Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: The Enterprise discovers a human outpost has been completely obliterated and, after a short fight with the lizard-like Gorn, pursue the alien ship in an attempt to destroy it. However, another alien race, the Metrons, intervene by disabling both ships and sending both Kirk (William Shatner) and the Gorn captain to a deserted planet so they can fight each other in hand-to-hand combat. My thoughts:  While there are some who insist James Kirk ( William Shatner ) is a great captain, this episode seems to contradict that. His decision to pursue the Gorn ship even though he was outgunned and the end result would likely cost him the Enterprise and the lives of his crew. There is brave and then there's just stupid. And yes, I know he was trying to delay an invasion. They were, however, deep into space, giving them time for a strategic retreat and an opportunity to come up with a better game plan. It was probably Shatner's famous overacting, but Kirk even seemed a bit insan...

Synopsis: A mysterious and powerful alien force destroys everything in its path on the way to Earth, forcing a newly refitted starship  Enterprise  into duty before it is completely ready. Admiral James T. Kirk is given command, much to the dissatisfaction of the ship's current captain Willard Decker, causing the two to butt heads as a mix of the original Enterprise crew and new faces speed toward danger. Who's in it? The movie stars William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , DeForest Kelley , Stephen Collins and George Takei . Review: While I don't consider myself a Trekkie, I do enjoy at least some aspects of the Star Trek universe, including most of the movies. That's why, when I saw it was showing on one of my movie channels, I took the time to re-watch Star Trek: The Motion Picture . As has been the case with past viewings, my opinion of the film remains mixed. I'll start out by saying there are a lot of things this movie does right. For one, I like how the movie re...

Like a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation fans, the introduction of Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur ) in season 2, was an unexpected surprise that didn't go over well and other than maybe Wesley Crusher (sorry, Wil Wheaton ), I always thought of her as my least-liked character. I recently began re-watching the series on Paramount Plus and as I make my way through this infamous second season, I'm starting to realize maybe she isn't as bad of a character as I remember. If anything, the series' writers didn't do her justice. For those of you not familiar with this series, Muldaur was added to the cast after Dr. Beverly Crusher actress Gates McFadden was fired at the end of the first season. McFadden/Dr. Crusher would return in season 3, in part because of Patrick Stewart (who played Capt. Picard) wanted her back and partially because Pulaski wasn't a fan favorite. In many ways, Pulaski was actually a better character than Crusher was. She was an experien...

Synopsis: Bank teller Vince Grayson has a nightmare about killing another man in a mirrored room and wakes up with blood on his hand. Later, while returning from a picnic with his sister and her husband, a police detective, Vince discovers both the house and room from his dream are real and a murder had been committed. Who's in it? The movie stars DeForest Kelley , Paul Kelly , Kay Scott , Ann Doran and Robert Emmett Keane. Review: I came across this movie a few days ago and, thinking the plot sounded interesting, ended up adding it to my library. Since it was a relatively short film, I was able to watch it this morning before heading into the office. After seeing it, I found I liked some things but wound up being disappointed overall. I'll start with the positives from this movie. The main one is the mystery surrounding Vince (Kelley) and what happened to him at that house. It becomes immediately clear his nightmare was much more than a dream, especially since he was even ...

Synopsis: With his crew in desperate need of a break, Kirk ( William Shatner ) approves shore leave on a peaceful planet with no people or animals. However, when Dr. McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ) encounters a large white rabbit and Kirk himself sees people from his past, it is apparent there is something strange about the world. Review: It's been kind of wet and dreary out there so ended up going home for lunch today. While there, I decided to continue with my Star Trek watching and ended up watching this episode. I wound up having my doubts about it, but it did turn out to be better than I was expecting it to be. At first, when McCoy saw that white rabbit ( Bill Blackburn ) and, a short time later, a little girl that looked like the storybook character, Alice ( Marcia Brown ), I was concerned this would wind up being a bit too campy to be enjoyable. However, that turned out not to be the case. I think the thing that ultimately won me over was the episode's campy nature ...

Synopsis: When Enterprise encounters a planet that is identical to Earth, Kirk ( William Shatner ), Dr. McCoy ( DeForest Kelley ), Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) and Yeoman Rand ( Grace Lee Whitney ) and learn the planet is only inhabited by children because of a fatal disease that affects anyone that hits puberty. Unable to return to the ship because they too are infected, McCoy must figure out a cure. Review: I had a chance to watch this episode yesterday, in the short time I had between church and going to my daughter's ice show. I was intrigued by the premise. But, as I watched it, I realized I just didn't enjoy this one as much as I thought I would. The disease itself was kind of interesting. I'm still a little confused about how a disease that is the side effect of a genetic experiment can infect people who weren't part of that experiment. But, I liked how the sores gave us a visible representation of how it spread and did think it gave the episode a bit of a th...