TrekExpo.com

June 21, 2002: I'm back from the first day of Trek Expo 2002 with a couple of factoids to share. Richard Gant of "Special Unit 2" told us that he will be appearing in Smallville next season. Also, Chase Masterson mentioned that the movie she shot with Bruce Campbell for the Sci Fi Channel will actually be called "Terminal Invasion", not "Devil's Pass" as I previously reported. I also saw Nichelle Nichols and Terry Farrell on stage today. Reports and pictures will be posted as soon as possible.

June 19, 2002: Once again, you never know where Bruce Campbell might pop up next. This time he's starring in Don Coscarelli's horror/comedy "Bubba Ho-Tep" which recently premiered at the CineVegas Film Festival. Bruce plays an aging Elvis Presley who joins forces with Jack Kennedy to battle a "soul sucking" cowboy mummy in their Texas retirement home. Don Coscarelli is the director of such classic films as Phantasm and The Beastmaster.

June 18, 2002: Starting July 20, William Shatner will host "Full Moon Fright Night" on the Sci Fi Channel. The weekly program will present horror movies by Full Moon Pictures and will include appearances by special guests related to the genre. The highlight of the show will be Shatner's personal reinterpretation of a gory moment from the movie. Considering his talent for overdramatization, this segment of the program promises to be particularly entertaining. However, I doubt if it will be able to compete with the hilarious Sci Fi Channel classic Mystery Science Theater 3000.

June 11, 2002: The second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was released on DVD today. I think a lot of people dismiss Buffy as little more than a campy, teen horror spoof, but it's so much more than that. Buffy's literate storylines and subversive wit have had a profound effect on my life, because Buffy isn't about "teen angst" as many people assume; it's about the nature of humanity. Slaying vampires and demons is just a metaphor for the ongoing struggle against destructive forces, both within ourselves and in the world around us. Like Buffy, each of us must grapple with our own unique problems that nobody else can understand, yet we are expected to perform duties and live up to responsibilities that often stand in the way of love, friendship, family and everything else that makes life worth living. Like Buffy, we sometimes wonder if the struggle is worth it, and we consider giving up. But, like Buffy, we manage to find some kernel of meaning and purpose in our lives that motivates us to press on. I think the most important lesson of Buffy is that the struggle never ends. The demons never stop coming. You never really "win". All you can do is keep searching for that grain of hope.

June 8, 2002: It appears as if Vin Diesel will reprise his role as Riddick in what may be the first of three sequels to Pitch Black. Appropriately entitled "Riddick", the movie will follow the further adventures of Diesel's character in much the same way that The Road Warrior followed Mel Gibson's character from Mad Max. David Twohy's ambitious pitch for the sequel was originally rejected, but Universal and Radar Pictures now want to develop it into a multi-picture franchise like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings.

June 1, 2002: The May 28 edition of Variety featured a special cover to promote this season's musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as an Emmy contender. If any show deserves an award, this one does. The impressive musical numbers not only captured the spirit of the series, but also served as shapshots of the characters' lives. Unfortunately, it seems as if they spent so much time and effort on this masterpiece that the rest of the season suffered considerably. Haphazard and unfocused, this season seemed to lack the steady buildup of dramatic tension that inevitably leads to the climactic final confrontation. Of course, the switch to UPN might have had something to do with that, not to mention the trying times we're living in. With any luck, they'll get things back on track next season. In the meantime, don't forget to buy the brilliant second season DVD on June 11.

May 22, 2002: You never know where Bruce Campbell might pop up next. For instance, playing a witch hunter on the season finale of Charmed. Or how about being interviewed on Christopher Closeup? Yes! Believe it or not, Bruce chose to light a candle rather than curse the darkness! Personally, I think it's better to curse the darkness. Otherwise people might think you actually like living in the dark, and they'll just send you candles instead of helping you move into a place with decent windows and proper electric lighting. Anyway, Bruce lucidly shared his thoughts on marriage, celebrity, forest conservation, spirituality and violence in movies. Now I hear that Bruce will be starring with Chase Masterson in a movie called "Devil's Pass". Bruce will play an escaped convict who teams up with a female pilot to save the world from an evil alien. The movie is currently shooting in Canada and is scheduled to debut on the Sci Fi Channel in August or September.

May 19, 2002: Everybody seems relieved that Jar Jar Binks was toned down for Attack of the Clones, but to be perfectly honest, I never had a problem with Jar Jar. I actually thought he was kind of fun! I mean, he's that dorky fifth wheel who always wants to tag along with the cool kids, but when he tries to be cool, he just ends up making a fool of himself. We've all known somebody like that, or even been somebody like that. Maybe that's why hardcore Star Wars fans hate Jar Jar so much, because he reminds them of themselves! Anyway, I don't have a problem with Jar Jar. You wanna know which character I do have a problem with? That stupid two-headed pod race announcer from the The Phantom Menace! If they wanted to make this preposterous creature talk exactly like a NASCAR announcer, they should have at least made it speak an alien language! Talk about ruining a movie! I'll take Jar Jar over that any day!

May 18, 2002: There was a segment on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in which Triumph, the insult comic dog, made fun of Star Wars fans as they waited to see Attack of the Clones. Although hilarious, the piece was also sad and offensive. The basic premise was that Star Wars fans are pathetic losers who are out of touch with reality and will probably never get laid. The sad part is that this premise is actually true in many cases. The jokes wouldn't have been funny if it weren't. But that's what makes it offensive. I mean, if these guys were born macho, handsome, athletic and sexy, they wouldn't need such a rich fantasy life, because they'd be climbing mountains, kickboxing and having hot sex with beautiful women on a daily basis. Triumph might as well have been making fun of crippled kids in wheelchairs because they can't run and play like normal kids. The only thing that softened the blow was that the insults were coming from a guy with a plastic dog on his hand. I think we can safely assume that he isn't getting a whole lot of hot supermodel sex either. In any case, despite the negative aspects, I have to admit that it was great comedy... for me to poop on!

May 11, 2002: The second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be released on DVD on June 11, 2002. I'm really looking forward to this, because the second season is truly the golden age of Buffy. It ultimately defines what the series is all about and sets the stage for seasons to come. Any reasonable person would have to agree that the star-crossed romance between Buffy and Angel is one of the greatest dramatic arcs in television history. Even if you recorded all the episodes on VHS, you'll still want the DVD. The picture clarity is awesome, and you'll appreciate the episodes a lot more without all the network logos and time and temperature and promos and whatever else your local station plasters all over the screen.

May 6, 2002: George Lucas has made many controversial choices regarding the prequels to his original Star Wars trilogy. Who can forget the uproar over Jar Jar Binks in Episode I? Many doubted the wisdom of shooting Episode II entirely with digital cameras. Feathers were also ruffled when Lucas announced that the title of Episode II would be "Attack of the Clones". Believe it or not, George Lucas may do something even more controversial with Episode III. I heard that he plans to shoot Episode III as a Dogma film! Dogma films must adhere to strict rules that strip away all superficiality so that the plot is motivated by the inner lives of the characters instead of technological illusions. Ultimately, this means that there will be no sets, no props, no visual effects, no sound effects and no musical score. Do you think he can pull it off? Just kidding.

May 2, 2002: Congratulations to Angel star David Boreanaz on the birth of his son, Jaden Rayne Boreanaz, yesterday in Los Angeles, California.

May 1, 2002: I received a promotional flyer for Trek Expo 2002. As usual, a wide variety of celebrity guests are expected to appear, including Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Michael Dorn, Connor Trinneer, Laura Bertram and Nichelle Nichols, to name a few. The front of the flyer features pictures of the guests. See the back for detailed information about ticket prices, events, locations and additional guests.