Today in 1967 was not a good day for fans of artistic freedom or the First Amendment. Before their appearance on CBS-TV’s Ed Sullivan Shew, the Rolling Stones were compelled to change “Let’s Spend the Night Together …”
… to “Let’s Spend Some Time Together”:
The number one British album today in 1977 was ABBA’s “Arrival” …
What do one of the world’s most prosperous cities and one of the U.S.’ biggest disaster areas have in common?
Ask P.J. O’Rourke:
Detroit is beautiful—though you probably have to be a child of the industrial Midwest, like me, to see it. As you may have heard, the city is in trouble. At the end of the 2013 fiscal year, Detroit had a balance sheet with liabilities of $9.05 billion. The city’s emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, estimates long-term debt at $18 billion.
But I know how to fix Detroit, because it reminds me of another favorite place, Hong Kong—two things so opposite that they evoke each other the way any Kardashian is a reminder that you love home and mother.
Hong Kong’s per capita GDP is among the highest in the world. But it was once a worse mess than Detroit. Devastated by Japanese occupation, the British colony’s population had declined from 1.6 million in 1941 to 600,000 by 1945. Then, after the 1949 communist victory on the mainland, a million refugees arrived. Most of them were penniless. Britain’s Labor government was penniless, too. Maybe Hong Kong could have gone into Chapter 9. But who would have been the bankruptcy judge? Chairman Mao?
Instead Hong Kong had the good fortune to get John (later Sir John) Cowperthwaite, a young official sent out to push the colony’s economy toward recovery. “I did very little,” he once said. “All I did was to try to prevent some of the things that might undo it.”
Such as taxes. Even now, Hong Kong has no sales tax; no VAT; no taxes on capital gains, interest income or earnings outside Hong Kong; no import or export duties; and a top personal income-tax rate of 15%.
Cowperthwaite was financial secretary from 1961 to 1971, Hong Kong’s period of fastest economic growth. Sir John, however, wouldn’t allow collection of economic statistics for fear they’d lead to political meddling. Some statistics nonetheless: During Cowperthwaite’s tenure, Hong Kong’s exports grew by an average of 13.8% a year, industrial wages doubled and the number of households in extreme poverty shrank from half to 16%.
With that in mind, I was talking to a friend in Michigan. We discussed Detroit’s poverty, crime, depopulation and insolvency.
“Make it into Hong Kong,” I said, “with polite Canadians next door instead of a scary Politburo.”
“Someone’s way ahead of you,” he told me.
Real-estate developer Rod Lockwood wants investors to buy Detroit’s derelict 982-acre Belle Isle Park and persuade the U.S. to allow Belle Isle a territorial status like Guam and all the tax benefits of Hong Kong—with easier access to Red Wings games.
Belle Isle has room for only about 50,000 people and just one bridge to the city. It might seem more of a gated community than an overseas possession. So Mr. Lockwood has expanded his proposal to include 15 square miles of Detroit’s distressed east side. I think Mr. Lockwood should try for the city’s entire 143 square miles. …
Hong Kong economics would mean curtailing U.S. welfare and benefit programs, but Detroiters seem to have found the holes in the social safety net already. Forty-four percent are living below poverty level. They could, however, benefit from the jobs and commerce in a vibrant, tax-free Hong Kong economy. …
Christopher Brooks, senior pastor at the 1,500-member Evangelical Ministries Church in Detroit, said a concept like Belle Isle “would initially be greeted with hostility because of the widespread suffering in Detroit. A ‘Wealth Haven’ would cause a war on the middle class.” However, he said, “If you’re talking about the whole city…If Belle Isle is the start of a plan, I’d support it. A lot of clergy would get behind it.” Pastor Brooks said, “If there were a real plan to encourage jobs and wealth, the welfare problem would solve itself.”
Granted, turning Detroit into Hong Kong wouldn’t be simple. I talked to Chris Crosby, a municipal bond analyst at Raymond James. He listened patiently as I explained the advantages of a city that would actually be worth something to prospective municipal bondholders. Here is the main part of the rest of our conversation.
Me: “Is this feasible?
Mr. Crosby: “No.”
The political barriers are too high—politicians don’t like to give up power. Of course, politicians also give up power in a bankruptcy, which is why Mr. Crosby likes Detroit’s bankruptcy. It will be so politically painful that other big cities won’t try it. …
Anyway, Detroit is broke. And so was Hong Kong. In 1949 the colony had just one asset. Hong Kong owned Hong Kong—all the land except what was under the Anglican cathedral. Hong Kong sold leaseholds, first for a little, then for a lot.
And Detroit owns Detroit, or a very large chunk of it. In 2011 more than half the owners of Detroit’s 305,000 properties failed to pay property taxes. Detroit has approximately 40 square miles of vacant land.
If people cannot be convinced by reason, maybe they can be convinced by greed. Forty square miles equals 1.1 billion square feet. One recent estimate put Hong Kong land prices at more than $1,300 per square foot. Translated into Detroit, that’s $1.4 trillion.
Even MSNBC cannot polish Friday’s job report, reports Cain TV:
CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to announce the new, “awful,” December jobs report.
“Oh good Lord…” said host Joe Scarborough. “That’s a horrific number. That’s one of the lowest numbers we’ve seen in years.”
Morning Joe’s crack news team did make a half-hearted stab at blaming “cold weather,” but you could tell they’re just not into the argument. The fact is there’s simply no way to spin this data as anything other than dismal. They even bemoaned the fact that the unemployment rate only went down because so many people left the workforce. For MSNBC, that comes dangerously close to actual reporting.
Zero Hedge puts it in stark visual:
Curious why despite the huge miss in payrolls the unemployment rate tumbled from 7.0% to 6.7%? The reason is because in December the civilian labor force did what it usually does in the New Normal: it dropped from 155.3 million to 154.9 million, which means the labor participation rate just dropped to a fresh 35 year low, hitting levels not seen since 1978, at 62.8% down from 63.0%.
And the piece de resistance: Americans not in the labor force exploded higher by 535,000 to a new all time high 91.8 million.
The number one British single today in 1960:
The number one single today in 1978:
The number one British single today in 1995 came from a Swedish group that did a wacky country-ish song:
If the trial balloon accomplishes nothing else, Gov. Scott Walker certainly ignited a debate about Wisconsin’s taxes by proposing the end of the state income tax.
That debate is playing itself out on blogs and newspaper opinion pages across the state.
Democrats oppose Walker’s trial balloon, of course, but fail to suggest something better — for instance, 17th Senate District candidate Ernie Wittwer:
The best guesstimates available are that the sales tax would have to grow to 13.5 percent, if the state’s general fund is to remain solvent. That would put Wisconsin’s sales tax far higher than any other state’s. If this were done the tax burden would shift from people with wealth to people in the middle income and lower income brackets.
The Wisconsin Budget Project blog did some of the numbers on the proposal. They estimate that taxpayers in the lowest 20 percent income bracket would pay 5.4 percent more of their income in taxes. The top 1 percent would reduce the share of their income paid in taxes by 4.1 percent. Stated another way, the people with an average income of $14,000 would see an increase of nearly $750 in state taxes; people with incomes in excess of $1 million would see a cut in state taxes of nearly $44,000.
We probably would not raise the sales tax to 13.5 percent. The alternatives would involve extending the sales tax to more items. The largest items currently excluded from the tax are food; fuel and electricity for home, farm and manufacturing use; professional services; medicines, motor fuel; and machinery and equipment for farming and manufacturing. Placing the sales tax nearly any of these items would further shift the tax burden to those who are least able to pay.
The other alternative is to cut state expenditures. Public education and post-secondary education have already been cut. State medical programs are already hurting. Aids to local governments have been stagnant. Perhaps we really don’t need meat inspections and other similar state programs? Good candidates for cuts really are not apparent, at least in the amounts that would be needed.
Apparently the organization that wants to end school funding by property taxes still exist, because its creator is writing letters to the editor:
It is not fair that half of Wisconsin income, sales and property are exempt from taxes — which means others pay more.
It is not fair when some years farmers and businesses pay more in property taxes than they earn because property taxes are not based on income.
It is not fair that seniors are forced from their homes, church, community and state because the property tax is not based on ability to pay.
It is not fair when young families cannot qualify for a home loan when the tax is factored into payments.
If everyone paid income and sales taxes, the property tax could be eliminated and income and sales tax rates cut for all. Exemptions from a state tax should not exist as violates equal protection under the law.
When all pay the fairer income and sales tax we do not need the unfair Wisconsin property tax.
Brian Fraley proposes getting rid of one of the taxes within the income tax:
In 2011 the legislature passed the Manufacturing and Agriculture credit. The phased in tax cut was sold as: If you make it or grow it in Wisconsin, income from that activity would be tax free.For more on the M & A credit, see here.Wisconsin’s chamber of commerce said the new credit would impact manufacturing in 3 distinct ways.
- First and foremost, the credit will be a powerful incentive for existing manufacturers to expand their facilities here. Manufacturers that are already located in Wisconsin often have difficult choices to make when considering expansion in Wisconsin versus expanding facilities elsewhere. While Wisconsin has many advantages of interest to manufacturers, there is no question that Wisconsin’s individual and corporate income/franchise taxes are among the highest in the nation. This credit will help tip the balance in favor of expansion here. The timing of the credit is crucial as the economy continues to recover and manufacturers act on plans to meet expected demands;
- For the same reasons, this credit will encourage some out-of-state firms to locate their production facilities in Wisconsin as they expand;
- Finally, the credit will provide an incentive for start-ups to take root here in Wisconsin.
But legislative intent was not followed. Unfortunately for thousands of people and businesses in Wisconsin, the tax break would only be offset by their now being subjected to the State’s Alternative Minimum Tax.Federal and state tax laws treat different kinds of income differently. In addition there are a myriad of special deductions and credits for various expenses.Wisconsin’s AMT demands that, when certain criteria are met, Wisconsin income is taxed at a rate of 6.5%. Liberals argue that Alternative Minimum Taxes ensure that all individuals who benefit from these tax advantages will pay at least their fair share of taxes.But the AMT is essentially a second income tax system. It makes compliance with our tax laws more complex. So not only does this hurt our ranking among the states when it comes to overall tax burden, The additional compliance cost hurts our state’s overall business ranking when compared to the more tha 40 states without an Alternative Minimum Tax. …What can be done?
Simple. Wisconsin should not have two separate income taxation systems. The time is now to repeal the Wisconsin Alternative Minimum Tax.
Republicans have an obligation to not spend the new revenues and they also have an obligation to do the right thing and fulfill their tax cut promises of 2011 and 2013.
Here’s hoping a straightforward, complete and stand alone repeal of the AMT is offered, debated, passed and signed into law this spring, before the AMT monster grows even uglier.
Repeal the AMT, without delay and without any other gimmicks like a sales tax holiday attached for the ride.
The answer to which tax, or taxes, should be repealed depends on your goal. The property tax remains the least popular tax in this state, and by a large margin. Income taxes — personal and corporate, including the AMT — have a larger impact on our business climate, which has been subpar for decades. (Not only because of taxes.)
The whole idea of “fair” taxes is a contradiction in terms. If everyone pays taxes at the same rate, taxes are perceived as unfair because those taxes aren’t based on one’s ability to pay, whether measured in income or wealth. Conversely, though, where is the fairness in requiring those with more money to pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes? Unless you’re referring to the millionaire next door, most people own houses commensurate with their income, spend commensurately to their income, and so on.
I think the solution is not necessarily to eliminate one class of taxes, but to reduce, in this case, both income and property taxes without increasing sales taxes. Reducing taxes by increasing other taxes is not an answer.
One thing New Jersey’s Bridgegate demonstrates is that Republican elected officials can abuse their authority as much as Democratic elected officials can.
Another thing it should demonstrate, but won’t, to liberals is that therefore government and elected officials need less, not more, authority and power.
Jonah Goldberg says this about New Jersey Gov. and supposed Republican presidential front-runner Chris Christie:
Outside the peculiar context of Christie’s presidential ambitions, the idea that this should be front-page news across the country is somewhat baffling. Quick: Show of hands. Who is surprised that New Jersey politicians play hardball with other New Jersey politicians at the expense of voters and taxpayers?
Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize it would be that many of you. Okay, just out of curiosity, for those of you who are legitimately shocked, I’d like to ask some control questions. Are you also shocked that bears use our national forests for toilets? Are you shocked that dogs lick their nether regions without much concern about who might be watching? Does it blow your mind that the Pope is Catholic? When you smash your thumb with a ball peen hammer are you taken off guard by the throbbing pain?
I see.
Now I am not condoning or even trying to minimize the significance of “Bridgegate” — an idiotic term by the way. What these bozos did was bozo-rific. But come on. Do you think Rahm Emanuel hasn’t played games with which streets get plowed first after a snow storm? Do you think that the Cuomos have issued every business permit and license on a first-come, first-serve basis? Wait you do? Oh man, that is adorable. Bless your heart.
Like pretty much everyone else, I think that if Christie is lying about being out of the loop, he’s done for. Fair or not, he set the standard by which he wants people to judge him. I grew tired of his constant boasting of his straight-talking a long time ago. But he’s the self-declared exemplar of straight-talking. (I like the straight talk, mind you. I just don’t like all the allegedly straight talk about his straight talking. It’s a bit like Christie’s odd way of being arrogant about how humble he is. Just give me the straight talk; don’t give me a lot of hot air about how straight the straight talk is, ya get me? I love it when my waiter brings a great steak. But when he hangs around selling me on each morsel as it goes into my mouth, it really creeps me out. “Great steak, huh!? Man, you are lucky to be eating that. Take another bite. I bet it’s even better.”)
Also, I’m not a huge fan of career politicians talking about how they’re not really politicians. It’s like a salesman insisting he’s not like any other salesman. Maybe that’s true in some ways (maybe he has three nipples and a neon orange unibrow; what do I know?) but at the end of the day he’s still trying to make a sale which means — tah dah! — he’s a salesman. Christie’s claim to be above politics-as-usual always struck me as incredibly hackneyed and forced. He’s the governor of frick’n New Jersey. Being above politics there is about as possible as cleaning out a stable by hand without getting your white gloves dirty. The fact that voters want to hear that stuff doesn’t make it true. It makes it pandering.
Anyway, Christie set the standard for his straight talking. He set the standard of being better than petty politics. And, yesterday, he laid down a marker for what he knew and didn’t know. If that marker is proven phony, it will profoundly undermine the criteria by which he asks voters to judge him. And that wound will be entirely self-inflicted.
But come on! You have to wonder how some of the folks in the media can look at themselves in the mirror. The three network news shows have devoted orders of magnitude more coverage to a story about closed lanes on the George Washington Bridge than they have to the IRS scandal. I know this is not a new insight, but WHAT THE HELL!?
The sheer passion the New York Times-MSNBC mob is bringing to a partial road closure is a wonder to behold. What about the children! The chiiiiillllldrennnn!!!!!
But using the IRS to harass political opponents — one of the charges in the articles of impeachment for Richard Nixon —well, that’s complicated. The president didn’t know. The government is so vast. I had a flat tire! A flood! Locusts! It wasn’t his fault! Besides Chris Christie joked about putting down the cones himself! The cones, man! The cones!
But forget about the IRS scandal. Obama’s whole shtick is to pretend that he’s above politics while being rankly political about everything, including his stated desire to “punish our enemies.” By comparison, Chris Christie looks like Diogenes and Cincinnatus rolled into one. From inauguration day forward, this whole crew has behaved like Chicago goons dressed in Olympian garb, and the press has fallen for it.
We don’t need to recycle the whole sordid history of the sequester and the shutdown to remember that this White House sincerely, deliberately, and with malice aforethought sought to make things as painful as possible for millions of Americans. Traffic cones on the George Washington Bridge are a stain on the honor of New Jersey. (Stop laughing!) But deliberately pulling air-traffic controllers to screw with millions of people is just fine? Shafting World War II vets and vacationing families at National Parks is something only crazy right-wingers on Twitter would have a problem with? And keep in mind, it is at least plausible Christie didn’t know what his staff was doing. It is entirely implausible that the president didn’t know about the WWII memorial closure, after the news appeared in the president’s daily briefing (a.k.a. the New York Times).
I’d say I just don’t get it, but I do get it. For the mainstream media, skepticism comes naturally when a Republican is in the crosshairs. It comes reluctantly, slowly, and painfully — if at all — when it’s a Democrat.
The number one single today in 1960 topped the charts for the second time:
The number one album today in 1973 was Carly Simon’s “No Secrets”:
Today in 1973, Eric Clapton performed in concert for the first time in several years at the Rainbow Theatre in London:
It figures after War and Peace-size Presty the DJ entries the past few days, today’s is relatively short.
The number one album today in 1974, a few months after the death of its singer, was “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim”:
The number one single today in 1974 introduced the world to the word “pompatus”:
Today in 1982, Bob Geldof was arrested after a disturbance aboard a 727 that had been grounded for five hours:
The number one album today in 1964 was “Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash,” the first country album to reach the top of the album chart:
The number one single today in 1964, whatever the words were:
I haven’t seen the new “Star Trek” film, which is accused of being a remake of the second “Star Trek” film, “The Wrath of Khan.”
Dayton Ward disagrees with that assessment, but goes with it anyway:
Strictly as an exercise in goofy fun, I posited the idea that rather than taking bits or pieces from previous series or films to fill out the storyline for a new movie, that we should compile a list of episodes which all but beg for a wholesale remake. Fans for years have speculated what extravagant do-overs of the most memorable episodes from the original series in particular might look like on the big screen. So, I figured, “What the heck?” Why not engage in a little fanboy wish-listing? …
Presented here in alphabetical order, the results of our little online experiment:
“Balance of Terror,” suggested by Joseph Berenato on my Facebook page – Virtually nothing is known about the Romulans in the “alternate reality” created by the Abrams Star Trek films. Just as the original episode introduced us to the enigmatic alien race, so too could a reworked and expanded version of the story. With room to breathe a bit, there would be more time for character interplay, including the fleshing out of back story for the Romulans and their culture. The scope of the film also could be opened up, with scenes set away from the Enterprise and the Romulan ship, such as at one of the destroyed outposts or a new planet-based location. Would Kirk and the Romulan Commander battle each other face to face, or would the ship-based aspects of the original tale still rule the day? …
“The City on the Edge of Forever,” suggested by Joseph Berenato on my Facebook page – Widely regarded as one of Star Trek’s finest hours—if not the finest hour—what would it take to update and expand this story to feature film length and scope? To be honest, I don’t have the first clue, and maybe it should never be attempted, but if a decision is ever made to revisit this classic tale, then there really is only one person suited to the task: the episode’s original writer, the incomparable Harlan Ellison. Perhaps the answer lies not with the televised episode, but within Ellison’s original screenplay, the development of which is worth a book all its own…so much so that Ellison himself already wrote it! Somewhere within the different versions of the story may well lay the seeds for a new take on Captain Kirk’s ultimate tragic romance. …
“The Doomsday Machine” – Are you kidding? One of the most iconic episodes from any of the Star Trek series is just screaming for a big-budget revamping. This is an absolute no-brainer for me. Just think of what an expanded storyline could do to give us more background on Commodore Matt Decker and his crew, before and during their fateful encounter with the mammoth alien machine. We could even get some insight into the beings who built the thing (just so long as they don’t turn out to be evolved hamsters, or something). And of course it’s just the kind of story that lends itself to the eye-popping space scenes that drive summer blockbusters. Besides, who doesn’t want to see Karl Urban’s Doctor McCoy give Crazy Matt the business? The great Norman Spinrad’s still around, so I say let him have first crack at updating and enhancing his original tale. …
“Errand of Mercy” – If Star Trek Into Darkness showed us anything, it’s that a Federation confrontation with the Klingons is likely, if not inevitable. Somebody’s already drooling at the prospect of the massive, all-out Star Wars-style battle sequences which are sure to litter a tale like this. With that in mind, let’s be sure to have a nice balance of action in space and some of that great character work Star Trek can do when it’s firing on all cylinders. Give Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk a worthy adversary in the form of Commander Kor, who can be a thorn in his side for many years to come. This also is the kind of story which could be fleshed out so as to include plenty of good material for the rest of the cast while Kirk and Spock are dealing with Kor. As for the Organians? Well, Star Trek never really followed up on what the original episode established, so it’s pretty much a blank page so far as what these omnipotent super beings might do, given the chance. …
“In A Mirror, Darkly” (Star Trek: Enterprise) – In truth, I figure any movie featuring the Mirror Universe also would take cues from original Star Trek episodes “Mirror Mirror” and “The Tholian Web.” If the filmmakers wanted to use this conceit as a means of showcasing the “old school” U.S.S. Defiant and the original series aesthetic in order to represent the original timeline, I’d be game. Maybe part of an expanded story using elements from the various episodes could be used to show how Mirror Spock deals with his Captain Kirk. I wonder what Zachary Quinto would look like in a beard? Or, maybe they tweak the idea enough so that Leonard Nimoy could be Mirror Spock. Also, is Trek fandom ready for “Empress Nyota?” I think we could handle it. …
“Mudd’s Women”/”I, Mudd” or “The Trouble With Tribbles,” suggested by Melissa Nickerson and John Ordover on my Facebook page – During the discussion we had about this topic over on Facebook, friend and former Pocket Books Star Trek fiction editor John Ordover made the point that after the fairly intense storylines which have dominated the last few films, it might well be time to lighten things up a bit. Just as Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was a definite change of pace following the first three movies, so too could a fresh take on a lovable rogue adversary like Harry Mudd or Cyrano Jones. Tackling a more whimsical tale would depend in large part on the actor chosen for the pivotal role of the scoundrel du jour. For my money, I can see Alan Tudyk (Wash from Firefly) as Mudd, but what about Jones? Hmmm?
This, first, is an outstanding list, combining my two favorite episodes (“Balance of Terror” and “The Doomsday Machine”), the most award-winning episode (“City on the Edge of Forever”), and two other favorites (“Mirror, Mirror” and “The Trouble with Tribbles”). The Harcourt Fenton Mudd episodes are amusing, but “I, Mudd” was over-the-top campy, though the use of the Liar’s Paradox is great.
Each of the original episodes was longer than an hour-long series today, because the networks jam in more commercials. Many episodes required substantial pre-filming script editing. Science fiction writer Harlan Ellison wrote “City,” which required enormous rewrites because creator Gene Roddenberry objected to Ellison’s characterization of some of the Enterprise’s crew. “Tribbles” author David Gerrold typed his script on a 12-pica IBM Selectric typewriter (remember those?), and when, as the studios did in those days, Desilu distributed the first draft of the script as retyped using a 10-pitch typewriter, it was 90 pages long. At one minute per page, Gerrold said, that could have been the first 90-minute episode of “Star Trek.”
The problem, however, is how to add material without padding to stretch a one-hour TV episode into a two-hour movie. This might be easiest in the case of “Balance of Terror,” because it was based on a movie, “The Enemy Below.” A movie could delve into the backstory of Romulans and Vulcans being related, along with the particular anti-Romulan animus of the navigator in the original. (That, however, is a character not in the current version of “Star Trek” — Chekov arrived in the second season.)
“The Enemy Below” was about a U.S. destroyer and a German submarine, each pursuing the other in the North Atlantic. The German sub had a war-weary captain and his friend the executive officer, plus other characters including a more-Nazi-than-thou officer. There is one scene while the sub is in silent running where the captain looks at his exec to have him look at super-Nazi, who is of course reading Mein Kampf. The exec looks back at the captain and shrugs. The scene could not have been done better.
“The Enemy Below” shows that while the Germans were the enemy, not all Germans were that different from the Allies. (Which is different from claiming that the Axis and the Allies were equally bad.) “Balance of Terror” is similar in showing a Romulan captain who does his job well and carries out his orders without necessarily agreeing with them.
As for “The Doomsday Machine,” there’s a sequel option there too if any more “Star Trek: The Next Generation” movies are made. One of the better TNG novels, Vendetta, posits that the doomsday machine was created by a race at war with … the Borg. Some of the action in the original occurs off-screen — the machine eating a planet onto which Commodore Decker’s crew was beamed down after the machine damaged Decker’s ship — and obviously could be included to devastating effect. (Imagine watching the planet you’re standing on destroyed — watching your own death.)
The scene where Kirk orders Spock to relieve Decker (Kirk’s superior officer) of command is not only one of the greatest moments in the history of the series (all five series and all the movies), it is quintessential Kirk and a demonstration of why Kirk was the superior captain to all the rest. Kirk would do anything for his ship, including blatantly violate not just Starfleet regulations, but protocol of any military in the history of mankind.
“Tribbles” would be an interesting choice, because there’s more there than casual viewers might think. Gerrold wrote that James Doohan, who played Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, who had to clean up the tribbles from the Enterprise, pointed out that the tribble crisis could have cost Captain Kirk his command thanks to a series of events beyond Kirk’s control combined with Kirk’s antagonism toward the Federation bureaucrat in charge of the quadrotriticale project. The episode had the Enterprise protecting a shipment of wheat — sorry, quadrotriticale — on a space station for a planet experiencing a famine, when along comes Cyrano Jones and his tribbles, followed closely by the Klingons. What happens if the tribbles eat all the grain? (Apparently tribbles are not gluten-intolerant. And as viewers know, if you feed a tribble, you get a bunch of hungry little tribbles.) What happens if the Klingons attack the space station? What if the Organians give Sherman’s Planet to the Klingons? Any of those scenarios would probably be a career-killer for Kirk.
The problem with any of these, of course, is the inevitable comparisons between J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” and the original. It’s impossible to imagine, for instance, better music than the original “Doomsday Machine” soundtrack …
… which was also used for “Journey to Babel,” “Mirror, Mirror,” “Obsession,” “The Immunity Syndrome” and other episodes.
There’s also the larger issue of why not just a series, but an episode is being remade. Of course, the long and dreary list of TV-sh0ws-turned-inferior-movies — “Wild Wild West,” anyone? — shows that ship sailed a long time ago, and is a subject that would take up far more space than this blog.
Steve Prestegard.com: The Presteblog 