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...

Synopsis: As Christmas approaches and a radio station deejay plays holiday music, a group of documentary students are terrorized at a haunted boarding school, a child is replaced by a changeling, a family is stalked by Krampus and Santa is forced to hunt and kill his elves after they are turned into zombies. Who's in it?  The movie stars William Shatner , George Buza, Amy Forsyth , Michelle Nolden and Rob Archer. Review: I came across A Christmas Horror Story on Netflix several years ago and remembered enjoying it. So, when I had an opportunity to watch it again, I decided to do so. It was as good as I recalled. The movie isn't as quite as scary as I would prefer, mostly because the monsters do look a bit fake. However, even without the scares, it's still an entertaining film. One thing that intrigued me was the way the four, completely separate, stories were happening at the same time without any apparent connection other than the deejay (Shatner) playing the music. It m...

Synopsis: Ten months after going undercover at the Miss United States pageant and stopping the bad guy while finishing as the runner-up, FBI agent Gracie Hart is a published author and talk show celebrity, causing her to grow conceited and shallow. When kidnappers abduct the pageant winner, Cheryl Fraser and contest host Stan Fields, Gracie travels to Las Vegas to help with the investigation. However, she soon learns her input in the case is unwelcome and is forced to once again ignore orders and investigate the case herself. Who's in it? The movie stars Sandra Bullock , Regina King , Heather Burns , William Shatner and  Enrique Murciano. Review: After re-watching Miss Congeniality earlier this week, my wife and I decided to watch the movie's sequel, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous , which we may had seen before but neither of us could remember. We did that last night and wound up with a mixed opinion. The overall concept isn't terrible. I thought the mystery s...

Synopsis: When a domestic terrorist known as "the Citizen" makes a threat against a well-known beauty pageant in Texas, the FBI decides it needs an operative on the inside, posing as a contestant. This ends up being the tomboyish Gracie Hart, who reluctantly goes through a transformation to show off her feminine side. Who's in it? The movie stars Sandra Bullock , Michael Caine , Benjamin Bratt , Candice Bergen , Ernie Hudson and William Shatner . Review: My wife and I had some time to kill yesterday evening while waiting for our daughter to get done at a community theater cast party. Since it was way too hot to be outside, we stayed in front of the air conditioner and re-watched Miss Congeniality for the first time in years. It ended up being as good as we remembered it. I'll start out by saying the movie does force you to suspend belief a bit because the idea of Sandra Bullock being considered "ugly" is only something that is going to happen in the mov...

Synopsis: When a prized steer dies of a sudden and mysterious ailment, an Arizona veterinarian teams up with an entomologist and discovers an army of venomous tarantulas are to blame. When an attempt to eradicate the spiders fails, the tarantulas invade a nearby town. Who's in it? The movie stars William Shatner , Tiffany Bolling , Woody Strode , Lieux Dressler and David McLean. Review: I was pleased to see this film was finally available via one of my movie channels because I've been wanting to rewatch it for some time. I was able to convince my skeptical wife to watch it with me last night and the movie did not disappoint. There is a real 1970s feel to this film, ranging from the clothes to the upbeat country music playing during the introduction and in the background (making it feel a bit more like a comedy at times). However, even though it is now 45 years old, it still remains a solid spider-themed horror film. One of the things I like about this movie is the premise i...

Synopsis: The Enterprise docks at a starbase for repairs following an encounter with an ion storm and Kirk ( William Shatner ) faces a court martial for ejecting a research pod and causing the apparent death of one of his crew members. Kirk maintains his actions were necessary. However, computer records of the event show him pushing the eject button prematurely, putting his career in jeopardy. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/star-trek-episode-review-court-martial-1967/

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...

Synopsis: The Enterprise visits an icy planet in search of missing exobiologist, Dr. Roger Korby ( Michael Strong ) and his team. Captain Kirk ( William Shatner ) believes Kirby is dead but, to his surprise, the scientist makes contact with the Enterprise and invites both Kirk and Kirby's former fiancee, Nurse Christine Chapel ( Majel Barrett ) to visit him on the planet. When they arrive, they discover Korby has discovered an alien technology with the ability to merge humans with androids, which he intends to secretly take with him and use on unsuspecting humans. Review: When I decided to finally sit down and watch the original Star Trek episodes for the first time, I wasn't really sure what to expect. However, most of them, so far at least, have been very entertaining and enjoyable. Unfortunately, this episode was one that was a little bit of a letdown for me. I think the overall "mad-scientist" concept of the episode was a decent one. I especially liked how...

Synopsis: The Enterprise is tasked with observing a dying planet and discovers the research team that had previously been assigned there has been frozen to death under mysterious circumstances. The ship is soon infected by the same inhibition-lowering disease that killed the researchers and Kirk ( William Shatner ) must find a way to rescue the Enterprise from an infected hijacker before it crashes into the planet below. Review: I had heard of this episode prior to watching it over the course of the past couple of days. However, until I finally selected it on Netflix, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. As it turns out, it was actually a surprisingly good episode. OK, I'm going to start out by admitting some of the scenes from this episode were a bit on the campy side, especially when Sulu ( George Takei ) puts on his shirtless swashbuckling routine and Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ) gets into an emotional crying fit over his mother. But, despite that, there were qui...

Synopsis: Roughly 200 years after it went missing, the Enterprise intercepts the flight recorder from the U.S.S. Valiant and travels through a magnetic storm at the edge of the galaxy in an effort to find out what happened to the ship. The trip proves to be deadly, with several crew members killed. In addition, Kirk's ( William Shatner ) long-time friend, Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell ( Gary Lockwood ) begins to change and show God-like ESP powers. Review: I had an opportunity to watch this episode while I was home at lunch. When I started watching it, I was somewhat concerned (mostly because I didn't realize, at the time, it was the second pilot for the series) it would be a bit too much like the episode I watched yesterday, Charlie X . However, after seeing it, I have to admit, it wound up being just different enough to be entertaining. I think the thing that intrigued me most about this episode was the way there was some mystery about what would happen with Mitchell. ...

Synopsis: After being trapped alone on a remote planet for 14 years, 17-year-old Charlie Evans ( Robert Walker, Jr. ) is rescued and the Enterprise is asked to take him to his nearest surviving relatives at colony Alpha V. However, Charlie isn't like other teenagers. He has powerful psychic abilities that he is reluctant to restrain, especially when he doesn't get his way. Review: After seeing pretty much every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation on more than one occasion, I decided it was time to move on. Originally, I thought about watching Deep Space Nine . But, after realizing I haven't seen many of the original series episodes, I figured I would give that a try again. I started with this one and was very impressed. This actually turned out to be a somewhat creepy episode. The best way I would describe it was it was a bit like watching Village of the Damned combined with an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. His psychic capabilities seem...

Synopsis: Years after becoming a hero by saving Trans American Flight 209, Ted Striker has been committed to an insane asylum following a failed test flight of a new passenger space shuttle, a crash he blamed on computer issues. In an effort to save his relationship with Elaine, he escapes the asylum and boards the inaugural Mayflower flight only to once again be forced to take the pilot controls after the ship’s computer malfunctions and sends the craft toward the sun. You can read my review here:  https://wizzley.com/movie-review-airplane-ii-the-sequel-1982/