Star Trek Sex: The Book - Analyzing The Most Sexually Charged Episodes Of The Original Series
Showing posts with label Persis Khambatta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Persis Khambatta. Show all posts
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Sonic Shower
In the mood for a nice, refreshing shower while serving aboard a starship like the Enterprise? Sure, no problem, just don't expect any water. On Starfleet vessels like Captain Kirk's Enterprise or Captain Janeway's Voyager, showers are facilitated by sonic technology which scrubs off dirt and grime without an ounce of precious H2O being wasted.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Friday, April 11, 2014
Spotlight On The Directors: Robert Wise - Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Robert Wise, the veteran director of so many feature film classics, like West Side Story, The Haunting and The Day The Earth Stood Still had his Hollywood work cut out for him. How to film a TV show that's a cult classic and do it justice on the silver screen for loyal fans while bringing in new ones?
Although critics moaned over the long running time and overload of visual FX (in today's bloated FX laden cinema, ST:TMP is standard to quaint fare), fans plunked down enough box office loot to make it a hit and justify the many installments to follow. In 2009, director JJ Abrams faced a similar challenge, and his reboot or re-imagination starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana and Karl Urban soared to praise and profit.
The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning.
While being easy to dismiss as too visually oriented, too long or lacking emotional subtext, Wise helmed a movie dealing in both the physical and sexual needs of humanity and our more substantive emotional underpinnings. Lt. Ilia and her old flame Decker (Stephen Collins) exemplify just how complex a future could be where issues of interfaith or interracial couplings have been settled, but now a new variable challenges our notion of being human - one of interspecies joining. Ilia (Persis Khambatta) is a Deltan and her people employ sex as we would in celebration or greeting. Their sexuality is as much a part of their identity as their name or career. This romantic couple joined alongside by the struggle of Spock and Kirk to rectify and rekindle their own long, passionate friendship and professional relationship are more than enough of a humanity equation to savor and balance - if viewers only pay attention.
Ultimately, Wise made a film that he could be proud of, even though he didn't have enough time to finish the complex optical FX. Back then, the only computers capable enough to conjure up such visuals in the budget and production time scheduled were the fictional cyber circuits of the Starship Enterprise. In November 2001, Wise finally got the chance to see his finished film premiere in the Paramount Theatre of The Arts - complete with new digital FX which perfectly complimented the traditional film opticals of the 1970's era. It was subsequently released on a special edition DVD.
Although critics moaned over the long running time and overload of visual FX (in today's bloated FX laden cinema, ST:TMP is standard to quaint fare), fans plunked down enough box office loot to make it a hit and justify the many installments to follow. In 2009, director JJ Abrams faced a similar challenge, and his reboot or re-imagination starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Eric Bana and Karl Urban soared to praise and profit.
The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning.
While being easy to dismiss as too visually oriented, too long or lacking emotional subtext, Wise helmed a movie dealing in both the physical and sexual needs of humanity and our more substantive emotional underpinnings. Lt. Ilia and her old flame Decker (Stephen Collins) exemplify just how complex a future could be where issues of interfaith or interracial couplings have been settled, but now a new variable challenges our notion of being human - one of interspecies joining. Ilia (Persis Khambatta) is a Deltan and her people employ sex as we would in celebration or greeting. Their sexuality is as much a part of their identity as their name or career. This romantic couple joined alongside by the struggle of Spock and Kirk to rectify and rekindle their own long, passionate friendship and professional relationship are more than enough of a humanity equation to savor and balance - if viewers only pay attention.
Ultimately, Wise made a film that he could be proud of, even though he didn't have enough time to finish the complex optical FX. Back then, the only computers capable enough to conjure up such visuals in the budget and production time scheduled were the fictional cyber circuits of the Starship Enterprise. In November 2001, Wise finally got the chance to see his finished film premiere in the Paramount Theatre of The Arts - complete with new digital FX which perfectly complimented the traditional film opticals of the 1970's era. It was subsequently released on a special edition DVD.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Star Trek Sexy Spotlight: Lt. Ilia - Persis Khambatta
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) marked the big screen debut of the TV show, and the return of original adventures of the Gene Roddenberry created universe. Directed by veteran movie maker Robert Wise (The Day The Earth Stood Still), critics and audiences ultimately had mixed reactions to the project, however, it was an undeniable box office success. Co-star Persis Khambatta played Lt. Ilia, a beautiful and bald alien called a Deltan.
Was she some kind of free love Hippy? A flower powered alien? Was she an extraterrestrial Hare Krishna?
Lt. Ilia hailed from a planet where sexual expression was as natural as breathing or eating. To express oneself openly in a sexual way was second nature to her people. Her bald look may be more acceptable today, but back in 1979, the look pretty much stunned moviegoers. For the first spin-off series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Roddenberry reshaped the character and created Counselor Deanna Troi - the thick haired beauty who boasted similar empathic powers and had a romantic connection to Commander William Riker. V'ger 'merged' Lt. Ilia and William Decker (Stephen Collins) through a kind of digital absorption and matrix. Who knows just where they ended up.
Was she some kind of free love Hippy? A flower powered alien? Was she an extraterrestrial Hare Krishna?
Lt. Ilia hailed from a planet where sexual expression was as natural as breathing or eating. To express oneself openly in a sexual way was second nature to her people. Her bald look may be more acceptable today, but back in 1979, the look pretty much stunned moviegoers. For the first spin-off series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Roddenberry reshaped the character and created Counselor Deanna Troi - the thick haired beauty who boasted similar empathic powers and had a romantic connection to Commander William Riker. V'ger 'merged' Lt. Ilia and William Decker (Stephen Collins) through a kind of digital absorption and matrix. Who knows just where they ended up.
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