Latest news with #Trekkers
Vancouver Sun
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Adventures in Streaming: Outer Limits is your next favourite binge
If one measures the success of a TV series by its spinoffs, Star Trek (Paramount+), must stand alone, with an astonishing 13 different television iterations — that's not even counting the dozen or so movies. Surely, though, the original series –Trekkers call it TOS for short — was the fountainhead that inspired all those offshoots. Has it aged well since its 1966-69 run? Well, developments in everything from visual effects to fight choreography have rendered the show somewhat quaint, at least through the jaded eyes of contemporary media consumers with the ability to pinpoint slipshod digital alterations while standing 20 paces from a 4K flatscreen. But in these divisive times, it remains a series that made one hopeful about the future in its depiction of earthlings from different backgrounds and ethnicities who put aside their differences to co-operate on a noble, non-colonizing interstellar mission: 'To boldly go where no man has gone before.' Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. And yet the show's reputation as the alpha and omega of television science fiction is as persistently tight as a Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Star Trek's mission was, in a way, forecast in a series that developed years before Captain Kirk was but a glimmer in the eye of a CBS network programmer. The Outer Limits (1963-65, new on Tubi), is delightful old-school science fiction that anticipated TOS, even if its format went with a different story and cast every week. If Star Trek looked forward, Outer Limits was very much formed by its immediate past, the geopolitical aftershocks of the Second World War, with the threat of nuclear annihilation at the forefront. Also, it was shot in newsreel black and white, which gives it more gravitas than Star Trek's '60s sickly-psychedelic colour palette. Even with its primitive effects, it could induce nightmares. The episode The Zanti Misfits is about powerful aliens who negotiate a deal with earth to harbour a Botany Bay-like ship filled with prisoners. Once revealed, the creatures are merely large bugs with human faces, animated with stop motion. And yet, these crawlies still have the power to creep you out. Go for the bugs. Stay for the hair-raising sado-masochistic sparks between earthly criminal Bruce Dern and his girlfriend (Olive Deering), a runaway wife, who unwittingly facilitate the misfits' escape. (The series' main writer Joseph Stefano wrote the screenplay for Psycho, and presumably knew a little something about, psychosexual subtext.) The most celebrated episode, Demon with a Glass Hand, was written by sci-fi gadfly Harlan Ellison, and stars Robert Culp as a man with no memory, dropped into Los Angeles, vaguely aware of a mission to foil an aggressive alien race that will defeat earthlings hundreds of years in the future. (In 2009, TV Guide ranked the episode as #73 on an all-time list of great TV episodes.) Infamously, Ellison sued the makers of James Cameron's 1984 film The Terminator because it lifted the premise of a man from the future time-travelling to the past on an assignment to save mankind from a menace yet to come. The film company Hemdale settled with Ellison to the chagrin of Cameron, who quite justifiably felt no one author owned the concept of time travel. (Look at it now and the episode more closely resembles Blade Runner (1982), given that it features a proto-replicant engaged in a violent battle to the death in the iron-wrought confines of the Bradbury Building, a real-life location utilized in both properties.) Perhaps the most significant feature of the show is that Star Trek actors — including Leonard Nimoy and James 'Scotty' Doohan — keep showing up. William Shatner seems to be doing a trial run as Captain Kirk playing a cocky astronaut who finds himself transformed when he encounters an alien on Venus in the episode Cold Hands, Warm Heart. Taken on its own, The Outer Limits was so much more than a warm-up act. Binge accordingly.
Calgary Herald
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Adventures in Streaming: Outer Limits is your next favourite binge
Article content If one measures the success of a TV series by its spinoffs, Star Trek (Paramount+), must stand alone, with an astonishing 13 different television iterations — that's not even counting the dozen or so movies. Article content Surely, though, the original series –Trekkers call it TOS for short — was the fountainhead that inspired all those offshoots. Article content Has it aged well since its 1966-69 run? Well, developments in everything from visual effects to fight choreography have rendered the show somewhat quaint, at least through the jaded eyes of contemporary media consumers with the ability to pinpoint slipshod digital alterations while standing 20 paces from a 4K flatscreen. Article content Article content Article content But in these divisive times, it remains a series that made one hopeful about the future in its depiction of earthlings from different backgrounds and ethnicities who put aside their differences to co-operate on a noble, non-colonizing interstellar mission: 'To boldly go where no man has gone before.' Article content Article content And yet the show's reputation as the alpha and omega of television science fiction is as persistently tight as a Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Article content Star Trek's mission was, in a way, forecast in a series that developed years before Captain Kirk was but a glimmer in the eye of a CBS network programmer. Article content The Outer Limits (1963-65, new on Tubi), is delightful old-school science fiction that anticipated TOS, even if its format went with a different story and cast every week. If Star Trek looked forward, Outer Limits was very much formed by its immediate past, the geopolitical aftershocks of the Second World War, with the threat of nuclear annihilation at the forefront. Also, it was shot in newsreel black and white, which gives it more gravitas than Star Trek's '60s sickly-psychedelic colour palette. Article content Article content Even with its primitive effects, it could induce nightmares. The episode The Zanti Misfits is about powerful aliens who negotiate a deal with earth to harbour a Botany Bay-like ship filled with prisoners. Once revealed, the creatures are merely large bugs with human faces, animated with stop motion. And yet, these crawlies still have the power to creep you out. Article content Go for the bugs. Stay for the hair-raising sado-masochistic sparks between earthly criminal Bruce Dern and his girlfriend (Olive Deering), a runaway wife, who unwittingly facilitate the misfits' escape. (The series' main writer Joseph Stefano wrote the screenplay for Psycho, and presumably knew a little something about, psychosexual subtext.) Article content The most celebrated episode, Demon with a Glass Hand, was written by sci-fi gadfly Harlan Ellison, and stars Robert Culp as a man with no memory, dropped into Los Angeles, vaguely aware of a mission to foil an aggressive alien race that will defeat earthlings hundreds of years in the future. (In 2009, TV Guide ranked the episode as #73 on an all-time list of great TV episodes.)
Daily Maverick
03-07-2025
- Daily Maverick
Karoo farmstays in the Eastern Cape: Thoroughbred mares, Nguni cows and a 'feather palace'
The Eastern Cape Karoo, arguably the unsung hero of all South African travel destinations, is famous for its country hospitality, its adventure options, and its historic old farmsteads full of stories and friendly faces. Planning to visit the Eastern Cape Karoo? From your next honeymoon destination to farm wedding venues, Julienne Du Toit shares her curated list of must-visit places in her homeland. *** Restoring a 200-year-old farmhouse that once belonged to famous trekker Andries Pretorius from near-ruin was a work of love over many years for former owner Johan Minnaar. It had been bought by his grandfather in the 1930s, and the farmhouse structure had deteriorated to a state almost beyond repair. Now in new hands, Letskraal is a model of careful and correct restoration, and is almost certainly the most authentic 1800-era Karoo farmhouse open to travellers. It is also one of the most beautiful Karoo farmsteads you will ever see, with classic lines and a glorious smooth lawn in summer. This is where Sarel Cilliers visited Pretorius, appealing to him to come to the aid of the Trekkers in Natal. Of course, he did, leaving this lovely farm to head north into uncertainty. And as befits such a historical place, there is no electricity. Dusk is a magical time, when the candles and paraffin lamps are lit, the veld purrs with cricket song and the stars outside sequin the sky. In the words of John Battersby, a veteran South African journalist, presently living in London: 'The place is breathtaking — food for the soul and a profound lesson in the importance of history and engaging the ancestors.' Facilities: The farmstead has five bedrooms, sleeping 11 people. If need be, another couple can sleep in the old wagon (only in summer). The two rather luxurious bathrooms are outside. There is no electricity, and no cell signal, but candles and paraffin lamps are provided, and there is a gas fridge and stove. There's a Dutch oven if you'd like to try baking bread the old-fashioned way. Staff come to stoke the donkey water heater twice a day. Where: About 17km along a fairly rough dirt road accessed 42km north of Graaff-Reinet or 62km south of Middelburg on the N9, just south of the Cradock road junction. Contacts: Call Amanda Delport on 083 977 8917; [email protected]; Morning Glory Cottages, Gelykfontein Farm, Venterstad In the 1950s, around 70% of the country's thoroughbred brood mares were based between Venterstad, Middelburg, Colesberg and the southern Free State. The reason lay in the Karoo soil — the high levels of calcium, phosphorus and other minerals gave horses strong bones. But when minerals were artificially added to horse feed in the 1970s, the Karoo's geographic advantage fell away. There are now only four Karoo racehorse breeders left, and Schalk van der Walt of Gelykfontein Farm, just south of the Gariep Dam, is one of them. The Van der Walt family have been on the farm since 1884, and the racehorse stud was started in 1935. It is thanks to Schalk's wife Christa that the guest cottage and four garden suites are sheltered under shady trees, in a lovely garden. For guests, views of thoroughbred mares with their fillies and colts, grazing in pastures all around, are a real attraction. Guests are welcome to watch the daily rituals of leading the beautiful horses out from their spacious stables and back in at night. Farmer Schalk van der Walt was the first farmer (in 1983) to see the potential of Nguni cattle in the Karoo, long before they became popular. Christa and Schalk's daughter Marene van der Walt is working alongside her father Schalk on the farming, which also includes hardy Rubicon Merinos, Meatmaster Sheep and Indigenous Veld Goats. Facilities: Farm Cottage is perfect for a self-catering family and can sleep four adults, with kiddies beds. Then there are four spacious garden suites that sleep two each, with room for children. They have mini-fridges and microwave ovens. There are braai facilities and braaipacks for sale from the farm, or you can order a breakfast basket or dinner basket to eat in your cottage or unit. There is a splash pool. Where: Just off the R58 between Venterstad and the town of Gariep. Look for the large, handsome fibreglass horse at the entrance. Contacts: call Lynette Henson on 072 773 0066 or 087 550 2550; [email protected]; Bloemhof Farm Guesthouse, Graaff-Reinet As you're driving along the N9 between Middelburg and Graaff-Reinet, you may glimpse a red-roofed house, far away in a fertile valley. This is the 'feather palace' homestead of Bloemhof, a 5,000-hectare sheep, Nguni cattle and game farm, intermittently owned by the Murray family since 1838. The architecture of the Bloemhof house is similar to the Oudtshoorn ostrich feather palaces, built in the Edwardian style with Cape Dutch and Victorian influences, complete with wide-planked yellowwood floors. The wraparound stoep offers spectacular views of sheep grazing, horses in the meadow, and the distant mountains around Graaff-Reinet. The 10-bedroom house was built in 1912 by Arthur Murray at the height of the Feather Boom, a couple of years before the infamous Feather Bust. Arthur's great-grandson Julian lives there now, the seventh-generation farming Murray on the land. Some of the old bedrooms have now been converted into living rooms. This is a place where you can walk or cycle along farm tracks, explore the old shearing shed and an old abandoned farmhouse; have a sundowner on the deck in the garden. Julian can show you some of the most historic parts of the farmstead and house (which may or may not feature a ghost). Facilities: The high-ceilinged, elegantly furnished guest accommodation (only available in peak holiday seasons and for events like the Stoeptasting weekends in Graaff-Reinet and Nieu-Bethesda) can sleep between four and twelve people. There is one double-bedroom en suite, while the rest share two private bathrooms. Where: Bloemhof Farm is 32km north of Graaff-Reinet, on a good gravel road leading off the N9. It is also conveniently close to Nieu-Bethesda's tar road. Contact: Call or WhatsApp Julian on 082 325 6037; [email protected]. Wheatlands Country House, Graaff-Reinet During the feather boomtime of the early 1900s, Karoo farmer Arthur Tucker Parkes built his beloved wife Lily a gracious new home. It was an ostrich palace in every sense of the word, well-appointed with spacious rooms, stained glass windows, pressed ceilings and wood-panelled walls, a piano and a drawing room. This has now become the guest accommodation at Wheatlands Farm, about 50km south of Graaff-Reinet. Some rooms are en suite, others share a bathroom. The furnishings make you feel as if you are staying in your posh aunt's comfortable home. Wheatlands is still farmed by the same family (the Parkes and the Shorts, who have owned it since 1849), now in its eighth generation. These days, though, it is more about sheep and Angora goats than ostriches. Wheatlands was one of the very first mohair farms in the Eastern Cape, and retains a proud tradition of producing fine quality mohair. The family's generosity was also legendary. Arthur Parkes once chased over several hundred goats into Ebenezer Hobson's lands after his neighbour lost thousands in a freezing storm just after the Anglo-Boer War. 'Please take them. I cannot stand the brutes,' he lied. Facilities: The entire farmhouse sleeps 12 people in two en suite rooms, four twin rooms and two shared bathrooms. You could either self-cater or request meals (which are delicious). The dining room and lounge have fireplaces for cosy winter evenings. There is WiFi, and you should definitely request a pin for the Karoo Sundowner Spot. If local teams are playing a cricket match on the farm, don't miss it. Where: Wheatlands is 50km south of Graaff-Reinet, 8km off the R75 between Graaff-Reinet and Jansenville.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
STAR TREK: STRANGE NEW WORLDS Reveals Groovy Characters Posters and Season Episode Titles
We are a mere month away from the season three premiere of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+. And it's been a long wait for fans, as the 2023 Writer's Guild Strike halted production of the third season. This resulted in a two-year delay since the season two cliffhanger ending. But on July 17, Captain Pike and the Enterprise crew return at last for new adventures exploring the Final Frontier. Paramount+ has released a series of all-new character posters for the season spotlighting the bridge crew. You can check them all out in our gallery below: Click To View Gallery These images of the Strange New Worlds cast are very reminiscent of cover art for Star Trek novels of the '70's and '80s. Back then, fans had to wait years between movies, and watch endless reruns of the original series on TV. So the novels thrived, giving Trekkers their regular fix of new adventures. Were they canon? No, but fans ate them up anyway. And many of those novels had groovy painted covers by iconic fantasy/sci-fi artists like Boris Vallejo. These Strange New Worlds posters give us all the retro feels. Additionally, Paramount+ has also revealed the episode titles for all ten episodes of season three. 'The Sehlat Who Ate Its Tail' appears to be Spock-centric, as a Sehlat was his pet on Vulcan as a child. Speaking of Vulcans, another episode is 'Four-And-A-Half-Vulcans,' which is probably the episode previewed at Comic-Con last year, where the human crew is transformed into logical Vulcans. The final episode of the season is titled 'New Life and New Civilizations,' which is of course part of the iconic opening spoken-word intro since the days of William Shatner. We'll have to wait and see how it ties into the 60-year legacy of Star Trek. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season three premieres on Paramount+ with two episodes on July 17.
