SF Signal asked me about my favorite pretend spaceship

NCC-1701-D Refit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No, really, there are sci-fi and fantasy fandom blogs that are desperate enough to ask my opinions on fictional spaceships. Mostly Paul Weimer is too nice for his own good over at SF Signal.

Paul was also smart enough to take the Millennium Falcon and Firefly's Serenity out of the running. My answer, the "All Good Things" alternate reality variant of The Next Generation's Enterprise D, is pictured to the right.

Luckily, Paul was wise enough to ask a cavalcade of authors, agents and reviewers like Amanda Bridgeman, K.V. Johansen, Alexandra Pierce, Tehani Wessely, Julia Rios (who did the Force Awakens pod-rant with Paul and I), Joshua Bilmes, Josh Vogt, Brenda Cooper, Jacey Bedford, Laurel Amberdine, L.M. Myles, and Angela Mitchell which fictional spacecraft they'd most want to pilot, captain, and/or own. Heady company far more qualified than a poser like me. Their answers show it.

In any case, you can read the latest SF Signal Mind Meld, A Spacecraft of One's Own, here.

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Armchair Screenwriter: How I'd pitch the Star Trek sequel

Despite some rather glaring plot holes, I very much enjoyed the Trek reboot and have seen it twice. A sequel has already been greenlit, and the good folks at SFSignal wasted no time asking what the first Trek reboot sequel should be about. Here's what I suggest.
What I'd really like to see (barring the possibility of an ongoing TV series with the current cast) is an actual, ethical/moral dilemma, which is what Trek has always been about. Moreover, I think you can get that done based on what happened in this film.
[SPOILERS]
We know that the Federation has lost a founding member in Vulcan, that Starfleet has basically lost an entire Academy class and a half-dozen ships to Nero, and that the Klingons lost an entire fleet to the rogue Romulan. Everyone in the galaxy knows that A) there's something called Red Matter that can make black holes, which is every bit as dangerous as the Genesis Device ever hoped to be, and B) that in a little over a century, Romulus is going to get obliterated by a supernova.
Basically, Romulus has the motive and the opportunity to finish what Nero started and take out both the Klingons and the Federation. They don't have the luxury of waiting this out, both because someone else might develop Red Matter before they do, and because unless they have an invincible position in 129 years they'll be at the impotent mercy of their enemies.
You could do a great non-proliferation allegory as the Enterprise has to forestall all-out war with the Romulans and Klingons and prevent anyone or everyone from getting their hands on Red Matter, possibly by kidnapping Spock (who, one assumes, can make it if his future self figured out how) or tracking down the new, presumably hidden Vulcan survivor colony where future Spock is hanging out.
You can some of those great Kirk/Spock/McCoy ethical debates about whether what the Romulans are doing is moral, whether now would be a good time for a preemptive strike against the weakened Klingons (and if such a thing is ethically defensible), if the Federation should compel future and/or present Spock to create Red Matter as a deterrent--all while enjoying some great space battles and chase scenes as the Enterprise stands alone between the entire Romulan Empire, a bloodied and enraged Klingon Empire, and all-out, galaxy-consuming war.
Just my wish list, anyway.

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My 25 favorite Geekend columns of all time

Image via Wikipedia

As my previous post indicated, I have recently resigned the longest-running writing gig of my career, authoring Geek Trivia and The Geekend for CBS Interactive. As part of dealing with my separation anxiety--and also to incentivize my former Geekend readers to come check out this blog--I've list my personal Top 25 Geekend columns from my four-year run with the blog. Enjoy.

1. Sci-fi rant: When did Star Wars jump the shark?
   
2. Sci-fi rant: When did Star Trek jump the shark?
   
3. Sci-fi rant: When did Trekkers jump the shark?
   
4. Spock loves Linux, Vader is a Mac Daddy
   
5. Sci-fi rant: Why giant mecha robots are stupid
6. Where Sci-Fi Channel movies *really* come from...
   
7. Idiot sci-fi question: Why did the starship Enterprise have such a stupid bridge?
   
8. Idiot sci-fi question: Why do X-Wing fighters have...um...wings?
   
9. The Top 10 Most Quotable Geek Films...Ever!
10. Sci-fi rant: What should have happened (but didn't) in Spider-Man 3
11. The top five sci-fi/fantasy chick flicks
12. The top 12 sci-fi plot devices geeks love to hate
    
13. The Top 12 Comic Book Superweapons
14. 10 sci-fi technologies that just might happen
15. Sci-fi and fantasy books that "make you dumb"
16. The geek movies you're embarrassed you like
17. No, I didn't watch the "Enterprise" finale
18. Battlestar Galactica and the "new" sci-fi
19. Top 10 April Fool's pranks we wish were real
20. Why 'Star Trek's Prime Directive is stupid'
21. 50 ubergeeks worth following on Twitter
22. How much, and how long, would it take NASA to build a Death Star?
23. 75 words every sci-fi fan should know
24. Poll: What sci-fi TV series ended in the worst way?
25. The ultimate trivia Web site

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