there to always make Treks profitable (asuming Paramount continues its tradition of spending next-to-nothing on their movie production). Even if they made the next movie about the exciting adventures of Troy, Nog and Chakotay it would still probably gross at least 50 million. I hope Wil reviews it and rips it to shreds. I doubt he will ’cause he won’t want to bite the hand that feeds him.. even if that hand just keeps skrewing him over and over again. If Wil was smart, he’d write a tell-all biography like George Takai and go on all the talk shows bashing the Trek’s producers and fellow actors. He’d make a mint!

  19. “The First Duty” is the 1st STTNG my mom, sis and I have sat thru together-they both agree it is some of your best work! Boothby (Ray Walston) is so good-I wish we could have found out more what Picard did to need his help!
    After reading a couple of books about ST by both
    production people (Justman/Solow) and original actors (Nichelle Nichols/Captain Ego), I realize
    R Berman is just a continuation of the morons/a**holes of Paramount/Desilu/NBC of the 1960’s-only he’s worse than greedy, he’s power hungry!
    Don’t worry Wil-his karma is so screwed-he’ll be lucky to come back as a cockroach!
    A Merry Christmas to you and your family-you have earned it!

  20. I give Trek X 2 out of 4 stars. I was… sadly disappointed. I loved all of the actors, as usual. I adore them all, some more than others (like Patrick, Jon, Marina, and Gates) and it was nice to see my favorite characters again. But… really. Stuart Baird should stick to shallow Tomb Raider films (I loved Tomb Raider, but it wasn’t meant to be deep.. it was an action move and that’s what he’s good at, I think).
    Trek X didn’t really draw me in. I didn’t feel emotional at all during the entire film, except during scenes in which Will and Deanna were involved, because of that whole romance backdrop. The so-called villain didn’t seem threatening, really. And Jean-Luc had a decent monologue in there, but mostly, I think the actors were wasted. TNG’s final voyage? Please say it’s not so. They went out with a whimper instead of a bang.
    **** SPOILER BREAK ***
    Below are some questions I have about the film. Do not read if you have not seen it yet and do not wish spoilers. Though I think the film is already pretty spoiled as is.
    *** LAST SPOILER BREAK WARNING ***
    Why the hell was Wes there? I mean, last we heard he went off with the Traveller. Don’t get me wrong… it was nice to see him. But that article Wil linked to was so on the money. NO explanation as to why he’s there or how he got there. Where did they get Picard’s DNA? Where did B4 come from and if he really was created by Shinzon and his cronies, where the hell did they get the blueprints? Why did the arch-enemy Romulans suddenly become friendly? I mean, any enemy of my enemy is my ‘friend’, but only until the shitstorm is cleared and then it’s back to the same old, same old.
    Too many questions… unanswered.
    I’m very sad.

  22. Since you sort of touched on the Christmas subject I would like to say this. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with love and happiness. I am sending in a little poem that says how I feel about this holiday, really just how I feel towards my own family’s views but since I will not have the proverbial man parts to actually give it to em I thought the people here might enjoy…so here goes…(cheeks getting hot, palms getting sweaty) ahem;
    Christmas Time Again
    It is that time of year
    To spread our holiday cheer
    With up our chin
    Our wallet gets spread too thin.
    I cannot afford to buy you the expensive sweater
    But what I can afford is ten times better
    I love you unconditionally from the bottom of my heart
    And a love like that knows no end as it knows no start.
    It is our nature to judge by the gifts we give to our family and friends
    Who receives the most Christmas cards and equally the most who sends?
    It seems this holiday has become a contest
    Who has unsurpassed taste, who we like and who likes us best?
    Please do not get me wrong I am not like the Grinch
    However, on my pocketbook I feel the pinch.
    With a child to raise and student loans to pay
    Just a warm smile and a hug from you would make my holiday.
    With that being said I do not think the same will do for you
    So I will try with all my might to find a gift I can afford too.
    It will not be anything you like; it will never be good enough
    You will open it and say “great more worthless stuff!”
    If I worked a forty hour week and got paid
    Instead of being a 24-7 mother and maid,
    That might make you all so much happier
    Cause the stuff I would buy compared to the year before would not be crappier.
    I must now say for my family that is made up of three
    It is not about the perfect Christmas tree.
    It is about the love and laughter we share with one another
    Not about the gifts that lay under your pretty paper cover.
    You will never understand this, as it is not materialistic
    However, love, now love can just be purely holistic.
    So from now on know that just a hug will do for me
    I hope the same will be enough for you from us three.
    PS- I think I was supposed to be alive in the era when getting a new pair of socks was the best present you could get!
    But again Happy Holidays to those who truly make it a happy time!

  23. DAMMIT!
    (This is directed at the posters and not Wil) If your going to reveal what happens in Nemesis on a posting board at least have the decency to put *SPOILER* in front on your posting. I had been avoiding any news so that IF I chose to see it I could come at it fresh. Now any surprise is ruined!!!
    *Mutter mutter*……..

  26. Its too bad…I thought First Contact was the best movie in the franchise(stealing #1 from the “The Motion Picture”)Really I love all the TNG movies. Havent seen x but ive heard that the movie goes WAY off cannon(and we know how picky trek fans are,there is a lot that wont even watch the movie if it deviates from cannon) and contradicts established “fact”.Also lets face it Patric Stwart(one of my favorite actors) is a man who appears to be in much better shape than most men his age but I just dont buy the “action jackson” motif of this film.Will I see it ABSOLUTELY but most likely in 6 months on dvd.

  27. I liked Star Trek X until I found out that your scenes were cut, that must have hurt. I did notice you in the beginning of the movie though, but I wondered why you didnt have any lines, now I know. But i was wondering. Didnt Wesley leave Starfleet? What was he doing in a Starfleet dress uniform? Just curious.
    Remember Wil, although your scenes were cut, you were still in the movie, and still part of Star Trek, thats something that a lot of people dream about.

  28. You did a super job co-hosting “The Screen Savers,” Wil! Hope they bring you back soon.
    Like you, I’ve had the fun of building and maintaining my own web site, http://www.tuxjunction.net, devoted to my love of jazz and big band music.
    I really like the “Blog” format of your home page, Wil, so if you could pass along a few pointers, I’d appreciate it.
    All the best!
    George Spink
    [email protected]

  29. I’ve been reading for a while, and I’ve been a fan forever, but here’s my first post. Yay me! But seriously you guys.
    I hope you and your family have a lovely holiday season. Xmas shopping may kill me yet, but with the help of the All-Powerful-Egg-Nog, I should survive.
    I saw Trek X, and I honestly thought it was a pretty decent movie. I was, however, quite disappointed at the lack of Wesley in the movie. I’ve been hearing for about a year now that this would be the last TNG movie, so I fully expected to see him do more than sit at a table during the opening scene. Ah well. I liked the action in the movie, and I thought it was a good story idea, but I think a lot of the plot was “rushed” and left way too many things unexplained. I’ll still buy it when it becomes available (and hope for the addition of deleted scenes), and I’m still a Trek fan, but I really think this movie could’ve been done better. *ramble* *ramble*

  32. Wil, I didn’t get to see you on The Screen Savers until yesterday (thank God I remembered to record it!). I really enjoyed your interview of Dr. Kaku (“Hyperspace” is one of my favorites as well) and your interaction with the rest of the TSS crew. My wife came in from work half-way through and asked how often you guest-hosted (I watch the show just enough that she can recognize Leo by face, if not by name), because you seemed very relaxed and natural. Congratulations, and I sincerely hope they have you back.

  33. Aside from comments rudely spoiling those who haven’t seen it, the comments here about Trek X have got me to thinking. It’s one of the things that’s always bothered me about The Franchise during the latter years of TNG: an apparent lack of concern for continuity. Surprise! It coincides directly with the death of Gene Roddenberry, the man who birthed this phenomenon and who cared about keeping his universe consistent. Berman only seems to care about keeping Paramount in the black.
    Now, with this movie probably being the last, we have no *real* closure. And unless the story, plotting, and writing could be guaranteed *spectacular*, I don’t think either DS9 or Voyager crews have what it takes to sustain a big screen movie. Sad to see something I used to love so much milked dry.
    That’s really funny about “The First Duty”, because I was just thinking about that episode the other day. Don’t have cable at present, and all my damn tapes have gone AWOL.

  35. Man, I have to tell you a few things. Things you know already, but like a lot of us, don’t want to admit. It’s not just that TNG is over, movie-wise . . . unless something drastic happens, I see the whole franchise heading for the dumpster. And I really hate to say that. I grew up with the original series, kinda liked the cartoons, loved the new series, yawned at the soap opera on the space station, and plain just wandered away from the extended trek (only 7 of 9 kept bringing me back, but it wasn’t for the story line). The new series is, like, “Hunh? That thing’s still on? Nevermind, there’s a Babylon 5 rerun on channel 6…”
    Worse than hating what I said above, I hate the fact that we may have all seen this coming. Harlan Ellison, crazy little f*cker that he is (by which I mean brilliant, and truly batso) sort of predicted this. Now he gets to grin that idiot grin at us, tsk-tsking all the way.
    Oh, I think the franchise tried to climb out of the rut. The Borg was such an attempt . . . at LAST there was finally a dark side to the Federation! But, no, it wasn’t really dark, just an earth-tone pastel, and a couple of handiwipes and some elbow grease sent it packing. I think we all know what has to happen for the franchise not to go down the dumpster, but we’re afraid (or Berman is afraid that all his pandering to the public will go unpaid) to admit: we have to trim the frick out of this franchise, cut all the bad stuff away, and start from scratch with decent stuff. Yeah, it was always about the story in the first series, and very often during TNG, but Wil, the continuity and story lines have more frayed ends than a fiber rug.
    Loved seeing you in X. Too bad you were only there a moment or two, and then away. High ho. The rest of the story pretty much sucked. We are so starved for quality stuff that we will swallow any sort of swill, it looks like. And that’s too damned bad.
    What happened to movie makers that followed their dream, made the films they wanted, and if people liked them, great? Huston, for instance. Instead we get so much preprocessed lite beverage, with lots of audience voting to make sure it turns out exactly like everyone wants it. If you would pardon the metaphor, instead of a hot groin-busting time, we got a quick stiff hand-job from the school librarian.
    Ah, nevermind. The Two Towers just thrashed the piss out of X. I agree whole-heartedly with your estimation of the film. Better than the first one. Excellent all the way around.

  36. In Australia we have to wait till boxing day to see TTT – but I already have tickets – I’m so excited about it, almost more than Xmas!
    I’m glad people seem to like TTT even though there seems to be heaps of controversy. I guess we couldn’t hope for three perfect movies out of three so hopefully the angst over TTT means it’s more possible that Return of the King will blow us all away. Especially when you consider how the plot development and action are paced in the second book – amazing they could get a decent movie out of TTT at all. Compared to the first and third parts, TTT the book (or section as it originally was) is not as well paced as the other two; it’s definitely the flatter part of the trilogy, despite so many additional characters coming into the story at that point. But it sounds like it’s a brilliant action movie which has now been made from it, yay!
    Data is dead? That’s terrible.

  37. Damnit! I major butt-flubbed my brains not providing proper spoiler space before I posted. So sorry for that, I shall now go and promptly flog myself until Trek comes out with a more respectable TNG film…
    Damn this is gonna take a long time isn’t it?

  38. Funny everyone’s mentioning The Final Frontier. The fact that I actually watched it tonight tells you that cable doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything worth watching on! It sucked as bad as it did the only other time I watched it (when I paid $$$).
    I’m probably skipping ST:X and LOTR — I’m holding out for Antwone Fisher (what, no laughter?). I work with adolescent SOs, and it might be a good flick to show them what happens to their victims. After you see the hot flicks, give it a try. Besides, my kid will rent the LOTR DVD when it’s out. I slept through the first one when he brought it home.
    Umm, I sometimes watch Boston Public just to get a Jeri fix . . . bring on the Voyager flix!
    Blushing,
    Chuck

  39. I saw Twin Towers opening day Dec 18th at noon. My husband and I took the day off from work to do it. Because it was a work day the theater was practically empty. Very worth it. What a FANTASTIC movie!! I just love these characters and every actor is just perfect for the part. The special effects are amazing, especially Gollum and Treebeard. The story is dark and awesome. Sighhhh…

  40. Hey Wil,
    I saw Nemesis twice and just let me say it was a great movie, the best out of all the Star Treks, though I believe the release time was a little too late with Lord Of The Rings coimg out 5 days later. Nemesis should have come out a week or so earlier. I hope this will not be the last TNG movie it’s my favorite of all the series and I would like to see what happens to Brents new character B4. Maybe they will come out with a Voyager movie that would be cool. Though it was messed up that you hardly got any movie time! Did they cut your lines? Have a merry X-mas!

  41. If anything, count yourself fortunate from being removed from Nemesis. It seemed to try real hard but ultimately dropped the ball.
    And no offense intended, but considering the last time we saw Wesley, he was going to be taught manipulations of Space/Time by The Traveler. And he shows up for the wedding? Eh. Odd.
    Anyway, was nice to see you in two crowd shots.

  42. Dear Wil:
    Saw Nemesis it was bad saw you for 3 and half seconds that was bad It was like the Mountain Dew commercial the kids fighting over the Dew the father(Berman)taking it away and the comment was heard “We got hosed Tommy (ST fans who wanted to see the Triuphmant return of Wesley Crusher)”

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