Displaying items by tag: Mark A Altman

“Star Trek has left a legacy of hope and optimism that humankind has a future. If we cultivate the potential of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations so that we embrace a universe brimming with the riches of life in all of its forms, then humankind can evolve into something finer and nobler. I think that is what Gene Roddenberry meant when he said that the human adventure is just beginning.” — Bill Kraft, author of Maybe We Need a Letter from God: The Star Trek Stamp

The Digital Bits and History, Legacy & Showmanship are pleased to present this retrospective article commemorating the golden anniversary of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry’s legendary science-fiction television series depicting the voyages of Captain James T. Kirk and his crew of the starship Enterprise.

The memorable television series premiered 50 years ago this week (September 6th, 1966, on CTV in Canada, and September 8th, 1966, on NBC in the United States), and similar to our other Star Trek roundtables (here and here) and classic television retrospectives (here, here, here, and here), The Bits for the occasion has assembled a Q&A with an esteemed group of Treksperts, historians and Star Trek writers who examine the best episodes and offer commentary on the show’s enduring appeal, influence and legacy.  [Read on here...]

“Star Trek: The Motion Picture provided a unique experience, leaving some audience members, myself included, elated at the prospect, “The Human Adventure Is Just Beginning.” — Robert Meyer Burnett

“I do feel very lucky to have been a kid while this amazing renaissance of fantasy filmmaking was going on.… Star Wars, then Close Encounters, then Superman, then Alien, then Star Trek: The Motion Picture… at least in terms of going to the movies, those are two-and-a-half years I wish I could experience again. It was a truly magical time.” — Mike Matessino  [Read more here...]

Here at The Bits today, Tim Salmons has turned in a review of Disney’s Frozen on Blu-ray. Do check that out.

Also, today happens to be the 15th anniversary of a little film called Free Enterprise, starring William Shatner, directed by our old friend Robert Meyer Burnett, and produced by Mark A. Altman (who also writes the occasional MOS DEF column here at The Bits). So our own Michael Coate has taken the opportunity to do a new interview with Rob and Mark for his latest History, Legacy & Showmanship column. You’ll find that here, so we hope you enjoy it! [Read on here...]

“Get a Life!” exclaimed William Shatner to a legion of Star Trek fans in a classic 1986 Saturday Night Live skit. Among those who did indeed get a life were Mark A. Altman and Robert Meyer Burnett. The pair succeeded in creating Free Enterprise, the affectionate 1999 comedy about a pair of pop culture geeks who meet their idol, William Shatner. Be careful about wanting to meet your heroes may have been the moral of the story as Mark (Eric McCormack) and Robert (Rafer Weigel) discover Mr. Shatner is not quite the person they think he is. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got a couple of new columns for you today, one of which features a good interview, plus a bit of release news.

First, our own Michael Coate has turned in a new installment of his History, Legacy & Showmanship column looking back at the release of Field of Dreams on its 25th Anniversary. As part of this piece, he’s got a new interview with director Phil Alden Robinson. Enjoy! [Read on here...]

With the week’s welcome release of Universal finally bringing Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil to Blu, two more classic must-own titles are finally making at long last to disc. But even with these essential titles finally coming to Blu-ray, there are still so many other wonderful titles that remain stubbornly M.I.A.

Here’s a few; some classics, some guilty pleasures, but all very most wanted. [Read on here…]

Let’s get right down to business…

Today’s big story is the revelation (due to Dr. Jahnke’s inquisitive Internet wanderings) that Orson Welles’ 1947 film noir, The Lady from Shanghai, is officially coming to Blu-ray in the States as an exclusive Blu-ray/DVD Combo available only from TCM Shop!  [Read on here…]

The Digital Bits’ Mark A. Altman weighs in on the Top 25 best Blu-ray and DVD releases of the last year… because 10 just wasn’t enough

As a longtime discophile (and, I’m not talking about Donna Summer), nothing upsets me more to hear about the so-called end of days for physical media. Cries that the streaming Visigoths are at the gates ready to crush our silver platters into dust in the process make me shudder.  [Read on here…]