Weird Trek Episodes - Patterns of Force aka "Why did you use Nazi Germany for your system, you Idiot?

Next up for the month is a return to the OG series for Star Trek. Current events got me wondering about this episode. No, I’m not saying that America is looking like Nazi Germany, okay? With everything going on, I thought I might revisit this one. I needed to break the pattern of “Look at Social Media and be Disappointed by People.” I don’t know what I can add to the conversation other that “F###, f###, f###, and S###,” so I’ll just like and comment a couple of things. Besides, everyone else is saying good things, and for that, I’m glad.

“Patterns of Force” came from the show’s second season. It’s not their best season, but it did have some pretty good episodes. We start out with the Enterprise heading to the planet Ekos to pick up history observer John Gill. I’d make a Johnny Gill reference, but I’ll hold off for now. After they wonder why a rocket was shot from the planet, Kirk and Spock beam down in disguise. Ekos’s technology is similar to 20^th century Earth. What our heroes find is that it’s too similar to 20^th century Earth because they find soldiers dressed up as Nazis.

Trade Tales! - Astonishing X-Men: Torn

Next up is a return to Joss Whedon’s and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men run. It really has been a while since I looked at the first two trades… a long while. I was always meaning to get to this one, but other things kept getting in the way. I guess this was the right time to do this one since Whedon’s name has been thrown around because of his time on Justice League. No, I won’t be discussing the Snyder Cut here… yet (wink, wink).

Anyway, tonight’s trade is Torn… the title, not the trade itself. It contains Astonishing X-Men #13-18. The creative team was pretty much the same with Whedon doing the story, Cassaday doing the art, Laura Martin doing the colors, and Chris Eliopoulos handling the lettering. Around this time, I remember that the book was starting to be delayed. I know it got worse as time went along. I don’t if it had to do with the process or with things changing for the X-Men at Marvel. This was released around the time Decimation, the era where only 198 mutants were left on Earth. So, what happens when the Hellfire Club “returns?”

Astonishing X-Men: Torn

Writer: Joss Whedon

Artist: John Cassaday

Colors: Laura Martin

Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos

Associate Editors: Nick Lowe and Sean Ryan

Editor: Mike Marts

 

Trade Tales! - Exile on the Planet of the Apes

Next up for the month is a return to Boom Comics’ Planet of the Apes books. They had quite a few mini-series and even a main series that was supposed to bridge the gap between Battle for the Planet of the Apes and the first POTA movie. I looked at one of these minis a few years back and quite enjoyed it. I thought it fit well into the original series as a whole and gave an origin for Doctor Zaius.

It’s sequel is today’s pick: Exile on the Planet of the Apes. It mostly has the same team who did Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes. Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman were the writers. Instead of Hardman handling the art, those duties go to Marc Laming. Jordan Bellaire returned to do the colors for the first issue, but Darrin Moore did the rest for the story. Ed Dukeshire stuck around for the letters. So, what happens when humans start to rise up and attack apes?

 

Exile on the Planet of the Apes

Writers: Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman

Art: Marc Laming

Colors: Jordan Bellare and Darrin Moore

Letters: Ed Dukeshire

Editor: Dafan Pleban 

Weird Stargate Episodes - Need aka "A Very Special Episode of Stargate SG-1!"

Daniel: Why do I keep ending up like this? Everyone wants a piece of me! That's cool, but still, I'm a married guy!

Next up is a bit of a new thing that’s kind of a riff off my Weird Trek Episodes posts. I’ve been revisiting Stargate: SG-1 on Amazon Prime and it feels like coming home. I’ve been skipping around with the early seasons, and it is good. You got good heroes, good villains, and a good continuation of what was done in the movie. I ended up coming across an episode that kinda fits the definition of weird, but your mileage may vary. Tonight, it’s “Need,” the 5th episode from Season 2.

The episode starts out with SG-1 arriving a planet that is producing naquadah, a mineral that the Gou’ald use to make their weapons. They do their best to hide from the Jaffa who are forcing the slaves to do their work. Unfortunately, Daniel Jackson has to get into trouble when he sees a young woman try to leap to her death. He saves her, but she leads the Jaffa to the team, and they end up being captured. The leader, Pyrus, forces them to work in the mines. Shyla, the lady Daniel saved, takes a liking to him.

SG-1 tries to escape from the mines, but they cause a cave-in, and Daniel is severely injured. Shyla uses their Gou’ald sarcophagus on him to heal his wounds. It’s also where we find out that Pyrus isn’t working for the System Lords, and that he has used the sarcophagus for centuries. Shyla then manipulates Daniel into using the sarcophagus while healthy, and he ends up getting addicted to its aftereffects over the next few days. Sam Carter, who remembers her time being possessed by a Gou’ald, realizes that this may have happened to Daniel when he returns aloof and distracted. Jack O’Neill pretty much has to keep reminding Daniel that they need to get home.

If you want to look at how politicians view the working class, I think this pic fits.

Even though he’s being used by Shyla, Daniel’s able to get the team out of the mines and back home. Daniel promises to return to Shyla, and even tries to resign from the team after they return to Earth. Later, Daniel starts to have withdrawal symptoms from being away from the sarcophagus for so long. He tries to stage a break out, but Jack is able to get him to come to his senses. After he gets weened off the device’s effects, he asks General Hammond if they can go back to Shyla’s world to help them. Even though she did manipulate him, Daniel still cares for her and does want to help her people mine naquadah in a better way. The episode ends with Shyla destroying the sarcophagus.

I thought that this was a fine episode. It’s not their best, but it’s not “Emancipation” either. It does well for being a by the books episode of SG-1. We got Daniel using the sarcophagus… again, and it actually plays into the episode in a big way. Dude had being using these things since the movie, so it was nice to see it have a negative effect on him. It’s even hinted in the episode that the usage of the sarcophagus is why the Gou’ald are so messed up. It even explained why Pyrus was a bit of a bad guy.  I also thought Shyla was a nice antagonist since she ultimately was trying to find someone to lead beside her when her father dies.

The episode has some nice moments here and there. Seeing Michael Shanks be high when the rest of the team is covered in dirt was hilarious. Another good scene was the Daniel’s and Jacks’ confrontation. You got the idea that Jack went through the same thing, and Michael Shanks played the role well. I will say that it is a bit all over the place with its plot, though. It also takes some time to really get going. Other than those things, this was a fine episode.

In the end, this was nice, but it wasn’t one of the best from this season. Still, if you want to see why the sarcophagus may be a bad thing, SG1 in trouble again, and another hot lady lusting over the awesomeness of Daniel Jackson, give it a shot. Anyway, I’ll get back to some writing and reading. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there. Be wary of hot women getting you the hook up to the nasty stuff.

Random Thoughts On... House of X/Powers of X

Other titles for this post were the following:

• Random Thoughts On… Jonathan Hickman having his way with the X-Men Books
• Random Thoughts On… wondering what the crap Jonathan Hickman is doing with the X-Men Books
• Random Thoughts On… Jonathan Hickman returning to Marvel to do some more greatness
• Random Thoughts On… Jonathan Hickman flirting with your mother, your ex, your current spouse, and rebuilding two houses while helming the X-Men books for the foreseeable future

Okay, that last one was a stretch.

Next up for the month, I thought I would come to the present and get back to the X-Men. It’s been a minute since I’ve talked about Marvel’s “Merry” Mutants. One of these days, I’ll actually watch Dark Phoenix (I got it for my sister for Christmas), but today is not that day. I got two posts planned for them this month. While one is in the more usual mode for the team (psychics and aliens, ‘yo!), this is one that is definitely different for the team and mutants as a whole.

Erik may be wearing white, but that mouth hasn't changed.

During March 2019, Marvel announced that Jonathan Hickman would be returning to Marvel. Hickman’s done quite a bit for the comics industry. He’s done quite a few books for Image Comics like East of West, The Manhattan Projects, and The Nightly News. During his time at Marvel, he did a lot of stuff like working in the Ultimate Universe and having long runs with Fantastic Four and the Avengers. He also helmed events like Infinity and the new Secret Wars. He even helped write a couple of issues of Avengers vs. X-Men.

I pretty much like his runs on Secret Warriors, New Avengers, Avengers, and Secret Wars. Him coming to X-Men definitely made me curious. I tried to get back into the X-Men for a few times over the years, but I never stuck for whatever reason. I mostly stuck around on the recent Uncanny X-Men book, but it just felt like the same old stuff. I know that the X-Men have to protect a world that hates and fears them, but that can get tiring especially when the real world is also looking like that. Suddenly, Hickman comes in promising something new, and it got me interested in what will happen next.

So... what's going on here?

Hickman started his X-Men run with two miniseries: House of X and Powers of X (10). They were released weekly from July 2019 to October 2019. One week, you’d get HOX. The next week, POX would be released. Hickman wrote both books. Both books had different artists. On HOX, we had Pepe Larraz on pencils and inks. For POX, R.B. Silva did the share of pencils and inks while Adriano Di Benedetto helped with additional inks. So, why in the #### did Professor Xavier team up with Magneto and decide to form a sovereign mutant nation?

House of X

HOX pretty much sets the new status quo for the X-Men and mutants in general. To keep it simple (and somewhat spoiler-free), Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Moria McTaggart (it’s a long story) end up forming a sovereign mutant nation on Krakoa. Any and all mutants are invited to live there. The only way to the island is to use these custom-made gateways that are parts of Krakoa. These gateways are all set up all around the world. Some surprising mutants even get an invite to Krakoa. They’ve also even set up imports and exports of pharmaceutical drugs that can help humanity.

And he's back...yeah, I think Scott Summers is a BAMF.

While things seem to be pretty nice for the mutants, the X-Men are still going to do their thing in protecting themselves from enemies of mutants. A new human enemy enters the fray: ORCHIS, a rogue anti-mutant group that’s composed of former members of Marvel organizations. When the X-Men get word that ORCHIS is up to no good in space, Xavier has Cyclops assemble a team to stop the plan they’re hatching. They succeed in their mission, but it comes at a cost…, or so that’s what we’re to believe at first. Let’s just say that death may not be too final.

Xavier and the others also set up their own government with its own rules. We find out personally happens when one breaks one of their three cardinal rules. I’ll just say that it’s Sabertooth. That jackass has to always make trouble for folk, ya know? Anyway, after all the business is settled up and… Cyclops team “returns”, we get to have a little ‘ole rave. Luckily it’s not bland and off-putting like the one from the Matrix Reloaded.

Powers of X

POX shows how the new status quo came about and why it’s ended up being the way it is. We also get three other timelines, and we see how they play into the present day know as X1-Year 10. X0-Year Zero is pretty much the past. It shows Moira and Xavier setting their plan into motion over the years. X2-Year 100 shows a post-apocalyptic future for the X-Men… a usual thing. Machines have taken over Earth, and only a few Mutants are left standing to fight. The final timeline is X3-Year 1000. In this era, humanity has evolved even further with machines while what’s left of the mutants is in a literal zoo. I ain’t going to spoil all of this, but just know that ‘ole Moria is the key in all four timelines.

OPINION

This was a pretty great read. When you got me wanting to come to the LCS every week to pick up an issue, you’re doing something right! When I heard Hickman was coming to the X-Men, I already was getting ready for what might come. I didn’t expect this, though. Talk about changing the game for the X-Men and mutants as a whole. That first issue pretty much lets you know that things have changed. You got Magneto in white, Xavier looking even more shady (and kinda dressed up like the Maker, a Marvel villain), Logan laughing with kids, Jean Grey in her old Marvel Girl outfit for some reason, and Cyclops being an ass to the Fantastic Four. It’s awesome!

The X2 timeline was a pretty interesting one.

Hickman does some retconning with this new venture and you can look at Moira McTaggart as the big change. It’s revealed her that she’s a mutant who basically reincarnates into her own body and resets the timeline. You find out that she lived ten lives as herself with the current day being the 10th one. In her issue, you pretty much find out why she’s done all of this for Xavier. With the island, they end up doing some really crazy stuff. The pharmaceuticals is probably the least crazy thing the mutants do here.

At that moment... Xavier learns that Moira is into a lotta things... oh my.

One of the things I really like about it all is how much thought goes into the island itself. It’s not just  another Asteroid M scenario. A lot of thought gets put into how this island will function and operate. A government gets set up, they get imports/exports set up, and they even get some custom laws set up. With their new status quo, they gotta set up some new rules. Another that was pretty cool was Hickman’s info dumps. Anything he couldn’t explain in the story gets thrown into a page of text. Luckily, most of it is actually interesting to read since you get the idea that he’s setting up more for the future there.

The buzz on this image and a couple of other things involving these three has been funny.

Seeing the various timelines was also a treat. It was cool to see how Xavier went around to pretty familiar characters to get the house set up. The X2 timeline was particularly interesting since you not only saw a couple of familiar faces, you also saw combinations of certain characters lumped into one person. We also got one of the funniest and scariest Sentinels in Nimrod. For a robot, That dude was all over the emotional spectrum. The final timeline, X3, was just okay. You really don’t know why we’re here until the last issue. Before that, it’s just some weird stuff involving the Phalanx, the X-Men’s version of the Borg.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the X3 timeline, but the ending makes up for it.

The artwork is pretty good all-around. Larraz did an awesome job with House of X, and Silva did great with Powers of X. There’s really nothing bad thing I can say about the art here. It does what it needs to and then some. We got some new but familiar designs for all the X-Men. For example, we got Logan back in a classic suit, and Magneto looks awesome in white. I also liked how Krakoa looked in general. It’s like a weird organic and technological combination.  The only thing I do think is weird is that Jean’s back in her 70’s costume with the skirt. I wonder if there is a story reason behind that…

Overall, this was cool. The only issues I do have is that it can geta little too wordy at times. Also, that X3 timeline thing could’ve been handled a little better. Even those issues and any small nitpicks don’t hurt the overall story. This was a good start for this new era for X-Men. It helped me, someone who’s had a hard time getting into the X-Men in recent years, stay with an X-Men book. I’m only getting the main X-Men book for now, but that may change. Anyway, I’m off to read some Asimov. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and don’t tick off the really giddy Sentinel.

TV Talk - Earth: Final Conflict Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my look at Earth: Final Conflict. Here, I'll go into the myriad of issues the show had. I'll also list some episodes to check out if you're curious. 

CONS

Ah, the Atavus... they suck so much that it's not even funny. It's actually kinda sad.

So… this show had issues. While there are things to enjoy, it has problems. The biggest issue it faced was its constant revamping. I don’t know all of what was going on behind the scenes, but it apparently wasn’t that good. I’ve tried to see what was going on, but I can barely find anything. I did read that Majel Barrett wasn’t happy with how the show got revamped in Season 2. That’s probably why she was barely on it after that first season.

TV Talk - Earth: Final Conflict Part 1

Next up for the month is a show that I sort of remembered from my childhood. The 90’s was a time where you had sci-fi shows popping up everywhere. A couple of them had the name of a certain sci-fi creator in the title: Gene Roddenberry. You may have heard of him. While Roddenberry is known for Star Trek, he did try to get other sci-fi shows made. Earth: Final Conflict was one of them, but it was under another name called Battleground: Earth. Work on Star Trek pretty much kept that from being made, and then, he passed away in 1991. Eventually, his wife,  Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, decided to take the torch and get it produced under Tribune Entertainment.

The show started in 1997 and ended in 2002. I pretty much was watching the show as it aired on FOX. I think it was also on UPN, but don’t quote me on that.  My family finally decided to get cable, and it was one of the shows that was part of this block on FOX. This station was also where I started to watch shows like Star Trek: DS9, the X-Files, reruns of TNG, Hercules, Xena, and a bunch of other stuff. It was a fun time. I also remember how tumultuous this show could be since it seemed like things changed from season to season. When I saw that it was on Amazon Prime, I had to check it out again. I originally was going to do a look at it by season, but as I started to watch more, one (or two) posts should do it since this wasn’t as good as I remembered.

Zo'or is that Taelon!

Earth: Final Conflict was about how the Taelon Companions come to present day Earth with the promise of peace. The show picks up three years later and the Taelons have more or less integrated themselves into everyday life. What they and others don’t know is that there is a human resistance movement being built up by billionaire Jonathan Doors (David Hemblen). William Boone (Kevin Kliner) is a detective who’s picked by the Taelons to protect Da’an (Leni Parker). Ronald Sandavol (Von Flores), the head Companion Protector, also plays a big role. Boone also ends up as a double agent for the Resistance as they try to find out why the Taelons are on Earth in the first place. He’s aided by Lili Marquette (Lisa Howard), Augur (Richard Chevolleau), and others.

Random Thoughts On... Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 7

Next up for the month is something that I didn’t think would ever come: the 7th season of The Clone Wars. I wasn’t watching the show when it first ended, but when I caught up with it on Netflix, I fell in love with it. While it was a good show on its own, it helped make the prequel trilogy a little better in my eyes. When Season 7 was announced, I was psyched. What happened to some of our favorites like Ahsoka, Rex, and the others at the end of the war? Even though Rebels was out there filling in holes, this was one hole that definitely needed filled. Most of our answers were revealed through 12 weekly episodes that started to air on Disney + on February 12th, 2020. We got three arcs:

• The “Bad Batch” arc - The first four episodes follow Captain Rex and Anakin as they team up with a group of special clones called “The Bad Batch.” Imagine the Suicide Squad but as clones. They have their own set of special abilities. Rex uses the team to find an old captured squadmate of his and help get a victory on a Separatist stronghold.
• Ahsoka’s post-Jedi Order adventures - This takes place sometime after Ahsoka has left the Jedi Order. She’s still on Coruscant when she meets two kinda annoying sisters: Trace and Raffi. Trace takes on to Ahsoka immediately, but Raffi’s is wary of her. Ahsoka gets pulled into a smuggler deal Raffi is running and shenanigans happen. They end up dealing with the Pyke Syndicate. It all ultimately leads to Ahsoka ending up on Mandalore for the final arc.
• Siege of Mandalore/Order 66 - This final arc pretty much takes place during the events of Revenge of the Sith. We get to see our main characters have one final goodbye before all the major stuff goes down. For the arc itself, we get to see the return of Maul as he tries to lead Mandalore. After what may be one of the best lightsaber fights on the show happens... we get Order 66 involving the show’s favorites. Tears may be shed.

Random Pics of the Month - Six Things about Zo'or from Earth: Final Conflict

For tonight's post, I'm in the cold, windy city of Chicago for family business. I probably won't be posting this weekend, but I wanted to get this one out for this character. Zo'or is a Taelon Companion from Earth: Final Conflict. The Companions were a benevolent but dominant force that came to Earth on the show. While Da'an was our nice Taelon, Zo'or was far from that. While the show had problems, the Taelons and another character (Ronald Sandavol) made the show worth watching. So, here are six things about our "lovable" Companion:

When Zo'or first shows up, you can already tell he's gonna be the "Kai Winn" of the show. 

Don't give Zo'or that good stuff. He won't know if he's coming or going.

Zo'or is not a fan of replicas. He also knows when he's getting the bad batch of Kryss, a Taelon narcotic.

Zo'or is the only Taelon that has "Let's Drown Them Like Rats" on his list when humanity is concerned.

Zo'or can sometimes be swayed by Da'an to be not so douchey... sometimes. Zo'or would be the show's biggest douchebag if Sandavol and the Atavus weren't around.

Finally, Zo'or is kinda hot... as an Atavus. While Season 5 is a piece of crap, at least we get to see Zo'or sport a new body.

In the end, Zo'or (as well as the rest of the Taelons) made this show decent. Too bad it always wasn't that way. Y'all find out next time as I do an overview of the pretty much forgotten show.

Weird Star Trek Episodes - Schisms aka "Alien Abductions Galore!"

Well, it’s Star Wars day, and I’m talking about a TNG episode… yeah, I’m that guy. Honestly, I would’ve done a post on the 7th season on Clone Wars (it just ended today), but I’ll wait on that. I might as well start off Sci-fi Month with my favorite sci-fi franchise. Tonight, it’s Star Trek’s version of an alien abduction episode… yeah, Trek’s done those, but this is a little different. It’s from the sixth season of the show.

The episode starts off with life on the Enterprise-D drumming along. Riker’s a bit restless, and it doesn’t help that Data has decided to host a poetry session in 10-Forward. “Ode to Spot” is definitely a classic. Also, Geordi is also making modifications to the sensor array. Things start to feel off on the ship when other members start to feel restless and a little paranoid. Riker, Geordi, Worf, and others feel like something’s off. Even Data’s been screwed with, and all this comes as they find a weird anomaly in Cargo Bay 4.

You know it's bad because Riker has issues when the hair is razzled.