Fans attending the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo in Calgary, Canada, this spring will be able to see nine castmembers from Star Trek: The Next Generation in the same place.

The Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo will be held from April 27-29 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

In attendance will be: Sir Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn and Denise Crosby.

The TNG actors will be seen at various events at Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, including panels and discussions, autograph sessions and various photo opportunities.

On April 28, TNG EXPOsed will feature the entire TNG cast together on stage at the Stampede Corral.

Other guests at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo include: Adam West, Amanda Tapping, David Prowse, Robert Englund, Tom Feldon, John Noble, Hayden Panettiere, George Perez, Yanick Paquette and Dale Eaglesham.

When Dorn went to audition for the role of Worf, all had was the name of the character, not even being given a description of what Worf should be. “No, it was seriously just a name,” said Dorn. “They didn’t tell you what to do. They didn’t tell you how they wanted the character to be – nothing. You went in to audition for this character name and that was it. When I started, before I came onto the set, I went to Gene Roddenberry and said: hey, what do you want from this guy? Who is he? And being as smart as he is, he said: don’t listen to what you’ve heard or read or seen in the past, nothing. Just make the character your own. And that’s what I did.”

The lack of a backstory for Worf was a smart move by Roddenberry according to Dorn. “A great opportunity,” he said. “And this is what I’m saying – how smart he is – because that is how you get an actor to really invest in a role. If you say: do what you want with it. Come on, show me. Actors will go: cool! You start thinking about stuff and you get so much from it. I think it was the smartest thing he could have done.”

Dorn’s Worf was an outsider, so viewers saw more than just the fighting Klingons that had been presented before. “The Klingons were always, even in the old days, war-like but very intelligent,” he said. “They weren’t wild or out-of-control. They just believed in life to the fullest. Life, death, everything to the fullest. The only thing that I really brought to this is the Klingon martial arts and as for the Klingons themselves, a little more of who they are outside of these war-like creatures. Also the idea that there’s different Klingons. [Worf was] a Klingon child that was raised by human parents and he’s able to fit basically into their society very well, although with difficulty at times. I didn’t go to the producers and the writers and made a big deal about it. Once I had created the Worf character and gave him who he is, they took off from that. The stuff they wrote for me was amazing.”

Although Worf was somewhat of a Klingon outsider, having been raised by humans, that did not mean he was human and one of his actions was controversial amongst fans, his refusal to give blood to a Romulan who would die without it. “At that point Rick Berman was the producer, and as I read I was a little concerned,” explained Dorn. “I was not afraid or anything, I was just concerned that this would cast Worf in a strange light. I like being the outcast, I like being the guy that goes against the grain. But this was way out there and … in the one where I don’t give the Romulan the blood, he said: We just want to show that Worf isn’t a human being. He doesn’t have to give the Romulan blood. So he’s not going to. And he said: if you order me to, I will. But if you don’t, I’m not going to. You just have to take that. And I went: okay. It made sense. I didn’t know what was going to happen but I think it was a great episode.”

Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker) was reunited with Michael Dorn (Worf) and Suzie Plakson (K’Ehleyr) on stage on Saturday, but he immediately jumped into the audience to ask his former co-stars some joking questions, such as, “What is Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard) really like?” to which Dorn responded, “Patrick Stewart is really nice, but he’s not that talented. It’s just the accent.”

The three actors reminisced about the camaraderie between the TNG cast, to the point that their joking occasionally scared directors off. “[The cast was] funny enough that they didn’t have to do practical jokes,” Plakson said.

“We ran a couple directors out of the biz,” Dorn admitted, while Frakes confessed, “We were like bad children.”

Dorn defended the cast’s professional attitude once the cameras started rolling. “When they said action, we were on,” he said. But after the director yelled cut, it was a different story. “Jonathan would run around the set, singing until he [literally] fell through one of the walls!” Dorn recalled.

Frakes mentioned he’s going to be directing an episode of Chuck, and discussed his gig directing the TNT show Leverage. “Whenever possible I offer roles to them jobs,” he says of his former co-stars on TNG. “And they turn them down. I offered Brent Spiner (Data) a job on Leverage. Brent said, ‘I don’t know Johnny.’ I said, ‘You don’t have to read.’ Brent said, ‘Eh… call me when someone turns it down.” After that happened, Frakes called Spiner back and said, “‘Now you have to do it.’ And he showed up.”

Dorn penned a romantic comedy with his producing partner and revealed that former co-star Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi) is set to star in it. He shared that his dream project would be making a pilot of a TV show he wrote entitled High Flight about a flight school.

On Sunday, Robert Duncan McNeill (Tom Paris) took the stage to discuss his role on Voyager as well as his long-running directing gig on the NBC show Chuck. “Star Trek was my last acting job,” McNeill said of Voyager, noting he’s been directing since playing Tom Paris. “They keep talking to me on Chuck, saying [I] should do a guest role as a bad guy or something, but I don’t know.”

Though he’s no longer acting, he’s still close with many of his Voyager co-stars. “On most shows, you do just move on [after they end],” McNeill said. “But Star Trek is different because it’s got [the fans], a built in family. The guys [from Voyager] have remained close. It started the first season of Voyager—we went out for a steak dinner. It was so fun we decided to make it a regular thing. We haven’t really moved on: we still hang out, the guys still get together [regularly].”

McNeill told the audience that former co-star Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) had come to Chuck to shadow him as a director. “[He's] been spending some time with me on the Chuck set,” McNeill said. “Tim Russ (Tuvok) was doing a day on The Whole Truth, which films right next door to us, so we had a mini-reunion.”

McNeill acknowledges that the closeness between the cast of Voyager is a special thing. “I [directed and produced] a show called What About Brian a few years ago, and I saw one of the actors a few weeks ago, and he said he doesn’t see anyone [from that show].”

Because Chuck, which was recently renewed for a full season, has struggled in the ratings during the course of its run, McNeill worried about the show’s survival in its early years. “I kept thinking the show would get cancelled after the first season and the writers’ strike,” he admitted. “[Now] I actually feel like we’re a hit for NBC. As Heroes was fading, as The Event is fading, we’re actually up eight to ten percent. The cast is awesome and the concept is incredible.”

McNeill enjoys being on Chuck, and finds the show’s tone is the right one for him. “I like being on a comedy,” he said. “It’s more fun. I couldn’t do a Law & Order show now. I wouldn’t want to spend my day talking about horrible crimes; I’d rather talk about fart jokes.”

When asked about his style of directing versus that of former co-star Roxann Dawson (B’Elanna Torres), McNeill shared they have very different sensibilities as directors. “She’s very serious, and I’m an idiot,” he joked, adding, “She’s incredibly well prepared. I go off instinct.” When asked further about his directing style, McNeill revealed, “I’m an actor’s director because I’m always looking for that emotional experience.”

McNeill cited “Someone to Look Over Me” and “Parturition” as favorite episodes of Voyager, along with “Caretaker,” the show’s very first episode. “I like the pilot; the first episode was so epic,” he said. “I think we shot for 28 days, which is like a feature.”

“The first season or two, there was a lot of confusion about who these characters were,” he went on. “The writers were throwing everything and the kitchen sink at us. We were confused, [wondering], ‘Do we like each other? Do we get along?’ The studio and the writers were at a loss for what the show was. Because of that, the actors had a hand in the direction [their characters took].”

McNeill had qualms with his character early on in the show’s run. “My character early on was not a nice guy,” he admitted. “He was a womanizer, he was rude to people. Everybody hated me! I hated me—I was a jerk. I told the writers, if you keep writing this guy this way, you might as well write him off because no one is going to like him.”

Despite Tom Paris’s initial introduction, McNeill doesn’t agree with comparisons that suggest Paris and the character McNeill played on TNG, Nick Locarno, are essentially the same character. “People say Tom Paris and Nick Locarno are the same, but I don’t think so at all,” McNeill said. “Nick Locarno pretended to be a good guy in the outside but was really a rotten guy on the inside, whereas Tom Paris pretended to be a rotten guy on the outside but was really a good guy on the inside.”

In addition to his job directing on Chuck, McNeill has a project at Warner Brothers entitled 30 Minutes. “[It's] about a pizza delivery place and [the] misfits [who work there],” he revealed, describing it as “My Name is Earl/Scrubs mixed with 24 and Chuck.” The director also has a project at ABC Studios about “an old Hollywood hotel where crazy things happen.”

Enterprise actor John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox) followed McNeill onto the stage for an irreverent session during which he joked with fans about everything from his co-stars to politics. “I’m left alone on stage because they’re all getting stoned!” he said of his former co-stars Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) and Dominick Keating (Malcolm Reed), who weren’t able to attend the convention.

Billingsley updated fans on his current projects: “I’m doing an episode of The Mentalist [right now]. Connor Trinneer is doing the same episode. I’m not the killer, and I’m not the victim. I’m [also] doing a couple of indie films.”

The actor also detailed two practical jokes he played on Enterprise lead Scott Bakula (Captain Archer). “For Scott Bakula’s birthday party—his 70th, I think—I dressed up as his first wife. I had large bosoms and a floozy blonde wig and came in with a vodka bottle, saying, ‘Scott, Scott, how could you leave me?’ I didn’t check if his children were there and they were, and they started crying. They thought I was going to their dad!”

Billingsley also pranked Bakula during the filming of “Dear Doctor” in the show’s first season. “There was a running voice over, and there was a scene in which I’m on the bridge and we stopped to pick up a disabled space ship. I recorded [a voice over] for the first rehearsal that said, ‘Look at the ass on that captain! I’d like to pull his pants down and give him a jolly rogering!’ Scott took it well.”

He also added that he wasn’t happy with the show’s oft criticized finale, “These Are The Voyages…,” joking that he would have liked to see a different ending for his character. “It would have been nice if I’d been an intergalactic god,” Billingsley said of how he would have liked the show to end for Dr. Phlox.

Sunday, August 8th opened with a reunion of actors Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker), Dominick Keating (Malcolm Reed), John Billingsley (Dr. Phlox), Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather), Stephen Culp (Hayes) and Matt Winston (Daniels) from Star Trek: Enterprise. Keating immediately cracked a joke when Enterprise‘s premature cancellation was referenced, quipping that, “John Billingsley wanted too much money.” Trinneer followed up, adding, “Of course, if your character gets killed, you don’t care [about the cancellation]!”

The panel was asked about leading man Scott Bakula (Captain Archer), prompting Winston to joke, “He’s so dreamy! It was always me and Scott Bakula in the future, sweaty, lost and alone.” On a more serious note, the frequent Enterprise guest star said of Bakula, “He made me feel so at home. Scott was wonderful.” When asked about his father, legendary character artist Stan Winston, Winston noted that his family had founded the Stan Winston School for those wishing to study character arts and effects.

Montgomery spoke to his character’s upbeat personality. “I tried to keep a youthful exuberance about everything,” the actor said. When the audience expressed enthusiasm for the idea of going up in space on a shuttle flight, Montgomery asked, “Would you actually want to go into space? Think about how many things went wrong on our ship!”

Trinneer fielded a question about the relationship between his character and the Vulcan T’Pol (Jolene Blalock), prompting him to say, “It seemed to me for a long time it was one-sided. I finally said, you guys took Trip’s spine and stomped on it. I said she has to kiss him and he has to walk away. And they did it.”

Culp had a difficult time at first determining how his character fit into the scope of the show. “It was sketchy at first,” he said. “The second episode I did, “The Shipment,” it was like, why am I here? [Hayes was] a man of few words, a man of action. When Malcolm and Hayes fight, it’s like, ‘Why don’t you let me do my job?’”

Keating spoke about his latest guest role, saying, “I’m shooting Sons of Anarchy at the moment. I’m wearing a lot of leather!” while Billingsley commented on his appearances on the HBO drama True Blood last season, saying, “I spent most of second season without clothes on! I shagged anything in sight, including a pine tree. I hope they bring me back!”

Recently knighted Sir Patrick Stewart took the stage in the afternoon, auctioning off a jacket he received during the filming of the third X-Men movie, X Men: The Last Stand, with the proceeds going to Huddersfield Town Football Club’s Academy, of which Stewart is the president. The jacket went for a whopping $10,000 after an enthusiastic fan called out a bid while Stewart was describing how he customized the blue jacket with white tape to make it the color of the Huddersfield Town “Terriers.”

Stewart, who stated he’s been “doing a lot of theater,” said his version of “Macbeth” will be airing in early October on PBS. Stewart said of the play, “It’s scary and unpleasant at times, but you’ve got to be brave. He went on to joke, adding “After all, you’ve seen Michael Dorn‘s work.” Stewart also shared that he plans to reprise his role in “A Christmas Carol” one more time, noting that, “My life ambition has been to do one performance of ‘A Christmas Carol’ in the East Room of The White House.”

Brent Spiner interrupted the proceedings, stepping up to the mike and referring to his former co-star as “Lord Stewart” before asking him about “funny dots” on his head in reference to a dermatological procedure Stewart recently underwent.

When Spiner took the stage, a fan asked him about the possibility of seeing Data in an upcoming Star Trek film. “It’s really not up to me,” Spiner replied. “I don’t think I’ll be playing Data again. I thought about it, and then I took a look at myself. Data with white hair?”

Spiner hinted at projects he has in development, including a novel, a pilot he recently shot, a feature film in the works and a nightclub act he recently completed. And, “I’m going to be knighted by the Queen and I’ll be in the next Star Trek movie!” he teased. He went on more seriously, “Star Trek was a great gift that was given to me that I was allowed to be a part of, and I’m just happy about that. I think Star Trek is the biggest thing that ever happened in entertainment in America. It goes on and on. One never imagines you’ll be a part of something that’s essentially American history.”

When Stewart joined Spiner on stage, the two took plenty of cracks at each other. “Isn’t it true that the other guys on Star Trek used to call you Spiner the Whiner?” Stewart asked, while Spiner queried whether Stewart’s knighthood for “Services to Drama” was not in fact for being a “Drama Queen”?

Michael Dorn (Worf) closed out the convention, telling fans he’s started a small production company in order to make small movies. He would like to direct former TNG co-star Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi) as Maria Callas, but has concerns. “I’m not really sure about directing Marina because we’re best friends,” Dorn said. “We talked to each other like brother and sister. So I’m not sure how that will translate to director-actor.”

Dorn recently revisited his work on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which gave him an even greater appreciation for his character. “This is a guy who was on a mission to get information that was going to save millions of lives,” he said of Worf in the episode “Change of Heart.” “Jadzia [Dax, Terry Farrell] is hurt and he has to leave her. And he’s like, ‘Forget this, I’m going back to get my old lady.’ And that’s what I like about the guy: he’s unpredictable. I like the guy, I really like the guy.”

Dorn praised the development of Worf from his days on TNG to his stint on DS9. “I liked the evolution of the character,” he said. “I don’t necessarily think he’s a tragic character. I think he had a rough life. If anything, I wish that they hadn’t killed Jadzia. I don’t question much, but I do question that.” Dorn wasn’t pleased that he didn’t avenge his on-screen wife. “When this guy killed Jadzia, the Klingon thing is to hunt the guy down and kill him!” he noted. “In the last episode, [Worf] should have gone over and just slashed him up.”

And what would he have wanted next for his character, after eleven seasons on TNG and DS9? “I wanted him to take over the Klingon Empire,” Dorn said.

“Cosplay, or dressing in character, has always been a huge part of our conventions and has become increasingly popular in recent years,” Creation CEO and co-founder Gary Berman observed. Berman acknowledges the goal is a lofty one, but is optimistic the fan participation will be high. “Beating this record is certainly a challenge but I believe our attendees are ready to go where no fan convention has gone before!” Berman said.

In addition to to a wealth of costumed fans, attendees will get the opportunity to hear from a plethora of Star Trek celebs. Jeri Ryan, who portrayed Seven of Nine on Star Trek: Voyager will be making her first appearance at the Vegas convention, which has been running annually since 2002. William Shatner, who portrayed Captain James T. Kirk and will star in the new CBS comedy $#*! My Dad Says this fall, will be on hand alongside Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), who recently announced his retirement from acting. Last season, Nimoy appeared on the Fox show Fringe. Ryan, Shatner and Nimoy will all be appearing on Saturday.

Other guests at the convention include the recently knighted Sir Patrick Stewart, who brought Captain Jean Luc Picard to life on both the small and big screens in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Last year, Stewart appeared on stage opposite David Tennant in “Hamlet,” portraying the titular character’s uncle Claudius. Stewart will be joined on Sunday by fellow TNG alums Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), Brent Spiner (Data) and Michael Dorn (Worf).

On Friday, the star of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Avery Brooks (Captain Benjamin Sisko), will take the stage. He’ll be joined on Friday by castmates Nana Visitor (Major Kira Nerys), Rene Auberjonois (Odo), Armin Shimerman (Quark) and James Darren (Vic Fonaine). Thursday will see the reunion of Classic Trek stars George Takei (Sulu) and Walter Koenig (Chekov). Voyager will be further represented by Robert Picardo (EMH), Ethan Phillips (Neelix) and Garrett Wang (Harry Kim) on Saturday, while Star Trek: Enterprise stars Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker), Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) and Anthony Montgomery (Travis Mayweather) take the stage on Sunday.

Tickets for all four days are available on site at the Las Vegas Hilton. More information, including ticket pricing information and additional guests, can be found at Creation’s page for the convention here.

One actor has done voice work on the show before. George Takei voiced Galactus, in the show’s first season.

Other Trek actors who will have guest voice spots on the show include Jonathan Frakes and Michael Dorn.

“We explore what happens in the Marvel Universe outside of Earth; different dimensions, outer space and all these crazy places,” said Cort Lane, Marvel’s VP for animation. “So we took the opportunity to feature guest stars to explore those more sci-fi characters.”

Other actors who will voice characters on the show include: Ty Burrell (Modern Family), Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory), Jane Lynch (Glee), Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica), Adam West (Batman), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), John Barrowman (Torchwood), James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) and Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries).

A preview of the second season can be seen at the upcoming Comic-Con.

Dorn joins Martin Sheen (The West Wing), Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Saddam), Seth Green (Austin Powers), Yvonne Starhovski and Adam Baldwin from Chuck, Keith David (Crash), Tricia Helfer and Michael Hogan from Battlestar Galactica, and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix).

Sheen stars as the mysterious Illusive Man who commands Cerberus, a secretive paramilitary organization dedicated to protecting human interests in the galaxy. Dorn will be voicing Gatatog Uvenk.

The Mass Effect trilogy is an emotionally charged science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.

Mass Effect 2 will be available on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC on January 26, 2010 in North America and January 29, 2010 in Europe.

As reported by Comics Continuum, A new photo for the Family Guy “Star Trek: The Next Generation” episode was released today, showing the Next Generation crewmembers standing in a transporter with Stewie standing in front of them.

According to the episode description, “The Griffin family heads to the annual Quahog Star Trek convention, but Stewie blows a fuse when he doesn’t get a chance to ask his favorite Next Generation cast members any questions. He devises a plan, builds a transporter and beams the entire cast to his bedroom so they can spend a fun-filled day together in Quahog.”

The main cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation voiced their respective characters. Not All Dogs Go to Heaven airs on Sunday, March 29.

To read the article, head to the link located here.

Not All Dogs Go To Heaven will air on Sunday, March 29, at 9:00 P.M. on FOX.

To read the article, head here.

As reported by TrekMovie.com, Star Trek is a part of Frake’s past and it is now intertwined with his life. “Michael Dorn came to my house last night for dinner and we that very conversation,” said Frakes. “It is part of you. We did one hundred and eighty-two episodes and four movies and countless conventions and countless Christmas parties, birthday parties and dinners. And you get recognized every day. For better or for worse, you epitaph will be ‘you knew him best as Riker.’”

Frakes still socializes with his former The Next Generation actors. “I had dinner with Dorn last night,” he said. “I got an email from Patrick [Stewart] yesterday, who is just back from starting rehearsals with Sir Ian McKellen on ‘Waiting for Godot,’ opening in the West End, in May.” Frakes went on to add that Patrick Stewart would be “happy to make another movie (The Next Generation if everything came back together. I have spoken to him on that very subject.”

In addition to his interest in his former show, Frakes has been paying attention to the newest Star Trek offering. When Star Trek XI was filming, he visited the set. “J.J. [Abrams] uses my favorite first [assistant director], Tommy Gormley,” explained Frakes. “Tommy and I had breakfast and he said ‘Come over to the set. J.J. wants to meet you.’ So I went to the bridge and there was Mr. Abrams and this beautiful, incredible set.”

Having seen the trailer, Frakes was positive about Star Trek XI and J.J. Abrams. “I like the car stuff, at the beginning, very much,” he said. “I am on record as being a big J.J. fan. I think he is a great storyteller and I think he respects the franchise and I have nothing but high hopes for the success of this movie.” As reported by TV Guide, Frakes feels that fans are ready for new Star Trek. “['Star Trek XI' has] been doled out in a way that’s made people very anxious to go see it. And I think, unlike with ‘Enterprise’ and ‘Nemesis,’ there’s been enough time without something new in the ‘Star Trek’ oeuvre that audiences are hungry again.”

To read more, head to the articles located here and here.