Category: The Silver Screen

Magic and mysticism make Marvel movie magic memorable

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doctor_strange_ver5As a lifelong comic book geek who has put up with lots of bad movies and TV shows prior to CGI, I am in nirvana right now. We have had an annual dose of great comic book movies, some good and some bad, but they keep getting better and better. This weekend, I went to see the latest Marvel Studios movie, Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Benedict Wong and Mads Mikkelsen. I saw it in IMAX 3D, which I would recommend you seeing it in. The visual effects of this movie will amaze you in IMAX and it’s well worth a few dollars more. The creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko was actually made into a TV movie in the 70s (I remember watching it, it was terrible) but this is his first jaunt onto the big screen.

This is our first venture into magic and mysticism in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), although one could say the two Thor movies, and Thor: Ragnarok coming out next year, was like dipping your big toe in the pool of magic. Magic in the MCU, according to Thor, is what we call science in the real world. I did like how the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) explained it in Doctor Strange. Magic is energy and “spells are programs” to bend it to the will of the sorcerer.

In any case, this is a full-on origin story but it does take place over the span of previous Marvel movies. Stephen Strange’s name was mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a target Hydra needed to eliminate; and in this movie, he was given the option of a surgical consult on an “Air Force Colonel who severed his spine in an armored mech suit” a la War Machine in Captain America: Civil War. You also see the Avengers Tower in the New York skyline during various scenes in the movie. As an origin movie, I like how they cut straight to the chase and didn’t draw out his entire life story in the first hour. It was quick and to the point, though a rumored scene showing how the death of his sister led him to medicine might have been a nice touch, Maybe we’ll see it in the Blu-Ray/DvD release.

The whole movie is not about Strange becoming a sorcerer, but rather it focuses on a former student of Ancient One (Mads Mikkelsen) who wants to “save” our world by ending death through eternal life in the Dark Dimension. Here we see the real villain behind the scenes, Dormammu. Whereas Thanos is the big bad cosmic being the rest of the MCU is worried about, Dormammu is the big bad of the magical world within the MCU. You really get to see all the evil that is Dormammu in the final boss fight (sorry but a video game reference is the only way to describe it).

This movie has a great cast, outstanding visual effects, and story that even the most novice comic book fan can follow. It takes Doctor Strange from being an egotistical surgeon to being a humble man taking on the awesome responsibilities as sorcerer supreme. It’s a great story with the perfect blend of action, humor, and serious drama. I wanted to see more backstory on some of the other characters, but I do realize it’s a movie about Doctor Strange so the others will have to wait for the sequel.

Like all Marvel movies, there were great mid-credits and post-credits scenes. The mid-credit scene set up Thor: Ragnarok beautifully while the end credits gave us a glimpse as to where they would take a sequel to Doctor Strange. In addition, there are dozens of “Easter Eggs” that many comic book fans will know and appreciate.

This is a great movie and worth the price of admission. It just leaves you wanting more from the MCU, but now we have to wait until 2017 for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (May 2017), Spiderman: Homecoming (July 2017) and Thor: Ragnarok (November 2017).

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Mark Piggott is the author of the Forever Avalon book series. Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iUniverse. The Outlander War can be previewed at Inkitt.

No offense Ric Flair, but to me, Charlton Heston will always be “The Man”

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Charlton Heston (1923-2008)

In the world of acting, there are many actors who could claim the title of “The Man” like Marlon Brando, John Wayne, Robert DeNiro, and Clint Eastwood to name a few. For me, that title will always rest in the hands of Charlton Heston. Here is a man who was not only lead actor in some of the greatest blockbusters in the history of cinema (Ben Hur and The Ten Commandments, just to mention a couple) but he was also President of the National Rifle Association. How cool is that?

He was an actor who played historic figures like Moses, John the Baptist, Marc Anthony, El Cid, President Andrew Jackson and Michelangelo. Though, to me, he will always be the actor that I loved from my favorite and classic post-apocalyptic science fiction movies. He brought name recognition to a genre of movies that, to some, seemed childish and beneath an actor of his caliber. I mean, how many actors are specifically known for, “Take your stinkin’ paws off me, you damn, dirty ape!” These were the movies of my childhood that I loved to watch and I aspired to create “tough as nails” characters,  like he often portrayed, as a writer. He even made the circus seem rough and tumble, and if you don’t believe, watch The Greatest Show on Earth and see for yourself.

His credits are too numerous, so I’m focusing on the three best movies of Charlton Heston that I always fall back too. I am talking about, are Planet of the Apes, The Omega Man, and Soylent Green. Although Hollywood has tried to redo these classics, they do not compare to the originals. He made these three movies in a six-year span, from 1968 to 1973, although I do have to include a fourth for his brief appearance in the 1970 sequel Beneath the Planet of the Apes.

solyent-greenLet’s start at the end and work our way back. In 1973, Heston starred in Soylent Green with Chuck Conners, Leigh Taylor-Young, and the great Edward G. Robinson. In the year 2022, the people of Earth survive on a ration known as Soylent Green. When an executive at the factory is murdered, Detective Robert Thorn (Heston) investigates the case. This leads to conspiracy, intrigue, and murder along with the shocking discovery that their rations are made from the dead. Like a lot of the other movies of its time, Soylent Green hit upon the fear of the era … overpopulation, starvation, nuclear war, etc. The film is loosely based upon the 1966 science fiction novel Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison. It won the Nebula Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film in 1973. This was also Edward G. Robinson’s last movie so that makes it even better, but it’s Heston that drives this film. His performance turned, what could have been a boring movie, into an edge of your seat crime thriller.

e8292fbcdfbdf32b1b0a492ff65c6566In 1971, Charlton Heston starred in The Omega Man, based on the novel I am Legend by Richard Matheson. If that sounds familiar to you, it is the same name as the 2007 movie I am Legend starring Will Smith. There was also a 1964 adaptation called The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price. In any case, Heston’s version is, to me, the true representation of the novel. It’s about Dr. Robert Neville (Heston) the sole survivor of a plague that killed or turned most of the population into zombie-like creatures. His blood held the key to curing the victims and also vaccinating other survivors. This movie had many firsts, including the first interracial kiss between Heston and co-star Rosalind Cash as Lisa. Another great aspect of the film was the empty streets of Los Angeles. They filmed in downtown LA on a Sunday morning to show the post-apocalyptic, deserted streets. Though the movie only got a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it is considered a cult classic. Heston delivered one-liners better than Arnold Schwartzenegger. How he talks to himself, plays chess with a bust and haggled with an invisible car dealer are fun to watch.

Planet-of-the-Apes-movie-posterThe last movie is the 1968 classic Planet of the Apes and it’s sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes. As astronaut George Taylor, Heston and his team’s space flight takes them more than 2000 years into the future where apes now rule and humans are mute slaves. Of course, you don’t find this out until the end of the movie when you see the classic image of the Statue of Liberty, rusted and torn apart on the shoreline. This movie hits on a big theme of that era, equality and racism, but this time, it’s the humans being discriminated against. The movie was the first for large-scale make-up effects for all the actors cast as apes. Heston shines in his role as the only talking human in a world of talking apes. His arrogance, vanity, and narcissism comes through in his tough-guy persona as he struggles to survive. He also has to share time with the late great Roddy McDowell, who starred in all five Planet of the Apes movies. In the end, though, this is one of Heston’s most memorable roles.

For a writer like me, you take inspiration wherever you can get it. I get mine from my childhood, spending my Saturday’s in the movie theater or watching it on UHF channels on my TV. These movies inspire us to look at the world differently and the possibilities that await us. I for one do not want to start eating Soylent Green anytime soon.

A forgotten classic, swept under the rug by Disney

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The_Black_Cauldron_posterDisney is known for its great animated movies, the majority of which take place in the fantasy genre. Classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty and The Sword in the Stone have all the right elements of a great fantasy movie:  wizards and witches, dragons and knights, good versus evil, etc. There is one, however, that was a beautiful adaptation of a classic fantasy novel that Disney decided was too dark and scary and swept it under the rug of forgotten classics. I am, of course, referring to The Black Cauldron.

Released in 1985, The Black Cauldron was adapted from the 1965 Lloyd Alexander novel, the second of the five books from The Chronicles of Pyrdain. The movie was Disney’s 25th animated film. It was the first Disney animated film to receive a PG rating and the first to use computer-generated graphics. It featured the voices of Grant Bardsley, Susan Sheridan, Freddie Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, John Byner, and John Hurt.

The Black Cauldron is set in the mythical land of Prydain during the dark ages. The film centers on the evil Horned King who hopes to secure an ancient magical cauldron that has the power to raise an army of the dead, but to do that, he needs a pig named Hen Wen who has “oracle” powers. He is opposed by a young pig keeper named Taran, the young princess Eilonwy, the bard Fflewddur Fflam, and a wild creature named Gurgi who seek to prevent him from ruling the world by destroying the cauldron.

Horned_KingThe imagery in this movie was quite dark and spooky, especially for a kid’s animated movie. The Horned King looked like a walking corpse. It had all the earmarks of a Disney movie with the boy hero, a beautiful princess, the evil villain and his henchmen, and of course, the comedic sidekick; but even with all that, Disney had problems with the film. After its initial audience screening, the Disney Studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered massive edits and cuts in the film, particularly in the “cauldron born” scene where the Horned King brings his army of the dead to life. There was even scenes where one of the “cauldron born” monsters sliced the neck of one victim and the torso of another. It was very gruesome indeed.

It was scenes, like that, that gave children nightmares from the pre-screening. Though most of it ended on the cutting room floor, it left the film quite jumpy and left a certain lapse, especially in the final act. In the end, after its release, the film only managed to make $21.3 million of its $44 million budget domestically. However, it did manage to score big internationally, especially in Europe.

Rotten Tomatoes called it “ambitious but flawed” while only giving it a 55% rating. Even the author, Lloyd Alexander, had mixed feeling about the movie. He said, “First, I have to say, there is no resemblance between the movie and the book. Having said that, the movie in itself, purely as a movie, I found to be very enjoyable. I had fun watching it. What I would hope is that anyone who sees the movie would certainly enjoy it, but I’d also hope that they’d actually read the book. The book is quite different. It’s a very powerful, very moving story, and I think people would find a lot more depth in the book.”

Disney even misused the film for its initial release to home media. It was finally released on VHS in 1994. This was mostly done due to fans wanting the film released on video along with other Disney classics. It was again released on dvd in 2000 and again in 2010 for a special 25th-anniversary edition. All of this was more “fan-driven” than anything else.

The Black Cauldron may not have the love of some of the other Disney classics, but to those who love the fantasy-genre, it is a forgotten classic that deserves a little more respect. Or as Gurgi would say, “Oh, poor miserable Gurgi deserves fierce smackings and whackings on his poor, tender head. Always left with no munchings and crunchings.”

I’ll take my inspiration where I can get it

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My family has been picking on me lately as to what I watch regularly on TV. Being unemployed at this time, I spend a lot of time on the computer, looking for jobs and/or writing. I like to listen to movies and television shows to keep the creativity flowing. I know some people prefer music, but for me, it’s a product of my environment.

You see, as a retired Navy Journalist, I served primarily on aircraft carriers. At sea, my office workspace doubled as the shipboard television station. Because of the rotating shift schedules of sailors at sea, we kept the television on 24/7. So, the movies and the television shows provided to us by the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) played constantly.

Thus my conundrum. It’s easier for me to write when there is noise, like that of a television, playing in the background. It’s hard to explain but I think that having to sit down and write or work at my computer goes smoother when I can listen to something in the background. It seems to make me work harder to focus my thoughts and think about what I’m doing, but that’s not why they’re picking on me.

thtbotfa25_cleanFor some reason, I have been focused on certain movies to keep me inspired, especially The Hobbit movies, Lord of the Ring trilogy, anything Star Wars, The Martian, Pacific Rim and a few classic 80’s “sword and sorcery” guilty pleasure movies like Ladyhawke, Krull and Dragonslayer. The repetition at which I watch these movies has earned me the ridicule of my wife and children, but to be honest, I can’t help it.

These movies inspire me. I love the stories, the visual effects, the characters, just everything about them. I enjoy watching them over and over again as if I was watching them for the first time. It reminds me a lot of when I was a teenager and went to see Star Wars for the first time. I loved it so much that I went back and saw it every weekend for as long as it was in the theaters. I must have seen it 20 times. I did the same thing with The Rockey Horror Picture Show, Conan the Barbarian and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The misspent youth of my young adult life was spent in movie theaters.

Today, it furthers my want to be a successful writer and see what I write up there, whether on the silver screen or on TV. It is, I think, the dream of every writer to take their stories tot he furthest reaches possible. When you listen to the metal twang of steel in a swordfight or the hum of a lightsaber, it brings those vivid images to the forefront and sets your mind in motion.

To me, that is where inspiration comes. It’s the things we see, we hear, we taste, we smell that gets all electrons firing off at the same time. It gives writers, like me, the confidence to write the next chapter in our stories. So whatever inspires you to write, ignore the naysayers and just give into it. Whatever works for you is what’s important.

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51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_SKU-000941753Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. The Dark Tides is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iUniverse.

One line can make any story memorable

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blade-runner_55553“All those moments will be lost in time…like tears in rain. Time to die.”

That’s a line from one of my favorite sci-fi movies, Blade Runner, as said by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer). The words resonate with me as do many lines from a movie or a book. You may not remember the entire story, but that one line can stick with you forever, like a song stuck in your head.

That’s the great thing about movie quotes. You may not read a book over and over again, but a movie you’ll watch time-and-time again. It’s what drives them into our psyche. Everyone remembers the obvious ones like “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn” from Gone with the Wind or “There’s no place like home” from The Wizard of Oz.

But I like those obscure movie quotes. The ones with life lessons packed into a single sentence. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

“The dead know only one thing, it is better to be alive.” — Full Metal Jacket (1987)

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it, always.” — Gandhi (1982)

“Never apologize, mister, it’s a sign of weakness.” — She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” — The Godfather (1972)

“There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me, ‘keep your friends close, but your enemies closer’.” — The Godfather, Part II (1974)

“Anything can be great. I don’t care, bricklaying can be great, if a guy knows — if he knows what he’s doing and why, and he can make it come off.” — The Hustler (1961)

“Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)

“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you, you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.” — The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

“Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.” — Schindler’s List (1993)

“Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.” — V for Vendetta (2005)

“ou must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God.” — True Grit (1969)

“Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.” — Dead Poet’s Society (1989)

There is something about movies that inspire us. Now, I’m not saying that one line can make or break a movie or novel. It’s not just one line or some scene, but the combination of writing, acting, and directing that makes it memorable. When I think about Blade Runner, I think about the striking visuals of the future, the gritty performances by Rutger Hauer and Harrison Ford, the haunting music by Vangelis and the incredible story written by author Philip K. Dick.

If you can find that one line and put it into your next book or film, who knows … It may make someone’s favorite list in the future. For now, I’ll toss mine out there for your consideration.

51nd6H6sATL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_“Love has a magic all unto itself. The connection between you and your husband is undeniable and unbreakable. Not even Death could sunder the ties that bind you and the Gil-Gamesh.” — Lady Lyllodoria, Forever Avalon

Forever Avalon is available for purchase at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

What Doctor Who teaches us about the magic of Christmas

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Christmas has many traditions that people observe in their own way, from when do we get to open presents to what foods we get to eat. My favorite Christmas tradition is watching the annual Doctor Who special on BBC America.

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“The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe”

It may not seem like a normal tradition to some people, but it is very normal to geeks like me. Doctor Who has been around as long as I’ve been alive. These Christmas specials are special on so many different levels. They are wonderful stories in their own right, setting up the next season of Doctor Who, and they demonstrate the universal truth about the Christmas holiday. “The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe” taught us the importance of family at the holidays. “Last Christmas” taught us to believe in Santa Claus, even with an alien crab stuck to our heads. “Voyage of the Damned” told us why Titanic is a bad name for a ship in any universe.

To fans like me, the Doctor Who Christmas specials are just as important as watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life every year. These are special episodes made to make us laugh, make us cry and tease us for what’s happening next season.

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“The Snowmen”

Sometimes, they even help us say goodbye to the old Doctor and hello to the new one. The past three Doctors have all regenerated during a Christmas special. The 10th Doctor, David Tennant, died in “The End of Time” and regenerated into the 11th Doctor, Matt Smith. Consequently, Matt Smith died in “The Time of the Doctor” and regenerated into the 12th Doctor, Peter Capaldi. I think BBC does this to make it easy on the fans as they watch these specials on Christmas with family and friends who share their enthusiasm for Doctor Who.

The other great aspect of the Doctor Who Christmas Specials is the wonderful actors that guest star in these episodes. Kylie Minogue played a waitress on the Titanic starliner in “Voyage of the Damned” Christmas episode. Michael Gambon and opera star Katherine Jenkins were in my favorite Doctor Who Christmas special, “A Christmas Carol.”

Doctor-Who-Last-Christmas

“Last Christmas”

The origins of the Doctor Who Christmas specials date back to 1964. During a seven-part serial “The Daleks Master Plan” premiered one episode on Christmas Day called “The Feast of Steven” which included breaking the “fourth wall” in television, wishing viewers a Happy Christmas. The tradition really started in 2005 with “The Christmas Invasion” as the Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) helped stop an alien invasion on Christmas Day. From then on, people have enjoyed their Christmas pudding and spiked Eggnog with an extra helping of Doctor Who.

Some people will tune into 24 hours of A Christmas Story, go to church or maybe gather around the piano and sing Christmas carols on Christmas night, but not us diehard Whovians. We will sit and wait and tune into the BBC for our annual tradition of the Doctor, his sonic screwdriver and the TARDIS. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without the Doctor.

 

The forgotten Christmas specials we never get to watch anymore

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At this time of year, the one thing you can always count on is the throng of Christmas specials airing on every channel imaginable, in one language or another, at various times of day to ensure we get to see it  within the holiday season. We find ourselves overwhelmed with 24 hours of A Christmas Story, 25 Days of Christmas on ABC Family, etc.

But through all that, there’s still a few memorable Christmas movies and TV specials that you don’t see anymore. These shows captured the spirit of Christmas but seemed to have fallen out of favor when it comes to TV programmers. I, for one, haven’t forgotten them and thought it would be great to share them with you.

hqdefaultThe Forgotten Toys (1995) — This is one of my favorite animated specials, not only for the unique “storybook” animation, but for the beautiful, timeless Christmas story it represents. Teddy the Bear and Dolly the Ragdoll were thrown out on Christmas morning for better, hi-tech toys. The two go on an adventure through junkyards and old cellars to find a child to love them. The best part of this special is the brilliant performance by the late Bob Hoskins (Roger Rabbit, Hook) as Teddy Bear. His best scene is where he tells the story of how the Teddy Bear was named (after President Theodore Roosevelt) to try to sway some angry dogs. It’s a wonderful Christmas story. My kids wore out the VHS tape we had, but they have yet to make it into a DvD. It’s a shame to lose this holiday classic.

TheShopAroundTheCornerPoster-01The Shop Around the Corner (1940) — You think you know this one but you probably don’t. The Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan film You’ve Got Mail was based on this original classic with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. Her store was called The Shop Around the Corner as a nod to the original. The premise is still the same, a man and a woman correspond and fall in love, not realizing its the person right next to them who they loathe and despise. The original takes place in Budapest at Christmas time. Though it’s not a strict holiday film, it has that “Frank Capra” holiday “vibe” to it like It’s a Wonderful Life. One of the best scenes for me is the restaurant scene where he finds out she’s the one he’s been corresponding with. I swear the scene is virtually identical to the one in You’ve Got Mail. It’s funny, warm-hearted, and the chemistry between Jimmy Stewart and Maragret Sullavan is fun to watch.

picture31A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) — This is all the classic Muppet franchises from the beginning brought together in one Christmas special. We’re talking The Muppet Show, Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock. It involved Fozzy the Bear bringing all his friends to his mother’s house in the country to celebrate Christmas, unaware she was planning Christmas in Hawaii. Soon the Sesame Street gang shows up, with the Swedish Chef trying to cook Big Bird for Christmas dinner, and Kermit and Robin finding their way underground to Fraggle Rock. It even has a brief appearance of a home movie of the Muppets as babies. It’s one of those Christmas specials that’ll have the music stuck in your head for months after Christmas. My wife can’t listen to the song “We need a little Christmas now” without thinking of the Muppets.

hqdefault (1)Bedtime for Sniffles (1940) & Peace on Earth (1939) — I remember watching these as a child and then watching them again with my children. This was a time when cartoons was made to makes us laugh and teach us powerful messages, not gross us out or shock us like the cartoons of today. Bedtime for Sniffles is a classic Looney Toons cartoon featuring the adorable Sniffles the Mouse. Sniffles wants to stay up late to see Santa and does everything he can to try to stay awake. This is one determined mouse, drinking a pot of black coffee wait for Santa. It’s cute adorable and filled with the holiday spirit you generally associate 150-004singwith cartoons from this era. Peace on Earth is another classic yet rarely seen holiday cartoon, made in the hopes for peace after the horrors of World War I reigned across Europe. Even as Hitler rose to power and the prelude to World War II, there was still hope for peace. It’s amazing to see the instruments of war used as houses and other items by the animals in this cartoon.

ebbie-06Ebbie (1995) — There have been many versions of the Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, but this one is one of my favorites. It features popular TV soap star Susan Lucci as Elizabeth Scrooge, or Ebbie. It uses a popular local department store as the venue for this Christmas story, a workaholic CEO who only sees the bottom line at Christmas. I do love how the ghosts take on the form of her employees, showing her through her tortured life. Marley is especially tragic, but acting in a very business-like way, setting up her visits by the ghosts as appointments. She even offered to take them all at once on a conference call. It has all the wonderful, heart-warming messages found within the Dickens classic. It is definitely one to watch!

Well, these are my lost but not forgotten holiday classics, what’s some of yours? Let me know in the comment section about your favorite but forgotten holiday hits!Until then, Merry Christmas!

It’s Christmas time again, so let’s be politically incorrect for a change!

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My Christmas tree is already up!

Let me start out by saying that I try not to be political in my blogs. In today’s society, espousing one’s political views can cause you world’s of hurt from the “trolls” whose only joy is to write terrible things about you from one end of the net to the other. That being said, I tend to be very politically incorrect when it comes to Christmas.

What started out as a reason to party and let loose centuries ago, with pagan sensibilities mind you, has become a time of family, celebration, and religious worship. It’s also caused many people to get a stick up their ass if you even say “Merry Christmas” to them.

What is wrong with Merry Christmas? All you’re doing is wishing someone a glad tidings at this festive time of year. It’s not like you’re flipping them the bird, yet some people want to stop us from saying Merry Christmas “in case” it offends someone. Anything I might say could offend anyone at any given time. That’s why we have freedom of speech in this country. Saying Merry Christmas to a perfect stranger is no different than wishing them a good morning/afternoon/evening; but if you’re one of those people who gets offended by it, you’re what’s wrong with society today, not me.

We need to put the fun back into the holidays and take out the stress. I love movies like “The Christmas Story” and “The Walton’s Homecoming Special” because they speak of a simpler time when we took the time for family, community, church and holiday spirit. It was about Christian, Jew, Agnostic or atheist. It was about the joy of Christmas.

I will admit, I do hate it how the holidays are slammed one into the other. The day after Halloween, every store is already decorated for Christmas. You don’t even get a chance to breathe. I saw a Christmas commercial for Best Buy on Halloween night. It was ridiculous.

I learned an interesting tidbit this year. President Franklin D. Roosevelt actually wanted Thanksgiving to fall the 3rd Thursday in November, instead of the 4th, to give retailers the extra week of holiday shopping. It’s strange how that isn’t necessary today because we’re shopping for Christmas from 1 November to 24 December with online shopping and aggressive retailers. Even “Black Friday” isn’t a thing anymore because some stores open on Thanksgiving night.

I understand this better than most because I live with a wonderful woman who eats, lives and breathes Christmas 24/7, 365 days a year. My lovely wife, Georgiene, listens to Christmas music, watches Christmas movies and keeps that joy of Christmas alive all year round. Though I sometimes find it annoying in the middle of Summer, it has given me a better appreciation for the holiday.

So, as we march into the last 25 days of Christmas, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanza! And for the rest of you trolls out there, Bah Humbug!

A Vulcan, Klingon and Borg walk into a bar …

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The cast of Star Trek: Enterprise TV series.

The cast of Star Trek: Enterprise TV series.

CBS announced this week that a new Star Trek TV series will be to television in 2017, just in time for Star Trek’s 50th anniversary. Now, I have lived my life vicariously through the evolution of Star Trek, as both a franchise and a way of life, so this means a lot to me.

Gene Roddenberry will always be a personal hero of mine. Here is a man who dedicated his life to one idea about space, mankind and exploration of the unknown. He crossed racial and cultural boundaries when the world was fighting against it. He was one of those, you can definitely say, that was ahead of his time.

I remember watching Star Trek in syndication as a young boy in the 70s. I was equally excited when Star Trek: The Motion Picture came out. The movie was long and relied too much on special effects, but it was stunning to see.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan came out when I was in college. I spent and entire Saturday, sitting through one screening after another. Back in those days, you could stay in the theater and watch the movies over and over again. I saw Wrath of Khan five times that day. It was awesome.

I could go on about my love affair with Star Trek, from the new string of TV shows to the movies with the original cast and TNG stars (Star Trek:The Next Generation for you non-Trekkies). The real story I want to share with you is about my connection with the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise and the Star Trek: Enterprise TV series.

In 2001, I was stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). I was the Assistant Public Affairs Officer, responsible for keeping the crew informed about news and events while deployed, and informing the public about the ship and its great crew. Right before our deployment, I heard about the new series Star Trek: Enterprise. I wanted to try to make a connection between the series and the carrier, so I started corresponding with the publicist for Paramount Studios.

We were discussing a variety of options and agreed to get together once we returned from deployment in October 2001. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite that way. The ship had just left the Persian Gulf when the United States was attacked on September 11, 2001.

We immediately turned around and took position on station, awaiting orders for the first stacks against Al Queda and their allies in the Taliban. It was then I received an email from the publicist at Paramount asking if there was anything she could do for us.

They sent us episodes of the first season of Enterprise and, in return, I sent them USS Enterprise command ball caps. The day we returned from deployment, Enterprise was airing that night, and the show opened with the star, Scott Bakula, wearing our ship’s ball cap, welcoming us home. That was unreal, a real PR coup for me, but it was about to get better.

USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Feb. 28, 2002 -- Sailors of the Year for the year 2001 meet castmembers of the latest Star Trek television series entitled Enterprise. Pictured here on the set of the series are (from left) Conner Trinneer, who plays Chief Engineer Charles Trip Tucker, III; Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Robert S. Pickering, Sailor of the Year; Personnelman 3rd Class Sarah E. Pizzo, Blue Jacket of the Year; Aviation Electricians Mate 2nd Class Timothy J. Whittington, Junior Sailor of the Year; and Scott Bakula, who plays Capt. Jonathan Archer. The three Sailors were given the opportunity to appear in a scene during an episode which aired recently.

USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Feb. 28, 2002 — Sailors of the Year for the year 2001 meet castmembers of the latest Star Trek television series entitled Enterprise. Pictured here on the set of the series are (from left) Conner Trinneer, who plays Chief Engineer Charles Trip Tucker, III; Aviation Electronics Technician 1st Class Robert S. Pickering, Sailor of the Year; Personnelman 3rd Class Sarah E. Pizzo, Blue Jacket of the Year; Aviation Electricians Mate 2nd Class Timothy J. Whittington, Junior Sailor of the Year; and Scott Bakula, who plays Capt. Jonathan Archer. The three Sailors were given the opportunity to appear in a scene during an episode which aired recently.

Paramount offered three of our sailors walk on roles on an upcoming episode of Enterprise. This was a great opportunity for us to highlight our brightest and best, so we took our Sailors of the Year to California for a true Hollywood treatment.

We met the stars of the show, walked around the sets, got to sit in the Captain’s chair on the bridge set and photos with the cast. Levar Burton (Jeordi LaForge from TNG) was the director for the episode, so meeting him was a dream come true for me. In addition, I gave him my USS Enterprise ball cap in exchange for an Enterprise Stuntman’s ball cap.

We did this for two years in a row and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I also have to say Scott Bakula was so good to our sailors. He went out of his way to make sure they were in the shots, talked to us about everything, even signed autographs and photos. The one regret I have is I was never able to get him out on the carrier for a visit. Our schedules just never synced up.

It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The artwork and signed photos from the cast and crew are with me today as a reminder of that visit. The only way to end this blog is by saying, “Live Long and Prosper!”

Would you go to see Humphrey Bogart as Indiana Jones?

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RaidersImagine Clark Gable as Han Solo or maybe Anthony Perkins as Hannibal Lecter. Think about it? Alfred Hitchcock directing Halloween or Charlie Chaplain directing and starring in Big.

I love classic movies. Rear Window, Key Largo, and The Quiet Man are just a few of my favorites. I love to imagine what modern movies would have been like with the great stars of the silver screen cast in those roles.

We see the reverse all the time, when they take a classic movie and remake it. You Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan was originally Shop Around the Corner with Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. This time, though, I want to try things in reverse.

I could see Raiders of the Lost Ark with Humphrey Bogart as Indiana Jones, Lauren Bacall as Miriam, Peter Lorre as Sallah and Edward G. Robinson as Belloq. That would have been a classic right up there with Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

With all the hype for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, how would you cast Star Wars in classic Hollywood? I would cast Jackie Cooper as Luke Skywalker, Audrey Hepburn as Princess Leia, Clark Gable as Han Solo, Douglas Fairbanks as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yul Brynner as Darth Vader. In a twist, I would cast Sir Alec Guinness as Governor Tarkin.

If you want to take things to a whole new level, imagine Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe in the diner scene from When Harry Met Sally; or maybe Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly as the paleontologist sin Jurassic Park. The possibilities are endless.

Here’s something to keep you thinking about the many possibilities. Pick a movie and recast it with stars from classic Hollywood (30s to 50s). Post your choice in the comment section below. I’ll pick the best one and the winner will receive a copy of my book, The Dark Tides. Good luck!