#DS91sttime: Season 4, Episode 8, “Little Green Men”

October 24, 2013 in #DS91sttime, General Topics

Initial communication attempts. DS9, Season Four, Ep 8: "Little Green Men"

Initial communication attempts. DS9, Season Four, Ep 8: “Little Green Men”

Here’s an episode that sees Quark, Rom, and Nog getting thrown backward in time and winding up at the center of the Roswell alien\weather balloon conspiracy. This the kind of script that one imagines had the showrunners in such stitches that they couldn’t help but give it a shot. You just have to respect the guts to run this episode. Someone was willing to take a big chance. It’s almost a crazy risk.

The end result? Crazy-funny. I was aware that what I was watching was ridiculous, but much like “Explorers”, I just didn’t care. I was having a great time. Read the rest of this entry →

We have a winner!

October 21, 2013 in General Topics

We have a winner in our raffle to win a Kindle Paperwhite, which ended at midnight last night:

Our winner is Michael R. Thanks for entering–and reading–everyone!

#DS91sttime: Season 4, Episode 7, “Starship Down”

October 16, 2013 in #DS91sttime, General Topics

Worf and enlisted men = challenges. DS9, Season Four, Ep 7: "Starship Down"

Worf and enlisted men = challenges. DS9, Season Four, Ep 7: “Starship Down”

Every show has them: episodes that ignite neither passion, nor derision. They usually have a few nice moments, but on the whole, there is nothing extraordinary to be seen. Ladies and gents, I give you “Starship Down”, a nice episode, with nice character development, and nice special effects, and a nice guest star turn by James Cromwell (albeit in alien makeup, so only his voice and stature give him away). It’s…nice. Read the rest of this entry →

How About Some Great Space Opera Science Fiction and a Chance at a Kindle?

October 15, 2013 in General Topics

Space_opera_promoYou haven’t heard from me in a while, I know, and that hasn’t been because I haven’t been busy. Take this little offer, for example, that’s running from October 15th – October 20th at midnight: myself and a host of other space opera authors have gotten together to give away a Kindle Paperwhite, and we’re hoping you’ll take a look at the fiction we offer in the process. Of course the Beacon Saga is represented, as that’s my most-prominent delve into this genre.

What is space opera? Think science fiction with less an emphasis on the “science” and more on the “fiction”. I tell people science fiction is like fantasy taking a trip on a space shuttle. Rules will be broken at will. Space opera attracts a lot of readers because it’s narrative-based, typically, and is just a lot of fun. That’s not so say it can’t be deep, though. You’re familiar with the best-known example out there: Star Wars.

Anyway, just click the image in this post, or take a gander at: http://jonathancg.net/spaceoperapromo/

Do me a favor, when you’re there–spread the word. Download some books. Like some pages. Tweet about it. I’d appreciate it, and these good authors would as well.

Stay tuned.

#DS91sttime: Season 4, Episode 6, “Rejoined”

September 27, 2013 in #DS91sttime, General Topics

Dax and Lenara, Season 4, Ep 6, "Rejoined"

Dax and Lenara, Season 4, Ep 6, “Rejoined”

Okay, I take it back. “The Visitor” created a challenging review to write, but this? This is walking into a minefield. And that very aspect of the debate surrounding this episode’s metaphorical subject also happens to lead to my chief bit of criticism. But let’s hit the plot first.

“Rejoined” is our regularly-scheduled Trill episode, which means–sadly–that we’re going to launch into yet another exploration of their society, because Dax can’t be her own person. Literally. Almost all episodes centered on her have to be within the confines of the symbiont in her torso and the plot devices the writers keep building around it. I get that this is a challenging character to write, but there are surely plots that don’t involve either the symbiont’s past, or Jadzia’s seeming enslavement to it. I am so over hearing about what Curzon did. Let’s start talking about what Jadzia does. Read the rest of this entry →