Hello World!

When DeForest Kelley died, I was packing up the car to get ready for a long family vacation; I heard the news literally as I was leaving to go to Yellowstone, and then I was out of communication with the internet for more than a week, so I did my remembering and grieving alone, and it never quite felt real to me. But I heard that James Doohan had died while at home, with several dozen mailing lists, news sources and friends conveying the information in a brief time, and it feels almost like a personal loss.

I know that many people are posting their memories of James Doohan, so I thought I'd post mine as well. I saw him at conventions twice; the first time was my very first celebrity con, as opposed to the local kind with panels and dealer's rooms. It was a small, low-key crowd, and the very first question anyone asked him was, "Is Saavik pregnant with Spock's baby?" which should tell you the era. He laughed and said he just thought there was some mind-melding, nothing more. The next question was about that verra, verra old bottle of scotch from "By Any Other Name", which Scotty said he was saving for...? Did Doohan know? He did not, and he laughed about the possibilities.

The next time I saw Doohan, he had appeared on The Next Generation and in several more Star Trek movies, and the cult of the original series had grown considerably. He was just leaving a crowd of acolytes, signing autographs as he went, laughing with people, listening to similar questions about Scotty and the engines with a smile on his face. I was struck by how very little he seemed to have changed and how much he seemed genuinely to enjoy his audience. I was with a group of reporters, convention organizers and other supposed "professionals" - a term I have always used very loosely where entertainment reporting and media is concerned - and he was not very different away from the bulk of the crowd: attentive to people who spoke to him, pleased to have played a character who meant so much to people and delighted when anyone brought up his other roles or his war experiences.

Star Trek went on the air the year I was born and I grew up with its stars appearing in my living room. They are irreplaceable, to me and to so many others.

Trek BBS Today

Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

-Best way to wreck an Enterprise!

-Horta: more in common with Humpty Dumpty or Pizza the Hutt?

-After "Course: Oblivion" were we watching the real crew or the fake crew of Voyager?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Trek Two Years Ago

These were some of the major news items from July 2003:

• Original 'Enterprise' Designer Matt Jefferies Dies
  Walter 'Matt' Jefferies, the man who dreamed up the look of Kirk's Enterprise and for whom Jeffries Tubes were named, passed away at the age of 82.Gene Roddenberry had hired him to develop a vessel that would be nothing like rocket ships or the standard spaceships from pulp science fiction magazines.

• 'Enterprise' To Return September 10
  UPN announced that Enterprise would be the first of its shows to return from summer hiatus, premiering September 10, two weeks before the announced dates of most of its fall lineup.

• 'Enterprise' Ratings In The Spotlight At Press Tour
  At UPN's portion of the Television Critics Association press tour, reporters asked about Enterprise's declining ratings, inquiring of CBS chairman Les Moonves whether he had contemplated cancelling the series. "I don't think we were close to it," he said, "[but] everything is talked about." Meanwhile executive producer Brannon Braga told the reporters that creatively, he didn't think they were doing anything wrong.

More news can be found in the archives.

Poll Results

Below are the results of the most recent TrekToday poll:

Favourite film so far this summer? Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 38.4% - (495 Votes) Batman Begins 34.8% - (448 Votes) Something else entirely 10.7% - (138 Votes) War of the Worlds 9.3% - (120 Votes) Mr. & Mrs. Smith 3.3% - (43 Votes) Kingdom of Heaven 1.8% - (24 Votes) Land of the Dead 1.3% - (18 Votes) Total Votes: 1286

Please vote in our new poll on your favourite James Doohan moment as Scotty.

Happy Birthday!

Today is the birthday of Louise Fletcher, Deep Space Nine's Kai Winn; and Tuesday, July 26th is the birthday of the actress who played Winn's sometime adversary Kira Nerys, Nana Visitor.

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