8
Clackamas Print
Arts^ntertainmenl
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Face-Off: Oh captain, my captain
Saving the galaxy while your
grandparents were in diapers
Elizabeth Hitz
The Clackamas Print
Millions of viewers remember Captain
James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) as
the brash, handsome starship captain in the
universe of Gene Roddenbeny’s original Star
Trek.
The next successful Star Trek series (The
Next Generation) starred Captain Jean Luc
Picard, who was older and quieter than his
predecessor.
The two are arguably the most popular Star
Trek captains of the six television Star Trek
series.
But who is more alluring: the handsome,
rough and ready Kirk, who sports a full head of
hair and attracts woman like flies, or the pallid,
squeaky-domed Captain Picard of The Next
Generation, whose first officer is more whiny
and effeminate than an Orion slave girl?
Kirk was the youngest starship captain (31
years old) in Starfleet history. He captained the
USS Enterprise and her namesake successor,
the USS Enterprise-N, over a period of 30
years.
During that time, he served as a soldier,
political diplomat and explorer of galaxies.
He rescued Earth from destruction more than
once, saved several al ien races from extinction,
encountered and survived countless spatial
anomalies and even brought back the extinct
Sperm Whale.
Kirk had a charismatic charm that was both
blunt and honest and got him out of as much
trouble as it caused. He had a strong belief in
the laws of Starfleet, which he was willing
to back up with his life and his ship.
j
However, Kirk bent and broke those
same rules more than once when the
Bft
circumstances required it, like the
survival of an entire planet or race.
SB
As a captain, Kirk was also an
-u.
involved leader. He often led away
missions (anywhere away from
the ship), unwilling to commit his
g||||
crew to dangers he himself would
not face. Unlike Picard, who tended
toward being close-mouthed and
close-handed, Kirk had an easy
C.iny)iadctiqwi(hhis crew, often
v 4»
joking with the ship’s doctor, “Bones.”
The Enterprise’s first officer, Lt. Cmdr.
Spock, with his calm Vulcan logic, was a natu
ral grounding for Kirk’s sometimes volatile
temper and act-then-think temperament. The
Captain trusted his first officer implicitly and
consulted him on almost everything.
Critics often accuse Kirk of being a cheap,
rowdy space cowboy who thought the word
“tact” was something a child would stick on a
teacher’s unoccupied chair, a man of few mor
als, a split-second temper and a weakness for
women that compromised his judgment. But
the real Kirk was the man who grabbed the
hearts of viewers with his courage and relent
less, passionate drive. He appeals to the wild
side that we all wish we had die nerve to show
and the force of will most of us only dream of
possessing.
Captain Kirk was a character that made
Shatner a legend among actors and inspired
later generations of space exploration within
the television and movie worlds.
He was not a rough draft or a flawed
product, but a durable original - like your
____
grandmother’s ugly,
green toaster, the
kind that seems
to last forever
and never needs
B to be replaced.
Making sure history never
forgets the name ‘Enterprise’
Aitam J. Manley
The Clackamas Print
It’s too easy to be the cowboy.
In comparing Captains James T. Kirk and
Jean-Luc Picard, it comes down to cowboy
vs. diplomat. Unfortunately, all it takes to be
the cowboy in most stories is a quicker trigger
finger than the enemy and a libido the size of
Texas.
Kirk was cool. Kirk was necessary. Kirk
was Star Trek creator Gene Roddenbeny’s
rough draft - and rough he was. To satisfy
viewers who had never seen a beast like Star
Trek before, and to keep in good standing with
a studio that wouldn’t even let him have the
female first officer he’d origihally planned
for, Roddenberry made a lot of compromises.
Thus, Kirk was a cowboy in an era accus
tomed to watching cowboys.
If one examines
the two captains,
however, it
becomes
apparent
that Kirk’s
finest
moments
-
when
he would
outsmart
his enemies
rather than
outmuscle
them - were merely the seeds of the sort o
character Roddenberry desperately wanted t(
plant, seeds that bloomed into Picard.
The bald man’s methods may seem borinj
to the typical action-lover - he does quite a lo
more talking than fighting - but that’s wha
makes him a better captain.
A captain who routinely breaks the rule
with wild abandon is far more likely to ge
his crew and the people he seeks to help ii
trouble - not only from the enemy, but iron
their own side as well. This is why Picard i
the better leader: He keeps everyone out o
trouble by finding the loopholes in the lette
of the law.
Picard is a strategist. Instead of viewing
challenges as a boxing match, he views then
as puzzles; mysteries to be solved. Time an<
time again, he has found ways to turn lega
and political roadblocks into the very tools o:
his victory - much to the dismay of whateve
opponent was using those rules to flout him.
This shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack o
“badass,” however. When diplomacy fails
Picard’s not afraid of a fight. Aside from thi
usual space battles, he’s held his own in hand
to-hand combat against Klingons and evei
survived a stab to the heart during a bar figh
with three Nausicaans (uber-strong, tough-as
nails pirates and mercenaries of the Star Tie
universe) when he was young.
But Picard can’t afford to be a carefrei
maverick like Kirk. He lives in more comple;
times, with more complex problems. Thi
■ galaxy is no longer the Wild Wesl
the villains are sneakier, the politic
are dirtier, and the schemes have
B more drastic effects. Transplan
B Kirk onto the bridge of Picard)
B Enterprise, and even he wouk
B quickly realize just how obsolete
he is in comparison to his succeslM
B
B
B
B
B
B
sor-
Kirk overcame his share oB
obstacles during his tour of duty; itB
true. But in the end, they’re nothing
compared to those braved by PicarcB
whose brilliant mind, commanding
presence and pure strength of will leB
to greater achievements in far mor|
complicated times.
B
Sorry, cowboy.
B
A summer ready for blockbusters, for heroes, villainsf
, Jess Sheppard
11
Clackamai Print
Everyone is talking about Pirates
3, but what about the films playing
in theaters this summer?
Pirates isn’t the only sequel
playing. There’s Shrek the Third.
Spiderman 3, for the superhero fan,
is still running. Most theaters are
playing 28 Weeks Later as well.
And let’s not forget the newest heist
movie, Ocean’s 13.
In addition, there are plenty
of stand-alones coming out. Bug
is playing, for the suspense/hor-
ror fans. Based on a stage play,
Bug is set in the life of Agnes,
who is caught in an Oklahoma
motel between an abusive ex and
an insane war veteran whose con
spiracy theories might be more than
just crazy fantasies.
Or, perhaps a thriller about a
man who leads one life as a model
citizen and another as a murdering
mastermind is more appealing. If it
is, see Mr. Brooks, which is rated
R for violence, sexual content and
language. It features Kevin Costner,
Demi Moore, Dane Cook (actually
in a serious role) and William Hurt.
Speaking of horror films, Eli
Roth has done it again with Hostel
Part 2. Picking right up where its
predecessor left off, Hostel Part
2 promises to be just as sadistic
and gruesome, if not more. It
opens June 8.
For those who have small
children or younger siblings
attached
Everyone knows the name Nancy
Drew. Now, she’s coming to the big
screen June 15 to do what she does
best: solve crimes.
Penguin movies are on the rise,
and come June 8, there will be yet
another one. Surf ’s Up is & moc
kumentary comedy about surfing
penguins. Enough said.
Say there are four happy super
heroes. Now, say that a random
silver guy
streaks through the scene. That’s
right — it’s Fantastic Four: Rise of
the Silver Surfer, opening June 15,
for Marvel fans everywhere.
Later this summer, the action and
comedy movies will start to appear.
Moviegoers are already looking
forward to Transformers, Live
Free or Die Hard and, of course,
Harry Potter and
the Order of the
Phoenix. The end
thrillers, the comedy genre is going
all out this summer as well, bringing
us promising movies Such as J
Almighty, Ratatouille and Death al
a Funeral. And who could forget
The Simpsons Movie.
No matter what your fancy is for
the theater, there certainly is no lack
of films to see.
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