trekz

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Posts posted by trekz


  1. Having read your entire post, it seems to me you have done a good job! 

    My thought, over the years, is that the "owners" of the franchise, Paramount and CBS, have down a poor job of licensing products that will attract kids., especially compared to Star Wars. The TAS animated series was great for it's time and had some pretty good stories. I would think some updated animations for TNG would be great and could attract more young people, It would seem "logical" that CBS and Paramount would want more young fans to keep the franchise going boldly into the future.


  2. Hollywood Show will be held at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel in Los Angeles, California, USA from Feb. 2-3, 2019.

    Star Trek guests scheduled to attend include:

    William Shatner:

    Jonathan Frakes:

    Michael Dorn:

    Brent Spiner:

    Marina Sirtis:

    Denise Crosby:

    John de Lancie:

    Nancy Kovack:

    Sally Kellerman:

    Gary Lockwood:

    Fance Nuyen:

    Sherry Jackson:

    Barbara Luna:

    Mariette Hartley:

    Tanya Lemani:

    William O'Connell:

    Bobby Clark:

    Brian Tochi:

    Sean Kenney:

    Barbara Baldavin:

    Judi Sherven:

    Phil Adams:

    Charles Pucerni, Jr:

    Virginia Aldridge:

    Olivia D'Abo:

    Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa:

    Nicholas Coster:

    Lou Wagner:

    Richard Herd:

    Bill Smitrovich:

    Robert Pine:

     

     


  3. Congrats to the Patriots! I've been following and rooting for them since the beginning of the season. Quarterback Carson Wentz, who was injured earlier this season, played for North Dakota State, who has won National championships and plays in the same conference as my under grad alma mater, Western Illinois University. Also a former Lyons player, suburb of Chicago, is their kicker, another great sports story.


  4. I only saw the first episode on regular TV, but I can believe the jail part. I'm a bit concerned about the special effects. I don't ever remember communication by holographic interface on Star Trek before, though I am old and perhaps am not remembering well. It does look very similar to Star Wars type communications. I am not as upset about the look of the Klingons, as there are supposed to be 24 different houses, presumably with some unique development in different areas. I worry that this one episode may not persuade enough regular TV viewers to invest in watching the streaming series. Our old TV won't be able to show the streaming series I fear. Discovery looks interesting but if it doesn't attract enough viewers, will it be cancelled? Probably not, but time will tell....


  5. Was just on Facebook and there seems to be a lot of pushback about the way the Discovery Klingons look. Some acknowledge that there has been variety in Klingon looks and others seem to feel this is pushing the envelope too far. At Star Trek Las Vegas sessions, it was stated that there are, or were in this time period, 24 different Klingon houses, each, it's inferred, each a different look. There seems to be pushback over whether covering this time period is a good idea, or whether they should have gone into the future, past TNG, DS9 etc.

     


  6. Back from Las Vegas Star Trek Con. There were 4 hours of panels on Star Trek Discovery. My reaction to the trailer originally was that it was all action, too violent and dark. I've changed my opinion somewhat since the panels. I did think the Klingon warrior was way too reptilian. Michael Westmore explained that he actually was creating some Klingons based on dinosaur skeletons. A big revelation was that there are 24 houses of Klingons, many of them different from each other, so that makes me feel better about this first look. I had already heard pre panel talk from fans that they didn't the that reptilian remake of the Klingons....

     


  7. Thanks, Bethlehem and AE! It was a good one, but then any one you're around for is a good one :) Had a pre birthday celebration over the weekend with some other retirees and former/present librarians at the local ribs/steak place.

     


  8. I'm looking forward to seeing her at the Las Vegas Star Trek Con. When she was first listed as attending, there was a mix up and Celeste Yarnall's picture was put up instead of Shari Nims (they both appeared in the episode and her picture also showed her with flowers in her hair!) Shelley and I noticed and she emailed Creation. We were thanked for pointing it out and may get a small gift at the Con! Looking up the ep on Memory Alpha site, It's interesting to the see some of the actors listed who appeared as uncredited extras - they include Bobby Clark, Eddie Paskey and William Blackburn, among others.


  9. Anton Yelchin, of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Films and TV's Huff, Dead at 27

     

    post-1-0-12729900-1466363503_thumb.jpg

     

    https://www.yahoo.com/tv/anton-yelchin-star-trek-films-182249151.html

     

    Anton Yelchin, who plays Chekov in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek film franchise and on TV played son to Hank Azaria’s Huff, was found dead on Sunday after getting pinned between his car and his home’s security gate. He was 27.

     

    According to TMZ, which first reported the news (since confirmed by the Associated Press), Yelchin’s body was found by friends at 1 am in the morning, after he was a no-show for a rehearsal. His body was pinned between the car, its engine in neutral and still running, and a mailbox attached to his San Fernando Valley home’s security gate, which was at the bottom of a steep incline.

     

    In addition to his run as teenage Byrd Huffstodt on Showtime’s Huff, Yelchin’s TV credits included the alien abduction miniseries Taken, The Practice and episodes of Criminal Minds, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and NYPD Blue.

     

    More recently, Yelchin was set to star as Mr. Mercedes in AT&T Audience Network’s 10-episode adaptation of the Stephen King novel. He also was announced this week as part of the voice cast for Guillermo del Toro upcoming Netflix series Trollhunters. Del Toro in turn reacted to the tragic news on Twitter.

    This is a tragedy. Yelchin had a very promising future, with a number of projects in the works.

     

    It also raises the question: In Star Trek, will his character be replaced, or, in this alternate timeline, will he be killed, or die, in some off-screen sequence?


  10. I thought we should remember some of these Star Trek contributors who we lost last year.

     

    Alan Marcus (died 9 January 2015) was a stuntman and actor who portrayed Yeoman Samno in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country in 1991.

     

    Barrie Ingham (10 February 1932 – 23 January 2015; age 82) was the actor who portrayed Danilo Odell in the 1989 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Up The Long Ladder".

     

    John M. Miranda (27 May 1926 – 3 February 2015; age 88) was the actor who played one of the two garbagemen in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

     

    Maurice "Maury" Edward Hurley (16 August 1939 – 24 February 2015; age 75) was a producer and writer on Star Trek: The Next Generation. [1]

     

    Harve Bennett (17 August 1930 – 25 February 2015; age 84) For Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Bennett executive-produced and developed the story with Jack B. Sowards. He both wrote the script and produced Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, as well as providing the voice for a flight recorder. Along with producing Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, he and Leonard Nimoy developed the story while he wrote the script with Steve Meerson, Peter Krikes, and Nicholas Meyer. And lastly, Bennett produced Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, developing the story with William Shatner and David Loughery. He also made a cameo appearance as Starfleet Chief of Staff Admiral Robert Bennett.

     

    Jen Oda (21 April 1983 – 25 February 2015; age 31) was an actress and model who appeared as the female Ayt in the 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness directed by J.J. Abrams.

     

    Leonard Simon Nimoy (26 March 1931 – 27 February 2015; age 83) was the actor who is best known for his Emmy Award-nominated portrayal of Spock, the half Human, half Vulcan first officer and science officer aboard the USS Enterprise. Originating the role on Star Trek: The Original Series, he went on to play him again on Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek motion pictures, and the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "Unification I" and "Unification II". He also left his mark on the Star Trek franchise as a director, writer, and producer.

     

    Edward "Eddie" Louis Joseph Hice (1 March 1930 – 12 March 2015; age 85) is a stuntman and stunt actor who worked on two episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, "Day of the Dove" and "Wink of an Eye", where he appeared as a security guard. Hice was also credited for his stunt work in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home where he played a Mercy Hospital patient.

     

    Jeri McBride (died 15 March 2015) was the actress who played an Enterprise crewmember in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

     

    Tom Towles (20 March 1950 – 5 April 2015; age 65) was an actor who played Hon-Tihl in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Dramatis Personae" and Doctor Vatm in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Rise".

     

    Don M. Mankiewicz (20 January 1922 – 25 April 2015; age 93) was a German-born American screenwriter and novelist who wrote the story for the original series episode "Court Martial". He also co-wrote the teleplay with Steven W. Carabatsos.

     

    Leon "Rusty" McClennon (14 September 1961 – 30 April 2015; age 53) was a stuntman and stunt actor who was the regular stunt double for Michael Dorn on Star Trek: The Next Generation beginning with the third season.

     

    Grace Lee Whitney (1 April 1930 – 1 May 2015; age 85) was the actress who played Yeoman Janice Rand in Star Trek: The Original Series. Her character was originally intended to be a major part of the series, however, she was written out after eight episodes. She returned for the movie franchise, reprising her role in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. She was featured in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback".

     

    Ellen Albertini Dow (16 November 1913 – 4 May 2015; age 101) was a character actress who, in 1993, appeared as Felisa Howard in the Star Trek: The Next Generation seventh season episode "Sub Rosa".

     

    William Newman (15 June 1934 – 27 May 2015; age 80) was an actor from Chicago, Illinois who played Kalin Trose in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode "The Host" in 1991.

     

    Carolyne H. Barry (born Carole Stuppler) (20 July 1943 – 16 June 2015; age 71) was an actress, dancer, acting coach, casting director, and former singer who worked under the name Carole Shelyne as a Metron on the 1967 Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Arena". Twenty-one years later she portrayed a female engineer in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Home Soil".

     

    James Horner (14 August 1953 – 22 June 2015; age 61) was an Oscar-winning composer who wrote and conducted the music for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Horner appears in the "Battle Stations" scene of Star Trek II in a brief, nonspeaking role as a training crew officer.

     

    Olaf Pooley (13 March 1914 – 14 July 2015; age 101) was an English actor who portrayed the Cleric in the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Blink of an Eye".

     

    David "Dave" Somerville (2 October 1933 – 14 July 2015; age 81) was a Canadian singer who made an appearance on Star Trek: The Original Series, playing Lieutenant Larry Matson in the episode "The Conscience of the King". He was credited as David-Troy.

     

    George Coe (10 May 1929 – 18 July 2015; age 86) was the actor who played the role of Chancellor Avel Durken in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode "First Contact" in 1991.

     

    Theodore Meir Bikel (2 May 1924 – 21 July 2015; age 91) was the actor who portrayed Sergey Rozhenko in the Star Trek: The Next Generation fourth season episode "Family" in 1990.

     

    Terrence Evans (20 June 1934 – 7 August 2015; age 81) was an actor who played three characters over two of the Star Trek spin-off series. For his first part as Baltrim the mute Bajoran farmer, in the DS9 episode "Progress," and Proka Migdal, the Bajoran who adopted a Cardassian war orphan, in "Cardassians." He also appeared as the Kradin ambassador, Treen, in the Voyager hour "Nemesis."

     

    Yvonne Joyce Craig (16 May 1937 – 17 August 2015; age 78) was an actress who appeared on Star Trek: The Original Series, playing Marta in the episode "Whom Gods Destroy".

     

    Howard Andrew Anderson, Jr. (3 March 1920 – 27 September 2015; age 95), usually credited as Howard A. Anderson, Jr., was a cinematographer, specialized in devising and executing visual, in the 1960 still called, special effects, who co-owned and operated with his younger brother, Darrell Anderson, their own effects company, the Howard Anderson Company. Their company was approached in 1964 to provide the visual effects for the television pilot episode "The Cage", which was to become Star Trek: The Original Series.

     

    Bruce Hyde (14 September 1941 – 13 October 2015; age 74) was the actor who played Lieutenant Kevin T. Riley in the original series episodes "The Naked Time" and "The Conscience of the King".

     

    Gregg Palmer (25 January 1927 – 31 October 2015; age 88), played an uncredited rancher in TOS: "Spectre of the Gun".

     

    Karen Montgomery (died 4 December 2015, age 66) is the actress who portrayed Beata, the Elected One mistress of Angel I in the Star Trek: The Next Generation first season episode "Angel One". She filmed her scenes in November 1987. Footage from this episode was later reused for the second season episode "Shades of Gray".

     

    Penny L. Juday (9 October 1955 – 19 December 2015; age 60) was the art department coordinator, an archivist who was responsible for managing props, set pieces, models, blueprints, photographs, and many other parts of Star Trek history. She cataloged everything on the Paramount Pictures lot relating to Star Trek.

     

    George Clayton Johnson (10 July 1929 – 25 December 2015; age 86) was a science fiction and fantasy writer who wrote the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Man Trap", the first episode to air on TV.

     

    Jason Wingreen (9 October 1920 – 25 December 2015; age 95) was the actor who played Doctor Linke in the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Empath".


  11. Bruce Hyde — Dallas native, professor and beloved ‘Star Trek’ actor — has died at 74

     

    From the Dallas Morning News by Robert Wilonsky, Published: October 17, 2015 5:49 pm

     

    Bruce Hyde is a footnote in sci-fi pop-culture history, a man who appeared in two of the original Star Trek episodes: “The Naked Time,” which originally aired on Sept. 29, 1966; and “The Conscience of the King,” first broadcast on Dec. 8, 1966. As Lt. Kevin Riley, a navigator aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, he was memorable in both — “The Naked Time,” especially, the episode in which he sang “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” while declaring himself captain and cutting off the engines while under the influence of … well, sure, maybe you should just watch the whole thing.

     

    Regardless, he’s beloved by Trek fans, who now mourn his death earlier this week from throat cancer at the age of 74. His death was first reported Friday by the St. Cloud Times in Minnesota, where he was professor emeritus of communication studies at St. Cloud State University. He taught there for the past 25 years.

     

    According to the family’s official obituary, Hyde was born in Dallas on September 14, 1941. His mother Edna taught in Mesquite. His father Rufus was the head football coach at North Dallas High School, from which Bruce graduated in 1959 after attending Robert E. Lee Elementary in Lower Greenville.

     

    After high school, Hyde enrolled at Northwestern University, from which he got his Bachelor of Arts in 1963. Then, for a while, he became an actor. He got some small roles on stage and TV. Then came Trek and the small part he made big. And he didn’t talk about it much. Just last year, in fact, he said he didn’t think anyone would care. Besides, he was busy being a professor, a writer.

     

    “Then somebody once told me, ‘You know, you should be willing to talk about this with people. It’s interesting, it’s something you did that most people didn’t do,’” Hyde said. “And so I decided to lighten up about it.”

     

    So he made the rounds — doing the conventions, talking about working with Shatner, deciphering the reasons behind the show’s lasting influence. He found the experience … odd, to say the least, especially when fans knew every detail about every scene into which he’d put just a few weeks’ work. But Riley remained a popular character — beloved enough to resurface as a major character in the 1991 novel A Flag Full of Stars, set shortly after the end of the Enterprise‘s five-year mission.

     

    “I don’t do very many [conventions] now, but I still enjoy them, still feel so privileged to have them in my life,” he told StarTrek.com last year. “And it’s remarkable how different being a convention guest is from being a communications professor.”

     

    Turns out, he wasn’t much interested in acting. After Trek, he got a part in Hair in San Francisco … then decided to drop out.

     

    “I played a hippie — and I decided I wanted to be a hippie instead of playing one,” he told the Trek fanzine. “I was going to get a Volkswagen bus and a big bag of brown rice and go find God. And that’s what I did.” He also spent time in Nashville, where he wrote music.

     

    He then came home for a little while in the early 1980s, earning his master’s degree in Communication Studies from North Texas State University in 1984. He never acted again.

     

    “Mr. Hyde was coauthor of a book that will be published posthumously,” says his obituary. “Speaking Being emerged from Mr. Hyde’s decades long commitment to the method of inquiry developed by Werner Erhard, first in EST and later in the Landmark Forum, and from his Ph.D. dissertation and several scholarly papers that examined Erhard’s ‘ontological’ communication, which was marked by an effort to move beyond conceptual knowledge to an authentic inquiry into human being. Mr. Hyde incorporated his ideas about dialogue and ontological communication into his classes. He was an award winning teacher and a respected colleague.”

     

    Rest in peace, Bruce Hyde!


  12. AE! Good to see you are still around! And good to see everyone else too!

     

    I'm also fired up for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and the new movie. We were fortunate enough to get to Las Vegas for the Creation Con last August, which was great but tiring! Joan Collins appearance was a highlight! Also attended the Chicago (Rosemont) Creation Con as well, far easier, and cheaper, since I live there.

     

    There will be 50 Year Mission (Creation) Cons this year in Dallas, Chicago, New Jersey, San Francisco and Las Vegas. So perhaps there may be one near you. The Vegas Con will be 5 days, which seems far too long to an oldster like me.... It is also VERY expensive, and the top three tiers are already SOLD OUT. Fine with me since the cheaper ticket are good enough.

     

    It would be great to see more activity on this site, but I do appreciate it for still remaining.


  13. Grace Lee Whitney, Yeoman Janice Rand on ‘Star Trek,’ Dead at 85

    By Jason Hughes

    TheWrap.com | 05.04.15 | 7:34 AM

     

    Grace Lee Whitney, best known for portraying Captain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) personal assistant in the original “Star Trek” series, and several of its subsequent films, died Friday, May 1, 2015 in her California home, The Fresno Bee reports. She was 85.

     

    Whitney’s death comes just a few months after Boston’s Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Mr. Spock on the classic series. After appearing in the first eight episodes, Rand was released from her contract as part of a creative retooling of the show.

     

    She would not return to “Trek” until the franchise took the leap to the big screen with the 1979 release of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” Whitney subsequently appeared in a cameo role in “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock,” and then again as Rand in “Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home” and “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.”

     

    She also reprised her role alongside fellow original series cast-member George Takei for the franchise’s 30th anniversary on an episode of spinoff series “Star Trek: Voyager” in 1996.

     

    Whitney released her autobiography “The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy” in 1998, which talked about her hiring and firing from the original series, as well as her struggles with alcohol and substance abuse, which she ultimately overcame. In her latter years, Whitney settled in Coarsegold, California, where she worked with others dealing with substance abuse and addiction.

     

    Her career started as a vocalist, kicking off at the age of fourteen with a Detroit radio station. She moved to Chicago and became a nightclub singer, opening for major acts of the 1950s.

     

    It was in this decade, that Whitney shifted her focus to acting, appearing on stage, television and in multiple films. Many of her early roles were uncredited, or credited to different names, including appearances in the original “House of Wax,” “The Naked and the Dead,” and “Pocketful of Miracles.”

     

    Whitney debuted on television in “Cowboy G-Men” in 1953, and continued with appearances in more than a hundred episodes throughout the next several decades, including shows like “Batman,” “The Rifleman,” “The Outer Limits,” “Gunsmoke,” and “Hart to Hart.”

     

    Music never left completely, though, with Whitney appearing alongside several bands in the 1960s and 1970s. She even wrote several “Star Trek”-themed songs, which were collected and released in the latter 1990s.

     

    But she will always be remembered as Yeoman Janice Rand, the first woman to catch Captain Kirk’s oft-wandering eye.