Johnathan Frakes - Pseudoscience Away!

Doomriser · Post by **Doomriser** » 2002-07-18 09:20pm

Catch Johnathan Frakes narrating "Beyond Belief"? It's a show that deals with the "paranormal" and the "supernatural" (i.e. generally pseudoscience). It deals with spirit possessions, ghostwriting, ghost pains, and recycled urban legends. Sure, some of them are shown to be made up, but none of the "supernatural" elements are investigated in detail or through any sort of extensive/scientific analysis. Anyone else find it fitting that the host of a show with such calibre material is a former Star Trek lead actor?

Datana · Post by **Datana** » 2002-07-19 01:32am

He also hosted some alien abduction and government conspiracy tabloid-shows as well a bit back. I think that he's simply selling out to the credulous, a category into which many Trek fanatics fall. In any case, I would hope his reputation is shot as a result (though I doubt it -- Robert Stack has gotten away with his own paranormal show for decades now (Unsolved Mysteries) with no ill effects).

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-07-19 11:39am

When I see actors in roles like these, I wonder if they really believe this stuff or are they merely "acting."

Is it possible that Frakes is simply doing the job cause its a paycheck?

SPOOFE · Post by **SPOOFE** » 2002-07-19 06:34pm

It's on Fox. What do you expect? "When Star Trek Actors Attack XVII"?

David · Post by **David** » 2002-07-19 09:35pm

Tring to keep his career going I think. To bad, he was a good actor in a bad role.

Datana · Post by **Datana** » 2002-07-20 12:58am

Still, it's not new for Star Trek actors to promote pseudoscience. Remember Leonard Nimoy and "In Search Of.."? History Channel (and occasionally Sci-Fi Channel) is actually showing that drivel on a regular basis.

Ladysekhmet · Post by **Ladysekhmet** » 2002-07-21 04:57am

Back when I still went to church , I recall seing Johnathan Frakes doing a video on Biblical archaeology as well as paranormal "documentaries" so go figure.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-07-21 07:33pm

Why should Frakes' pseudoscientific idiocy be surprising?

Actors are, by and large, a staggeringly ignorant lot when it comes to matters of science and logic. This is not surprising, since they usually take subjects such as drama when they were in school (as opposed to something like, say, physics), and they tend to exhibit little interest in educating themselves about the subject. Most actors seem to be of the impression that any one of them is more valuable to society than every engineer in the world.

My favourite anti-engineer/anti-science lines come from Jurassic Park, which is a veritable cornucopia of anti-scientific stupidity. I especially like the one when Jeff Goldblum's moronic character says "God help us, we're in the hands of engineers" as they start their tour (somehow, the fact that this was also true during their helicopter ride to the island escaped him).

As an aside, Jurassic Park is a classic example of anti-scientific anti-technological stupidity. The message of the story was that we shouldn't meddle with the natural world because it is beyond our ability to control. But if they had used a properly designed system (not something reminiscent of Star Trek, where a power failure causes the entire park to dissolve into chaos and everything is controlled by a central "Big Brother" computer system), they would have been fine.

David · Post by **David** » 2002-07-21 11:01pm

Datana wrote:Still, it's not new for Star Trek actors to promote pseudoscience. Remember Leonard Nimoy and "In Search Of.."? History Channel (and occasionally Sci-Fi Channel) is actually showing that drivel on a regular basis.

I'll forgive Nemoy of anything since he did the voice of Galvatron on Transformers: The Movie.

Ladysekhmet · Post by **Ladysekhmet** » 2002-07-22 12:55am

David Wrote:

I'll forgive Nemoy of anything since he did the voice of Galvatron on Transformers: The Movie.

Let's not forget Robert stack was also a voice actor in Transformers, as well as Basketball lampooning his own show, so he gets some forgiveness in my book.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-07-22 12:58am

David wrote:I'll forgive Nemoy of anything since he did the voice of Galvatron on Transformers: The Movie.

I love that movie. The line "I've got better things to do tonight than die." is cool, and I especially liked Starscream's violent petrification.

"Megatron, is that you?"
"Here's a hint!" (transforms into heavy cannon)
BOOM

I loved it.

David · Post by **David** » 2002-07-22 01:06am

Hell yeah, best scene of the movie, although I wish Starscream had not died. Oh well, alls well that ends well.

Other fav quote

It's over Prime.
Never!

Transformers is the best cartoon movie ever. It's the only one where the kill nearly all the main characters, all least in America.

lgot · Post by **lgot** » 2002-07-22 01:12am

As an aside, Jurassic Park is a classic example of anti-scientific anti-technological stupidity. The message of the story was that we shouldn't meddle with the natural world because it is beyond our ability to control. But if they had used a properly designed system (not something reminiscent of Star Trek, where a power failure causes the entire park to dissolve into chaos and everything is controlled by a central "Big Brother" computer system), they would have been fine.

This is short off what was made with Frankstein...
The Book's message is about your responsability not about "Science is a dangerous toy , play God and lost control. Get killed. ". This happened when they made the Karloff's movie, where they made Victor be a mad scientist (well, he was mad in the end of book, but in a different sense ) and totally turned the monster in a real monster. The final of the movie was very like this...
Instead of a animated body you have t.rex and some dude talking some chaosteorybubble to try to prove things are going to be wrong (he could have put Charlie Brown to do this as well.Would work the same) even if the park only got FUBAR because a human saboteur and industrial spy made a otherwise working system to go nuts.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-07-22 01:47am

lgot wrote:This is short off what was made with Frankstein...
The Book's message is about your responsability not about "Science is a dangerous toy , play God and lost control. Get killed. ". This happened when they made the Karloff's movie, where they made Victor be a mad scientist (well, he was mad in the end of book, but in a different sense ) and totally turned the monster in a real monster. The final of the movie was very like this...

Instead of a animated body you have t.rex and some dude talking some chaosteorybubble to try to prove things are going to be wrong (he could have put Charlie Brown to do this as well.Would work the same) even if the park only got FUBAR because a human saboteur and industrial spy made a otherwise working system to go nuts.

True. But worse yet, it was a badly designed system in the first place, with or without sabotage.

The exclusive use of high-voltage wires to keep the animals in their pens is absolutely idiotic. Modern zoos use different types of pens to hold different types of animals, and they invariably use passive containment systems such as moats, below-ground paddocks with sheer concrete walls up to ground level, etc. Fences are usually double-layered, and their strength is tailored to the animal being contained. Every powered system in the park could fail and not one animal would escape.

Contrast this to Jurassic Park, where a momentary power failure (or act of computer sabotage) would cause every animal in the park to escape its pen. It's Star Trek-style engineering. If I were in charge of that park I would have the designer dragged out and shot. He made a system which was markedly inferior to a goddamned zoo!

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2002-07-22 08:20am

Darth Wong wrote:He made a system which was markedly inferior to a goddamned zoo!

I thought the Jurassic Park was a zoo.....

Gil Hamilton · Post by **Gil Hamilton** » 2002-07-22 08:35am

Simon H.Johansen wrote:
Darth Wong wrote:He made a system which was markedly inferior to a goddamned zoo!
I thought the Jurassic Park was a zoo.....

It's the best kind of zoo! It's the kind of zoo that has Triceratops in areas that you tour jeeps go through with no physical barrier between it and the road. But that's not all! It's the kind of zoo that feeds their biggest killing machine, the T-Rex, one goat a day, so that it's famished to the point of insanity when it breaks loose (on the plus side, it ate the lawyer first). But that's not all, if you get tired of armored tank-like dinosaurs chasing after your jeep and killer T-Rexes, you can always go on the rides that are placed smack next to their highly sensative labratories for your snooping. non-sterile convenience! And finally, it's entire computer and security system is run by Newman from Seinfelds Evil Twin!

Fun for the whole family!

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2002-07-22 11:22am

I tend to give the writers a little more leeway in movies like Jurassic Park because if you have a well designed system that doesn't fail....we wouldn't have a movie. I know its lame but it has to be put out there that suspension of disbelief is a neccessity for movies like JP. Personally I enjoyed it...the sequels sucked much moneky ass.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2002-07-22 11:36am

Normally I do too, but not when they try to impart an Important Social Message about technology into the film, and they use those feeble plot devices as the justification.

It's like the Death Star's Achilles Heel. As a plot device, it's fine. If, on the other hand, GL had made us sit around and listen to characters talking about how technology can never be controlled due to chaos theory and the inherent superiority of nature over the works of man, I would start getting pissed off.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-07-22 12:15pm

Did any of you read the book? I read the book after seeing the movie and found it to be much better. I did enjoy the movie however, I never bothered to see parts 2 and 3 because I heard they were so bad.

They left out or changed some features for reasons I think were plain political correctness. In the movie the girl was smart and new about computers and the boy was sorta slow but knew about dinasours. In the book its the other way around. Also, at the end of the movie the main scientist realizes he was mistaken and admits so. In the book, he still does'nt "get it" and plans to continue his work.

I personally felt the the message of JP WAS not to mess with nature in such a fashion and that the engineering failures existed to move the plot along, however, I think DARTH WONGs point about complaining about engineers while riding in a helicopter is a very good point.

A helicopter is a complex machine, it requires engineers to design, mechanics to maintain, workers to assemble, pilots to fly, etc. Yet how many of us think about this when you see a helicopter? Its just another part of modern life we take for granted. I think many people dont realize how much of our modern society is dependent on engineering, medical science, etc. I still think its a bad idea to recreate dinosaurs, but Im not about to pretend that the world would be better without science.

Stravo · Post by **Stravo** » 2002-07-22 12:30pm

It's like the Death Star's Achilles Heel. As a plot device, it's fine. If, on the other hand, GL had made us sit around and listen to characters talking about how technology can never be controlled due to chaos theory and the inherent superiority of nature over the works of man, I would start getting pissed off.

I see your point and completely agree with you. Although GL makes the same arguments concerning man and technology, he doesn't beat us over the head with it. The underlying theme is there for those who care and probe a little bit beyond the surface.

Doomriser · Post by **Doomriser** » 2002-07-22 12:53pm

Darth Wong wrote:He made a system which was markedly inferior to a goddamned zoo!

It's almost as if they were trying to engineer the situation that later occured. I mean, a tropic island infested by huge storms, a Microsoftian security system, sex-changing chromosomes, lack of "gas-jeeps" and then their fall-back plan consists of hunting or controlling the animals with SPAS-12 shotguns!

David · Post by **David** » 2002-07-22 01:05pm

You'd think they would at least build an adequate road system that would not get flooded. I mean, please, if your in a tropical environment of course there will be a storm every once and a while. What would they have done if they had had thousand of tourists on the island when a storm hit?

Peregrin Toker · Post by **Peregrin Toker** » 2002-07-22 02:43pm

TrailerParkJawa wrote:Did any of you read the book? I read the book after seeing the movie and found it to be much better. I did enjoy the movie however, I never bothered to see parts 2 and 3 because I heard they were so bad.

I have actually read the book, but I never saw the movie!!!

They left out or changed some features for reasons I think were plain political correctness. In the movie the girl was smart and new about computers and the boy was sorta slow but knew about dinasours. In the book its the other way around.

Interesting.

Also, at the end of the movie the main scientist realizes he was was and admits so. In the book, he still does'nt "get it" and plans to continue his work.

He was WHAT??[/quote]

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2002-07-22 07:22pm

I meant he was mistaken. I corrected my post. Thanks for pointing that out.

David · Post by **David** » 2002-07-22 08:01pm

Hey, Frakes show is on right now.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Johnathan Frakes - Pseudoscience Away!

Johnathan Frakes - Pseudoscience Away!

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