A Captain and the Madman by RazielLordofSquirrls

 

The wonderous thing about Dr. Who is that he can really appear anywhere, anyplace. The crossover potential is endless because he is not contained by space and time.

This particular fanfic begins on the bridge of Picard’s Enterprise. Captain Picard is called to the Bridge to witness a most peculiar craft, a blue police box floating in space. On board they discover the 11^th doctor who is from an alternate universe. The Doctor does not know how he came to be in this universe and after repairing the Tardis goes on a quest throughout Star Trek history to try to find a way back to his own universe. He meets Picard’s crew of course, but also Spock and Kirk, Archer, and the crew of Voyager. As the Doctor travels through the timelines, he finds references to a “doctor” who saves time and space but cannot find any official record of him. He decides to find out what happened to the doctor before returning to his own universe. The plot twist at the end is really something. If you are a fan of either Doctor Who or Star Trek I really suggest this fanfic.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9319253/1/A-Captain-And-A-Madman

 

Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

 

I liked enough of these episodes to talk about it here. You will figure out after a while that although I love Star Trek there are some series and movies that I have not seen and don’t really want to see. I have also decided to post my Star Trek blog posts in chronological order, so although several series aired before Enterprise, it is the first one that I am reviewing.

Enterprise covers the first crew of the Enterprise led by Captain Jonathan Archer. I actually really liked the theme song and the characters. I think my favorite episode is the second episode of the second season called Carbon Creek. In this episode, Vulcan T’Pol reveals that her ancestor T’Mir and her shipmates were actually the first to make contact with humanity when their ship crashed outside of Carbon Creek. They then lived as humans until they could be rescued.

I also feel that the show was cheated in their final episode. Instead of giving the crew a true series finale they decided to make it all a hologram program ran by Riker during the events of Next Generation. Not only does Jonathan Frakes look much older than he did during Next Gen, but the idea that it was all his hologram program cheated the characters out of their own time to shine. However I did like the last five minutes where all three captains of the Enterprise give the opening speech. It can be heard here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXotJu1CapU

1984 by George Orwell

 

1984 is a classic of dystopian literature. It’s world is horribly real and it does not end happily. More contemporary dystopian literature has the protagonists throwing off the government and emerging into a brighter future. Not so in 1984. When it’s over Big Brother is still in power and Winston has been broken into once again accepting Big Brother’s rule over his life. It is a little depressing. However, it is a classic and its message is clear. Life doesn’t always end happily ever after and the good guys don’t always end. I listened to this as an audio book. The reader had a nice pleasant reading voice (he was a British man) and I did enjoy listening to it. Following is my favorite reference to 1984:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvjbmoDx-I

Babylon 5 (1993-1998)

 

The introduction to Babylon 5 tells us that the Babylon stations were the universe’s last chance for peace. It failed…Before the Babylon stations were built Earth had just gotten out of a devastating war with the Minbari, an advanced alien species. The Minbari captured a human commander to question him and then abruptly surrendered even though they were winning the war. The first season, follows this commander, Sinclair, as he navigates keeping the alien species on Babylon 5 from each other’s throats, especially the Centauri and the Narns who have a long history of animosity.

The second season sees the sudden departure of Sinclair as he is shipped off to be the human ambassador to Minbari. In his place comes Sheridan, who brings his own brand,  of justice to the role. Behind the scenes, the actor who played Sinclair, Michael O’Hare, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was unable to continue working.  He does come back as a guest star to tie up his story line later in the series.

What I love about Babylon 5 is that you come to love all the characters, even the stinkers. The Centauri are pawns in the war the main antagonists, The Shadows, are waging on the rest of the universe. (For the record the Shadows are evil and you do not love them). I do love the Centauri, and the Narns, and the Minbari. The Shadows antithesis are the Vorlons who have appeared in many mythologies as angels. The first Vorlon we meet, Kosh, is kind if a little aloof.

The show did lose momentum in the 5^th season. The problem being that they dragged their feet in renewing the series leading to many of the main cast to leave for other projects. But the first four seasons are solid. It ends too. There are no loose threads. There was rumors that a remake was in the works. My answer, please no!