Picard Season 3 and Shilling (Open Letter to RMB)

Hello Alexandria,

I know, I know, this is a letter to Robert Meyer Burnett. But between you and me, Alex, I don't expect him to read this. Although I'm open to being pleasantly surprised. Speaking of pleasant surprises....

I'm a happy to say that I've finally begun watching Picard Season 3. And yes, it is good. Sure, I have some nitpicks...

For example, in Episode 1, Beverly gets only a few shots out of the phaser rifle before it tells her the battery is empty. What kind of idiot would design a phaser rifle like that, let alone issue it ? And how can anybody just dock without permission ? Where are the safeties against that sort of thing ? 

...but compared to the Dreck that is Discovery, it is SO much better. Nice work, Terry Matalas (and company) ! I also believe Mr. Burnett when he says Paramount didn't pay him to promote the show. So...

Why Does This Situation Smell of Shilling to Me ?

Because in the words of RMB "It's not show friends, it's show business." And in business you don't give things away. You want something in return. So, why did Paramount give Burnett - who has been a vocal critic of NuTrek - early copies of Episode 1 through 6 ? What did they get in return ? 

On top of this, Mr. Burnett saw episode 7 through 10 ahead of their airing. But he won't say how. Again, what did Paramount gain ? And in the same period, he just happened to befriend Terry Matalas ? This whole thing smells like a Faustian Deal to me. 

And even if there was no deal, this whole thing feels like people playing games. Because I don't believe in coincidence. If this was an episode of NCIS, this is point where somebody would be quoting Rule 39. (Reminding us that there is no such thing.) 

All it would take is one whisper in the right place, one off handed suggestion. (Maybe #Secret Hideout is sick and tired of Burnett's criticisms and saw a chance to damage his reputation.) Either way, something is stinking here.

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash - My fanfiction.net handle)

Filling in the Holes, Part 2

Hello World,

Okay, it's been a couple of days since I've written one of these. And this one is different from the ones I normally write. 

To begin with, normally these are called 'Bits and Pieces Vol..." (I think I'm up to 12 now.) These hold the small bits and pieces (hence the title, duh) news about my life. The thing is, I've neglected this for the last couple of months and now I'm trying to catch up.

Which is my the last few are called Filling in the Holes. The problem is....the last couple of months have been boring. It just been day job, food and sleep. Except for the NYC trip - which I've already told you about - absolutely nothing has been happening. 

Well, nothing worth reporting over the internet. It has also absolutely killed my writing mood. So my projects have been going nowhere. Oh, there is one more thing to talk about...

Alex, Alex and Anne Frank

I normally start my entries/letter with 'Hello Alex'. To prevent any confusion, this is NOT Alex Kurtzman. I am not a fan of Kurtzman. I think he's a hack, who hired other hacks and failed upwards. 

His version of Star Trek - aka NuTrek - is horrible. The characters are unrealistic/unlikable and the plot-lines are worse. I stopped watching Trek back in the days of Picard Season 1. When they ripped out Icheb's eye, I was done. 

So, who is Alex ? Well, she's not a real person. I've read Anne Frank's diary more then once. And Anne came up with an imaginary friend called Kitty. Under the motto, I've your going to steal, steal from the best. So like Anne, I came up with an imaginary person to send my letter too. 

Alex - short for Alexandria - was a crew-member on a tramp freighter. Well, until her idiot captain ran her aground and said freighter sank. So now she's stranded on an island with miserable internet, miserable natives and miserable pay. Also, the island's connections to the outside world are well...miserable. So poor Alex is kinda stuck.

And that's it for this entry. As soon as stuff starts happening again, it's back to Bits and Pieces,

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)

Filling in the Holes - Part 1B

Hi Alex,

Today is that most Dutch of Bank Holidays, King's Day. Basically, we're celebrating the King's Birthday and everybody gets a day off. On top of that, there are plenty of festivals and the are Free Markets. Now, the Free doesn't mean that you don't have to pay for stuff, but.... 

Normally you need a permit to sell at a market. Not on King's Day. All you need is a sheet/rug, a chair and stuff to sell. Entire neighborhoods and town centers essentially turn into giant yard sales. 

Family in the States

I know I was a bit vague about my family in the States, but this was deliberately. After all, I'm also putting these letters on the internet and that is full with all sort of creeps and weirdos. So I'm playing it safe. What I will say is that I have three sisters, each with three sprouts and a husband. One of my sisters and her family has moved to States. And that's all I have for you.

I also know that my grandmother on my mother's side had a brothers and sisters, some of whom moved to Canada in the early 20th century. So I figure that by now, there's probably a whole branch of the family we know nothing about out there.

What We Did When

We flew to the US on 16th, which was this weird travel day because of the time difference. Fortunately, we had the 17th to celebrate the birthday of one of my brothers-in-law and settle in a bit. The weekend - 18 and 19 - was NYC time. 

And 20/3 was lunch with Rick and more family time. Finally, 21/3 was our trip to the MoMA and the trip back home. Fortunately, I had three more days off and a weekend before going back to my day job.

And that's all I have for today,

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)

Filling in the Holes - Part 1A

Hi Alex,

Okay, so yesterday, my head wasn't exactly in a writing mood. With the result being that my post was on the short side. I decided to make my previous letter Part 1 and take another stab at it today. (Besides, I'm also trying to dust off my Twitter account and I figured that having two posts to share couldn't hurt.) So, here's today's....well, let's call it an addendum to Part 1...

Lunch

That lunch with my friend was with my fellow Trekkie Rick Clogston. Rick visited the Netherlands back in September, so it was full to see him again. Besides being a Trekkie, Rick is also an excellent singer. He leads the Red Hat Band, which he drags all over to play gigs. 

Rick gave me his band's CD and T-Shirt with their logo. I haven't worn the T-shirt yet - the weather hasn't been good enough - but I do have the CD playing while I'm writing this. It's good. Also, I'm trying to lure Rick into another trip to the lowlands this September. But only time will tell if I'm successful. 

New York Sights

Yeah, the list of New York sights we saw, was far from complete. But even if I had listed all we had seen, it would be far from all of the New York sights. Because we were there for two days and only scratched the surface. NYC is simply too big. You'd need at least a week to get a good look at that city. 

One funny thing....I've seen the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. It always opens with Fallon walking into the studio building and then onto the stage. I also figured that this was some green screen/computer construct. The thing is, we walked past the studio and it actually DOES look like that.

Okay, I think that's enough. Maybe I'll write another addendum tomorrow. Maybe not. You'll just have to wait and see. :) 

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)

Filling In The Holes - Part 1

Hi Alex,

It's been quite a while since I've posted, so I'm dusting the old girl off and filling in some of the holes. Now, without further ado...

New York

Back in 2020, I got together with my brothers-in-law and discussed going to New York. And then Covid19 happened. So for two years, our plans were frozen solid. But 2022 saw things thaw at last. We got back to planning and set the date for March 2023.

The flight out was on 16/3 and the flight back home was on 21/3. And between that, it was great. We spend two days in NYC and saw a lot of great things. Including Brooklyn Bridge, One Vanderbilt and the Museum of Modern Art. 

As for the rest of the trip, I spent some first rate quality time with friends and family who life in the US of A. We had lunch, celebrated a birthday, went to see places and did plenty of other stuff. It was a fascinating glimpse into what life in America is really like.

And that's all for today, folks,  

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)

NCIS is showing that CBS is in trouble

My Case

Okay, to begin with, I am no insider. But I have eyes and I have a brain. So these are observations that I have made. Some over the years, some recently. Anyway, here we go...

Back when Hawaii Five-0 was still on the air, I figure these were the best paid actors in the Lenkov/NCIS-verse...

1. Alex O'Loughlin
2. Scott Caan
3. Scott Bakula
4. LL Cool J
5. Chris O'
   Donnell
6. Daniella Ruah
   
7. Mark Harmon

The Fat Trimming Starts...

...with the cancellation of Hawaii Five-0. Strike O'Loughlin and Caan off the list. This also freed up Katrina Law. Let's put a pin in that. And it freed half of the Hawaiian facilities, opening the door for NCIS: New Orleans to be cancelled and replaced by the cheaper NCIS: Hawaii. Why is it cheaper ? Because A) It allows them to shut down a studio and B) It strikes Scott Bakula off the list. 

Now, as I understand it, actors working for a CBS show get a 7-year contract and each year they get paid more. And when the contract ends, union rules demand that the company renegotiates. This is also why NCIS: Los Angeles is not getting a Season 15. CBS doesn't want to renegotiate. 

Instead, they are taking the opportunity to strike to LL Cool J and Chris O'Donnell off to the list. In fact, they are replacing the whole show with the cheaper to make NCIS: Sydney. But how can NCIS: Sydney be cheaper, if it's setting is halfway around the world ? 

Well, to begin with, CBS' Australian branch/partners are footing half the bill. And all the actors in it are paid Tier 1, versus the LL Cool J and O'Connell who are both Tier 14. And so is Daniella Ruah. Almost forgot she had been around since season 1 as well. So that makes three Tier 14 actor gone. 

And NCIS: LA has already been subject of trimming as well. The convenient replacing of Linda Hunt - who was getting up there in Tiers as well - by Gerald McRaney. And the departures of Barrett Foa and Renee Felice Smith. Which was pretty convenient for the show's budget department. But I'm digressing, let's move on to....

The Lenkov-Verse Shows

Which at this point are down to two: MacGyver and Magnum PI. MacGyver ended up getting cancelled altogether. As for Magnum PI....first it became a joined production with Universal and then CBS tried to cancel it as well. Fortunately, NBC rode in to safe the day. But I think it's safe bet that CBS is somehow getting some residuals out of this situation. That, while no longer having to pay for production of the show. Next, lets take about....

The Last Man/Show Standing

Because the original NCIS is not above this situation as well. For example, let's get back to our pin. Emily Wickersham was on Tier 8 and was replaced by Katrina Law. Even if her contract from Five-0 was not cancelled, Law is only Tier 2. 

And she was not the only cut to be made. Other examples:

1. David McCallum's screen-time has been greatly reduced, 
2. After Jimmy Palmer's promotion no replacement assistant ME was hired. Sure, there was an episode where Jimmy interviewed candidates, but nobody was hired in the end. (This was CBS throwing the fans a bone to make them shut up about this issue.)
3. Maria Bello's Jack Sloane left. Another convenient departure for the budget people...
4. ....Where we can also file Pauley Perette's replacement by Diona Reasonover. 
   
5. Agent Quinn lasted only one season (and was not replaced by a new character).
   

But we all know what the big cut was...replacing Mark Harmon - who was on Tier 19 - by Gary Cole. Even if Cole asked for a lot of money per episode, there's a fair chance that he is cheaper the Harmon. 

And it's very possible that there is another big cut waiting in wings. In episode 5 ("Guardian") of Season 20 (the current one), Timothy McGee temporarily takes over from Vance. And at the end of the episode, McGee says that he is liking it. 

This sounds to me like they are laying the groundwork for McGee to succeed Vance as director. Doing so would allow them to remove Rocky Carroll's paycheck from the budget altogether, while dialing back Sean Murray's screen time considerably.

The Big Question

Why is CBS doing all this trimming ? In my opinion, the answer is simple: Money. They already rebranded their streaming service once and now it's merging with Showtime. But I think that all of the above shows that they have been in trouble for a long time.

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)

Why I think the quality of Picard S3 doesn't matter....

 ....If It's Good Or Bad

After all the visceral that Picard Season One and Two took, making Season Three was not a glorious job. Essentially, it was a house on fire. So Alex Kurtzman and Akiva Goldsman bolted, leaving Terry Matalas to deal with the ruins. 

If It's Bad...

From what I've seen of them so far, Kurtzman and Goldsman will throw Matalas under the bus. All the  show's flaws - including those in season 1 and 2 -  will magically all be his fault.

If It's Good

Kurtzman has a giant ego. There is no way he is going to let Matalas beat the odds and run off with the glory. (Which he was never supposed to have.) He'll find a way to stab both Matalas and the fandom in the back. 

My guess is that he'll either make sure that Matalas' next project is non-Trek. Or he'll put his in charge of the already deeply loathed Section 31 show, with the Discovery Writers' Room conveniently reassigned there.

Regards,

Ruben A. Hilbers (aka Commander Nash)