Sonic Servo? Star Trek and Doctor Who Cross Wires

Listening to The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh inspired me to watch an old episode of Star Trek on Hulu - the 1968 backdoor pilot 'Assignment: Earth' which was intended to launch a spin-off show similar to Torchwood (but actually watchable.)

One thing that struck me watching this episode was the stunning resemblance hero Gary Seven's 'Servo' device had to Doctor Who's inerrantly useful 'Sonic Screwdriver.'

Gary Seven's 'Servo' - also available in ballpoint.

The Doctor's 'Sonic Screwdriver' - don't leave the TARDIS without one!

From the size, shape - even down to the blue light they emit - they're practically identical. What's more, they both feature the same tendancy to deliver deus ex machina solutions to whatever problems their wielder is currently facing (from locked doors to disabling armed guards.)

Need to disable a nuclear missile? And distract your sentient cat with a laser pointer? Then Seven's 'Servo' is right for you!

The Doctor's 'Sonic Screwdriver,' on the other hand, can also whisk eggs. Probably.

One must clearly have inspired the other - and although Doctor Who is half a decade older than Gary Seven and his Servo, the light, noise and that 'door' thing make me think that it was the Servo that served as inspiration for the current Doctor's handy little toy, not the other way around.

The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, by Greg Cox

I don't read Star Trek novelizations.

This isn't from any sense of snobbery - following the fictional adventures of Captain Kirk doesn't seem any less worthwhile than following the fictional adventures of Inspector Morse, or Jason Bourne.

It's more about the fact that Star Trek novels are considered 'non-canonical' - as in, they're not accepted as an 'official' part of the Star Trek universe. Ultimately, that means a Star Trek novel is a story that didn't happen set in a universe that didn't happen - double jeopardy.

Recently, though, I was given two Star Trek audio books which piqued my interest, so I listened to them on my commute to and from work.

Greg Cox's two-volume story The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh follows the exploits of one of the most fascinating side-characters in Star Trek mythos - a genetically engineered superman who tangled with Captain Kirk on two deadly occasions.

In a 1967 episode of the original Star Trek TV series, charismatic superman Khan first befriended Kirk and co, before betraying them and trying to take over the Enterprise. In 1982, the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan reintroduced the popular villain, with a furious Khan hijacking a Federation starship in an attempts to extract bloody revenge from Captain Kirk.

Both the episode and the movie are widely considered the best of the Star Trek series; and proved that fans were eager to learn more about the enigmatic character.

Hence Greg Cox picked up his pen to tell Khan's story - but in doing so, he faced a singular challenge. This futuristic villain has a back story actually set in our own past.

In 1967, when the character of Khan was introduced, the 1990s were decades away - so the Star Trek writers created a colorful story about 'the Eugenics Wars' unaware that the character would remain popular long after his supposed 'history' had been and gone.

Cox approached this by weaving an intricate 'secret history' that intertwined the story of Khan's birth, childhood and rise to power with actual events from our recent history.

Khan was created in a laboratory under India's Thar desert - and the explosion that destroys it coincides with India's first nuclear weapon's test in 1974. Other important events in human history - the fall of the Berlin Wall and the conflict in former Yugoslavia are all presented as parts of Kahn's covert war with his genetically-engineered rivals.

In that way, Greg Cox manages to neatly consolidate established Star Trek history with the history of the real world - and adds a nice layer of fact to his fantasy.

True-blue Trekkies will enjoy the fact that a host of seemingly obscure Star Trek characters crop up throughout the novel - the protagonists, aside from Khan himself, are Gary Seven and Roberta Lincoln from the 1968 Star Trek episode 'Assignment: Earth' (originally intended to be a 'backdoor pilot' for a spin-off show.)

In 1986, Roberta is assigned to tidy up a temporal time-bomb left by Kirk's visit to Earth in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Later, she encounters Dr Jeff Carlson, who was assigned to Roswell, New Mexico, when characters from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine crashed there in the 1995 episode 'Little Green Men'.

It's apparent than an awful lot of thought went into weaving this tapestry; and ultimately it's a very satisfying read (or, in my case, listen.) I'm not a Star Trek nut, so I was pleased to be able to enjoy the tale without necessarily having an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek lore - both those who do will be equally satisfied with the result.

A note on the audio book experience - Volume 1 was read by Anthony Steward Head; better known as Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He did a terrific job; nailing an enormous number of accents to bring the multitude of characters to life and reading briskly enough to keep the pace cracking. Volume 2 was narrated by Star Trek veteran Rene Auberjonois - who did a similarly proficient job.

As I said, I don't normally read Star Trek books, so I can't say I'd have been likely to pick these up myself - but I'm pleased I did, as The Eugenics Wars ultimately expanded on some of the aspects of Star Trek history that I found most interesting.

Fanboys

Don't get me wrong - I love Star Trek; but when it comes to the crunch, even the adventures of Kirk, Spock and Scotty can't eclipse the true king of science fiction fantasy - Star Wars.

The Star Wars saga is a seminal slice of my generation's culture. Everybody has heard about the adventures of Han, Luke and the villainous Darth Vader. It's part of our upbringing (and I don't think there's a single guy I know who doesn't make 'light-saber' noises and swoosh their flashlight around on a foggy night.)

Star Wars is just the pinnacle of fantastical entertainment - and the oh-so 'worthy' adventures of the Starship Enterprise seem somewhat drab by comparison.

But much to my surprise, apparently not everybody feels the same way I do (well, I once had a girlfriend who was a true-blue Trekkie and claimed to hate Star Wars, but I figured she was just an exception.)

There are actually loyal Trekkers out there who pledge allegiance only to the Church of Trek - they consider the Skywalker saga to be nothing short of heresy!

It's this conflict between 'Wars' and 'Trek' fans that linchpins together hysterical new comedy 'Fanboys', just released on DVD.

Set in the 'dark ages' of 1998, 'Fanboys' follows the adventures of four die-hard Star Wars fans as they plot a cross-country caper to break into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and steal a copy of the eagerly awaited 'Episode 1.'

Highway flashing - an essential ingredient of any road trip movie

Their epic journey takes them into the no-man's land of Riverside, Iowa (future birthplace of Captain Kirk) where they cross paths with a team of tyrannical Trekkies - and that's how the chase begins.

'Fanboys' is simply sublime. It's one of those movies that has you laughing so hard, you worry about rupturing something. From beginning to end, it's a roller coaster ride filled with over-the-top antics, slapstick comedy, acerbic wit and more Star Wars fan-service than you can shake a snowspeeder at.

The highlight has to be Dan Fogler, in the only role he's ever been good in. He plays 'Hutch,' an overweight, one-testicled Han Solo-wannabe who considers his Star Wars-sloganed van to be the Earthly equivalent of the Millennium Falcon. It's this chariot which takes the team across America - even though it's just as prone to malfunction as Han Solo's fictional starship.

Not since the A-Team have we seen a van quite so cool...

There are a whole host of sci-fi cameos - from Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, to Star Wars alumni Billy Dee Williams and Carrie Fisher. You'll also spot other familiar faces, like 'Jay and Silent Bob' stars Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, plus redheaded comedy legend Seth Rogan.

But this is a movie that's about more than clever cameos. It's a sympathetic, reverential but consistently funny film - and one of the rare American comedies that manages to insert some dramatic tension (a motivational plot about a character dying of cancer) without turning cheesy.

Although 'Fanboys' is clearly marketed to Star Wars fans, you don't need to be much of a fan to enjoy it. The comedy itself is fairly broad and some of the misadventures that befall our heroes - such as becoming impromptu strippers at an all-gay biker bar - would make even a serial Star Trekker smirk.

Does George Lucas' garbage room have Deathstar-style crushing walls? Find out!

It's not highbrow. It's not great art. It certainly doesn't hold a candle to the great works of cinema it pays homage to - but 'Fanboys' still exceeds expectations and delivers a treat of a movie. Grab the popcorn and get watching!

Star Trek

I'll admit it. I'm a lapsed Star Trek fan.

I was fairly devout at university - largely because I had a girlfriend who was that rarest of rarities - a 'hot' Trekkie. But as I left the world of academia, I found that 'Trekdom' failed to answer many of life's more complicated questions and went back to my original faith; 'Bondism.'

But Star Trek does kind of get under your skin - and I know that my swagger, elegant coif and pudgy midriff are all personality aspects adopted from the great prophet of Star Trek lore: Captain James T. Kirk.

One of the reasons I lost my faith in Star Trek was because the entire franchise had been driven mercilessly into the ground.

It went from inspired - like the brilliant Star Trek: The Next Generation series and rip-roaring movies like The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country - to tepid trash like Star Trek: Enterprise and the jumbled jigsaw that was Star Trek: Nemesis.

In many ways, we imagined what the franchise needed was to 'go away' for a little while, until we all forgot its indiscretions (like the final episode of 'Enterprise,' which implied that the entire show was the holodeck fantasy of 'Next Generation' character Commander Riker.)

But instead, legendary producer J.J. Abrams grabbed the Klingon Targ by the horns and decided to make a new movie which took the entire franchise right back to the beginning - distilling six series and ten movies down to the purest, most essential elements that made 'Trek' work.

And, by George, I think he 'got' it!

Star Trek is a bright new vision, boldly going where no producer has gone before in 'rebooting' the entire franchise (much as they did with Batman and Bond, in Batman Begins and Casino Royale.)


The characters we know and love have been recast, the USS Enterprise has been tarted up for the 'Apple Mac' generation and the vigorously protected 'canon' of Star Trek history has been cast aside in favor of plots and concepts bristling with new narrative intensity.


Unsurprisingly, the essential elements of the storyline remain the same - being as they are the adventures of Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock. This movie reveals their first antagonistic encounter, on board the flagship USS Enterprise under it's original commander, Christopher Pike.


Facing off against a vicious enemy from the future, Spock and Kirk are forced to work together to save humanity - with Kirk taking command of the Enterprise and learning to collaborate with his first officer despite their sharply contrasting styles of command.


It's all fast-paced, with big-screen space battles and CGI monsters and everything you'd expect from a summer blockbuster. This makes the story is totally accessible, even if you've never seen an episode of Star Trek before - however, fans are serviced admirably with plenty of tidbits and Easter eggs thrown in to satisfy their obsessive lust for minutia.


And, somewhat cleverly, J. J. Abrams tied a complex plot-twist to the story of Star Trek, in which the established 'future' gets changed by meddling time-travelers (including Leonard Nimoy, in a cameo as 'old Spock.')


This neatly wipes the slate clean and frees the film (and any possible sequels) from being forced to stick to decades of pre-established continuity that's rigorously enforced by the legions of 'Trekkies' across the globe.

What works especially well is how they've kept certain aspects of the original series - like the Enterprise itself. Although the old girl's been tarted up to cinematic standards, everything about her (even down to the noise she makes when you open a communication channel) is close enough to the original TV show to be comparable.

Likewise, the costumes, phasers, tricorders and transporters are all similar to the 60s-era props, merely 'retconned' so they actually look like viable pieces of essential equipment.

All in all, the formula comes together fantastically. Star Trek is space opera at its finest and whatever your preconceptions about the original 'Trek,' you're unlikely to leave the cinema unsatisfied with this re-imagining.