March 29 2024

TrekToday

An archive of Star Trek News


TREKTODAY.COM - View Archives: December 1999

News headlines from December 1999:


Tuesday December 28, 1999
'Elite Force' Site Update
Christian (6:30 pm CST)
Raven Software's Kenn Hoekstra just updated his .plan with info on some new additions to the official 'Voyager: Elite Force' web site:

The Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force website has been updated with new information on several aspects of the game including new weapons, characters and aliens. Drop by and take a look! Kudos to Rob Gee, Mike Gummelt and Kim Lathrop for their assistance with this update...

Thanks go out to Blue's News for this.

More 'Strange New Worlds' Hints
Christian (6:30 pm CST)
David Henderson at Psi Phi sends along word he's posted a new set of hints for participants in the 'Strange New Worlds' short story contested, given by the actual editor of the contest:

Editor Dean Wesley Smith is the judge of the annual Star Trek amateur fiction contest, "Strange New Worlds" (SNW). With three years of Strange New Worlds entries under his belt, Dean offers some suggestions for those writers wanting to make their first short story sale. Some are specific to the SNW contest, and others apply to all short story sales.

You can find the hints by going here.

New Sev Trek Comic
Christian (6:30 pm CST)

Sev Trek header
Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

Trek Portal 'Hidden Evil' Review
Christian (6:30 pm CST)
The Star Trek Portal has put up a new review of 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil', Activision's new adventure game based on the 'Insurrection' film. Unlike most other reviewers, Trek Portal reviewer Andrew Christian was very impressed with the game, awarding it 5 out of 5 stars. Take a look at his conclusion:

The graphics in this game are phenominal, and the plot is one of the best I've ever seen. This is the first Star Trek game I have seen that actually relates to events that happened in the real Trek Universe. While the game is big (250 mb with a minimal installation, 560 at maximum), the experience is worth the hard drive space.

The full analysis can be found here. Thanks go out to Federation HQ for the link.

Happy Birthday!
Christian (6:30 pm CST)
Today is the 66th birthday of Nichelle Nichols, who starred as Nyota Uhura in the Original Series.

Today On TV
Christian (6:29 pm CST)
-On Wednesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Let He Who Is Without Sin...' at 17:00 and at Midnight GMT.

-The Sat.1 web site is currently down, so there won't be any German TV data today.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (6:29 pm CST)
Below you'll find some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

-Was Freud's personality theory used while creating the Original Series' cast of characters?

-What did you think about the Voyager second-season episode 'Resistance'?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Hello World!
Christian (6:29 pm CST)
I know you must all be really sick of my whining about the lack of news these days, but the utter silence on most of the sites I use as news sources really is amazing. Let's hope there'll be some more news in the New Year.

Monday December 27, 1999
DS9 Finale On UK Video
Christian (7:26 pm CST)
Nick Russell sends along word that 'What You Leave Behind', the final Deep Space Nine episode, was released on video in the UK today. Contrary to CIC's promotional poster (and what was previously reported here), the episode has been released as the full two-hour telemovie, and not split in two parts.

New Sev Trek Competition
Christian (7:26 pm CST)
John Cook at Sev Trek has uploaded a new edition of the 'Write Your Own Sev Trek Competition':

Sev Trek header
Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

Take a look at what this week's competition deals with:

Tomb Parasite's demotion.
Perhaps you can think of a more interesting (and plausible) way for Tomb Parasite to get demoted to ensign.

You can submit your punchlines by going here.

'Galaxy Quest' Does Poorly
Christian (7:25 pm CST)
According to Cinescape, 'Galaxy Quest' (Tim Allen's new Star Trek parody) took in only $8.1 million during its first weekend in cinemas, giving it no more than an eighth place.

Transporters Ready For Holidays
Christian (7:25 pm CST)
The people at the Continuum have put up another of their in-character news stories, this time dealing with the 'upcoming' holiday season:

EARTH- Today begins what is traditionally the busiest week of the transporter year. With Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwaanza, Ramadan and other Terran holidays also comes the increase in cargo transported globally, primarily gifts.

Although solar flares caused a substantial delay one year ago, solar forecasters predict smooth sailing for the planet's global network of transportation satellites.

Find more in the full article.

Today On TV
Christian (7:25 pm CST)
-On Tuesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Assignment' at 17:00 and at Midnight GMT. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this.

-On Tuesday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Statistische Wahrscheinlichkeit' (Statistical Probabilities) at 15:00 CET.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (7:25 pm CST)
Here are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

-'What You Leave Behind' has just been released on video in the UK - what did you think about it, if you just saw it for the first time?

-Were TNG's first two seasons really that bad?

Find more topics at the Trek BBS.

Hello World!
Christian (7:25 pm CST)
A world on which I'm not alone anymore, it seems. Welcome back to all news sources :-). Now if only they'd start again reporting some news on Star Trek I'd be really happy.

Sunday December 26, 1999
More 'Vertical Limit' Details
Christian (6:08 pm CST)
Melissa Lowery at Sid City, the official web site of Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir) has posted some more info on 'Vertical Limit', Siddig's new film. The update consists of the names of most of the film's characters, as well as a few newly announced cast members. You can find the new info, plus a detailed description and photos of the film, by going to this page.

'Gepetto' To Air May 7
Christian (6:08 pm CST)
Welcome, Brent Spiner Fans! is reporting that 'Gepetto', the new Disney musical featuring appearances by Brent Spiner (Data), René Auberjonois (Odo) and Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman), among others, will be shown on the Sunday the 7th of May as a 'Wonderful World of Disney' presentation.

'DS9: The Fallen' Interview
Christian (6:08 pm CST)
Federation HQ has just put up an interview with several members of The Collective, the software company currently developing 'Deep Space Nine: The Fallen'. One of the things mentioned in the interview is some new info about the Grigari, the alien race especially created for the game:

Federation HQ: Can you tell us more about the Grigari and their agenda? Are they linked to the Bajorans and their religion somehow?

Richard: The Grigari are from the near fringes of the Delta Quadrant, a region largely unexplored during Star Trek's "present day". Technically, the Grigari are bio-analogues built by nano-assemblers. Though their bodies contain organic materials, they are not alive in a biological sense. Perhaps the most remarkable quality of the Grigari's anatomy is that all of their individual body parts possess sentience and are capable of reconfiguring their physical makeup in order to survive in isolation. In other words, if a Grigari has an arm removed, the arm will mutate in order to function independently.

As a race, Grigari are scavengers and pirates, obtaining items and knowledge from one culture to trade with another. Unlike the Ferengi, they are not even bound by their own alien rules or ethics, but are completely sociopathic, doing whatever needs to be done to close a deal, from trading fairly to mass murder. You'll have to wait and see how they have been integrated into the story of The Fallen!

Lots more info on the game can be found in the full interview.

ORF To Show Trek Again
Christian (6:07 pm CST)
Our German partner site TrekZone.de is reporting that ORF (presumably an Austrian television station) is considering showing Star Trek again. In response to a question from reader Markus Stöllinger, ORF's Viewer Service Department said that after the current 'Stargate SG-1' season that show's timespot will most likely be filled by 'Star Trek: Voyager'.

Today On TV
Christian (6:07 pm CST)
-On Monday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Nor The Battle To The Strong' at 17:00 and at Midnight GMT, while their 'Seven Heaven' continues at 20:00 and at 21:00 with Voyager's 'Prey' and 'One', respectively. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this.

-On Monday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Erkenntnis' at 15:00 CET.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (6:07 pm CST)
Take a look at some of the discussions taking place at the (still Christmas-themed) Trek BBS:

-Did you also think the handling of the Borg in 'First Contact' was pretty silly?

-Why did Picard discard Professor Galen's gift in 'Generations'?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Hello World!
Christian (6:07 pm CST)
Four news items. Amazing.

Saturday December 25, 1999
Brent Spiner Interviews
Christian (4:32 pm CST)
I'm not sure if these interviews have only just been put online, but this is the first time I've noticed them, and it's a slow news day, so I decided to report on this anyway. Hollywood.com has posted 4 short audio interviews with Brent Spiner (Data), which were taped during the 'Insurrection' days. The questions are fairly general, though, dealing with his inability to tell good or bad scripts and his thoughts on auditioning (which he believes is just like gymnastics). You can find the interviews here, together with two Spiner bios. Thanks go out to Welcome, Brent Spiner Fans! for this.

'Hidden Evil' Review
Christian (4:32 pm CST)
Computer Games Onlne writer Rick Broida has put up a review of 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil', Activision's new 'Insurrection'-based adventure game. Awarding the game just 2.5 out of 5 stars, Broida calls this a game 'Where No Gamer Will Want To Go'. Take a look at how he ends his article:

Given how beautiful Hidden Evil looks, how terrific it sounds, and how much potential exists in a Star Trek adventure like this, it's hard not to be disappointed by the game's most significant flaws. For one thing, it's too short—even novice gamers should have no trouble finishing it inside of 10 hours. It's also too easy—there are perhaps three or four puzzles that represent anything of a challenge, and it's just plain hard to lose a phaser fight. Finally, Hidden Evil has what must be the most abrupt, pointless and disappointing ending of any adventure game ever.

Despite these shortcomings, it still manages to be fun. Sometimes it's nice to play through an adventure that doesn't stick you with some ridiculously hard puzzle every five minutes. Plus, the Star Trek universe has never looked or sounded better. Hidden Evil is a long way from perfect, but it does have its moments.

The full review can be read by following this link. Thanks go out to Blue's News for the link.

More 'Galaxy Quest' Reviews
Christian (4:31 pm CST)
A few more reviews have appeared of 'Galaxy Quest', Tim Allen's new comedy dealing with a group of out-of-work actors from a canceled sci-fi series who are beamed up to an alien vessel and are forced to act out their roles for real. Again, as most of these reviews also mention Star Trek, here's a list of the new ones:

  • Mick LaSalle in his San Francisco Chronicle review pays special attention to all the similarities and contrasts between 'Quest' and 'Trek'.
  • Jason Bates in his IGN Sci-Fi review awards the film 4 out of 5 stars, praising its 'smart script, dazzling (though deadpan) performances, lush effects, self-referential genre [gags.]'
  • Jeff Vice at the Deseret News posted an interview with scriptwriter David Howard, in which he talks about how the film originally came into being.
  • Vice also posted his review of the film, in which he even calls the film 'a "Trek" movie that's better than most."
  • Fandom.com has just so many 'Galaxy Quets' reviews, interviews and articles I'm not going to list them all - you can find them via the site's main page.
  • In an interview in AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine the film's stars talk about how they didn't set out to make fun of Star Trek fans.
  • Lastly, Steve Fritz in his Mania review thinks the film is somewhat painful for sci-fi fans, but still very much likes the film.
'Galaxy Quest' can still be seen at cinemas throughout the United States.

'Hidden Evil' Walkthrough
Christian (4:31 pm CST)
In the unlikely event you're still stuck in Activision's new adventure game, the Daily Radar has put up a new walkthrough of the game, helping you past all its puzzles. The review can be found here, thanks to Federation HQ for the link.

Happy Birthday!
Christian (4:31 pm CST)
Today is the 54th birthday of Rick Berman, Executive Producer for the latest three Star Trek series, and creator of 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' and 'Star Trek: Voyager', and hopefully soon also the fifth Star Trek series. Berman has been leading the Star Trek franchise ever since Gene Roddenberry personally selected him as his successor during the early years of TNG.

Today On TV
Christian (4:31 pm CST)
-On Sunday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the third-season TOS episode 'Plato's Stepchildren', featuring the first interracial kiss ever seen on American television.

-On Sunday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing a special 'When Good Captains Go Bad' Star Trek special, hosted by Greg Proops. The special starts at 14:00 GMT with the DS9 episode 'For The Uniform', and is then followed every hour by Voyager's 'Macrocosm', 'Vis a Vis' and 'Living Witness'. Thanks go out, as always, to Kathryn Hughes for this.

-On Sunday here in The Netherlands, RTL 5 will be showing DS9's 'The Bar Association' at 18:05 CET.

-On Sunday in Belgium, Kanaal 2 will be showing DS9's 'A Simple Investigation' at 18:05 CET. Thanks go out to the Benelux Star Trek TV Guide for this.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (4:30 pm CST)
Even on Christmas, many people are still posting at the Trek BBS. Here are some of the things they're talking about:

-What did you think about the new Badlands novel series, by Susan Wright?

-Which action figure for Trek would you like to see produced?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS, complete with a new Christmas style!

Hello World!
Christian (4:30 pm CST)
Updating the site has never felt more weird. Not only am I sitting right next to the Christmas tree, still wearing my suit and tie, destroying my back as no good computer table is available in this house, there also doesn't seem to be any news at all to report on. Then again, there also don't seem to be any visitors to the site during Christmas, according to the statistics program, so I suppose that's only fitting.

Friday December 24, 1999
Robert Duncan McNeill Interview
Christian (6:30 pm CST)
Voyager's Delights has put up a transcript of a recent interview with Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris), which first appeared in the official Star Trek Magazine. In the interview, McNeill talks about the past five and a half years on Voyager, his experiences directing several Voyager episodes, and also his ambitions for the future:

By the end of the fifth season, Robbie had directed three times: in 'Sacred Ground,' 'Unity' and 'Someone To Watch Over Me.' "I'm sure I will direct on the show some more," he says, "but I'm not sure exactly when. I think I found out about my first directing slot two weeks before I started prep-ping. I've seen over the course of the series how many people have an interest in trying that job; I don't envy Rick Berman's position of having to dole out those opportunities to people. I'm sure it hurts some people's feelings. I sympathize with that and I understand that, so I don't push. I would love to do four five, six shows a year; but I've come to realize that's not possible on this show. That being said, I'm sure I'll direct again. And if there's another STAR TREK series, I hope that they've been happy with the three shows I've done so far."

Robbie's also made a successful start as a producer. "I would like to be someone who helps create ideas for TV shows and movies. I'd like to help figure out how to shoot some-thing that a studio wants to make. I already took a movie of the week to UPN that I am a credited producer on; I actually was supposed to direct, but I wasn't available because of our series. The studio wanted to make it right away; they were real excited. The good news is, they bought something that I found; the bad news is I wasn't available to direct it, and that was the point!"

More can be found in the full interview.

Burton To Narrate Christmas Story
Christian (6:26 pm CST)
On the 29th and 30th of December, LeVar Burton will be the Candlelight Processional Celebrity retelling the Christmas story at Epcot, one of the four major theme parks at Disney World. Take a look at what this Candelight Processional actually is:

One of the most beloved Epcot® traditions is the Candlelight Processional. This joyous retelling of the Christmas story by a celebrity guest features a glorious mass choir and a 50-piece orchestra in a breathtaking musical performance. And it's all included with admission.

In late November, Alfre Woodard (Lily Sloane) already appeared as narrator. For more info on how to attend, please follow this link. Thanks go out to Michael Steele for this!

Overnight '11:59' Ratings
Christian (6:19 pm CST)
Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database has uploaded the overnight ratings report for '11:59', the Voyager episode which was repeated on Wednesday. The ratings, as expected, weren't that great:

"11:59," weakened by two previous weeks of reruns and the approaching Christmas holiday, only managed a 3.4 rating, 5 share. That's the lowest overnight of the season.

[...]

This week is typically one of Voyager's weakest nights of the season, coming just before Christmas. However, the episode's national rating looks to be about average, perhaps a little below. Voyager has been pre-empted next week for a UPN special.

Timeslot analysis can be found in the full report.

'Galaxy Quest' Reviews
Christian (6:19 pm CST)
Several reviews have popped up of 'Galaxy Quest', the new comedy film starring Tim Allen as a William Shatner-like actor from the sci-fi television series 'Galaxy Quest' who suddenly finds himself up to an alien vessel where the aliens believe he actually is a heroic space captain. As most of the reviews also mention the film's connection to Star Trek, here's a short list of reviews:

  • Gary Thompson calls the film an 'affectionate homage [to] Star Trek nerd-dom' in his Philadelphia Daily News Review.
  • Jeff Bond in his Eon Magazine review goes as far as calling it 'the best Star Trek [he's] seen this year'.
  • Michael O'Sullivan notes in his Washington Post review that you have to love 'Trek' to really get 'Quest'.
  • Luke Y. Thompson thinks the film does a better job of 'maintaining Roddenberry's original concept of a future in which mankind works together for the betterment of all' than Trek itself, in his Dallas Observer review.
  • Jay Carr in his Boston Globe review describes the film as a 'clever, affectionate, and entertaining holiday snack for sci-fi fans'.
  • Bruce Kirkland notes in his Toronto Sun review that 'anyone who grew up with the original Star Trek [...] will see the humour instantly.'
  • Lastly, Ron Weiskind wrote a review for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also commenting on the similarities between 'Galaxy Quest' and the Trek franchise.
'Galaxy Quest' has now opened throughout the United States.

ODN Issue 97 Appears
Christian (6:18 pm CST)
Editor Adam Bailey has sent out Volume IV, Issue 21 of the Optical Data Network, his bi-weekly Trek newsletter. This edition is somewhat different from usual:

Deadlines are a funny thing. Anyone for whom I've ever worked can testify to how bad I am about deadlines. Always pushing things off, always juggling a thousand different projects; knowing none of them will ever be done on time. My life is all about triage, figuring out what can be finished when. With ODN, being late has only been a disappointment to myself. I hate letting you down, I hate letting myself down. But at least a paycheck or someone /else's/ deadline isn't being impacted when I'm late. However, in this case, I'm leaving town on Thursday morning. That means that if I didn't finish the issue Wednesday night, it would have to wait another week. And I just didn't want to do that. It's the holiday season, and a well-crafted informative issue is the only present I can give all of you. As this deadline approached, I made a hard decision: one that I've only made once before. I'd put the issue out, whether I was done or not.

What does this mean? Well, the issue needs about another two or three hours of work, but I have to wake up at 6:30 AM for a seven hour drive to Missouri. That means I can't stay up another 2-3 hours. So I'm giving you an issue that's almost done. About 30 NewsBits still remain unwritten and unresearched, and a few other sections that could have gone in here won't. However, to make up for giving you an unfinished issue, I'm going to try to do another issue next Sunday. Which won't actually *be* next Sunday, because I'll be on the road again. So maybe Monday or Tuesday, I'll be able to get the final issue of the year out to you. I'm kind of hoping it will be a slow news week (or make that half-week, since I'm already late), which will make it easier to throw together the last thirty NewsBits, plus any *new* news that comes up while I'm out of town, in a short period of time.

To read the new edition of ODN, which still contains lots of interesting news, please go here, if it hasn't already been delivered to your mailbox.

ODN NewsBits
Christian (6:18 pm CST)
Below you'll find a list of news items from the new edition of the Optical Data Network which didn't yet appear on TrekToday:

  • Michael Dorn (Worf) will be appearing as Bob Bowman in the serial killer thriller The Prophet's Game, a new film starring Dennis Hopper and Stephanie Zimbalist.
  • Michelle Forbes (Ro Laren) will be appearing in quite a few upcoming projects - the docu-drama 'Wonderland' (dealing with doctors working in the psychiatric and emergency wards of New York's Rivervue Hospital), as Mary in the comedy film 'Bullfighter' and finally she will have a starring role in the upcoming television series 'Belleveu'.
  • The Sci-Fi Channel will be running its Star Trek Chain Reaction marathon on December 30, during which ten TOS episodes will be shown from 9:00am to 7:00pm Eastern Time.
More news can of course be found in the new edition of ODN.

'Insurrection' UK News
Christian (6:18 pm CST)
Patrick Stewart - The Actor's Actor is reporting that 'Insurrection', the latest TNG feature film, will be available on home video in the UK on the 27th of December. It'll also be shown on the special pay channel Sky TV Box Office 3 at various times starting on the 19th of January.

Two New 'Hidden Evil' Reviews
Christian (6:17 pm CST)
GamePower and GameCenter have both put up reviews of 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil', Activision's new game based on the 'Insurrection' film. Neither review is very positive - Jeff Sengstack in his GamePower review calls it 'way too short and unchallenging', while Martin E. Cirulis awards the game no more than a 5 in his GameCenter review. Thanks go out to Blue's News for this.

'Alien Voices' Uses Macs
Christian (6:17 pm CST)
Another day, another John DeLancie (Q) article on MacCentral. This time, Dennis Sellers talks to the actor about his production company 'Alien Voices', in which he and Leonard Nimoy (Spock) create audio adaptations of classic SF works. Apparently, Macs are used a lot during that process, as you can read in the interview with DeLancie about this. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this.

Happy Birthday!
Christian (6:17 pm CST)
Today is the 54th birthday of Nicholas Meyer, who directed and co-wrote both 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan' and 'Star Trek IV: The Undiscovered Country', as well as co-writing 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, these three films are believed by many to be the best Trek movies ever produced.

Today On TV
Christian (6:17 pm CST)
This may be the first time in TrekToday history, but there's absolutely no TV data to report for tomorrow. I suppose all television stations considered Christmas specials to be more important than Star Trek.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (6:17 pm CST)
The Trek BBS has received a new Christmas-style! Go take a look, and then join in one of the following discussions:

-How come there were so many unhealthy social relationships on TNG and Voyager?

-To which TNG episode would you like to see sequels?

Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

Hello World!
Christian (6:16 pm CST)
Happy Christmas Eve to all of you! I hope you'll forgive me if I don't answer email and spend a little bit less time on the site over the coming days - celebrating Christmas itself will of course take up quite a bit of time, and the poor little 28k8 connection here at my parents' house (where I'm staying for Christmas) doesn't really help either.

Thursday December 23, 1999
Nichols To Appear On GvsE
Christian (4:28 pm CST)
The Sci-Fi Channel's Sci-Fi Wire is reporting that Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) will be appearing in an upcoming episode of the 'GvsE' as Iris McNeil, the mother of lead character Henry McNeil. The episode will air in the new season on the USA Network, though it is not yet known on what date. For the original announcement, please go here.

Continuum To Compete
Christian (4:28 pm CST)
With us, that is :-). Over at the Continuum, Paramount Digital Entertainment just posted an open letter about 'a bold new course of action' for the official Star Trek site. Take a look at what they plan to add to their site in the coming months:

There will be changes throughout STAR TREK: CONTINUUM in the coming months. At first these changes will be implemented in steps. These changes will enhance our gaming, our community relationships, and the very look of the site, making way for new and exciting possibilities.

One such step is the launch of the new Star Trek News page that is coming. This new commitment to all news related to Star Trek is but the first in a host of vital and exciting changes for STAR TREK: CONTINUUM.

More news can of course never hurt - the Continuum has already turned into one of the most important sources for TrekToday news, and it'd certainly make my life easier if they'd report even more news. Find the full letter by going here.

TrekWeb 'Pathfinder' Review
Christian (4:27 pm CST)
Steve Perry at TrekWeb has uploaded his review of 'Pathfinder', the Voyager episode featuring appearances by Dwight Schultz (Reginald Barclay) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi). Awarding the episode just a B-, Perry didn't seem to like the episode that much:

Pathfinder for all its hype and cameos is an unremarkable episode. It has one major repercussion for Voyager (or does it? Will the talk to Starfleet amount to much at all? And don't get me started on how they figured out where Voyager might be, given how many times the ship has made multi-light year jumps…), and one major repercussion for one of its characters, but it is mainly a story not involving the ship. This is compounded by the fact that what it does involve is a mostly warmed-over retelling of TNG's "Hollow Pursuits," the episode where Barclay dreamed of Troi as the goddess of empathy and such. Voyager's fondness for TNG plots has been well-noted; this may be its worst example, for it both co-opts a storyline and two characters at the expense of telling a story about the actual crew.

A more in-depth analysis can be found by reading the full review.

Tim Allen On Shatner
Christian (4:27 pm CST)
TV Guide has put up a new interview with Tim Allen, in which the star of 'Galaxy Quest' (the new parody movie on the whole Star Trek phenomenon) talks about how William Shatner inspired him for his role as cheesy space captain. Here's a short snippet from the article:

How much of his character in Galaxy Quest was based on Shatner? "There were moments," Allen confesses to TV Guide Online. "And I hate to admit it because he'll probably sue me or something. Like when I walk around the chair. He always did that. He never even looks at the chair. I hit my a-- on this corner [of my chair] more times.... And he just sat right in his. It was super-fun because they made the set like the Cadillac of space ships."

Allen has never met Shatner but would like to so long as he doesn't get beat up. He jokes that revenge-minded fans will trick him, using Shatner as the bait. Allen says he envisions, "in trench coats, eight Trekkies would jump out," and beat him senseless, yelling, "Way to sit in that chair! Klingon this!"

You can find the full interview by following this link.

ET Time Capsule Success
Christian (4:27 pm CST)
It appears yesterday's link to the 'Entertainment Tonight Time Capsule Poll had some pretty major effects, as the first Star Trek episode has now moved up to third place in the poll, just below a 'Star Wars' video and a Greatest Hits CD from the Beatles. As you may recall, in the poll Entertainment Tonight is asking you to choose from twenty items from entertainment history, and the ten most popular items will be preserved for all eternity. Thanks go out to Holly Kim Wilson and Mattrek for this!

Today On TV
Christian (4:26 pm CST)
-On Friday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Looking for Par'Mach in all the Wrong Places' at 17:00 and at Midnight GMT. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

Trek BBS Today
Christian (4:26 pm CST)
Take a look at some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

-Is Buffy, The Vampire Slayer worth watching?

-Whatever happened to the Defiant's holo-communicator?

Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

Hello World!
Christian (4:26 pm CST)
Sometimes I'm happy I live in the Netherlands. After my rant yesterday about the incredibly irritating plastic wrappings Amazon.com uses to package CDs, some readers wrote in to tell me that this is actually done everywhere in the United States! I really don't know how you people manage to live with it.

(By the way, if it seems like there is a severe shortage of news on TrekToday - there is! Everyone must have packed up for Christmas already.)

Wednesday December 22, 1999
Vote For Trek In Time Capsule
Christian (6:06 pm CST)
Entertainment Tonight Online has just put up a poll about their Entertainment Tonight 2000 Time Capsule, in which ten defining moments from entertainment history will be preserved from the future. At their site, people can select the items they find most worthy from a list of twenty, and the ten most popular items will be selected. One of those is the first 'Star Trek' episode, which so far attracted only 3.31% of the votes - not enough to get in the top-10. To change that, please follow this link and vote for Star Trek. Thanks go out to Holly Kim Wilson for this.

Winning Ferengi Desk Design
Christian (6:02 pm CST)
The people at Decipher, creators of the official Star Trek Customizable Card Game, have put up the winning Ferengi deck design from their recent contest. The deck was designed by Chris Heard, who introduces his design as follows:

Nerves were taut aboard space station Deep Space Nine. For months now, the crew had been hearing whispers and rumors of a heretofore unknown enemy lurking in the Gamma Quadrant. Major Kira's voice suddenly cut through the low hum of the inertial dampers and Ops personnel at their tasks. "There's something coming through the wormhole!" At her words, Benjamin Sisko stiffened. "This is it, people!" he snapped. "Battle stations!" On the Ops monitors, the starfield near Bajor suddenly erupted in a paroxysm of color and light, and as the Deep Space Nine crew watched, stunned, the wormhole disgorged ... Ferengi?

The actual design, plus a few strategies for it, can be found here.

'Warhead' Final Ratings
Christian (6:00 pm CST)
Voyager's ratings appear to be holding strong even during rerun season. Over at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database, Greg Fuller has just uploaded the final ratings report for last week's repeat of 'Warhead'. Take a look at how he starts his report:

"Warhead," in an encouraging sign for Voyager's long-term health this season, earned a second consecutive 2.9 rating, 4 share. That's level with last week's "Think Tank" rerun, up from October's "Dark Frontier" rerun, and up from last season's rerun average. "Drone" was the only show last year that managed a 2.9 in its second airing.

Timeslot information plus a short look at the future can be found in the full report.

More MacWorld DeLancie
Christian (5:59 pm CST)
They're not milking this story, oh no, of course not. MacCentral has put up yet another story dealing with the upcoming appearance by John DeLancie (Q) at the upcoming MacWorld San Francisco Expo, together with a promise of more DeLancie stories in the near future. Today they posted an interview with the actor, in which he talks about Macs, his current work, and even Trek:

MacCentral: Any chance of Q making another appearance on "Voyager," the next Star Trek series, or perhaps the next feature film?

de Lancie: I don't know because I'm not the one who makes those decisions. It's not my dinner party, so to speak, so it's up to the powers that be as to whom they invite.

The full interview, conducted by Dennis Sellers, can be found here. If after that you still haven't had enough of DeLancie, they've also put up an audio interview with him. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this.

Happy Birthday!
Christian (5:59 pm CST)
Today is the birthday of Franc Luz, who appeared in TNG's 'The Host' as the first Trill seen on Star Trek ever, Ambassador Odan.

Today On TV
Christian (5:59 pm CST)
-At 9:00pm, UPN will be repeating Voyager's '11:59'. Take a look at how the network describes the episode:

'11:59' - courtesy Vidiot, Copyright Paramount Pictures Captain Janeway reminisces about her ancestor Shannon O'Donnel, the first of her family's long line of explorers and one who helped build the Millennium Gate on earth. As Janeway relates the story, the episode revisits the town of Portage Creek on New Year's Eve 1999, as O'Donnel nears the deadline to convince the town's last holdout, local bookstore owner Henry Janeway, to approve the building of the massive, half a mile high Millennium Gate, a model for the first colony on Mars.

Thanks go Vidiot for the image, which is of course copyrighted by Paramount Pictures.

-On Thursday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the rather good TOS episode 'The Tholian Web' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

-On Thursday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Ship' at 17:00 and at 0:00 GMT, while BBC Two will be showing TNG's 'Forces of Nature' at 18:00. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this.

-On Thursday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Klingonische Tradition' (You Are Cordially Invited) at 15:00 CET.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (5:59 pm CST)
Here are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

-Was First Contact's Zefram Cochrane intended as a tribute to Gene Roddenberry?

-Take part in the Trek BBS Voyager Drinking Game.

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Hello World!
Christian (5:59 pm CST)
Is there anyone else out there who would love to slowly and passionately torture the person at Amazon.com who invented their see-through plastic CD wrappers? This morning I received a new CD from them ('This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours' from the Manic Street Preachers), and I spent exactly 7 minutes just getting inside the thing. And after that another five minutes getting little pieces of plastic and tape from my hands. It's especially strange as I can't figure out the reason for this type of wrapping - it's not necessary to keep the case from breaking, as the big cardboard box already does that, and if they need it so people who want to return the CD can prove they never listened to it they could also accomplish that by just putting a small seal on it. In this way some people might actually be tempted to return their purchase just because they couldn't get to it, now that I think about it. Maybe next time I'll just go to a record shop in town again... I'm sure that'd cost me less time.

Tuesday December 21, 1999
DeLancie Talks MacWorld
Christian (7:06 pm CST)
MacCentral Online has put up a short article about the Macworld Expo which will be soon be held in San Francisco, and which will be hosted by John DeLancie (Q). In the article they look at DeLancie's past in theatre and film, while it also contains a few quotes from DeLancie on hosting the event. Click here to read it. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this.

GA-Source 'Hidden Evil' Review
Christian (7:01 pm CST)
Over at GA-Source, they've put up a new review of 'Insurrection: Hidden Evil', the adventure game recently published by Activision. The review is divided into several parts dealing with things such as gameplay, visuals and the fun factor, but also contains the below summary in Q&A format:

  • Does it advance the genre? Nope, it's standard fare.
  • Does it offer anything new? No
  • Does it offer a decent amount of gameplay? No, it's quite short
  • Is the product relatively bug-free? Yes
  • Does the documentation thoroughly explain the game? Yes
  • Does this game have any features to keep it from getting outdated? No
  • Is the game worth the retail price? No
  • Is the game FUN? Yes

  • Strangely enough, as Federation HQ also notes, despite calling the game 'not worth the retail price' reviewer Brian Rubin still awards the game a score of 82%! Try to find out why in his full review, which I was pointed to by Cyphre at Star Trek: Creative.

    Trek Christmas Carols
    Christian (7:01 pm CST)
    Julia Houston at About.com's Star Trek Fans has started with a new holiday feature - Star Trek Carols. Yesterday she already put up new texts for three Christmas Carols ('Frosty, The Snowman' now 'Doctor, The Hologram', 'I'll Be Home For Christmas' as 'Give Me Quark's For Christmas' and 'Jingle Bells' replaced by 'Voyager! Voyager!), while over the coming days even more alternate texts will be added. To read the new song texts, please follow this link.

    'Lives Of Dax' Review
    Christian (7:01 pm CST)
    Over at Psi Phi's DS9 Discussion Board, DS9er just posted a review of 'The Lives Of Dax', the new Pocket Books anthology edited by Marco Palmieri. Here's how DS9er starts his review:

    It's a beautiful image, I can see the full moon over the sandy hills of the Las Vegas desert. Vic wrapping his coat around Ezri, and neon, blinking signs, circa Las Vegas of 1962. The quiet pauses, when two people speak in the night...

    So begins the Lives of Dax. Each important story unfolds as very young hosts of the Dax symbiont influence not only Dax's history, but that of Trill itself. We meet a very young Lela and her decisive action which forever ended the isolation of Trill, and in doing so, a young T'Pau also becomes her friend of strength and courage. There is Tobin, his brilliant mind augmented with a humorous sleight of hand and the famous words "Pick a card, any card!" But in his story, a tense confrontation with Romulans and prototype transporter are Trek at its best, giving us a good storyline filled with action, discovery, and survival.

    A short description of most of the other stories in the book can be found in the full review.

    Raven Chat Log
    Christian (7:01 pm CST)
    VoodooExtreme have posted the edited log of yesterday's chat with Jake Simpson, John Scott and Mike Schulenberg, all working at Raven Software. In the chat, they talked about their two upcoming games 'Soldier of Fortune' and 'Voyager: Elite Force', about which they of course provided lots of new info. One of the most interesting parts of the chat came at the end, where the developers said the following:

    DOACleric:in Voyager... what are you doing to prevent from creating another Klingon Honor Guard? : )
    Raven_Jake:We've done everything we can, and then added some more. Check out the screen shots..
    Raven_Oz:well the ICARUS scripting system allows us to set up all sorts of cool events that the player can participate in
    Raven_Oz:we have some great an interesting enemies to face....the Borg...Klingons and such
    Raven_Jake:One of the bad guys even has my face, so it's definitely going to be good:)
    Raven_Oz:and the Q3 engine, with it's curved surfaces, allows us to create an accurate representation of voyager itself
    Raven_Pagan:Thats right...Jake makes an extremely ugly Klingon
    Raven_Oz:yeah one of the bad guys has my face too

    You can find more in the full transcript.

    Harve Bennett On 'Academy'
    Christian (7:00 pm CST)
    Kevin Dilmore at the official Star Trek Continuum has put up an extremely interesting article, looking at the 'Star Trek: The Academy Years' idea Harve Bennett proposed for the sixth Star Trek film. In the article, Bennett himself is interviewed about the way this script was handled, and he also gives out a lot of info on what his movie was supposed to deal with:

    In his script, Kirk and Spock were fresh-faced cadets at Starfleet Academy, joined by McCoy, older than the typical cadet and already a physician, having joined Starfleet to put behind him some of his life's tragedies including the death of his father as mentioned in ST V. Among the cadets' favorite instructors in the script was one Montgomery Scott, a teacher of mechanical sciences.

    While Bennett still holds some of the script's plot points close to the vest, he mentioned that at the time of the story, warp speed had not been reached by Federation scientists - but would be by the end of the picture.

    "I had a romance between Kirk and a cadet named Cassie, who dies bravely in his arms," he says, "which explains how he never came to love that way again." And the producer had specific ideas for the film, having selected Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., as the location for Starfleet Academy, and sending feelers on the project to young actors including John Cusack to play Spock and Ethan Hawke to play Kirk.

    More information on this fascinating part of Trek history can be found in the full feature, which I really recommend you read.

    Deep Space Nine RPG Article
    Christian (7:00 pm CST)
    Chris Aylott, web writer at space.com has put up a review of the 'Deep Space Nine' role-playing game recently published by Last Unicorn Games, also responsible for the TOS and TNG RPGs. Take a look at how Aylott starts his review:

    Deep Space Nine enjoyed something unique in the three-decade history of Star Trek on television: a definite ending. As the credits rolled for the last time, Cardassia was in ruins, Captain Ben Sisko had transcended our reality and most of DS9's crew had left for new assignments.

    It was a good place to stop, but the ending made it hard to resist asking, "What happened next?" Did Garak remake Cardassia into a better world? What was DS9 like with Colonel Kira in charge? Won't somebody please delete Vic Fontaine?

    Paramount isn't likely to answer these questions anytime soon, but if you want to explore "what happened next?" on the space station once known as Terok Nor, the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Roleplaying Game is a good place to start.

    In the end Aylott concludes the RPG is a fine addition to the Trek line, though like the series probably only interesting for a small core group of gamers. Read it all here.

    'Klingon Academy' Interview
    Christian (7:00 pm CST)
    Fan site KlingonAcademy.com (I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what game the site covers) has put up an interview with Interplay designer Ron Hodges, mostly talking abou his personal life, in an effort to get to know the development team a little better. You can find the interview by going to the site's main page and scrolling down. Thanks go out to Federation HQ for pointing me to this!

    Poll Results
    Christian (6:54 pm CST)
    Below you will find the results of the most recent TrekToday poll, asking you how many episodes of the Animated Series you had seen. As was to be expected, not that many of you ever actually saw the series:


    Total Votes: 549


    How many episodes of the Animated Series have you seen?
    None 38.9% - (214 Votes)
    All of them! 21.3% - (117 Votes)
    2-5 14% - (77 Votes)
    1 10.3% - (57 Votes)
    11-22 8.5% - (47 Votes)
    6-10 6.7% - (37 Votes)

    Please also participate in our new poll, asking you which recent Voyager episode was your favourite.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:54 pm CST)
    -On Wednesday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the third-season TOS episode 'For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Sky' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Wednesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Apocalypse Rising' at 17:00 and at 0:00 GMT, while BBC Two will be showing DS9's 'Statistical Probabilities' at 18:45. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this.

    -On Wednesday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Sieg oder Niederlage' (Sacrifice of Angels) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    Take a look at some of the topics being discussed at the Trek BBS at the moment:

    -Do you still remember the classic TOS novels 'Dreadnought' and 'Battlestations!'?

    -How large do you think a Borg Cube's firepower is?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS.

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    I've come up with what may be the ultimate remedy for my eternal email backlog - a page answering frequently asked questions. I started typing today, and hope to finish tomorrow with about 20 questions answered... hopefully that will mean a drastic cut in the amount of mail I still need to answer.

    Link of the Day: 'Down To Earth' Cartoon References Star Trek

    Monday December 20, 1999
    New Sev Trek Competition
    Christian (7:22 pm CST)
    John Cook at Sev Trek has put up another edition of the weekly 'Write Your Own Sev Trek' competition:

    Sev Trek header
    Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

    Take a look at what this week's competition deals with:

    Dr Pavlovaski's sacking.
    She had barely had a chance to unpack before Dr Pavlovaski was sent packing from the Enterforaprize, to be replaced by the woman she had replaced, Dr Cruncher. Why this revolving door policy on Enterforaprize D doctors? By the way, this comic strip makes a very nice bookend to my first Dr Pavlovaski comic strip and it's also interesting to compare today's cartoons with stuff I drew several years ago.

    As usual, submit your punchlines here.

    'Insurrection: Hidden Evil' Review
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    Joshua Mintzer at the Adventure Collective has written a new review of Activision's 'Hidden Evil' adventure game. Awarding the game 2 out of 5 stars, Mintzer doesn't really appear enthusiastic:

    Star Trek games, like Star Trek movies, have a 1:1 trash to treasure ratio. But it's the adventure segment of the franchise that has produced the lion's share of the "treasure." With such august predecessors like Judgment Rites and A Final Unity (epic adventures that provide hours upon hours of engaging play, creative storylines, and challenging puzzles), Hidden Evil seems like a cruel and twisted mockery. It is a sad testament to the state of the genre that Activision considers it so dead that this is the only sort of adventure game it feels comfortable publishing anymore. It makes a good, cheap and amusing gift for a youngster who would probably never play adventure games anyhow, but I'm afraid that it has trouble standing tall as a full, card-carrying member of the adventure game community!

    A more detailed analysis of the game can be found here. Thanks Blue for the link.

    Mania Interviews Nana Visitor
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    Michelle Erica Green at AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine has put up a new interview with Nana Visitor, who starred on 'Deep Space Nine' as Kira Nerys. The interview starts by giving us some details on what Visitor is doing now:

    Even though she hails from New York, lives in California, and has spent a lot of time on Bajor, Nana Visitor is enjoying a homecoming of sorts in Chicago. The actress who played Kira Nerys on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is currently appearing at the National Theatre in Washington, DC in the John Kander-Fred Ebb-Bob Fosse musical. Visitor's father, choreographer Robert Tucker, worked with Fosse for many years, while her mother, dancer Nanette Charisse, taught Ann Reinking, who choreographed the new production of Chicago.

    For Visitor, performing in a musical "feels fantastic" after nearly fifteen years away while her career flourished in other areas. "I feel like a leopard who has been let out of the zoo and is back on the . . . jungle, savanna, whatever, I'm not sure where leopards live!" the actress laughed in a recent interview from her dressing room. "The lions may be chasing me, but at least I'm in my element. I really feel that way."

    The full interview has more on 'Chicago', plus of course a look back at seven years of DS9.

    Trek Cruise Anounced
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    TV Guide has a short report up about 'Cruise Trek 2000', a cruise in the Mediterranean lasting from the 21st until the 28th of May. The cruise will be attended by Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres), Ethan Phillips (Neelix) Robert Picardo (the Holodoc) and Armin Shimerman (Quark), while some Trek-related things will presumably also be happening during the cruise. More information about this cruise may be obtained by sending an email to cruisetrek@aol.com.

    Dorn Voices Garden Special
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    A press release from Home & Garden Television is announcing that Michael Dorn (Worf) will soon be narrating a television special for them:

    To celebrate the year 2000, Home & Garden Television (HGTV) will offer viewers a look into the next century of design and technology with THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME, which will premiere on January 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET. The special will re-air on January 5 at 10:00 p.m. ET and January 8 at 5:00 p.m. ET. THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME will be narrated by Michael Dorn, best known for his role as Lieutenant Commander Worf of the U.S.S. Enterprise on ``Star Trek: The Next Generation.''

    For more info on this special, you might want to read the full release.

    Cyber Sci-Fi Launch Trailer
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    TrekWeb is reporting about the Cyber Sci-Fi Network, the online television station created by former TNG writer Herbert Wright. Their first project will be 'Mars and Beyond', a made-for-the-Net sci-fi series starring Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Nurse Chapel, Lwaxana Troi). On their web site, they've put up a short teaser, a longer trailer and a sneak preview scene of the series. Take a look at how TrekWeb describes the preview:

    This preview scene stars Mars cyberseries regulars Majel Barrett Roddenberry, Douglas Coler, and Elaine Giftos. Coler stars as the beleaguered commander of the nuclear-powered Mars Mission interplanetary spacecraft, the "Kitty Hawk", while Giftos plays the duplicitous NASA second-in-command to Roddenberry.

    [...]

    Mars and Beyond is scheduled to debut with weekly episodes in late January, 2000, with an enticing series of Sneak Preview scenes appearing on the CSFN website every few days from December 19th on, taken from the cyberseries' gripping saga of interplanetary exploration and Man's fascination with the dangerous Red Planet.

    For the full article, please go here.

    UPN Planning Monster Truck Show
    Christian (7:20 pm CST)
    Ultimate TV is reporting about a one-hour television special UPN is currently preparing for the February sweeps, and which will also double as a pilot for a possible weekly series in Fall 2000. Take a look at some of the details about the show:

    UPN has signed a deal with Transworld International to produce "The Great Monster Truck Race," for February sweeps. The one-hour special pits drivers of a dozen gargantuan trucks against one another in a series of competitions, reports Variety.

    [...]

    UPN producers plan to establish rivalries and backstories for the truck drivers, much as the WWF does for its wrestlers. "We're looking for any sort of soap operatic emotion we can build," said UPN Entertainment president Tom Nunan. "We want to bring to life elements of the sport no one has ever explored before."

    According to the full article the special will air on the 29th of February, at 9:00pm.

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (7:20 pm CST)
    Today is the 29th birthday of Nicole De Boer, who starred in Deep Space Nine's seventh and final season as Ezri Dax.

    Today On TV
    Christian (7:20 pm CST)
    -On Tuesday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the third-season TOS episode 'Day Of The Dove'.

    -On Tuesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Broken Link' at 17:00 and at 0:00 GMT. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this.

    -On Tuesday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Ein kühner Plan' (Favor The Bold) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (7:20 pm CST)
    Below you will find the usual selection of active threads at the Trek BBS, our Star Trek discussion forums:

    -Now that 'Quake III: Arena' is available in shops, how do you think Raven Software's 'Voyager: Elite Force' game (based on the same engine) will turn out?

    -Is Reginald Barclay the reason for the Holodoc's sentience?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:19 pm CST)
    Hello Monday. I can't wait for it to be weekend again, even if Christmas will probably again mean a lack of real rest.

    Sunday December 19, 1999
    'New Worlds, New Civilizations' Review
    Christian (7:24 pm CST)
    The new edition of the British SF mag TV Zone contains a review of 'New Worlds, New Civilizations', Pocket Books' coffee table book for this year. Reviewer Dan Ranger was very impressed by the book, awarding it a 9:

    From the onset, this book has an interesting premise – an atlas, of sorts, of all the major worlds in Trek. What could have been a slap-dash collection of publicity stills and hackneyed text on planetary history has been transposed into a wondrous 'snapshot' of each planet, giving a guide book retelling of a visit.

    For the full review, go here. After reading it, don't hesitate to actually buy the book - I've got it myself, and it really is great.

    Brazilian Trek Marathon
    Christian (7:22 pm CST)
    Ricardo Dellin Martins sends along word that on the 1st of January, 2000, the USA Network in Brazil will present a 12-hour Star Trek marathon. The marathon will show episodes from the first three seasons of both Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation. This isn't the only Trek marathon held around that time - on the 30th of December the American Sci-Fi Channel will be running a 'Star Trek Chain Reaction'.

    TV Zone Dawson Interview
    Christian (7:20 pm CST)
    Issue 122 of the British TV Zone includes an interview with Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres). As the interview is part of a special 'Seven Days'-centered issue, Dawson mostly talks about her guest role on 'Seven Days' in the interview:

    Back in October, the actress had the chance to sit in the captain's chair when guest-starring as United States Navy officer Commander Keagle on UPN's popular Time travel series Seven Days. According to her, cruising the waters off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia was a bumpy but welcome respite from warping through the Delta Quadrant.

    "I'm used to working on a soundstage where everything is calm – there is no weather in Space – and suddenly I was out on a naval vessel in the middle of a storm," says Dawson. "So that took some getting used to, but I still enjoyed myself. It was nice not having to wear the Klingon make-up that I do on Voyager. That allowed me a great deal of creative freedom that I haven't felt in a while as an actress.

    More thoughts from Dawson on the 'Seven Days' episode, plus some quotes from her on Voyager's current season, can be found here. Thanks Gustavo Leao for this!

    Trek Wins Bemmies
    Christian (7:16 pm CST)
    The people at IGN Sci-Fi have just posted a new feature article dealing with the 'Bemmies', the SF awards they hand out each year. This year, Star Trek won in several of their TV categories, namely:

    • Best Episode - 'What You Leave Behind', DS9
    • Best Actor - Robert Picardo (EMH), Voyager
    • Best Visual Effects - Voyager, together with Farscape.
    • Best Technobabble - Voyager
    For the full listing, please go here.

    A Take On Voyager Season 6
    Christian (7:16 pm CST)
    After a rather long hiatus, Trek Nation columnist Fred Shedian has returned again for his usual 'Take On Trek':

    For those who believed I had fallen off the face of this planet we call Earth or built a time machine and moved to the future I am pleased to say none of those happened. However, during the last month my schedule has been filled with an automobile crash, the visiting of relatives, a busy work schedule and the observance of several interesting developments with Voyager. Therefor, in an effort to get back on track, I present this week's column.

    Weeks ago, I talked about my hopes for this upcoming season of Voyager. In this column I stated that I believed without returning to the core values of Star Trek, the show would be doomed to have another poor year. Surprisingly, the excellent story telling we saw in the beginning of the season has more or less been maintained thus far. For those who are now fainting saying "Fred Shedian is actually saying something good about Voyager...twice in six months?" let me say this...you are right...I am.

    Fred's full look back at the first part of season six can be read by following this link.

    Paramount Denies Trek X Reports
    Christian (7:15 pm CST)
    It appears Paramount is doing some spin control - the Sci-Fi Wire just published the following report:

    There's no truth to rumors that Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner are trying to oust producer Rick Berman from the proposed tenth Trek film, a Paramount spokesman told SCI FI Wire. "These rumors are absolutely incorrect and erroneous and couldn't be further from the truth," said Blaise Noto, a spokesman for Paramount, which owns the rights to the Trek franchise.

    Noto denied rumors that Stewart and Spiner have held meetings with Paramount executives, that they have contacted writers or that they have expressed their own ideas for the tenth movie. But Noto said a new Trek film is definitely in the works. "There will be one, but we have no information at this point," he said.

    I find it interesting how Paramount claims Stewart and Spiner never expressed their own ideas for the tenth Star Trek movie, considering the following quote from Stewart from back in March: ""Brent Spiner and I have a very simple idea for plot of the next movie. It is a good idea. I can describe it to you in three sentences. Rick Berman actually knows about it."

    German 'Dark Frontier' Ratings
    Christian (7:15 pm CST)
    The German Star Trek Index is reporting that 2 million German viewers saw Sat.1's special presentation of 'Das ungewisse Dunkel' (Dark Frontier) on Saturday the 11th of December. This gave the station a market share of 7%, about normal for a Voyager episode, though this time around it was an extra good achievement due to strong timeslot competition.

    German 'Hidden Evil' Review
    Christian (7:15 pm CST)
    German fan site Star Trek: Creative has put up a review of 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil', the new Activision adventure game based on the 'Insurrection' film. The review is quite a bit more positive than most others, awarding the game a score of 80%, despite also noting the short (5-6 hours) gameplay time. For the actual review (which is in German), go here.

    Trek Book News
    Christian (7:15 pm CST)
    David Henderson has made several updates to the Psi Phi Book Database, providing new info on upcoming Star Trek books. First up is the news, directly from Pocket Books editor John Ordover, that Anthony Stewart Head (Rupert Giles on 'Buffy', and apparently also 'that coffee guy' from the 'Taster's Choice' commercials, whatever they are) will be voicing the audiobook for 'Valiant', a TNG hardcover by Michael Jan Friedman being published next year.

    In other book news, Psi Phi now includes a guide page to the upcoming unofficial Voyager episode guide 'Delta Quadrant: The Unofficial Guide to Voyager' by David McIntee, scheduled to be published in March. Another guide page which has been updated is the one for Diplomatic Implausibility, a TNG novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido.

    Lastly, Psi Phi is reporting that Peter David, author and co-creator of the 'New Frontier' novel series, said yesterday there will be "at least six more" NF books. This includes a New Frontier trilogy called 'Excalibur', as well as three more books in January 2001. For more book news, keep visiting Psi Phi's Book Database.

    New Sev Trek Comic
    Christian (7:14 pm CST)

    Sev Trek header
    Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

    'Hidden Evil' Chat Tomorrow
    Christian (7:14 pm CST)
    Gaming news site VoodooExtreme has just announced it will be hosting a live chat with the developers of 'Voyager: Elite Force' tomorrow at 9:00pm Eastern Time. Take a look at all the important details:

    Who: Raven Software -- Dan Kramer, Jake Simpson, John Scott, Mike Schulenberg
    When: Monday, December 20, 1999 at 9:00 PM ET, 8:00 PM CT, 7:00 PM MT, 6:00 PM PT
    Where: http://community.gamefan-network.com:88/eshare/server?action=4 in room Raven Chat Event
    Topic: Raven Software, Soldier of Fortune, and Elite Force

    Even more info on the chat can be found on this page.

    10 Rejected CCG Ideas
    Christian (7:14 pm CST)
    Evan Lorentz, web writer at Star Trek Customizable Card Game publisher Decipher, has written a rather funny new article about the top-10 rejected CCG ideas from Decipher:

    Fans of the Star Trek CCG, their interest piqued by Decipher's new contract with Paramount, are eager for word of the next expansion or product. Curious about what was holding up new product information, I investigated and found some of the rejected ideas in Decipher's Product Development trash can. Hold your noses!

    For the full article, please go here.

    Krige Starz In 'Molokai'
    Christian (7:14 pm CST)
    STARZ!, a US cable channel, has just announced its lineup of original movies for winter and early spring 2000. One of these films is 'Molokai: Father Damien', which will premiere on Sunday the 12th of March. The film tells "the true story of the famous priest who devoted himself to the desperate leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai during the 1870's." One of the stars of the film is Alice Krige, who previously appeared in 'Star Trek: First Contact' as the Borg Queen.

    Today On TV
    Christian (7:14 pm CST)
    -On Monday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the third=season TOS episode 'Spectre of the Gun' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Monday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Body Parts' at 17:00 and at 0:00 GMT. Instead of the usual DS9 season 7 episode which is shown on Monday, Sky One will kick of a 'Seven Heaven' mini-season for Voyager consisting of six episodes focusing on Voyager's ex-Borg. On Monday they'll be showing 'Scorpion, Part Two' at 20:00 and 'The Raven' at 21:00.

    -On Monday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Hinter Der Linie' (Behind The Lines) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (7:13 pm CST)
    Take a look at some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -Should Series V have a smaller main cast?

    -What do you think should be the next major Star Trek aliens?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS, where you're of course more than welcome to join in the discussions!

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:13 pm CST)
    Note To Self: Try not to be in a city with a football stadium during next year's European Championships

    As it was snowing today, two friends and I decided to go outside for a walk so we could enjoy the weather. We walked through a nearby park, nearly slipped in the mud twice, and before we knew it ended up at the local football stadium, where they had just finished the match FC Utrecht - Feyenoord. There we were stopped by a cop and asked to wait before 'the convoy' had passed. When we looked a bit more carefully, we saw that the entire square in front of the stadium was filled with a police force large enough to invade Belgium and stage a permanent takeover - there were police dogs, agents on horses, at least three dozen cars and vans, plus several other pieces of hardware one usually only sees on wartime newscasts. After a minute, the gates opened, and out came 20 buses filled with supporters of the visiting club (Feyenoord), busy making victory (and other) signs to everyone standing on the road and being a general nuisance to the four agents per bus who were traveling with them. Later on I read this particular match had to be stopped for ten minutes halfway through the game because of riots among the supporters, the third time this season this happened to Feyenoord. I think I'll just emigrate to the North Pole for the duration of the European Championships.

    Saturday December 18, 1999
    Nicole deBoer Marries
    Christian (7:01 pm CST)
    Today Nicole deBoer will be marrying her fiancé, a singer in a rock band named John (I've been unable to find his surname). Congratulation messages can be posted to her official message board, while also still available is a message about this from De Boer herself which she posted back in September.

    James Doohan Interview
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    The new edition of Eon Magazine contains an interview with James Doohan, best known for his role as Montgomery Scott in the Original Series. Besides talking about his new book 'Flight Engineer Vol.2, The Privateer' and the passing of DeForest Kelley (Leonard 'Bones' McCoy), Doohan also has the following to say about Paramount:

    Discussing the studio that made TREK famous, on the other hand, was not quite as heart-warming. Apparently, there is bad blood between Doohan and Paramount, stemming from the maintenance of Scotty's integrity. It's the actor's opinion that the studio does not want him to take on newer roles for fear that it will taint the image of the famous TREK character.

    "Paramount wants to stop me from working, and they do," says Doohan. "I'm not too happy with them right now because next March I'll be 80 years of age and I should be allowed to work if work comes along. They didn't stop Leonard Nimoy from doing a two-hour movie just because he looked like Spock and that wouldn't damage the character."

    More interesting quotes from Doohan can be found in the full interview.

    Shatner Publishes New Book
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    The official William Shatner Connection is reporting that a new book by William Shatner (James T. Kirk) will be published as a hardcover in January by HarperPrism. The book is called 'Beyond the Stars', and is the fourth in his 'Quest for Tomorrow' series. Here's how his official site describes the book:

    In Step Into Chaos, Jim Endicott became one with the Omega Point, and used its awesome intelligence to alter his own past. Now, in that alternate universe, he finds a way to spare the father figure his extra-human DNA had programmed him to kill. But does the "new" Jim remember the "old" Jim? Only dimly aware of his vast Omega powers, Endicott must seek his new destiny aboard a world-sized star colony which an alien race has sabotaged with a seductive drug known as Heat. And lead a rag-tag crew of Plebs known as the Cowboys on their journey from outlaw gang to starship crew!

    A bit more info on the book can be found on this page.

    Eon Reviews Trek Comics
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    Eon's Arnold T. Blumberg has put up reviews of the first two Star Trek comics from Wildstorm, Voyager's 'False Colors' and TNG's 'Perchance to Dream'. Judging from the introduction to his 'False Colors' review, Blumberg certainly doesn't seem very impressed with the quality of the comics:

    Here we go again...

    After the fiasco that was Paramount Comics, a mercifully short-lived attempt by Marvel to take on the vast universe of STAR TREK in comic book form a couple of years ago, it falls to DC and their latest acquisition, WildStorm, to pick up the phasers and tricorders and try it yet again.

    I've read every permutation of STAR TREK in comics, from the whimsically stupid Gold Key issues to the Marvel/ST:TMP run to the superlative DC line (which set the tone for all others to fail to capture). Marvel and Paramount made a sorry showing with their line of lousy titles, and there was some hope that TREK might be better served with WildStorm leading the way. Proudly announcing that they have no plans for ongoing monthlies, but will instead focus on publishing one-shots and short mini-series (ostensibly to increase the story quality, but really intended to milk fans with as many #1s as they can get on the shelves), WildStorm serves up their first offering with FALSE COLORS. It's a Prestige Format one-shot featuring Seven of Nine and the whole wacky Voyager clan. That should give you some idea of the new comic book TREK's auspicious debut.

    More can be found in the full 'False Colors' review (in which the comic is awarded a C-) and the review of 'Perchance to Dream', which receives no more than a D-.

    Shatner Continues With Priceline
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    According to the official Continuum, William Shatner (James T. Kirk) has just renewed his endorsement contract with PriceLine.com for two more years. Since Shatner started appearing in commercials for the company, its ticket sales have exploded from 1,500 to 50,000 airline tickets per week. In the article, Shatner has the following to say about the company:

    "I wasn't quite sure which was ultimately going to be big? really big - priceline.com's consumer idea or the risk these entrepeneurs were taking in breaking the old advertising mold," said Shatner. "As soon as I started to see the connection priceline.com was making with its customers, I knew priceline.com's management was on to something that would fundamentally change the way people buy things for the better."

    The full report can be found here.

    Eon Trek IV DVD Review
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    Scott Collura at Eon Magazine has written a new review of the 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' DVD, which was recently released by Paramount Home Video. Collura awards the DVD a B+, noting that the film hasn't aged as well as it might have:

    Unfortunately, in some ways the film has not aged as well as it might have. Some of the production elements seem a bit below par by today's standards, particularly the finale to the film where the actors are clearly being photographed in a huge water tank meant to simulate San Francisco Bay while the scene cuts to stock footage of whales frolicking in a real body of water that is obviously nowhere nearby. Still, after his directorial debut with the previous TREK film, SEARCH FOR SPOCK, Leonard Nimoy really did cement his status with this film as a talent capable of transcending the sci-fi trappings of the TREK universe.

    Additionally, the general warmth and good feeling of seeing the CLASSIC TREK crew interact with one another is very strong here. This is before the many tell-all books that would pop up from cast members angry with William Shatner, but I'm not talking about that anyway. I'm talking about the interaction between the actual characters, which is what has always been at the heart of STAR TREK. VOYAGE HOME scores high on this level, in no small part thanks to the performances of the regular cast members.

    In the full review you'll be able to find a more in-depth analysis of the film, together with several of Eon's usual highly positive remarks about the current state of Trek.

    Continuum Launches 'Dear Pelgar'
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    Over at the official Continuum, they've launched another in-character feature, one which is sure to become rather popular - 'Dear Pelgar: Ask the Ferengi'. As the Continuum informs us, Pelgar is an 'independent writer working to fullfil a plea bargain arrangement.' Take a look at how he introduces himself:

    Greetings, Foul Humans.

    I am Pelgar of Ferenginar and though your species offends my eyes, ears and especially my sense of smell, I am being forced, under duress, to answer your questions and interact with your rancid kind.

    It seems that perfectly normal, innocent Ferengi business practices are viewed by your blubberingly spineless courts as "criminal activity." My attempts at offering your senior citizens lucrative investment opportunities were perfectly innocent. In order to avoid prison, I have chosen the lesser of two evils and have reluctantly accepted the court's ruling.

    I will now answer your tiresome and annoying questions.

    Available at the Continuum are Pelgar's inital column and his first set of actual answers.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    -On Sunday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Quickening' at 16:00 GMT, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Before and After'.

    -On Sunday in Belgium, Kanaal 2 will be showing DS9's 'Doctor Bashir, I Presume' at 18:05 CET.

    -On Sunday here in The Netherlands, RTL 5 will be showing DS9's 'The Sons Of Mogh' at 18:05 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    Take a look at some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -What are your favourite New Frontier novels?

    -Does anyone know something more about the occupation of Betazed by the Dominion?

    More topics for discussion can be found at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    As I mentioned yesterday, this morning I (along with a few other people) accompanied a friend to the airport, where she had to catch a plane back to the USA. Unfortunately, this didn't turn out to go quite as expected - in the train to the airport, someone stole her laptop, meaning a loss of close to $3000 and half a year of personal diary entries. She immediately reported the theft to the police, but obviously the chances of her ever getting it back are of course almost non-existent. There goes another bit of faith in humanity...

    Friday December 17, 1999
    Leonard Nimoy Radio Reports
    Christian (6:27 pm CST)
    Leonard Nimoy (Spock) is currently doing a series of radio reports on Marketplace, the business program of the American National Public Radio. The spots are titled 'Y2K Enterprise', and highlight how many businesses are trying to take atvantage of the public attention with Y2K by creating scams or advertising to attract customers to their products and services. In yesterday's edition of the program, Nimoy talked about how bottled water companies are coping with the surge in demand in advance of the turn of the century. If you still want to listen to that newscast, go here. Thanks go out to the TrekToday reader who sent in this info!

    Another Gowron Millennium Article
    Christian (6:27 pm CST)
    The people at the Continuum have put up what is probably their third article about 'Millennium Trek', the New Year's celebration in Florida hosted by Robert O'Reilly (Gowron). Take a look at how the celebration will be structured:

    The event, sponsored local UPN station WTOG, will feature a Gala dinner, gift packs for attendees, special party favors and a balloon drop with Star Trek prizes. There will also be a charity auction with a number of items auctioned off to benefit the Epilepsy Foundation of America; some of the items provided by O'Reilly himself. "I'm bringing some special pictures of myself in working situations," he said, "I think we are all doing our best to raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation. It's a way to ring in the New Year and a way to raise money for this good cause."

    For the full article, please go here!

    TrekWeb Reviews 'Lives of Dax'
    Christian (6:27 pm CST)
    Steve Krutzler at TrekWeb has written a review of 'The Lives Of Dax', the new Pocket Books anthology edited by Marco Palmieri. Take a look at how Krutzler begins his review of this new Dax-centered book:

    The first professional Star Trek anthology published by Pocket Books, The Lives of Dax provides just the right dosage of the twenty-fourth century for the casual or infrequent reader of Trek novels. Capitalizing on the accessibility of the Strange New Worlds short story anthology series, Dax manages to weave nine interesting short stories far enough away from the mainstream of any of the Trek series and yet close enough to keep your interest all the way through.

    For the full review, please go here.

    Trek News Dispatches
    Christian (6:25 pm CST)
    The official Continuum has put up a new edition of its Star Trek 'News Dispatches' column, providing news on Christopher Plummer (General Chang), Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker). Firstly, they're reporting that Plummer won the Los Angeles Film Critics' Best Supporting Actor prize for his role in 'The Insider' as '60 minutes' anchor Mike Wallace. Secondly, they have some news on a few new jobs for Stewart and Frakes:

    Variety's Army Archerd reports that Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard) plans to work with his Christmas Carol partner, Robert Halmi on two upcoming projects, "Faust" and "Boss Lear," hopefully with Gregory Peck. Stewart will return to live theatre, taking to the stage next year in Arthur Miller's "Ride Down Mount Morgan."

    Jonathan Frakes (Wil Ryker) will be taking a trip to the past, instead of the future. American Movie Classics has ordered 13 new episodes of the Frakes-starring series "The Lot," about the goings-on behind the scenes at a fictitious Hollywood film studio in the 1930's.

    For the original report, please follow this link.

    Doohan Is Your PayPal
    Christian (6:25 pm CST)
    PayPal.com, a new company specialising in allowing users to instantly and securely send cash payments to anyone with an email address, just announced that it has released a Palm Organizer version of its software. In addition to this, they also presented James Doohan (Montgomery Scott) as the official spokesman for the company:

    In conjunction with the unveiling of its Palm software, PayPal.com also introduced James Doohan -- widely known for his role as ``Scotty'' on Star Trek(TM) -- as the company's official spokesman. ``I've been beaming people up my whole career,'' Doohan quipped, ``but this is the first time I've ever been able to beam money!'' While remarking on PayPal.com's cutting-edge technology, Doohan also stressed how easy it is to use. Unlike other current online payment systems that require users to know the bank account numbers of their would-be recipients, PayPal.com users only need to supply an email address.

    To commemorate the historic launch of PayPal.com's Palm Pilot application, Doohan beamed an early Christmas present to thousands of lucky Web users. With the touch of a button on his Palm Pilot, Doohan used PayPal.com to beam a total of one million dollars to countless individuals across the country. While his ``Scotty'' character may have explored the frontier of space, James Doohan and PayPal.com are heralding a new frontier of wireless, person-to-person payments.

    More info on the company's system can be found in the full press release.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:25 pm CST)
    -On Saturday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'To The Death' at 16:00 GMT, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Favourite Son'. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this.

    -On Saturday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang' at 16:05 CET.

    -On Saturday here in The Netherlands, the AVRO on Nederland 1 will be showing Voyager's 'Relativity'.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:24 pm CST)
    Here are a few of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -What does Star Wars mean to you?

    -If you had the chance, what new Trek novel series would you create, following 'New Frontier'?

    Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:24 pm CST)
    Great fun, this. Remember yesterday, when I told you I would be making up for the lack of news today? Well, that was before I remembered I had promised to go with a friend to the airport tomorrow morning, in time for her to catch a plane to the USA at 10am. What this unfortunately also means is that my alarm clock will start buzzing at half past six, not exactly something I'm really looking forward to. I'll... erm... try to make up for today's smaller update tomorrow, barring any other appointments I may have forgotten about :-).

    Thursday December 16, 1999
    Jeri Ryan Film News
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    The Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage has posted a few news bits about the two independent feature films starring Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), 'Men Cry Bullets' and 'The Last Man'. Firstly, they are reporting that the cable channel STARZ will be showing clips of 'The Last Man' and interviews with both Ryan and the creative staff on the 17th of December, during a program called 'Starz Movie News'. Secondly, more clips from the film are available on the Independent Film Channel web site. Lastly, the site is reporting that 'Men Cry Bullets' will be playing in Santa Cruz starting March 10 at the Rio Theater, located at 1205 Soquel in Santa Cruz, California. For more details on these stories, visit the JLR News Page.

    Updated Voyager Schedule
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    David Henderson at Psi Phi has updated both the regular and the syndicated Voyager episode schedule. In the syndicated schedule, he provides the episode listing for week 15 and 16 of syndication. Regarding the regular schedule, he's reporting the following:

    The UPN schedule has also been updated; on December 29th, "Seven Days" and "Voyager" will be pre-empted for the TV movie "Roswell: The Aliens Attack". This movie appears to bear no specific relation to the UPN special, "Roswell", which pre-empted Voyager on October 16, 1995, although some conspiracy theorists believe there may be a hidden connection. :-)

    Thanks go out to Psi Phi for this.

    Witty Trek Rumour Banter
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    Michael Stevens at Witty Banter (the same site that published that The Voyager Crisis article a while ago) has put up an article commenting on the latest reports regarding Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and Brent Spiner (Data) wanting to take over the movie franchise. Here's how the article starts:

    Last time we met, we discussed the downhill nature of the low-rated television show, Star Trek : Voyager. And a discussion ensued about the failing movie franchise as well. As much as I love Star Trek, and as much as I enjoy seeing the Trek movies, financially they haven't been anything to write home about. Sadly, Star Trek : Insurrection only brought in $70.12 million.

    The boys at Paramount have been blaming the aging cast of The Next Generation for the financial woes of Trek. Apparently they're just not cut out for the movies. And Rick Berman and the powers that be have been looking into a new movie franchise, dumping TNG altogether and starting out with a new crew.

    As you might guess, the TNG gang isn't too happy about this, chief among them being the shows two most popular actors, Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner.

    In the full report, Stevens gives his opinion on the reports. Thanks go out to Jordi Kroon for pointing me to this.

    Sev Trek Movie Announced
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    John Cook at Sev Trek has posted some pretty great news - apparently, soon his Star Trek parody cartoon will be transformed into an actual movie! Take a look:

    A Sev Trek movie is due to be released on video in May 2000. It will feature the many voices of Wally Fields, 3d animation by Andrew Simpson and will be written and directed by John Cook. All we need now is a musician. If you're interested in being involved in creating the music for the movie, please email me for more details!

    The movie will be a short animation based on Sev Trek: The X Generation. We will be releasing a 60 sec trailer in February and a slightly longer trailer in April. The final video will be launched at the Friends of Science Fiction convention on 5 May and available for purchase online shortly afterwards. More details will be released over the next few months, including a "behind the scenes" section showing how we created the movie.

    More info on the creators of the movie, plus a chance to download the earlier, shorter film attempts, can be found here.

    'Hidden Evil' Designer Interview
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    Cyphre at Star Trek: Creative sends along word of a new interview on his site with Eric Dallaire, writer and game designer of Activision's 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil' game. In the interview, he addresses the criticisms many people had about the shortness of the game:

    Question: There have been some reviews - good ones and bad ones - the most critics are regarding the length of the game - some people finished it within 5-6 hours - was the game planned to be short or was it rushed at the end ?

    Answer: Well, the game was not rushed out of the door. However, the game did have a finite development cycle of a one year production schedule. It was agreed by Presto Studios and Activision that Hidden Evil would be a shorter adventure game with a smaller budget. This would allow us to sell the game at a lower price point and sell it to a wide range of Trek fans. Some reviewers are also neglecting to factor in the price point when they do their reviews of the game. Activision saw an opportunity to offer different types of games to different types of Trek fans. Hidden Evil is geared toward the widest segment of Trek fans and people who don't necessarily buy many games per year. For hard core Trek fans and gamers, Activision is producing Voyager: Elite Forces and Armada. We feel that the Trek market is large enough and strong enough to support different gaming models. We did plan for the game to be shorter than most adventure games, but we weren't planning for some people to finish it so fast. In hindsight, we could have had difficulty switches so that hard core gamers could have selected for a harder gameplay experience.That way, a new user or a casual gamer could select for an easy mode where the harder puzzles are partially or completely solved and the combats are easier. We may do something like that for the next game.

    Find more in the full interview!

    'Warhead' Overnight Ratings
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database has put up the overnight ratings report for yesterday's 'Warhead' rerun. The episode perfomed just about average:

    "Warhead" remained fairly flat from last week's rerun, tallying a 3.7 rating, 6 share. That's slightly down from last week's 3.8/6 earned by "Think Tank."

    For the first time since "Roswell"'s premiere, Voyager finished 6th in the timeslot, falling to the WB's sci-fi/teen angst drama, which earned a 3.9/6. "Get Real" returned to its 9 p.m. timeslot with a 4th place finish, grabbing a 4.1/6. "Seven Days" improved to a 3.5/6 for UPN at 8 p.m.

    For the full report, go here.

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:05 pm CST)
    Very short update today - I just came back from a classical concert where a friend of mine performed as a singer in a choir, and now I'm more tired than I've been in a long while. I'll try to make up for it tomorrow.

    Wednesday December 15, 1999
    The Voyage(r) That Could Have Been
    Christian (6:49 pm CST)
    Over at the Trek Nation, we've put up a new very interesting article by E. L. Zimmerman, looking at the choices the producers made after Voyager's pilot 'Caretaker', and the other roads which they could have chosen had they been a bit more daring. Here's how the article begins:

    If Carl Sagan was right, there are billions upon billions of stars out there in the known galaxy.

    Logically, I could then extrapolate that there could, in fact, be billions upon billions of individual star systems. Logically, with this number of star systems, I could further extrapolate that there would be (at minimum) one planet, Class M or not, for each star.

    Hypothetically, this could mean that the universe might boast billions upon billions of lifeforms … other civilizations waiting for Earth's understanding of science to dramatically warp forward, granting us the ability to detect the existence of this intelligent life while sitting bound to this big blue planet of ours.

    With that in mind, I couldn't hold back. I keep thinking of the Voyage(r) that could have been.

    Read on in the full version of this very interesting article!

    GamesMania Reviews 'Hidden Evil'
    Christian (6:45 pm CST)
    Jason MacIsaac at GamesMania has written a review of 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil', Activision's new adventure game based on the 'Insurrection' film. As usual, the reviewer thinks the game is only so-so:

    This game was developed by Presto Studios, who also developed the Journeyman Project games. They've proven themselves adept at virtually any style of adventure. What they've given us here shows that the can do nice 3D models wandering around beautiful environments. I'd love to see them take this talent and develop something a little longer, with a bit more depth.

    Perhaps the release of Hidden Evil is ill-timed. I'm sure a lot of hardcore adventure gamers have their hands full with Omikron and Gabriel Knight 3. Compared to those two meaty games, Hidden Evil is a light snack. It's a decent, middle of the road game. If that's what you're in the mood for, go for it. Don't expect to be blown away though.

    In the actual review, the game is awarded a 6.5.

    Good 'Think Tank' Ratings
    Christian (6:45 pm CST)
    Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database has posted some rather interesting news in his final ratings report for 'Think Tank' - apparently, last week's Voyager rerun managed to score higher ratings than the 'Dark Frontier' rerun in October!

    "Think Tank," perhaps riding on the guest appearance of Jason Alexander, brought in a very strong rerun rating for Voyager, earning a 2.9 rating, 4 share. That's Voyager's top rerun since January and a slight increase over this season's "Dark Frontier"'s rerun, which earned 2.8/4 in October.

    Even in a rerun, Voyager still finished 5th in its timeslot, ahead of the WB's special "Dawson's Creek" rerun, which earned a 2.1. "Seven Days" pulled a 2.1 and "WWF Smackdown!" remained on top of UPN with a 4.3.

    For the full report, please go here!

    Moments That Shouldn't Have Been
    Christian (6:44 pm CST)
    In the new edition of her 'Hailing Frequencies' column for AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine, Michelle Erica Green has put up a listing of the ten worst moments of Trek, following her listing a while ago of the greatest moments. Here's how she introduces her article:

    Difficult as it was to limit myself to ten items when I wrote my version of Trek's greatest moments a few weeks ago, I found it impossible to limit myself similarly in listing Trek moments I wish had never happened. Not because any of them ruined the shows; it takes a lot to spoil an entire Trek series for me, like the perpetual presence of Barbie of Borg alongside a captain who's having a nervous breakdown. There have been other distressing elements introduced into Trek - a full season of wussy Kira in the middle of DS9's run, and the whole storyline with Sela - but it's hard to single out particularly heinous moments in either.

    [...]

    The following are moments which epitomize bad decision-making on the part of the Trek writers, rather than any great flaws in the concept of Star Trek. Some of them had unintentionally good consequences in the long run; others were mercifully ignored and forgotten by Trek canon. Please feel free to disagree!

    Click here for the full 10-point list.

    25% Of Kids Believe In Beaming
    Christian (6:44 pm CST)
    A press release from Junior Achievement has posted the results of a survey held under kids, asking them about their thoughts on the future. In one paragraph, a Trek technology is mentioned:

    In the realm of science, 73% believe videophones will replace telephones, while 60% believe we will travel in flying cars, humans will be cloned and robots will be a part of daily life. Star Trek fans will be happy to know that 25% of kids think ``beaming'' will be a standard mode of transportation. If the 31% of kids who believe time travel will be possible by the year 3000 are correct, then people in 2999 will be able to return to our time to find out how we dealt with the passing of one millennium into another.

    Find more in the full release.

    New 'Armada' Screenshots
    Christian (6:44 pm CST)
    The German Star Trek: Creative site has put up a set of new screenshots from Activision's upcoming 'Armada' real-time strategy game. The nine shots are available on this page, which I was pointed to by Federation HQ.

    UPN Beats WB
    Christian (6:44 pm CST)
    The Canadian Jam! Showbiz has put up a report looking back at the Nielsen ratings achieved by the big six networks last week. The report contains this little snippet with very positive news for UPN:

    For the second straight week, UPN topped the rival WB network, and did so handily. UPN had 3.9 million viewers (2.7 rating, 4 share), while the WB had 3.1 million viewers (2.3, 4).

    For the full report, go here.

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (6:44 pm CST)
    Today is the 31st birthday of Garrett Wang, who stars as Harry Kim on 'Star Trek: Voyager'.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:43 pm CST)
    -Tonight at 9:00pm, UPN will be showing Voyager's 'Warhead'. Take a look at how the channel describes the episode:

    'Warhead' - courtesy Vidiot, copyright Paramount Pictures After Voyager receives a distress signal from an alien missile, Ensign Kim, Torres and The Doctor determine that it's a complex, damaged weapon with artificial intelligence and sentient consciousness. But when they beam this mysterious device aboard, it interlinks with The Doctor's program and through him, insists Voyager enable it to fulfill its mission of mass destruction.

    Thanks go out to Vidiot for the image, which is of course copyrighted by Paramount Pictures.

    -On Thursday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the third-season TOS episode 'The Paradise Syndrome'.

    -On Thursday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Muse' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT, while BBC Two will be showing TNG's 'Attached' at 18:00. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    -On Thursday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Entscheidungen' (Rocks and Shoals) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:43 pm CST)
    Here's the usual selection of interesting Trek BBS topics:

    -Have you ever seen the SF show La Femme Nikita?

    -What are your thoughts on the Stewart & Spiner rumours?

    Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:43 pm CST)
    I just can't win. Today I spent several hours working through my backlog of mail, even answering a few mails which dated back as far as August. Unfortunately, it appears that not everyone is as behind on answering email as I am - well over half of the people I mailed today again sent in responses to my new mails, meaning I have a gigantic amount of unanswered mail again. Maybe I should hire a secretary. Or two.

    Tuesday December 14, 1999
    More On Stewart & Spiner Reports
    Christian (6:00 pm CST)
    Aint't It Cool News has posted an article which goes into detail about yesterday's reports stating that Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and Brent Spiner (Data) are currently lobbying Paramount to have Rick Berman replaced as head of the Star Trek movies (not the television series). AICN have done this in the form of a report by insider 'DJ Legate Damar', who's written a two-page article detailing what's currently happening inside the studio.

    The report itself is rather interesting, but it may also be considered rather offensive to some of you, as it is written in a 'gangsta'-style way. I myself actually received the same rpeort yesterday, and if you visited TrekToday during the first thirty minutes after yesterday's update you may have already read it, before I decided to pull the article and just post a synopsis. The reason for the... erm... somewhat unique writing style in the article is apparently that this particular source wanted to mask his true identity, something in which he obviously succeeded in this way. It does have the rather negative side effect of making the story seem less serious, though, but you can be assured that everything said in it is actually true, as far as we know. If after these warnings you still want to read the report, head on over to this AICN page. Remember, as usual, to still treat this as a rumour - certainly none of this has been confirmed by Paramount yet.

    Warp Eleven Closes
    Christian (5:59 pm CST)
    This is definitely one of the saddest news updates in the past few months - my good friend Leonard Schuurmans has announced he is closing down his superb news site Warp Eleven. Take a look at part of the farewell message he posted on his site:

    After almost three years of delivering Star Trek news, episode updates and rumors, Warp¹¹ is shutting down.

    Ever since last summer I've been wondering wether or not I should continue this site. I can hardly find the time and energy anymore to keep it updated regularely. And to be honest I do not mind. There are so many other interesting things to do out there.

    It has been fun, believe me, but it's time for me to go where no one has gone before...[I've got big plans :)]

    Personally I'm very sad to see Warp 11 go. Over the past few years, the site has always been one of the best online news sites, and for research purposes the site's episode guides were incredibly useful. Warp 11 also was a valued member of the Trek Nation, and Warp 11's closure is definitely a great loss for the network. Still, I'd like to wish Leonard luck in whatever he'll be doing next, and I'm sure we'll keep in touch.

    SciFi Headquarters To Stay
    Christian (5:59 pm CST)
    Finally some good news after all those recent site closures - Matthew Klaehn at SciFi Headquarters has just posted a message on his site stating he won't be closing it after all. Take a look at part of that message:

    As of Saturday, December 11th, I had decided to make the decision to close down my website. BUT as of December 13th, after reading all of the emails I got about what my site has met to all of you and how it has touched all of your lives, I cried. Not to sound like a baby, but when you read what people write about how you have effected their lives in such a positive way, and that you gave them a positive part of their day, that means allot to a human being, especially me.

    Here is the deal: I will try my hardest for all of you to maintain this site. But for those of you that email me complaining and "commanding" me, I will not reply to you. Also, most of you people overseas will not like this next part; I will no longer be making episode clips from every episode. I will only make clips from very special trek episodes (NOTE: I will decide what is a special). What I will do, is have SCIFI Headquarters as a more "news" media site where I will over time archive EVERY Trek promo known to man and I will cover Star Trek with clips like the ones in my "Star Trek In The Media" section. Other sections that will remain will be "Special FX," "Humor," "The Experience," "Vic's," and "Feature Films." So, basically everything but episode clips. Which was the thing that took up my time on this site.

    More of the announcement can be found by going here.

    Late Trek Fan Follows Roddenberry
    Christian (5:58 pm CST)
    CNN is reporting about a spaceflight memorial which will be carried out on Sunday, in which the ashes of 35 deceased people will be shot off into space. One of the people who chose to have such a post-cremation spaceflight memorial was Carol Berman (no relationship with the producer, presumably), a long-time Star Trek fan, and this is what the article mainly deals with:

    "She didn't want to be in the cold ground," said Eugene B. Berman, Carol's husband. "And she wanted to explore. She was also a devotee of 'Star Trek.' So, you start thinking about things celestial."

    Celestis pioneered post-cremation spaceflight memorials in 1997 when it sent the ashes of LSD prophet Timothy Leary and "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry aloft. "There's something poetic about ashes to ashes, dust to dust, as it were," Berman said Monday. "She will become celestial dust, from which we may have all originated."

    For the full article, please go here. Thanks go out to Jason Ellis and David Henderson for this.

    DeLancie To Host Mac Awards
    Christian (5:58 pm CST)
    MacWorld has just put up an article about the 15th Annual Eddy Awards, which will be held next month in San Francisco. According to the article, the event will be hosted by none other than John DeLancie (Q):

    For the first time, Mac Publishing is offering three VIP passes to 15th Annual Eddy Awards, the Academy Awards™ of the Mac community. The awards show will be held at the prestigious San Francisco Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday, January 4th 2000, in San Francisco. The awards ceremony draws the elite of the industry celebrating the year's most innovative products and will be hosted by another Mac enthusiast, John de Lancie, best known in the role as "Q" from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." The winners will receive VIP passes to the Eddy Awards show, meet and greet with the Macworld editors, and VIP seating during the show. A photo opportunity with John de Lancie will complete the evening.

    As you could read in the above quote, the announcement is accompanied by a contest which gives you the opportunity to win a VIP entrance pass for the event. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this!

    UK Nicole deBoer Interview
    Christian (5:58 pm CST)
    Spellbound Nicole DeBoer has put up a transcript of an interview with Nicole deBoer (Ezri Dax), which first appeared in the December issue of the British Star Trek Monthly Magazine. In the interview, deBoer talks to Ian Spelling about her year on DS9, and about her current projects:

    "After the show wrapped I wanted to come home [to Toronto] and see my family and friends again," she responds. "So, I spent some time with them. Then I had a lot of meetings about new projections. I did Rated X [in Toronto], and I can see from my fan sites that everybody is freaking out because they think it's some sort of porno movie! It's not, but it is about the Mitchell brothers, who sort of got the porno industry going in California. I am not playing someone who takes her clothes off or any kind of porno person." deBoer in fact plays the wife of one of the Mitchell brothers, who are played by Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen, the former of whom also directed Rated X.

    So, life is pretty good for Nicole deBoer. An actress with a science fiction-packed resume that ranges from the film Cube to a series regular role on Deepwater Black to guest spots on Psi Factor, The Outer Limits, TekWar and Forever Knight, she hit the genre jackpot with ST:DS9. Now, though, deBoer still plans to attend the occasional science fiction convention, recently turned up at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles to help promote Simon & Schuster's new CD-ROM game, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - the Fallen, and joined her ST:DS9 co-stars at a Museum of Television and Radio tribute to the series. The actress is seeking to broaden her horizons, and it seems as if she's succeeding, which is a very good thing given her passion for her craft.

    In the full interview, DeBoer looks back fondly to working on Deep Space Nine.

    New Voyager Episode Revealed
    Christian (5:57 pm CST)
    NOTE: Below you will find spoilers for 'Collective' and 'Ashes To Ashes', two Voyager episodes which will be shown during the second half of the season. To avoid reading these spoilers, click here.

    Again, this is where you need to click to avoid being spoiled.

    Jason Davidson at Star Trek News has put up a report about two Voyager episodes which will be shown later this year, both dealing with a group of Borg children. Apparently both episodes are part of a three-episode arc, the last episode of which is not yet known. Take a look at the descriptions of the two episodes about which something is already known:

    The Collective
    The crew discovers a group of assimilated children who have been disconnected from the Collective. While they crave rejoining the hive, the Borg wish nothing to do with them because of their "imperfection".

    Ashes to Ashes
    Deals with the return of the Borg children discovered in "Collective". Scarlett Pomers guest stars [as Naomi Wildman].

    Related to this, the Great Link is reporting that although these Borg children are indeed featured in a three-part story arc, the episodes in it don't directly follow from each other in sequence. For instance, 'Collective' is the 15th episode of the season, while 'Ashes to Ashes' will apparently be the 18th episode.

    Julia Houston 'One Small Step' Review
    Christian (5:57 pm CST)
    Only slightly delayed, Julia Houston at About.com's Star Trek Fans has reviewed Voyager's 'One Small Step', the Mars mission episode which aired a couple of weeks ago. Take a look at how she starts her review:

    Star Trek and the space program have had a long, sometimes amusing, sometimes inspiring friendship. NASA types talk about being inspired by Kirk and Uhura. A recent female shuttle commander earned the nickname "Janeway" from her crew after keeping her cool during a tense patch. And from time to time, Star Trek shows work in references to old-fashioned astronauts and their 0-gee, space-suited advancements in exploration.

    "One Small Step," however, is far more than a friendly nod to "distant" ancestors. Although Seven once again achieves far too much centrality in the episode, she and Paris and Chakotay construct the best that Star Trek's managed yet in showing just what those early explorers mean to their inheritors.

    To read the full review, please go here.

    New Sev Trek Competition
    Christian (5:56 pm CST)
    John Cook at Sev Trek has uploaded a new edition of the 'Write Your Own Sev Trek' Competition:

    Sev Trek header
    Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.
    Take a look at what this week's competition deals with:

    Indigestion the Musical.
    Personally, I didn't mind Insurrection although several of the scenes were embarrassing to watch (I'm still wincing over that Picard mambo scene). The Gilbert and Sullivan manouvre is one of those scenes!

    To submit your punchlines, go here.

    James Monroe Interview
    Christian (5:56 pm CST)
    Lady Pain at TeleFragged has put up an interview with James Monroe, the lead programmer of Raven's upcoming 'Voyager: Elite Force' game. In the interview, Monroe talks about how they adapted the 'Quake III: Arena' engine for use in the game:

    Lady Pain: What have you done to change/enhance/customize the engine for Elite Force? I heard Gill Gribb (Creator of GHOUL) was working with you on the skeletal system

    James Monroe: The greatest changes we have made are due to our immersive single- player story line. Q3A didn't come with any support for the kinds of things we needed so we added a scripting system (ICARUS), a new navigation system for our NPCs, an effects system (for maps and weapons), voice-overs with lip-synching animations, an ambient sound system, a whole camera system for cinematic quality scenarios, and level save and restore. And yes, Gil and I are starting work on a skeletal replacement for the md3 models.

    Lady Pain: How did you take a multiplayer engine and add single player elements?

    James Monroe: By basically ripping out the parts that don't fit the single player games and by-passing the networking parts. If we kept the multiplayer restraints, the single player game would be compromised and would not look as good.

    More info on the game can be found in the full interview. Thanks go out to Blue for the link.

    Ferengi CCG Contest
    Christian (5:56 pm CST)
    Decipher, publisher of the official Star Trek Customizable Card Game, is calling out to all you CCG tournament players with a new contest where you can submit your own decks based on the Ferengi affiliation. Take a look at the basic info about the contest:

    If you submit a worthy deck design and are chosen a winner, you'll receive a Star Trek CCG Second Anthology set. The contest is only open to those who have placed first or second, using their own Ferengi deck design, in a sanctionable Star Trek CCG Constructed format event. One deck design per entry. If you have won or placed 2nd in more than one sanctionable tournament using more than one Ferengi deck design, you may submit each deck design as a separate entry.

    To participate in the contest, please follow this link.

    Today On TV
    Christian (5:56 pm CST)
    -On Wednesday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second-season TOS episode 'The Enterprise Incident' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Wednesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Shattered Mirror' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT, while BBC Two will be showing DS9's 'Resurrection' at 18:45. Thanks go out, as usual, to Kathryn Hughes for this.

    -On Wednesday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Zeit des Widerstands' (A Time To Stand) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (5:55 pm CST)
    Below you'll find the usual selection of interesting topics being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -Which episodes would you choose if you wanted to initiate someone as a Star Trek fan?

    -We've got a new moderator at the Voyager forum!

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS, where you're of course more than welcome to participate!

    Hello World!
    Christian (5:55 pm CST)
    Useless Trivia, #192: Today is exactly three months after my birthday.

    (Can you tell I'm not inspired today :-)?)

    Monday December 13, 1999
    Stewart & Spiner's Insurrection
    Christian (8:46 pm CST)
    Over the past few weeks, we've been reporting several times about the state of Series V, a concept for which still hasn't been approved by Paramount, after the studio turned down the first two concepts suggested by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga. Last week, several sites (including TrekToday) were reporting that tensions were arising between Berman & Braga and the studio, and we even reported that 'someone well-known and well-loved by the fans [...] has been lobbying the studio to kick Berman off of the movie franchise (not the television series) and establish a new regime to set the cinematic course.'

    As many of you, we were also wondering who exactly this mysterious person was, but now we've received a report from one of our sources revealing who are lobbying Paramount to take over the Trek movies - none other than Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and Brent Spiner (Data)! Apparently they've already had several meetings with the studio heads at Paramount, and have perhaps even already talked to writers for a Trek X project. Of course, this fits in perfectly with the reports from earlier this year in which Stewart and Spiner talked about their own idea for the tenth Star Trek movie, which they wanted to let deal with the aftermath of 'Insurrection'.

    As usual, treat this as you would any other rumour - certainly none of this has been officially confirmed by Paramount yet.

    Jimmy Flowers Interview
    Christian (8:46 pm CST)
    Inside Voyager has put up a new interview with Jimmy Flowers, author of the 'Incredible Internet Guide for Trekkers', which was published about a month ago. Here's one of the questions answered in the interview:

    Why did you decide to write your book?

    As a Star Trek fan, I became frustrated trying to find quality Trek sites online. I found that search engines were filled with dead links and irrelevant hits. Plus, when I would locate a site using a search engine, all I knew about it was its name. I couldn't tell if it offered anything worthwhile or what its focus was until I visited it. I thought, "Somebody ought to clean up this mess." Thus, a book was born.

    For the full interview, go here.

    Trek Experience Hits New Zealand
    Christian (8:45 pm CST)
    Daniel Nicholls sends along word about 'Star Trek: The Experience', a new exhibition which has just opened in the Aotea Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Take a look at how the AucklandLive Event Diary describes the event:

    Space... the final frontier. If you're a trekkie from way back then you're going to love this exhibit direct from the studios of Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, which includes props, costumes and full-scale set pieces. It's an intergalactic experience not to be missed. ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, December 3 - January 26, 10am to 9pm daily. Adults $10, Children $7, Family $28 (2 adults, 2 children).

    Daniel already visited the event, and found it to be 'somewhat dull', consisting mostly of props you couldn't actually touch, though the Enterprise bridge recreation was pretty nice.

    Viacom Allowed To Keep UPN
    Christian (8:45 pm CST)
    Today's edition of Studio Briefing is reporting some news which is certainly very good for Viacom, UPN and 'Voyager':

    The FCC will allow Viacom, which is merging with CBS, to retain its 50-percent stake in UPN, the online edition of Broadcasting & Cable reported on Friday, citing unnamed industry sources. The trade publication also said that the commission is likely to propose amending a rule barring any of the top four TV networks from owning another network. It was not clear, however, whether the proposed new rule applied only to acquiring UPN and The WB or whether the networks would be allowed to buy each other, B&C observed.

    Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for pointing me to this!

    Roxann Dawson Club Closes
    Christian (8:45 pm CST)
    Sad news for fans of Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres) - her official fan club, B3 (which stood for Beauty, Brains and something else starting with a B) has closed down. Here's what I've been told about this:

    Unfortunately, yes, the entire B3 club has folded operations. The president of the club mysteriously vanished off the face of the earth for some reason some time ago and the vice-president was doing her best to keep the club afloat.

    It wasn't working out though (not through any fault of her own) and Roxann received some complaints about the club. So she decided not to endorse the B3 club anymore and it was decided to end operations of the club effective immediately. I don't believe there will be a reincarnation of the club in any form but stranger things have happened before!

    This certainly is a pity! Let's hope someone else decides to start a new Roxann Dawson fan club soon.

    Fifth Voyager Season In Germany
    Christian (8:45 pm CST)
    The German Star Trek Index is reporting that on the 29th of January, 2000, Sat.1 will start showing Voyager's fifth season, the first time that season will be shown on publicly viewable German TV. On that day they'll be airing first 'Nacht' (Night) and then 'Die Drohne' (Drone) at 20:15 CET, after which every week a new episode will be shown.

    'Voyager Conspiracy' Article
    Christian (8:45 pm CST)
    Julia Houston at About.com's Star Trek Fans has put up a new feature entitled 'The Voyager Conspiracy', which was originally supposed to be a review of the episode which aired a few weeks ago:

    Taken by itself, "The Voyager Conspiracy" is a normal enough episode. Seven makes some changes to her alcove so she can download information in her sleep, but too much information leads to paranoid "conspiracy theories" about Janeway and Chakotay that first threaten to have the command crew jumping at shadows, and then impel Seven to try to destroy an alien-made "catapult" that could knock a few years off Voyager's trip.

    The problem with the episode -- and the reason why this review grew into a feature -- is that we can't take the episode by itself, not if we're regular viewers. We have to take it as the third in back-to-back series of Seven-centered episodes in a show that was originally structured as an ensemble show. Ensemble shows are tricky things. It's never been true of Voyager, or of any Star Trek show, that all the characters get anything like equal time. Certain characters, such as Data, the Doctor, Seven, and Quark, become more popular and thus receive more scripts that feature them. However, a balance is still crucial.

    The full article contains a deeper analysis of Voyager's lack of being an ensemble show, and its occassionally overdone focus on Seven of Nine.

    Novel Cover Images
    Christian (8:44 pm CST)
    David Henderson at Psi Phi has uploaded the cover images of three upcoming Trek books, namely of the Strange New Worlds III anthology, the A Stitch in Time novel and the Vulcan's Heart reprint.

    Roddenberry Jr. Talks New Series
    Christian (8:44 pm CST)
    Entertainment site The 11th Hour has put up a new interview with Eugene W. Roddenberry, Jr., son of Star Trek's creator. He is currently serving as technical advisor on 'Earth: Final Conflict', one of the series based on his father's works, and this is what he talks about in a large part of the interview. However, besides that he also talks about modern Trek (which he still enjoys), and the new 'Starship' and 'Andromeda' shows currently being developed by Tribune Entertainment, also based on Gene Roddenberry's work. In the interview, Roddenberry reveals that the 'Starship' is currently on the backburner, and also has the following to say about 'Andromeda':

    "Andromeda's coming up. I've read the bible for that show, and it has potential. I don't want to lie and say it's going to be great. What I've read so far is pretty good scifi, but we still have to see what happens. I know that Kevin [Sorbo]'s excited because he's breaking out of his Hercules role. I really want to know where it's going before I hop aboard."

    This certainly doesn't sound as positive as I would have thought he'd be. For more from Roddenberry Jr., please read the full interview. Thanks go out to Cinescape for pointing me to it!

    Extreme 'Hidden Evil' Review
    Christian (8:43 pm CST)
    Len at GamesXTREME has put up a review of 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil', Activision's new adventure game based on the 'Insurrection' film. Awarding the game a score of 76%, this review is more positive than most others, though the actual review doesn't really seem to give any reasons for this. To read the review, follow this link. Thanks go out to Blue for this!

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (8:43 pm CST)
    Today is the 70th birthday of Christopher Plummer, who starred in 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country' as General Chang, a role he recently revisited for the Interplay game 'Klingon Academy'.

    Today On TV
    Christian (8:43 pm CST)
    -On Tuesday in the United States, the Sci-Fi channel will be showing the infamous TOS episode 'Spock's Brain'.

    -On Tuesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Hard Time' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    -On Tuesday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Zu den Waffen!' (Call To Arms) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (8:42 pm CST)
    Here are some of the interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -How long has the Federation known about the Trills?

    -Did anyone already get the new DS9 Companion CD?

    -Do you know how to get video tapes of the Animated Series?

    Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (8:42 pm CST)
    Today I was bored. How do I know this? I spent three hours creating synthesised versions of every nick name on my ICQ contact list, so that now a computer voice informs me whenever someone comes online. I did this using the Bell Labs Text-To-Speech Synthesis, which works surprisingly well. The only problem with the program is that it doesn't seem to function very well with Dutch names, sometimes leading to pretty hilarious results - for some reason the computer insists on pronouncing one of my friend's names as 'Heineken', for example :-).

    Sunday December 12, 1999
    German Christmas Quiz
    Christian (5:41 pm CST)
    Two German fan sites, namely our own partner site TrekZone and news site TrekFlash have just posted word about a Christmas contest they've jointly organised. In the contest, you'll be able to win things such as a Voyager video or Star Trek novels. All you have to do to have a chance of winning one of the prizes is answer five easy questions for which only rudimentary German knowledge is required :-). To participate in the quiz, please follow this link.

    'New Worlds' Site Updated
    Christian (5:35 pm CST)
    The folks at Interplay have updated the official 'New Worlds' site, dedicated to their upcoming real-time strategy game. In the update, they provide us with news on some staff additions, and also tell us what exactly they're currently working on:

    What are we doing right now? We're examining the methods for translating 3D objects to be integrated from the artist's hands directly into the game. We are understanding what makes the best computer AI for this genre in conjunction with our specific game in mind; e.g. True 3D EVERYTHING (nothing is not 3D), Star Trek races, vehicles, buildings, technology, etc. Evaluating the user interface over and over again to provide every aspect of power to control the game under a microscope while allowing players to play from a First Person perspective to multiple Bird's Eye views, one overhead, and others different angles; all the viewing modes must support True 3D all the way, zooming, rotating, panning, etc. Multiplayer over LAN and the Internet is another important consideration for us, so we are looking into what will make that the best and most pleasing experience. Rest assured, we will not ship this game until these and more critical aspects of the game are outstanding and something YOU and WE want to play a lot!

    The full update also contains a bunch of new screenshots.

    'Ultimate Trek' Credits
    Christian (5:30 pm CST)
    David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the credits for 'Ultimate Trek', the less-than-successful Star Trek special which aired on the 1st of December. In the credits listing you'll be able to find exactly who was responsible for bringing you the show, and who portrayed the characters seen in it. You can find the credit listing by going here.

    'Daoine Sidhe' Retitled
    Christian (5:27 pm CST)
    NOTE: Below you'll find a few spoilers for an upcoming Voyager episode. Click here to avoid being spoiled.

    Again, this is where you need to click to avoid spoilers.

    Christopher Howell at the Great Link, fortunately finally updating again after nearly a month of silence, has just posted the following news item on the Voyager episode which used to be titled 'Daoine Sidhe':

    My source says this episode is called "Fairy Tales". Other sources suggest that the actual title is "Daoine Sidhe". What is certain is that this episode is a sequel of sorts to "Fair Haven" which has the members of the holographic community suspecting the Voyager crew "are not who they seem to be." Suggesting the residents are gaining sentience, reminescent of Doctor Moriarty on TNG.

    For the original report, please go here.

    Jammer's 'Pathfinder' Review
    Christian (5:22 pm CST)
    Jamahl Epsicokhan over at Star Trek: Hypertext has uploaded his review of 'Pathfinder', the Voyager episode featuring appearances by Deanna Troi and Reginald Barclay. Jamahl rather liked the episode, as you can see by looking at the beginning of his review:

    Nutshell: A terrific character study and a big moment for the Voyager crew. Very well executed, and well played for its emotional content.

    It's nice to break format every once in a while. "Pathfinder" breaks the usual format, places much of the emphasis on guest characters, takes place almost entirely in a setting away from Voyager, features two guest stars from the TNG days ... and does it all without any of it seeming like a calculated ratings stunt. There's real substance here.

    In the actual review, the episode is awarded no less than 4 stars.

    SciFi Headquarters Closes Down
    Christian (5:18 pm CST)
    Matthew Klaehn, webmaster of Trek media site SciFi Headquarters, yesterday annonced some very sad news - he is closing down his site. Take a look at the first paragraph of the explanation he posted to his site:

    As of Saturday, December 11th, I have decided to make the decision to close down my website. On Wednesday, December 15th, all text, graphics and media (all files) of the existence of SCIFI Headquarters will be GONE!! So if you want something, download it NOW!! With everything else in my life that I am doing or what I plan on doing, I can not manage the site. Yes, www.mediatrek.com will remain. Just SCFI Headquarters will be gone. I will be working on MK Productions and Baker Media Club sites of mediatrek.com. As you should of all seen, over the past few months, I have been super slow in getting the new stuff online and after a while I just get sick of everyone writing me bitc*&^# emails to me "commanding" me to get the clips or whatever online. I have more important things going on in my life to do then to manage a Star Trek media site. Not to say that Trek is not an important part of my life, hell, it inspired me to goto college for film making.

    This really is very sad news. Together with Vidiot, SciFi HQ was one of the only sources of Trek media on the net, often providing promos before any other source. Besides that, the site also provided a tremendous service with its digitised video clips of news reports concerning Star Trek, which often provided for interesting news items on TrekToday. It's certainly a pity to see SciFi HQ close down now. For the full farewell letter from webmaster Klaehn, please follow this link.

    'Armada' Designer Chat Transcript
    Christian (5:15 pm CST)
    Starbase Armada has put up a transcript of its live chat Marc Turndorf, the producer of Activision's upcoming real-time strategy game 'Armada'. In the chat, the producer answers all sorts of questions about the game, talking about the appearance of the Dominion, the mission editor, cloaking, and more. You can find it all in the actual transcript.

    Hello World!
    Christian (5:05 pm CST)
    I'm afraid I'll only be able to do a more or less improvised update today. Five minutes ago the fan on my laptop suddenly decided to stop functioning, which didn't exactly cause me to be overwhelmed with joy. I'm typing this from a public terminal near where I live, but unfortunately I'll be kicked out of here an hour from now, so I'll have to worry. On top of that comes the fact that I miss my regular news sources list here, so I'll have to type in all the site adresses manually - and I don't remember them all. Please forgive me if you're still waiting for an email from you or if I forgot to mention your news today - I'll use your news as soon as my notebook isn't in danger of melting down anymore.

    Saturday December 11, 1999
    DeLancie Writes SF Novel
    Christian (5:17 pm CST)
    It appears that in October, Pocket Books published a new novel written by John DeLancie (Q) and Tom Cool, called 'Soldier of Light'. The book's main marketing pull seems to be the fact that it was written by DeLancie, as the cover mentions his role on TNG, and its advertised on the back of Asimov's Science Fiction together with two Trek novels. Here's how the ad describes the book:

    The place is San Francisco. The time is the dark future. Civilization is in its final stages of collapse brought on by flawed human nature, selfishness... and a sinister alien presence. As society breaks apart and new alliances form, strangers become locked in a crucial battle to determine the future of the brave new world.

    'Soldier of Light' is available at every good bookstore for $23, or here at Amazon.

    On 'Klingon Academy' QA
    Christian (5:14 pm CST)
    Erik Guenther, a Senior Tester currently testing 'Klingon Academy' for Interplay's Quality Assurance (QA) department, has posted an update to the Klingon Academy development board, giving us a look at precisely how the game is actually tested. Apparently, the testers rather like the game:

    We are steaming ahead though and checking out the terrains even as I write this. I'm in awe of what the artists have come up with. Truly beautiful terrains from a far and within. I haven't seen a game this year that looks as impressive as KA does. From the ship models to these terrains. The effects when your within a terrain such as a Ringed planet, Gas Giant or Black Hole are astounding. Be assured the battles will get even more interesting when fighting and only able to move 1/8 impulse because of the turbulence from a Gas Giant. Every ship has a cloaking device in theory, due to all sensors being handicapped when your in a Nebula. It gets seriously intense when we are fighting in these. Alot of Strategy, Macro management, and trash talk! It doesn't feel like work at times. I can't wait to see the finished result. I gotta get back to the fight now, my ship is being plummeted.

    A full introduction to the QA department can be found in the actual update. Thanks go out to Federation HQ for this!

    Book Back Cover Texts
    Christian (5:13 pm CST)
    David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the back cover texts of three upcoming books from Pocket Books, the publisher of the Trek tie-in novels. The texts added are for the Strange New Worlds III anthology, the paperback reprint of Vulcan's Heart and 'A Stitch In Time', the DS9 novel written by Andrew Robinson (Garak).

    Mutiny On The 'Marie Curie'
    Christian (5:11 pm CST)
    The people at the Continuum have put up a new article in their series of fictional Trek news items, this time reporting about a mutiny on a Starfleet vessel. Here's how the article starts:

    Starfleet's Deep Space Scientific Survey crews can contend with subspace anomalies, months of isolation and all kinds of hazardous situations, but don't change the menu. The Captain of the U.S.S. Marie Curie found this out the hard way.

    Deep space research can be long, difficult and trying work, even under the best of circumstances. The crews on most deep space survey missions are required to spend months away from their families, face unknown dangers and are often packed in close quarters with the rest of the crew.

    These stresses may have been too much for the U.S.S. Marie Curie crew. When Captain M'Rek Roddy decided to reprogram the replicators for what he considered a "healthier diet" for his crew, they responded violently.

    For the full article, which features some rather predictable humour, please go here.

    Dreamcast 'New Worlds' Preview
    Christian (5:04 pm CST)
    Jeff Ko at Sega X has written a new preview of 'Star Trek: New Worlds', the real-time strategy game currently being developed for both the PC and the Dreamcast by Interplay. Even though Ko isn't really happy with the idea of a ground-based RTS game based on the Trek license, in the preview he still appears to be looking forward to the game:

    With all the game's features, who can resist such a game? Even a skeptic like me who believes all Star Trek games should be ship-to-ship affairs or adventure games can't but help be lured by the promise of this game. Let's just hope that Binary Asylum can pull it off. Sega X will be sure to continue to follow this game and report back with any new screens or movies which are released by Interplay. In the margin is a nice roster of screenshots, from a early beta, which give an idea of what we can expect the Dreamcast version of this very promising, latest installment to the Star Trek franchise.

    The full preview has more info on the game.

    New UPN Stunt Series
    Christian (5:03 pm CST)
    UltimateTV is reporting about a new series UPN will be debuting on the 18th of January, called 'I Dare You'. Judging by the description, the series is targeting the same audience as their 'WWF Smackdown!' hit show:

    Platforming some rather spectacular, highly crafted stunts by professional daredevils, the hour-long "I Dare You" will be filmed entirely on location in Las Vegas. Specifics about the first stunt on the program will be announced shortly.

    For the full report on this, please follow this link.

    Poll Results
    Christian (5:03 pm CST)
    Below you'll find the results of the most recent TrekToday poll, asking what you though about the 'Ultimate Trek' TV special. Apparently, you weren't impressed:


    Total Votes: 441


    How would you grade the 'Ultimate Trek' special?
    1-2 34.6% - (153 Votes)
    3-4 18.5% - (82 Votes)
    Wasn't able to see it 15.1% - (67 Votes)
    5-6 10.6% - (47 Votes)
    7-8 10.2% - (45 Votes)
    Didn't want to see it 6.1% - (27 Votes)
    9-10 4.5% - (20 Votes)
    Thanks for voting, and please also participate in the new poll, asking how many (if any) episodes of the Animates Series you have seen.

    Today On TV
    Christian (5:02 pm CST)
    -On Sunday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second-season TOS episode 'Bread and Circuses' at 12:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Sunday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Accession' at 16:00 GMT, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Rise'.

    -I completely forgot to mention that today at 20:00, Sat.1 in Germany showed Voyager's 'Dark Frontier' telefilm.

    -On Sunday here in The Netherlands, RTL 5 will be showing DS9's 'Return To Grace' at 18:05 CET.

    -On Sunday in Belgium, Kanaal 2 will be showing DS9's 'By Inferno's Light' at 18:05 CET. Thanks go out to the Benelux Star Trek TV Guide for this!

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (5:01 pm CST)
    Below are some of the interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -What did you think about DS9's 'Sacrifice of Angels' episode?

    -How come Voyager so often has unauthorised shuttle launches?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (5:01 pm CST)
    And it's a miracle! I'm actually updating at least somewhat on time! Here's hoping I'll be able to keep this up...

    Friday December 10, 1999
    Cult Times Borg Special
    Christian (7:14 pm CST)
    Issue 12 of the Cult Times Special, which just came out in the United Kingdom about a week ago, is dedicated almost completely to the Borg. As part of this special Cult Times, the issue includes a look back at several important Borg episodes, an article on Voyager's Borg episodes, and even an interview with Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine). A short preview of that interview, plus more info on what you will be able to find in the magazine, can be found by going to this page. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for pointing me to this!

    Pillers Land Development Deal
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    Josef Adalian at the Daily Variety is reporting some very interesting news about a development deal with the WB which Michael Piller and his son Shawn Piller just signed. Michael Piller was of course executive producer on all three modern Trek series for a while, and also co-created Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Furthermore, he wrote 'Insurrection'. Shawn Piller has also written several episodes of TNG and Voyager.

    The development deal includes at least one guaranteed series production commitment and three pilot script orders. The WB will be able to choose from several concepts for this, as the Variety article mentions the following four concepts as already being under development:

    • A two-hour pilot being produced with Paramount that the elder Piller calls "a contemporary spiritual fantasy with heavy special effects" that's based on an original concept of sci-fi scribe Orson Scott Card;
    • A Hitchcockian thriller skein in the tradition of "North by Northwest." Pilot is a collaboration with Alan Spencer ("Sledge Hammer!");
    • a futuristic adventure skein that, while not set in space, is on a "Star Trek"-size scale, with Granada Television is attached as a co-producer;
    • The elder Piller and scribe Brie Shaffer are working on a contemporary character-driven fantasy.

    More on this deal can be found in the full article.

    'Armada' Chat Tonight
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    Tonight at 7:00pm Eastern Time, Starbase Armada will be hosting a live chat with Marc Tundorf and Eric Gerwitz, producer and lead designer of Activision's 'Armada' game, respectively. To participate in the chat, please go here.

    New Sev Trek Comic
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)

    Sev Trek header
    Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

    Trek Characters In Philly News List
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    The Philadelphia Daily News has put up a list of the 50 most memorable characters from the world of TV. The list features three characters from Star Trek, including a surprise appearance by Benjamin Sisko:

    7. Capt. James T. Kirk ("Star Trek")
    8. Mr. Spock ("Star Trek")
    39. Benjamin Sisko ("Star Trek: Deep Space 9")

    The full list, headed by M*A*S*H's "Hawkeye" Pierce and Lucy Ricardo, can be found here.

    ISS Module Named 'Enterprise'
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    Great news - in a few years, news programs all over the world will actually be able to refer to astronauts as living on the Enterprise, as Spacehab, Inc. has just announced a few new details on the astronaut quarters currently being constructed for the Internation Space Station. The habitat module is being built by the Russian company RSC Energia, who were also already involved with projects such as the Sputniks and the Mir, and the company has apparently decided to call the astronaut module 'Enterprise', after the Star Trek ship! Take a look at what the module will contain:

    Energia's module, designed to accommodate up to seven astronauts and named ``Enterprise'' after the ``Star Trek'' spacecraft, will be launched by the Russian Space Agency. It will be attached to the Russian side of the ISS and initially be manned by two Russians and one American.

    [...]

    The Enterprise will offer laboratory conditions in space for both short and long-term experiments, unlike the Shuttle which is only in space for days at a time.

    Interesting is also that Spacehab is currently developing an internet portal for use on the Enterprise, which will enable web surfers to communicate directly with the astronauts and follow their daily work. More news on this exciting subject can be found in the full press release.

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    Today is the 71st birthday of John Colicos, most famous for appearing both on TOS and DS9 as Kor, the first Klingon ever to appear on Star Trek. It's also the 80th birthday of Alexander Courage, who created the original Star Trek theme.

    Today On TV
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    -On Saturday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Bar Association' at 16:00 GMT, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Darkling'. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    -On Saturday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Hirngespinst'.

    -On Saturday in Australia, Foxtel's TV1 will be showing the 1st-season TNG episode 'Where Silence Has Lease' at 8:30pm. They'll also be repeating it on Sunday at 10:30am. Thanks go out to Jamie McGregor for this!

    -On Saturday in The Netherlands, the AVRO on Nederland 1 will be showing Voyager's '11:59' at 18:37 CET. Thanks go out to the Benelux Star Trek TV Guide for this!

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    Here are a few of the interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -What's better - Best of Both Worlds part one or two?

    -Why do Voyager's nacelles fold when going to Warp?

    Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    Phew. Weekend.

    Thursday December 9, 1999
    Trek Merchandise Article
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    Over at AnotherUniverse, Michelle Erica Green has written a new article dealing with Star Trek merchandise:

    Each of the three years that I have worked at AnotherUniverse.com, I have written an annual report on gifts to get your Trekker for the holidays. Being an obsessive collector, though not exactly a completist since I can't afford some of the excesses offered for sale at the Star Trek Experience and the now-defunct Viacom Store in Chicago, I figure I'm as good a person as any to remind people to drink their Altair Water and to suggest that rare "Flashback" Janeway action figure.

    The full article contains extensive descriptions of several items of Trek merchandise, as well as links allowing you to immediately buy the items.

    'A Final Unity' Developer Shuts Down
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    A few days ago, toy company Hasbro announced that they are shutting down the MicroProse game development studio in Alameda, California. In the late 80's and early 90's this same development studio was known as Spectrum Holobyte, responsible for bringing us games such as the flight sim Falcon, or the very first US version of Tetris. In 1995, they also released 'Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity', one of the best Trek games ever created. Now, the studio has been shut down following the purchase of MicroProse by Hasbro Interactive. For more on this, please read this article by Anthony Chiang, a game developer working at Nihilistic Software.

    'Pathfinder' Tube Review
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    This has probably been up for a while, but Jeff Bond at Eon's Tube Reviews has written a review of 'Pathfinder', the Voyager episode which aired last week. Though awarding it a somewhat higher grade than usual (a B-), Bond still wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the episode:

    Although the Enterprise is mentioned and there's plenty of name-dropping of characters like Data and Picard whom we never see, the core of Barclay's sense of loss over his friends (a neat analog to many Trekker's feelings of abandonment by TOS, TNG and DS9 now that VOYAGER is the only TREK game in town) is only addressed momentarily, and to be frank Schultz's overblown performance fails to make the issue resonate. Ditto Marina Sirtis as Troi, whose paper-thin characterization is flagged in the episode's pandering opening scene as Barclay excitedly offers her some chocolate ice cream (Troi's lone character trait was seemingly her love of chocolate). It all points to the juvenile patina that Barclay's essentially child-like character always added to the proceedings, even though TNG was able to establish an adult tone far more often than VOYAGER does.

    A more detailed review of 'Pathfinder' can be found by following this link.

    The Rebirth Of Trek
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture', Edward Gross at Fandom has started a multi-part feature looking at the path from the Original Series to the big-screen revival. Currently, three of the feature's parts have already been posted, with the other parts scheduled for next week. In the first part, Gross talks about conventions and the Animated Series, and how they helped keep Trek alive. In the second part, we look at the several pilots Gene Roddenberry created after the Original Series, while the third-part examines one of these pilots ('The Questor Tapes') in more detail.

    DS9 Novel Feature
    Christian (6:52 pm CST)
    David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up a new feature about the Pocket Books DS9 line, which will continue the DS9 story after 'What You Leave Behind'. The article contains lots of quotes from editor Marco Palmieri, as well as the following info on the new characters we'll be seeing in the books:

    The first new books, "The Avatar", will introduce four new major characters. Some will be "replacements" for the departed characters of Sisko, Worf, Odo, and O'Brien; others will fill new roles.

    So far, the only new character described in any detail is the new first officer of DS9. He is an older male human, perhaps in his eighties or nineties, but still on top of his game due to all of the advances in science and medicine in the 24th century. He will report to Colonel Kira on the station, and will be in command of the Defiant when it goes on away missions.

    Answers from Palmieri on the books' characters, plots, scheduling and more can be found in the full feature.

    Trek In Australia?
    Christian (6:52 pm CST)
    The rumours just keep on getting weirder and weirder. Take a look at what the British SFX just posted:

    Chuck Wagner, our intrepid LA Editor has passed on an eyebrow-archingly interesting scrap of gossip that's currently making the rounds over at Paramount - apparently the next Trek series may be filmed in Australia, which certainly makes a kind of sense. Although, as Chuck pointed out, it does make you wonder what will be left for Paramount to do....

    Personally this seems at least somewhat unlikely to me. All the creative staff members currently working on Star Trek live in the United States, and it doesn't seem likely that they would all want to move to Australia. If you're interested, you can find the original report on this here. I myself am still waiting for the rumour suggesting that Series V will in fact be shot on the International Space Station. Thanks go out to IGN Sci-Fi for this!

    Burton Honorary Mayor
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    According to AnotherUniverse's Daily Buzz, LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge) was sworn in as honorary mayor of the town of Sherman Oaks, California, yesterday. Burton received this title to honour "15 years of dedicated service to the community."

    UPN To Air 15-Minute Shows
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    UltimateTV is reporting some rather interesting news - in an effort to better grab the attention of young males, UPN is currently considering creating a series of 15-minute sitcoms. Take a look at UPN's reasons for this:

    "When you're dealing with 15-minute episodes, it's obvious that we're not creating dense character relationships. We're saying, 'This is just going to be pure entertainment,'" UPN Entertainment president Tom Nunan tells the Los Angeles Times. "The audience we're going after--young people, and young guys in particular--wants to see something else in their comedy."

    UPN may air the three shows together or toss a sitcom between them, running 15-minute shows at, say, 8:00 p.m. and 8:45 p.m., with a 30 minute comedy filling in the blanks.

    For more on this, including a rather critical view by a media expert on the plans, can be found in the full article.

    Nielsen System To Change
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    TV Guide is reporting that Nielsen Media Research, the company responsible for measuring US television viewership figures, will soon start an experiment which could have major repercussions for the American televiision system:

    Nielsen Media Research announced that, for the first time, it will collect detailed demographic information on who's watching TV in a local market year-round. Usually, such data is collected only four times per year during the so-called "sweeps" periods. The Boston experiment will use electronic People Meters to record who's watching what.

    Of course, if this experiment is successful it will result in the disappearance of the so-called 'sweeps months', meaning that networks will always have to provide quality television, not just during those four time periods. Obviously, if this works out it will also mean that a few years down the road lots more detailed information about Star Trek ratings will also be available.

    Mary Kay Adams Interview
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    Michelle Erica Green at AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine has uploaded a new interview with Mary Kay Adams, who appeared on DS9 several times as Grilka, Quark's Klingon wife. In the interview, Adams of course talks about her role on Trek, but she also has a few things to say about her guest appearance on Babylon 5 as Na'Toth, and some of the other roles she's played over the course of her career. Of all those roles, though, she seemed to enjoy the Trek one rather a lot:

    Surprisingly, the long-time star of Guiding Light felt very comfortable in Grilka's Klingon skin. "So many times in Hollywood, or in show business in general, women are not really allowed to be strong," she observed in a recent interview from New York, where the daytime drama films. "We are tempered. Our power is taken away. Playing the Klingon woman was such a joy because throughout my entire career I have had directors say to me, 'OK, Mary Kay, just pull back a little bit.' This was the first time I was ever told, 'OK, we need you to be stronger!' It was Christmas!"

    Lots more on this can be found in the full interview!

    Overnight 'Think Tank' Ratings
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database has posted the overnight ratings report for yesterday's rerun of Voyager's 'Think Tank'. The rerun did about average:

    "Think Tank" kicked off Voyager's first stint of reruns this season with a decent 3.8 rating, 6 share. That's off from "Dark Frontier"'s rerun earlier this season which earned a 4.7/7. The show should earn an average national rating.

    Voyager and a "Seven Days" repeat led UPN to a victory over the WB, which aired back-to-back reruns of "Dawson't Creek." "Think Tank" finished 5th in the timeslot, defeating the second hour of "Dawson's Creek," which finished 6th with a 3.0/4. "Seven Days" earned a 3.2/5. ABC was 4th in the 9 p.m. hour.

    In the full report, you'll also be able to find a prediction of the episode's national rating.

    Game Advertising During 'Voyager'
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    Acclaim Entertainment has just announced it will be running advertisements for its new game 'Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M' during several nationwide television shows, including UPN's 'Star Trek: Voyager'. Details on the game can be found in their press release.

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    Today is the 47th birthday of Michael Dorn, who starred on the Next Generation as Worf Rozhenko.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    -On Friday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second-season TOS episode 'The Ultimate Computer' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Friday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Sons of Mogh' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT.

    -On Friday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Empok Nor' at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    Below are a few of the interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -Does Benjamin Sisko count as Star Trek's first alien captain, considering he's now part wormhole alien?

    -Is modern science now at a level that people such as Geordi LaForge could become reality, and be given their eyesight back?

    Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:49 pm CST)
    Thanks for your feedback about the review copies issue - I received a staggering 36 emails about it, of which only 2 were against me accepting free review copies of Trek merchandise. I've now decided to indeed start accepting review copies, which I will certainly try not to et in any way affect my objectivity, but which will hopefully enhance the site with some interesting product reviews. Thanks again to everyone who wrote in!

    Wednesday December 8, 1999
    First 'Perchance To Dream' Released
    Christian (7:11 pm CST)
    Today is the release of 'Perchance To Dream - Chapter 1: To Take Arms Against a Sea of Troubles', the first regular Trek comics release from Wildstorm. Over at the Trek Nation comics site, webmaster 'Captain Jim' Zimmerman has of course already put up his review of the comic:

    Two weeks after the arrival of False Colors, WildStorm's first Trek book, we are greeted by their first Star Trek comic in a regular format: Star Trek: The Next Generation - Perchance to Dream. This is the first issue of a four-issue mini-series, shipping on a monthly basis. It's printed on high-grade newsprint and the story is 22 pages long. The price is a competitive $2.50 (USA).

    For the actual in-depth analysis of the comic, which was written by Keith R.A. Decandido, pencilled by Peter Pachoumis and inked by Lucian Rizzo, please read the full review. After that, why not give your own thoughts on the comic at our comics board?

    No UPN In Albuquerque
    Christian (7:00 pm CST)
    Barbara Chavez, Staff Writer at the ABQ Journal, just wrote a report which won't make UPN or Albuquerque 'Voyager' fans very happy. Take a look:

    KASY-TV Channel 50 viewers who are hooked on Wednesday night's "Star Trek Voyager" or the professional wrestling show "WWF Smackdown!" will be disappointed this week. Those shows and, in fact, all United Paramount Network (UPN) programs have been dropped.

    On Friday, UPN ended its affiliation with KASY-TV, which has been a UPN affiliate since 1995. KASY was purchased for nearly $27 million earlier this year by the Warner Bros. Network, which operates KWBQ-TV, Channel 19, in Albuquerque.

    The full reasons for this drop can be found in the full article. In it, it is also noted that UPN is still trying to find a home for UPN in Albuquerque, but that they are certain UPN will have to be on a cable station.

    'Klingon Academy' Development News
    Christian (7:00 pm CST)
    Over at Interplay's official Klingon Academy site, two of the game's developers have posted updates about the game's current development status, talking about the in-game art and the game's shop design. To read the updates, please go here. Thanks go out to Federation HQ for this!

    'Generations' Compositor Joins Anderson
    Christian (7:00 pm CST)
    The Howard Anderson Company, one of Hollywood's leading traditional film and digital imaging houses, has announced that Peter Koczera as a Director of Digital Production. According to their press release, Koczera worked on four Star Trek movies, including at least 'Generations', which the IMDB says he worked on as digital compositor.

    Two New Trek Reviews
    Christian (6:59 pm CST)
    Julia Houston at About.com's Star Trek Fans has put up new reviews of 'Ultimate Trek' and 'Pathfinder', the two Trek shows which aired last week. As practically everyone else, Julia didn't see impressed with 'Ultimate Trek':

    I'm not sure why Star Trek specials are always so bad. The clips are fun, the subject matter is certainly inspirational, and the possibility for humor is endless. This most recent special at least partially lives up to its name, being the "ultimate" and then some in terms of lame "comedy," missed opportunities, and pointless bad taste.

    More on this can be found in the full 'Ultimate Trek' review. Also available is a review of Pathfinder.

    Great 'Pathfinder' Ratings
    Christian (6:59 pm CST)
    Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database has updated his site with the national ratings for Voyager's 'Pathfinder', which, as expected, were really good:

    "Pathfinder" provided the brightest spot of this season to-date, earning a 4.0 rating, 6 share. That's Voyager's highest showing and first time at the 4.0 mark since "Dark Frontier" last February. "Pathfinder" performed far better than "Infinite Regress" last year but slightly worse than "Timeless," which collected a 4.3/7.

    'Ultimate Trek' scored a final rating of 2.6, which was decent, and probably more than the special deserved. For the full report, please go here.

    Braga Talks Series V Rumours
    Christian (6:59 pm CST)
    The Sci-Fi Wire has put up a short interview with Voyager executive producer Brannon Braga. In it, he reacts to yesterday's news report from both TrekWeb and one of TrekToday's own regular sources, stating that the relationship between Paramount Pictures and Berman & Braga was degrading somewhat, following a series of unsuccessful Series V pitches. Here's what Braga had to say about this:

    Braga also denied reports that the producers were at loggerheads with the studio over the new series. "I wouldn't describe our relationship with the studio as rocky, not at all. I would describe it as very creative and cooperative. We are all very conscientious about the state of the franchise. There's no disagreement on that."

    In the full interview, Braga mentioned that he and Berman are still tossing around various ideas for the new series with Paramount, but that he 'may have news in February', while he also said the usual things about the new series being 'fresh' and 'different'. Find it all here. Thanks go out to BORG for pointing me to this.

    New Activision Trek Survey
    Christian (6:59 pm CST)
    The official Continuum has put up a new online survey from Activision, the company responsible for creating computer games based on the Star Trek license. In the survey, several questions are asked about your personal computer, your gaming habits, and your interests in online playing. Five participants in the survey will be chosen to receive the new 'Star Trek: Hidden Evil' game, so filling it in will actually be worth your while. You can find the survey here.

    Betazed Ambassador Recovers
    Christian (6:59 pm CST)
    The folks at the Continuum have put up another of their great in-character news items, this time talking about a recovered Betazed ambassador. Here's how the article starts:

    After spending the last ten years in an institution, former Betazed diplomat Gedd Terum has retired to Vulcan. He had been committed after his tenure as Betazed Ambassador to the Klingon Empire was cut short by his sudden violent outbursts.

    "Vulcan is the best place for me right now," said Terum, "Being surrounded by Klingons all the time, eventually I couldn't screen out their intense emotions, and I snapped. It's been a long, hard process, getting back to normal." His release after a decade of therapy marks a victory of sorts for the decorated former ambassador, and a return to respectability.

    To read the full article, please follow this link.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:58 pm CST)
    -Tonight at 9:00pm, UPN will be repeating Voyager's 'Think Tank'. Take a look at how UPN describes the episode:

    'Think Tank' - Courtesy Vidiot, copyright Paramount Pictures In the midst of a clash with Hazari bounty hunters, Janeway is offered assistance from a "think tank," a small yet exotic alien ship containing disparate life forms, each able to communicate telepathically. Their spokesperson, Kurros, offers to help solve the dilemma with the Hazari, only in exchange for Seven of Nine as payment. When Seven declines their offer, the think tank focuses on taking her by force.

    Thanks go out to Vidiot for the image, which is of course copyrighted by Paramount Pictures.

    -On Thursday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the TOS episode 'The Omega Glory' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Thursday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Return to Grace' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT, while BBC Two will be showing TNG's 'Dark Page' at 18:00 GMT.

    -On Thursday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Glanz des Ruhms' (For the Uniform) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:58 pm CST)
    Here is the usual look at some of the interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -There have been lots of discussions about the new Star Trek series already, but what do you think is going to happen with Series VI?

    -If the Voyager crew were animals, what would they be?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:58 pm CST)
    I need your help with a small ethical dilemma. Over the past few weeks, I've been contacted twice by producers of Trek merchandise, offering to send me a free copy of their product to review for the site. In general, I personally wouldn't really be against this - in the first place it would help to enhance the content of the site, and in the second place I of course don't really have a problem with accepting freebies :-).

    However, accepting review copies might also seriously alter the nature of the site. For instance, would you, as readers, still trust my objectivity in reporting news if at the same time I would have a tie with the companies producing those products? Would TrekToday's status as a fan site change if I started accepting review copies?

    As I said, personally I'm not against receiving review copies, and I think I will be able to remain unbiased in my news reporting, but I felt it only fair to inform you about this first, and ask you for your opinion on this. If any of you feel that it would be wrong for me to start accepting review copies of Trek products, please do write in and let me know - I really don't want to start doing this if there are some serious objections from you, the readers.

    Tuesday December 7, 1999
    More Series V News
    Christian (6:21 pm CST)
    About a month ago, we already reported that Paramount had not yet approved a Series V concept, after previously turning down an 'X-Files' and a 'Birth of the Federation' concept. Now, one of our sources, who as usual wishes to remain anonymous, was kind enough to send in the following update:

    The Series V concept has not been approved by Paramount. Here's the fun part: apparently, the Berman/Braga strategy has been to pitch the same concept over and over again in the hope that playing chicken with the studio will pay off. So far, it hasn't - and it looks like Paramount is willing to push back the premiere date of a new series if it means not being forced into a concept they don't feel confident about. Here's the kicker: Berman is in trouble on more than just the television front - word is that someone well-known and well-loved by the fans (and I'm not saying who right now) has been lobbying the studio to kick Berman off of the movie franchise and establish a new regime to set the cinematic course. No one has come to any conclusions, but the simple fact these discussion are going on points to the clear dissolution of Berman's grip on Star Trek.

    This certainly is interesting information, and, presumably like most of you, I'm really curious who this well-known and well-loved person is. Personally I would find it a pity if Berman lost some of his grip on Trek - I still think he's the best person for the job. In any case, of course do still treat this as you would any other rumour - certainly none of this has been officially confirmed by Paramount yet.

    The Trek Conspiracy
    Christian (6:20 pm CST)
    Over at the Trek Nation, we've put up a new featured article by regular contributor Michael Hinman, in which he looks at the rift which exists between fans of the Original Series and fans of the Next Generation. In specific, he examines the deep hatred which many fans seem to have for Trek Executive Producer Rick Berman, and which Hinman does not quite understand. Read about all this and more in the actual article, which is more than interesting to read, and almost perfectly mirrors my own views.

    Six New 'Elite Force' Shots
    Christian (6:20 pm CST)
    Federation HQ has uploaded six new screenshots of 'Voyager: Elite Force', the first-person shooter currently being developed by Raven Software. The screenshots all show you and several of your fellow team members walking around in what looks to be a Borg cube, showing off several of the game's weapons. You can find those shots here. Fed HQ has also put up a set of four cheats for the new adventure game 'Insurrection: Hidden Evil', which you can find on the main site, assuming you want to make your 'Hidden Evil' experience even shorter than it will probably already be.

    Duke Designs Ryan's Dress
    Christian (6:20 pm CST)
    A short press release on Yahoo! informs us of the following:

    Leading designer Randolph Duke dressed and accompanied actresses Illeana Douglas (``To Die For,'' ``Cape Fear'' and ``Grace of My Heart'') and Jeri Ryan [Seven of Nine on 'Voyager' - TT] to Sunday night's Vogue -- VH-1 Fashion Awards. Illeana Douglas looked exotic and elegant in a distressed denim linen Toreador suit with a simple white tank underneath, while Jeri Ryan blossomed in a cashmere bateau crop top in dusty lilac and multicolored, beaded Carnivale pant.

    Should you have the desire to see the original version, please go here.

    Decipher Not Buying FASA
    Christian (6:20 pm CST)
    Over at Decipher, the developer of the official Star Trek Customizable Card Game, they've posted a rather surprising announcement - they won't be buying FASA after all:

    Decipher Inc. and FASA Corporation jointly announced today that they have ended their negotiations for Decipher's planned acquisition of FASA. The parties acknowledged that there were several significant business issues upon which they were unable to reach agreement.

    Warren Holland, Decipher's Chairman & CEO stated, "We value the positive relationship we developed with FASA and Ral Partha, but Decipher is now pursuing a myriad of other opportunities as the company continues its meteoric growth."

    Morton Weisman, FASA's Chairman & CEO stated, "While I greatly admire Decipher, the decision to end our discussions was mutual and with respect. I'm sure that FASA and Decipher will remain friends, and I hope that we will have the opportunity to work with their very talented staff in the future. FASA will continue to develop its game lines and miniature products and we plan to expand our marketing and distribution programs."

    This certainly isn't a positive development for Decipher - their acquisition of FASA would have greatly enhanced their market position, and given them access to such major properties as 'BattleTech'. To read the original press release, please follow this link.

    Cromwell In 'The Green Mile'
    Christian (6:19 pm CST)
    The official Star Trek Continuum has put up a short article on 'The Green Mile', the adaptation of the Stephen King serial novel set to open on the 10th of December. One of the stars of the film is James Cromwell, who appeared in 'First Contact' as Zefram Cochrane, and had three more guest appearances on the television series in other roles. In the film, he'll be playing prison warden Hal Moores, head of a Southern prison in 1935. Here's some more info on the film:

    "The Green Mile" is based upon a serial novel written by Stephen King. Released in a series of segments as opposed to a whole novel at once, "The Green Mile" stars Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter and Doug Hutchison and is directed by Frank Darabont, who last visited the world of Stephen King with "The Shawshank Redemption."

    For more info on Cromwell, please go here. If you just want to know if the film itself is any good, you might want to check out the Entertainment Weekly Review.

    More Trek Alumni Go Online
    Christian (6:19 pm CST)
    The Cyber Sci-Fi Network, yet another new online webcaster, has announced its first cyberseries, 'Mars and Beyond'. The network was officially launched on the 3rd of December to coincide with the recent PlanetFest convnetion, where the network was heavily promoted. Take a look at how their press release, put up at TrekWeb, describes their new series:

    You will find a 1 1/2 min. Teaser and a 6 1/2 min. Trailer of CSFN's first cyberseries, MARS AND BEYOND... in which Majel plays the head of NASA. Within a few days, we will also upload a sneak preview scene with Majel as she meets with the Commander of the first manned expedition to Mars in 2014, prior to launch - it is one of her best performances ever!

    [...]

    As a former producer-writer of ST:TNG, Herbert Wright ("The Last Outpost," "The Battle," "Heart of Glory"), who heads up the project, plans to bring Trek-level quality sci-fi programming direct to the Web... with the help of such Trek vets, as Majel, Rick Sternbach, Mike Okuda, Patrick Barry, and others. First, we're going to Mars...

    For the full release, please follow this link.

    Nichols Works On E-Book
    Christian (6:19 pm CST)
    GalaxyOnline, the online science-fiction network scheduled to launch on the 1st of January, today announced plans for a series of online children's books titled 'Eureka Road'. The books will be targeted at 7- to 11-year olds, and will utilize original music while teaching elements of reading, logic, mathematics and more. According to GalaxyOnlne, this is 'a revolutionary new concept that [they] believe will change the future of education, as the online books incorporate the new trend of edutainment'.

    The books were developed by GalaxyOnline, in conjunction with Jim Meechan, former vice president of research for Rockwell International and Nichelle Nichols, best known for her role as Uhura on the Original Series. Here's what Nichols had to say about the book series:

    According to Nichols, she and Meechan have been developing ``Eureka Road'' for more than six years. ``In tandem with my career, I have been working with young people through producing musicals, lectures and other educational projects for many years. 'Eureka Road' is the most ambitious project to date for what I believe will benefit children the most in terms of liking the subjects they are learning about.''

    Nichols, who is also an accomplished musician, co-wrote 18 songs with Meechan for the ``Eureka Road'' series.

    For the full press release, please go here. By the way... does anyone know what educational children's books have to do with science-fiction?

    Internet Trek Fans Show
    Christian (6:18 pm CST)
    The internet will soon be graced with the appearance of a new weekly television webcast, dealing with the 'ravings of two seriously demented Star Trek fans'. This was just announced by the Play Streaming Media Group, who will soon be launching the new Internet TV network PlayTV. Take a look at what you'll be able to find at the network:

    In broadcast trials for the past eight months, today PlayTV streams more live, original content than any other Internet TV network -- 12 hours a day, five days a week -- reaching a diverse fan-base around the globe. From first-time broadcasters to Hollywood celebrities, PlayTV brings content creators from around the world together to produce hundreds of original programs that serve as an alternative to broadcast television. On a given day, viewers may be treated to notorious radio personality Alex Bennett's news commentary and celebrity interviews from his home studio in the heart of San Francisco; That same evening they can catch PlayTV's own Revelstoke Jim dishing up small-town stories from deep in the woods of British Columbia, Canada.

    One of the unique features is that the television shows are highly interactive, allowing viewers to play an integral role in shaping the live shows, or so the press release claims. In any case, of the shows PlayTV will also soon be premiering is the aforementioned Trek fan show, called 'The Prime Directive'. The series apparently hasn't premiered yet, but it'll definitely be interesting to see how it turns out - let's hope it's not just another 'Trekkies'.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:18 pm CST)
    -On Wednesday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second-season Original Series episode 'By Any Other Name' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Wednesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Crossfire' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT. At 18:45, BBC Two will be showing DS9's 'You Are Cordially Invited...'

    -On Wednesday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Kinder der Zeit' at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:18 pm CST)
    Below you'll find a few of the interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -Is DS9 still being repeated in syndication?

    -Why does every Borg pronounce 'futile' differently?

    Lots more topics can of course be found at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:18 pm CST)
    Hmmm. I must say I wouldn't have minded a somewhat more nicer way for the Netherlands to reach the news than this particular news item. I just hope this won't be used as an excuse by the gun lobby to protest even stronger against gun control laws.

    Monday December 6, 1999
    'Klingon Academy' Designer Interview
    Christian (7:19 pm CST)
    Over at the Daily Radar, they've put up a new exclusive interview with Raphael Hernandez, producer of Interplay's upcoming 'Klingon Academy' space simulator. Here's how the interview starts:

    Daily Radar: What's the storyline behind the game?

    Raphael Hernandez: It starts you off as a young recruit at a very elite command academy within the Klingon Empire. You're a student there, and the school is created solely for the purpose of teaching warriors to become warrior commanders. General Chang from Star Trek VI gives you some lessons and talks about what it is that you're doing, with the whole curriculum of the academy placing you in a simulated full-scale war with the federation.

    In the full interview, Hernandez also talks about things such as the game's cut-scenes, visuals, and actual missions. Find it all here.

    CNN Reviews 'Hidden Evil'
    Christian (7:19 pm CST)
    D. Ian Hopper, Technology Editor for CNN Interactive, has written a new review of 'Insurrection: Hidden Evil', Activision's adventure game which almost everyone seems to dislike. Here's how the review ends:

    The entire game is extremely easy, provided you can get past the action scenes -- which aren't all that difficult either with the medical aids you find scattered around. It's hard to get lost wandering around the corridors, and while on the Enterprise the tricorder works as a map. Even in the final mission, the use of a certain tool make destroying the "Hidden Evil" itself a breeze.

    Given that there are no difficulty levels, there's no replayability after you finish the game -- which can easily be done in less than 5 hours. It will just take up shelf space after that. It's almost fitting that the game takes place after the "Insurrection" movie, and uses the same world. That movie was criticized as seeming too much like just a two-hour TV episode. Unfortunately, you won't spend much more time with this game.

    More criticisms of the game can be found in the full review, which I was pointed to by several people, the first one being Jose Gonzalez.

    Experience Goes Online
    Christian (7:19 pm CST)
    Steve Krutzler at TrekWeb has posted a new press release from the Star Trek Experience, the Trek mini-theme park located in the Las Vegas Hilton Hotel. Now it appears the Experience is expanding to also include an internet branch:

    At www.ds9promenade.com, finding that perfect gift for yourself or loved ones will be very streamlined and effortless. In fact, the "shops" on the Internet are based on the actual Promenade shops at Star Trek: The Experience. Zek's Grand Emporium features Star Trek office adornments, custom glassware, toys and plush Starfleet crewmembers. Also, be sure to visit the Admiral's Collection, home to signed artwork, limited-edition Star Trek collectibles, and one-of-a-kind model ships.

    A bit more on this can be found in the full press release, though you can also immediately visit the new DS9 Promenade site.

    Delta Blues 'Pathfinder' Review
    Christian (7:18 pm CST)
    Over at Delta Blues, Jim Wright has uploaded his review of 'Pathfinder', the special Voyager episode featuring appearances by Reginald Barclay and Marina Sirtis. It seems Wright absolutely loved the episode:

    In a nutshell, I live for episodes like this. Kudos all around. Terrific performances, particularly from the guest cast. I hope we see them again. I gave "One Small Step" five stars. I can do no less here.

    Together with the usual incredibly long synopsis, the full review of course also features a somewhat more in-depth analysis of 'Pathfinder'.

    Fandom 'Christmas Carol' Review
    Christian (7:18 pm CST)
    Over at Fandom, Frederick C. Szebin has uploaded a new review of 'A Christmas Carol', starring Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard). As most other reviewers, Szebin was pretty impressed by Stewart in his role as Scrooge:

    Stewart is, of course, wonderful in the role, offering his own nuances to the meanest man in town, making him a rather sad character right off rather than the ball of pure hate we expect. This is a man who has shut himself off from life, and Stewart obviously relishes the opportunity to put his stamp on this well-known character. Knowing various other performances, such as Sims, Finney and Scott, it is interesting to see how each actor plays the role. Stewart brings a style none of those other excellent actors had, but they each made him his own in one form or another.

    In general, though, Szebin doesn't appear too enthusiastic about the film, noting that the material is very familiar already. Read a deaper analysis in the full review.

    Syndicated Schedule Updated
    Christian (7:18 pm CST)
    David Henderson at Psi Phi has updated the syndicated TV schedule for Voyager again, containing the first confirmed info on the order in which the episodes will be airing now that the twelve syndication theme weeks have ended:

    It seems that Paramount has decided to give to the stations a schedule with the previously unaired repeats, now scheduled in production order. It is unknown whether they will be required to show the episodes in this order, or whether they will be allowed to choose their own schedule, but a quick check of schedules in various cities suggests that most stations will be using this schedule.

    For the actual schedule, please follow this schedule.

    Paris/Tuvok Holonovels
    Christian (7:17 pm CST)
    Over at About.com's Star Trek Fans, Julia Houston has put up no less than 32 (!) holonovel fanfic stories, dealing with holodeck programs designed by Tom Paris and Tuvok. Here's what the concept behind these novels is:

    A couple years ago, after watching "Worst Case Scenario," in which Paris and Tuvok attempt to write a holonovel together, I was hopeful that we would see the results of their efforts in future episodes. When that didn't happen, I took matters into my own hands, and began writing these holonovels. Now I've decided to make these holonovels part of my site, mostly to encourage myself to start writing them again.

    Now, the basic premise is simple. The idea is to imagine that we're seeing Paris and Tuvok at work, figuring out the final bugs in the stories right before they turn it over for public consumption. Some of the "novels" are short, some are lengthy, and all are very, very silly indeed.

    If you want to read the actual holonovels, please follow this link.

    New Sev Trek Competition
    Christian (7:17 pm CST)
    John Cook at SevTrek has uploaded a new edition of the 'Write Your Own Sev Trek' Competition:

    Sev Trek header
    Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

    Here's what this week's competition deals with:

    Shapeshifter entertainment.
    Now I know you're going to hate me for this, possibly even accuse me of hypocrisy or mean spiritedness... but I MUST stress that you keep to the "no crude/lewd punchlines" rule, even for this comic strip! :-)

    As usual, submit your punchlines here.

    Stewart 'Christmas Carol' Interview
    Christian (7:17 pm CST)
    Rob Owen, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette TV Editor known to Trek fans for his Braga interview about a week ago, has now also posted an interview with Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard). In it, Stewart of course talks about 'A Christmas Carol', his TV film which premiered on TNT this Sunday. In the interview, Stewart talks about the differences between his one-man rendition of the play and the film version:

    "I learned that it was a much more restful time playing Scrooge than playing everybody," Stewart said in a press conference with TV critics this summer. "The interaction with the other actors, instead of having them exist inside my head as they have for almost 10 years, was bound to change everything. I was everyday being forced to reassess everything that I had done before, which is exactly what I had hoped for."

    Stewart said the opportunity to play opposite actors who may interpret their characters different than Stewart did when he played every role offered its own surprises. "There were times when tones of voice, pacing, even inflection seemed to match what had been in my head for all those years," he said. "And there were other times when that was entirely blown up and something unexpected and fresh and original occurred in a way that I could never have conceived of."

    If you want to read the full interview, please go here.

    'Free Enterprise' Director Interview
    Christian (7:16 pm CST)
    The Bring Back Kirk UK web site has posted an interview with Robert Meyer Burnett, the director and co-writer of the recent indie film 'Free Enterprise'. In the interview, Burnett mostly talks about the myths surrounding William Shatner (James T. Kirk), the return of Kirk, and what he considers to be a general lack of quality in all four modern Trek series. To read the interview, please go here.

    Poll Results
    Christian (7:16 pm CST)
    Below you'll find the results of our most recent TrekToday poll, asking what you thought about last week's 'Pathfinder' episode:


    How would you grade 'Pathfinder'?
    9-10 61.2% - (278 Votes)
    7-8 18% - (82 Votes)
    Wasn't able to see it 12.5% - (57 Votes)
    5-6 4.1% - (19 Votes)
    3-4 1.7% - (8 Votes)
    1-2 1.7% - (8 Votes)
    Didn't want to see it 0.4% - (2 Votes)

    Total Votes: 454

    Please also participate in the new poll, asking you what you thought about the 'Ultimate Trek' TV special.

    Today On TV
    Christian (7:16 pm CST)
    -On Tuesday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the TOS episode 'Patterns of Force' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Tuesday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Paradise Lost' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT.

    -The German Sat.1 site appears down again, so unfortunately there won't be any TV info for Germany today.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (7:15 pm CST)
    Here is the usual look at some of the interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -Does flying at warp speed really damage the universe, or has the TNG episode 'Force of Nature' already been forgotten?

    -What is your favourite Star Trek game?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:15 pm CST)
    Well, the results of yesterday's mini-contest about the Dutch holiday of Sinterklaas really were quite interesting - it appears Dutch culture isn't as unknown in the US as I thought it was. Congratulations go out to DangerMom, who was the first person to write in about Sinterklaas, winning the $10 Amazon Toys gift certificate, though Holly Kim Wilson and Tony Guzman also figured it out. If any of you are still interested about this really great custom, I suggest you check out this page created by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs - it truly is quite interesting.

    Sunday December 5, 1999
    LA Times 'Christmas Carol' Review
    Christian (7:28 pm CST)
    The Los Angeles Times has put up no less than two articles about the new 'A Christmas Carol' telefilm, premiering today on TNT. In the first article, written by Howard Rosenberg, main star Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and several of the film's creative staff talk about their experiences while producing the film. In the second article, Howard Rosenberg reviews the film in a fairly positive manner. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this!

    'False Colors' Mini-Review
    Christian (7:23 pm CST)
    Mike O'Connell at AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine has uploaded a short review of 'False Colors', the debut comic of Wildstorm's new Star Trek line. Besides a synopsis of the comic, it also contains the following rather positive comments:

    This fast-paced, thought provoking story is something that all Voyager fans will want to check out. Writer Nathan Archer and artist Jeffery Moy team-up to construct a tale that has all of the best elements of the exciting science fiction television series.

    For the full thing, follow this link. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for this.

    UPN 9 'Ultimate Trek' Transcript
    Christian (7:23 pm CST)
    This Voyager site has uploaded a transcript of a recent news broadcast by UPN 9, in which the station asked several Trek cast members for their favourite aspects of Trek:

    [Reporter Pat] Collins: We've got the viewers' favorites. But first, like they do on all the award shows, we will hear from Patrick Stewart, Jeri Ryan, and some other cast members. They have favorites, too, you know, as we look at the longest running prime-time drama in television history. [...] A five-year mission became a 30-year odyssey. With it came a cast of memorable characters. From all those characters, we asked the Star Trek stars to name their favorite.

    For the favourites of people such as Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Tim Russ (Tuvok) and Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi), please read the full transcript. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for pointing me to this!

    Pomers Voyager Appearances
    Christian (7:23 pm CST)
    The official Scarlett Pomers Homepage has posted a set of new news items related to Scarlett Pomers, who has a recurring role on 'Star Trek: Voyager' as young Naomi Wildman. Apparently, we'll be seeing Naomi at least four more times this season:

    Scarlett has been back to work on two more Voyager episodes!!! The first one is called Memorial. In the episode, she worked with Ethan Phillips, Robert Beltran, and Tim Russ. She said her scene was "very intense" and she had fun working on it. She was also called in to film a scene for the episode Blink of an Eye, which came up short on time after it had been completed. She worked with Jeri Ryan on this episode. Air dates will be posted when they become available. She has also been asked back to do two additional episodes! She will be working on one next week, and the other in January after the Christmas hiatus. More information on these episodes when it becomes available.

    'Voyager' isn't the only project Pomers has been working on, as she'll also be appearing on 'Diagnosis: Murder' and, surprisingly, in a new pop group called Spiral! More on these two news items can be found at the Scarlett Pomers news page.

    Trek Central Pulaski Week
    Christian (7:22 pm CST)
    AntonyF at Fandom's Star Trek Central sends along word that they've just started a Katherine Pulaski theme week, consisting of a special set of articles dealing with the TNG doctor. Here's how the week is introduced on the site:

    After Gates McFadden was sacked from her role of Doctor Crusher at the end of season one TNG, Doctor Katherine 'Kate' Pulaski joined the crew played by Diana Muldaur. Declining to be listed on the main credits, Diana was listed as giving a "special appearance" in the episodes she featured in. However her introduction to the series didn't go well, and McFadden returned one year later. That was back in 1988, eleven years ago. This week we have a range of features focusing on Pulaski, the actress who plays - and opposing articles on if she was good for Star Trek.

    Read the articles, vote in the poll, check out the top ten list and chat on the message boards. This is Pulaski week - be sure to give your input and relive a character who was with Star Trek for a season, whether you liked her or not.

    To read all these features, please visit Star Trek Central.

    Cynical 'Pathfinder' Review
    Christian (7:22 pm CST)
    David E. Sluss at the Cynics Corner has uploaded his review of 'Pathfinder', the last Voyager episode shown during the November Sweeps. Though awarding the episode a solid 8.0, Sluss of course still had quite a few criticisms of it, including this one:

    NAME-DROPPING OF THE WEEK:
    Did any Next Generation characters not get a plug (even Spot, for God's sake)? And kudos to Voyager's promo crew for the hatchet job they did, taking Troi's line "I'm going to ask Captain Picard for a leave of absence," and folding, spindling and mutilating it into "I'm going to ask Captain Picard for help" in last week's promo for this show.

    For a more in-depth analysis, please go to the full review.

    Unofficial 'Elite Force' FAQ
    Christian (7:22 pm CST)
    Over at the Raven Software web site, 'Voyager: Elite Force' developer Mike Gummelt has uploaded an unofficial list of Frequently Asked Questions about their upcoming first-person shooter. Here are a few highlights from the FAQ:

    Q - What's this I heard about a "Virtual Tour" the Voyager level for Voyager? Will I be able to go anywhere on Voyager? Will I be able to go into every room, use turbolifts, use Jeffries tubes?

    A - No, we will not model every single room on Voyager, just the main areas like the Bridge, Conference Room, Captain's Ready Room, Mess Hall and kitchen, Sickbay, Hazard Area, Brig, Armoury, Transporter Room, Astrometrics, Cargo Bays, Engineering, some Jeffries tubes, your quarters, the Shuttle Bay, etc. You will not be able to walk into just anyone's quarters- there are limitations to how much we can make and fit on a map.

    Q - Can we shoot our own crew (Neelix, Janeway, etc.), shoot the warp core, will they know it was me, can I lead a mutiny, fight the security officers who try to arrest me, escape the brig, raise force fields, contact an enemy alien race and make a deal with them to take over Voyager, etc, etc.

    A - We're trying to tell a story and you play a competant Starfleet officer. If you, by your actions, prove yourself incompetant, you will be relieved of duty or thrown in their brig in a short cinematic and you will be prompted to load a saved game. There are also other ways to lose. And you will be graded on your performance and given a performance rating at the end of the game. If you want to be able to lead a mutiny, get the editor and make your own version of our maps with that scenario built in.

    Lots more answers about the game can be found in the full FAQ, while a somewhat shorter official version is also available. Thanks go out to Blue's News for this.

    Stewart 'Rosie' Clip
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    SciFi Headquarters has put up a digitized video clip of the recent appearance by Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) on the 'Rosie O'Donnell Show'. Stewart appeared on the show on the 2nd of December to promote his new telefilm 'A Christmas Carol'. You can download the clip by going here.

    Today On TV
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    -On Monday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the TOS episode 'Return To Tomorrow' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Monday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Home Front' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT, and the new episode 'The Emperor's New Cloak' at 20:00 GMT. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    -On Monday in Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Liebe und Profit' (Profit and Lace) at 15:00 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (7:21 pm CST)
    Here is the usual selection of topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -Do you know of a way to contact Joe Menosky, or any of the other Trek writers?

    -Now that we're almost halfway through Voyager's sixth season, how would you rate all the episodes?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS.

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:20 pm CST)
    It appears Amazon.com's computer system isn't nearly as advanced as I thought it was. A few days ago, I received a promotional gift certificate from them, together with my Christmas shoppings. The gift certificate would give me $10 off of any purchase at Amazon.com Toys. There was just one little problem. Apparently Amazon isn't able to ship toys to locations outside the US! Aaargh!

    Anyway, considering I myself don't have much use for it, I figured I'd give the certificate away to someone who would actually be able to do something with it. As luck would have it, today is actually the Dutch holiday of Sinterklaas, which seemed like the perfect occassion to give the certificate away. Therefore, the first American who is able to send me a short mail on what Sinterklaas actually is will receive my gift certificate... I'll be interested to see how many of you actually figure it out :-).

    Saturday December 4, 1999
    Trek Christmas Article
    Christian (6:11 pm CST)
    Over at About.com's Star Trek Fans, Julia Houston has written a new article about Christmas, or rather the lack of that in the world of Star Trek. Here's how she starts her article:

    Star Trek provides us with a lot of fun by of showing us all those lovely alien holidays and traditions, from the rituals of Pon Farr, to Bajoran festivals, to the Klingon Rite of Ascension, to Ferengi Count Your Money Day (okay, I made that last one up). Alien cultures seem much more real when they have such rituals, and of course it's great fun to compare them to existing traditions here in the 20th Century.

    But since Star Trek seems to make an effort to avoid all mention of Human holidays (except for a couple of birthdays), humans look so culturally deprived that the future, in terms of many things I most enjoy about being human, looks grim.

    For the full article, please follow this link.

    IGN Reviews 'Hidden Evil'
    Christian (6:11 pm CST)
    Over at IGN PC, reviewer Jef Shoults has written a new review of 'Insurrection: Hidden Evil', Activision's new adventure game. As practically every other reviewer out there, Jef wasn't too impressed with the game, but in his review he also provides a few very interesting background bits on the reason for this:

    Before I get to the bashing, I think there are some things you need to know. First of all Activision (who recently acquired the entire Star Trek license) hired Presto Studios to make this game with a few major goals in mind. One goal was time dependent. They had to have this game shipped for the holiday season of '99, and that gave Presto precisely one year to complete this game. As far as development time goes, that's not much. They also wanted a "mission based game with step-by-step hand holding instructions to appeal to casual gamers." Apparently Activision did some research and found that out of all the fans who owned a PC capable of running games, only a very small fraction had ever bought a Star Trek game. They found that the number one reason for this was that the games "look too difficult." So Presto had to make a game for the non-gamer, and also make it fun. I don't envy them one bit. So Presto, (after tackling some major development issues) delivered exactly what they promised ... a game for my dad.

    In the full review, the game is awarded a 4. Thanks Blue for this.

    Ferengi CCG Expansion In Stores
    Christian (6:10 pm CST)
    Decipher, the publisher of the official Star Trek Customizable Card Game, has announced that their new expansion set 'Rules of Acquisition' is in stores now. Take a look at what the expansion includes:

    Rules of Acquisition, the new expansion for Star Trek CCG, will revolutionize the game with 130 new cards, including the long-awaited addition of a fully playable Ferengi affiliation.

    More on the expansion can be found on the official product page. If you want to get the new cards but don't have the money, Decipher just launched a new contest where you can win CCG booster packs or even a full 'Rules of Acquisition' set. All you need to do is send Decipher a new Rule of Acquisition, and the inventors of the best 20 rules will receive a prize.

    'Voyager Conspiracy' Tube Review
    Christian (6:10 pm CST)
    Tube Reviews, the Eon spin-off which appears to be having trouble providing its reviews on time, has put up a new review of 'The Voyager Conspiracy'. As usual, Jeff Bond didn't really like the episode:

    This may be the episode in which Seven finally starts becoming tiresome. Having her lecture everyone aboard in a flinty monotone for forty-five minutes really does become annoying, and VOYAGER consistently forgets the Classic TREK technique of providing the Captain with a terrible, dramatic decision to make. All Janeway has to do is drop in on Seven and engage in some touchy-feely banter with her in order to make Seven change her mind. On the old show, Kirk would be faced with a choice, something like "I can save Spock's life, but it might involve killing millions of innocent people." Sure, it's melodramatic, but at least it holds your interest. Unfortunately, the VOYAGER creative team has proven time and again that drama and conflict is something that just doesn't interest them.

    A more detailed analysis can be found in the full review. In it, the episode is awarded a C-.

    Pocket Books Structure
    Christian (6:10 pm CST)
    Over at the recently designed Pocket Books web site, a few new fan questions have been answered by Trek book editors John Ordover and Marco Palmieri. Particularly interesting is one answer from Palmieri, in which he gives us some info on how the Trek books department is actually organised:

    How are we organized? Okay: Scott Shannon's the director of our department. You never hear about him, but he's the one who goes to mat for us with other departments like the publisher's office, marketing, sales, publicity, etc. [Non-fiction editor Margaret Clark is] an executive editor, reporting to Scott. [Fiction editor John Ordover is] an executive editor, also reporting to Scott. I'm a plain old editor, and I report to Margaret. We have a wonderful and overworked assistant editor named Jessica, who also reports to Margaret, and we have an editorial assistant, also named John, and a great guy, who also reports to Margaret. Dean is a freelance writer/editor. He's not on staff (but he's a great guy too).

    More answers to questions about the Trek books can be found on the Q&A boards of John Ordover and Marco Palmieri.

    Continuum 'Ultimate Trek' Round-up
    Christian (6:10 pm CST)
    The official Continuum has put up a look back at 'Ultimate Trek', the television special aired by UPN on Wednesday. For the benefit of internet readers who weren't able to see the special, the article once again announces which episode was chosen as the fans' favourite ('Best Of Both Worlds'), and also again mentions that the special is available on video now via the Continuum. Read it all here.

    UPN WWF Article
    Christian (6:09 pm CST)
    David Bauder, writer for AP, has written a new article dealing with 'Voyager' network UPN and its most successful show, 'WWF Smackdown!' The article mostly deals with the recent decision by the WWF to use less explicit language and sexually charged themes in its shows, following complaints by advertisers such as Coca-Cola. Though this may have a few negative effects for UPN, the article also notes that the network has seen a phenomenal upswing this year:

    UPN's average audience has increased 42 percent over last year, when it was bleeding viewers at nearly the same rate. The number of men aged 12-34 watching on Thursdays - wrestling night - is five times what it was a year ago. ``They thought we were dead,'' [UPN Chief Operating Officer] Ware said. ``Everyone thought it was over. UPN has turned it around and showed not only was it not over, but it has found a demographic that was underserved.''

    [...]

    ``They have a strategy now, which they had not had in the past,'' said Robert Igiel, president of the broadcast division of the advertising firm Media Edge. The network is competitive again with the WB, which at some points last year doubled UPN's audience. So far this season, UPN has an average audience of 3.8 million viewers in prime-time, while the WB has slipped to 4.2 million, according to Nielsen Media Research.

    More on UPN's successful strategy to win over teenage males can be found in the full article, which also shortly mentions Voyager.

    TOS Alumni To Advise Site
    Christian (6:09 pm CST)
    After Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock), several other Trek stars will now also be involved with upstart web sites. According to a press release from GalaxyOnline, an upcoming science-fiction webcaster, it will be assisted by several people well-known to Star Trek fans:

    The advisers include authors Walter Koenig, ``Mr. Chekov,'' and Nichelle Nichols, ``Lt. Uhura,'' both of the ``Star Trek'' television series and feature films; and Tony Dow, a prominent television director for such projects as ``Star Trek,'' ``Babylon 5'' and ``Harry and the Hendersons.'' Dow is also known for his starring role as ``Wally'' on ``Leave It to Beaver.''

    Other advisers include David Gerrold, whose writing credits include the most popular episode of ``Star Trek,'' titled ``The Trouble With Tribbles,'' as well as ``The Twilight Zone,'' ``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and ``Babylon 5''; Bill Mumy, star of ``Babylon 5,'' ``Lost in Space'' and ``Twilight Zone''; and Jim Meechan, renowned physicist and former vice president of research for Rockwell International.

    Galaxy Online will provide viewers with webcasts of already-existing shows and films (including the Jonathan Frakes documentary 'Roswell') as well as with all-new science-fiction films created by its sister company, Galaxy Pictures. For more details on this, please follow this link.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:09 pm CST)
    -On Sunday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second-season TOS episode 'A Private Little War'.

    -On Sunday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Our Man Bashir' at 16:00, followed by Voyager's 'Unity' an hour later. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    -On Sunday here in The Netherlands, RTL 5 will be showing DS9's 'Crossfire' at 18:05 CET.

    -On Sunday in Belgium, Kanaal 2 will be showing DS9's 'In Purgatory's Shadow' at 18:10 CET.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:09 pm CST)
    Here are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -What do you think about the apparent failure of NASA's Mars Polar Lander?

    -Who are stronger - the Klingons or the Vulcans?

    Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:08 pm CST)
    Seldom before have I had the extremely strong temptation to frequently hit someone on the head - in this case my internet service provider, who apparently decided to have a major black-out yesterday. Unfortunately, this caused the second day in just a week's time without a TrekToday update, a very sad thing after nine months of missing just one single day while moving. I've now taken precautions to keep this sort of thing from happening again - please accept my humblest apologies.

    (Oh, and thanks go out to the many people who wrote in, concerned to see if something was wrong with me personally. I did very much appreciate that.)

    Thursday December 2, 1999
    Mulgrew On 'Fair Haven'
    Christian (7:11 pm CST)
    NOTE: Below you will find spoilers for an upcoming Voyager episode called 'Fair Haven'. Click here to avoid being spoiled.

    Again, this is where you need to click to avoid being spoiled.

    Over in the alt.tv.star-trek.voyager newsgroup, Baerbel Haddrell recently posted an excerpt of an interview with Kate Mulgrew (Kathryn Janeway), in which she talks about 'Fair Haven'. In the episode, Janeway will get a holographic love interest:

    "This is a story in which Tom Paris has created a hologram of a small and charming Irish village around the turn of the century. And in it is a publican. His name will change, so I don`t want to give you eight million names, but as it stands, it`s Michael. I walk in to get them to come to the bridge for some business, and I find him very engaging. And I return, and before I know it, I`m finding him more than just engaging, to the extent that I go into the hologrid and recreate him or fix him to my absolute specifications. It`s a gamble to have Janeway romantically engaged with a hologram, but it`s probably sensible."

    More thoughts from Mulgrew on the episode can be found in the full transcript, conveniently put up on the Warp 11 Guide Page.

    New Sev Trek Competition
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    John Cook at Sev Trek has uploaded a new edition of the 'Write Your Own Sev Trek' competition:

    Sev Trek header
    Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

    Take a look at what this week's competition deals with:

    That joystick!
    Again one of the most suggested ideas in Sevilia is that joystick from Insurrection. Why after 7 seasons and 2 movies do they suddenly need a joystick to steer the ship? Maybe you can answer that.

    As usual, submit your punchlines here.

    Variety Reviews 'A Christmas Carol'
    Christian (7:02 pm CST)
    Variety's Michael Speier has written a review of 'A Christmas Carol', the new TNT TV film starring Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard). Speier was more than impressed by the film, calling it 'TV at its classiest', and having a particularly large amount of praise for Stewart:

    Stewart as Scrooge is such a perfect piece of casting that it will be hard to imagine anyone else as the sour ol' tightwad in years to come. For a decade, the thesp has toured with ``Carol'' across the country, and the experience shows; his initial inflections are full of genuine antipathy, and his transformation to a goodhearted citizen is entirely believable. With a robust eloquence, he speaks Barnes' words with so much polish that even his bitterness is delightful.

    The full review can be found here. Thanks go out to Star Trek News for pointing me to it.

    Jammer 'Voyager Conspiracy' Review
    Christian (6:58 pm CST)
    Jamahl Epsicokhan at Star Trek: Hypertext has uploaded his review of 'The Voyager Conspiracy', last week's new Voyager episode. Here's how he starts his review:

    "The Voyager Conspiracy" owes much to the Chris Carter school of storytelling. The main idea is that if you take enough facts and somehow jam them together, you get a big, messy, far-fetched conspiracy theory that has just enough plausibility (maybe) to arouse suspicions but not enough to provide anything resembling a convincing argument. This is Voyager jumping aboard the X-Files conspiracy bandwagon.

    In the actual review, the episode is awarded 2.5 stars.

    'Ultimate Trek' Review
    Christian (6:54 pm CST)
    Over at the Trek Nation, we've put up a special review of 'Ultimate Trek', the Trek homage which aired yesterday. The review was written by Jeff Godemann, who didn't really seem impressed by the show:

    "Spock. My. Old. Vulcanfriend. What. Didyouthink. Of. 'Ultimate Trek?"

    "To put it in the vernacular of the late twentieth century, Captain, it not only sucked, but it blew as well."

    "I. See. Bones?"

    "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a television producer."

    "So. What. Went wrong?"

    What went wrong is the answer Godemann tries to answer in the full review. Click here to read it.

    Herman Zimmerman On Series V?
    Christian (6:54 pm CST)
    The British SF news magazine SFX just posted the following news bit:

    Our source at Star Trek has revealed to us that the fifth (sixth if you count the animated series) TV incarnation of Trek, should it happen, will have Herman Zimmerman (who designed the sets for the first four seasons of The Next Generation, and Deep Space Nine) will again take on the set design duties. So expect lots of dull, drab colours (especially brown) and soft furnishings.

    Not sure how reliable this is, but if it is true, it certainly is great news - Deep Space Nine's sets looked absolutely fantastic, and it'd be great if Zimmerman would also be able to give Series V such imaginative sets. Thanks Cinescape for this.

    'Klingon Academy' Shots & Info
    Christian (6:54 pm CST)
    Federation HQ has posted a set of new screenshots of Interplay's upcoming 'Klingon Academy' space simulator, accompanied by detailed descriptions of each of the episodes. There are about fifteen shots, showing things such as asteroid belts, various alien weapons, and even a Tholian Web. To see the shots, follow this link.

    Trek Stars At Teaching Con
    Christian (6:54 pm CST)
    The Space Foundation has just announced the updated guest list of the Teaching With Space Conference, which they will be organising in late January in Colorado. The main speaker at the conference will be Eileen Collins, the first woman Space Shuttle commander, who was inspired to join the space program by Star Trek. Two other speakers on the list are even more involved with Trek - Tim Russ, currently starring as Tuvok on Voyager, and André Bormanis, Star Trek's science advisor.

    Good Ratings News
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    Not surprisingly, Star Trek did pretty well yesterday, ratings-wise. Take a look at how Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database starts his overnight ratings report:

    "Pathfinder," as was expected, provided Voyager's biggest ratings spark since "Survival Instinct," earning a 5.3 rating, 8 share in the overnights. That's up quite a bit from last week and the season average. UPN's "Ultimate Trek" special managed a 4.3/7, up from last week's "Seven Days" and the overnight rating for "The Voyager Conspiracy."

    For the full report, please go here.

    'Insurrection' Best-Selling DVD
    Christian (6:53 pm CST)
    According to a press release from the DVD Express, 'Star Trek: Insurrection' made the top-25 DVD bestseller list for 1999. The film entered the list at no.11, below top sellers 'The Matrix' and 'Titanic', but well above other genre films such as 'The Blair Witch Project' and 'The X-Files'. For the full list, please go here.

    Poll Results
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    Below you'll find the results of the most recent TrekToday poll, the last in our set of polls asking you how many Trek episodes you've seen. In this poll, we asked you how many Voyager episodes you've seen:


    How many 'Voyager' episodes have you seen?
    All of them! 46.4% - (210 Votes)
    51-127 40% - (181 Votes)
    21-50 8.4% - (38 Votes)
    6-20 2.6% - (12 Votes)
    1-5 2.2% - (10 Votes)
    None 0.2% - (1 Votes)

    Total Votes: 452

    For good measure, here are also once again the results of last week's TrekToday poll, the results of which didn't get posted correctly on Monday:


    How would you grade 'The Voyager Conspiracy'?
    7-8 26.6% - (91 Votes)
    9-10 24.6% - (84 Votes)
    Wasn't able to see it 17.3% - (59 Votes)
    5-6 15.5% - (53 Votes)
    1-2 7% - (24 Votes)
    3-4 5.5% - (19 Votes)
    Didn't want to see it 3.2% - (11 Votes)

    Total Votes: 343

    Thanks for participating in those two polls, and please also participate in the new one, asking you what you thought about 'Pathfinder'.

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    Today is the 18th birthday of Brian Bonsall, who appeared in several TNG episodes as Worf's son, Alexander Rozhenko. Looking at his IMDB listing, it appears Bonsall has already retired from acting.

    Today On TV
    Christian (6:51 pm CST)
    -On Friday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second-season TOS episode 'The Immunity Syndrome' at 5:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Friday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Starship Down' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (6:50 pm CST)
    As was to be expected, most of the new discussions at the Trek BBS are currently dealing with the two new Trek programs which aired this week (sigh... how short ago it seems that we could still say this every week...) Here are some of those discussions:

    -What did you think about 'Best Of Both Worlds' being chosen as the best Star Trek episode in the 'Ultimate Trek' show? And what did you think about the special itself?

    -And what did you think about 'Pathfinder'?

    More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

    Wednesday December 1, 1999
    Berman Talks To Communicator
    Christian (7:19 pm CST)
    Issue #125 of the official Star Trek Communicactor contains a special article by Dan Madsen, entitled "A New 'Star Trek' Series on the Launch Pad!" In it, Star Trek's Executive Producer Rick Berman talks about Voyager's future, and the rumoured fifth Star Trek series. In the interview, he begins by saying that 'the indications and the deals that have been structured' currently lead him to believe that Voyager will run for the full seven seasons, as was already expected. In it, Berman also has the following to say about the fifth series:

    We are talking about a show that would either begin to air a year from now, fall of 2000, or possibly January of 2001. I have been working with Brannon Braga on it and we have had a lot of discussions with Paramount about it. Nothing is carved in stone yet but we are very excited about the direction it is going in -- it is quite a different direction. At this point, we are waiting on a green light to go ahead and get working on the script, which we hope will happen shortly. There are still questions on where it is going to air, etc. that have to be decided upon.

    When asked precisely when the new series will premiere, Berman said that it's hard to say, but really up to Paramount. If they still want to have the series premiere in 2000, though, Paramount would have to decide rather soon, as they would have to shoot a pilot relatively soon. After that, Berman also provides a few thoughts on where the new series will actually air:

    I think there is the potential that a lot of different things could happen to this new series. 'TNG' and 'DS9' were both in syndication but I believe that the nature of the business is such that the new show probably won't go that route. As to whether it will be like 'Voyager' and air on UPN or whether it will go to one of the other networks is all possible. I think the fact that there is this acquisition of CBS by Viacom does not mean that Paramount will be producing shows primarily just for CBS. The show will continue to produce shows for other networks as well. So it could end up anywhere. This is one of the things we are discussing right now.

    This was followed by a few very mysterious statements by Berman, who, when talking about how he was going to call the show, said that "if [he has his way] the show will have a title far different than any of the previous series," while he also said that he couldn't yet answer a question about the time frame of the new series. Lastly, he also had the following to say about the tenth Star Trek movie:

    Yes, there is. I have been in discussion with the people in the motion picture division at Paramount. As to what and when the next feature will be is still in question. Whether it will be a 'Next Generation' film, or a film that will combine characters from different series, has not been decided. It will not be released in 2000, though. I would think that the earliest the film will be released is fall of 2001. This film is at a far less evolved state than the new series at this point.

    Berman concluced the interview by agreeing with the reporter that 2001 could 'very well' be the 'year of Star Trek'. Let's hope he's right. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this!

    Good 'Voyager Conspiracy' Ratings
    Christian (7:10 pm CST)
    Well, this certainly was unexpected after the dismal overnight ratings. Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database just posted the following:

    Although down from last week, "The Voyager Conspiracy" performed remarkably well for the evening before Thanksgiving, earning a 3.6 rating, 6 share. Though that is down from "Timeless," which was the third episode to air last November with a 4.3/7, it is up from "Infinite Regress"'s 3.3/5 mark, earned the night before Thanksgiving last year.

    For a comparison with the competition, please read the full ratings report.

    Good UPN Sweeps
    Christian (7:10 pm CST)
    Variety's Josef Adalian and Tom Bierbaum have written a new article about the November Sweeps, which are now nearing their end. Though most of the article centers on ABC's hit show 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?', it also contains the following quote about UPN:

    UPN's huge gains are mostly attributable to Thursday wrestling, but even with wrestling factored out of its results, the network would be up an estimated 18% in adults 18-49 (1.3/3 vs. 1.1/3) and by a tenth in homes (2.1/3 vs. 2. 0/3).

    This certainly is great news for UPN, and therefore of course also for Voyager. Read more on the November Sweeps in the full article, which I was pointed to by John A.D. Holt.

    Toyfare 5" Seven Figure
    Christian (7:10 pm CST)
    The official Continuum has put up a short article about a new 5" action figure which will be available through mail order via the February 2000 issue of Toyfare Magazine, which for some inexplicable reason will already be released on the 8th of December. The action figure shows Seven of Nine in her purple costume, and only 8,000 figured have been made. To read more about this, please go here.

    Sacbeat Reviews 'Ultimate Trek'
    Christian (7:09 pm CST)
    Rick Kushman, TV Columnist for the Sacbeat, has written the first review of today's 'Ultimate Trek' special which might actually be called somewhat positive. Take a look at how he starts his review:

    You'd think it would be hard to mess up a "Star Trek" clip show starring exuberant Trekker Jason Alexander, but UPN gets close.

    It turns out, however, that despite a lame parody, a cheap look and a terrible Spock imitation, the special tonight still ends up in the plus column -- barely -- mostly because it's a "Star Trek" clip show starring exuberant Trekker Jason Alexander.

    The full review also contains a short look at 'Pathfinder'.

    Starfleet Command Supplemental Manual
    Christian (7:09 pm CST)
    The Starfleet Universe is reporting that Interplay has released a Supplemental v1.02 Manual for Starfleet Command that details the new features and changes the 1.02 patch will bring to the game. The file is in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format so you'll need Acrobat Reader installed to view the file. You can download it by visiting the Starfleet Universe.

    'Ultimate Trek' Home Video
    Christian (7:09 pm CST)
    Over at the official Continuum, they're announcing they'll stoon start selling an exclusive home video version of 'Ultimate Trek', the TV special airing this evening:

    After the show, be sure to come back to the STAR TREK CONTINUUM and visit the Star Trek Store to pre-order your advance copy of the show on VHS. This special home video edition of "Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments" is available only at the Official on-line store, and only in limited quantities.

    If I were the Continuum, I'd already allow people to order now - judging from the advance reviews, I doubt there will be many people who will want to buy a home video version after they've seen the special once. The official announcement can be read by following this link.

    Comet System Tracks User Data
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    Some alarming news here. As you may recall, since a few months the official Continuum offers you the ability to surf their site using Star Trek cursors, powered by a new system developed by Comet Sytems. Comet are also offering fan sites the possibility to run Trek cursors on their sites. Unfortunately, now it appears that people may have to pay a price for using these cursors:

    The free cursor software offered by New York-based Comet Systems assigns each user a unique identifying serial number that is then used to track how many people are using the software and which sites those users visit. The company said that more than 60,000 Web sites support Comet's cursor software, adding that some of those sites pay Comet for that right.

    Comet said the serial numbers do not connect users to personal information, especially since no personally identifiable information like email addresses or names are necessary to download the software. The company said that about 16 million people use its cursor software. [...] Comet Systems said it collects standard Web log information, including cookies, referer IDs, IP addresses and system information. Still, the company insisted that none of this information is personally identifiable.

    More on this alarming news can be found in an article by CNET's Sandeep Junnarkar. Thanks go out to Jason Ellis at TrekNEWS.com for this.

    AP Also Trashes 'Ultimate Trek'
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    There are two things which have been constants over the past few days - interviews with Jason Alexander in which he talked about his love for Star Trek, and reviews of 'Ultimate Trek', which were all invariably negative. A new article by Ted Anthony of the Associated Press is no different:

    ``Star Trek'' made a franchise out of going where no man - no one - has gone before. But there are some places no one should go - period. Sadly, UPN went there anyway. It's hard to summon the words to convey dismay over ``Ultimate Trek,'' UPN's latest in a series of increasingly desperate attempts to drum up interest in its floundering network. This one enlists ``Seinfeld'' star Jason Alexander to sustain an hour of bad one-liners and the thinnest of plots.

    Is it a parody? Is it a clip reel? It's almost impossible to tell. ``Ultimate Trek'' (airing tonight at 8 p.m. EST) doesn't know what it is. It bills itself as a funny, sentimental ``tribute'' to all things ``Star Trek,'' yet it ends up being an unfunny, occasionally offensive hodgepodge that does nothing even to explain the attraction of ``Star Trek,'' much less examine its optimism and thoughtfulness.

    A detailed summary of the episodes, plus more criticisms, can be found in the full review.

    Stewart Joins UBUBU
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    According to a press release from UBUBU (YouBeYouBeYou), Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) has joined the internet startup as both spokesperson and member of the creative team when the company launches its first internet site next year:

    UBUBU and Patrick Stewart struck an unusual deal, in which the actor will be a creative partner in addition to being the company spokesperson. Stewart will be the guide and voice for the product, which will have an audio component. He will also provide a Patrick Stewart version of UBUBU that will be featured as a part of the company's website. In addition, Stewart will represent UBUBU in print and radio advertisements.

    [...]

    The company is developing a Web experience for Internet users that is visual, fun and intuitive, and that provides a creative way for individuals to express themselves and connect to their friends. UBUBU offers sponsors and advertisers an innovative permission marketing opportunity that seamlessly integrates brands into a user's personalized Web experience. UBUBU is partnering with leading entertainment and Internet companies.

    For the full press release, please go here.

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    Today is the 20th anniversary of the release of 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture', which opened in theaters throughout the United States on the 2nd of December, 1979. It's also the 85th birthday of Ray Walston, Boothby on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and 'Star Trek: Voyager'.

    Today On TV
    Christian (7:07 pm CST)
    -At 8:00pm, UPN will be showing 'Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments', hosted by Jason Alexander.

    -At 9:00pm, UPN will be showing the new Voyager episode 'Pathfinder'. Here's how UPN describes the episode:

    'Pathfinder' trailer - courtesy Vidiot, copyright Paramount Assigned to the Pathfinder Project, former Enterprise engineer Reginald Barclay recruits Counselor Deanna Troi and secretly creates a simulated hologram of the Voyager and its lifelike crew which he believes will aid his quest to send a one-way message to the actual ship 60,000 light years away. However, his unorthodox manner and single-minded passion for the project angers his commanding officers, forcing Barclay to risk everything, disobey orders and generate his transmission through other means.

    Thanks go out to Mr. Video Productions for the image, which is of course copyrighted by Paramount Pictures.

    -On Thursday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the TOS episode 'A Piece Of The Action' at 5:00pm Eastern Time. At 7:00pm and at 11:30pm, they'll be showing 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home', followed at 9:30pm and 2:00am by 'Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered County'. Rather hilariously, the cable channel is apparently promoting the films using a commercial with the slogan "Even Numbered Star Trek Movies Don't Suck!"

    -On Thursday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Little Green Men' at 17:00 and at 23:30 GMT, while BBC Two will be showing TNG's 'Phantasms' at 18:00 GMT. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this.

    -On Thursday in Germany, Sat.1 will still not be showing a DS9 episode. The reason for this is that Sat.1 is currently running a Millenniumweek wherein they repeat the most memorable shows from their archives. DS9 will return again on Monday with 'Ferengi Love Songs'. Thanks go out to the many of you who wrote in to mention this!

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    In a few hours we'll of course see lots of 'Pathfinder' discussions at the Trek BBS again, but for now there are already a few other interesting threads at the BBS:

    -Was the Original Series a parody on other sci-fi series?

    -According to Star Trek, how will the 21st Century look?

    Find more at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    Monday and Tuesday were probably the worst days in TrekToday history. Let me give you a short chronology of how disasters come to happen:

    • First, on Monday I started work on the site early. I figured for once I might actually be finished before midnight. As a matter of fact, I was well on the way to an 11 o'clock update. Unfortunately, at about ten I was greeted by a major surprise as suddenly the lights went out and there appeared to be a massive power failure. Fortunately my laptop was still operating on battery power, so I was hoping to quickly finish collecting the news and posting the update, but then it turned out the battery life of my laptop is only about five minutes :-(. Later on that night, when power came back on, it decided to go out again after just fifteen minutes, so that's when I decided to just go to bed and miss an update.

    • Then, yesterday things were actually going pretty well, and I was just about to start transferring the news to the site, when my net connection started being slower than ever before. The newsupdater didn't react anymore, and when I tried to modify the news file via an FTP client it stopped halfway through, destroying half of the news. Fortunately, Jeff Koga was online at the same moment, so he kindly agreed to transfer the news to the site for me, which seemed to at least solve the problems. Until, of course, my FTP client suddenly decided to come to life again, yet another time wiping out part of the news. The end result, as you probably noticed, was that 'Trek BBS Today' and 'Today On TV' completely disappeared, while 'Poll Results' was severely mutilated.

    I can sincerely say I hope we'll never have another day like this again.

    Tuesday November 30, 1999
    'Heroes And Villains' Article
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    Inspired by tomorrow's 'Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments' special, regular Trek Nation contributor Karen Comer has written a new article entitled 'Heroes and Villains: The Good, the Bad, and the Boring'. Here's how she begins:

    A villain is just a hero turned upside down, at least the best ones are. Just as a classic hero has a fatal flaw, so a classic villain must have a fatal virtue. Trek has given us some of the best and some of the most ridiculous villains in television history. I will admit that the best have outweighed the worst but I can't ignore the worst. Here is my list and analysis of the Good, The Bad and the Boring.

    For the full article, please follow this link.

    Jeff Mariotte Answers
    Christian (7:08 pm CST)
    Over at the Star Trek Comics Site, we've put up a new set of answers to fans by Jeff Mariotte, editor of the Star Trek comics line at Wildstorm. Here's one of the questions answered at the Q&A board:

    Query From: Brad
    Now that the first new comics are almost here, could you give a rundown of what's scheduled for what months (or weeks)?
    Thanks,
    Brad

    Response From: Jeff Mariotte
    Dec. 8 will bring the first issue of the ST:TNG--PERCHANCE TO DREAM miniseries by Keith R. A. DeCandido, Peter Pachoumis, and Lucian Rizzo. Amazing painted covers by Tim Bradstreet. That'll run for four months, Dec.-March. In Feb., there's another Prestige one-shot, ST: ALL OF ME, by Tony Isabella, Bob Ingersoll, Aaron Lopresti, and Randy Emberlin, cover by Lopresti. In April, we'll have a one shot called ST:TNG-- EMBRACE THE WOLF, by Christopher Golden, Tom Sniegoski, David Hoover, and Troy Hubbs, with a cover by Travis Charest.

    Lots more answers from Jeff Mariotte, plus the chance to actually ask him questions, can be found here.

    Okuda Q&A Transcript
    Christian (7:06 pm CST)
    During the month November, the LCARS: Federation Databank hosted a special Q&A feature where questions could be asked to Michael and Denise Okuda, both working as scenic artists on 'Star Trek: Voyager'. LCARSCom.Net webmaster Sean Stephenson was kind enough to send us the transcript of the Q&A, which we've now put up over at the Trek Nation. Take a look at a short sample from the transcript:

    Question: Denise, Seeing as how one or your hobbies is tropical fish. I was wondering, did you pick out the fish in picards ready room? The Reef tigerfish? (I think) I know, I shouldn't push it. However if I do get a reply, could you answer this question as well? (if you have enough time in your already busy schedual) What software program do you use to create the computer graphic displays? THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS! GREAT WORK! KEEP IT UP!!!

    The Okudas: No, the Australian Lionfish was originally selected by John Dwyer, TNG's set decorator during the first season. After Dwyer left for movie assignments, Livingston became the responsibility of Jimmy Mees, who, like Dwyer, hired Mark's Fish of Studio City to take care of his tank. We use Macromedia Director for most of our comptuer displays.

    Question: Thanks for all the work you have put in over the years to make Star Trek the pre-eminent sci-fi series of our times, and one of the finest dramas too. Can you answer a question that has been batted backwards and forwards on alt.tv.start-trek.ds9 for months now? What has happened to the DS9 sets? Have they been destroyed, as some seem to think, or are they stored away neatly (hopefully to be re-used...)?

    The Okudas: The DS9 sets were demolished immediately after the end of filming for the last episode. We've saved a few pieces for possible use on Voyager.

    For more, please go to the full transcript.

    TV Guide Trek Features
    Christian (7:05 pm CST)
    Over the past few days, TV Guide has put up two new features dealing with Star Trek. In the first one, they interview Jason Alexander, ex-'Seinfield' star and host of tomorrow's 'Ultimate Trek' special, while in the second one they talk to Kevin Sorbo about Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, the new series developed by ex-DS9 writer Robert Wolfe Sorbo will be starring in. (How's that for a run-on sentence?)

    Pittsburgh Paper Interviews Braga
    Christian (7:04 pm CST)
    Rob Owen, TV editor for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has written an article looking at the current state of the Star Trek franchise, and then in particular 'Star Trek: Voyager'. There are quite a few things to be found in the article - another negative review of the 'Ultimate Trek' TV special, the first-ever review of tomorrow's 'Pathfinder' episode, and even a short interview with Voyager Executive Producer Brannon Braga. Of course, Braga also talked about Series V:

    " 'Star Trek' needs a rest; a lot of people believe that, and personally I think that," Braga said. "But at the same time, if you have the right concept there can be no doubt that a new series will do well. There will always be an appetite for 'Star Trek,' knock on wood." So far there's no timetable for when the next series might hit the air, although Braga thinks it will happen in the next couple of years, probably after "Voyager" ends its prime-time journey.

    Several concepts have been rumored, including a series set at Starfleet Academy and another on a starship near an outpost in the far-flung reaches of the galaxy. But Braga said none of the scenarios floating around the Internet reflect what he and Berman have in mind. "We have been discussing a new series for many months, but the concept we have in development is so premature I don't feel comfortable talking about it," Braga said. "It's very different, but it captures the essence of 'Star Trek.' We both feel we have to recapture the excitement of the original series, and at the same time push 'Star Trek' forward a little bit in terms of tone and storytelling so that its not just another 'Star Trek.' "

    For the full interview, please go here.

    Trek 3rd In AOL Poll
    Christian (7:04 pm CST)
    According to a press release put out by AOL, Star Trek has been chosen as the third best TV Show of the Century in their 'Best of the Century' polls. In the TV Show poll, Star Trek received 11.5% of the 268,597 votes, placing it just behind 'The Simpsons' and 'M*A*S*H'. The polls were organised in conjunction with AOL's 'Countdown to the Millennium'. For more on this, please follow this link.

    Starfleet Command Tactics Section
    Christian (6:59 pm CST)
    Over at the Starfleet Universe, they've launched a new section dedicated to bringing you new tactics and strategies for Starfleet Command, Interplay's new real-time strategy game. The section is maintained by none other than YnrohKeeg, who used to run the excellent Star Trek Gaming Central. Take a look at what you'll be able to find in his new section:

    For this time forward, we will strive to offer you the latest and greatest tactical wisdom. Cutting edge methods of kicking the tar out of your opponents. Stuff like that. Starfleet Command is an extremely complex game, full of rules and limitations. Within these limitations, you, as the captain, have a given set of options in any situation. Hopefully, this section will help you recognize important opportunities when they arise, and teach you how to exploit circumstances to your advantage. With each installment, I'll post a little essay on a certain system, a certain ship, a racial overview, or whatever my sick mind comes up with.

    For a more detailed introduction, plus the first installment of the tactical guides (dealing with Energy Management), please go here.

    Poll Results
    Christian (6:49 pm CST)
    As usual, below you will find the results of the most recent TrekToday poll, asking for your thoughts about 'The Voyager Conspiracy'. Take a look:

    SRC="http://www.trektoday.com/poll/image.gif" Height="10" Width="14"> 7% - (24 Votes)
    3-4 5.5% - (19 Votes)
    Didn't want to see it 3.2% - (11 Votes)

    Total Votes: 341

    Please also participate in our new poll, asking you again how many episodes of a certain Trek series you've seen - this time of Voyager.

    Hello World!
    Christian (6:46 pm CST)
    Aargh! Disasters never seem to come alone :-(.

    Sunday November 28, 1999
    SITE: Power Failure
    Christian (7:10 pm CST)
    Unfortunately I won't be able to update the site today. Earlier this evening there was a power failure which prevented me from collecting news, and now that I wanted to finally start, power went down again. My notebook's battery light is already blinking, so I'm afraid the whole system will go down five minutes from now. My apologies for this, and I'll try to make up for it with an extra large update and a new Trek Nation article tomorrow.

    Stewart On Talk Shows
    Christian (7:10 pm CST)
    Patrick Stewart - The Actor's Actor is reporting that, as part of his 'A Christmas Carol' promotion campaign, Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) will be appearing on the Rosie O'Donnell Show on the 2nd of December. There's also a chance he might be appearing on 'Late Night With David Letterman' sometime soon.

    Voyager September-October Ratings
    Christian (7:10 pm CST)
    Greg Fuller at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database has uploaded his September-October ratings reports, summarising the performance of Voyager's first several episodes. Take a look at how he starts:

    The first three episodes this season outperformed the first three from last season, but the second three episodes fell below last October's three shows. In general, the second half of the September-October period performed far below the first half, probably due to some of the other networks starting their shows later in the season. The dip can also be partially attributed to the fact that "Alice" and "Riddles" were not shows targetted at Voyager's crucial demographic -- Men 18-49. November should certainly see an improvement over October's last three shows.

    Overall, the sixth season has performed at a level virtually equal to that of season six. The averages through October, for all practical applications, are identical.

    For more, please check out the detailed report.

    Delta Blues 'Voyager Conspiracy' Review
    Christian (7:10 pm CST)
    Jim Wright at Delta Blues has uploaded his review of 'The Voyager Conspiracy', which aired last Wednesday. Compared to most other reviewers, Wright is rather positive about the episode:

    It's no "Alice," but I can't say it thrilled me. It's a definite drop from "One Small Step"--but any episode that aired after that couldn't help but suffer in comparison.

    What the hey. It's Thanksgiving, and I'm feeling generous, and I didn't dislike it. Let's call it (* * *).

    You can find the full review by going here.

    New William Shatner Book
    Christian (7:09 pm CST)
    Roy Gales just sent in the following news submission:

    William Shatner appeared at Creation's Thanksgiving Convention yesterday and spoke about a new book he is working on which is to be titled "I'm Working On That" which is derived from a quote from Stephen Hawking. The book is going to be about how technology is taking over our lives. He also stated that he will be doing a voice on a new animated film titled "Osmosis Jones" and will be a political person who will do an impersonation on Nixon. And he also said he will be singing on a new series of Priceline.com commercials, which everyone there thought was quite humorous.

    Hawking actually said "I'm working on that" during his visit to the Next Generation sets, pointing at the warp core in Engineering. Thanks go out to Roy Gales for sending this in!

    Today On TV
    Christian (7:09 pm CST)
    -On Monday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the TOS episode 'Wolf in the Fold'.

    -On Monday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Hippocratic Oath' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, followed by the new 'Prodigal Daughter' at 20:00. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    -On Monday in Germany, Sat.1 will apparently not be showing DS9 at the usual 15:00 time, for unknown reasons.

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (7:09 pm CST)
    Here are a few interesting topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -If you could choose, under which Starfleet Captain would you like to serve?

    -Why do the Founders send their offspring across the galaxy?

    Find more topics at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (7:09 pm CST)
    Well, it's a traditional Sunday again - just four news items, I'm afraid.

    Saturday November 27, 1999
    Stewart On Ice
    Christian (5:16 pm CST)
    Issue #514 of Entertainment Weekly mentions that Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) will be attending an ice-skating party TNT is throwing on the 2nd of December to celebrate the December 5 premiere of his new 'A Christmas Carol' film. The event will take place at New York's Rockefeller Center. Thanks go out to Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga for this.

    EW On 'Ultimate Trek'
    Christian (5:13 pm CST)
    Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga sends along word that issue #515 of Entertainment Weekly contains a very negative mini-review of 'Ultimate Trek', the Jason Alexander-hosted special airing next week. The show was reviewed by Mark Bernardin, who awarded it a D:

    This totally inane clip show has to be the single worst idea in the 30- some-odd-year history of 'Star Trek' -- and that's taking 'Star Trek V' into account. Host Jason Alexander (above) squeezes himself into a 'Trek' uniform and hatches an incredibly unconvincing Captain Kirk impersonation to introduce lame segments like "Ultimate One-Liners." The special brings to light an interesting paradox: This sort of thing is only of interest to die-hard fans, yet those fans would be insulted to be told, so crassly, what 'Star Trek''s greatest moments are.

    The article is accompanied by the by-now famous photo of Jason Alexander sitting in the Captain's Chair, dressed as Kirk, giving the Vulcan salute. this picture is accompanied by a caption which says 'To Not So Boldly Go'. Thanks go out to Jeff for sending this in!

    New 'Pathfinder' Spoilers
    Christian (5:08 pm CST)
    NOTE: Below you'll be able to find some major spoilers for 'Pathfinder', next week's new Voyager episode. Click here to avoid these spoilers.

    Again, next week's Voyager episode is severely spoiled below. This is where you need to click if you do not want to be spoiled.

    Over in the alt.tv.star-trek.voyager newsgroup, Trek insider 415Man posted some new information on 'Pathfinder', the Voyager episode guest-starring Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troi) and Dwight Schultz (Reginald Barclay). 415Man confirmed that the white-haired admiral seen in the episode trailer is actually the father of Tom Paris, who manages to send Tom a message in the episode:

    Speaks to him personally actually, although Tom is too dumbfounded at suddenly hearing his fathers voice after 6 years to actually say anything.

    [On the contents of that message:] Admiral Paris is speaking with Janeway and asks "How are your people holding up?" Janeway tells him fine, and comments that they are an great crew "your son included". Admiral Paris says "Tell him.............tell him I miss him.......and I'm proud of him". Tom sits dumbfounded, and Janeway says - "He heard you".

    Later Tom toasts his dad, and of course Barclay. Wee.

    415Man's original post can be found on this Deja page.

    Cynical 'Voyager Conspiracy' Review
    Christian (5:08 pm CST)
    Over at the Cynics Corner, David E. Sluss has uploaded his review of 'The Voyager Conspiracy', the new Voyager episode which aired on Wednesday. Here's a summary of the Cynic's opinion of the episode:

    THE BOTTOM LINE:
    Way off the plausibility meter, but tolerable as clip shows go.

    CYNICS CORNER RATING:
    6.5

    A detailed analysis of the episode, including a listing of all the continuity errors to be found in it, can be read by clicking here.

    'The Last Man' Eon Article
    Christian (5:07 pm CST)
    The new edition of Eon Magazine contains a short news flash on 'The Last Man', an independent film starring Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine), which had its premire on Thursday. Take a look at what the film actually is about:

    THE LAST MAN tells the story of the pudgy sole survivor of a germ warfare accident (David Arnott) who avoids loneliness by making a video record of his theories on why the human race destroyed themselves. Then he meets a pretty female survivor (Jeri Ryan) and realizes that he is the luckiest man on earth. He's never been good with women in the past, and now it's up to he and Jeri to repopulate the planet... Until a handsome bad boy third survivor (Dan Montgomery from the now canceled WASTELAND) shows up and ruins everything.

    For full info on the film's creative staff and an account of the Q&A session with Ryan which took place after the premiere can be found here.

    New Sev Trek Comic
    Christian (5:06 pm CST)

    Sev Trek header
    Sev Trek - cartoon spoofs of Star Trek. Copyright 1997 by John Cook.

    German 'New Worlds' Trailer
    Christian (5:06 pm CST)
    The New Worlds Network has posted links to a 60.7 MB video file, showing 6 minutes and 30 seconds of footage from the opening trailer and actual gameplay of Interplay's upcoming 'New Worlds' title. Apparently this trailer first appeared on the cover disc of the German gaming magazine Gamestar, but wasn't available on the net, mostly due to the fact that Paramount and Interplay weren't intending for this video file to be released to the general public yet. Now, however, you can also download it - please follow this link to find out where. Thanks go out to Federation HQ for this.

    Amazon DS9 Home Video Guide
    Christian (5:06 pm CST)
    Ton Keogh, guest writer for Amazon, has uploaded a short guide to 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine', videos of which are of course also being sold at the online megastore. The guide is mostly a short synopsis of what DS9 is about, and should be more than useful for viewers who are only just getting started on the series. You can find the guide here. Thanks go out to Psi Phi for pointing me to this!

    Paramount Talks TOS DVD Audio
    Christian (5:05 pm CST)
    Mr. Video Productions has posted an update to his recent article about problems with the soundtrack of the Original Series DVDs, which didn't include the original main title theme as used on the series. In the update, Paramount's DVD project manager Ron Smith gives some background information on the replaced main title theme and the lack of a mono soundtrack option:

    Star Trek Main Title:

    As Kevin noted in the article, the first show that was mixed, "Menagerie Part 2" had element problems. An original stereo recording of the main title was used to be consistent with the stereo recordings that were used for the balance of the show. This main title ended up being used for the first group of episodes. We have since recut a version that exactly matches the original mono main title and have gone back and replaced the stereo main titles beginning with "The Galileo Seven" and including "Menagerie Part 2". A case of "the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the one". Thank your reader for noticing.

    Star Trek Original Mono:

    I agree that a mono track should be included on the DVD - but not the original mono, rather, a restored version of the original. We call the new mix a "5.1 restoration". The 5.1 mix has afforded us the opportunity to fix the pops, hiss, ticks, distortion, clunky music edits and audible dropouts in the original. Hopefully, we will be able to distill just the restored version of the mono track the next time around.

    The full update has some more technical info, plus an account of how Vidiot received this information.

    Eon Reviews 'Ultimate Trek'
    Christian (5:05 pm CST)
    Jeff Bond at Eon Magazine has uploaded a review of 'Ultimate Trek: Star Trek's Greatest Moments', the television special airing on UPN next week. Bond isn't at all positive about the special, awarding it no more than a C-:

    Five years from now when they do ULTIMATE TREK II: MORE OF STAR TREK'S GREATEST MOMENTS, I think I can safely assume that ULTIMATE TREK will not be included as one of the greatest moments of the franchise. Backpedaling from the ridiculously over-produced celebrity extravaganza that was Paramount's STAR TREK 30TH ANNIVERSARY special (also available to savor on home video), Paramount this time around has handed the keys to the bridge to executive producer, actor and William Shatner fan Jason Alexander to put together this strained comic look at the franchise. The results are less painful than that terrible comedy sketch on the 30th anniversary show in which Kate Mulgrew replaced a strung-out Kelsey Grammar, but they're still not too much fun to sit through.

    For the full review, please follow this link.

    The Onion Trek Article
    Christian (5:05 pm CST)
    On its front page, satirical 'news site' The Onion has put up a short article dealing with Star Trek. Take a look:

    Star Trek Fan Pretty Sure Show Stole His Idea

    CHICO, CA--Star Trek fan Les Cordwainer said Monday he is "pretty sure" that the producers of Star Trek: Voyager stole his idea for an episode in which Captain Janeway finds herself growing attracted to First Officer Chakotay and worries about the effect such a romance would have on the smooth running of her ship. "I described a virtually identical scenario last May on alt.tv.star-trek.voyager, saying it would make a great episode," said Cordwainer following the airing of "Star-Crossed," in which the described events occur. "Why do they even pay writers if they're just going to steal their ideas off the Internet? They should be paying me." Responding to charges from fellow Internet users that his idea was for a Janeway-Tom Paris romance, Cordwainer said, "That just shows how they changed my idea around so I can't sue them."

    Lots more such stories can be found at the Onion. Just in case it wasn't perfectly clear - it's a satirical news site, so the above didn't actually happen. Nor did their Klingon/Navajo-story from a few months ago, which I'm still receiving mail over.

    Happy Birthday!
    Christian (5:05 pm CST)
    Yesterday was the 54th birthday of Daniel Davis, who appeared twice on TNG as the sentient hologram Professor Moriarty.

    Today On TV
    Christian (5:04 pm CST)
    -On Sunday in the United States, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the second-season TOS episode 'Obsession' at 12:00pm Eastern Time.

    -On Sunday in the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Visitor' at 16:00 GMT, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Alter Ego'. Thanks go out to Kathryn Hughes for this!

    -On Sunday in The Netherlands, RTL 5 will be showing DS9's 'Paradise Lost' at 18:05 CET.

    -On Sunday in Belgium, Kanaal 2 will be showing DS9's 'For The Uniform' at 18:10 CET. Thanks go out to the Star Trek TV Guide for these last two items!

    Trek BBS Today
    Christian (5:04 pm CST)
    Take a look at some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

    -What are your thoughts on Voyager writer Joe Menosky?

    -Have you ever read any of the Trek young adults?

    Find more at the Trek BBS!

    Hello World!
    Christian (5:04 pm CST)
    It's a miracle! An update which is actually on time!

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