…but movie companies certainly don’t see that. Paramount Pictures released its study of the five million IP addresses it tracked who downloaded camcorded copies of Star Trek. Writing to the FCC, Paramount says:
Just five years ago, one had to be computer literate and exceedingly patient to pirate movies. Today, literally anyone with an internet connection can do it. Clunky websites are being replaced by legitimate looking and legitimate feeling pirate movie websites, a perception enhanced by the presence of premium advertisers and subscription fees processed by major financial institutions.
So after years of suing and spending millions in lobbying, spying, and prevention, Paramount agrees it is easier than ever to download movies. Downloading movies “has advanced from geek to sleek” they say.
I interpret this as a sign that the movie companies’ campaign against piracy has not worked. It is easier than ever to download any movie, song, or game you want and it will only get faster and easier. More people are doing it and aren’t embarrassed by it. For all the propaganda (see last Sunday’s 60 minutes), file-sharing is what the market wants.
Paramount, of course, sees the opposite. The spreading of file-sharing means movie companies need more laws to stop file-sharing, while never showing how these laws, assuming they worked (which they won’t), would encourage customers to go back to their former purchasing practices.
That’s why Big Champagne, a company that tracks online piracy, is urging movie companies to rethink their piracy strategies, claiming their own practices are encouraging file-sharing, especially in European countries where they might wait weeks or months for a TV show or movie to air. CEO Eric Garland tells CNET:
In the digital world, we don’t want to wait three months, six months. We’re just not accepting that anymore…we want it all, we want it right now and even Mom and Pa Kettle are getting to the point where they say if it’s not on, let’s just fire up the computer and watch it. If they want me to wait six months, I’ve got other options. And people don’t really have a conscious [sic] or qualms about that.
So we know waiting hurts (why wait when you don’t have to). But instead of searching for alternatives, movie companies want more windows, or at least maintain the ones they have. This goes against what customers are demanding. Instead of offering customers a compelling product, movie companies just want the government to pass laws supporting their obsolete business models.
For all the increases in file-sharing, movie production and revenue has risen (ignore the blatant lies in the aformentioned 60 Minutes segment), from 567 movies released in 2004 to 1177 movies scheduled for release this year. Total revenue rose by about $300 million from 2004-2008 (this year hasn’t ended, and for reference 1037 movies came out in 2008). So more movies, more money. I wish file-sharing would hurt my industry the same way.
Star Trek Voyager seems primitive in the post-Battlestar Galactica, but still had some remarkable ideas. 7 of 9 joined Voyager after being separated from the Borg Collective. With her metal parts removed, 7 of 9 opted for a skin tight jumpsuit and a fully featured female form. Retaining some of her Borg-like mentality and a child-like sociability, 7 of 9 started as high-class eye candy, but candy that made Voyager more interesting, and the Star Trek Universe a much hotter place.
Star Trek’s opening monologue has become a mantra for space travel. Space, the final frontier, must be explored because we’ve seen everything else. We have a more than 5-year mission to seek out new life and new civilizations. Captain “William Shatner” Kirk read the opening in almost every Star Trek episode followed by Patrick Stewart in the Next Generation. The opening went through several evolutions and only made it onto the show after several episodes were done filming, soon to premiere. The intro has even been placed inside Star Trek continuity as a speech by Zefram Cochrane, the inventor of warp travel. Because of his invention and the brilliances of televisions, geeks were able to, yes I’m this corny, boldly go where no man has gone before.
Loosing a friend, a confidant, and a mentor all at once, Spock’s death still stings the hearts of Trekkies everywhere. Spock sacrificed himself at the end of the second film, Wrath of Khan, under the assumption that actor Leonard Nimoy didn’t want to return in future films. Of course, Spock came back from the death in the next film, but the death scene itself remains an emotional and thrilling moment as two men, Spock and Captain Kirk, brothers in arms, true friends, said their final farewell. Until next time.
William Shatner’s unique acting style helped define Captain Kirk for generations. But all the years of over acting and stuttering speech paled in comparison to his To be or not to be moment. Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan brought the return of Kirk’s nemesis Khan. Years before (during the original series) Kirk left Khan on a barren planet hoping the world would placate the conqueror. But Khan escaped and launched his attack on the surprised captain. Kirk, enraged and shocked, let out a galactic scream that geeks would remember for years.
Goatees are evil. This is a well known geek fact best portrayed by the Mirror, Mirror episode of the original Star Trek where the Enterprise accidentally trades Captain Kirk, Scotty, and Lt. Uhura for their alternate reality, evil dopplegangers. In the Mirror Universe, Kirk meets evil, goatee wearing Spock and since that classic moment in facial hair history, I’ve never been able to look at Tim Curry the same way again. Aside from being a classic Star Trek episode, Mirror, Mirror inspired years of prejudice against goatee wearing characters, becoming a common Hollywood tool to reveal the villain of the piece - like evil David Hasselhoff. Terrifying, I know.
Campy, silly, cutesy. These are totally the best description of what makes Star Trek great. "Trouble with Tribbles" is the 1967 classic episode from the original Star Trek series where the Enterprise crew find these cute, furry balls that are born pregnant and reproduce like bunnies in an accelerated time warp. The comical yet endearing episode has remained a fan favorite, even been worked into a time travel episode more than 20 years later in Deep Space Nine. The Tribbles have evolved into a Star Trek staple, the butt of constant jokes and references across all science fiction. If only all Star Trek villains were as cute and cuddly: it’d make their action figures a lot better.
7. Turanga Leela
