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“Captain’s Log: Star Date 4117.3. We are orbiting the planet Jugal, in System NGC 489… a routine periodic check on a developing culture… and we have made a disturbing and extremely unusual discovery.” Do those words, spoken by Captain Kirk sound familiar?

Of course not.

William Shatner never got to utter them. He nearly did almost 45 years ago, but it never came to pass. And here’s what happened. Norman Spinrad, the noted science fiction author, penned two episodes of Star Trek for Gene Roddenberry, namely “The Doomsday Machine” and “He Walked Among Us,” the latter about a primitive race, the Jugali, inexplicably employing technology well beyond their capabilities. That first episode was produced, but “He Walked Among Us” – at Spinrad’s urging -- went un-purchased and unproduced. And then the teleplay, along with that Captain’s Log, went missing… for 45 years.

Now, that “lost” script has been found. A fan recently presented a copy of it to Spinrad and the author has made it available for purchase, for Kindle, at Amazon.com. Spinrad, on his Facebook page, filled in the details of the “He Walked Among Us” saga. Distressed by Trek producer Gene L. Coon turning “He Walked Among Us” into a comedy vehicle (and TOS guest shot for Milton Berle), Spinrad convinced Roddenberry to ditch the idea entirely. He told Roddenberry “to read it and weep.” Roddenberry did so and agreed with Spinrad.

“I killed my second Star Trek, which, down through the years has cost me tens of thousands of dollars in lost residuals,” Spinrad wrote. Then, explaining the disappearance of the script and its subsequent discovery, Spinrad noted, “I thought the text of my original version – written on a typewriter! – was lost forever until recently a fan asked me to autograph a faded copy he had bought somewhere. I did, and in return he sent me a pdf off a scan, and that’s what I’ve put on Amazon. Not a great copy, maybe, but the only one that exists or probably can exist.”

To visit Spinrad’s official blog, click HERE. And to purchase “He Walks Among Us,” click HERE.

 

I think we're long past the point where we need to hide being a Star Trek fan. “Trekkie” isn't a dirty word anymore, so much so that you rarely hear the allegedly more mature-sounding “Trekker” among uptight fans. Nerd culture is mainstream and the 2009 reboot did monster business. Yes, friends, we won.

Still… there are moments in our beloved franchise where a less-forgiving person may raise and an eyebrow and think “really?” We know what they are. And yet we remain fans – in fact, the ability to fully embrace these moments might be what makes us true fans.

So let's be honest with ourselves… what are the annoying things about Star Trek that only a true fan could love? 

10 – Captain Kirk Gives A Horsey Ride To A Dwarf

Yeah, let's just dive right in, shall we?

Now, there is, of course, a reason why this infamous moment happens. Parmen the Platonian has gone mad from disease and maintains order through fear and humiliation. He wants Kirk to leave McCoy behind and, oh. . .who am I kidding? There's a dwarf riding Captain Kirk as he neighs!

This is a favorite clip for YouTube remixers and has a nice following under the heading of WTF. 

Trek fans can hold their heads high, though. If it weren't for the mind control tricks in “Plato's Stepchildren” we'd never be able to boast about the first televised interracial kiss.

9 – Where Is Jean-Luc Picard From Again?

Jean-Luc Picard is about the Frenchest name in the Alpha Quadrant. He is, indeed, from France. The Chateau Picard vineyard is nestled in the quiet village of La Barre. And yet... he speaks with an ENGLISH ACCENT.

Why? It just doesn't make sense!

What's even more annoying is that in “Where No One Has Gone Before,” he sees his mother and calls her “Maman” and kinda-has a French accent – the only time in the whole series.

Not that we're complaining. Patrick Stewart's sharp, British pronunciation is one of the most awesome things ever to appear regularly on television. Engage!

8 – Andorian Antennae

So much of what made Star Trek different is that it shrugged the B-movie “saucer men” tone that had existed in so much science fiction beforehand. From the deep back stories of the alien races to the well-developed technology, even Trek's harshest critics couldn't dismiss it as pulp.

Then we saw the Andorians.

Don't get me wrong, I love Andorians, but I have to admit that their antennae are a little absurd-looking. By the time Star Trek: Enterprise and Shran came around they made 'em look a little more organic (and included some self-referential jokes) but “Journey to Babel's” discovery of a radio receiver in a fake Andorian's antenna?!?! That's the WORST place to try and hide one of those!

7 – Captain Proton

I could have said Data's Sherlock Holmes adventures, Picard's time as Dixon Hill, Janewayhanging out with Leonardo Da Vinci or Deep Space Nine's Vic Fontaine. But if you are going to rage against Holodeck stories, rage against Captan Proton.

The complaint is always the same: either the events inside the Holodeck “don't matter,” or it is always the same problem – someone is trapped and the dangers are “real.” It's tough to counter that argument, especially if Geordi La Forge is wearing a ridiculous hat.

However, a true Trek fan loves the characters, and takes great delight in seeing the side of them that inspires them? Tom Paris digs cheesy Sci-Fi? Well, whaddya know. . . so do we.

6 – Technobabble

Haters will tell you that whenever our intrepid galactic explorers get in a real mess, somebody mumbles something about tachyon particles, the matter-antimatter intermix chamber, anomalies in the time-space continuum, energy masses in the warp bubble or subroutines in a positronic matrix and – blammo! - everyone is safe til next week.

To which I say: all of those things are awesome! And, if you watch enough of the show, they are surprisingly consistent in their usage. From Heisenberg Compensators to power re-routed to the deflector dish, it may sound like “insert save the day here” at first, but in time you start to get the hang of it.

The praise, of course, is due to the actors who have to say this stuff and also try to emote at the same time (or, in the case of Brent Spiner or Jeri Ryan, emote in their non-emoting way. Not easy!)

5 – Lt. Broccoli

Oh, I'm gonna catch such hell for this.

Listen, I know that Reg Barclay eventually grew to become an important member of Starfleet. Heck, he was key in saving Voyager. But if the Enterprise is meant to be the best of the best for the super-elite, how in the world did this (oh, please forgive me) bumbling oaf wind up there?

Remember, there is a big barrier of entry to get this far in Starfleet. Remember how much trouble Wesley had just getting into the Academy? And that kid was a genius, plus he had Captain Picard's recommendation. What did Barclay have, other than a fear of transporters and an unhealthy addiction to porn – er, excuse me, the Holodeck?

Of course, we fans know what purpose he served. Let's face it – he was us.

4 – Why Do The Klingons Look So Different In The Old Ones?

Ugh. How many of your non-Trekkie friends have bugged you with this question? I probably get hit with this more than anything else, other than people asking me if I hate Star Wars. (The answer is, of course I don't - but Star Wars is just a fun handful of movies, Star Trek is a way of life.)

Today we know the full explanation of the Klingon Augment Virus from Enterprise's “Affliction.” (And you can go deeper with the “Klingons: Blood Will Tell” comics, some of the best Trek comics ever written.) But in the years prior to Enterprise the only acknowledgement to the smooth head/ridged head issue was Worf's comment in DS9's “Trials and Tribble-ations.” When asked, Worf batted the question away stating “we don't discuss it with outsiders.”

Of course, those of us that had been fans for a while were suffering years of pestering questions, ever since the ridged Klingons appeared in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It really seemed to be a point of pride for people who wanted to find fault in Star Trek.

Deep down we fans always knew the real answer, but kept it to ourselves: they didn't have that kind of makeup back in the 1960s and the ridges look cool, you dope! Quit complaining!

3 – Historical Figures

Here's one I didn't realize annoyed people until I was watching Trek with a friend. Apparently, some people get all bent out of shape when a character starts listing things from history, then whips out some “future speak.”

The formula goes one real person or event, followed by two that haven't happened yet.  Example, from TOS' “The Ultimate Computer”:

“Genius doesn't work on an assembly line basis. Did Einstein, Kazanga, or Sitar of Vulcan produce new and revolutionary theories on a regular schedule?”

Or on TNG's “The High Ground”:

“Yet there are numerous examples where it was successful. The independence of the Mexican State from Spain, the Irish Unification of 2024, and the Kensey Rebellion.”

There is a variant when giving four examples – two real, two fake. From TNG's “The Defector”:

“Freeze program. Thank you, sir. I plan to study the performances of Olivier, Branagh, Shapiro, Kullnark.”

Non-fans lose their mind at this, and I guess I now recognize it as a little silly (even though I do think it is a bit of a hoot.)

I'm sure I am missing a few, and I would love to see them in the comments below.

2 – Why Do All The Aliens Speak English?

They DON'T all speak English, of course, and the next time someone says they do hit 'em with a loud “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra,” okay?

However, there is one thing I don't understand about the Universal Translator. Follow me on this one, because it has been bugging me for years.

By the time of TNG, the Universal Translator fits right into a combadge. So if you come up to me and start speaking Tellarite, the combadge is going to take that audio, process it and repeat it back to me as English. But how come we don't also hear the other language exiting the alien mouth? And why do their lips move in English?

In the DS9 episode “Little Green Men” we see that Ferengi actually have their Universal Translators implanted in their heads. (Man, they just love sticking things in and out of their ears.) But this still doesn't explain why “we, the audience,” don't also hear the native tongue being spoken underneath.

Quick! Someone remind me that I must calm down, it is just a TV show, and I should just dig the fact that Star Trek presented a concept as cool as a Universal Translator to begin with.

1 – Wesley's Rainbow Sweater

Let's wrap this up with the most hated garment in the galaxy.

I'll defend Wesley Crusher til my face is as blue as a Bolian's, but when it comes to his outfits, well, he's on his own. And he wore this damn sweater ALL THE TIME!

The best, of course, is in the episode “Hide and Q.” Even all grown up (and with the powers of a God?) he still dresses in that horrible rainbow sweater. And I'll love him for it until the day I die.

 

So now I've confessed. These are the things that kinda-sorta drive me up the wall about my beloved franchise. Surely you must have yours.

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Jordan Hoffman is a freelance writer, critic and independent film producer living in New York City. He fell in love with Star Trek through TOS reruns just as TNG was getting ready to launch. On his BLOG, Jordan has reviewed all 727 Trek episodes and films, most of the comics and some of the novels. He has a funny story about the one time he met Leonard Nimoy. Click HERE to follow him on Twitter.

 

Mounted Memories, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of celebrity collectibles, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation with a line of TNG framed plaques, matted photos and framed presentations. Among the products available are a limited-edition framed presentation that measures 23x27 inches and features photographs of the TNG crew as well as the TNG logo laser-cut into the matting. The framed presentation is one of a limited edition of 2,012 and comes complete with a certificate of authenticity.

Other products include four unique plaques, each in full color with sublimated metal images in crystal-clear detail. Two of the plaques depict the Enterprise crew, while one depicts the Enterprise NCC-1701-D and the other includes images of both the crew and the Enterprise. Lastly, there are four different matted, ready-for-framing photographs. Each photo – three of the TNG crew, one of the Enterprise-D -- measures 8x10 inches and has been stylishly framed to 11x14 inches.

The photos are priced at $12.99 each, while the plaques range from $29.99-$49.99 and the limited-edition presentation sells for $149.99.

See the complete line at the StarTrek.com Store. 

“Trek Class” is a course at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies titled “Star Trek and the Information Age.” The course examines episodes of Star Trek series as a method of introducing concepts related to technology, society and leadership in our world. This series of posts seeks to share some of the concepts discussed in Trek Class with the StarTrek.com community.

New technologies often allow us to be more productive at work and in our personal lives. From the telegraph and telephone to the Internet and Facebook, some of the greatest advancements in history have made it possible to access and share information more efficiently, or connect over great distances to discover new people and ideas.

   

The same is true for the “future” tech of Star Trek. Replicators and tricorders make it possible for Starfleet personnel to tackle problems that might be impossible for us to solve in the Twenty-first Century. Like the laptops and smartphones of today, these technologies are standard issue for Federation knowledge workers. But these “work” devices are also integrated into our personal lives. We may use the same technology to send a business email while also keeping in contact with friends through social networking and text messaging.

Much like our current technologies, the Holodeck is one Star Trek invention that performs double duty when it comes to productivity and recreation. With its ability to realistically simulate any person or environment, the holodeck is useful for everything from running a diagnostic exercise to taking a vacation without leaving the ship. Captain Janeway took advantage of both aspects of the holodeck, using it to strategize before a Borg encounter as well as finding relaxation and companionship in a holographic Irish town.

Although the holodeck has proven useful to captains and crew, some are still concerned about its impact on productivity and question whether the technology should come with limits. Just as we may wonder whether the tweeting, Googling and Facebooking we now spend our time on might amount to a time-waster, or even an addiction, similar questions are raised about the holodeck.

Lt. Reginald Barclay finds himself at the center of this debate throughout his career. Said to be “addicted” to the holodeck, Barclay struggles to limit his access to the technology with which he is most comfortable. While working on the Pathfinder project, which is focused on locating the missing U.S.S. Voyager, Barclay determines that his best chance at discovering a solution is to create a holographic simulation. This approach, which is unfamiliar to his senior officers, is criticized and ultimately prohibited over concerns that Barclay’s productivity and social life might suffer.

Today, similar scenarios are taking place in corporations all over America. Many work environments have established rules against the use of technologies like Facebook or YouTube over productivity concerns. However, as a generation of new workers emerges with a different skill set and new ways of accessing information, many are finding it difficult to be effective while blocked from their go-to networks. We often hear from student interns that one of the most challenging aspects of their work experience was being “cut off from everything.”

With restricted access at work, many employees turn to their own mobile devices in times of need. Some companies have discovered that their employees routinely access social networks and other forbidden sites from their phones, both for personal and professional purposes. The same is true for Barclay, who circumvents Starfleet’s restrictions on the holodeck in a desperate attempt to apply the tool to his rescue efforts at Pathfinder.

At the same time, Barclay is clearly drawn to the holodeck for personal reasons. He freely admits to Counselor Troi that he feels less anxious when interacting with holographic characters instead of real people. Even though the holodeck is a source of inspiration and productivity for Barclay, there is no doubt that the line between work and play – and even addiction – is a bit blurry inside his simulation.

This raises several questions that are as important now as in the Twenty-fourth Century – Can the same technologies that entertain us also help us do better work? Is it possible to balance productivity and recreation in the workplace? Are we really becoming addicted to technology?

While some researchers still question the concept of “Internet addiction”, Barclay’s struggles may seem very familiar to some of us. One of my students described having similar feelings and ultimately decided to suspend her Facebook account after realizing she was “addicted” to it. Facebook had become a source of distraction while at work and at home, she said. However, the same student told me that other social networks, such as Twitter and YouTube, had remained essential to her ability to find useful information. This example highlights the difficulty in finding balance as new technologies become integrated into our daily lives.

As we strive to find that balance, perhaps some clues can be found in the advice of Counselor Troi and others who seek to help Lt. Barclay. Although we can recognize the value in many of our technologies, their advantages are diminished if we focus only on the virtual. It may not be necessary to block access to our technology of choice – whether Facebook or the holodeck – as long as we remember that what we do in these virtual spaces should always be for the betterment of ourselves, our work and our relationships in the offline world. It was only after Barclay realized this that he was able to apply what he learned inside the holodeck to complete the real-world mission of Pathfinder.

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Anthony Rotolo is a professor at the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool), where he specializes in social media. You can follow along with Trek Class each Tuesday and Thursday at 3:30pm EST on Twitter by using the hashtag #TrekClass.

The original Star Trek, like most science fiction from decades ago, often postulated a variety of technological advances and milestones as occurring in our “the far off future” of the 1990s or early 2000s. Back in 1960s, the 21st century did indeed seem quite a ways off. With the dawn of the Space Age and the race for the Moon gripping everyone’s attention, surely we would be living on space stations, lunar colonies or perhaps even Mars within a few decades, right?

Um, yeah.

Though the original Star Trek fell into this trap a couple of times, this practice was largely avoided by the ensuing spin-off series. Still, infrequent references to something taking place in the early to mid-21st century still popped up now and then. Now, while we all know that Star Trek’s future isn’t really ours, it’s still fun to consider that possibility. One of my personal favorite coincidental references comes from the 1967 Star Trek episode “Tomorrow is Yesterday,” when it’s said that the “first manned moon shot” will be launched on a Wednesday. The Apollo 11 mission was launched on Wednesday, July 16th, 1969, and the episode only missed the actual launch time by less than four hours. Pretty cool, huh?

So, yes, it’s fun to imagine that Star Trek might well be portraying our future, but we can’t really do that unless we note that some of its “futuristic” predictions (or historical references, if you prefer) usually didn’t always pan out for us here in the real world. For example:

The United States never launched a nuclear weapons platform into space (Star Trek, “Assignment: Earth”) – Or...did it? This was supposed to happen back in 1968, perhaps with NASA using the launch of one of the early Apollo rockets as cover for this secret project.Of course the government would deny such a thing, yes? Fortunately for us, if this ever does happen and something goes wrong, Team Daedalus can always go up and fix it.

 

Chronowerx never got off the ground (Star Trek: Voyager, “Future's End”) – Henry Starling’s little startup computer company never seemed to attract the attention of any serious investors, who obviously had already been won over by Microsoft. Too bad, as we might all have been spared the horror that was Windows Vista. Besides, “Browser Hound” is a way cooler name for a web browser than “Internet Explorer.”

 

Chicago Mobs of the Twenties was never published (Star Trek, “A Piece of the Action”) – According to Trek lore, this rather hefty tome, with its extensive look at organized crime in the Windy City during the era of prohibition, should’ve been published in 1992. Just for the sake of argument, suppose somebody like James Ellroy could give us a look at this period with the same style he employs for his novels like L.A. Confidential or American Tabloid? We’d all be walkin’ around with heaters and puttin’ the bag on people. Right? Check. 

Voyager 6 never launched (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) – Unfortunately, the Voyager series never got past two such probes, both of which were launched in 1977. As of this writing, both probes remain operational, having long ago successfully completed their original mission objectives of exploring Jupiter and Saturn. They’re still transmitting data back to Earth from billions of miles away as they continue on trajectories which eventually will take them into interstellar space. As for their sibling? According to the Trek mythos, it was lost when it flew into a black hole. After that? Well, let’s just say that Earth’s track record with unmanned probes isn’t all that great (see “Nomad.”) 

No Eugenics Wars, no Khan, no Botany Bay (Star Trek, “Space Seed” and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) – This is the biggie, I think, so far as things that didn’t happen. Despite our society’s wondrous ability not to pay attention to stuff like this unless it’s happening right in front of us, I dare say something on the scale of the Eugenics Wars would’ve attracted somebody’s attention. But of course, there was nothing in the papers about genetic supermen, and I dare say that NASA would’ve drooled at the chance to build something like the Botany Bay back in the 1990s. For another take on how these events might well have unfolded without much public knowledge, check out two Star Trek novels by Greg Cox: The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volumes I and II.

Nobody built the Millennium Gate (Star Trek: Voyager, “11:59”) – January 1st, 2001 came and went without anyone starting work on what should eventually have become Earth’s first self-sustaining biosphere in Portage Creek, Indiana. Come to think of it, there’s no such thing as Portage Creek, Indiana, either. A massive, kilometer-high residential and retail structure, the Millennium Gate would also have provided a template for the first permanent Martian colony. Contrary to rumors, the Mall of America does not fit these criteria.  

Nomad probe? What Nomad probe? (Star Trek, “The Changeling”) – This is yet another demonstration of how far behind we are with respect to Trek’s more optimistic estimates about our space exploration program. 2002 was to be the year that the first true interstellar space probe was launched. On the other hand, and based on what we’re to believe ultimately happens to Nomad, missing this window might not necessarily have been a bad thing.

 

A WMD wasn’t built in Detroit (Star Trek: Enterprise, “Carpenter Street”) – A check of the Googles tells me that nobody named Loomis was arrested by Detroit police officers in 2004. This is good, as Loomis was supposed to be the guy recruited by the Xindi to construct a biological weapon and deploy it on Earth. So far as we can tell, they’re still only building cars in Motor City. 

We didn’t send a manned mission to Saturn (Star Trek, “Tomorrow is Yesterday”) –NASA just can’t catch a break, can it? Sadly, there were no astronauts named Shaun Christopher, Alice Fontana or Marcus O’Herlihy on the rolls, and no spacecraft for them to pilot to Saturn. In the 1996 edition of the Star Trek Chronology by Michael and Denise Okuda, this mission originally was purported to take place in 2009, conjecturing a 35-40 year old Christopher as the son of Captain John Christopher from “Tomorrow Is Yesterday.” In Greg Cox’s Star Trek novel The Rings of Time, Trek history is modified to place the mission as taking place in 2020, so there’s still a chance! 

Buck Bokai, where for art thou? (Star Trek: The Next Generation, “The Big Goodbye” and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Past Tense”) – A check of official notices shows no birth of a Harmon Gin “Buck” Bokai in Marina del Rey, California in 1998. Of course, it’s possible that historical records are inaccurate as to Bokai’s birth place and date, which means someone with that name could still be drafted to play baseball for the London Kings in 2015. What? There’s no team called the London Kings? Well, not yet...?

 

And there you go. As always, this isn’t meant to be any sort of definitive “Top 10” list or “Best of” or anything like that. The purpose of these columns is simple entertainment and reminiscing, and I’m absolutely hoping you’ll add your favorites in the comments section.

Special thanks to “Moxie Anne Magnus,” super-cool Trekkie to the Mox, for suggesting this topic. If you’ve got an idea you’d like to see explored here in a future “Ten for Ward” column, feel free to share that, too!  

 

The Ten for Ward backlist:

“Ten Favorite Star Trek Games” – November 4, 2011
“Ten Favorite ‘Classic’ Star Trek Comics” – September 26, 2011
“Ten Favorite ‘Old’ Star Trek Books” – June 30, 2011

 

Dayton Ward is the author or co-author of numerous novels and short stories, including a whole bunch of stuff set in the Star Trek universe, and often working with friend and co-writer Kevin Dilmore. He’s also written (or co-written) for Star Trek Communicator, Star Trek Magazine, Syfy.com, and Tor. com, and is a monthly contributor to the Novel Spaces writers blog. As he is still a big ol’ geek at heart, Dayton is known to wax nostalgic about all manner of Star Trek topics over on his own blog, The Fog of Ward: http://daytonward.wordpress.com.

As Captain Picard would say, it’s time to “make it so.” Tickets for Star Trek TNG EXPOsed, – a reunion of the entire principal cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation and sure to be the highlight of the upcoming Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo – will go on sale tomorrow, Feb. 18, at 10 a.m. MST. 

30,000-plus people attended the 2011 Expo and even more are expected this year as fans from across the world descend on Calgary, Canada, from April 27-29 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of TNG with Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Denise Crosby and Wil Wheaton. The TNG cast will be on hand, separately and in special pairings, for appearances, autograph sessions and photo opportunities, and will also appear together at a reunion event, Star Trek TNG EXPOsed, on April 28.

Other media guests will be on hand, including Peter David, Adam West, Stan Lee, Jon Bernthal, Gil Gerard, John Noble, David Prowse, Adam Baldwin, Hayden Panettiere, James Marsters, Katee Sackhoff and Robert Englund. Fans can participate in panel discussions, photo ops and more.

Tickets for the Star Trek TNG EXPOsed event can be purchased at Ticketmaster.

For additional details about the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo and/or to purchase tickets, click HERE .

To read our full story about the TNG cast’s participation at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, click HERE, and keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional news about the Calgary Expo.

Yesterday, in part one of our exclusive interview with James L. Conway, the veteran Star Trek director talked about how he hooked up with the franchise and his memories of helming TNG and DS9. Today, in the second half of our interview, the conversation turns to Voyager and Enterprise, how he came close to directing First Contact, and his current project, the just-released novel Dead And Not So Buried.  

You were in the running to direct First Contact. Jonathan Frakes ultimately got the job. How much did that have to do with your decision to join Spelling Entertainment full-time?

Conway:  It came down to a decision between me and Jonathan, and it was Patrick (Stewart) who decided. Obviously, Patrick and Jonathan were best friends, and Jonathan is a wonderful director, so Patrick chose Jonathan. So that had just happened and was sort of on my mind. I’d come so close to getting the movie that it was heartbreaking, as you can imagine.  

“The Way of the Warrior” was, in some ways, an audition for First Contact, right?

Conway: I knew that I’d be up for the movie and be pitched to (then-Paramount boss) Sherry Lansing. So, for me, that two-hour episode was sort of an audition. It turned out spectacular, and that gave me confidence to go in and give a whole long pitch about how I’d do the movie. It was very intimidating. But in my mind I had to prove to Rick Berman and Sherry that I could do this. So I put everything I possibly could into “Way of the Warrior.” It was a two-hour, 16 days, two eight-day weeks. And it turned out great. So, for me, it was a lot of fun for a lot of reasons.  

How did Voyager happen for you?

Conway: I’d gone off to do another show and I was available again. I called Rick, told him I was available again and he said, “Well, great,” and he brought me in to do Voyager. I loved Kate Mulgrew. I thought she was just a joy to work with. I only did two or three of them, and they were very early on, before they brought on Jeri Ryan. I thought, personally, the cast was too big and they weren’t all of equal appeal, if you know what I mean. And it’s great to see what’s happened with Robbie McNeill and Roxann Dawson. They’re two great directors now. Rick made them study for a year, go to the editing room and really prepare before he gave them a shot. Jonathan, Robbie and Roxann, particularly, have gone on to great careers. 

Your first Voyager episode was “The 37's,” which remains a very popular episode…

Conway: That was the one with Amelia Earhart. Sharon Lawrence was wonderful. It was a really fun script. I really enjoyed doing Voyager because they had new technology for Star Trek. And, since I wasn’t there every week doing Star Trek it was always a real adventure for me to come and do one, because it was always fresh. Plus, I’d been a fan of Star Trek going back to TOS, so it was a real treat to get into Star Trek like that. I was inspired and like a kid in the candy shop. 

We hear that you’re very fond of your other Voyager episode, “Death Wish”…

Conway: I am. It was written by Shawn Piller, Michael Piller’s son. I believe it was his first script, and they wrote it together. Michael and he shared credit. That was my first time with John de Lancie, and he’s a delight. Gerrit Graham was great, too. John is a wonderful raconteur and a wonderful actor, and he had that character down. Q was such a wonderful character. A year or two later I did the video game with John, Star Trek: Borg, which was shot at the same time as the movie Jonathan was directing, which was another irony of that whole thing. Marvin Rush worked with me on the game, too, and he’s a great director of photography. 

Your last Voyager episode was “Innocence”…

Conway: That was the one with the kids. It was a very sweet show, but I don’t have a lot of memories from that. Nothing really stands out.

You were at Spelling Entertainment when you did Enterprise. How did you swing that?

Conway: Rick, at one point, had actually called me to ask if I wanted to do the pilot for Voyager, but I wasn’t available. I was doing Burke’s Law at the time. So I had to turn it down. Now I’m at Spelling and I’m executive vice-president and Rick calls to say that they’re going to do Enterprise, would I like to direct the pilot? I read the script and I flipped. It was such a fantastic script. I went to Aaron (Spelling) and Duke (Vincent) and said, “I’ve been offered the chance to direct this pilot. Will you let me go and do it?” They immediately said yes. I’d been at Spelling, I think, for four years, and I took a leave from Spelling to go back and do Enterprise.

And…

Conway: It was the best experience I ever had doing a television show. In fact, sitting in this big Paramount theater as we screened the pilot on the big screen to a whole audience filled with people was a great moment. I had my wife and daughter sitting next to me and it was one of those great moments in your life that you always remember. It was a huge budget for a television pilot. It was a two-hour pilot, but a 32-day schedule, which is huge. The budget was so big because they had to build the sets and create the wardrobe and the props for the show, and everything got lumped into that budget. So it was just a great, great production with people I knew. I knew the crew. Jerry Fleck was my dear friend from back in the Grizzly Adams days, and he was my assistant director. Jerry passed away during the series. Brad (Yacobian) and Merri (Howard) were dear friends. Rick and Brannon Braga wrote the script. It was just a great experience.

12 million people tuned in to the pilot, but the numbers fell precipitously from there. What was your sense of what went wrong with Enterprise?

Conway: I think a couple of things. I think that one thing that went wrong is it just went back to just telling normal Star Trek stories. I think people were hoping, since it was a prequel, that there’d be something new, fresh and different about it. (Between TNG, DS9 and Voyager), the franchise had been around for 14 years and they’d told a lot of stories. When Enterprise came on they just kept telling the same kind of stories and there was nothing fresh for new audience members to grab onto and stay there for. So I think that was part of the problem. I think another problem was we didn’t have any characters who really popped. On TNG, you had Picard and Data and a couple of other characters that were really popular. None of the other shows really had that kind of fan following, cast-wise, even though they had some wonderful cast members. Nobody really popped big from Enterprise to pull people in. 

You went out in style, as your final Enterprise episode, your last-ever Trek episode, was “In a Mirror Darkly,” considered by many one of the best, if not the best, Enterprise adventures. What do you remember of that?

Conway: I’d done an episode like that on DS9, where it was the alternate universe. It’s fun to have these actors play the complete opposite of their usual characters. In fact, I was blown away by Linda Park. When she was seducing everybody, she was so wonderful at it. This one guest star came in and he made out with her for three straight days. And he knew it. He was really enjoying it. Linda didn’t hold back at all. She’s a wonderful actress. So, just to see these characters behave in such different ways than what you’d seen them do for four years, it was very exciting. I think every actor loves to play evil, and they really got a chance to do that.

At the end of the day, through all your episodes across the four series, what would you like to think was your contribution to the franchise?

Conway: My contribution… Well, I think by being a fan first and a director second that I really brought a youthful enthusiasm to every episode that I did. To me, they were never work. They were always about trying to capture the Star Trek feeling, trying to do justice to the scripts, which were usually terrific, and trying to make them memorable. That’s what I’d have to say.

If we could magically arrange for you to direct one more episode of one of the Trek shows, which show would you direct and why?

Conway: I’d probably say TNG because I feel like I didn’t do enough of them. I did two the first season and just one the fifth season. I’d have loved the chance to do one of the Borg episodes or one of the episodes later on, which I never got to do. The show hit its stride in years three and four, and I felt like I didn’t get enough of the TNG experience.

Dead And Not So Buried, your first novel, came out earlier this week. Why now for a book?

Conway: It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. Writing was sort of the thing that got me started. I just got back from the University of Denver, where I went to college, for a distinguished alumni event. I can’t believe it’s 40 years since I graduated. I was there talking to some of the kids and it got me thinking about how I got from Denver to Hollywood. Just as a side note, of my class, of the people who were there when I was there, there are people who are still, like me, here and working in Hollywood. There’s Mel Damski, who’s a producer-director, Joe Pannella, who’s a director of photography, and Jim Parriott, who’s a writer-producer, and a number of other guys who were in my class, 1971/1972, who are still in the business, which is remarkable.

Anyway, I came out of school and I really wasn’t ready to go to Hollywood yet. I worked for a local company doing industrial films and commercials, but I was always writing. Writing is the one thing you can do by yourself, prove yourself with and maybe get a career doing it. I sold some short stories and bounced around a few jobs, and then I wrote a book, which I got to an L.A. agent, who started sending it around. About that same time, I got a job working with (author- screenwriter-producer) Chuck Sellier on the TV show The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. My book never sold, and I got busy doing movies and television, but writing books was something I actually always wanted to keep doing. As my directing career slowed down a little, I thought, “Now is the time to write a book.” I wrote what I knew, which is Hollywood, and I wrote a genre I love, which is thrillers. The basic idea of the book is it’s an actor who decides to get back at everybody who he thinks he has done him wrong over the years, and the private investigator who’s caught in the middle.

How easily did the writing process and the story itself come to you?

Conway: It all came pretty easily. It took about six months. It was a lot of fun. I was still directing some things in the meantime, so it was done in fits and starts. The story has a lot of humor. And the fun thing about writing is that you constantly surprise yourself. You have an idea where the story is going to go and then the characters take over. There are some really fun characters in there. Besides the detective, his ex-wife is a cop who gives him trouble. She’s having an affair with her partner, which just angers our P.I. even more. There’s the P.I.’s assistant, who’s a beautiful young girl who’s in love with him, but he doesn’t even know it. There’s a movie star he has to protect, who he had an affair with many years before. So, there’s a lot going on, with twists I didn’t even see coming.

Can we assume this will be the first in a series?

Conway: That’s the plan, the hope. It ends on a nice note that ends the story, but leaves room for more. I’m actually writing the next one right now.

If someone in Hollywood options Dead And Not So Buried, would a certain James L. Conway want to direct the film version?

Conway: That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?

How interested are you in continuing to direct television?

Conway: I’m available. I did a 90210 last fall and just before that I did a Switched at Birth. I did a Supernatural. It’s slowed down a little bit, but hopefully this fall I’ll get back on a couple of shows.

 

To read part one of our interview with James L. Conway, see Catching Up With Director James L. Conway, Part 1. To learn more about his book, Dead And Not So Buried, click HERE for his official site.

 

James L. Conway holds the distinction of being one of the few directors to have called the shots on episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. Some of those episodes -- “Frame of Mind,” “Duet” “The Way of the Warrior,” “Death Wish,” “Broken Bow” and “In a Mirror Darkly” -- rank among the most well-regarded hours of their respective shows. Conway ultimately directed 18 episodes of Trek, but they’re just a drop in the bucket of a long and varied career that’s seen him direct the low-budget 80’s films Hangar 18 and The Boogens, produce and/or direct everything from The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams, Matt Houston and MacGyver to Charmed, Supernatural and Switched at Birth, and write the just-released novel Dead And Not So Buried. StarTrek.com recently caught up with Conway for an extensive interview in which he looked back at his many years directing Trek and talked about Dead And Not So Buried. Check out part one below and visit StarTrek.com again tomorrow to read part two.  

How did you secure your first TNG direction assignment?

Conway: This was 1987, I think. I’d directed some MacGyver’s that previous year for Paramount and they were just launching TNG. They made me a deal to do two TNG episodes and a number of MacGyver episodes as part overall deal for that year. I came in and did “Justice” and then I did the season finale of the first season, “The Neutral Zone.” Though the producers knew we were picked up for a second season, nobody on the cast or crew knew we were picked up. Because it was the first syndicated show, there was no network, no UPN or CW or WB. They just went out and syndicated it themselves and it was an experiment to see whether it was going to work or not. So that was great fun. I look back at those early shows, and it’s remarkable how the franchise has changed from the first season of TNG to the last couple of episodes of Enterprise. 

What do you remember about “Justice”?

Conway: The thing that struck me most was the first time I had a scene where they used a transporter. Nine people came down at once, believe it or not, so it was a huge wide shot. In those days, very early visual effects, when you had a lock-off, you had to take the camera and lock it down. You’d have wires attached to the camera, pinned into the ground to make sure the camera didn’t move at all. Nowadays you can take a handheld camera, zip it around, and put effects in later. So it was very primitive stuff. But we’d put the camera down and just the fun of having them say “Beam me up” for the first time was great. We shot that (episode) out in the Valley at a water reclamation plant. It was kind of a Japanese garden. We also shot in Huntingdon Park, at the Huntingdon Park library/art place in Pasadena, with beautiful rolling hills. Same thing; we had a bunch of people transport in and did a little action sequence there.  

The first-season finale you mentioned was “The Neutral Zone.” You did one more TNG, which was “Frame of Mind,” in season six. Why so long between episodes?

Conway: At the same time I was directing the (different) Star Trek shows, I was also a writer and producer. I went off to do my own show, Paradise, a western with Lee Horsley. He played a gunslinger whose sister died, and he got her three kids. We did that for three seasons and when it finished I called Rick (Berman) and said, “I’m available again.” So I came back and did “Frame of Mind.” It was a great script because most of it, as we learned at the end, was in Jonathan Frakes’ imagination. He had this wonderful scene at the beginning where he went on for about a page and a half. It was just one shot where we started tight on him and then pulled back to reveal that he was sitting in this room surrounded by all these people staring at him. It was fun to come back to the show after so many years. By then it was an absolute great-running machine. The D.P. then was Jonathan West, who’d taken over from Marvin Rush, who’d gone over to do DS9. I worked with Jonathan and his crew on that show and then he ended up going over to Voyager and DS9. Then, for me, he did Charmed. I did Charmed for eight years and he and his crew did the last five years of it. It’s always nice when you meet people and stay with them for many years.  Anyway, it was great fun to come back and work on TNG again. 

You directed seven episodes of DS9, specifically “Duet,” “Necessary Evil,” “The Way of the Warrior,” “Little Green Men,” “Shattered Mirror,” “For the Cause” and “Apocalypse Rising.” Several of those are among the best-regarded DS9 hours. Let’s start with “Duet”…

Conway: That was a fantastic script and it was really dark. That’s the thing I loved about DS9; it didn’t have happy endings, everything wasn’t resolved at the end, and it was dark. The lighting was dark. The tone of it was dark. It was sort of an alternate universe in terms of Star Trek, and I loved that about it. It was really a fun show. That first script, making it was interesting because of the lead (guest) actor, Harris Yulin. He did a fantastic job. However, the makeup was three hours in morning and two hours at night and he had to get there at four in the morning. He was so tired that he had a very hard time remembering the lines, and we had a very hard time getting the performance. Then, it was one those performances where you don’t really know you have it until it’s cut together. He also didn’t like the ending. He got so invested in his character that he didn’t want his character to die at the end. He was trying to justify it and have him somehow survive, which almost never happens on a television show. The guest star never starts trying to change a script. He did, but mostly because he was so invested in the character. But it was one of those shows that, until it was edited, I didn’t realize how good it was. 

“Way of the Warrior” must have been a crazy show to do. It was a two-hour episode. It was Klingon-heavy, and you had to introduce Worf (Michael Dorn)…

Conway: We didn’t really have any more time, but I had many more extras and it was a big action script. There were two or three really big set-piece action things. And we had to introduce Michael into the show. I really enjoyed doing that.

“Little Green Men” is a very entertaining, funny episode…

Conway: I loved “Little Green Men” for a couple of reasons. One, in my low-budget independent film days, I did a movie called Hangar 18, which is basically a version of “Little Green Men.” It’s the other side of it. Aliens had crash-landed and the government was hiding their spacecraft for that reason. It ended up that the government had to blow up the hangar and the people inside it. And “Little Green Men” was just a very funny telling of the Hangar 18 story. It was so clever and so much fun. I knew that they didn’t do much humor on DS9. When we sat down to do the tone meeting, Ira (Behr) said, “Are you sure you can get the humor here?” I said, “Ira, don’t worry about it. It’s going to be just fine.” And it was. He was very happy.

“Apocalypse Rising,” with the changeling impersonating Gowron, was your final DS9…

Conway: I was just doing that when I got the offer to come work at Spelling Entertainment. I’d written a pilot that didn’t sell and Duke Vincent called me and said he was thinking of throttling back a little bit, wanted to replace himself, and would I come in and be executive vice-president of the studio? I thought about it and decided to do that, and I did that for six years.

 

Visit StarTrek.com again to read the second half of our conversation with James Conway. To learn more about his book, Dead And Not So Buried, click HERE for his official site.

Once again, a bit of Star Trek sci-fi is on the verge of becoming reality. This time it’s Geordi La Forge’s VISOR, which enabled the blind character to “see” on Star Trek: The Next Generation, that’s close to becoming a practical device. The Sensory Substitution Device, created 20-plus years ago by the Dutch researcher Dr. Peter Meijer, employs an algorithm to translate the appearance and position of an object into distinct tones. Now, an Israeli group of scientists at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, led by Dr. Amir Amedi, have built upon Dr. Meijer’s initial work and developed a prototype that essentially “hacks” the brain's cortex non-invasively and allows a congenitally blind wearer to interpret a “soundscape,” enabling him or her to “see” the position, shape and location of a person/object or even letters and written words.

According to Dr. Amedi, writing in the latest issue of Cerebral Cortex, sounds -- which represent vision – can not only activate the visual cortex of people who have never previously seen, but they do so in a manner organized according to the large-scale organization and segregation of the two visual processing streams. As Dr. Amedi noted in a statement, “The brain is not a sensory machine, although it often looks like one; it is a task machine.” To read the original source article, click HERE.

So, can sound really activate sight? Tell us what you think.

Kosmos is giving its Settlers of Catan game a decidedly futuristic twist, introducing Star Trek Catan in March. So swap out the ore, sheep, trees, wheat and bricks in the popular German board game and swap in dilithium, tritanium, food, oxygen and water. Large and small space stations replace cities and villages. There’s a Klingon Bird of Prey rather than a thief. If you know Settlers of Catan, you get the idea. Plus, there are character cards depicting Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, Rand and Sarek, which each character card providing two special powers that can be used on a player’s turn.

Star Trek Catan will be available in Germany.

Nothing says Valentine's Day quite like Star Trek (2009). OK, that's a bit of a stretch, but if you and your significant other are Star Trek fans and either never saw Star Trek (2009) or are eager to see it again, the J.J. Abrams blockbuster will makes its basic cable television premiere tonight on FX at 7 p.m. ET.

FX actually will air Star Trek (2009) another half-dozen times in the next 10 days, and the network is also sponsoring a contest offering free tickets to current movies.  For listing details click HERE and for information about the contest, click HERE.

James T. Kirk – he's not just the Captain of the Enterprise, he's a thief of hearts - charming, witty and handsome. Sure, put him in a one-on-one scenario with a giant lizard monster and he'll attack with a cannon made of rocks and dirt, but one-on-one with a lady? Let's just say the codes of 1960s television demand we “fade out.”

Since today is Valentine's Day and we can always use a little extra game, let's take a moment to salute our Captain. Here, then, are Captain Kirk's 10 best girlfriends. 

10 – Dr. Gillian Taylor

A marine biologist during the peak of the late 20th century's “Save the Whales” movement, Dr. Taylor never expected that she and two humpbacks named George and Gracie would be the ones to save the humans.

Captain Kirk used his interplanetary charm to get the info he needed out Gillian, but her inquisitive spirit won her a ticket to the 23rd century. In addition to bringing her firsthand knowledge of probe-responding whales, she also brought an advanced palette for elaborate pizza. 

9 – Shahna

A “Drill Thrall” who wore a “collar of obedience.” Yeah, this was definitely one of the feistier ones.

The leading lady from “The Gamesters of Triskelion” is best remembered for her shocking green hair and an outfit one would consider revealing no matter what side of the galaxy you're from. While Shahna may have been athletic enough to train space gladiators, she wasn't exactly the sharpest crystal in the dilithium matrix. After Kirk shows her “what beauty is,” she helps liberate him, Chekov and Uhura from the grip of the Providers. When she hopes Kirk will take her with him to the “lights in the sky,” he uses some excuse about her needing to stay behind and advance the society of her emerging people. Somehow when Kirk says it, it sounds legit. 

8 – Deela

Sometimes when you are with a beautiful woman it is as if time stands still. That's especially the case if that woman is a Scalosian.

“Wink of an Eye's” Deela, a regal blond whose presence at first may just seem like a buzz in your ear, took a real liking to Captain Kirk. So much so she wanted him to help repopulate her planet. But despite her smile and proclivity to be photographed at Dutch angles, Kirk's relationship with her didn't last long – and that's in either time phase. 

7 – Marta

Another amorous partner who teetered on the edge of villainy, Marta the Orion wasn't the first “green woman” to appear on Star Trek, but she's the only one caught smoochin' Captain Kirk. In the episode “Whom Gods Destroy” she is Garth of Izar's asylum-bound “kept woman,” ready to do her consort's bidding even if it means putting the moves on a Starfleet captain.

Played by Yvonne Craig (yes, Batgirl, making this one of the first of many DC/Trek connections), Marta proved that even in the future, there's something incredibly enticing about women who are a little bit loopy. 

6 – Martia

Even when facing the business end of a life sentence on a frozen penal colony, Kirk can't help but score with the ladies.

Despite sharing a prison bunk with Dr. McCoy on Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country's Rura Penthe, there's a moment of intimacy between Kirk and fellow prisoner (and possible escape aide) Martia. First seen as African supermodel Iman, it was later discovered that she (he?) was actually a shapeshifter. Before dying at the hand of a Klingon disruptor, the final form the creature took was that of Captain Kirk himself. So, in a way, this was one of Kirk's most narcissistic love interests. 

5 – Rayna Kapec

Not just humanoids fall under the spell of James T. Kirk – even artificial intelligence gets its microchips all a-flutter around the Captain, as seen in “Requiem for Methuselah.”

The android companion to the great immortal Flint (whose resume includes being a Macedonian conquerer, Renaissance painter and Romantic composer), Rayna soon grew to have tremendous feelings toward Kirk.

As is so often the case around William Shatner, however, these feelings caused her to literally short circuit.

Rayna the Robot marked an important step for Kirk in his relationship with women. He found it difficult to just shake her off as the Enterprise sailed off to their next star, so much so that Spock had to give him something of an emotional memory wipe – an ambiguous procedure still causing debate among Trek fans today. 

4 – Miramanee

Here's a tip. Want women to fall at your feet? Come to them as a weather-controlling god.

“The Paradise Syndrome” is one of the more tender TOS episodes; indeed, it forms a nice opening bookend with TNG's “The Inner Light.” Kirk gets bonked on the head and finds himself living among Space Native Americans. He's forgotten everything, including how to pronounce his name (Kirok is close), but he hasn't forgotten how to love.

He marries the lovely Miramanee and impregnates her, but she and fetus die when Kirk's lack of divinity is exposed. It is one of the few episodes of original Trek where, yes, the status quo is restored, but it doesn't end “all right.” 

3 – Dr. Carol Marcus

While Kirk was shacked up with Miramanee, however, we now know that, halfway across the galaxy, a previous love affair of his had indeed sired him a son.

Carol Marcus, first introduced to us in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (though perhaps referenced in “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” according to some) was no mere floozy. An equal to Kirk in almost every way, Dr. Marcus was an intellectual giant whose devotion to her career (molecular biology) matched Kirk's enthusiasm for command. Amicably, the couple split, knowing neither could step away from their career to commit to a relationship. Their child David reunited with his father, just in time to get killed by Klingons in the next movie. 

2 – Edith Keeler

Of all of Kirk's girlfriends, no one shattered his heart quite like “The City on the Edge of Forever's” Edith Keeler, and that's because, let's face it, he killed her. Oh, sure, it's not like he picked up a phaser and fired. Rather, preventing Dr. McCoy from whisking her away from that oncoming vehicle did the trick. Yeah, he protected the timeline and kept the 20th century safe from fascism, but try telling that to a man who’s lost a companion as warm, caring and beautiful as Edith Keeler. All you'll get back is the refrain “he knows.” 

1 – The USS Enterprise

At the end of the day, Captain Kirk has but one true love: the Constitution-class heavy cruiser designation NCC-1701.

Just look at the joy in his eyes when he sees her from Scotty's shuttle in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Or the pain at her destruction in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.

Perhaps so many of Kirk's entanglements with women were so, how shall we say, ephemeral, because he knew that there'd never be a place in his heart for two lovers. As he puts it to Bones in “The Corbomite Maneuver:” I've already got a female to worry about. Her name is Enterprise.

 

Now, I know I've left off a bunch of good ones, but hopefully not your favorite. But if that is the case, please, let me have it in the comments. And may your Valentine's Day take you boldly to wherever it is you want to go.

 

Jordan Hoffman was the movies editor at UGO.com for more than four years. He has produced two independent films (look 'em up!) and is a member of the New York Film Critics Online. In 2005, he was named the Ultimate Film Fanatic of the NorthEast by IFC. Jordan fell in love with Star Trek through TOS reruns just as TNG was getting ready to launch. On his BLOG, Jordan has reviewed all 727 Trek episodes and films, most of the comics and some of the novels. He has a funny story about the one time he met Leonard Nimoy.

 

It’s official. And it only took five decades to happen. Yes, Star Trek and Doctor Who, two of the most popular and venerable franchises in entertainment history, will cross over for the first time ever in Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #1. Set for release in May by IDW Publishing, Assimilation2 #1 – the first in a series of eight adventures -- teams up Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise and Doctor Who and his companions when the entire galaxy is threatened by an unholy alliance between their respective greatest nemeses, the Borg and the Cybermen.

Scott and David Tipton, in collaboration with Tony Lee, wrote Assimilation2, while J.K. Woodward provided the art and Woodward and David Messina realized the covers. The Tiptons are best known for Star Trek: Infestation, while Woodward is well respected for his work illustrating IDW’s Fallen Angel series. Variants will include a rare wrap-around photo cover and one by Joe Corroney, featuring the TARDIS crew aboard the Enterprise. Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 #1 will run 32 pages and sell for $3.99.

For additional details, contact your local comic book retailer or visit www.comicshoplocator.com to find a store near you. And keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional news about IDW's upcoming Star Trek comic books.

 

Sensors indicate that Robe Factory has come up with the latest cool piece of Star Trek merchandise: classic Star Trek beach/bath towels. The towels are avaialble for pre-order now and will come in Kirk Gold, Spock Blue and Security/Engineering Red, with each towel printed on one side in a uniform-style print featuring the appropriate department symbol and braiding. The 100-percent cotton towels will measure 30 inches in width and 56 inches in length and will sell for the suggested retail of $30 per towel.

Pre-order the Command Beach Towel, Department of Science Beach Towel and Department of Engineering Beach Towel at the official StarTrek.com store.

 

Spring is in the air, or at least it is for IDW Publishing, which just revealed its Star Trek titles for May. Fans can snag Star Trek #9, Star Trek Classics Vol. 3: Encounters with the Unknown and another title about which you’ve probably read rumors – and we’ll tell you more about that one, and unveil a special cover, later this week.   

Star Trek #9 continues the buildup to the Star Trek sequel with a re-imagining of the TOS episode “The Return of the Archons,” as Kirk, Spock and their Enterprise crewmates seek to find a lost Starfleet ship that just might hold important clues to the Federation’s future. Mike Johnson wrote the story, while Stephen Molnar provided the art, Tim Bradstreet and Joe Phillips handled the covers, and Roberto Orci, producer-writer of Star Trek (2009) and the in-production sequel, oversaw the project. Star Trek #9 will run 32 pages and cost $3.99. Variants will include a Tim Bradstreet sketch cover and a photo cover, and be on the lookout for the variant of the CBLDF contest winner. 

Star Trek #9

Star Trek Classics, Vol. 3: Encounters with the Unknown gathers together a quartet of Voyager adventures. The titles include “False Colors,” “Avalon Rising,” “Elite Force” and “Planet Killer.” Among the writers whose work is featured are Nathan Archer, Janine Ellen Young, Doselle Young, Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Dean Wesley Smith, while artists include Jeffrey Moy, David Roach and Robert Teranishi, and the cover is by Drew Struzan. Star Trek Classics, Vol. 3: Encounters with the Unknown will run 204 pages and sell for $21.99.

Star Trek Classics, Vol. 3

For additional details, contact your local comic book retailer or visit www.comicshoplocator.com to find a store near you. And keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional news about IDW's upcoming Star Trek comic books.

 

Did you happen to see ABC's talk/cooking show The Chew the other day? They aired a theme week in which they explored foods and fashions and, for their 60's show, the hosts -- Daphne Oz, Mario Batali, Carla Hall, Michael Symon and Clinton Kelly -- decked themselves out in Star Trek-style uniforms and spent a portion of the time on red alert, imitating Scotty and just having some retro, TOS-inspired fun.

Click HERE to check out a clip and HERE to watch the whole episode.

Zachary Quinto is back in action as Spock, as filming on the Star Trek sequel is underway, and the actor describes the follow-up as “bigger and bolder, and, I think, in some ways more dynamic” than Star Trek (2009). Speaking to Popcornbiz at NBCBayArea.com, Quinto added, “It's so exciting to be back. And the first time there was a writer's strike when we were shooting the movie, so nothing was able to be changed – the script was locked. And this time Bob (Orci) and Alex (Kurtzman) and Damon (Lindelof) and J.J. (Abrams) are really getting in and working on the story and sort of allowing it to expand and evolve – and bringing us into the process. So there's a real collaboration that wasn't even legally permitted the first time that I feel really grateful for. We're having a really great time.”

Since the first Star Trek adventure, Quinto has ventured into a wide variety of projects and roles about as far removed as possible from Star Trek and Spock. However, he explained that his acting-producing work on Margin Call and recurring role on American Horror Story were not necessarily efforts to avoid being perceived solely as everyone’s favorite pointy-eared Vulcan. “It's just been enormously gratifying,” he said. “I started this production company. Our first feature out of the gate (Margin Call) was an incredible experience to work on as an actor and a producer. And to work with all these other amazing actors was so fulfilling to me. I wasn't really consciously trying to get away from the Star Trek experience. I'm really thrilled to have that, as well. But, yeah, I just want to keep things diverse and keep people surprised. And defy my own expectations, as well as other people's. That's my plan.”

To read the full story, click HERE. And keep an eye on StarTrek.com for ongoing news about the Star Trek sequel.

 

Star Trek - The Video Game is on the way, with NAMCO BANDAI and Paramount Pictures tag-teaming on the game, which NAMCO BANDAI will co-publish and distribute in spring 2013, shortly before the May 17 release of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel. Star Trek – The Video Game, which will be set in the Star Trek universe introduced in Star Trek (2009), will be available in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC formats.

Designed to provide the ultimate co-op experience, Star Trek – The Video Game will allow players to control both Kirk and Spock, who must work in tandem to stop a familiar and lethal enemy hell-bent on conquering the galaxy. Kirk and Spock grow closer as friends and colleagues in the process, essentially building a bridge between the events of Star Trek (2009) and the sequel. Players will find themselves immersed in an epic adventure along with Kirk and Spock, crisscrossing the universe and its unexplored planets, encountering enemy battleships and utilizing the latest 23rd-century gear and weaponry. BAFTA Award winner Marianne Krawczyk wrote the original script, working closely with Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, co-writers and co-producers of Star Trek (2009) and the in-production sequel.

A pre-alpha-phase version of Star Trek -- The Video Game received widespread acclaim at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. PlayStation: The Official Magazine and Official Xbox Magazine bestowed "Most Valuable Game" honors upon it, while CNN included it on its "Top 5 Games of E3 2011" list.

"Star Trek continues to be one of the most-beloved entertainment properties around the world," said Carlson Choi, Vice President of Marketing for NAMCO BANDAI Games America, Inc. "NAMCO BANDAI is extremely excited to be teaming up with Paramount Pictures to create the definitive Star Trek interactive experience."

 

Keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional news about Star Trek – The Video Game. Also, be sure to visit NAMCO BANDAI.

 

Hasbro is heading to the final frontier at warp speed, as they’ll introduce a line of Star Trek-based toys beginning in 2013, with the launch supporting the Star Trek sequel set for release on May 17, 2013.

First up will be a line of premium KRE-O Star Trek building sets that will feature legendary characters and familiar spaceships from the enduring Star Trek franchise. The KRE-O Star Trek sets will feature high-quality KRE-O bricks, as well as new KREON figures in the likeness of popular Trek characters. Further, Hasbro will also offer a line of role-play toys as well as select new figures with which kids and fans can act out fantastical Star Trek adventures of their own imagining.

“The Star Trek property is an entertainment giant known by millions across the globe and Hasbro is thrilled to be working with CBS Consumer Products to bring the franchise to life in toy form,” said John Frascotti, chief marketing officer, Hasbro, Inc.  “As a global branded play company, Hasbro delivers the best properties in a variety of formats to consumers around the world.  We’re excited to offer fans the opportunity to experience icons of Star Trek in exhilarating new ways with our KRE-O building sets as well as with new role-play items and more.”

Keep an eye on StarTrek.com for additional news about Hasbro’s Star Trek toys.

Forge alliances… or all is lost. The message couldn’t be any simpler than that, and it’s at the heart of The 2800, Star Trek Online’s five-part Feature Episodes Series 4 that will launch at 10 a.m. PT on Saturday, February 11, with new episodes of The 2800 debuting on consecutive Saturdays through to March 10. "Episode 1: Second Wave" finds a fleet of Dominion warships emerging from the wormhole beside Deep Space Nine and the Jem’Hadar going on the attack, endangering the entire Alpha Quadrant.

Subsequent episodes are entitled “Of Bajor,” “Operation Gamma,” “Facility 2048” and “Boldly They Rode.” As players know, they must finish one episode before moving on to the next in the free-to-play game from Cryptic and Perfect World. Players earn mission rewards upon completing each episode and also a special reward for completing a series during its initial release schedule.

For additional details about The 2800, click HERE, and for more information about Star Trek Online, which became a F2P game last month, click HERE.