The new Star Trek cast: From left, Pavel Chekov (Anton Yelchin), Capt. James T. Kirk (Chris Pine), Montgomery Scott (Simon Pegg), Dr. Leonard McCoy (Karl Urban), Hikaru Sulu (John Cho) and Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana). Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

If I ever have to face a congressional inquiry on the matter of allegiance to a science-fiction franchise, I can easily say that I am not now and never have been a Trekker. For the uninitiated, a Trekker has followed the prolific “Star Trek” industry of endless TV series and movie spin-offs since the days of the Lyndon Johnson administration.

Indeed, we are talking ancient history, which explains the desire of Paramount Pictures, director J.J. Abrams and writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman to rejuvenate the franchise and deliver something more appealing to an audience not yet drawing Social Security. As a non-Trekker, I think they have succeeded admirably to reboot the whole package with great thrills, explosive action and character-driven drama, while tossing in some humor and wit for good measure.

Following on the heels of last week’s “X-Men” prequel, “Star Trek” is an equally good prelude, bringing vigorous new life to a moribund franchise that has lost its cachet in modern pop culture. This new “Star Trek” should, for all the right reasons, revive interest in its futuristic adventures for audiences young and old.

To be sure, the old-line Trekkers may find some elements objectionable and lacking the requisite purity. As a more disinterested party, I find the latest and improved “Star Trek” to be a very welcome development.

Right from the start, the movie begins with a bang, as the U.S.S. Kelvin battles a Romulan vessel in outer space. We are quickly introduced to a George Kirk, who briefly assumes command of the Kelvin before disaster strikes. At the same time, Kirk’s wife, shuttled to safety with other crew members, gives birth to their baby boy, James Tiberius Kirk.

After the dazzling space battle, the film settles into a stretch of the childhood development of James T. Kirk, who is portrayed as an undisciplined, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy.

As the brash Kirk (Chris Pine) matures to adulthood, he remains a brooding rebel, though full of smarts and charm. At first, he rejects overtures to join the Starfleet Academy, but then, after spotting the U.S.S. Enterprise under construction, he can’t resist signing up for what is sure to be his destiny.

Life at the Academy puts him into conflict with a young Spock (Zachary Quinto), who tends to think he’s smarter than anyone else. The interesting thing about the young Spock is that because his mother (Winona Ryder, in a brief role) is human, he fights an internal battle with his Vulcan upbringing.

Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood) spots the great potential in the young Kirk, probably weighing his leadership skills and independent thinking as more valuable than cool-headed reason. Hey, that’s why we have Spock on board. In fact, Kirk and Spock don’t exactly hit it off like a pair of old drinking buddies marooned in a cantina.

During a grueling set of exams, Spock charges Kirk with cheating, nearly derailing the young cadet’s desire to hook up with the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Early on, Kirk made friends with Medical Officer Leonard “Bones” McCoy (Karl Urban), who affords a clever way for his buddy to make passage on the spaceship as it starts a dangerous mission.

The very existence of Vulcan is under attack from the renegade Romulan forces under the command of Captain Nero (Eric Bana). Compared to the stylish beauty of the Enterprise, the dark, gargantuan Romulan mining vessel, the Narada, looks ugly and threatening, and it is equipped with a massive drilling device that will blow up any planet.

When Pike is taken hostage, Kirk and Spock wrestle over control of the Enterprise, leading to Kirk’s banishment to an ice planet. Caught it the middle of the struggle are the familiar faces in the crew, including communications officer Uhura (Zoe Saldana), navigator Sulu (John Cho) and whiz kid Chekov (Anton Yelchin).

Some of the great fun in “Star Trek” is finding out how the Enterprise crew came together in their early days. During his exile, Kirk teams up with engineer Scotty (Simon Pegg, who brings just the right amount of comic relief). Stuck with a bunch of turbines in an underground bunker, Scotty is relieved to encounter another human, but what he most wants is just a sandwich.

Leonard Nimoy enters the picture as Spock Prime (don’t ask me to explain this, because it has something to do with time travel or something). In any case, Kirk and Scotty make their way back to the Enterprise just in time for the epic battle with Nero and his Romulan thugs.

“Star Trek” is so thrilling and exciting that it’s possible to overlook or forget the 40 years plus of the franchise’s development. It all starts anew with a great cast of young characters, full of vitality and exuberance. “Star Trek” is well worth seeing and should go forth boldly with more adventures.

One can only hope they come up with better villains the next time. The Romulan thugs are not very impressive, with Eric Bana’s tattooed Nero looking more like a street punk hoping to join a heavy metal band than the scary villain he should be.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

One of the best action movies of the year, filled with suspense and gut-wrenching excitement, is “Taken,” and now it is finally in release on DVD.

Liam Neeson is superb as the former CIA operative who’s estranged from his teenage daughter, but desperately wants to reconnect with her.

His chance arrives under the most unfortunate circumstances. When his daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless Albanian gang on a Paris vacation, Neeson’s special skills and killer instinct will come in handy when he turns into a one-man army in search of the abductors.

With precious little time to locate his daughter, Neeson skips the diplomatic protocol and launches into a full-scale war against some really bad dudes, one of whom he subjects to very effective electrical torture during an interrogation.

The ACLU might not want you to enjoy this film, but it did exceedingly well at the box office.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

Mendocino College Jazz Band won the community band division award at a competition in Nevada in April. Courtesy photo.

UKIAH – The Mendocino College Jazz Band won the community band division award at a jazz band competition held at the University of Reno on April 23-25.

Mendocino College competed against Chaffey College, Cuesta College, Moorpark College, MiraCosta College, Lane College and College of Sequoias in the community band division.

“This is a huge honor for our local musicians. Mendocino College is always the smallest college in attendance and for them to walk away this year with top honors competing against the large LA, San Diego, and Eugene, Oregon schools was quite a coup,” Mendocino College Jazz Band Director John Parkinson said.

Since Mendocino College competed in the Community Jazz Band division, it means that the members of the group are community members and not full-time students. There was only one full-time student in the group.

The Mendocino College Jazz Band performed “Tickletoe” by Lester Young, “China Blue” by Jeff Jarvis, “Opus One” by Sy Oliver and “La Almeja Pequena” by Gordon Goodwin.

Several individual awards were won by members of the jazz band, including the entire rhythm section.

Matt Rothstein won for alto sax and clarinet. Sunny Cordell won for tenor sax. Gary Miller won for trumpet. Paula Samonte won for vocals. The rhythm section consisting of Dorian May on piano, Don Cornell on guitar, Burton Segall on guitar and Eric Ehrenpfort on drums won individual awards.

Under the direction of Parkinson, there are 17 members of the Mendocino College Jazz Band. Paula Samonte is on vocals, while Matt Rothstein, Laurie Spence, Sunny Cordell, Nick Biondo and Tracie Triolo play the sax. Gary Miller, Tom Woodville and Charlie Sawyer play the trumpet and Adam Ehrenpfort, Josh Muir, Jake Turner and Al Bent play the trombone. Dorian May plays piano, Don Cornell plays guitar, Burton Segall plays bass and Eric Ehrenpfort plays drums.

The Mendocino College Jazz Band has been attending the Reno Jazz Festival and the Pacific Coast Jazz Festival at the University of California-Berkeley for many years. They have placed second many times at both events and have always finished in the top echelon of the groups.

The next concert featuring the Jazz Band is Tuesday, May 19, at 7:30 p.m. at Mendocino College.

Another concert of interest will be presented by the Community Concert Band on Thursday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. Music for this concert will be by Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and George Gershwin. Making a special appearance with this band will be vocalist Paula Samonte.

For further information on the Mendocino College Jazz Band Program or to inquire about becoming a member, please contact John Parkinson at 707-468-3026 or visit www.mendocino.edu.

LAKEPORT – The 69 members of the Lake County Symphony, under the direction of John Parkinson, put together an outstanding collection of favorite standards for their annual salute to mothers, and the many moms in attendance – including grandmothers and even some great-grandmothers – responded with enthusiasm.

The May 10 concert, sponsored by Lake County's nonprofit music support group Clear Lake Performing Arts, took place at the Marge Alakszay Center at Lakeport Unified School's campus.

Entitled "Another Op'nin', Another Show" Parkinson's program was a tribute to that song's composer, the late Cole Porter, but also to a whole range of music makers from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s who created some of America's most memorable music.

Lead-off performers, however, were Kelseyville's Andi Skelton and the Konocti Fiddle Club consisting of more than a dozen fiddlers supported by guitars, bass and keyboard playing diown home versions of "Stinky's Blues" and "Cairo."

The orchestra then took over and following the Cole Porter medley launched one featuring the work of George and Ira Gershwin including "Foggy Day" with an opening phrase containing not only the chimes of Big Ben, but a brief segement of "God Save the Queen" just so everybody would know for sure they were referring to London Town.

Other Gershwin numbers were "I Got Rhythm," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "S;Wonderful," and "Rhapsody in Blue."

"Deep Purple" by Peter DeRose and "Georgia on my Mind " by Hoagy Carmichael were next, followed by a tribute to Louis Armstrong entitled "Satchmo."

Armstrong, who popularized the idea of solo performances in jazz numbers, provided the same opportunity to many of the symphony's star players including clarinetist Nick Biondo, trumpeter Gary Miller, trombonist Cory Cunningham and percussionist Eric Ehrenpfort, all of whom were recognized individually by Parkinson at the conclusion of the Armstrong set.

Following intermission the 15 youngsters of the CLPA Youth Orchestra, under the direction of Wes Follett, presented their last public performance before their June 14 concert at Keseyville's Presbyterian Church.

The talented group played the "Prayer" from Humperdink's "Hansel and Gretel," Matt Turner's rhythmic "Tango Expressivo" and the "Russian Sailor's Dance from "The Red Poppy" ballet by Gliere.

The orchestra's return was marked by a series of Duke Ellington pieces including "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)", "I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good) and the mesmerizing "Caravan" with percussionist Ehrenpfort providing a driving beat At the number's conclusion a side note was added to the program when violinist Ilse Arndt reached out to Parkinson with her bow, as if ushering him into knighthood, only to brush away a wasp that had landed unnoticed on his shoulder

For the Gershwin"s "Embraceable You" Parkinson invited Gary Miller to bring his flugelhorn down front and center where, backed by the lush strings of the orchestra, he rendered a crowd pleasing performance of that classic song.

Near the show's conclusion jazz singer Paula Samonte, stunning in a light lavender gown with a flower in her hair, sang a medley of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "I'll Take Romance" and "I've Got The World on a String" after which she planted an appreciative buss on conductor Parkinson's cheek.

Other upcoming CLPA sponsored events will be the annual garage sale scheduled for Saturday, June 6, in Corinthian Bay, the Spring Concert of the Youth Orchestra on June 14 at 6 p.m. at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church and the seventh annual Home Wine Maker's Festival on June 27 in downtown Kelseyville.

LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Theatre Co.'s production of the musical comedy “The Pajama Game” opens this week.

Performances are at 7 p.m. May 7, May 8, May 14, May 15 and May 16; and 2 p.m. May 10, May 16 and May 17 at the Little Theatre at Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.

There will be no performance on May 9, a Saturday, because of the auto races and the noise they make.

Ticket prices are $15 for reserved seats and $13 for general admission; LCTC members, seniors and students get a $2 discount.

Ticket outlets are Catfish Books, Lakeport (707-263-4454) reserved and general admission; Wild About Books, Clearlake (707-994-9453) general admission only; and Shannon Ridge Winery, Clearlake Oaks (707-998-9656) general admission only.

On opening night, Thursday, May 7, the theater company invites its audience to come in their pajamas and compete for prizes and join in a cast party afterwards.