Site Columns

By Michelle
September 19, 2004 - 3:38 PM

Hello World!

For the first time perhaps since we had children, my husband and I saw two movies that would have bored our kids in two consecutive weekends. Last week it was Vanity Fair; this week it was Wimbledon, which was on my must-see list because of 1) tennis and 2) Paul Bettany. I must admit that it was an utter delight. It is not a spoiler to say that you can predict every single thing that happens in the movie twenty minutes before it happens, even if you know absolutely nothing about the sport -- if you have ever seen a romantic comedy or a sports flick, you're familiar with the formula.

However, this in no way interferes with the pleasures of the film. In fact, I think the predictability of romantic comedies provides a certain comfort zone, since you never have to worry that the lovers will come to any grief, though I wonder on occasion what it is that makes us root for some of these pairs that already have everything. In Wimbledon, they're beautiful, they're rich, they're famous, they're witty...they should be far more despicable than they are. But in fact I feel about Peter and Lizzie, the film's player-protagonists, much as I feel about Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, who are both young, wealthy, famous and paired with people just as young, wealthy, famous and beautiful as they are. I suppose that if people are going to be beautiful and rich and famous and witty, they may as well be likeable and friendly and schlep their own tennis gear.

I used to watch Wimbledon (the tournament) religiously with my father, and though in the years since I have had children I have lapsed in this as all my sports enthusiasms, I found the tennis in the movie reasonably believable and the supporting cast quite wonderful. It's also a lot of fun that John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Mary Carillo all play themselves, covering the tournament for NBC. I must agree with Bettany that this is the best romantic comedy about tennis ever made...even if it is the only romantic comedy about tennis ever made.

Trek BBS Today

Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

-Worst Trek costumes ever!

-Who loved the Enterprise more, Kirk or Scotty?

-Would and '80s TOS TV revival have been better than TNG and the films?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Trek Two Years Ago

These were some of the major news items from September 2002:

Montgomery Reflects On Trek
"I'm a part of history. We know that we're loved world-wide," said Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather), who talked about his own affection for Star Trek and his Voyager and Enterprise auditions.
'Enterprise' Rates Fourth In Overnights
The launch of UPN's 'Out Of This World Wednesday' secured solid ratings for the network, but the show was no match for the season premieres of The Bernie Mac Show and Cedric The Entertainer Presents, and analysts called the viewership for the premiere "disappointing."
Scott Bakula On Jonathan Archer
Scott Bakula said that Captain Archer was "more of an emotional character than a brainy character" and said that although he has felt supported by the fans, "getting a handle on the language and the demands of being letter perfect in terms of the scripts" were ongoing challenges.

More news can be found in the archives.

Poll Results

Below are the results of the most recent TrekToday poll:

Which original series plot should we see on 'Enterprise'?
Patrick Stewart as Picard	36% - (846 Votes)
Avery Brooks as Sisko	14.6% - (344 Votes)
Leonard Nimoy as Spock	10.8% - (254 Votes)
Brent Spiner as Data	8.5% - (200 Votes)
William Shatner as Kirk	6.4% - (151 Votes)
Scott Bakula as Archer	4.7% - (112 Votes)
Kate Mulgrew as Janeway	3.6% - (85 Votes)
Robert Picardo as the EMH	3.4% - (82 Votes)
Nana Visitor as Kira	3% - (72 Votes)
Someone else	2.5% - (60 Votes)
No one on Star Trek ever deserved an acting Emmy	2.2% - (53 Votes)
Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine	2.2% - (52 Votes)
Jolene Blalock as T'Pol	1.5% - (37 Votes)
Total Votes: 2348