Sunday Top 10: Star Trek

Since I've been REALLY over-the-top with Doctor Who recently [one of the side effects of jumping on a bandwagon late in the game. I have to catch up on 4 seasons all at once, then follow the 5th season real time, which only lasts 3 months, all boiling down to me having to wait for the second half of the season finale just like everyone else after I'd basically had a marathon of 4 seasons jammed into two months.] I figured I'd give my readers [hah. I think I have about... 2. Sporadically.] a break.

A break from Doctor Who, but not science fiction. haha. I'm still geeking out, so I have to stay within my geek-frame of mind.
Anyway. I've been falling down on the job with my Sunday Top 10's, so I figured I'd do one this week.

My Top Ten Favorite Star Trek Episodes! [TOS & TNG smashed together.]
And yes, these ARE in order of favoritism this time! [Ascending order. So, my favorite of the favorites is number 1!]


10. The Pegasus. Next Generation. Season 7. Riker gets to kick butt! There is sufficient ethical dilemma and risk of bodily harm to even it out and keep me happy. Though at this point I was banging my head on my desk, asking WHY IN THE NAME OF Q HAVE RIKER AND TROI NOT GOTTEN BACK TOGETHER?! I loved Worf, but Worf and Troi together? No. Nuh-uh. Not gonna cut it for me. Sorry, but the romantic in me must come out and slap Riker and Troi both upside the head for their stupidity. Or maybe just slap the writers. Anyway, this episode has always just stuck with me since I first saw it. Definitely a great start to my top ten list!

9. Court Martial. Original Series, season 1. Kirk is court martial-ed, accused of violating procedure and being responsible for a crew member's death. His ex- whatever she was is lawyer for the other side, and she's good. Really good. No space travel or adventures in this one, but its still great. Loyalties are questioned, trust is shattered, and the conclusion comes with an awww-moment. Nine out of ten stars!

8. The Inner Light. Next Generation. Season 5. Picard lapses into a coma, and lives out a whole lifetime on another planet. He has cute little Picardlets [aka, kids. Doesn't work as well with Picard as it does Gibbs. Sorry.] running around who eventually grow up to be smart, smart adults. He has an adorable, quite understanding wife. He tries to save the planet, only realizing that he was brought there after the planet had died so that the people wouldn't be forgotten. Sir Patrick Stewart gets to show us his crazy acting skills and we get to see Picard have the family he's always secretly longed for, deep deep [deep, deep, deep] down.

7. Plato's Stepchildren. Original Series, season 3. Spock laughed. Spock cried. Spock DANCED. There was an ethical dilemma [though really, most of the Trek dilemmas are ethical] because the gods of some faraway planet made everyone else their personal playthings. The Enterprise crew were humiliated, there was a checkered floor, and the whole planet was designed around classical Greece. If those things can't make a great ep, I don't know what can. Plus, Bones was the head honcho in this one instead of Kirk. He had to make all the ethical-dilemma-y decisions. Poor McCoy. He's a doctor, d*****, not a miracle worker!

6. The Measure of a Man. Next Generation. Season 2. Data is reassigned, and told he will be disassembled. Basically, he sues for his right to have rights as a sentient life form. Riker is forced to put together a case against Data. Picard's old flame is the JAG officer and is the one deciding Data's fate. Oddly reminiscent of Court Martial, only this one has ethical dilemmas exploding everywhere like the sky on 4th of July. We discover how much our mental pathways have become accustomed to Data's neural input, or something like that. Tugs at your heartstrings.

5. Shore Leave. Original Series, season 1. For some reason, this episode just stuck with me. There's people "dying" right and left. People's fantasies come to life on a planet that was literally designed to be a playground. The costumes are giggle-inducing, as well as Kirk's ex-girlfriend. I like it because they can't immediately find the bad guy, and don't even know if there is one. This one is full of mind games! Plus, the effects are so bad you just have to laugh and love it. Okay, you might not. But I do.

4. The Trouble with Tribbles. Original Series, season 2. Probably one of the most-recognized Original Series episodes ever. Briefly thought of changing my username to tinalovestribbles, but I didn't. Anyway, the reason this ep gets the fourth spot is because of the cute little fuzzballs that breed asexually and take over the Enterprise. And the way they got rid of them was the most physically snarky solution they could have come up with. I loved it!

3. Elementary, Dear Data. Next Generation. Season 2. Because I adore Data. Add in some Sherlock Holmes, and I'm loving it! Data is so smart, he has to program the holodeck to endanger the rest of the crew to give him a game challenging enough to not be boring. What ISN'T to love about this episode? Also, Data dressed as Holmes is amazing.

2. Chain of Command, parts I, II. Next Generation. Season 6. Picard is replaced. The crew is close to mutiny. Picard is captured and tortured, physically and psychologically. THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS. For me, no other episode could fill this number two spot. Just excellent. Sir Patrick Stewart really gets to show off his acting chops! And Picard picks himself up and comes out on top. If I could have a third grandpa, I would want it to be Stewart. Which is totally unrelated, but I had to throw that out. :P

1. A Piece of the Action, Original Series, season 2. Yes! This is my favorite Star Trek episode EVER, hands down. What could be better than Kirk and Spock landing on a gangster planet, dressing up in suits and fedoras, and out-mobbing the mob? Nothing, as far as Trek is concerned! Or maybe that should be, as far as I'm concerned... Also, Kirk unsuccessfully attempts to drive a stick shift. Assuming that was just for audience giggles, because that was the effect on me! :P I have watched this ep over and over... the only thing missing from it is more Bones! Also, Scotty on the bridge is a plus.


[Also, please ignore the fact that it is technically Monday now. Thanks. :) haha.]

SPOILERS! Wait... isn't that River's line..?

ahahaha. So.
Doctor Who. Season 5 finale. The Big Bang.
I think my head exploded from the epicness. And yes, epicness is a word.
Beware the spoilers! Even though we STILL have no clue WHO the heck River Song is. But I'm okay with that. For now.


The Big Bang is my favorite. Who. finale. ever. Ever. [Even better than the worst. rescue. ever!] I managed to find a live stream online and got to watch it at the same time everyone in the UK was! I felt special. And I was bouncing up and down on my bed with my laptop like a giddy schoolgirl through the whole thing, squee-ing and biting my hand [yes, I really did... not exaggerating!] because of the awesomeness. Expect to see LOTS of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey schtuff going on. And fezzes! [Is that how you spell the plural of a fez? Hope so. :P] Fezzes are cool. Like bowties!

So, the things that made this so FANTASTIC:
Rory came back in "The Pandorica Opens" as an auton, part of the Nestene Consciousness. The Doctor is tricked and locked into the Pandorica.Then.... Future Doctor gives past auton Rory his sonic screwdriver whilst wearing a fez and holding a mop. Past Doctor gets out of the Pandorica via auton Rory and puts mostly-dead [I geeked out at this & had Princess Bride moment] past Amy in the Pandorica instead to heal her from auton Rory's gunshot. Little Amelia touches the Pandorica, it opens, and out pops now-all-alive Amy in the present/past. Doctor now acquires fez and mop. He goes back and steals past-Amelia's drink to give to future-Amelia and leave past-Amelia a note. Future-future Doctor, sans fez, dies in front of Doctor with the fez. The TARDIS is exploding everywhere, and there are no more stars. Fez-Doctor rescues River Song from a time loop at the heart of the explosion, she shoots his fez with help from Amy. Then River Song kicks Dalek a** and what we thought was the dead future-future Doctor has wired the vortex manipulator to the Pandorica, transporting him and the box [MADMAN WITH A BOX! AHH!] to the middle of the explosion, healing the cracks in time, mostly.

*deep breath* The Doctor's life span starts to rewind. He mourns the fez, for a moment ["Eh, I can buy another fez," or something along those lines.], then realizes Amy can hear him but not see him. [Audience realizes there was an amusing space-beach adventure we missed out on.] He rewinds TO THE TIME OF THE ANGELS episode. I KNEWKNEWKNEW that the jacket-Doctor was from the finale episode. ^___^ Yay. Anyways, fangirling aside, he urges eyes-closed-because-of-the-weeping-angel-in-her-head-Amy to remember what he told her when she was seven. Then we rewind to when she was seven, and he tells her to remember his old, new, borrowed, blue box while she is asleep. He 'skips' the rest of the rewind, and goes to the other side of the void to completely seal the cracks. Future/Current/Alternate Amy wakes up on her wedding day, realizes she has parents, and Rory is scared of her. They have their wedding, go to the reception, River's journal is spoiler-free [AKA, empty], River walks by the window, Amy cries and tells her dad to shut up. Amy loudly tells the reception hall that she remembers her raggedy doctor, the TARDIS appears, and Matt Smith gives a whole new meaning to "The Doctor Dances." [I love references! Anyway.] River gives us more questions than answers, the Doctor unwittingly sort-of-proposes, and the newlyweds go off with the Doctor again making me squee with happiness because I think the Doctor should be done with companion-romances for now. I mean, River Song is bad enough. Rose was my ONLY Doctor ship. :P

And, wow.
That was the episode. Epic. Awesome. Mind blowing.

There were no slow parts to the episode, at least for me. I LOVED when the Doctor got ahold of River's vortex manipulator and kept popping in and out. I laughed the whole way through that. And of course, I loved the fez. Obviously.
What I also ADORED was Amy and Rory actually getting married! Eleven, Amy, and Rory are tied for my favorite trio along with Nine, Rose, and Jack. [Sorry, but Ten, Martha, and Jack wasn't anywhere close.] I may be a fangirl, but I'm ready for the Doctor to be done with companion romances. There's River, I know, but still. I LOVED Tennant for season 2 and whenever else Rose was there, making him happy. And Tennant was one of the best Doctor's I've seen. [Even though Nine/Eccleston was my first, and will always be MY Doctor. Eleven/Smith is currently trying to push Eccleston out of the way for that one but I'm being stubborn & loyal. :P] Howeverrr... For seasons 3 & 4, I really got tired of the mopey, heartbroken Doctor. It just made me depressed and made me miss Rose more. Actually, it made me miss Eccleston because if he hadn't left the show after just a year, they probably would have gotten more romantically involved. And RosexDoctor is the ONLY Doctor ship I am willing to commit to, unless River does something amazing. And even then I'll still be upset with her for awhile. But back to Amy and Rory. THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST FREAKING LOVE STORIES EVER. He guarded the Pandorica for her for TWO THOUSAND YEARS. As an auton! Rory is so adorable. I just want to hug him. And then smack Amy upside the head for flirting with the Doctor all the time. I mean, Matt Smith is good looking and all, but he had Rose in his previous two regenerations. And he wouldn't sit around for two thousand years waiting for someone. True, Rory was plastic so it made that part easier, but still. My point stands. You don't throw away love and devotion like that! You just don't! So now, I literally cannot wait for the Christmas special with that trio. If they EVER kill off Rory again, I'm going to throw something at a wall. Not my screen, because I can't afford to get a new one. :P


And WOW, this was long. I ramble waaay too much. So, recap:

The Big Bang was fast paced, hilarious at points, exciting, sad, and epic. I was literally on the edge of my seat, biting my knuckles. There was no emo Doctor, and the timelines were all wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. The best since The Parting of the Ways. And that one made me mad at the end with Eccleston's regeneration. So I think this goes to the top of my list as number one finale! Woohoo!

Ohhh, Christmas. Now I have ANOTHER reason for you to come quickly!

Gallagher Girls! [Freshman flashback time.]

So, as I'm waiting for my pre-ordered copy of "Only the Good Spy Young" by Ally Carter to arrive at my house, I got to thinking. There's a possibility that the Gallagher Girls series, which started with "I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You," could be turned into a movie. Its a book series about a super secret boarding school for GENIUS SPY GIRLS. I know, right? haha. I love young adult fiction. I started reading when it had only been the first book out, and now I'm waiting for the fourth. ^___^ I believe I read it in my HS freshman year. [Whoa. This is weird. I have to specify with HS since I'm technically a college freshman now.] And I still love this series. Who wouldn't want to enroll in a boarding school for spies?! Of course, you have to be a genius, but still...

Since I didn't have ANYTHING else to do, *coughcough* I decided I'd make up my dream cast list for the movies.


Cammie: Willa Holland [http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the_oc/Images/willa-holland-1.jpg - Although they would have to glam her down. Cam is supposed to be 'ordinary' looking. ]
Bex: Tristan Mays [http://images.tvrage.com/people/18/52506.jpg]
Liz: AnnaSophia Robb [http://www.youngteenidols.com/modules/gallery/cat-annasophia-robb-image-gallery-50.htm]
Macey: Kristin Herrera [http://www.youngteenidols.com/modules/gallery/cat-kristin-herrera-image-gallery-24.htm]

Rachel Morgan: Sandra Bullock
Solomon: Chris Hemsworth [took me forever to think of this one. He was George Kirk, Jim Kirk's dad in the new 2009 Trek movie. Lots of girls want Brad Pitt for this one. Ew, no. Please. Just... no.]
Abby Cameron: Elizabeth Hurley

Josh: Logan Lerman
Zach: Drew Roy


A lot of people went through the WHOLE ENTIRE cast. But I mostly pretty much just care about the main crew. And I'm aware that the previous sentence would make the grammar police cringe. Deal with it. :P haha. My mind is fried at the moment after a long day.


So, yes.
I just had to get this off my chest. It was burning a whole in my brain. ^_____^