Okay, I've read two of these (the Scotty and the Haiblum). Is it too late to throw in a plug for THE PLATYPUS OF DOOM by Arthur Byron Cover?

The copyright vs. trademark thing can be tricky. Sometimes it's just easier to pay the estate a nominal fee to use the character.

Thanks for posting that image—and proving that it wasn't simply a product of my twisted imagination!

Plus, of course, CASTLE is often deals with aggressively fannish topics: steampunk, vampires, superheroes, fairy tales . . . .

And yet they approved the Jar Jar Binks Tongue Pop? (For those who have mercifully repressed the memory, this was a plastic candy dispenser with a hard candy tongue—for people who really wanted to suck on Jar Jar's tongue.) I swear to God, I'm not making this up.

It's an old idea. Check out "Le Morte Amoreuse" by Theophile Gautier, first published in 1839!

Regarding pon farr, I suspect they usually skip the mortal combat part. In "Amok Time," T'Pring seems to be invoking some ancient custom that is seldom practiced anymore. It's like that part of Earthling wedding vows where the officiant feels obliged to ask if anyone in attendence has reason to object to the union. …

I still think that Jaime Alexander (who played Sif in THOR) would be perfect as WW. She's got the whole comic book warrior goddess thing down . . . .

I stand corrected!

A funny bit of trivia: the villain in the original Cathy Lee Crosby tv-movie was played by none other than Ricardo Montalban, a.k.a. "Khaaaaaaan!"

This is the the part where I point out that the original NIGHT STALKER tv-movie was scripted by Richard Matheson (based on a novel by Jeff Rice).

Rickles actually played a vampire in INNOCENT BLOOD, and I remember seeing him as a young sailor in some old black-and-white submarine movie . . . .

No problem. Thanks for correcting the article. Glad to hear that people are finally getting a chance to read Spinrad's original script. (Norman was actually one of my instructors at Clarion ages ago. Taught me how to outline a novel.)

Coming soon: "GREEN EGGS AND HAM encourages our children to experiment with unnatural foods!"

You're thinking of Fred Freiberger. Completely different guy.

Okay, it's a bit unfair to identify Coon solely as the author of "Spock's Brain" and "Wink of an Eye"—especially since he took his name off both of those episodes. Why not not mention that he also wrote "The Devil in the Dark," "Space Seed," "Errand of Mercy," "Arena," "A Piece of the Action," and various other…

And how old were you when you got hooked on monsters and robots? Why deny today's kids the same experience?

All I know is that if I was twelve, and somebody had made a big new movie about robots and giant monsters, I would be damn pissed if I wasn't allowed to see it because it was R-rated. One has to wonder how old most of these jaded older fans were when they first got hooked on Godzilla movies and such. God forbid that…

X-Men: Class War.

The thing is, Rick is still thinking like a cop. Shoot a couple guys who drew on him? Okay, that's doable. Leave an injured stranger to be eaten alive by zombies? That's not what a good cop does . . . even if that may not matter anymore.