No less than six Star Trek actors have been cast as high-ranking officials in the first dramatisation of the events of September 11, entitled D.C. 9/11.

George Takei (Hikaru Sulu) is confirmed to portray Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta in the Showtime "docudrama", which will chronicle the actions of the Bush administration in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Mineta grounded all air traffic after two planes crashed into the World Trade Centre in New York.

National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will be played by Penny Johnson Jerald (Kasidy Yates), whose role as First Lady Sherry Palmer in 24 is currently generating Emmy buzz among television critics. Takei and Johnson Jerald were reported as being in negotiations for the roles earlier this year (story).

Other Trek alumni will fill four more high-ranking posts, according to the Internet Movie Database. Stephen Macht is set to play Paul Wolfowitz, the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Macht appeared as General Krim in Deep Space Nine's "The Circle" and "The Siege", and was one of the contenders for the role of Jean-Luc Picard on The Next Generation.

Gregory Itzin, whose four Trek guest appearances include the role of Captain Sopek in "Shadows of P'Jem", has been cast as Attorney General John Ashcroft, while Lawrence Pressman (Legate Ghemor in DS9's "Second Skin" and "Ties of Blood and Water") will portray Vice President Dick Cheney. Allan Royal, who chased down Voyager's temporal misdemeanours as Captain Braxton in "Future's End", will play Bush confidant Karl Rove.

D.C. 9/11, which stars Timothy Bottoms as President George Bush, was shot on location in Toronto, Canada and will premiere close to the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks this fall. According to a report in the Washington Post, writer Lionel Chetwynd has already drawn criticism from media outlets, with one claiming he has transformed President Bush into "a combination of Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger".

Chetwynd told the newspaper that his critics had yet to actually see the TV movie, saying that D.C. 9/11 isn't "propaganda" for the Bush administration. "It's a straightforward docudrama. I would hope what's presented is a fully coloured and nuanced picture of a human being in a difficult situation."

Read more about the controversy surrounding the film at the Washington Post. Thanks to 'Delta Story' for this!

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