IGN’s Top Five Sci-Fi TV Shows

http://www.ign.com/videos/2011/02/18/igns-top-5-sci-fi-tv-shows

SOTL Flashback – Stetson\Kuramura

Mike Stetson\Koji Kuramura – All Ashore!

Steve Canyon -47- The Conclusion – Operation Stray!

USS Voyager CGI Pictorial

When a reader told me that I had never run any views of Rick Sternbach’s masterpiece, I was certain that they were wrong. But they weren’t! Better late than never, and fresh baked this very morning, one of the earliest CG Star Trek models ever – The U.S.S Voyager... enjoy!

Holy 1955 Futura, Batman!

You take the tank-locomotive thingy, old chum.  I’ll drive into town and wave at the pretty girls in this.

Since you were asking, this is what ‘ol Doug wants in his Christmas stocking. Believe it or not, Fiberglass Freaks is offering replica Batmobiles from the 1966 Bat-TV series starring Adam West for a cool $150,000. The original was a 1955 Lincoln Futura restyled by legendary custom car genius George Barris.

http://www.buybatparts.com/joomla/index.php/replicas

http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/03/12/most-iconic-car-of-tomorrow/

Carbon Creek Chili – From The Captain’s Table

While Southern California, with our sunny skies and warm clime, is currently the envy of the nation, fear not… help is coming from outer space via North Hollywood! Enterprise food stylist Dorothy Duder delivers fresh made, non-reconstituted, non-replicated Carbon Creek Chilli that’ll warm your dilithium. It is the actual recipe served in the episode. Whip up a heapin’ helpin’ and watch T’pol invent velcro, while demonstrating Vulcan’s really are a soft touch.

Carbon Creek Tavern Chili

In the second episode of season two, T’pol tells Archer and Trip about her great-great grandmother’s trip to Earth in 1957. Grandmother’s ship crash landed in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, where she and her shipmates visit the local tavern in search of nourishment. The special of the day is chili, made extra special by set decorator Jimmy Mees’ selection of vintage dinner ware.

Olive oil

1 ½ pounds ground beef

1 28 ounce can diced, peeled tomatoes

1 20 ounce can kidney beans

4 stalks celery, diced

1 large onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

several shakes cayenne pepper

several shakes Tabasco sauce

chopped onion for garnish

grated cheese for garnish

In a large soup pot over medium heat, heat a small amount of olive oil. Add celery, onion and garlic. Saute and stir for about 3 minutes. Add beef and continue to stir. When meat has browned, add seasonings and stir well. Add tomatoes and kidney beans and stir well. Turn heat down and simmer chili for 1 ½ to 2 hours. Ladle into bowls and garnish with onion and cheese.

Makes 4-6 main course servings.

(Left) Dorth in her NX-01 Galley on board Enterprise. We like to call her “Kitchen Goddess”. Malachi Throne shortened that to “Kitchikoo”.

Mixed Berry Cobbler

Poor Trip, fending off ladies of all species who find him simply irresistible! In “Stigma,” it’s one of Dr. Phlox’s wives, Feezal. Trip desperately tries to keep Hoshi at the mess hall table when he sees Feezal approaching him, urging her to “try the cobbler – Chef outdid himself!” When Connor came to me wanting to taste the cobbler before we shot the scene, he took a bite, then said “Better get LOTS of that ready, ‘cause I’ll be diggin’ in!” Yes sir, Commander! (…and get some ready for Ensign Sato, too – Linda was right behind Connor, asking for her own bowl of cobbler!)

4 2/3 cups Bisquick

1 cup milk

¼ cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 bag frozen strawberries, at room temperature

1 bag frozen blackberries, at room temperature

1 bag frozen blueberries, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

¼ cup orange juice

½ teaspoon nutmeg

whipped cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine Bisquick, milk, sugar and butter. Stir to combine. Set aside. Spray a 13x9x2 pan with nonstick spray. In another large mixing bowl, combine berries, sugar, orange juice and nutmeg. Toss until all fruit is coated. Turn fruit into prepared 13x9x2 pan, top with Bisquick mixture. Smooth dough out with spatula. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm with whipped cream. Makes 6-8 servings.

Zee For Yourself!

Thank you, Mike! I still treasure it!

Got To Have Spock’s Ears

Here is a hilarious piece of Star Trek history which comes to me by way of Steve Neil (click to his blog from the blog roll) who worked on Star Trek:TMP. This was the door to Doug Trumbull’s office. Apparently studio exec Jeffrey Katzenberg really had to have a set of Spock’s ears.

Thanks Steve!

Consistancy

(Above) That’s the secret! Just do what I do! First find girls who like to kiss you, That’s a good start! On the left is at our shop in Van Nuys during “Dick Tracy”. Caglione and I were “the things from the basement”. That’s where all East Coast makeup labs were, in the basement! Now we were in sunny L.A.! In New York if you put out ads for help, grungy guys would show up. In L.A. beautiful women! Clockwise – The blond with her hand in my shirt is the lovely Dorth, our lab manager and my future wife xoxoxo,  next is distracting Jill Rockow – ace makup gal, multi-Emmy winning talent and character, and in red is adorable Melanie Kassen, our PA. No surprise that this is one of my favorite pictures! On the right, thirteen years later at our wedding the girls recreate the scene.

(Below) I’m plumb goo-goo eyed with hero worship! That’s Matt and Mary Ann Jefferies at our wedding. Someone throw out the time anchor!

Friendship One – A Present From Pierre Drolet

Screen caps courtesy Jörg.

Chance Encounters

One of the coolest things about working on Star Trek…. (sound of phonograph needle beeing skidded across record). Don’t you get tired of hearing that? I mean, c’mon… let’s face it, it was all good parts, everything was choice… especially if you are a geek like me.

One of the coolest things about spending your life on Star Trek was never knowing what you would come across just walking to the commissary.

(Above) I trip over the econo car of Star Trek, which we affectionately referred to as the Hyundai. Once upon a time, and very early on in TNG,  Andy Probert designed a beautiful shuttlecraft that was all curves like the D itself.  Unfortunately, the coolness of the design was just too expensive to build, and this teeny weenie mini was built in a hurry. It’s a spud, but I have a soft spot for it. You can’t help but pat it affectionately.

(Above) Later on, when they were shooting STV and had money, two impressive shuttlecraft were built, inside and out. TNG inherited one of them, and it was chopped to make this short version. I believe it was restyled by Mr. Sternbach. I loved sitting in this shuttle when it was on the D hangar. Worlds within worlds. You could really get lost in it all.

(Above) Although they could never build this curvy shuttle full scale, Greg Jein did make a gorgeous filming miniature. For some crazy reason I always think of a kid in his head to toe pajamas when I look at it. It’s plain to see how labor intensive it would be to build full scale. The full scale Vipers on our version of BSG are masterpieces of challenging curves, I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on them in person. Little hearts were popping over my head -  (That USS in the corner is a bit of vinyl lettering that came off on the photo).

(Below) Oh fer…  must I sit in ANOTHER Captain’s chair!

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Enterprise D T/B

The 4 foot Enterprise D miniature. It was photographed for mapping onto 3D models.

… Nuts ‘n Bolts

(Left) Artifacts from the day to day making of a classic television series. From the wall of Bob Blackman’s wardrobe department.

(Below) Even sideburns were required to be spit and polish on board the good ship Enterprise. This “Side -Burn Bible” was taped to the wall of the TNG makeup trailer.

Beer ye! Beer ye!

Nice one, Matt!

Stargazer – A kitbash Great

When Pocket Books contacted me about doing a cover for Michael Jan Friedman’s Stargazer novel, “Enigma”, I had to think fast. Picard’s Stargazer did not exist as 3D model. Aside from the famous Probert/Sternbach Ready Room kit bash, the ship appeared on the show in the form of what was essentially a gigantic kitbash itself… the filming miniature… lovingly, and probably overnightly assembled by the amazing Greg Jein and his gang.

Usually covers like this don’t come with a lot of lead time, and the budget does not provide for building models, so I set to work converting the Directors Cut TMP CG Enterprise. Margaret Clark had spotted a cover of a novel that showed a WWII Hellcat dive bomber double exposed over the ocean blended with a map. She sparked to that and thought it was just the thing to hang the “Enigma” cover on. I grabbed a starmap that I had been admiring which Alan Kobayashi had made for Mike to hang in Captain Archer’s cabin. That was the cover, and a real nice one too!

Someone wrote me a note asking if I could run some Stargazer orthos. I had never made any for the blog because it was such a quickie kitbash, I figured it wouldn’t hold up. But you know what? Big deal! I made some this morning and here they are, fresh baked! I love the smell of fresh baked starships in the morning!

Andy and Rick’s original kitbash – http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/stargazer-kitbash-pictorial/

The same model rendered for the cover of the SOTL book – http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/14607/

And dusted off once again for the Ships Of The Line calendar – http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/sotl-flashback-08/

DREXTV-03 “Hangin’ With Mr. Wezmo”

DREXTV_03

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I’m hip deep in prep with legendary Trek VXF supervisior Gary Hutzel. Galactica returns to basics, and “Blood And Chrome” is fully upon us. Would anyone like some toast?

So just because I’m intensely busy,  that doesn’t mean I forget you guys! No way! Not a chance! The phone rings… and it’s my friends from  startrek.com calling to reminded me that another DrexTV is due on the tarmac. I needed a show, I needed it now, and I needed making it to be like falling off a log. I checked the Drex Files Operations Manual and it plainly stated: Step 1 – Grab camera. Step 2 – Grab Jack Marshall to work it. Step 3 – Visit with one of the most interesting men in the world. Step 4 – Tadaaa!

So in this edition of DrexTV we hang out with Mike Westmore. This isn’t an interview, it’s a conversation between two friends.

First some history - This kid – that’d me me – was in heaven. I was working TNG for Michael Westmore. I was working thoroughbred Star Trek. I was working Gene and Bob Star Trek. I’m working STAR TREK- STAR TREK. I had just headed makeup on one of the biggest shows in Hollywood with John Caglione, that being Dick Tracy. The TNG cast and crew was pleased that I was there. “But shouldn’t you be off doing features? ” They would ask. ”Are you kidding?” Came my answer. “This is it! Ground zero! Challenge Central – and no place I’d rather be!”  I meant it. I loved that cast and crew, and it was without a doubt some of the most fun set time I’d ever spent. We worked hard, we had some ungodly late nights, and the later it went, the funnier and sillier it got.

Aside from the best cast I ever worked with, Mike Westmore made working on TNG sheer fun.  He always wears a smile, and is just a delight. He is a dear, dear man. If you know anything about the Westmores of Hollywood, you know that the family practically invented the movie makeup game. At one time there was a Westmore as head of makeup at every major studio in town. During the golden age, most big stars would not do a film without a Westmore. It’s a fascinating story, and if you are interested find a book called “The Westmores of Hollywood”. Mike told me a funny anecdote about his uncle Bud.  Bud was apprenticing on a very early Tarzan movie, and on that particular film Cheetah the chimp was played by a male ape. Bud’s job was to take a wet sponge and burnt cork, and use it to black out the chimps “water works” so that they would not show up on the big screen. After about a week of that, whenever Bud walked on stage, Cheetah would scamper over excitedly, take the cork and sponge out of Bud’s pocket and hand it to him.

The early Next Generation makeup lab was a hole in the wall. It wasn’t even in the wall. It was a shack cobbled together on the stage behind 8 and 9. You know that footage of Persis Khambatta getting her raven locks shorn by Fred Phillips for TMP? That’s the shack… and I loved it. Who would ever guess? Big TV production… the makeup lab would have to be in a flashy setup on the Paramount lot… wouldn’t it? Nope… makeup artists are an interesting breed. Life is a cross between the army, and the circus. You go where the job is, and you set up your camp… wherever that may be.  I’ve made people up using the toilet as a makeup chair and with light coming from a single unshaded bulb. I’ve made actors up in the middle of the woods, in a speeding car, in an airplane, a swamp, and a kitchen… so making molds, sculpting, and running foam latex in a shack could be seen as a step up in some cases. You got out, and you got under, and if there are no amenities… like electricity… you made electricity… no water? You brought it with you. You learned to be self contained and self sufficient. You thought ahead and you thought on your feet. A Shack? I love it!

Next time we’ll be concentrating on  behind the scenes lost footage. I’ve got Hutzel showing off the motion control stage at “G”, the very last footage of the Voyager sets just hours before the wrecking ball, and more “Active Duty!”.

Doug Drexler

Hollywood, California