Ah, the Good Life

9/20/2011

Thanks to our new Netflix Streaming service, we have a large selection of movies/TV shows to watch whenever the fancy strikes us. (And our shitty-assed ISP isn't on the fritz.)

So Friday night, it was time to introduce the boy to some real culture.

The first episode of Star Trek we watched was "Arena". I picked it as there was a Mythbusters tie-in. Two seasons ago, the Myth Team built a bamboo cannon to see how affective it would be. (Note: If you find yourself locked in mortal combat with a Gorn, your best bet would be to hand this weapon to your enemy. It's a much greater threat to the person aiming it than the person being aimed at.)

So anyway, Xander was somewhat familiar with Arena and seemed to enjoy it. Granted, while the enemy slowly walked towards Capt. Kirk, Xander started shouting, "Run! Run!"

We should all be so involved in art.

So after that, it was "The Corbinite [?] Maneuver". No physical violence but lots of spaceship shooting. Granted, when Ballock showed up, Xander turned to me to tell me that if he had a nightmare, it would be my fault.

Sadly, at that point, Netflix or my ISP decided to cut out. %#€£¥!! So we finished the episode Saturday night. I myself have always found the Clint Howard character the most terrifying aspect of that particular show.

We finished up with "Balance of Terror".

By this time, Xander's enthusiasm was waning but I was enjoying myself. I suspect you all are like me in never actually watching ST on anything other than crappy old commercial TV. Well, in HD, sans advertisements it's a different experience. Further, 4 or 5 years ago, Paramount went all George Lucas on the series redoing just about all the special effects; especially the spaceflight scenes. Obviously, a tie in with HD but it adds a nice touch.

This was all lost on my dear wife, sadly. Seems she didn't spend her youth watching and rewatching The Five Year Mission. But Superfriends, she knows forward and backward. Her loss.

So that's the latest update on the Xander Front. In other vital news, this weekend marks JP Patches final public appearance. Sigh. Well, he gave us a good 45-50 years.

Adios, Julius Pierpont.

See you soon.

B.