As I finally start to relax and recover from the massive mess that was February sweeps, I thought I’d respond to some feedback I’ve gotten recently. Now, don’t get me wrong – I do like to get feedback, and I do want to know if something’s wrong with the site, such as a broken link or a missing graphic.

Possibly the most frequently-asked question I get is: why isn’t the Voyager LogBook brought up to date the moment new episodes air? In years past, the guide has been done in that fashion, but between my job, building a new life and home with my fianceè, and outside web design commissions, the Voyager guide updates have been a little bit sporadic. (I’ll admit that my passion for the Star Trek franchise as a whole, along with a lot of American SF, is waning rapidly these days too.) You also have to understand that I don’t write episode guides from other people’s descriptions, studio-supplied material, or anything but watching the actual shows. To do an episode entry for the Voyager LogBook, I watch the show itself at least once, then skim through it again to pick up the credits for actors, directors, writers, and composers, and the stardate (where applicable). Lately, I’ve had very little time in which to watch the latest episodes even once. So the simple answer to this question is: the Voyager LogBook will be updated when it’s updated. That’s a very glib answer, I realize, but as close to an accurate one as I can give you right now.

But wait a minute, you say. How do you have time to review new CDs and old video games? That’s easy. I often listen to new music while driving to and from work, and sometimes even at work. And the classic game pieces in Phosphor Dot Fossils, along with the ToyBox retrospectives, are virtually always written from memory and edited at the last minute for accuracy by double-checking against other sources. On average, I’ll do a crash session of MAME screen-grabbing or toy photography every two or three weeks. That stuff is easy.

Some readers have expressed concerns that theLogBook.com’s focus is switching from science fiction to other things. And that is, perhaps, an accurate observation – but I think the site will survive the shift in emphasis. theLogBook.com has always been, first a foremost, a slightly warped mirror of what’s going on in its webmaster’s mind. It may appear, on some occasions, to be a highly-focused entity with a loyal audience…but the truth is, it’s just an electronic extension of its creator. That anyone visits at all, let alone repeatedly, is more flattering than you can imagine, because interest in the site’s contents is a step removed from interest in my hobbies and my thoughts. I find the loyal audience complimentary, and also very amusing. Either way, I do try not to let anyone down.

That’s all for now. Oh, one other thing – March 17th, 2000, is the 14th anniversary of my mother’s passing due to cancer. As the debate rages on about the connection between smoking and the deadly illness, all I can see is that she was hooked, she couldn’t kick the habit, and it ultimately killed her. Yes, everyone does have a choice to make in picking up the habit, giving up the habit, or never giving in to it in the first place…but that doesn’t clear the tobacco companies of any wrong-doing. So, in her honor and memory, all I ask of you is to, at the very least, consider quitting smoking, or urge someone you love to quit.

Having invested in a multi-standard VCR recently, I was delighted when HMV announced the release of an exclusive box set of TNT’s four Babylon 5 movies in 1.85:1 widescreen format. (Of these four movies, only In The Beginning is available on tape in the United States, so I figured it was a fairly good investment either way, along with some other PAL tapes I’ve gathered over the years.)

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Don’t ask me what New Line Cinema doesn’t like about the original. The studio is fast-tracking its plans to remake the seminal SF film Forbidden Planet now that it has acquired the rights. There’s no word on casting, writers, or directors as yet. Meanwhile, the original Forbidden Planet seems to be doing well for itself on DVD. Hopefully New Line will handle Forbidden Planet better than it did Lost In Space.
Source: Daily Variety

Babylon Who? Peter Jurasik, a.k.a. Babylon 5′s Ambassador Londo Mollari, has been tentatively cast to lend his voice to the upcoming Doctor Who Audio Adventure Winter For The Adept, due for release in July.
Source: Big Finish Productions

Buffy goes digital. Fox Interactive has announced a fall release for a new video game based on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The game will be produced for the PC, Dreamcast, and Playstation platforms, and will feature all of the series regulars (including Angel) in the course of the game.
Source: Sci-Fi Wire

Paramount Home Video is finally launching Star Trek: Voyager on home video on April 4th (oddly enough, the same day that Star Wars Episode I hits the shelves). The first batch of releases will cover six episodes, and you can pre-order all of the Voyager episodes from theLogBook.com Store (in association with Amazon.com). Due to the series’ limited release on UPN affiliates, which often aren’t quite ready for prime time, Paramount is expecting the Voyager videos to make a dent – and they might just be right.

So over the course of a four-week stay in Las Vegas, I found it necessary (being a Trek geek) to make a trip to Star Trek: The Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton. Most of us have read reviews of the attraction, heard rumors that it was going to close due to slow business, and wondered what the thing was actually like. Is it worth going to Las Vegas just to ride the Experience? Not really, but since Las Vegas has so much other stuff to do, overall a trip is justified. J

Related below are my thoughts from the first time I experienced the Experience. Or something.

The first thing noticed when entering the Experience was a quartet of starships hung from the starry ceiling. The USS Enterprise, Enterprise-D, USS Voyager, and a Klingon Bird-Of-Prey are all available for viewing, with lights and everything. They do a good job of setting the mood and letting you know you’re in a relative Trekker heaven.

After gawking at the ships for a few minutes (while finishing drinks bought at the nearby bar), my friends and I proceeded through the Star Trek museum. Basically, it’s a collection of props and costumes from all four series and the movies. A wide collection of pieces of Trek history are on display, from the laughable wooden blocks labeled as Scotty’s “engineering diagnostic tools,” to the gear bag carried by David Marcus in Star Trek III, to the phaser rifles used in First Contact. Also on display are different theme alcoves, featuring Vulcan, Klingon, and Borg costumes in full, life-like displays.

Along the opposite side of the walkway is a timeline (basically material reprinted from the Chronology and Encyclopedia) with pictures, dates, and descriptions. I suppose it’s a good way for the Trek-ignorant to learn something about Star Trek, but I passed that by.

At the end of the hallway (right by the Borg), was the entrance to the Experience itself, a 10-minute “virtual reality” ride. It stared off in a room with doors that supposedly lead to the ride, but suddenly the lights went out and we were “beamed” into the transporter room of the Enterprise (a rather cool effect, but easily deciphered). The transporter chief then briefly explained the situation (doing a better job at acting than many of the TV show guest stars), and then it was off to the bridge.

We were lead to the bridge by one Ensign Thomas. I don’t know if it’s in the casting call, but both times I went, our good Ensign was played by an exceedingly attractive human female. Various pick-up lines such as “Say, uh, can I have your…communicator frequency?” and “Huhuhuh…hey, baby, wanna see my phaser?” jumped into my head, but I controlled myself.

Anyway, on the bridge (and I’m wondering if it’s the same dimensions as the TV set; if it is, it looks a lot bigger on TV) Commander Riker and Lt. Cmdr. LaForge explained the situation to us. Evidently, the Klingons tried to, like, get one of Picard’s ancestors or something and, like, one of us was apparently that ancestor. Or something. They also said they were going to try and get us back to the year 2000 in a pair of shuttles, avoiding the attacking Klingons in the process.

After a bumpy turbolift ride (blasted Klingons again), we were led down a corridor to the shuttlebay. Naturally, we boarded a non-standard shuttle, strapped in, and waited for takeoff.

This was where it got cool. The “virtual reality” portion of the Experience is a ten-minute shuttle ride, zooming around the Enterprise and dogfighting with Klingons the whole way. The sense of motion was very credible, and I must confess that I was grinning most of the time. The simulation made the Enterprise, Klingons, and space seem very real. It also helped illustrate how big the Enterprise-D really was, with the shuttles making some very close passes to the hull.

So, after a lot of gee-whiz zipping around space, the shuttles emerged from a temporal rift over downtown Las Vegas. The most hilarious part of the whole ride was zooming over the Las Vegas strip with a Bird-Of-Prey in hot pursuit. Great stuff.

So, the ride was over. After that, it was off to the mandatory gift shops with lots of high-priced Star Trek memorabilia. They had a little bit of everything, from coffee mugs to hats, to leather jackets, to “Romulan Ale” and “Klingon Bloodwine,” to action figures. The “Admiral’s Collection” featured the really high-end items. For only $4,995, a life-size Locutus of Borg could be yours. Or, if you tire of trying to make your own Klingon uniform, you can have one custom made for the cool price of $12,000.

I picked up a few hats as souvenirs for my pals. Although in retrospect, the coffee mug with an image of the Enterprise over downtown Vegas would’ve made a great souvenir.

Also in the Experience is Quark’s Bar and Restaurant. It was a decent place to get a meal and hang out, watching some well-produced clip segments in the process. In fact, the clip segments were so good they actually made Voyager look like a good show to watch.

So, there it was, Star Trek: The Experience. If you’re in Vegas for any reason, go check it out. Even non-Trek fans found it fun and amusing (especially when they had a geek-boy like me along to explain everything).

Photos by Jeff Godemann