The Film Frontier 2009 Christmas Gift Guide

The Christmas season is upon us, so here is The Film Frontier's Official 2009 Christmas Gift Guide.

STAR TREK

Star Trek on Blu-ray: In many ways, 2009 was the year of Star Trek. Want proof? Check the Blu-ray selections at your local retailer or online. When 2009 began, no Star Trek titles were available in the relatively new high definition format. Now, two seasons of the classic Star Trek television series (with the third and final arriving in mid-December), all six movies featuring the original cast, all four Next Generation movies, and the 2009 Star Trek movie that reinvigorated the franchise are all available. Best bet for classic fans? Start them off with the 2009 movie and the first season on Blu-ray. The fantastic season sets include options to watch episodes with either original 1960s or computerized 2000s visual effects.

USS Enterprise NCC-1701 Electronic Starship - HD Edition (Diamond Select/Art Asylum): A near-perfect reproduction of the original starship Enterprise (above). Check out my full review here.

Star Trek: The Art of the Film by Mark Cotta Vaz: This hardcover is not only a look at the production art for the hit 2009 movie, but also a "making of" book. It's in bookstores now, but I'll have to wait for Christmas to read it.

SUPERMAN

Ruby-Spears Superman Complete Series DVD Set: This short-lived but well-produced 1988 Saturday morning cartoon series deserved a better fate than being canceled after only 13 episodes (22 minutes each).

STAR WARS

Ultimate Quarter Scale Figures (Diamond Select): At a premium price, these finely sculpted figures stand nearly 20 inches tall and include multiple points of articulation. Among those available are Jedi Luke Skywalker (Return of the Jedi), Mos Eisley Han Solo (Star Wars), and New Hope Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars).

Standard Action Figures: If ultimate price tags are outside of your budget this year, you can never go wrong with good ol' Star Wars action figures. Today's sculpts are much more realistic than the ones I grew up with, yet are reasonably priced as long as you hunt for a good bargain. I'm still hoping for a retro-series using the old Kenner versions, though. A fan can dream, can't he?

ELVIS

The Wonder of You CD (FTD): Just about any concert recorded for 1970's That's The Way It Is is a winner, and this one is no exception. This fun show contains a number of songs rarely performed live, including "Stranger In The Crowd." Check out my full review over on Elvis Australia. The Follow That Dream collectors label releases are available from ShopElvis.com, Elvis Australia, and other online retailers.

From Elvis In Memphis CD set (2009 Sony Legacy Edition): This 2-CD set has the best sound ever for Elvis' 1969 Memphis recording sessions. Includes the albums From Elvis In Memphis and Back In Memphis, as well as the single versions of hits such as "Suspicious Minds," "In The Ghetto," and "Kentucky Rain." A must-own for every fan of popular music. The best part is you can probably find this release in your local store at a bargain price. Read my mini-review at Elvis Australia.

OTHER STUFF

Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone: The Official 50th Anniversary Tribute by Douglas Brode: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the airing of the first episode of The Twilight Zone. This 288-page hardcover looks back at one of the greatest series in television history. Includes a foreword by creator Rod Serling's widow, Carol Serling.

The Christmas TV Companion by Joanna Wilson: Examining decades' worth of Christmas on television, including 1978's infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, The Christmas TV Companion softcover makes a perfect stocking stuffer. Read my full review.

RiffTrax on DVD: Featuring Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett, it's now even easier to enjoy RiffTrax. Their audio riffs are now available directly on several DVDs, including House on Haunted Hill and Plan 9 From Outer Space. Check out the full selection over at the RiffTrax site.

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The one where Tygrrius tries to explain The Film Frontier

Since I first began The Film Frontier in 1997, my small corner of our universe has gone through many changes. What started out back then as a simple set of static pages cataloging quotes about making the Star Trek movies has now grown into something more difficult to define.

In order to have a place to send people who want to know what this site is all about, I thought I would take this opportunity to write an introduction of sorts to the current incarnation of The Film Frontier. I'm not even entirely sure I can explain, but I'm going to give it my best shot.

With only a few scattered remains of those old static pages still waiting to be cleaned up, The Film Frontier today is mostly a blog featuring personal commentary, reviews, and news about pop culture/entertainment. At first, I focused this blog on science fiction & fantasy, but I have since expanded it to include pretty much any subject that moves me to write.

This violates all sorts of rules of good content, since I should maintain a clear focus so that readers will know what to expect and keep returning for more. For that, I am sorry. I am too lazy to maintain separate blogs for separate topics. You will just have to muddle through. If you insist on narrowing your focus, you can use the "Labels" list in the column to the right. You'll miss part of the fun that way, though.

Though I'm actually an eternal eight-year-old who bought into that whole "I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R' Us kid" thing, my driver's license claims that I am now 34. That seems quite impossible, especially when you consider my favorite blog topics.

Star Trek
As a child of the late 1970s and early 1980s, I grew up watching re-runs of the original Star Trek series and new Trek adventures in the Harve Bennett films. After I saw 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in the movie theater, I started to become a more obsessive fan - reading as much as I could about the show and movies. My heart still pounds with excitement at Star Trek IV's reveal of the Enterprise-A, the most beautiful version of the famous vessel and one of my favorite moments in the movie series.

I enjoyed parts of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine but, for me, Star Trek will always be about Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the Enterprise. It's great finally to have them back to the forefront, where they deserved to be all along.

Superman
Though I follow the comic books from time-to-time, I am primarily a Superman fan through the five Warner Brothers movies and the Lois & Clark television series. Yeah, I know, I catch some flack for the Lois & Clark thing, but, hey, I like what I like. There has not been a ton of Superman news of interest to me lately, but I have no doubt that, much like classic Star Trek, Superman will eventually return to prominence.

Star Wars
I pretty much lived and breathed Star Wars when I was growing up. I would've probably given anything to become Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight. While I favor the original trilogy, I'm somewhat rare among old-school fans in that I actually enjoy the prequel trilogy as well. The current Star Wars: The Clone Wars cartoon series? Not so much.

Elvis Presley
Okay, so maybe Elvis sticks out next to Star Trek, Superman, and Star Wars, but I eventually decided to start covering him and his music here anyway. Sure, he was a real person rather than a fictional character, but he still has legendary status.

One of my earliest memories is the day Elvis died in 1977. I regret that I'll never get to see him perform live in concert. My Mom and older brother are both big fans, so his music was always there while I was growing up. He's my favorite singer, has provided much of the soundtrack to my life, and, best of all, his music is still here.

One of the connections that can be drawn among these four key topics of interest on The Film Frontier is that all of them are pop culture cornerstones with huge fanbases. Unfortunately, many of the most vocal in those fanbases often are oddly negative, feel entitled to control the franchise in question, and have lost all of the fun of being a fan somewhere along the way. For the most part, I try to keep The Film Frontier as a positive alternative to the kinds of "fan" rants you may find elsewhere. If I ever consistently start spewing venom about these subjects, I'll know it's time to walk away.

Other Stuff
Since I work during the day and attend university classes at night, I am constantly running out of time. However, I also try to cover some of my other favorites when I can - stuff like The Twilight Zone, Get Smart, the Peanuts gang, Voltron, and Mystery Science Theater 3000, to name a few.

You can look for new content on The Film Frontier blog every Friday. Also, check out The Film Frontier's twitter feed in the box to the upper right for various comments and links throughout the week.

At the end of the day, the main connection between these seemingly random things is that I love and enjoy all of them. I hope you find something to enjoy here on The Film Frontier, too.

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Star Trek begins on Blu-ray and DVD Tuesday

Star Trek (2009) hits Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday. I loved this movie in the theater and can't wait to watch it at home. For the first time since 1991, real Star Trek -- with Kirk, Spock, and McCoy -- is back.

You can pre-order a single-disc DVD version of the movie for less than $10 at many sites. Pay a little more and you can get 90 minutes of special features in a two-disc DVD version.

For the ultimate Star Trek experience, a three-disc Blu-ray version includes over three hours of special features.

Check out the official movie site for more information on each edition.

My track record for promised Blu-ray reviews has been rather poor. I am hoping to write a review of the Star Trek Blu-ray before the year is up, though.

I didn't say which year.

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Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures. The Film Frontier participates in Paramount's Star Trek Webmaster program. Visit the official Star Trek movie site for complete coverage.

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REVIEW: The Christmas TV Companion book

The Christmas TV Companion:
A Guide to Cult Classics, Strange Specials, & Outrageous Oddities
1701 Press, softcover
Release date: November 10, 2009
Author: Joanna Wilson

I cover many subjects here on The Film Frontier. Beyond key ones like Star Trek, Star Wars, Superman, and Elvis Presley, I also give love to, among others, The Twilight Zone, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and Charles Schulz' Peanuts gang from time-to-time. I like to think this is a rather eclectic combination not soon to be found anywhere else.

To some degree, however, all of these topics and more are covered in The Christmas TV Companion by Joanna Wilson. (Fair warning to Superman fans: the associated reference is just an "also appeared in" credit for Margot Kidder on one page.) The book's main revelation to me is demonstrating a common thread among all of these topics I previously thought were so diverse: Christmas.

The Christmas TV Companion takes readers on a journey through some of pop-culture's best and worst Christmas moments. Hold on tight for this ride from the traditional to the blasphemous and every point in between.

Core sections of the book are Macabre, Sci-Fi, Variety, Animation, and Dark. With dozens, perhaps hundreds of productions referenced, Wilson is obviously well-versed on her topic. When reading books like this, I fact check by looking at what the writer states about topics on which I am knowledgeable. Wilson's Elvis, Star Trek, and Star Wars references are all correct - which leads me to trust her on the multitude of other topics covered.

While some shows warrant a line or two, 1978's infamous Star Wars Holiday Special (is it possible to write the name of that special without including "infamous" in front?) merits five pages of coverage, including a photo of Harvey Korman and Bea Arthur from the show. The special was actually my first exposure to Star Wars, as a three-year-old. I remember very little of it, as I likely fell asleep - which is probably a good thing.

One of my favorite features of this book is the "Make Your Own Marathon" concept. We geeks have been doing this for years, and Wilson's suggestions add new and creative elements to setting up such marathons. A Star Trek-themed marathon and an Elvis-themed marathon are among the several she provides. She also includes tips on creating your own based on a subject of your choice.

Fellow Trekkies, I can hear you asking, "The only Christmas scene was in Star Trek Generations. How can you have a Star Trek Christmas marathon?" I won't reveal all, but I will throw you a clue as to how these marathons of loose associations work: A certain Star Trek: The Next Generation actor has also appeared as Ebenezer Scrooge.

The Elvis marathon mentions the 1968 ELVIS television special, which aired during the holidays that year, as well as several other Christmas TV shows that have included Elvis in some fashion. An unfortunate omission was Perry White (Lane Smith)'s appearance as "Santa Elvis" in the 1994 "Season's Greedings" episode of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Superman even pulls Santa Elvis' sleigh to deliver toys to orphans. Written by series star Dean Cain, it's one of my favorite episodes of the series. Check out a picture of Santa Elvis.

Very little else is left out, though, and the variety that serves as this book's strength may also leave your head spinning at times. The Christmas TV Companion works best as a fun reference to thumb through, rather than something to read cover-to-cover. You probably want to keep this book near a computer or notepad, too, as you will find yourself wanting to seek out certain specials or look up more about some topics.

For instance, one of my favorite Christmas songs is "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas." I had no idea until reading this book that the song's original lyrics were actually quite depressing and changed at the last moment for its first appearance in the Judy Garland movie Meet Me In St. Louis. Curious about the original lyrics? You can find them here. You can bet I'll start keeping an eye out for Carol for Another Christmas, Rod Serling's take on A Christmas Carol that aired in 1964, too.

I must give credit to 1701 Press for including an index. A book like this demands one. A couple of recent Elvis books by other publishers lack indexes and I was beginning to think they were going out of style.

If you're a Christmas special addict like me, you'll be glad to know that Wilson's current project (of which this book is actually derived) is a "comprehensive encyclopedia of Christmas on TV." Due out next year, I'll definitely be waiting for that one.

With about 135 pages of content outside of the thorough index, it would be easy to underestimate The Christmas TV Companion. Don't let this book's seemingly short length fool you, though. Each page is full of information. Often Wilson even covers the margins with more trivia on the various productions, performers, or creative types mentioned. Whether by design or fortuitous accident, The Christmas TV Companion appears just small enough to make a perfect stocking stuffer.

The Christmas TV Companion goes on sale Tuesday. It is available for pre-order on Amazon.

Overall Experience: 9 (out of 10)

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