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The "Star Trek" universe is vast and complicated. Most of the "Star Trek" shows to date take place on Federation vessels or stations staffed by career officers on specific assignments. The franchise largely revolves around managerial professionalism and workplace propriety. There is respect for the chain of command, and orders are given and followed as a matter of course. Starfleet is a military organization, but with its militant strictness devoted to exploration and diplomacy rather than combat and conquest. Ships are assigned to distant areas of space where they are tasked with examining a curious pulsar or, say, to a disease-ridden world in need of medicine. The bureaucracy works in "Star Trek," and individuals go where they are needed.

As such, when a minor character appears on "Star Trek," Trekkies assume that they merely arrived on the U.S.S.

In Leonard Nimoy's 1984 film "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," the Vulcan officer Saavik (Robin Curtis) was tasked with exploring and mapping the Genesis planet, a brand-new world that had been instantaneously formed by the Genesis Device, a terraforming widget introduced in the previous movie. The Genesis planet, she found, was evolving at too rapid a pace, rotating through seasons at an hourly rate. It was hot and muggy one hour, then snowy the next. By the end of the movie, the Genesis world will prove to be unstable, crumbling from within. It was too good to be true.

The deterioration is only one of several tragedies that occur throughout the film. During a rescue operation, Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) has to destroy the U.S.S. Enterprise, and his son David (Merritt Butrick) is murdered by Klingons. Saavik, being an emotionless Vulcan, witnesses these tragedies with a stone face.

The only major film role actress Robin Curtis had before 1984's "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" was playing a minor role in John Irvin's 1981 horror film "Ghost Story." By a weird coincidence, "Ghost Story" also featured actress Alice Krige, who would play a prominent role in 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact." Curtis also appeared in an episode of "Knight Rider" in 1983, and in the salacious TV movies "In Love With an Older Woman" (can a 29-year-old possibly love a 43-year-old?) and "First Affair" (Oh no! I'm in love with my professor!). 

So by "The Search for Spock," Curtis was already used to being on set and acting in high-profile studio productions. "Star Trek," however, was the largest project she had worked on yet. She played the role of Saavik, taking over for Kirstie Alley in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Saavik is a Vulcan, and...

Leonard Nimoy's 1984 film "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" is one of the most significant -- and tragic -- films in the "Star Trek" franchise. Recall that Spock (Nimoy) died at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," and that his body was launched onto the surface of the newly-created Genesis planet.

In "The Search for Spock," however, circumstances led Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) to believe that Spock could be resurrected. For one, Spock shunted a copy of his consciousness into the brain of Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) shortly before his death. Also, the Genesis world, given its propensity for hyper-fast evolution, managed to create an infant clone of Spock's body, a fact discovered by Saavik (Robin Curtis) and Kirk's son David (Merritt Butrick). Kirk feels that if he can retrieve the living Spock body and use an oblique Vulcan ritual to reunite Spock's consciousness with it,...

The character of Saavik was first introduced in Nicholas Meyer's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" as a protégé of the soon-to-retire Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Saavik, being a young cadet, was still baffled and annoyed by working with humans, an issue she was able to discuss with Spock on a few occasions. In "Khan," Saavik was played by Kirstie Alley, but was replaced by Robin Curtis for "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." Both actors were perfectly capable in the role and provided the appropriate level of cold, Vulcan logic.

Saavik, despite being a Vulcan, had to face multiple dramatic events throughout the three movies. Most notably, in "Star Trek III," Saavik had to be present when a twisted Klingon warrior assassinated David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), the son of Admiral Kirk (William Shatner). She was the one who had to,...

The character of Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) was introduced in Nicholas Meyer's 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Dr. Marcus had invented a revolutionary terraforming technology called the Genesis Wave which could be fired into a planet and rearrange the entire world's ecosystem to make it livable. In "Khan," the technology was still untested, and Dr. Marcus was searching for a life-free planet -- sans even scant microbes -- to terraform. With her was her bitter son David (Merritt Butrick) who expressed quite openly how much he hated the formalism and military underpinnings of Starfleet. He would rather carry out scientific experiments with his mother in peace. 

It would eventually be revealed that Dr. Marcus was an old lover of Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and that David was actually Kirk's long-lost son. "Star Trek II" was at least partially devoted to Kirk reconnecting with Dr. Marcus,...

Nicholas Meyer's well-regarded 1982 sci-fi film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is all about failure. It begins with Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) looking down the barrel of middle age, having to acknowledge that he's likely past his prime. His eyesight is failing, and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) prescribes old-fashioned glasses. As the film progresses, we learn that Kirk has an adult son named David (Merritt Butrick) that he wasn't present to raise, and an old enemy, Khan (Ricardo Montalbán), whom he had left on Ceti Alpha V decades ago and had completely forgotten about.

Kirk tells a story of taking a test in Starfleet Academy called the Kobayashi Maru, a test that is designed to make the subject fail; it's meant to gauge a student's command acumen in a no-win scenario. Kirk so wanted to win that he changed the test, effectively cheating. He had, audiences learn, never...

Both "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" ended poorly for the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. "Khan" did see the defeat of a vengeful villain and the reunion between Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and his son David (Merritt Butrick), but it required the sacrifice of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the severe buffetting of the Enterprise itself. "Search" ended with the resurrection of Spock, but required the theft and the destruction of the Enterprise, as well as the death of David at the hands of vengeful Klingons. Spock was back, but Kirk was now a wanted criminal with no vessel to command. 

It's no wonder, then, that the makers of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" decided to affect a much lighter tone. "Voyage" saw the Enterprise crew, on board a clunky old Klingon vessel, traveling back in time to...

Clockwise from top left: Candy Cane Lane (Prime Video), Your Christmas Or Mine 2 (Prime Video), The Flash (Warner Bros.)Image: The A.V. Club

Prime Video—perhaps more than any other streaming provider—is really leaning into Christmas-themed movies this December. Eddie Murphy plays a family man desperate to win...

This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

In the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," "Subspace Rhapsody," the crew of the Enterprise falls under the influence of a mysterious psychic field that is activated by a broadcast of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes." The crew becomes unable to keep its emotions hidden, and individuals find themselves confessing their more passionate inner lives ... in song. "Subspace Rhapsody" is a full-blown musical. 

As established in "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," Lieutenant LA'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) has developed a powerful romantic attraction for James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley). This was complicated for her, however, as the Kirk she met hailed from an alternate timeline that was ultimately erased (dating in "Star Trek" seems quite difficult). In LA'an's native timeline, however, Kirk is still alive, and she has to wrestle with the fact that she...

‘Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan’ (Photo © 2002 by Paramount Pictures)

Created by the late Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek has been around in one form or another since the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series (Tos) debuted on NBC on Sept. 8, 1966.

Tos lasted three seasons and 79 episodes. However, it found a new life in syndication. With the success of 1977’s Star Wars and 1977’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind (during the nascent days of the summer blockbuster), long-time Trekkies were hoping to see their beloved characters on the big screen, which they did in 1979’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Today, Trek is a pop culture juggernaut. It has to its name 13 feature films, eight TV series, three animated series, and numerous novels, comics, action figures, and other merchandise. Pretty impressive. Not to mention pretty intimidating if you want to go where no one has gone before for the first time.

In 1979, Paramount’s Star Trek: The Motion Picture hit theaters to a somewhat mixed reception from critics and audiences. Many had predicted that the film would be a big money loser because it had gone dramatically over-budget, making it one of the most expensive films ever made up to the point. In the end, the film eked out a profit. It did well enough that Paramount was willing to take another chance on the franchise. Still, their approach would be pretty different, drastically slashing the budget and hiring fewer A-listers behind the camera. But, to the surprise of all, this proved to be precisely the right move, with the resulting film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, a smash-hit that relaunched the franchise as a legitimate big-screen property and introduced the adventures of Kirk, Spock and McCoy to a whole new generation.

When Paramount Pictures was preparing for a sequel,...

This Star Trek: Picard article contains spoilers.

When we first met Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, creator Gene Roddenberry and his producers took pains to differentiate him from his 23rd-century predecessor. Where James Tiberius Kirk was all swagger and daring do, squinting dramatically into key lights and romancing ladies with his surely very real and not replicated hair, Picard was bald, patrician, and French.

But even as the show off-loaded Kirk’s galivanting qualities and middle initial to Number One William T. Riker, writers did make clear that neither man would make a good father. Kirk, for all his infamous alien romancing, had truly only one love: the USS Enterprise, with whom he always wanted to spend the rest of his life.

In early seasons of Tng, writers leaned heavily on Picard’s dislike of children. And while that character trait largely faded away, trotted out...

When a story is part of a long-running series, it's harder to appreciate its ending. Doubly so for a film like "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," which innately does not stand on its own. It's a sequel, but not so much to the first film as to the TV series episode "Space Seed." Said episode depicted the Enterprise discovering the ancient ship "SS Botany Bay" adrift in space. Aboard is Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), a genetically enhanced tyrant from Earth's past. After failing to seize the Enterprise, Khan and his crew are exiled to Ceti Alpha V, an uncivilized, out-of-the-way planet: "It's better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."

"The Wrath of Khan" is best experienced if you're familiar with its characters' backgrounds. Likewise, its own sequel, "The Search for Spock," is centered around undoing the ending of "Khan," where Spock (Leonard Nimoy) sacrifices himself to save his friends.

Sarah Jessica Parker got a big career boost as a teenager from her starring role in the offbeat, much-praised sitcom “Square Pegs,” which had a one-and-done, brilliant-but-canceled run on CBS in the 1982-83 season.

Parker has paid tribute to “Square Pegs” creator and showrunner Anne Beatts, who died April 7 at the age of 74. Parker recalled her longtime friend and mentor as a unique personality who made an enormous impression on the future “Sex and the City” star, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

“I assure you, there was no one like her. Not that I’d ever met,” Parker said in a statement to Variety.

On “Square Pegs” Parker played Patty Green, an awkward high school freshman at Weemawee High School who was desperate to break into the popular kids’ clique. She palled around with her equally ambitious best friend Lauren, played by Amy Linkers, and their colorful outcast friends including the...

Hello! It’s been a little while since we’ve had a new Catalog From The Beyond, hasn’t it? To be honest, in a year when it felt like my brain cells were squeezing out of my head like a tube of toothpaste, I had to take a break from some of the workload. But with the dawning of the New Year, I’m ready to hit the reset button and dive back into the Catalog.

I think it only fair to ease into things, however, so the following take won’t be the spiciest one I’ve ever put forth: Ken Foree seems like a pretty cool dude. After winning our hearts as the stoic Peter in George A. Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead, he’s stayed there pretty much ever since in movies like From Beyond, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, Lords of Salem, and...

“Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” The epic science-fiction adventure “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” returns to the big screen for one more day on Thursday, September 21. Showings are at 2pm and 7pm. This encore presentation of the 1982 classic comes to select cinemas nationwide in response to the overwhelmingly positive fan response to the initial 35th anniversary screenings. ​​​ This presentation of director Nicholas Meyer‘s classic science-fiction adventure — which is celebrating its 35th anniversary — will be accompanied by a newly produced, in-depth interview with William Shatner that will play before each screening. Tickets are available now at www.FathomEvents.com.

“Making Star Trek II seems like only yesterday,” Shatner said. “Even back then, we knew we were creating something really special, and to have The Wrath of Khan back on the big screen 35 years later is a wonderful testament both to the film itself and to the...

“Are you out of your Vulcan mind?” The Starship Enterprise flies back to the big screen this September as Fathom Events and Paramount Pictures bring 1982’s milestone Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan back to cinemas nationwide for two days only. ​​​ Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan will beam back to more than 600 theaters throughout the U.S. on Sunday, September 10, and Wednesday, September 13, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. (local time) each day. The special presentation of director Nicholas Meyer‘s classic science-fiction adventure — which is celebrating its 35th anniversary — will be accompanied by a newly produced, in-depth interview with William Shatner that will play before each screening. Tickets are available now at www.FathomEvents.com.

“Making Star Trek II seems like only yesterday,” Shatner said. “Even back then, we knew we were creating something really special, and to have The Wrath of Khan back on the...

I have no hope for humanity. The world is comprised of assholes who are hellbent on ruining everything. But then something happen that helps me regain a little glimmer of hope and love. Death Spa hitting Blu-ray is one of those things.

Mpi Home Video will be releasing this gory little gem on May 27th in high definition. That's right, full 1080p.

This little-seen film from Michael Fischa was originally released in 1989 and stars William Bumiller, Brenda Bakke, Merritt Butrick, Robert Lipton, Alexa Hamilton, and Ken Foree. Yep, Ken motherfuckin' Foree, bitches!

Get those pre-orders in post-haste!

Synopsis

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This one is shapely, beautiful, demonic - and dead. She's also insanely jealous. One by one the beautiful people of her husband's health club become victims possessed by her evil spirit, and each meets a grisly death. Starring Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead...

For the past two years, I've been lucky enough to be a small part of a show called Portlandia. The series -- created by the prolifically talented Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein and returning on Friday for a second season -- has been described by many a stinging satire of Hipster culture. While it does parody Hipster earnestness, the show pays loving tribute to communities Like Portland everywhere -- Silver Lake, Austin, Bolder, Williamsburg, Minneapolis, Northampton, Berkeley, etc, etc, etc -- and much has been made about how the show has puts Hipster Culture in the spotlight.

I must say, however, Hipsters are not a new TV phenomenon. With thick glasses, just-so-avant-garde fashion and knowing smirks, Hipsters have had a special place on TV since the beginning of the medium -- even before the birth of the term. For more than half a century, TV Hipsters have had a profound effect on American culture.

by Chris Wright, MoreHorror.com

It’s getting warmer out and you may just feel like checking in to a gym. What better place to start than “Death Spa”! A late 80's horror movie is loaded in amusement and high levels of gore. I would recommend the uncensored version since the gore is over the top for the gore hounds out there. It has a 4.9 on IMDb and it’s not as bad as you may think it is.

I found this movie on VHS from Gorgon, which is fairly rare. If you see the creepy Medusa head come on the screen, you got yourself a Gorgon VHS! Gorgon is better known for their exploitative series “Faces of Death.” Also an alternate title that some foreign distributors have used is “Witch Bitch.”

The story is basically a man named Michael (William Bumiller) owns his own health gym spa. After a while,...

Five words: Cross-dressing, roller-skating vampire. No, I'm not describing an as-yet-unidentified fangless, vegan vampire from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series that didn't make the jump from the printed page to the big screen. This particular vampire appears in Fright Night II , the 1988 sequel to writer-director Tom Holland's (Child's Play) 1985 horror-comedy, Fright Night. Fright Night co-starred the late, great Roddy McDowall (Dead of Winter, the Planet of the Apes series, The Poseidon Adventure, Cleopatra) as B-movie actor, late-night TV horror show host, and fearless vampire killer, Peter Vincent (named after horror icons Peter Cushing and Vincent Price). Vincent's one-time ally and nominal hero-protagonist, Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale, not to be confused with Zach Galligan of Gremlins fame), also returned for the semi-anticipated sequel.

After several years of intensive counseling, Charley no longer believes in vampires. He's allowed himself to be convinced that Jerry Dandridge (Chris Sarandon), was a serial killer and kidnapper,...

It’s still Thursday for another couple of hours where I am, so it’s time to remake an 80s classic TV show or movie with an all-new cast. This week: Square Pegs, the 1982-3 CBS high-school comedy. Predating John Hughes’ take on teen life in the 80s, this was one of the most depressingly -- and most hilariously -- realistic depictions of adolescence in the early part of the decade. The original cast included: Patty Greene: Sarah Jessica Parker Lauren Hutchinson: Amy Linker Marshall Blechtman: John Femia Johnny “Slash” Ulasewicz: Merritt Butrick Jennifer Dinuccio: Tracy Nelson Vinnie Pasetta: Jon Caliri Muffy B. Tepperman: Jami Gertz This was so 80s that it would be tough to actually update this for the 2010s (which is when this would end up landing, were production to start now) without killing everything that made it so wonderful back then. Maybe it could go all Brady Bunch Movie on us,...

In the wake of Saturday Night Live's success, multiplexes and TV sets were stuffed with comedies about dope-smoking slobs getting the best of prim, authoritarian snobs—and in none of them was there any mistaking which camp was meant to be awesome. But when former SNL writer Anne Beatts created the short-lived early-'80s sitcom Square Pegs, she shifted the paradigm a little, making her heroes outright geeks who envied the popular crowd. Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Linker played high-school freshmen perpetually failing at social climbing, spending their afternoons and weekends with dweeby class clown John Femia and spacey new-waver Merritt Butrick. Because none of these kids looked or acted cool—and because even Weemawee High's popular kids were kind of gawky—Square Pegs smartly captured the high-school experience for a large number of '80s teens. The show's cult success carried over to Freaks And Geeks and the films of John Hughes,...