Live long and prosper!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Top Tuesdays: Top American Girl Doll Historical Characters.
As the title of this blog suggests, I love American Girl Dolls. American Girl Dolls, for those unfamiliar, are separated into five different categories. Bitty Baby for young girls, Bitty Twin for young girls, My American Girl/Look-a-like/modern girls for elder girls, Girl of the Year which is a doll only available for a year, and Historical characters for older girls.
The historical characters have six books each and tell about a certain period in the history of America - the Civil War, War of 1812, etc. They also show different cultures - such as Mexican and Native America.
Currently, there have been 13 historical characters, though only 10 are available for purchase.
Here they are, my least favorite to most favorite!
13. Julie Albright (1970).
I've never really liked Julie. First of all, I don't really think the 1970's is historical... That would make my parents historical! I'm also not a fan of her face mold... I don't think the dolls with the bigger bottom lips are that attractive, but that's my personal opinion. Finally, I think that Julie is too plain.... Straight blond hair and brown eyes. She looks like a plain old doll.
12. Rebecca Rubin (1914).
I hated Rebecca when she first came out because I thought she was replacing Samantha. She came out right after Samantha was retired and her time period was only 10 years after Samantha's! She also stole Samantha's boots. She had the big-lip face mold, and I just didn't like her.
Now I have changed my mind, somewhat. I still think she replaced Samantha a bit... But their two cultures are SO different from each other, that I don't really mind anymore. I think that Rebecca is a good addition to the American Girl historical family - she is Jewish and therefore children who read the books are given a peep into another culture. I even think she's kind of pretty now. I love her hazel eyes mixed with brown curls.
11. Cecile Rey (1853).
Cecile is from New Orleans. That's about all I know about her... She's a really pretty doll and I've heard lots of good things about her. She's gorgeous in the store. Her eye color, complexion, and hair color go together beautifully (though her hair looks really hard to take care of!)
10. Caroline Abbott (1812).
I did a long post about Caroline here.
That being said.... I really like Caroline, even though she's another really plain doll and she looks like a lot of American Girl's other dolls.
9. Marie-Grace Gardner (1853).
See "Cecile." They go together.
Also, American Girl used a whole new hair color, eye color, and face mold for Marie-Grace so she's totally unique!
8. Kaya (1764).
(My picture, do not steal).
The historical characters have six books each and tell about a certain period in the history of America - the Civil War, War of 1812, etc. They also show different cultures - such as Mexican and Native America.
Currently, there have been 13 historical characters, though only 10 are available for purchase.
Here they are, my least favorite to most favorite!
13. Julie Albright (1970).
I've never really liked Julie. First of all, I don't really think the 1970's is historical... That would make my parents historical! I'm also not a fan of her face mold... I don't think the dolls with the bigger bottom lips are that attractive, but that's my personal opinion. Finally, I think that Julie is too plain.... Straight blond hair and brown eyes. She looks like a plain old doll.
12. Rebecca Rubin (1914).
I hated Rebecca when she first came out because I thought she was replacing Samantha. She came out right after Samantha was retired and her time period was only 10 years after Samantha's! She also stole Samantha's boots. She had the big-lip face mold, and I just didn't like her.
Now I have changed my mind, somewhat. I still think she replaced Samantha a bit... But their two cultures are SO different from each other, that I don't really mind anymore. I think that Rebecca is a good addition to the American Girl historical family - she is Jewish and therefore children who read the books are given a peep into another culture. I even think she's kind of pretty now. I love her hazel eyes mixed with brown curls.
11. Cecile Rey (1853).
Cecile is from New Orleans. That's about all I know about her... She's a really pretty doll and I've heard lots of good things about her. She's gorgeous in the store. Her eye color, complexion, and hair color go together beautifully (though her hair looks really hard to take care of!)
10. Caroline Abbott (1812).
I did a long post about Caroline here.
That being said.... I really like Caroline, even though she's another really plain doll and she looks like a lot of American Girl's other dolls.
9. Marie-Grace Gardner (1853).
Also, American Girl used a whole new hair color, eye color, and face mold for Marie-Grace so she's totally unique!
8. Kaya (1764).
(My picture, do not steal).
Kaya is a Nez Perce Indian living in the Pacific Northwest. When I was little, I wanted Kaya the most out of ALL the American Girl Dolls. I didn't get her until 2011 (or around there), however, and I'm glad because her hair is so difficult to take care of!
Kaya is a very beautiful doll and I really recommend her for older kids (because of her hair). Her story is also very, very cool and shows a whole different culture.
7. Addy Walker (1864).
(My picture, do not steal.)
Addy is also a very gorgeous doll with hard-to-take-care-of hair. At least, my Addy's hair is hard to take care of because she's an older doll. I love her face mold and her skin tone. Plus her stories are wonderful - the Civil War! They are about Addy and her mother escaping from their cruel master and then trying to make their way in the world.
6. Josefina Montoya (1824).
(My picture, do not steal.)
Josefina is the only big-lip doll that I really, really like. She's so gorgeous! I love her hair. Though it's long, it's very fun to play with. Her stories show the culture of Mexicans in the 1800's on their Rancho. They are very cool.
5. Kirsten Larson (1854).
(My picture, do not steal).
Kirsten was my second doll and I can really connect to her story. Her family immigrates from Sweden in the beginning of the book and goes to Minnesota. 100 years ago my great great grandfather packed up his family (and nearly forgot the baby!) and immigrated from Holland to Iowa. I really like her story as it can kind of help me to see what my ancestors went through!
4. Molly McIntire (1944).
(My picture, do not steal).
I used to hate Molly as well. Her red themed collection hurt my eyes and her movie was more popular than Samantha's. I didn't even like her movie all that much.
Then I took a class on World War Two and fell in love with the time period. I gave Molly another chance and she is now one of my favorites! She is soooo pretty and though her books and movie aren't perfect (the books aren't as well written as some of the others), they are still great to read if you are studying WWII and love AG Dolls! I don't even mind her red collection - and I'm horrified that American Girl retired her red pajamas!
3. Felicity Merriman (1774).
(My picture, do not steal).
I'm still upset that they retired Felicity. There was no reason to and she had one of the best and most important stories in our American history! Now there is no doll from the Revolutionary War.
I highly highly HIGHLY recommend Felicity and her collection. Not only are she and her outfits beautiful, her story is one of the best. It deals with the War for Independence, friendship, growing up, animals, family... Everything! With history weaved throughout it.
2. Kit Kittredge (1934).
(My picture, do not steal).
Kit is one of my favorites. Her stories are tied with Felicity's as my favorites. Kit lives during the Great Depression era. She loves to write newspaper articles and has lots of adventures with her friends. The doll itself it gorgeous, and her collection is fun and spunky.
1. Samantha Parkington (1904).
Samantha. My first doll. Of course she's my favorite! She's a very pretty doll, though a bit plain. Her collection is Victorian and gorgeous. You can imagine how sad I was when she retired. Her books are full of fun characters and adventure. She has a special place in my heart and will always, always be my favorite.
So there you have it!
Live long and prosper!
Monday, February 25, 2013
A very Pride and Prejudice past two weeks.
It started when I came across someone's blog. She was going on and on about a modernised version of Pride and Prejudice on youtube called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I had heard of them before (someone on blogger told me about them... I can't remember who. Maybe Jack?) but never really knew what they were or where to find them... When I read about them on this person's blog, however, I decided to check them out and was instantly hooked!
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a youtube series which has updated Pride and Prejudice. Lizzie, the main character, shares with the internet the love life of her sister Jane in the form of vlog.
This series is very, very well done (it even has youtube channels for Pemberly Digital and Collins and Collins! The characters have their own twitters and tumblrs as well). I would recommend it for people 14 and over, for sure. Maybe even a bit older... Because of language, mostly.
Anyway, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries made me want to watch the 6-hour version of Pride and Prejudice, which I did at the ocean.
I also started re-reading the book (like I don't have enough to read!).
So it has been a very Pride and Prejudice-y past two weeks.
Ha. Hahaha.
Live long and prosper.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a youtube series which has updated Pride and Prejudice. Lizzie, the main character, shares with the internet the love life of her sister Jane in the form of vlog.
This series is very, very well done (it even has youtube channels for Pemberly Digital and Collins and Collins! The characters have their own twitters and tumblrs as well). I would recommend it for people 14 and over, for sure. Maybe even a bit older... Because of language, mostly.
Anyway, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries made me want to watch the 6-hour version of Pride and Prejudice, which I did at the ocean.
I also started re-reading the book (like I don't have enough to read!).
So it has been a very Pride and Prejudice-y past two weeks.
Ha. Hahaha.
Live long and prosper.
Friday, February 22, 2013
WHERE'D his coat go?!
So I was watching the Doctor Who two-parter The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone and something is REALLY bugging me about the episode...
In the second half a Weeping Angel grabs the Doctor's coat and he wriggles out of it and escapes.
In the second half a Weeping Angel grabs the Doctor's coat and he wriggles out of it and escapes.
At the end of the episode (spoilers) the Angels get sucked into the crack in the universe. Since an Angel was holding onto the Doctor's jacket, I'm supposing that the jacket got pulled into the crack and was erased from history....
But then in the next episode, the Doctor has his jacket back!!
Soooo.... where did he get his jacket?! Was it somehow magically not pulled into the crack in the universe? He couldn't have had a spare jacket because he stole the original from a hospital in the first episode. And he couldn't have gone back in time and stolen the jacket before he stole the jacket... Because then there would be no jacket for him to steal in the first episode. That would create a paradox! Plus, if the jacket was pulled into the crack in the universe, if would have been erased from history so there would be no jacket to steal in the first place!
So HOW did he get his jacket back?!?!?!!
*sighs frustratedly*
If I ever go to a Doctor Who panel and get to ask a question, that's the one I'm going to pose to Steven Moffat.
MOFFAT! Confound him!
Live long and prosper.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Top Tuesdays: Top 12 Dalek pictures.
The Daleks.
Everyone acquainted with Doctor Who, has probably heard of the Daleks. They are (one of) the Doctor's arch nemesis's. Mostly machine with no feelings except anger, they make the perfect villains. They can be especially frightening because their vocabulary mostly consists of "exterminate!" (of course, this exclamation is followed by death).
This catchphrase of the Daleks has brought about many spoofs... and now I shall share some of them with you, along with some other funny Dalek pictures I have come across.
And now I give you, my top 12 funny Dalek pictures!
12.
Everyone acquainted with Doctor Who, has probably heard of the Daleks. They are (one of) the Doctor's arch nemesis's. Mostly machine with no feelings except anger, they make the perfect villains. They can be especially frightening because their vocabulary mostly consists of "exterminate!" (of course, this exclamation is followed by death).
This catchphrase of the Daleks has brought about many spoofs... and now I shall share some of them with you, along with some other funny Dalek pictures I have come across.
And now I give you, my top 12 funny Dalek pictures!
12.
In honor of Valentines Day, of course.
11.
Every one's seen this one. Nonetheless, it's still cute. Poor, misunderstood, baker Daleks. All they want to do is cook!
10.
Christmas tree Dalek! There's a Dalek for every holiday.
9.
The first Dalek picture I ever saw... My friend sent me this when I was only a few episodes into Doctor Who. I hadn't meet the Daleks yet, but I still found this picture really funny.
8.
Because I'm reading Moby Dalek... Er, Moby Dick.
7.
I laughed SO hard when I saw this the other day. As a fan of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original one) and, of course, of that song.... well, I love that Dalek!
6.
Hee hee hee.... I giggle inwardly every time I see that.
5.
A Dalek snowman! I want to make one of these. I love making snow creatures.
4.
Bowties are cool, even if you are a Dalek. And he does a good impression.
3.
TOO CUTE!! Oh my word... Daleks are detestable, but these ones are really cute!
Speaking of the Beatles... I'm watching A Hard Day's Night right now. I love that film.
2.
I haven't even BEGUN to procrastinate yet... Something about a Dalek in a recliner makes me laugh.
And now, drumroll......
1.
Dalek vs. the Borg (from Star Trek). The Borg have a similar objective as the Daleks.... racial purity. The Daleks want to exterminate everyone that isn't like them. The Borg want to assimilate everyone who isn't like them into their collective.
I can just imagine how the battle would go....
"Exterminate!" says the Dalek, and shoots a Borg. The Borg falls dead but just as quickly, the other Borg in the collective adapt their shields to the Dalek frequency and are protected once more!
"We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."
The Dalek's would be able to counter the Borg shields and would once again kill a few of them before the Borg's adapted their shields again.
This goes on for hours upon hours.
Suddenly a fleet of ships approach and surround the planet where the Daleks and Borg battle. With a poof the planet disappeers! For of course, it was a Vogon construction fleet, clearing the area for a new hyperspace highway. If only the Daleks and the Borg had gone to their local planning office - the plans had been on display for nine months.
Live long and prosper!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
At the ocean!
My mom and I took a somewhat impropmtu trip to the ocean with a friend this weekend.
Last night, since I was still feeling under the weather (and very, very tired) I watched Doctor Who the whole night through. Then to bed!
This morning, after sleeping in, I had a cup of tea (because everyone deserves tea).
Then we went for a walk on the beach! Er, landing strip.
Tintin even came along.
A sailor went to sea sea sea, to see what she could see see see, and what did she see see see, the bottom of the big blue sea sea sea!
Now I'm watching Pride and Prejudice. AKA, Colin Firth makes weird faces.
Live long and prosper!
Last night, since I was still feeling under the weather (and very, very tired) I watched Doctor Who the whole night through. Then to bed!
This morning, after sleeping in, I had a cup of tea (because everyone deserves tea).
Then we went for a walk on the beach! Er, landing strip.
Tintin even came along.
A sailor went to sea sea sea, to see what she could see see see, and what did she see see see, the bottom of the big blue sea sea sea!
Now I'm watching Pride and Prejudice. AKA, Colin Firth makes weird faces.
Live long and prosper!
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy Valentine's Day!
And I'm just fine with that! I wouldn't want to celebrate Valentines Day any other way right now. No relationships of that sort for me until I'm in college. For me, highschool is a time to prepare myself for my future - to figure out who God wants me to be, and to go after that goal. Romantic attachments would just get in the way.
My day, however, has been less than stellar. I have spent much of the day on the couch, under a quilt. I'm fighting something. (For now) I don't have a fever.
I did get some schoolwork done, though! I nearly finished my science chapter on ecology, did some Dutch (mijn trui is roze), and read what I had to in my essay book. I tried reading some Moby Dick... But only got two pages before stopping. I'm a bit behind, but I have the whole weekend to catch up.
Now I'm watching cartoon Tintin from the 90's.
"Acting the goat! Acting the goat indeed!"
Acting the goat aside... I have a Valentine's Day present for you all.
So, without further ado, HAPPY HEARTS DAY!!!
Happiness is a warm puppy.
Live long and prosper!
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Top Tuesdays: Top Five Star Trek Series.
As well as having twelve feature films, Star Trek has five television series. Here they are, my least favorite to most favorite!
5. Enterprise.
Star Trek Enterprise was the latest Star Trek show to broadcast. It lasted from 2001-2005, four seasons in all.
Although the last show to broadcast, Enterprise took place earliest in the Star Trek timeline. It took place ten years before the Federation of Planets was created - about halfway between the events of Star Trek: First Contact (which was a movie where the Next Gen. cast went back in time) and the Original Star Trek series.
Warp drive is a relatively new thing.... ships can't exceed warp 5.
The Enterprise crew are new to exploring and break rules which the Federation would never allow. Of course, since the Federation wasn't in existence yet, the Enterprise crew could do what they wanted.
Their captain is Captain Jonathan Archer (in the picture he's the guy right in the middle - next to the lady in pink on the top). He was a Boy Scout, his favorite sport is water polo, and he has an adorable Beagle pup named Porthos (seriously, Porthos is, like, the best character in ENT!)
Other characters include T'Pol, the Vulcan science officer who was commissioned to serve on board the Enterprise to keep the humans our of trouble; Charles "Trip" Tucker the Third, the dashing chief engineer from Texas; Malcolm "Smooth Moves" Reed (He's known as "Smooth Moves" to only me and my friend Jen, because in the bloopers, he trips. And it's funny) is the ship's tactical officer/security chief. He's from England and comes from a long line of Navy men... He broke the tradition because he was afraid of water. Hoshi Sato, the communications officer who speaks many languages and is able to learn new languages extremely quickly; Travis Mayweather, the helmsman; and finally, Dr. Phlox who is a Denobulan. He's the chief medical officer and keeps all sorts of strange pets in the medical bay.
As far as Star Trek goes, most people will agree that Enterprise isn't very good. I'm not sure what others reasons are... But to me, the show was just too modern. By modern, I mean a lot of sex and that sort of stuff.
Enterprise is the only Star Trek series that doesn't get a very high rating from me. Probably only a 4 or 5 out of 10.
4. Voyager.
This Star Trek show features the ship Voyager and her crew who are flung 75,000 lightyears away from earth. It will take Voyager 75 years to get back to earth, but they face that reality bravely and start on their journey.
Voyager ran from 1995-2001 - seven seasons.
Voyager is the only Star Trek show to feature a female captain: Captain Kathryn Janeway (she is right in the middle of the picture, in between the other two females).
I love Voyager. It has a great cast of characters and features a plotline which no other Star Trek show has had to face - being lost in unknown space.
Captain Janeway is a very good captain. She leads her crew well and likes coffee, black.
Her first officer is Chakotay (top left in the picture) who is a Native American ex-Starfleet officer. He resigned from Starfleet in order to join the Maquis, a terrorist group. When both Voyager and the Maquis ship are thrown into the Delta Quadrent, 75,000 lightyears away from earth, the rival groups are forced to work together on Voyager. By the end of the show, everyone gets along swimmingly.
Tuvok is the Vulcan tactical/security officer. Not much to say about him... He formed a sort-of friendship with Neelix. (More like Neelix adopted Tuvok as his friend).
Neelix is Voyager's cook, whom they met in the Delta Quadrant, and took along with them. He had a special friend named Kes, but after they broke up, she left the ship (about the third or fourth season).
She was replaced by 7 of 9, a former Borg drone.
Seven comes aboard Voyager, I believe, in the fourth season. She spends the rest of the show working in the Astrometrics lab and trying to find her human roots after being a Borg since childhood. (For those not familiar with the Borg.... They are half-machine half-other species. They assimilate everyone, making them part of their collective. Their ultimate goal is to blend humanoid and machines to make a great race.)
Ensign Harry Kim is Voyager's operations officer. He is pretty young on the job. He plays clarinet.
Tom Paris is the son of a Starfleet admiral. He was discharged from Starfleet and joined the Maquis. He was caught, however, and sent to a penal colony. He was brought on board Voyager to help in the capture of Chakotay's Maquis ship, when both ships were thrown into the Delta Quadrant. He's a great character, one of my favorites. He's very Han Solo-ish but grows up a lot in the series. Plus he's cute. Hee hee.
B'Elanna Torres was Chakotay's chief engineer, but when Voyager's crew and Chakotay's crew merge, B'Elanna is made chief engineer when the other one dies. B'Elanna is half-human half-Klingon and absolutely hates it. Her human father left B'Elanna and her Klingon mother when she was young and B'Elanna attributes that to the fact that she was Klingon. She thought her father couldn't handle two Klingon women, since Klingons are a warrior race and pretty violent. B'Elanna has a lot of anger, but also grows a lot over the series. Along with Tom, she's a great character.
(Tom and B'Elanna.)
I've been saving the best for last. The Doctor.
Before I watched Doctor Who, this Doctor was THE Doctor.
The Doctor is an EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram).
When Voyager is thrown into the Delta Quadrant, all their medical personal are killed and the EMH is activated because, well, he's the Emergency Medical Hologram!
Over the run of the series, The Doctor expands his program and develops a personality. He is one of the best Star Trek characters EVER! He's really funny. Since he's modeled after a maker of holograms, his personality is sort of like that guy. So when The Doctor starts to expand his program, he becomes even better.
As well as expanding his program, The Doctor spends the run of the show trying to think up a name for himself.
Have a funny clip of The Doctor:
I love Robert Picardo (the actor). He's really singing (he's classically trained!). The episodes featuring The Doctor are some of the best.
The Whovians say....
And I don't!
Seriously, Voyager is worth watching just for him!
I would rate Voyager 8 or 9 out of 10.
3. The Original Series.
Does this one really need an explanation?
Star Trek Original was, well, the Original Star Trek show. It ran from 1966-1969, only three seasons. But what three season! This is classic sci-fi at it's best. It has a great cast of characters and cool uniforms and Tribbles!
Before I go onto my top two... I must say, it was SO hard to decide which show I liked better out of the last two.... I love all Star Trek pretty much equally (except Enterprise, which I am ready to dismember).
So, it was a hard choice.... But I finally made it. I just wanted to make it clear that between Voyager, Original, DS9, and Next Gen. there is really no winner.... I love them all too much!
2. Deep Space Nine (commonly known as DS9).
Deep Space Nine takes place on a space station (Deep Space Nine) far out in space. DS9 hangs above the planet of Bajor, which, for the longest time, was occupied by the Cardassians. Finally, the occupation ended, and Starfleet stepped in to help the war-ravaged planet of Bajor.
Deep Space Nine is also near the only stable Wormhole in the known universe.
Anywho, DS9 ran from 1993-1999 - seven seasons.
It is amazing. I can't even explain it....
The Bajorans think that Commander Benjamin Sisko (the African-American guy in the bottom right, next the the kid with the colorful shirt) is their "Emissary."
Eventually other elements are added into the series... Unlike other Star Trek series (except maybe Voyager), DS9 has an over-arching plotline which spans pretty much the whole series. Eventually a war is started, lots of enemies are made, and it's just cool.
The characters are AMAZING!!! Oh my word, the best!
DS9 has the most characters and sometime, I will do a review on all of them.
For now I will just do brief bios.
Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko runs DS9. He has a young son, Jake, who later wants to be a writer.
The second officer is Major Kira Nerys, a Bajoran non-Starfleet officer. She worked hard in the resistance during the Cardassian occupation.
Odo is the constable. Also a non-Starfleet officer. He worked for the Cardassians when they were in charge of DS9 (then called Terok Nor) as their chief of security and when Starfleet moved in, he became DS9's chief of security. He's a Changeling, capable of assuming any shape he wishes. He was found as a young Changeling, seemingly the only one of his kind. He struggles with fitting in, especially since he can't completely figure out human form.
He has to regenerate every night in his pail. He is pretty gruff and is always looking for reasons to arrest Quark.
Jadzia Dax is the science officer. She is a Trill. Trills are a race of beings that have a symbiotic relationship with a worm-like thing, which is implanted into their belly. Jadzia is Dax's eight host. She is feisty and good friends with Sisko.
Miles O'Brien is the Irish chief of operations (basically, he's the engineer). He was first featured in the Next Generation as their transporter chief, so he's a familiar face to anyone who watches Next Gen. first. In Next Gen. he married Kieko, who comes with him to live on DS9 with their daughter Molly. Miles is best friends with Julian (despite their rocky beginning) and the two enjoy adventures in the holosuite together.
Also coming over from Next. Gen is Worf (who is only in the last few season). Worf is a Klingon. I'll talk more about him soon.
Julian Bashir.
Julian is DS9's medical officer. He was my first fictional crush. He's locked in a secret closet in my heart (Sherlock Holmes is also in there... along with Daniel Jackson from StarGate).
Anyway, Julian is British. He's also very young. He's amazing. End of story.
Along with the actual officers, there is an abundance of other main characters.... Quark is a Ferengi (a race that cares only about acquisition). He owns Quark's bar, which has been on the station since the Cardassian occupation. Along with Odo, Quark stayed on the station when Starfleet moved in.
Quark comes with a fun family... His brother Rom, and Rom's son Nog.
(Quark in the foreground, Rom with Nog in the background.)
Then there's Garak, the only Cardassian to stay on the station after the occupation ended. He's a tailor, and used to be a spy. He's a really cool character. He's good friends with Julian.
Finally, there is Morn.
Morn is in (I believe) every single Deep Space Nine episode. He never speaks. Sometimes he just walks around. He frequents Quark's bar and even has an episode all about his supposed death.
There are many more characters I could talk about.... Leeta, Jake, Vic, Gul Dukat, Ezri.... It goes on and on.
Deep Space Nine has amazing character development and I think it the most developed of all Star Trek shows. It is most definitely worth watching (over and over and over!). It also features a reprise of the Tribbles... the DS9 cast go back in time to the Trouble with Tribbles episode. It's great.
Deep Space Nine is 9 or 10 out of 10.
Drumroll please.....
1. Next Generation.
Star Trek Next Generation ran from 1987-1994 - seven seasons.
It was the revived Star Trek, after the Original series didn't do so well in the 60's.
Next Generation is basically an extension of the Original series... It has the same direction - Boldly go, explore new worlds, etc. etc.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard (the bald guy in the middle) is British and an amazing captain. My favorite.
His first officer is Will Riker (the guy with the beard).
There's also Doctor Crusher (who has a song, Wesley Crusher, whom everyone loves to hate. I love to love him), the aforementioned Worf (he's the first Klingon in Starfleet. Since he's a warrior, he sometimes has a hard time fitting in. Out of all the Star Trek characters, he goes through the most angst), blind Geordi LaForge (the chief engineer), Counselar Deanna Troi (along with new characters, a whole new host of aliens are introduced in Next Gen. Including Betazoids, empathic beings. Deanna is half-Betazoid half-human), and Data.
Data is an android. He is trying to become more human. He plays violin and loves Sherlock Holmes.
(Sherlock Data and Geordi Watson.)
Data is good friends with Geordi.
And there you have it.
If you are looking to watch Star Trek, I would watch them in order.
Star Trek Original, then Next Generation, then Deep Space Nine, then Voyager, then Enterprise. (Though really, Original, Next Gen. and Deep Space Nine could be watched in any order... Any of them could, actually. But it works best to watch them in order.)
Live long and prosper! (and I apologize for my rambling... When you get me talking about Star Trek, I won't stop.)
5. Enterprise.
Star Trek Enterprise was the latest Star Trek show to broadcast. It lasted from 2001-2005, four seasons in all.
Although the last show to broadcast, Enterprise took place earliest in the Star Trek timeline. It took place ten years before the Federation of Planets was created - about halfway between the events of Star Trek: First Contact (which was a movie where the Next Gen. cast went back in time) and the Original Star Trek series.
Warp drive is a relatively new thing.... ships can't exceed warp 5.
The Enterprise crew are new to exploring and break rules which the Federation would never allow. Of course, since the Federation wasn't in existence yet, the Enterprise crew could do what they wanted.
Their captain is Captain Jonathan Archer (in the picture he's the guy right in the middle - next to the lady in pink on the top). He was a Boy Scout, his favorite sport is water polo, and he has an adorable Beagle pup named Porthos (seriously, Porthos is, like, the best character in ENT!)
Other characters include T'Pol, the Vulcan science officer who was commissioned to serve on board the Enterprise to keep the humans our of trouble; Charles "Trip" Tucker the Third, the dashing chief engineer from Texas; Malcolm "Smooth Moves" Reed (He's known as "Smooth Moves" to only me and my friend Jen, because in the bloopers, he trips. And it's funny) is the ship's tactical officer/security chief. He's from England and comes from a long line of Navy men... He broke the tradition because he was afraid of water. Hoshi Sato, the communications officer who speaks many languages and is able to learn new languages extremely quickly; Travis Mayweather, the helmsman; and finally, Dr. Phlox who is a Denobulan. He's the chief medical officer and keeps all sorts of strange pets in the medical bay.
As far as Star Trek goes, most people will agree that Enterprise isn't very good. I'm not sure what others reasons are... But to me, the show was just too modern. By modern, I mean a lot of sex and that sort of stuff.
Enterprise is the only Star Trek series that doesn't get a very high rating from me. Probably only a 4 or 5 out of 10.
4. Voyager.
Voyager ran from 1995-2001 - seven seasons.
Voyager is the only Star Trek show to feature a female captain: Captain Kathryn Janeway (she is right in the middle of the picture, in between the other two females).
I love Voyager. It has a great cast of characters and features a plotline which no other Star Trek show has had to face - being lost in unknown space.
Captain Janeway is a very good captain. She leads her crew well and likes coffee, black.
Her first officer is Chakotay (top left in the picture) who is a Native American ex-Starfleet officer. He resigned from Starfleet in order to join the Maquis, a terrorist group. When both Voyager and the Maquis ship are thrown into the Delta Quadrent, 75,000 lightyears away from earth, the rival groups are forced to work together on Voyager. By the end of the show, everyone gets along swimmingly.
Tuvok is the Vulcan tactical/security officer. Not much to say about him... He formed a sort-of friendship with Neelix. (More like Neelix adopted Tuvok as his friend).
Neelix is Voyager's cook, whom they met in the Delta Quadrant, and took along with them. He had a special friend named Kes, but after they broke up, she left the ship (about the third or fourth season).
She was replaced by 7 of 9, a former Borg drone.
Seven comes aboard Voyager, I believe, in the fourth season. She spends the rest of the show working in the Astrometrics lab and trying to find her human roots after being a Borg since childhood. (For those not familiar with the Borg.... They are half-machine half-other species. They assimilate everyone, making them part of their collective. Their ultimate goal is to blend humanoid and machines to make a great race.)
Ensign Harry Kim is Voyager's operations officer. He is pretty young on the job. He plays clarinet.
Tom Paris is the son of a Starfleet admiral. He was discharged from Starfleet and joined the Maquis. He was caught, however, and sent to a penal colony. He was brought on board Voyager to help in the capture of Chakotay's Maquis ship, when both ships were thrown into the Delta Quadrant. He's a great character, one of my favorites. He's very Han Solo-ish but grows up a lot in the series. Plus he's cute. Hee hee.
B'Elanna Torres was Chakotay's chief engineer, but when Voyager's crew and Chakotay's crew merge, B'Elanna is made chief engineer when the other one dies. B'Elanna is half-human half-Klingon and absolutely hates it. Her human father left B'Elanna and her Klingon mother when she was young and B'Elanna attributes that to the fact that she was Klingon. She thought her father couldn't handle two Klingon women, since Klingons are a warrior race and pretty violent. B'Elanna has a lot of anger, but also grows a lot over the series. Along with Tom, she's a great character.
(Tom and B'Elanna.)
I've been saving the best for last. The Doctor.
Before I watched Doctor Who, this Doctor was THE Doctor.
The Doctor is an EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram).
When Voyager is thrown into the Delta Quadrant, all their medical personal are killed and the EMH is activated because, well, he's the Emergency Medical Hologram!
Over the run of the series, The Doctor expands his program and develops a personality. He is one of the best Star Trek characters EVER! He's really funny. Since he's modeled after a maker of holograms, his personality is sort of like that guy. So when The Doctor starts to expand his program, he becomes even better.
As well as expanding his program, The Doctor spends the run of the show trying to think up a name for himself.
Have a funny clip of The Doctor:
I love Robert Picardo (the actor). He's really singing (he's classically trained!). The episodes featuring The Doctor are some of the best.
The Whovians say....
And I don't!
Seriously, Voyager is worth watching just for him!
I would rate Voyager 8 or 9 out of 10.
3. The Original Series.
Does this one really need an explanation?
Star Trek Original was, well, the Original Star Trek show. It ran from 1966-1969, only three seasons. But what three season! This is classic sci-fi at it's best. It has a great cast of characters and cool uniforms and Tribbles!
Before I go onto my top two... I must say, it was SO hard to decide which show I liked better out of the last two.... I love all Star Trek pretty much equally (except Enterprise, which I am ready to dismember).
So, it was a hard choice.... But I finally made it. I just wanted to make it clear that between Voyager, Original, DS9, and Next Gen. there is really no winner.... I love them all too much!
2. Deep Space Nine (commonly known as DS9).
Deep Space Nine takes place on a space station (Deep Space Nine) far out in space. DS9 hangs above the planet of Bajor, which, for the longest time, was occupied by the Cardassians. Finally, the occupation ended, and Starfleet stepped in to help the war-ravaged planet of Bajor.
Deep Space Nine is also near the only stable Wormhole in the known universe.
Anywho, DS9 ran from 1993-1999 - seven seasons.
It is amazing. I can't even explain it....
The Bajorans think that Commander Benjamin Sisko (the African-American guy in the bottom right, next the the kid with the colorful shirt) is their "Emissary."
Eventually other elements are added into the series... Unlike other Star Trek series (except maybe Voyager), DS9 has an over-arching plotline which spans pretty much the whole series. Eventually a war is started, lots of enemies are made, and it's just cool.
The characters are AMAZING!!! Oh my word, the best!
DS9 has the most characters and sometime, I will do a review on all of them.
For now I will just do brief bios.
Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sisko runs DS9. He has a young son, Jake, who later wants to be a writer.
The second officer is Major Kira Nerys, a Bajoran non-Starfleet officer. She worked hard in the resistance during the Cardassian occupation.
Odo is the constable. Also a non-Starfleet officer. He worked for the Cardassians when they were in charge of DS9 (then called Terok Nor) as their chief of security and when Starfleet moved in, he became DS9's chief of security. He's a Changeling, capable of assuming any shape he wishes. He was found as a young Changeling, seemingly the only one of his kind. He struggles with fitting in, especially since he can't completely figure out human form.
He has to regenerate every night in his pail. He is pretty gruff and is always looking for reasons to arrest Quark.
Jadzia Dax is the science officer. She is a Trill. Trills are a race of beings that have a symbiotic relationship with a worm-like thing, which is implanted into their belly. Jadzia is Dax's eight host. She is feisty and good friends with Sisko.
Miles O'Brien is the Irish chief of operations (basically, he's the engineer). He was first featured in the Next Generation as their transporter chief, so he's a familiar face to anyone who watches Next Gen. first. In Next Gen. he married Kieko, who comes with him to live on DS9 with their daughter Molly. Miles is best friends with Julian (despite their rocky beginning) and the two enjoy adventures in the holosuite together.
Also coming over from Next. Gen is Worf (who is only in the last few season). Worf is a Klingon. I'll talk more about him soon.
Julian Bashir.
Julian is DS9's medical officer. He was my first fictional crush. He's locked in a secret closet in my heart (Sherlock Holmes is also in there... along with Daniel Jackson from StarGate).
Anyway, Julian is British. He's also very young. He's amazing. End of story.
Along with the actual officers, there is an abundance of other main characters.... Quark is a Ferengi (a race that cares only about acquisition). He owns Quark's bar, which has been on the station since the Cardassian occupation. Along with Odo, Quark stayed on the station when Starfleet moved in.
Quark comes with a fun family... His brother Rom, and Rom's son Nog.
(Quark in the foreground, Rom with Nog in the background.)
Then there's Garak, the only Cardassian to stay on the station after the occupation ended. He's a tailor, and used to be a spy. He's a really cool character. He's good friends with Julian.
Finally, there is Morn.
Morn is in (I believe) every single Deep Space Nine episode. He never speaks. Sometimes he just walks around. He frequents Quark's bar and even has an episode all about his supposed death.
There are many more characters I could talk about.... Leeta, Jake, Vic, Gul Dukat, Ezri.... It goes on and on.
Deep Space Nine has amazing character development and I think it the most developed of all Star Trek shows. It is most definitely worth watching (over and over and over!). It also features a reprise of the Tribbles... the DS9 cast go back in time to the Trouble with Tribbles episode. It's great.
Deep Space Nine is 9 or 10 out of 10.
Drumroll please.....
1. Next Generation.
Star Trek Next Generation ran from 1987-1994 - seven seasons.
It was the revived Star Trek, after the Original series didn't do so well in the 60's.
Next Generation is basically an extension of the Original series... It has the same direction - Boldly go, explore new worlds, etc. etc.
Captain Jean-Luc Picard (the bald guy in the middle) is British and an amazing captain. My favorite.
His first officer is Will Riker (the guy with the beard).
There's also Doctor Crusher (who has a song, Wesley Crusher, whom everyone loves to hate. I love to love him), the aforementioned Worf (he's the first Klingon in Starfleet. Since he's a warrior, he sometimes has a hard time fitting in. Out of all the Star Trek characters, he goes through the most angst), blind Geordi LaForge (the chief engineer), Counselar Deanna Troi (along with new characters, a whole new host of aliens are introduced in Next Gen. Including Betazoids, empathic beings. Deanna is half-Betazoid half-human), and Data.
Data is an android. He is trying to become more human. He plays violin and loves Sherlock Holmes.
(Sherlock Data and Geordi Watson.)
Data is good friends with Geordi.
And there you have it.
If you are looking to watch Star Trek, I would watch them in order.
Star Trek Original, then Next Generation, then Deep Space Nine, then Voyager, then Enterprise. (Though really, Original, Next Gen. and Deep Space Nine could be watched in any order... Any of them could, actually. But it works best to watch them in order.)
Live long and prosper! (and I apologize for my rambling... When you get me talking about Star Trek, I won't stop.)
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