Kirk's shirt wasn't distressed/torn at the Guardian. It was simply unzipped--like McCoy wore his when he was sick and exhausted in "Miri."
ST Phase 2: MIND-SIFTER
- Thread starter Bixby
- Start date
Kirk's shirt wasn't distressed/torn at the Guardian. It was simply unzipped--like McCoy wore his when he was sick and exhausted in "Miri."
You know, Theiss would have had a fit over that. In one of the TOS production memos which called for Kirk's uniform to be undone, Theiss protested that he didn't want the closures on the uniforms revealed.
Just watched the episode, and I thought it was fantastic. Amazing, superb work by everyone involved. I especially enjoyed Brandon Stacy's performance as Spock. When I first heard that Phase II was doing "Mind Sifter", I was a little worried because the Spock role in that story demands an actor who can convey the immense depth behind Spock's neutral, logical Vulcan facade, and if you don't have one then the episode doesn't work.
And Brandon Stacy knocked. It. Out. Of. The. Park. I can't say enough about what an awesome job he did. Don't get me wrong, the acting was great all around, but for me Mr. Stacy's performance was the best part of a magnificent production.
And Brandon Stacy knocked. It. Out. Of. The. Park. I can't say enough about what an awesome job he did. Don't get me wrong, the acting was great all around, but for me Mr. Stacy's performance was the best part of a magnificent production.
I have no real quibbles with the story or performance.
Maybe I have some kind of OCD but the choice to place this episode (as I believe was mentioned) as taking place in the 2nd season of Trek with the 4:3 aspect ratio, the old show title, and the retro Enterprise strikes me as odd. So odd that I continually find myself distracted from watching trying to figure why this choice was even made.
I guess I personally enjoyed the chronology of the episodes up until that point. My brain doesn't seem to do well in situations like that. I don't like recasting roles in general but I can kind of accept it after time (and especially more so in fan films) maybe because if any other show did something similar I'd probably lose my mind over it.
Maybe I have some kind of OCD but the choice to place this episode (as I believe was mentioned) as taking place in the 2nd season of Trek with the 4:3 aspect ratio, the old show title, and the retro Enterprise strikes me as odd. So odd that I continually find myself distracted from watching trying to figure why this choice was even made.
I guess I personally enjoyed the chronology of the episodes up until that point. My brain doesn't seem to do well in situations like that. I don't like recasting roles in general but I can kind of accept it after time (and especially more so in fan films) maybe because if any other show did something similar I'd probably lose my mind over it.
Most of what I had to say has already been said, so I won't repeat it (mostly favorable, promise!).
But since someone brought up a costuming issue, I will mention a couple of things that I noticed:
1. Jan Hamlin's shoes. I looked up '50s shoes and while I see that they're period, would a professional like a doctor wear these on the job? She looked like she'd raided a schoolgirl's shoe closet.
2. It was a bit bemusing how Jan made Kirk put on a short-sleeved sweater to go outside, yet didn't have him put on so much as a pair of socks or sandals. He went out barefoot, on a day that was presumably cool enough to need a sweater.
One comment to the folks who felt Kirk's basic personality might have been a bit off: I noticed he always addressed Jan as "Hamlin". That's something Kirk, as a captain, would tend to do with crew he had regular contact with but wasn't close enough to for first names. So that part of Kirk-as-captain was still intact.
Kirk calling her "Hamlin" throughout was one of the items I noted to be "fixed" in my voluminous preproduction script notes. If for no other reason to refrain from this (and there are lots), Kirk mentions in the original short story after he returns to duty that he never learned what her last name had been. I think I would have hewn more closely to the original story on this minor scripting issue.
Not that I've seen. But you'll notice you never saw the uniforms unzipped on the show (at least, not that I recall).
If I recall correctly from my time working in state mental hospitals, the patients did have their shoes.
We left Brian's off to show his sexy feet
Maurice--do you know when Theiss' "don't unzip the uniforms" memo was dated? Was it before or after "Miri?"
I recall that throughout the entire second half of "Miri," both Kirk and McCoy had their zippers undone:
I have just seen the version with Tobias Richte's effects work and am left in awe of this wonderful episode! Many thanks to all involved in the making of “Mind-Sifter”. As someone who doesn't know the short story this is based upon, I really enjoyed the story. Or better, BOTH stories: Kirk in the asylum and Spock and McCoy on the Enterprise.
I have a lot of thoughts about “Mind-Sifter”, which I thought was the best episode of Phase II to date, but I need to watch it a second time (with Daren Dochterman's effects). Two things that stood out for me: Jeff Bond as McCoy and Raven Wood as Dr. Hamlin. Both are a revelation! I hope we'll see more of both of them.
One thing I didn't get: What was the plan of the Klingons when they send Kirk through the Guardian? Or was it just their way of disposing of him? Why would't they just kill him?
I also enjoyed the nice homage to The Twilight Zone and the cameo appearance by a certain former Captain. Very nice touches!
Again, thanks to anyone who made this happen!
I have a lot of thoughts about “Mind-Sifter”, which I thought was the best episode of Phase II to date, but I need to watch it a second time (with Daren Dochterman's effects). Two things that stood out for me: Jeff Bond as McCoy and Raven Wood as Dr. Hamlin. Both are a revelation! I hope we'll see more of both of them.
One thing I didn't get: What was the plan of the Klingons when they send Kirk through the Guardian? Or was it just their way of disposing of him? Why would't they just kill him?
I also enjoyed the nice homage to The Twilight Zone and the cameo appearance by a certain former Captain. Very nice touches!
Again, thanks to anyone who made this happen!
Nightwind1 is correct.
The mind sifter extracted the location of "Gateway." Kirk was brought to show the Klingons how it worked--with a threatened return trip to the mind sifter if he didn't give up the operational details. Kirk fled through the Guardian to escape the situation. (In Shirley's heavily-edit version of her story, Kirk flees through the Guardian in a disoriented attempt to get back to Edith Keeler and safety.)
In Shirley's original unedited story, the Klingons use the mind sifter to learn the secret of the "breakaway factor" method of time travel. They travel back to 1954, and simply jettison the amnesic Kirk like so much refuse when they are back in time.
The mind sifter extracted the location of "Gateway." Kirk was brought to show the Klingons how it worked--with a threatened return trip to the mind sifter if he didn't give up the operational details. Kirk fled through the Guardian to escape the situation. (In Shirley's heavily-edit version of her story, Kirk flees through the Guardian in a disoriented attempt to get back to Edith Keeler and safety.)
In Shirley's original unedited story, the Klingons use the mind sifter to learn the secret of the "breakaway factor" method of time travel. They travel back to 1954, and simply jettison the amnesic Kirk like so much refuse when they are back in time.
I'll have to dig through the memos again to find it. I don't recall the date or to which episode it referred.
That's the one!
Pretty cool.
And, indeed, no one doffs or dons on camera uniforms in that episode. (They do similar cutaways with Spock and Tormolen in "The Naked Time:" no showing the "ins-n-outs.")
I guess showing the fatigue and long hours setting in for the landing party in "Miri" pushed out concerns about showing the details of 23rd century clothing.
It's worth noting that the "25 to 50 years from now" that Theiss referenced has just about come and gone--without the advent of any major newfangled clothing closure methods to supplant the ones from 1966. Maybe zippers and buttons and Velcro really are the closures of the future, since Theiss' future seems to have arrived.
I watched the "modern effects" version from front to back, and later compared some of the effects shots side by side with the "60s style" version.
I'm not a critic, and I don't pretend to be one. But I do know what I like. No one asked for my opinion, but I have a few thoughts.
First, I've followed NVP2, loosely, almost from the beginning. I am always impressed that a group of volunteers can pull off this quality of production time after time. I understand the limitations and appreciate the love of the material that goes into it. Second, I wasn't familiar with the source story for this outing so I went in with no expectations.
That said, here's what I'm thinking.
I have trouble with Brandon Stacy's interpretation of Spock. No one can duplicate Leonard Nimoy, and I don't expect to see a carbon copy. A lot of actors who try to play a Vulcan come off as stiff, and in my opinion Mr. Stacy is unfortunately among them. He does not look comfortable in the role. Most of his performance looks like he is, for lack of a better word, constipated. Especially the scene on the bridge when he takes the center seat.
That aside, there is something wrong with his makeup. I don't know what it is, but the color is wrong and it's oily looking, like he's sweating it off. Not just in this film, but in other outings as well.
It's going to take some time for me to get used to Brian Gross. I'm sure he's a competent actor, but from what I've seen he has a ways to go before I can believe that he is James T. Kirk.
Jeff Bond should drop the fake Southern accent and just play the part. There were times in the episode when I could actually hear DeForest Kelley speaking, and it wasn't when Bond was trying to sound like he was an old country doctor from Georgia. For the most part, this was the best McCoy I've seen in an independent film.
Rivkah Raven Wood. I was not familiar with her previous work but she struck me as the most talented actor in this film. Great casting there. She owned the role, and looked like she stepped right out of the mid-20th century.
The story. As I said above, I'm not familiar with the original story. I won't call this adaptation derivative, but it draws upon a lot of material already done in the series.
I don't know how I would have written the episode if I had to do it, because I have no idea how to structure a screenplay. But one thing that comes to mind is possibly making all of the Klingon scenes take place on the Guardian planet. Maybe skip the opening torture part and start with the Klingons throwing Kirk into the Guardian and explain it later, maybe in flashbacks. Again, I don't know. Just thinking out loud, so to say.
Spock's speech on the bridge made no sense to me. It looked like an afterthought, cut and pasted in to satisfy something that someone insisted had to be there.
We see Spock and McCoy prepare to beam down to the Guardian, then all of a sudden McCoy is bursting into Kirk's room in the hospital. Did I miss something? How did they find him? How did they get into the hospital?
If McCoy is in the room, Spock should be there, too. A simple mind meld could have made Kirk lucid enough to acknowledge Hamlin, thank her, and tell her goodbye.
The Spock/Hamlin scene came across as a little creepy. No, a lot creepy.
I don't know if it was in the original story, but all the "take me seriously" stuff sounds like an attempt at making it relevant to modern day. It didn't work for me. I would like to have seen that left out in favor of telling the main story.
Effects: Both versions of the effects are impressive. But other than the starfield and planets, and obviously the camera angles, I couldn't tell much difference. When one version was advertised with "60s style effects" I was expecting to see something from 1967. I didn't get that. Both versions had ships moving like hummingbirds, something we have never seen in "sanctioned" Trek.
Minor nitpicks: The misogynistic doctor's suit jacket and tie were not the style in 1958. The fight scene in the chapel looked fake. The walk outside with no shoes bothers me. Spock's "self-meld" looks ... hokey. That's the best word I can think of to describe it.
I can agree with a lot of the praise I've read about this episode. NVP2 can be proud of what they've accomplished. But outside of that, I think that they sometimes are too ambitious in what they want to do and it ends up taking away from the story. Sometimes more is more, but most times less is more.
I'm sure there are a lot of points that I missed, skimmed over, misunderstood, etc. But this is my takeaway, passed on to you.
I'm not a critic, and I don't pretend to be one. But I do know what I like. No one asked for my opinion, but I have a few thoughts.
First, I've followed NVP2, loosely, almost from the beginning. I am always impressed that a group of volunteers can pull off this quality of production time after time. I understand the limitations and appreciate the love of the material that goes into it. Second, I wasn't familiar with the source story for this outing so I went in with no expectations.
That said, here's what I'm thinking.
I have trouble with Brandon Stacy's interpretation of Spock. No one can duplicate Leonard Nimoy, and I don't expect to see a carbon copy. A lot of actors who try to play a Vulcan come off as stiff, and in my opinion Mr. Stacy is unfortunately among them. He does not look comfortable in the role. Most of his performance looks like he is, for lack of a better word, constipated. Especially the scene on the bridge when he takes the center seat.
That aside, there is something wrong with his makeup. I don't know what it is, but the color is wrong and it's oily looking, like he's sweating it off. Not just in this film, but in other outings as well.
It's going to take some time for me to get used to Brian Gross. I'm sure he's a competent actor, but from what I've seen he has a ways to go before I can believe that he is James T. Kirk.
Jeff Bond should drop the fake Southern accent and just play the part. There were times in the episode when I could actually hear DeForest Kelley speaking, and it wasn't when Bond was trying to sound like he was an old country doctor from Georgia. For the most part, this was the best McCoy I've seen in an independent film.
Rivkah Raven Wood. I was not familiar with her previous work but she struck me as the most talented actor in this film. Great casting there. She owned the role, and looked like she stepped right out of the mid-20th century.
The story. As I said above, I'm not familiar with the original story. I won't call this adaptation derivative, but it draws upon a lot of material already done in the series.
I don't know how I would have written the episode if I had to do it, because I have no idea how to structure a screenplay. But one thing that comes to mind is possibly making all of the Klingon scenes take place on the Guardian planet. Maybe skip the opening torture part and start with the Klingons throwing Kirk into the Guardian and explain it later, maybe in flashbacks. Again, I don't know. Just thinking out loud, so to say.
Spock's speech on the bridge made no sense to me. It looked like an afterthought, cut and pasted in to satisfy something that someone insisted had to be there.
We see Spock and McCoy prepare to beam down to the Guardian, then all of a sudden McCoy is bursting into Kirk's room in the hospital. Did I miss something? How did they find him? How did they get into the hospital?
If McCoy is in the room, Spock should be there, too. A simple mind meld could have made Kirk lucid enough to acknowledge Hamlin, thank her, and tell her goodbye.
The Spock/Hamlin scene came across as a little creepy. No, a lot creepy.
I don't know if it was in the original story, but all the "take me seriously" stuff sounds like an attempt at making it relevant to modern day. It didn't work for me. I would like to have seen that left out in favor of telling the main story.
Effects: Both versions of the effects are impressive. But other than the starfield and planets, and obviously the camera angles, I couldn't tell much difference. When one version was advertised with "60s style effects" I was expecting to see something from 1967. I didn't get that. Both versions had ships moving like hummingbirds, something we have never seen in "sanctioned" Trek.
Minor nitpicks: The misogynistic doctor's suit jacket and tie were not the style in 1958. The fight scene in the chapel looked fake. The walk outside with no shoes bothers me. Spock's "self-meld" looks ... hokey. That's the best word I can think of to describe it.
I can agree with a lot of the praise I've read about this episode. NVP2 can be proud of what they've accomplished. But outside of that, I think that they sometimes are too ambitious in what they want to do and it ends up taking away from the story. Sometimes more is more, but most times less is more.
I'm sure there are a lot of points that I missed, skimmed over, misunderstood, etc. But this is my takeaway, passed on to you.
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