Category: Media

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Minireview: The Corbomite Maneuver

This entry is part 2 of 12 in the series Minireviews

One Sentence Synopsis

Kirk shows shocking managerial incompetence while the ship is threatened by hostile alien/grapefruit juice enthusiast Clint Howard.

Scene setup

The Navigator Of The Week reminds Kirk of his younger self so Kirk promotes him too quickly.

Enjoy the fruits of Kirk’s managerial incompetence.

McCoy is pissed!

Should you watch it?

Yes. It’s a fun watch as the second episode in production order. You can tell the production team is still getting their legs under them (LOUD SPOCK LOUDS LOUDLY!). However, the elements of Trek are in place and you can see potential oozing off the screen. On top of that science fiction tropes (like aliens testing humans) are being invented on the fly and it’s pretty cool seeing a cliche in the pram, if I may be so British about it .

Vital Statistics

What Happened?This adventureAll timeNotes
HR Incident13Freakout!
Shirtless Kirk11.5Dr. McCoy needs to examine the Captain to distill Kirk’s manliness.
Hookups?01
Encounters with exes?00
Redshirt Kills?00
Non Redshirt Kills?03
Offscreen Federation Kills?09
Non Federation Kills?00
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Minireview: Where No Man Has Gone Before

This entry is part 1 of 12 in the series Minireviews

One Sentence Synopsis

In the Pilot episode responsible for winning Star Trek a season order, The U.S.S. Enterprise flies into The Galactic Barrier, turning Kirk’s friend into an Evil God.

Scene setup

Welcome to our first ever staff meeting. The Management Team sits down to determine a plan of action that will address God Like Friend without exposing the company to a lawsuit. Spock sorts it all out and gives Captain Kirk his options:

Spock, with ideas like this you’ll go places in the company.

Should you watch it?

Yes, it’s a fun story and as the second pilot, you’ll see things (like Spock’s choice of work shirt) that aren’t figured out.

Vital Statistics

What Happened?This adventureAll timeNotes
HR Incident22Kirk’s Friend sexually harasses the ship psychologist on the bridge in front of the management team.
Shirtless Kirk.5.5Can’t kill your buddy fully clothed.
Hookups?00
Encounters with exes?00
Redshirt Kills?00
Non Redshirt Kills?33
Offscreen Federation Kills?99
Non Federation Kills?00
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Rush- The Hidden Gems: Kid Gloves

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This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series Rush- Hidden Gems

80s Rush Was Weird(?)

Rush always strove to recreate themselves: their career is easily chunked out into phases.

Hard Rock– 1974-1976 (Rush, Fly By Night, Caress of Steel, 2112) The band grows out of its basement-playing roots and stretches themselves conceptually with new drummer/lyricist Neil Peart.

Prog Rock- 1977-1981 (A Farewell To Kings, Hemispheres, Permanent Waves, Moving Pictures) Having explored complexity to its insane limits, the band turns to shorter compositions and more grounded lyrics.

Synth Era- 1982-1987 (Signals, Grace Under Pressure, Power Windows, Hold Your Fire)

Coming off the otherworldly success of Moving Pictures, Rush looked out at a musical landscape and latched onto New Wave as the next vista to explore… only New Wave wasn’t an easily defined class of music as hard rock or prog were. Neil leaned towards reggae and ska as you’d expect a drummer to while bassist/lyricist Geddy Lee wanted to expand his sonic palette by moving keyboards into a more melodic role.

What was Rush turning into, The Police or Ultravox?

The answer was Weird Rush.

A Mixed Bag…

Rush did embrace the New Wave in ways that other bands didn’t or couldn’t yet their willingness to change led to the most uneven output of their career, not just from album to album but often from track to track.

1984’s Grace Under Pressure reflected the schizophrenia of Synth Rush. Not only do we get a dance song(?) in The Enemy Within but we get the ‘corniest, lamest ‘scary’ keyboard hook this side of a Count Chocula commercial’.

But we also get this little nugget, a reggae influenced rocker buried on the backside. Listen to how much fun guitarist Alex Lifeson has with the solo. As he recalled the song later:

What I like about the solo is… it’s got a hip, kind of slinky attitude, a little goofy humor. When I play it, I feel a certain confidence, almost like a prankster, which is not the way I am in real life at all.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/rushs-alex-lifeson-my-3-best-solos-194741