Hopefully some of you folks tuned in to Bravo tonight to see the airing of “Varekai,” the latest Cirque production which we saw some weeks back. There were a few acts in there that weren’t in the performance we saw, which is a bit annoying. And naturally seeing it on a TV screen can’t compare to being there in person. But at least you get some idea of what it’s all about. I’m sure Bravo will be running it a few more times, so try and catch it.
Me, I’d like to get out to Vegas and catch this new supposedly ultra-sexy version of Cirque that’s running out there. And I still haven’t seen the “Star Trek Experience.” Been about a decade since I’ve been to Vegas. Maybe longer. Actually, it might have been when Dale and I were out there promoting the Hulk, so you KNOW that’s a while.
PAD
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Man, you’re missing out, Pete. The STAR TREK EXPERIENCE at the Las Vegas Hilton is a hoot and a half. The museum portion is kind of lame, but the ‘ride’ portion is lots and lots of fun. I think I rode that thing a dozen times when I was in Vegas in 2001.
Fun!
Peter,
If you haven’t seen La Nouba (which plays at Downtown Disney in Olando) be sure and catch that one.
We were just at Disney World for Gay Days,and the La Nouba show was the highlight of the trip.
We lucked out that it was pouring rain, and so due to cancellations we were able to get tickets.
Amazing show, with a stage that will blow you away, a trampline act that is BETTER than the one in “Allegria”, and a simply stunning Highwire act (not to mention BMX bike tricks, and the “climbing with cake” act that has been shown as part of “Nouvu Experience” on Bravo.
Worth every penny for the tix.
I was in Las Vegas for vacation recently, and trust me when I say the Star Trek Experience was a profound disapointment.
My Father had an Ad which advertised for about $25 a ticket, but when we went there they initally charge you $30. When we brought the ad to their attention, then lowered the price – saying mentioning it was all you needed to do. What kind of scam is that? When you still have a lower price being currently advertised, then you should have the decency to to keep it at that price until then – instead of trying to get an extra $5 bucks before their last Ad campain runs out and they raise prices.
The ride part was fun, but I liked more of the experience of going onto a pretend deck of the Enterprise. That was majorly cool, so the whole thing wasn’t a waste. But the finale part of the ride, in the shuttle craft, was one of the most bumpy and hazardous rides I’d ever been on. I was literally leaning my arm against the wall, keeping my head from hitting the bulkhead. That and whatever it does to your back is anybody’s guess. The worst part of the shuttle carft part was that my Dad paid so much money for a ticket and becuase of back problems couldn’t even complete the experience. That really sucked.
Sorry for ranting, but I gotta let off a little steam about the money grubbing, hoarding Paramount was making off of that place. Not only this, but the Gift Shops are libal to bankrupt rulers of welthy nations. I saw the recently released Nemesis for over $30 – that’s a freakin crime when you consider you can buy that movie at any normal store for $20. And that I did! I don’t see how they sell anything in that place.
The place looks really cool, and the set designs are pretty awsome. The transporter was surprisingly cool too – but the rest really just inflated me and my Dad’s day there.
Peter, if your in that same hotel try and go see “The Smothers Brothers” They where a laugh riot. Much better than the Star Trek Experience.
Decades ago?
As far as I remember “Hulk: The End” came out A YEAR AGO.
Pascal
Speaking of Vegas, has anybody seen their new tourism ads on TV?
They show people in morally ambiguous situations and then end with the tag line “Vegas-What Happens Here, Stays Here.”
I would of loved to be in the mayor’s office for that PR pitch meeting “Yeah your honor, you see, instead of courting families or just plain old degenerate gamblers…our new P.R. blitz will throw open the doors of Vegas to people of ALL vices and questionable morality! We become the city where anything goes! Like “home” in a game of tag!”
Talk about putting the SIN back in Sin City.
Best–Chris
I know there’s going to be a Las Vegas Comic-Con on October 31 thru November 2
http://www.lasvegascomiccon.com
That might be a good time to make it out there. Thinking of going myself.
Peace…
Dan
I had fun at the Star Trek Experience. It’s cheesy to be sure, but fun. Quark’s bar makes some pretty decent drinks. The museum was OK, but mostly I came away with the feeling that the props looked a lot worse in person than they did on TV. But, I guess that’s the point of a prop. The ride was goofy fun – didn’t have any trouble with it.
I live in Vegas and have never seen more of ST:The Experience than the gift areas. I heard that the food at Quark’s isn’t all that great. Go there during the ST Convention, my sisters went to it last year and they had a lot of fun. . .especially since there were a lot of Babylon 5 people there. 🙂
A little off subject, but my local Wal-Mart had the Hulk Cartoon DVD on the shelves saturday.
I picked it up (and was told by an old man who worked there “Now, that’s not that new movie, it’s something else…” DUH!)
So i went to the “Special features” section for the “exclusive Peter David Interview” and all i got was the “I’m Peter David and i’m best known for writting the hulk”.
WHU?! took me a couple minutes after my yelling “shenanigans” to find the “peter talks during the show” function.
Is that the “special interview” ?
Yves, I haven’t rented the tape yet, but I have seen the “X-Men” original series tape that Disney/Buena Vista has released, and its Claremont interview clips and through-the-show commentary.
This is one of the things Disney did right; adding commentary to these old shows to explain them to younger people, or those who aren’t lunatic followers of the comics like us folks. And I’m looking forward to renting the DVD to hear what Mr. D says. (He should’ve pitched a few proposals to the Disney brass while he was there. They’re currently weak on writers.)
I remember the cartoons when they first aired, and I’m far less sanguine about watching them again. Already, the hype for the new movie has reached such a high level that it’s nauseating. Either this film is adequate or it will ruin the Hulk as a character forever.
(Which kind of brings us back to topic, since this Star Trek Experience thing is one of the items that has contributed to the decline of Trek popularity. If they run something as part of a Vegas attraction, it’s over. Elvis was over when he played Vegas. Pirates are over. Volcanos as entertainment events are over. Pyramids are over. And look what happened to Steve Gerber when he went there. Tragedy.)
PAD,
Go to Vegas. I’ve been to Vegas quite a few times, and I’ve been to the Trek Experience twice. Loved it both times, even the second time, when I knew what was going to happen. It’s a treat to see the timeline and museum. And the best part for me is the actors that they get to be on the Enterprise D. These people can actually keep a straight face. My only problem was that the timeline/museum wasn’t updated the second time I was there. DS9 had finished but nothing on the timeline reflected the extent of the series. I’ve been informed that it currently reflects everything up to the show of Enterprise.
Has anyone been to the Carowinds park in the Carolinas? That’s a Paramount park and I went once years ago. Didn’t see any Star Trek rides, but there was a Klingone walking around trying to harass people like me. It was fun. Do they have anythin new Trek related?
I was in Las Vegas the last week of march. The star trek experience is definitely one of the best moments. Those actors were so serious, it was hillarious! (any you can ride as many times as you want, we were on a tight schedule that day, but my wife insisted on going at least twice) If you want a little bit of behind the scenes of the ride, get your picture taken on the bridge. The ride was not the roughest i-max ride we went on while we were there. That would go to the luxor pyramid ride. We almost got sick off of that one, because it really whips you around.
The cirque show we ended up seeing was O at the bellagio. While the one at NYNY is more sensual, I would say O is more darker and disturbing, totally messing with your sense of perception, whether it’s (spoiler text on) how the curtains opened straight backward, the guy getting pulled straight up the curtain, when they are walking on top of the water, the grid trapese with water falling on them, the carousel horses that take off like motorboats, the ichabod crane looking character, or the guy completely engulfed in flames. I ended up watching all of the cirque shows last week on bravo, and IMO varekai was the best of all of the televised shows. Seeing cirque live is worth every cent of however much you pay. (for me is was $110/person) I was absolutely, totally against it before going to vegas, but that live performance changed my mind.
The Star Trek Experience is fun, but go sooner than later, because the price keeps rising exponentially.
When it first started out it wasn’t a bad value for the entertainment, and wasn’t even a bad price for non-fans, but now it’s a bit more than I’d inflict on people, however they let you go on the ride multiple times to make up for it.
However it’s worth doing once as a fan, and the characters that walk around the Promenade are a lot of fun, and they have the right things to say to people who aren’t so Trek crazy too.