Do we get this guy?

Fopah · Post by **Fopah** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 8:51 am

hey glauber... i only watched a few of the early episodes. I stoped watching it because it seemed to be getting sort of raunchy with the T'fal, especially that one episode where the horny alien comes on the ship and makes everyone want her... is that what you are sort of tlaking about that is the reason it wont last?

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:17 am

No, that wasn't what i had in mind, but it fits so well, doesn't it?

I think it's T'Pol, btw, T-Fal is a make of frying pans (but you knew that, i'm just setting it straight before my workplace gets stormed by a ravaging mob of trekkies in Klingon outfits). Yes, that's annoying too. I guess she's like Jessica Rabbit. It's not her fault that she's gorgeous.

Every Star Trek has one curvy allien female: Uhuru, Troy, Seven-of-Nine, T'Pol. Uhuru wasn't alien in the same sense as the others, but she was black. Uhuru+Kirk was the first inter-racial kiss on American TV, by the way. Of course it only happened because their minds were being controlled by a telepathic baddie.

There's also always a pinocchio who strives to become human: Spock, Data, the Doctor, Seven, T'Pol. I missed a couple of episodes, but wasn't there an aborted plot about one of the principals having "become a clone" and having to become human again?

And so on... it's all very formullaic.

But what annoys me in this season of Enterprise is the intrusion of USian politics. First the Sulliban (Taliban?) and then the war against the Xindi. Star Trek has always been an optimistic escape into a future where war and even money have been transcended. If i want to see Americans bombing civilians (because they had to!) or stealing from friends (because they had to!), i'll watch the news instead.

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:23 am

How did this become a Star Trek thread?

AFAIK, the only person to play whistle on Star Trek was Jean-Luc Piccard (in 2 episodes).

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:26 am

I think it's sposed to be T'Pau. The "old crone" in the original series, since I'm told "Enterprise" allegedly pre-dates Star Trek.

Sadly I do not have TV, but a trekkie friend of mine will insist on passing such trivia to me...

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 9:52 am

GaryKelly wrote:I think it's sposed to be T'Pau. The "old crone" in the original series, since I'm told "Enterprise" allegedly pre-dates Star Trek.

Yow! How come i never made the connection! How long do Vulcans live, then? T is already over a hundred years old, and Enterprise predates the original series by about a hundred years. She must have made her peace with the Vulcan government then.

The one time where Spock loses it in the original series and shows some affection for Jim Kirk, Kirk asks him: "how come i still don't know your first name?" and Spock says "you couldn't pronounce it!"

The Weekenders · Post by **The Weekenders** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:01 am

I watched Idol once. It made me feel cheap and dirty. Semi-seriously, it's like watching a car wreck and feeling guilty for slowing down. Or sitting in the Emperor's box at the Collosseum holding your thumb up or down and indulging in those kind of power fantasies.

But its really just a re-iteration of Amateur Hour concept, nothing new, just higher production values.

What has amazed me though, is that it has made careers for its winners. I thought they would win on the show and that would be it. But they are now celebrities with tours and everything...

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:48 am

The Weekenders wrote: What has amazed me though, is that it has made careers for its winners. I thought they would win on the show and that would be it. But they are now celebrities with tours and everything...

It remains to be seen how much of a career the winners have. I believe those that have staying power will eventually write their own material. For those viewers familiar with the show, it is no surprise that the top performers have commercial success.

The reasons are many: The top finalists can sing. They have to start by singing acapella for 20 or 30 seconds to impress, and then at each stage have to sing in different styles to get through. Few commercial recording artists could make it through a similar process, because many of them can't carry a tune acapella, and because they can only sing in two or three styles. It can be a brutal process at times, and luck plays a role. However the top finalists usually have talent and a lot of it.

Most of the contestants are genuine, they are real people. Many of them are starry eyed and likeable and would have never made it in the dog-eat-dog music business without the TV show.

Another phenomenon is the love and support that people shower on the contestants. Anywhere away from the big cities, an American Idol finalist is big news. Local media, and the local fan base support their local star.

The biggest reason is that it is a popularity contest on a highly rated TV show. The top vote getters receive active support from millions of people that vote for them week after week. This is an instant fan base when the CD comes out or a tour is announced. If a person is phoning in to vote for a singer every week, that same person is likely to buy the CD.
+ Bill

SwtCaro · Post by **SwtCaro** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:01 am

I think Vulcans are supposed to live several lifetimes of humans. Spock's father Sarek went through a couple human wives (meaning he outlived them) before he died, if I remember right. I think he was just over 200 years old, and died early at that.

But, according to the startrek.com there is T'Pau (Spock era) and there is T'Pol. I don't think they're supposed to be the same person. The names are just similar. I remember a T'Para from a novel.

Just some more useless trivia for you.

SwtCaro

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:03 am

BillChin wrote:The reasons are many: The top finalists can sing. They have to start by singing acapella for 20 or 30 seconds to impress, and then at each stage have to sing in different styles to get through. Few commercial recording artists could make it through a similar process, because many of them can't carry a tune acapella, and because they can only sing in two or three styles. It can be a brutal process at times, and luck plays a role. However the top finalists usually have talent and a lot of it.

I agree. In the early stages the producers let in a lot of "dogs" that frankly are there only to be thrashed and ridiculled (unfortunately many people like this kind of entertainment). But when you get to the final stages, the artistry is impressive. The repertory may be stupid and all that, but the singing is very good. I especially like the idea of singing a capella, because they can't hide behind slick arrangements.

The judges are excellent too, even though they have more than a little talent for self-promotion. They understand show business and say it as it is. At least i thought this was the case in the 4 or 5 episodes that i've seen.

What really baffles me is... Survivor! Especially the naked gay guy.

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:28 am

NorCalMusician wrote:We don't have cable or even ANY sort of antennie on our house. I would rather "waste" time "learning" on the internet! We do watch movies that we rent though.

Yeah, same with us (except we do have rabbit ears for the TV). We get about 6 or 7 local channels, depending on the weather. We ditched the cable in favor of getting a DSL line.

Steven

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:29 am

If you get cable, you can get Internet and TV! Double the educational value!

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:29 am

glauber wrote:What really baffles me is... Survivor! Especially the naked gay guy.

Don't you mean the naked gay RICH guy? Hey, whatever works!

Steven

Steven · Post by **Steven** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:30 am

glauber wrote:If you get cable, you can get Internet and TV! Double the educational value!

And several times the price....

glauber · Post by **glauber** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:31 am

Here in the wild west suburbs of She-CAW-go, DSL costs about 10 times more than cable; cable's the only game in town. It depends mostly on how far you are from the nearest phone switching station, since DSL comes over phone lines.

Before the cable companies started selling internet here, the only other way was to set up an antenna on the roof and do direct line of sight. That's expensive but not horribly so, but you have to sign a 2-year contract, and you have to install that ugly antenna.

PhilO · Post by **PhilO** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:54 am

Have to admit we have come to enjoy the extravaganza the last two years. Up to now, the voting seemed to reflect what we at least considered to be accuracy and good taste. This last week really was weird (although I'm still not convinced they may do this just to arouse interest); the three best voices and performers by a wide margin got the least votes? I didn't think the one that departed (Jennifer?) has star quality, but the other two are outrageously talented; one will have a singing career anyway and I predict that Quentin Tarantino will soon cast the other in an upcoming movie. The others are just noticeably in a whole other category.

As for Stan Laurel (so aptly noted by Simon), I don't get it - he puts me to sleep, no range and no power and no nuttin'. Are all the latent Dennis Day fans voting?