Idea of the Day - A new idea each day. Some Don't Suck!

Our Latest Posts About: Science Fiction

Star Trek Movies Need a Story Arc

Thursday, June 30, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Star Trek needs a common thread connecting each movie so people have something to look forward to.

One of the reasons people look forward to Star Wars movies is that regardless of the the plots of each film, there is a much bigger story that unfolds with each new episode. This gives the audience a specific reason for anticipating the next film, even without seeing the trailer.

This is likely because it started out as a TV series, where each episode was a complete story that would be resolved by the end of the hour. Back then, it was uncommon for a prime time show to have a cliffhanger or continuing story. This meant that if you missed an episode, you could still tune in the next week without feeling like you've missed something.

It also meant that the producers could air... [More]

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Why Star Wars Is NOT Science Fiction

Sunday, April 3, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Many people say Star Wars is the greatest science fiction movie of all time, which is odd, because it's not science fiction.

I'm a big science fiction fan. I've read tons of SciFi books over the years and there's one thing that's common to most science fiction, an essence of scientific plausibility in most of the story itself.

For example, Back to the Future is great science fiction, because although it may not be believable that a mad scientist from 1985 could build a time machine out of a car, the concept of time travel itself is actually possible, according to the laws of physics.

Star Wars, on the other hand has The Force, which is a magical power that some people use to lift things up, control and read people's minds, and even zap people with lightning bolts from thei... [More]

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Why No Hug For Chewbacca?

Friday, April 1, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Isn't it odd that Princess / General Leia greeted Rey with a big hug at a particularly sensitive moment... but there was no hug for Chewbacca?

In the latest Star Wars movie, (Episode VII, The Force Awakens), there's a moment that still has me scratching my head. It comes right after the Millennium Falcon returns to the Resistance Base without Han Solo, who was killed by his son Ben / Kylo Ren.

Just after the Falcon lands, we see Leia give Rey a big hug, which is pretty strange considering two things. First, she's never met Rey before that moment, and second, she doesn't seem to give any attention to Chewbacca, even though they've got over 40 years of history together.

Chewbacca just lost his best friend and Leia just lost her husband. Clearly, if anyone should be embracin... [More]

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Why Star Wars Should Be on Regular TV More Often

Monday, March 14, 2016 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Believe it or not, some people have never seen Star Wars.

I take it for granted that everyone's seen Star Wars, but the fact is, some people haven't seen it, and there's a good reason. It's rarely on TV, and they may not be the kind of people who invest in buying DVDs or BluRay Discs, especially for movies they've never seen before.

Think about it. If you didn't see the original when it was in theaters in 1977, there were very few chances to see it unless you were willing to purchase a copy.

Since some people rarely purchase movies, that means they probably haven't seen it. That's a shame.

Unfortunately, now that Disney owns the Star Wars franchise, the chances of seeing it on regular TV are even smaller, because Disney has a history of holding back when it comes... [More]

Continue...Why Star Wars Should Be on Regular TV More Often...

Just Call it Star Wars

Monday, March 7, 2016 11:11 PM By Joe Crescenzi

I hate when people call the original Star Wars "A New Hope"!

When Star Wars was released in 1977, it had only one name, "Star Wars". When The Empire Strikes Back was released, audiences were caught off guard when the opening titles began with "Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back". This immediately implied that the first movie was actually Episode IV, and that there were 3 missing parts that would eventually proceed it.

Regardless of this revelation, for all practical purposes, Star Wars was still... Star Wars, until they eventually released the original movie on VHS and they felt compelled to slap an "Episode IV" on it to make it official. While I can understand that, they also slipped in a new title "A New Hope".

For what it's worth, I and other people old enough to rem... [More]

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Disney Should Offer The Classic Theatrical Versions of Star Wars

Saturday, December 26, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Did Han Solo Shoot First?

An artist works on a painting for two years, then hangs it in a gallery, where everyone praises it as a masterpiece. Would it be wrong of the artist to remove the painting from the gallery 20 years later, and make changes before putting it back on display? After all, it was HIS painting.

That's exactly what George Lucas did when he released "Special Editions" of all three films. Unlike most re-released films, he didn't simply re-master them with better sound and color reproduction, he made quite a lot of changes to the films, including adding additional visual effects, and even a few new scenes.

If you watch them side by side, some of the changes are pretty drastic. They added a lot of computer generated creatures who walk around in familiar sc... [More]

Continue...Disney Should Offer The Classic Theatrical Versions of Star Wars...

Think Like a Jedi

Friday, December 18, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

Awaken the Force Inside You.

I was 12 years old when the original Star Wars was released in 1977. To say I was an instant fan is an understatement. I was obsessed with it.

Like many people who grew up in that era, the fascination with Star Wars went way beyond simply enjoying the action scenes or the special effects. What attracted me most was the idea of being a "Jedi".

To me, there were 5 kinds of people in the movie:

1. Good Guys.

2. Bad Guys.

3. Really Good Guys.

4. Really Bad Guys.

5. Scoundrels.

The majority of the characters were Good Guys, Bad Guys, and Scoundrels. Most of the Good Guys were Rebels, and most of the bad guys were Stormtroopers, so it was easy to tell them apart.

What made the movie special was that there were only a few "

... [More]

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Live Long... And Prosper.

Saturday, February 28, 2015 1:00 AM By Joe Crescenzi

You don't have to be a fan of Star Trek to recognize those iconic words.

I can't help but think of those words today, as news spread about the loss of Leonard Nimoy at the age of 83.

To me, of all the lines used in Star Trek, "Live Long, and Prosper" is the one that has the greatest meaning, because it's a message of peace and good will towards your neighbor. In a sense, it's the Golden Rule as interpreted by a peaceful race of people living on the imaginary planet of Vulcan.

Leonard Nimoy's "Spock" had a lot of influence on me growing up. He was a man of logic and curiosity, yet because he was half human, he also had depth. Under his logical exterior was a man of character, passion and loyalty. For science and computer geeks like me, Spock was a perfect role model.... [More]

Continue...Live Long... And Prosper....

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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.

In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.

The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.

For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.

- Joe

Idea Of The Day. A new Idea Each Day. Some Don't Suck.