ValueSubtracted

joined 2 years ago
MODERATOR OF
[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

It thankfully stops short of "meat":

Such animated characters are composed of solid matter arranged by transporter-based replicators and manipulated by highly articulated computer-driven tractor beams. The results are exceptionally realistic "puppets," which exhibit behaviors almost exactly like those of living beings, depending on software limits.

Objects created on the Holodeck that are pure holographic images cannot be removed from the Holodeck, even if they appear to possess physical reality because of the focused forcebeam imagery. Objects created by replicator matter conversion do have physical reality and can indeed be removed from the Holodeck, even though they will no longer be under computer control.

Obviously, there is an inconsistency here, as we saw that later holographic characters could not be removed from the holodeck, and therefore must not have been replicated.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

I don't think so - I've never been able to find it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

That isn't actually stated anywhere, but...it kind of has to be true in order for latinum to work.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

The Technical Manual explanation is not that replicators create matter out of pure energy - they are a type of transporter that dematerializes raw material and rematerializes it to match a molecular pattern. They are "matter-energy converters" only in the sense that the stream of particles during the materialization process could be called an energy stream.

These replicator system headends are located on Deck 12 in the Saucer Module [of the Enterprise-D] and on Deck 34 in the Engineering Section. These systems operate by using a phase-transition coil chamber in which a measured quantity of raw material is dematerialized in a manner similar to that of a standard transporter.

Instead of using a molecular imaging scanner to determine the patterns of the raw stock, however, a quantum geometry transformational matrix field is used to modify the matter stream to conform to a digitally stored molecular pattern matrix. The matter stream is then routed through a network of waveguide conduits that direct the signal to a replicator terminal at which the desired article is materialized within another phase transition chamber.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah...I think a lot of that will depend on what the actual plot of the thing is, and they've been keeping a surprisingly tight lid on that.

The covert mission to destroy Cardassian weapons that Starfleet Intelligence sent Picard, Crusher, and Worf on in "Chain of Command" was probably illegal, but I never hear people complaining about it.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

Yeah, I only really thought of them because (a) the Memory Alpha page for "Exoskeleton" mentioned them, and (b) people have been comparing Zeph here to the Borg since images first came out.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Disregarding the Borg, I can't think of any others.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (7 children)

Zeph has moved into my head, and he's not moving out.

Section 31's Zeph, wearing his mech suit with his hands on his hips, with a goofy-looking grin on his face.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago

Star Trek has certainly never shied away from "fun and silly" before. I think it's good to have different flavours available.

As long as I enjoy this thing, it should be enough for me.

 

I didn't even know there was a premiere in London on Wednesday, but there we have it.

Highlights: the person who saw the movie described it as "fun," "silly," and "Guardians of the Galaxy meets Fifth Element meets Mission: Impossible".

There's also a full, recorded-from-the-audience Q&A with Michelle Yeoh and Robert Kazinsky.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 days ago

I don't want to get too excited in this time of contraction in the entertainment industry, but it's exciting that they're opening the door to this era.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The presence of a young Rachel Garrett seems to suggest it (she was likely born around 2300, so the movie could take place around 2330).

I don't know if we'll see any actual maroons, though - I think they're operating outside of the Federation.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

quick get Sam Witwer on the phone

14
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

TrekMovie has a brief piece summarizing part of an SFX cover feature on "Section 31," mostly focusing on the changes the project went through on the journey from series to movie.

That got me wondering what else was in the SFX feature, and eventually I remembered that I have a library card, which I can use to access magazines. So...I did that, and here's a summary of what I learned.


The centrepiece of the feature is an interview with Olatunde Osunsanmi, the director. He spends some time talking about the nuts and bolts of "Star Trek City," which is what they call the Toronto production offices. He talks about the benefits of being able to redress existing sets, including repurposing the Federation HQ set from Discovery to be the "Section 31 outpost safe house." On the topic of being economical, he also mentions how "Section 31" has been a unique experience, as they didn't have to build sets for future use - if their plan for a given scene didn't require a full set, they could safely choose not to build that fourth wall, or incorporate lighting that they wouldn't need for this specific movie.

As TrekMovie reported, he talked about the evolution from series to film. He estimates that there have been seven iterations of the project, including a couple of versions of the series, some subsequent pilot scripts, and then a couple of versions of the movie that they eventually made. He says:

"I would say the only two things that are the same from the original series pilot to the movie that we've got now is that there is a character named Alok and Philippa Georgiou."

He says that the movie's writer, Craig Sweeny, has been involved since the entire process.

Osunsanmi goes into a surprising amount of detail about what he calls the "phase fight," which the article describes as "an extended Dune-esque battle that's spread across sets and involves moving though walls." This sequence reportedly goes through at least seven different sets.

He also mentions the movie's final fight, which he describes as having an emotional component:

"But that fight went through probably the most iterations of different choreography and character beats that I've ever been through, because for me, and particularly for Michelle Yeoh, every fight, every action sequence, is actually an extension of the character."

He goes on to describe the degree to which Yeoh has been involved throughout the project's development, including giving character notes and developing the fight choreography.

The movie gives a "glimpse" into the origins of the Emperor, and Osunsanmi has high praise for Miku Martineau, who plays young Georgiou.

Finally, he acknowledges that if successful, "Section 31" could open the doors to future streaming movies:

"If the audience - the fans - they love it, the sky's the limit with what we can do. The wonderful thing about what Craig Sweeny and Alex Kurtzman have done here is similar to what they did on Discovery, in which we've created a foundation by which other things can grow out of."

"I think I might get into a bit of trouble if I expand upon that.


There are also brief interviews with Robert Kazinsky, who plays Zeph (the guy in the mech suit), and Sam Richardson, who plays Quasi (the Chameloid).

Robert Kazinsky

I'm terrified of how it's going to be received, because it's not the Trek people want. The Trek that people want, the Trek that we all want, is just 1,000 more episodes of TNG. Everyone's always furious that they're not getting more TNG, whilst at the same time, when TNG came out, everybody hated it...so for you to tell me that it still feels like Trek whilst being a completely different flavour of Trek, that encourages me. In 10 years time, we'll look back and we'll love every single one of these Treks.

He also talks at length about the backstory he and Craig Sweeny came up with for Zeph (which, from the sounds of things, doesn't actually factor in to the movie). The idea is that he used to work with Section 31, and as an engineer and biomechanist, he experimented on himself until he destroyed his own spinal column, and he now spends all of his time in the mech suit to remain mobile.

It sounds like the suit itself was a fairly miserable, smelly experience to film in, and the various components of it would occasionally break. He jokes that if there's a sequel, maybe he can play Zeph's twin brother Jeff, who doesn't have to wear it.

He also says this, which I found interesting:

Seeing Klingons and Andorians, it's everything that you want it to be, with people who exceed every aspect that you want them to exceed.

We'll have to see what these Klingons look like...

He also says that this is his dream job, and he'd do it for free (but he doesn't want Kurtzman to hold him to that).

Lastly, he says that he considers Zeph to be the heart of the team:

mostly because he's just innocent and full of love. He just loves his team, and doing what he's doing. He's really happy to just be bouncing around, smashing stuff. He just really enjoys it. He's never in a bad mood. He's painfully optimistic.

Sam Richardson

Most importantly, Richardson has decided that Quasi has modeled his appearance on the most handsom man in Federation history, from 2024...Sam Richardson.

Quasi is in the second-in-command role on the team, and out of the main characters is the least trusting of Georgiou.

Richardson talks a little bit about working out the characters' motivations, as they are "pointing in the direction of ultimate good, but our ways are a little bit more circumvent-y," which gave them some space to figure out what, exactly, that meant for everyone.

He also mentions that not everyone makes it out of the movie alive, which is perhaps unsurprising. He would love to come back to do more, "if Quasi is around at the end of this one."


Those are the things that jumped out at me, but there's more to the feature than just that - I encourage you to check out the magazine if you're able, and at the very least, support your local library!

 

Mildly spoilery quote

I pitched a Starbase 80 spinoff to CBS like, three years ago, which is where a lot of this came from. I would love to go back to Starbase 80, but right now there are no plans to do it.

view more: next ›