A whole lotta scifi coming to TV soon

First of all, most of this news comes from Adam Whitehead's most excellent The Wertzone, so big tip of the hat to him.

Let's do a run down:

• Spike just announced that they're going to turn Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy into a series. Reminder that Spike is the channel with the MMA, wrestling (not for long), and a plethora of reality shows. Hopefully they won't fuck it up.
• Syfy is doing a ton. They're adapting Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End into a miniseries, as well as turning James S. A. Corey's Expanse and John Scalzi's Old Man's War into TV series. Finally, they have a show based on the movie 12 Monkeys set to premiere this January. Interesting stuff, but then again, this is the network that brought us such turds as Children of Dune, Riverworld, and Earthsea, to say nothing of all of their ghost hunting shows.
• FX is doing a limited series based on Scalzi's Redshirts.
• HBO, meanwhile, is stepping into the science fiction arena by optioning The Foundation series. Given the size and scope that Game of Thrones has, this could be interesting. I don't doubt for a minute that what ends up on TV will differ greatly from the source material, but that's probably not a big deal. I mean, even Isaac Asimov couldn't figure out why the Foundation Trilogy was so popular. At the very least, we're getting boobs and sex and more boobs. Probably full frontal too.

I'm being somewhat flippant towards Spike and Syfy because the former has never done a scifi series (to my knowledge) and the latter has a bad track record when it comes to adapting written scifi to television. On the other hand, Syfy seems to be at least making an effort to live up to their name, which is more than can be said for other niche channels.

Never mind the Trek blog

Ran out of steam and ideas, even though I planned to write quite a few posts. Oh well, I've imported the few posts that I did make, so let's pretend it never happened. :P

On a list of reasons to join Starfleet, I didn't think a swimming pool would even rate

(via Memory Beta)

Look at this gem from the Memory Beta page for the Northampton-class:

These vessels were designed for deep-space stationing in all sensitive areas, to prevent alien aggression. The Northampton vessels were sought after assignments by crews and troops due to numerous recreation decks and spacious quarters for the crewmembers and marines. Swimming pools, gravball courts, and gymnasiums were all located in the lower hull adjacent to the shuttlebay and near the engineering section. Although the hull design incorporated the single-engine lock often found in Andorian designs, the Northampton was a Martian design.

The bit about the ships being sought after because of swimming pools and other amenities caught me as funny. I can just imagine a cadet about to graduate from Starfleet Academy, getting ready to go out and exploring the galaxy, discovering new life and all that jazz, then ditching that in favor of a swimming pool.

Human Resource Officer from Starfleet: "So, I see you went the Sciences route in Starfleet. We always need more science officers, what was your specilization?"
Cadet: "Exo-botany. I wrote dissertation on the Xindi tulip."
HRO: "Interesting, interesting. Well, we do have an opening on an Oberth science vessel, the USS Sheldon Cooper and they do a lot of research on planet life, including flora, so you'd fit right in."
Cadet: "Great!"
HRO: "Now, I should tell you that an Oberth is a pretty small ship, so it doesn't have all the amenities of larger ships."
Cadet: "That's fine. Sacrifice is expected in the name of science, after all."
HRO: "Good to know, because you certainly won't find a swimming pool on an Oberth like the Northampton's have."
Cadet: "Well that's fine with--I'm sorry, but did you say 'swimming pool'?"
HRO: "Hmm? Oh yeah, the Northampton-class starships all have pools, gyms, grav courts, etc. Big quarters too, even for the most junior officers. Now, let's get the paperwork started so we can move you on out to the Sheldon Cooper."
Cadet: "Uh, actually, I think I've changed my mind. Is there an opening on any Northamptons?"
HRO: "Yeah, a couple, but they don't really need an exo-botanist."
Cadet: "Well, I mean why should have matter? I don't think one should necessarily be limited by their degrees. A person can grow in other directions and my direction is clearly toward a Northampton!"
HRO: "But they're warships - all they do is patrol and guard sectors of space! There's no science or exploration involved!"
Cadet: "Look, I know how to fire a phaser and I've got fists perfect for punching aliens in their faces, so what more do I need?!"
HRO: *facepalming* "Goddammit..."

So apparently the NX-Enterprise was powered by Mac OS X

Was derping around on Memory Alpha and found this picture:

(via Memory Alpha)

According to this article on Trek Today, something like 16 of Apple's Mac G4 Cubes were used to handle the computer displays on the set. Mike Okuda and others would man these computers and monitor everything that goes up on the displays in the set. Whenever the Enterprise went to red alert, ran a diagnostic, or blipped off and on when the ship took damage, it was done from there. Neat.

The Loknar-class is a sweet starship

(via Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator On-Line Database & Archive)

The Loknar was one of the myriad of starships that appeared in FASA's Star Trek RPG back in the 1980s. Here's some info from Memory Beta:

The five series of Loknar vessels were built at the beginning of a period of Federation expansion known to historians as "The Great Awakening". Although the era was defined by scientific research and exploratory ventures, numerous small warship classes were built, including the Loknar. These vessels were primarily designed by Andorians, who favored a doctrine of border protection for the young Federation.

Note: The Loknar-class does actually have a deflector dish
in other pictures I've seen,
no idea why it doesn't have it in this one.
(via Memory Beta)

When authorized by the Federation Appropriations Committee, the Loknars were constructed by Andorian shipbuilders in large numbers in shipyards at Mars and Salazaar, and introduced to service on reference stardate 1/9010 with the commissioning of the USS Loknar. All Loknar vessels were named for Federation colony provinces and cities, and many are crewed exclusively by Andorians, as part of the "Blue Fleet".

Over the course of the Four Years War, the Loknar became a staple of fleet action, and was upgraded several times from its original design. The first series weapon complement of heavy lasers and accelerator cannons were replaced by phasers and photon torpedoes, the standard starship weapons of the mid-23rd century era and beyond.

The Loknar remained in production until the late 23rd century, with older vessels continuously refit to newer standards.

Interesting sidenote: The same article points out that the NX-class from Enterprise looks an awful lot like the Loknar.

(via Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator On-Line Database & Archive)

I can see the similarities, but I'd say it was probably more of a coincidence than anything else, unless Doug Drexler has said otherwise. I like the overall design of the Loknar, especially in all of the fan art I've seen of it.

Credit: davemetlesits.

Credit: XenoMAX.

 A shout-out to the BARKING ALIEN for reminding me that the Loknar existed.