Tag: sci fi

Star Trek vs Strange New Worlds

I’ve pretty much been a lifelong Star Trek fan, right down to watching Star Trek: The Next Generation when it first premiered in 1987 and all the way through to when it ended in 1994. It’s also my go-to TV show to have on in the background since I know it well. While some of the newer Trek shows have been a mixed bag (I’m looking at you, Picard seasons 1 and 2), Strange New Worlds is pretty solid and the closest to older the older formula. Surprisingly, I had a hard time finding sites with comparisons between the cast of the original series and Strange New Worlds. Well, here you!

Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike
Anson Mount as Captain Pike
Leonard Nimoy as Spock
Ethan Peck as Spock
Majel Barret as Number One
Rebecca Romijn as Number One
Majel Barret as Nurse Christine Chapel
Jess Bush as Nurse Christine Chapel
Booker Bradshaw as Dr. Joseph M’Benga
Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. Joseph M’Benga
Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura
Celia Rose Gooding as Nyota Uhura
William Shatner as James T. Kirk
Paul Wesley as James T. Kirk
Jane Wyatt as Amanda Graysom
Mia Kirshner as Amanda Graysom
William Shatner as George Samuel Kirk
Dan Jeannotte as George Samuel Kirk
Arlene Martel as T’Pring
Gia Sandhu as T’Pring

All images are the property of CBS, Paramount+, etc.

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

I’ve always been a bit of an insomniac.  And with that affliction comes some really odd TV watching.

In middle and high school it was Tom Baker-era Doctor Who reruns on PBS, Dream On and Tales from the Crypt on HBO, and Friday the 13th: The Series (which had nothing to do with Jason Vorhees or Camp Crystal Lake).
One of my favorite late-night discoveries came a few years later in the form of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace.  It was essentially a pastiche of low budget British programs, Stephen King-esque storylines, a hospital soap, and behind-the-scenes documentary all in one.  Oddly, it shares some ideas with Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital (based on Lars Von Trier’s Riget/The Kingdom) from the same year (namely a haunted hospital).

It’s hard to describe… it’s a show within a show with the actors reminiscing about their now forgotten work.  It’s gory, purposefully offensive and dumb, and just kind of brilliant.  If the behind the scenes interviews hadn’t been included, I’m not sure it would have worked as well as it did.

Instead of trying to describe it, you can watch the first episode: