The Final Weirdness

Began another sunny, breezy morning with more Peanuts. You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown has Chuck and Marcie entered in the decathlon at their town's all-school track meet. Their biggest competitors are Freddy from Fremont and the Masked Marvel (aka Snoopy). While Freddy and Snoopy brag, boast, and insult one another, Marcie and Chuck show nothing but good sportsmanship. It comes down to the final race, the marathon. Chuck's hoping he can win the day, if he can stay on the track.

Hit the laundromat as soon as I finished breakfast. I didn't have a huge load, but I wanted to get it done before the heat becomes unbearable over the weekend. I timed it right. There was only one other person when I arrived around 10:30. By the time it started getting busier, my load was done. (I even saw one of my co-workers.)

Put everything away when I got home, then had a fast lunch while listening to one of my K-Tel 70's records, Starflight. Wrote at the computer for a couple of hours after that. After Luke uses the Force to free the Ewoks, they all flee via mine train (in a sequence inspired by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). Henry, Luke, Rusty, and Charles out-ride Hux and arrive at the entrance, only to find Hux and his men have beaten them there.

It's The White Swan to the rescue as Leia and the Ewoks whom they befriended bombard the Coruscant soldiers with rocks and spears. They're overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and Hux once again finds himself humiliated. Charles wants to tear him limb from limb. Henry gets a better idea when he realizes that Cedric and Hux share a similar build...

Broke at quarter after 2 to start getting ready for work. Ran an episode of The Backyardigans as I did the dishes, packed lunch and my cell phone, and changed into my uniform. Pablo wants to "Catch that Butterfly" in a third season episode done to comic opera. Stagecoach drivers Uniqua and Tyrone are happy to oblige...until his chase destroys their vehicle and leaves them going down river rapids and up a steep, crumbling cliff.

Work was pretty much the same as yesterday - mostly dead as a doornail. It did pick up enough by 5 that I spent a bit more time outside. Not entirely a good thing. It also got much hotter by 3, into the upper 80's, though it remained windy and relatively dry. I also did the outside trash and a couple of returns. Thankfully, by the time the one girl they had helping me went home sick (again, for the second time in a little over a week), we were only a half-hour from the night bagger's arrival.

Hit the shower when I got home, then cranked up the air conditioning and went online. Ran Star Trek V: The Final Frontier as I chatted with Lauren. And you thought the whole thing with the whales was strange? Get a load of this story. Most of the crew of the Enterprise is on shore leave when they get a distress call from a planet where three ambassadors for peace are being held hostage. It turns out that Spock's half-brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) simply wanted to steal a ship to take him to the mythical planet of Sha Ka Ree, where he hopes to find God. Captain Kirk (William Shatner, who also directed) thinks he's nuts, and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is of a similar opinion. Most of the crew ends up under his thrall when he uses his mental powers to make them adore him. Even when they find what Sybok's been looking for, it's nothing like they expect. Meanwhile, a bored Klingon captain pursues them throughout the galaxy, simply for something to do.

Shatner not only directed, but came up with the story idea for this, and...yeah, it's a mess. I can see why this is considered to be by far the worst of the original Star Trek films of the 80's and 90's. The plot starts with one idea, then for some reason, drops it before it's gotten close to the midway point. Just rescuing hostages from a devastated planet would have probably been enough. The crew being so easily brainwashed (especially after they worked together beautifully in the last film) didn't sit well with me, either. The special effects, from the Enterprise to the "God," look cheap and dreadful.

There are a few good things to be found, starting with Jerry Goldsmith's stirring score. Some of the actors give it their all (even when the script isn't wonderful), including Lucknbill and DeForest Kelley as Dr. McCoy. And once again, they do get some (minor) props for trying something different.

I've read online that even some huge Star Trek fans skip this one and go straight to The Undiscovered Country. Unless you're seriously crazy about the franchise or the cast, you may want to do likewise.