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Even non-Trekkies likely know the "Star Trek" episode "Arena". That's the episode wherein Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is chosen by a godlike alien species to go to Vasquez Rocks in California -- I mean a distant alien world called Cestus III -- to fight a lizard-like alien called a Gorn. The Gorn captain was voiced by Ted Cassidy and played by stunt performers Bobby Clark, Gary Combs, and Bill Blackburn. The fight between Kirk and the Gorn is notoriously cheesy, with the two performers making awkward and slow movements that are about as thrilling as watching two people wrestle with shopping carts at their local grocery store. 

In order to best the Gorn in combat, Kirk must employ some long-forgotten geological knowledge, creating flash powder and explosions from compounds in the local rocks. He constructs a rudimentary mortar cannon out of a bamboo shoot and manages to blast his foe...

Did you know that the Gorn have lips? 

Evidence presented in the 1967 "Star Trek" episode "Arena" might stand counter to that assertion, as the mask worn by (alternately) Bobby Clark, Gary Combs, and Bill Blackburn didn't have an articulated jaw or mouth. Indeed, the Gorn mask has been widely giggled at by Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike. The fight between the Gorn captain and Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is usually considered broadly campy, what with its stiffness and slowness. 

But the Gorn -- an aggressive reptilian species -- actually do speak their own language. In "Arena," the Gorn captain (voiced by Ted Cassidy) spoke to Captain Kirk using a miniature, hand-held translation device. He explained that the Federation had set up a colony on Cestus III, which was unknowingly a Gorn world. The Gorn, rather than negotiate or file a complaint, merely laid waste to the colony and killed everyone living there.

This post contains spoilers for "Hegemony," the season 2 finale of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

Although it takes place in a vast, exotic galaxy full of high-tech starships, strange aliens, holodecks, and food replicators, "Star Trek" has often functioned best when it's straining against a budget. Not that plain green monochrome skies looked good, or that styrofoam rocks added texture and dimension to the drama, but the franchise's writers tended to find more interesting stories when limited to six starship sets and a handful of dedicated actors. When the show did want to visit an alien world, the studio typically bundled the cast and crew onto vans and drove to a natural preserve just outside of Los Angeles to shoot. Kirk (William Shatner) famously fought the Gorn captain at Vasquez Rocks. The planet from "The Paradise Syndrome" was merely the Franklin Canyon Reservoir. The locations are well-known to SoCal residents.

While some would argue that female playwrights still have many strides left to reach parity with male writers, they have undeniably come a long way in the last 40 years—and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize is an apt representation of just how far they have come. The Prize, co-founded by Smith’s husband William Blackburn and her sister Emilie S. Kilgore, annually recognizes women from around the world who have written outstanding works for the English-speaking theater. When it was first established in 1978, 6 six percent of the eligible new plays produced were written by women. That number, however, has now climbed to 20 percent. To mark this shift and celebrate its 35th anniversary, the Prize recently announced a global celebration in which theaters across English-speaking countries will produce 75 plays by past winners and finalists. In Houston, Blackburn’s stomping grounds, a total of nine theater companies and organizations will produce plays as part of the anniversary.

Chicago – While you count the days until the beloved reboot of “Star Trek” hits Blu-Ray and DVD on November 17th, new and old fans should check back in with the original crew of the Enterprise in Paramount’s excellent 7-disc HD set, bursting with not only dozens of special features but enhanced visual effects and audio. This season of “Star Trek” has never looked like this.

And I’m not sure it ever should have. Before getting into the meat of this excellent set, the main issue surrounding these remastered classic episodes of television is that the effects have been dragged kicking and screaming into the new millenium. Even the opening credits have been enhanced, as the cheap model of the Enterprise has been replaced by, well, kind of cheap CGI of the Enterprise.

Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2 was released on Blu-Ray on September 22nd, 2009.

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Seattle – Dalton Trumbo was one of the biggest names in screenwriting who for the longest time wasn’t allowed to show his name on the screen. He won two Oscars, but wasn’t allowed to step onto the stage.

At the peak of his career in 1947, he was brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee to testify about communists in Hollywood films. Like other screenwriters before the Huac, he refused to answer the questions. Their decision to not name names got them blacklisted in the industry and sent to prison. After nearly a year behind bars, Dalton secretly returned to screenwriting. He used fake names and front writers on various project. It wasn’t till 1960 when his name accompanied Exodus and Spartacus that the blacklist was broken.

Trumbo is a documentary about the writer that was originally a play written by his son Christopher Trumbo. The play had actors reading...

You can relive the final season of a pioneering sci-fi TV series in high definition right in time for the holidays. Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 3 will be released on Blu-ray on December 15. We don't have any pricing details as of yet, but you can take a look at the special features below. The series starred William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan.

Space. The Final Frontier. The U.S.S. Enterprise embarks on a five year mission to explore the galaxy. The Enterprise is under the command of Captain James T. Kirk. The First Officer is Mr. Spock, from the planet Vulcan. The Chief Medical Officer is Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy. With a determined crew, the Enterprise encounters Klingons, Romulans, time paradoxes, tribbles and genetic supermen lead by Khan Noonian Singh. Their mission is to explore strange new worlds, to seek new life and new civilizations,...

Anyone that has read this site for a long time knows I am a pretty big fan of the original "Star Trek" universe. I'm talking Captain Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty and the gang. I have reviewed all six of the last Original Series DVD releases as well as the DVD releases of Star Trek: First Contact, Generations, Insurrection, Nemesis and all four seasons of "Enterprise". Strangely enough I don't consider myself a Trekkie since I love the show, but don't have a very deep knowledge of the universe, and that's an understatement. My favorite movies from the franchise are Wrath of Khan and Voyage Home and I have no idea when was the last time I saw the original Motion Picture, Search for Spock, The Final Frontier or The Undiscovered Country. However, that will all change come May 12 as Paramount will release all six of the original Star Trek films...

Much like my review of the first season of the remastered "Star Trek" my second season review is late, but not for the same reasons. HD DVD compatibility issues plagued my review of the first season until finally things were sorted out. However, that isn't a problem with the second season as this is a DVD only release with the expectation of all three seasons being released in a remastered Blu-ray format some time down the line is all but a guarantee. For now, we are stuck with DVD only and it appears based on the lack of any kind of disc art these are the same discs that would have been used for the HD DVD/DVD combo had the HD DVD format in fact won out or was still in existence. Instead we get eight virtually indistinguishable discs with all 26 remastered and restored episodes of the original "Star Trek" series in one collection.