Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2005
Season Two of Star Trek Enterprise was without a doubt the weakest of the series. It’s no mystery that the show’s demise was already being talked about by the time Year Two was finished. The stories were unoriginal and it appears budgetary concerns often meant unimaginative bottle shows. The words Star Trek were finally added […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 16th, 2005
I will be honest and admit that Insurrection is one of my least favorite Trek films. I rank it down there with the first film due to its many flaws. While it has always been Star Trek’s style to engage in open social commentary, I don’t believe it usually needs to hit you over the […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 12th, 2005
“It’s been a long time getting from there to here.” 35 years to be exact. Enterprise is the fourth spin-off from the original 1960’s hopeful series. Rick Berman decided to set this series about 100 years before the days of Kirk and Spock. Enterprise has certainly taken a ton of heat since its debuted just […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 14th, 2005
Star Trek: First Contact is light-years ahead of any other Next Generation film. There is virtually every characteristic that makes good Star Trek present here. James Cromwell as Cochrane provides the best comedy relief on Star Trek since the tribbles. The Borg infiltration reminds us of the first Alien film with its shadows and cramped […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 3rd, 2005
This is a difficult review to write. The problem is approaching this miniseries and the subsequent new Sci-Fi Channel series without personal prejudice. I am a huge fan of the original Battlestar Galactica. While this incarnation has many redeeming qualities, I find it hard to consider it the same animal. The f/x are unquestionably some […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 30th, 2005
In Season Seven, Voyager returns home and like Deep Space Nine and The Next Generation, the third Star Trek spin-off wraps up. The final episode “Endgame” is not as dramatic as the finales for the other shows. I guess it becomes anticlimactic when you have known for 7 years how this was going to end. […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on January 20th, 2005
Season Six signaled the inevitable decline of Star Trek Voyager. While there were certainly strong episodes, such as Pathfinder, there were far too many episodes like The Spirit Folk. The addition of the Borg children was, perhaps, the final push into the abyss. They are constantly irritating. It’s like a pack of Wesley Crushers without […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 2nd, 2004
Things were pretty much over the peak when Voyager warped into Season 5. The Seven Of Nine tension was begin to feel played out by now. The prominence of the girl Naomi I found to be a bit irritating. This would also be a year of rebellion as quite a few crew members cause Janeway […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 27th, 2004
Michael Shanks returned to Stargate full time in Season 7. What continues to impress me is that after 7 years the quality of this show just keeps getting better. I’m rarely moved by film or TV, but “Fragile Balance” was one of the most moving hours of television I’ve ever seen. The writers and actors […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 16th, 2004
Season 4 of Voyager is most notable for the addition of Jeri Ryan’s Seven Of Nine character. The stories grew a bit more complex. The season appears to have regarded style above substance in year 4. There is a modest attempt to develop a mother/daughter kind of relationship between Seven Of Nine and Janeway. The […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 20th, 2004
With the success of Star Trek as both a television and film franchise, it made perfect sense to eventually pass the baton from the Kirk era to the Next Generation. Generations had promise, but could and should have been a far better film. The f/x were for the most part inferior to previous Trek films. […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 11th, 2004
Season three of Voyager was the most exciting so far. This is the year Q, one of Star Trek’s most beloved characters, adds Janeway to his list of captains to pester. The powerful Borg would also enter Voyager’s universe in Season three. The year would end with a cliffhanger that also introduces 7 of 9 […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2004
Star Trek Voyager came into its own during season two. This was the first full season of the Star Trek spin-off. Superior to its sister show Deep Space Nine, Voyager once again brought the concept of exploration to the Star Trek universe. The season was very uneven. There is the absolutely terrible and contrived episode […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 27th, 2004
Star Trek Voyager was the third spin-off from the original Star Trek following the Superior Next Generation and the inferior Deep Space Nine. While the idea was quite an original premise, the cast never seemed to gel. The obvious attempt at political correctness gives us the most diverse cast yet on Star Trek, including the […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 8th, 2004
I’m not always sure what to make of Star Trek VI. It is most notable as the final film to feature the entire original cast. Star Trek has always been about message and morality, so it seems natural for the franchise to tackle the end of the cold war and the fall of the Soviet […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 20th, 2003
William Shatner refused to reprise his role of Kirk in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home without a promise to write and direct the next film in the franchise. Against their better judgment Paramount agreed, and to this day wish they had not. The story is absolutely silly and the direction very one-dimensional. The truth […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 31st, 2003
If ever there was a film that was badly misunderstood it is Star Trek: Nemesis. The most common complaint I’ve heard is it was too much like an episode. Excuse me, but isn’t it supposed to be? Nemesis has everything a good Star Trek film should have. The character chemistry, space battles, a morality tale, […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 10th, 2003
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is considered a failure not because it was a bad film, but because it just didn’t feel at all like Star Trek. Star Trek IV is perhaps the most Star Trek of all the films. A mixture of saving planet Earth with a social message, humor, and a strong character […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 30th, 2002
In an interview with producer Harve Bennett he tells us that Star Trek II was so successful that he was given the green light for Star Trek III three days after its predecessor’s release. The Search For Spock is not the best of the franchise, but it is certainly the most underrated. Trek lore states […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 12th, 2002
After a dismal resurrection on film with Star Trek: The Motion Picture, it appeared that the crew of the good ship Enterprise was finally stilled forever. Enter two heroes to rival Kirk and Spock in Harve Bennett and Nicholas Myers. Star Trek II is everything that shines about Star Trek. Finally the triumvirate of Kirk, […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 16th, 2002
Let me start off by being very honest. I was not a huge fan of the Devlin and Emerich film version of Stargate. And because I wasn’t into the film, I did not bother to watch the Showtime original series when it first debuted. That was a major mistake on my behalf. The series is […]
Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 1st, 2001
Hoooo boy! I bet you had forgotten what movies were like in 1979, right? Let me sum it up for you then: slow moving, and brown. The contrast in cinematic styles alone is shocking – this movie is full of long, long, long 20 second shots accompanied by ear-straining orchestrals; contrast this to the frenetic […]
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2023
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too […]
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Gino Sassani on December 22nd, 2023
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something too […]
Posted in Holiday Gift Guides by Michael Durr on December 21st, 2023
I think I see your problem. You have this list. It’s a list of people you need/want to buy a Christmas gift for. The trouble is that they’re into home theatre, and you don’t know Star Trek from Star Wars. You couldn’t tell a Wolf Man from a Wolverine. And you always thought that Paranormal Activity was something […]
