Speaking Klingon

If you are interested in learning the Klingon language, you might want to check out Duolingo. The popular language learning website and app is now offering courses in Klingon.

Parallel Universe

One of the underrated aspects of missionary service is the shear number of ridiculous conversational topics you get to engage in with your companion.

Ball of Curious Workmanship

Growing up I had two sci-fi loves: Star Wars and Star Trek. And while Star Wars is now larger than ever (a new movie every year with television, comics, and books a plenty), Star Trek is in a serious rut. And while this week's posts are celebrating Star Wars, I wanted to take a moment to bemoan the current state of my other sci-fi love.

Sure the new Star Trek movies have been a lot of fun, but as for the TV side of things there is only a show available on a paid streaming service that nobody subscribes to and (even more egregious) is rated MA (the TV equivalent of an R rating). On top of that, there is talk that Quentin Tarantino is developing an R rated Star Trek movie. Now Quentin Tarantino might have the coolest idea ever for a movie, but a hard R rated show featuring all the swears, excessive violence, and whatever else he's got planned isn't Star Trek.

Instead of introducing Star Trek to a new generation of fans (like Star Wars has been doing), the creative team behind Star Trek is looking to rebrand it as something more edgy and cool while limiting it's appeal to an older crowd. The problem is that if you replace the hopeful geekiness of Star Trek with edgy violence, it's no longer Star Trek.

Tomorrow I'll write about Star Wars, I promise.

Red Shirts

The original Star Trek ran on television from 1966-1969. The sets were ridiculous, the acting wooden (except for Leonard Nimoy--he was always good), and the plots were usually ham-fisted. But there was a charm in those original 79 episodes* that inspired a worldwide fandom, five television spinoffs (with more on the way), and 13 movies (with more on the way).

The recent movies have gone a long way towards making Star Trek more universal in its appeal (it also doesn't hurt that with the explosion of Super Hero movies nearly everyone is self-identifying as a geek), but for most of its existence, Star Trek was reserved for a specific subculture of fandom. One that I'm proud to say I belong to!

*Except for "Spock's Brain"--that one was just stupid.

Sacrament Meeting Aboard the Starship Enterprise

Today's gag comes from faithful reader DeaconsRule101. I thought it was so funny that I drew it even though it meant I'd have to add an additional finger to each character in the gag.

Of course it's the characters that make Star Trek so great. Characters like Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Picard, Data, Worf, O'Brien, Sisko, the Doctor,* Seven of Nine, and others. It's the characters that make a five-year mission with these guys such a enticing prospect for so many people.

Check back tomorrow for another Star Trek gag!

*The one from Star Trek: Voyager not the BBC.

We're Boldly Going into Star Trek Week

2016 is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek! To celebrate one of the greatest science fiction franchises of all time,* I'm dedicating a whole week to the crew of the Starship Enterprise.**

Today's strip of course is a reference to "Mirror, Mirror" the classic episode from season two where Mr. Spock grows a Van Dyke beard and Kirk, Bones, Scotty, and Uhura travel to a parallel universe. This parallel universe was revisited to great success in future episodes of ST:DS9 and Enterprise (but you already knew that).

Check back Thursday and Friday for more Star Trek gags!

*The only other possible candidate is Star Wars. I love Doctor Who and a bunch of other sci-fi, but honestly these two are head and shoulders above everything else.

**And of course, the crews of Deep Space Nine and the Starship Voyager.

Speaking Klingon

Here's a strip I'm surprised I haven't featured on this website yet. It was in the Deseret News over a year ago.

More Sci Fi Geekiness

Last week's strip touched on Star Wars, this week's covers both Star Wars and Star Trek. When I created my alter-ego Elder Van Dyke, I removed from him any of my embarrassing geekiness. He doesn't collect comic books, he doesn't know a Klingon from a Cardassian, he doesn't even follow Star Wars. Still, my geeky side can't help but sneak into some of my work from time to time.