Newsgroup: it.fan.startrek
Titolo: Strepitosa Jolene

Jolene Blalock attacca di nuovo Berman&Braga: non le piace l'episodio
finale di ENT, e ringrazia Manny Coto e i fan.
http://tinyurl.com/3ot4f
Can sci-fi fans face the future?
From mailing bras to starting malicious Internet rumours, devoted viewers
try all sorts of things to protect what they love.
ROB SALEM
Yesterday was her 30th birthday, but the celebration was likely somewhat
muted ... because yesterday was also Jolene Blalock's last day in outer
space.
Star Trek fans — Trekkies, as they are somewhat grudgingly known —
predictably reacted with outrage and indignation to last month's announced
cancellation of the current spinoff series, Enterprise.
On Friday, Feb. 25, a couple hundred of them gathered outside Paramount
Studios in L.A., capping a week of sign-waving, banner-bearing protest,
from New York to L.A. and as far away as Germany, Israel and the U.K.
Inside the studio gates, on the Enterprise soundstages, the mood was one
more of subdued resignation, as the cast and crew — some of them Star Trek
veterans of 18 years — prepared to start filming the series' final episode,
which wrapped yesterday and is scheduled to air May 13.
"It is sad," related Blalock earlier that week. "I think most of us here
are still in active denial. But you've got to know, going in, that these
last few days are going to be highly emotional."
To the fans, perhaps a startling admission from the woman they have come to
know as the ostensibly emotionless Vulcan, T'Pol.
But then, being a Star Trek fan has never been about having a firm grip on
reality.
A strong sense of community, yes. Admirably utopian ideals of inclusion and
tolerance and benevolent technology ... absolutely, yes. A smug, blindly
righteous sense of entitlement when it comes to their shared obsession ...
yes, of course. That's what makes them the acknowledged gold standard of
cult and genre fandom.
But that isn't going to save their show. Not this time, anyway.
Truth be told, not even the Trekkies have been particularly enthusiastic
about Enterprise, a prequel series set during the formative days of Star
Trek's galactic "Federation," a hundred years prior to the original
adventures of Capt. James T. Kirk and his intrepid crew.
Even Bjo Trimble, the mother of all Trekkies, the original fan activist who
"saved" the 1960s' Star Trek with a then-unprecedented letter campaign, and
who then spearheaded the successful initiative to have the first NASA space
shuttle officially dubbed "Enterprise" ... even she has gone on record as
one of Enterprise's earliest and harshest critics.
"Get someone who knows Trek to write the scripts," she famously complained.
"Get someone who knows Trek to direct ... but do you think Paramount has
the good sense to see this? Nah!"
"I don't think you can just throw anything out there and expect people to
swallow it," agrees Blalock. "There is Trek lore and Trek history to be
followed and adhered to."
A former fan herself (her favourite character as a kid was, not
surprisingly, Mr. Spock), the actress, despite her vested interest, has
never been shy about dissing her own show.
"I mean, we started out with 13 million viewers on the pilot, and we
somehow managed to drive 11 million of them away."
Ironically, things had improved dramatically — in terms of content, if not
resultant ratings — in this fourth and final season, under the stewardship
of producer and self-confessed Trek geek Manny Coto, who brought back a lot
of the self-referencing retro continuity the hardcore fan just can't get
enough of.
"That was a treat, a joy to do," Blalock enthuses. "It was an unexpected
surprise to have the scripts that we did (this season). And I am grateful
and thankful for that. It was fun to come to work again.
"And it was certainly much better than spending another season doing what
we had been doing. It said a lot about the potential of the show."
There is an awkward silence when the subject of the final episode is
broached. "I don't know where to begin with that one," she finally
stammers. "The final episode is ... appalling."
She feels sorry for the fans. "I really am touched by their outpour of
support, and their display of passion for the show. I was sort of caught
off-guard. I didn't know that they were so adamant.
"But, you know, they really aren't saying anything new. They're just saying
it louder."
The Enterprise protests, however sincere and passionate, have fallen on
deaf ears — even the pointy ones within the Trekkie community. The turnout
for the Los Angeles rally was a mere fraction of the number of fans who
will routinely line up for hours for an autograph from any anonymous alien
actor at even the smallest Star Trek convention.
There have been full-page ads in showbiz trade papers, letter-writing and
Internet campaigns, and an amusingly ambitious fundraising effort intent on
raising the $36 million required to underwrite another season themselves
(one fan organization claims to have already collected more than $60,000
U.S., with $3 million more promised from "anonymous sources" — all together
not quite enough to keep the show going for even two more episodes).
The emphasis has been placed on the hopes of a pickup by the Sci Fi
Channel, the genre-dedicated American cable service analogous to our own
Space: The Imagination Station. And indeed Sci Fi would appear to be the
logical second home of an extended Enterprise run — until one takes into
account the fact that, historically, the channel has run only the
syndicated original episodes of the 1960s Star Trek, and none of its
subsequent spinoffs.
Fans tend to gloss over the realities of the business, like the fact that
the four Star Trek franchise series are produced and owned by Paramount,
which is owned by Viacom, which also owns CBS and several cable services
.. none of which is the Sci Fi Channel, which is in fact part of the
GE-owned NBC Universal conglomerate.
So a deal would be in nobody's corporate interests. The bottom-line
decision has already been made to focus on the moribund Star Trek movie
franchise. A script has been commissioned (from Band Of Brothers scribe
Eric Jendresen) for an 11th Star Trek film, also a prequel, supposedly set
between the Enterprise era and the original adventures of Capt. Kirk.
The idea being, one can fairly safely deduce, to re-purpose expensive
existing props and sets while hiring an all-new cast of unknowns, rather
than pay the inflated fees routinely demanded by established series actors.
Enterprise itself will survive, on DVD — the initial release is cannily
scheduled days before the final episode's air date — and also in television
syndication, where it has already been pre-sold in 49 of 50 major U.S.
markets, and here in Canada on Space.
As for the Sci Fi Channel, well, whatever money they have is being spent on
shows in which they have an active interest, such as the Farscape
miniseries and the reborn Battlestar Galactica ...
Genre television has a long history of proactive protest. Following in the
fannish footsteps of Bjo Trimble, there have been several similar, if
smaller successes since: the restoration of Quantum Leap (soon to be
revived yet again as an all-new series); UPN's adoption of Buffy The
Vampire Slayer; the feature-film resurrection of creator Joss Whedon's
also-cancelled Firefly (the film, Serenity, premieres Sept. 30), the
dramatic re-invention of Battlestar Galactica ... though to be fair, in
most of these latter cases, fan action was really only partly responsible.
Not so the rebirth of the fan-favourite Farscape, which was axed abruptly
in 2002 by the originating Sci Fi Channel, also at the end of its fourth
season — and, much to viewers' chagrin, at the point of a very provocative
cliff-hanger plot turn.
The series makes a miraculous return (to Canada — it has already aired in
the States) two weeks from now, March 25 and 26, on Space. A two-part
miniseries, Peacekeeper Wars, will answer all the unanswered questions and
give the fans some well-earned closure.
"This special television event would not be a reality were it not for the
tireless, unwavering efforts of the Farscape fans," acknowledges director
and executive producer Brian Henson. "They believed that the epic story we
were telling was something special and deserved a proper ending."
`The person who sits there on the Internet attacking you is the first
person to come up to you at a convention and love you.'
Battlestar Galactica's Katee Sackhoff, on sci-fi fans
Interestingly, given the cliché of the average sci-fi geek as a pimply
adolescent male living in his parents' basement, the successful Farscape
campaign was generated and sustained primarily by adult female fans.
While it's true the general sci-fi fan base has broadened as the genre has
matured — according to Space exec Isme Bennie, the station's demographic is
roughly a 60/40 male-to-female split — female fandom does seem to be a
particularly potent part of Farscape's after-the-fact longevity.
"The women who watch Farscape tend to be well-educated and well-informed,
and they are very aware of their power as a coveted viewing demographic
with disposable income," says Barb Schober, a prime mover behind the
offshoot "Save Farscape Canada" initiative.
"They joined the campaign at one stage or another because they were
emotionally invested in the show. Rather than sit around and watch it
disappear — and lacking the option of physical violence — they decided to
put their energy and talent to use doing what it took to change the minds
that needed changing. The whole thing has been amazingly strategic,
particularly in the efforts to grow the viewership and target advertisers."
To that end, the uniquely imaginative 'Scapers created and distributed a
wide range of promotional materials, from calendars and cookbooks to the
more traditional buttons, postcards and posters.
One particularly clever ploy, "Brascape," had women fans demonstrating
their gender-specific "support" by mailing their bras in to Sci Fi.
"Women are taught from a very early age a different way of problem-solving
than men," suggests Nicola Wood, another key Canadian 'Scaper. "Female
methods of problem-solving involve co-operation, communication and
non-hierarchical thinking. Woman are taught to co-operate with each other,
rather than compete."
Just like Bjo Trimble.
"Bjo is a perfect example of how women network with other women to provide
support, information and direction. She networked with Farscape fans very
early in our campaign efforts. She and her husband shared inspiring words
and gave us good advice."
(Trimble, despite her stated misgivings about Enterprise, was also
supportive of that campaign, and was planning on attending the Paramount
rally herself — until her mother died a few days prior.)
The sad truth is, sci-fi fans (of either sex) can also be their own worst
enemies.
Take the case of Battlestar Galactica — on the surface, an unparalleled
sci-fi success story, having magically morphed from a cheesy, '70s-style TV
ripoff of Stars Wars into the biggest hit in the history of both Sci Fi and
Space.
As a result, the reimagined space epic has been renewed for an extended
second season of 20 episodes, to start shooting in Vancouver later this
month.
"It's exciting," burbles Katee Sackhoff, the actress who has emerged as a
standout star in her role as the cigar-chomping ace fighter pilot, Starbuck.
"The fans are really enjoying it, I think. And by that I mean the true
sci-fi fans, as opposed to the ones who were just in love with the old
show. Because it isn't the old show. It's nothing like it, really. It just
shares the same name, and the names of some of the characters."
And therein lay the problem. For years, fans of the original show — with
original star Richard Hatch (not the Survivor champ) as their vocal
point-man — had been agitating for a revival of Battlestar Galactica ... as
it originally was.
What they got instead was an all-new, grittier, more dramatic and credible
take on the premise, further elevated by the presence of actors the calibre
of Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell and Canadians Michael Hogan and
Callum Keith Rennie.
Sackhoff almost immediately became the focus of hardcore fan outrage after
daring to take on a role — the daredevil Starbuck — that had originally
been played by a man (The A-Team's Dirk Benedict).
"I didn't get it," Sackhoff ruefully recalls. "I really just didn't get it.
It was frustrating. I mean, to go from winning this part over so many girls
that auditioned for it, to immediately, before we even started shooting,
taking the brunt of all this misdirected rage.
"What bothered me was when they started attacking me as a person. I mean,
they don't know me from freakin' Adam, and they're sitting there saying
that I slept with the casting director, and that I'm fat ..."
All now has apparently been forgiven. By the fans, at least. Even Hatch has
embraced the new Battlestar, and has appeared several times in a recurring
role.
Sackhoff says her face-to-face fan encounters have been markedly and
surprisingly upbeat.
"The person who sits there on the Internet attacking you is the first
person to come up to you at a convention and love you," she says, laughing.
"I would be really surprised if anyone ever came up to my face at a
convention to say, `I really, really hate you, you fat-ass.'"
And if they did?
"It would only motivate me more. Because at the end of the day, I really
don't give a shit. It's all about the work. And this is a terrific show —
incredibly well written, brilliantly acted. And it just keeps getting
better and better."
She has to excuse herself now — surrounded by her boxed belongings, she is
in the middle of moving into the new house that Starbuck and Battlestar
have paid for.
But don't cry for Jolene Blalock — for her, unemployment is likely to be a
very temporary situation.
"I'm just coming from an audition right now," she reveals, "and I'm very
excited about it.
"I love auditioning, the entire process, going out and meeting people in
the industry. It's been four years since I've been out pounding the
pavement, and I miss it. It's a place of the unknown, and a place of
infinite possibilities. And I like that."
Pre-Star Trek, and post-modelling career, the San Diego-born Blalock got
her earliest on-camera experience here in Toronto, co-hosting a TSN show
called The Big Spike with the late Dan Gallagher, while studying comedy
improvisation at Second City.
"I was dating my husband (Michael Rapino), who lived there at the time, and
I would spend my summers there. I loved Toronto. I had a great time there."
Unlike many of the Star Trek actors who preceded her, between Enterprise's
abbreviated run and her essential unrecognizability under the Vulcan wig
and ears, she has no fears about being typecast.
"I've been blessed," she says. "I've been working incognito. No one really
knows what I actually look like."
Which does not take into account the nearly naked photo spreads in Maxim
and other men's magazines. But it's pretty clear what she means. She does
not expect the Star Trek association to affect her future acting career one
way or the other.
Although she readily admits that, just in case, "I am going to keep the
ears."
-- 
Jolan Tru, Filippo "Hytok" Simone: l'oracolo sampdoriano di Sunnydale
La Casa degli Elfi - 
http://www.freewebtown.com/lacasadeglielfi/
Enclave del Dominio - S.N.S. Despiser - 
http://ildominio.altervista.org/
Commissione Voyager - 
http://www.voyageritalia.com/

 finale di ENT, e ringrazia Manny Coto e i fan.
Ma cosa critica i rumor?

 finale di ENT, e ringrazia Manny Coto e i fan.
[cut]
quindi non ha solo un bellissimo paio di bocce :P
ciao
BLADELA
__
"Forse oggi è il giorno giusto per Dormire"

 quindi non ha solo un bellissimo paio di bocce :P
Ad onor del vero è stata presa sopratutto per le bocce (che in effetti 
sono un pò innaturali leggi "silicone").
:D

sono un pò innaturali leggi "silicone").
No, ma che dici, le bocce vulcaniane sono proprio così.
In ogni caso è l'unica che ha fatto delle uscite sensate (mi ricordo
quella dei pop corn, ad esempio)
Se poi sia sincera o voglia solo abbindolare i fan, non saprei.
--
He ain’t in it for the money. He don’t get paid
He’s on a 5-year mission to get laid

 Ma cosa critica i rumor?
Lei, evidentemente, sa già come finirà Enterprise - quindi *lei* si
riferisce all'ultimo episodio di ENT che conosce *lei*.
Ciao,
 Emmanuele.
-- 
Emmanuele Bassi (Zefram)                 [ 
http://www.emmanuelebassi.net
 ]
GnuPG Key fingerprint = 4DD0 C90D 4070 F071 5738  08BD 8ECC DB8F A432 0FF4

 riferisce all'ultimo episodio di ENT che conosce *lei*.
OK.. ma non ho capito esattamente cosa non gli va...
Ciao.

quella dei pop corn, ad esempio)
Popcorn?
More info, pliz. :-)
-- 
6-6-6 chiocciolina email punto it

 More info, pliz. :-)
Si riferisce al fatto di mangiare con le mani, cosa che contraddice 
quello detto nella prima puntata della prima stagione.
Ma ti assicuro che nella terza stagione c'è ben di peggio.....
Ciao.

Ma ti assicuro che nella terza stagione c'è ben di peggio.....
Oh, ti credo... :-)


More info, pliz. :-)
Diverse volte ha criticato come Braga ha tratteggiato i vulcaniani pre-Coto.


Diverse volte ha criticato come Braga ha tratteggiato i vulcaniani pre-Coto.
Mioddio... Braga ha tratteggiato i vulcaniani precotto? :-O
Un vulcaniano precotto deve avere una puzza insopportabile... :-O
Ma poi come si conserva? Non abbiamo congelatori abbastanza
capienti.....


 capienti.....
ROTFL!(fattoriale) :D
ciao
BLADELA
__
"Forza Mantova"

ROTFL!(fattoriale) :D
Accidenti... mi sono capitati rotfl semplici, overrotfl e pure qualche
megarotfl ma un rotfl fattoriale è la prima volta che lo vedo. :-O
Non so come comportarmi..... :-)


 6-6-6 chiocciolina email punto it
Ni hao, Lelle.

 Non so come comportarmi..... :-)
ti sconsiglio di calcolarlo :P


 ha scritto nel messaggio
news:d0k3eb$36s$1...@carabinieri.cs.interbusiness.it...

appro dell'oggetto: qualche foto carina di jolene?
ciao

appro dell'oggetto: qualche foto carina di jolene?
Ovviamente Google, sezione immagini... chiave "blalock" e ce ne sono
parecchie. :-)
-- 


"666" <6...@Iam.invalid> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:d0mcve$16c$1...@newsreader.mailgate.org...

azz speravo in qualche link diretto
(non ditemi che sono l'unico che ne apprezza le forme ^___^)
ciao

(non ditemi che sono l'unico che ne apprezza le forme ^___^)
Certo che si apprezzano... H_____H


guardano un film?
Esatto
La bella anche se un pò artificiale jolene ha portato questo come
esempio di assurdità/incoerenza.


esempio di assurdità/incoerenza.
Accidenti... qui bisogna fare qualcosa! :-O
Creiamo la CEI aka Comitato Eliminazione Incongruenze? :-)


Creiamo la CEI aka Comitato Eliminazione Incongruenze? :-)
Ma creiamo la CEBB... :P


Ma creiamo la CEBB... :P
Ma credevo che quello ci fosse già da moooooolto tempo... ;-)


Ma credevo che quello ci fosse già da moooooolto tempo... ;-)
Manca di ufficialità :)


 Manca di ufficialità :)
+ che altro manca il cecchino... :P
mrt^^ 

+ che altro manca il cecchino... :P
[SPOILER - DS9 settima stagione]
x
x
x
x
x
Il che ci ricorda "Field of Fire" dell'ultima stagione di DS9
B&B terminati da un vulcaniano psicopatico, non sarebbe male :)


+ che altro manca il cecchino... :P
Ma che cecchino e cecchino... andiamo giù pesanti. Mi offro volontario
per collaudare il mio nuovo Vulcan! :-)))))
