Sometimes being a nerd is hard. You get made fun of a lot, you’re usually kind of pasty and there are swirlies involved.
But if you’re lucky enough to land a hot wife who indulges your nerd tendencies? Well, you’ve just hit the jackpot, tiger. Just try not to be a jerk about it like Tom is in the most recent incentive sketch. To see what I’m talking about, vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.
I like drawing the comics where Cami geeks out with Tom from time to time. I’ve done a few of them in the past and I think it helps to move their relationship beyond the loudmouth protagonist and the long-suffering wife. Not to say there isn’t some of that to be found in Theater Hopper, but that Everyone Loves Raymond dynamic gets a little tired after a while.
Hopefully it’s clear that Cami is dressed up as an Orion slave girl from the original Star Trek. I never know if I’m in safe territory when I’m making visual references from 40 years ago.
It was… interesting doing photo research for the Orion slave girl’s “look.” I found a bunch of images from when they made an appearance on Enterprise a few years ago. It was as if someone had sprayed them down with industrial strength whore. Guess I missed that episode.
Of course, there are the ubiquitous images of everyday fans dressed up as Orion slave girls. Ladies, I love you. But take my word for it when I suggest that there aren’t many of you who can pull off the green skin and tattered rags look. I’m just trying to be a friend.
So, as you know, Star Trek is in theaters today and it’s been really interesting getting e-mails and reading the feedback of people who’ve seen it. Pretty much all of them are saying it’s awesome. My expectations were already a little high, but I’m starting to worry that if I don’t see this movie soon, my expectations will be TOO high and it’s going to disappoint me in some way.
People keep saying that the film is like this year’s Iron Man. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, I think I might have seen a commercial for Star Trek that says the same thing. So who knows if that’s their real opinion or if they’re just parroting something they’ve heard elsewhere (like I have).
I assume people make the comparison for the fact that it sounds like Star Trek simply gets a lot of things right and puts the characters to the fore with a healthy dose of the science fiction elements that support them. I think the biggest thing Star Trek has going for it is that people are starting to remember that it was the characters – specifically the relationship between Kirk and Spock – that made the show so much fun to watch.
I mean, let’s be frank. By the time they got around to making Star Trek VI, it was more about the novelty of seeing these actors we had grown to love on screen together one. last. time. I mean, look at the way people treat Shatner these days. He’s like a Goofball Grandfather God. But I think audiences forgot why they fell in love with them in the first place.
I’m hoping to see the film tonight. Probably a late showing. Cami has no interest in it, of course. That’s okay. I can nerd it up all the more flying solo. I’ll let you know what I think on Monday. Or, if you want to know before then, I’m sure I’ll tweet about it at some point over the weekend. Maybe come back here for the more in depth review…
Anyone else ready to be beamed up? What are your expectations for the film? What elements do you think they have to include to keep the die-hard fans happy? What’s something new you’d like to see contributed to the franchise? Leave your thoughts below!
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Hey Tom- Imagine your favourite team has just one the championship. Now Imagine they followed it with a naked pussycat dolls ft Playboy show. Times that by 12,00000. You are now seeing the new Star Trek film.
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Now what did I say about getting my expectations up too high!?
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One of the reasons I don’t really want a girlfriend is because my expectations are set *far* too high on the hot-geek-o-meter for anybody to really satisfy them. :0 This just sets them higher. -_-
Spectacular drawing, man!
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While Iron Man is a good comparison for the tone of the new Star Trek, I now feel Batman Begins is a more apt comparison in that it takes a cultural icon (in that everybody knows something, however small, about it) and revamps & re-invigorates it for a modern audience. Think of it as Ultimate Star Trek.
And Dave, it’s just a movie
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As much as I appreciate the compliments on the drawing, Doshi, please don’t let it dissuade you from finding happiness with the opposite sex!
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I’m siding with Dave – seen it two times now, planning for a third on Sunday.
Tom, great drawing (and even better line
) – you do realize there’s a stunning green chick in the movie?
P.S.: As for a wife that indulges nerd tendencies… http://chiefjudy.com/2008/11/08/lancer/
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I had heard that there was supposed to be an Orion slave girl in the movie. I think she was a former Playboy Playmate, too?
I guess I didn’t fit that into the blog today!
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Saw it last night. It had me from the get go and didn’t let up until the lights came on. I haven’t been that engrossed in a film whole heartedly since Batman Begins.
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It’s a great movie. Not a stunning, incredible, mindblowing amazing movie. But a great one. It didn’t exceed my expectations for it (which were quite high), but it did meet them, and with gusto.
Maybe it’s just weird seeing Star Trek with great special effects…
More than that, though, the new actors are morphed seamlessly into the original crew, but even as the acknowledge old character molds, they immediately start to break free of them. Each of the main bridge crew says their key catchphrases without ever breaking their stride (and plenty of other intensively nerdy references are abound). Pile this on top of the fact that this might be the first Star Trek movie with clear and obvious comic relief. I laughed out loud multiple times during the film, not because anything looked ridiculous, or stupid, but because it was genuinely funny.
…weeeeird
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I thought the movie was really good, too, but the INSANE amount of lens-flares are keeping me from going back any time soon. I can barely see to type this comment.
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Monday’s comic is pretty much going to be about lens flares.
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My friend is a pretty big nerd for the original Trek series and he made an interesting point about what he hopes to see (he hadn’t seen it when we talked, and I don’t think it’s really in the film) which is a strong speculative fiction concept that the movie revolves around. He was mentioning that a lot of the original series feels much like the Twilight Zone, or the Outer Limits in that each episode would center on a core sci-fi concept (like a lot of sci-fi short stories) like a mirror world or something and the characters for the most part took a back seat to exploring that idea. I think this is one of the things a lot of people identify with sci-fi besides the interstellar setting. Then later, in the movies, the concepts took a back seat to finally exploring the characters more.
I’m hearing a lot of people complain that the new flick puts the sci-fi on the back burner too much in favor of action and character development, which I agree that it does, but I think it’s a good thing. I think the film took a lot from what worked in Wrath of Kahn and mixed in a healthy dose of what worked in First Contact and just runs away with it. I really liked it.
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On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give the new Trek a solid 5. It’s pretty watchable, and it’s probably worth paying full price for, but I have no desire to see it again. And, now that that’s out of the way, I can say that it succeeds more as an action/adventure movie than as part of the Trek franchise. To me, it just felt hollow, all flash with no real substance.
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Shawn, I think that’s a fair assessment. Star Trek is always best when it’s used as a mirror to society. But I don’t think that’s what people want from a summer blockbuster – especially not a reboot where you’re re-establishing the characters in a new context after being off screen for almost 20 years.
I thought the time travel element was very interesting because it not only allowed them to recontextualize certain relationships, but set the stage for whole new adventures. So you know they’re not going to rehash the same stuff.
Mel, I agree that it’s a little hollow, especially at the end. I don’t know what happened. But when younger Spock was piloting that ship, I didn’t feel any danger for him. It’s certainly slick. The lens flares are over done. But considering where the franchise was when we left it, what was on screen this weekend was certainly an improvement.
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I enjoyed the new Star Trek, but it didn’t really wow me. A friend of mine tried to argue that it’s just a dumb summer action movie and that I need to shut my brain off and “love it like everyone else” (her words, not mine). My only response was that it’s not supposed to be a dumb action movie, it’s supposed to be STAR TREK.
You’re right, Tom, it’s a lot better than the last movie. I just think the last thing Star Trek needed was a Star Wars prequel.
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I don’t thing you can categorize Star Trek as a “dumb summer action movie” that you need to shut your brain off for. I mean, it’s not complicated by any stretch of the imagination. But it doesn’t insult one’s intelligence, either.
My feeling is that for a Star Trek movie to be good, it needs a little bombast. Look at Wrath of Kahn and First Contact. Leave the cerebral, society reflecting stuff to the television shows where exposition isn’t a factor. I think the reboot did a good job of focusing on Spock and his obstacles being half human and half Vulcan. But beyond that, there were characters that needed introductions. If they had left those out in favor for a more complicated plot, people would still be crying foul.
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I sense two sides forming- those who see the film for its basic self (An action filled, above average film which is watchable a couple of times) and the Star Trek fanatics (Like me) who, although the film is awesome in itself and will no doubt be successful, would still have cried tears of Joy had the film consisted of 60 seconds of Nimoy powdering Shatners wig…..hmmm…..I would watch that….