From the Department of Amusingly Daft Things That Total Fanboys Do on Larks (DADTTTFDL) comes a report that someone has stolen a Dalek from a British tourist attraction and is holding it for ransom. Daleks, in case you’re not geeky enough to know, are the arch-enemies of the cult TV hero Doctor Who. A race of cyborg mutants encased in rolling shells that vaguely resemble giant fire hydrants, the Daleks are basically stock sci-fi villains in that they’re always trying to take over the universe and kill any life-form they deem inferior to themselves (that would be all of them). (The Wikipedia has an insanely detailed entry on Daleks that includes photos, history, and social commentary on the “Dalek phenomenon,” if you’re interested.)

According to the news story, the missing Dalek is supposed to be an original prop from the BBC series and could be worth thousands of pounds. The “kidnappers” removed one of the prop’s “arms” and left it on a doorstep with a ransom note that says they are “awaiting further instructions from the Doctor.” Hopefully they’re just kidding and don’t really expect to be contacted by a time-travelling goofball… although that may happen, too, since the news story linked above notes that:

Former Dr. Who actor Colin Baker has been in touch with staff at the attraction, and may be asked to send a message to the kidnappers.

Could this all be an elaborate ruse cooked up just to meet a celebrity? Hard telling… I’ll keep you posted with any follow-up news on this critical situation.

(Incidentally, I used to be a pretty major Who fan back in high school, and I actually met Colin Baker at a “meet-and-greet” autograph session way back in the glorious ’80s. Charming fellow, very tall…)

I’m probably going to bring down a rain of derision on myself for what I’m about to admit, but given that I’m on record here as defending both the Star Wars prequels and the original Battlestar Galactica, I doubt if I have much credibility left to lose. Therefore I’m going to come right out and say it loud and proud:

I’m a fan of William Shatner.

That’s right, I’m talking about the same Shatner who played T.J. Hooker in the ’80s, who appeared in the notoriously bad ’70s horror film Kingdom of the Spiders, who recorded an equally notoriously bad album in the late ’60s, and who has endured — even among his most solid fanbase, the Trekkies — a reputation for being an arrogant, clueless, and thoroughly unpleasant man.

None of that makes a bit of difference to me. I like him, or at least I like his work. Always have, since I was a small boy looking up to Shatner’s signature role, Captain James T. Kirk, as my very first imaginary hero and friend. That’s why it tickles me pink to see The Shat working regularly on TV again, and that he’s finally regaining a little respect in his twilight years, thanks to his new-found ability to laugh at himself.

I’d like to recommend a short article about Shatner’s odyssey through the post-Star Trek wilderness and back into the public eye. I think the title says it all: How William Shatner Went From Has-Been to Icon in Seven Self-Aware Steps.
It’s an interesting read, even if you think The Shat’s performances contain more ham than the average processed luncheon meat…

As I promised at the end of the previous entry, I’d like to say a few things about Dirk Benedict’s essay on the new Battlestar Galactica series. Be warned that things go off into some distinctly ranty territory toward the end. I didn’t intend to rant when I first started writing this, but I got on a roll and managed to say a few things I’ve been trying to think of how to say, so take it or leave it at your discretion.

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The other night I was lurking on a message board, silently observing the continuing bloodshed between the Old-School Faithful and the Remake Upstarts over which version of the television show in question most deserves to be blown out an airlock. The links were flying fast and furious as each side tried to bolster their own insecure opinions with external references. It didn’t take long before the links started looking more interesting than the pointless, unwinnable argument, so I clicked one of them. I found myself reading a year-old harangue by none other than Dirk Benedict, the actor who played the original (male) Starbuck in the ’78 version of Battlestar Galactica.

(I know what you’re thinking: aw, frak! Not another Battlestar Galactica entry! Not after that big long rambling review, and that angry rant last week, and all the references dropped into entries throughout the two months before that… I don’t blame you for feeling that way. But I think this is kind of interesting, so please bear with me.)

It’s not a pretty piece of writing. From a technical standpoint, Dirk has a rather odd way of putting his thoughts together, and from a substance standpoint, he comes across as something of a male chauvinist. He’s pretty bitter about the remake (at least he was when he wrote this), and some of his comments are, if I may say so, curiously Republican in tone. (I say “curiously” because I’ve always assumed Mr. Benedict, who is a well-known advocate for New Age-y macrobiotic diets, was one of them wacky California libruls. It seems he’s a bit more complex than I have given him credit for.)

Still, he makes some good points, and I found the essay both amusing and thought-provoking. I couldn’t find an original source for the essay, so I am reprinting it in its entirety here. Enjoy.

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I like it.

I didn’t think I would. I even tried not to, out of loyalty to the series that I grew up with and still enjoy. But in the end (and to my surprise), I find that I actually do like the new Battlestar Galactica. It’s a good series on its own terms, and it’s also the rare example of a remake that improves on the original by taking it seriously.

That’s not to say, however, that I like it without reservation. There are aspects of it that don’t quite work for me, and, as I’ve already mentioned a couple of times, I’m not at all comfortable with the fact that this show is on track to replace the original in our collective pop-cultural memories. Nevertheless, I can’t deny that Ron Moore, the driving force behind the remake, has created something that is honestly worthy of the attention the show is receiving.

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One of the weirder aspects of blogging is the way readers start to feel a personal connection with their favorite bloggers, even if they’ve never had any genuine contact with them. That observation may not apply in the case of this blog, since I happen to know that most of my readers are actual friends of mine from out there in the Real World. But in my experience of reading other blogs, I’ve noticed that I often start to think of their authors as friends. I’m perfectly aware of how ridiculous that sounds. I’m not a big commenter as a rule, so the bloggers I like aren’t even aware that I exist. How can I feel anything resembling friendship toward people who don’t know I exist? I don’t know, but nevertheless the sense of connection — or perhaps pseudo-connection is a more accurate term — is quite real. I find myself caring, sometimes deeply, about what happens to these strangers who happen to write about themselves on the Internet.

Take, for example, the case of Wil Wheaton.

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The sixth running of The Amazing Race sputtered to an utterly disappointing conclusion Tuesday night. I don’t know if the concept is starting to wear thin or if this season simply had a less-than-optimal mix of contestants, but it just never caught fire the way the previous Race did. The last one, The Amazing Race 5, was great drama in the end, coming down to Chip and Kim, a lower-middle-class married couple who were filled with wonder at the stunning locations they were seeing, and Colin and Christie, arrogant beautiful people who acted as if they were owed a victory. Chip and Kim beat them, proving that there is justice in this universe at least once in awhile.

Unfortunately, the winners of The Amazing Race 6 have a lot more in common with Colin and Christie than Chip and Kim. But then I wasn’t thrilled with any of the finalists this time around. All of the teams I really liked were cut early on.

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