News headlines from June 1999:

Sorbo In Roddenbery Series Article
Christian (4:13 pm CST)
TrekWeb is reporting that the new edition of People Magazine features a report about an upcoming series produced by Majel Roddenberry, in which Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) will star. Presumably this refers to the "Gene Roddenberry's Starship" series, which Sorbo will apparently also be co-producing. The full People Magazine article can be found here, though you can only read it if you are an AOL subscriber.

German Trek Happenings
Christian (4:05 pm CST)
The German Trek Index has put up several new feature articles, most of them dealing with specific German events. The first one deals with internet auction services such as those of eBay, which has now also reached Germany. The second one is a profile of Trek fan Bernd Felsberger, famous for his Star Trek music CDs. The last one is a lengthy review of 'Gestern, heute, morgen' (All Good Things). Remember that all those articles are in German.

Starfleet Command Demo Impressions
Christian (4:04 pm CST)
YnrohKeeg at StarTrekGames.Net has posted his impressions of the new Starfleet Command demo, which was released at IGN PC yesterday. YnrohKeeg was especially impressed by the participation of Interplay's Chris Taylor:

MPlayer is a very good service, and even supports voice chat, which is very, very cool. Hearing people's voices after knowing them for years is quite nifty! Chris Taylor pops in from time to time to answer questions. If anyone at Interplay is reading this, will you PLEASE give this boy a raise?? Anyway, back to MPlayer. It's a great way to meet people and get together for games. I highly recommend it.

Trek Toy News
Christian (4:04 pm CST)
After two weeks, the Raving Toy Maniac has updated again, providing us with lots of new Star Trek action figure news. The most interesting news is certainly the news that it is quite difficult to find the "Data in Movie Uniform" and "Seven of Nine" Target exclusives, as they are still sitting in Target's stock rooms. The reason is apparently that with the new Star Wars figured and several older Trek figures, there simply isn't any room, so they're held behind. If you really want to get the figures, your best best is to ask a friendly store employee, advises the Toy Maniac.

In other news, the Maniac has a report about the new 12" figures:

The second assortment of general release 12" figures, consisting of Dr. McCoy, Ensign Chekov, Seven of Nine, and the long-awaited Mugato, is being shipped by Playmates in two waves. The first wave of 24,000 pieces has already been sent, with another 6,000 due to ship this week, for a total of 30,000 pieces.

An Appeal To Ron And Brannon
Christian (4:03 pm CST)
The people at TrekWeb have put up a special appeal to Ron Moore and Brannon Braga to settle their differences:

In light of the recent news that Ron Moore may be leaving Voyager's writing staff, fans are making a public appeal to Ron Moore and Brannon Braga, in an effort to settle their differences and move on before anything is made "official" and the situation becomes irreversable.

Even More Trek Book News
Christian (4:03 pm CST)
Regular news seems to have stopped at the moment, but fortunately Pocket Books editors John Ordover doesn't seem to know the meaning of the term 'hiatus.' Take a look at some of their statements from their Q&A boards:

Query from: Person-from-nowhere
What info can you give on the Klingon Hamlet? Is it like gonna be half the page in Klingon and the other half in English or what? Also, what format wil it be in, HC? Thanx

Response from: John Ordover
Trade paperback format; left side English, right side Klingon, or vice-versa, I can't remember.

Query from: Captain Jim
I just picked up Vulcan's Heart, but I have not yet read Vulcan's Forge. Is Heart a direct sequel to Force, or are they only loosely connected? In other words, what I'm getting at is, Should I read Forge before I read Heart?

Response from: John Ordover
The two books can be read independently. VH is not really a sequel to VF, just another book by the same authors.

'Insurrection' Game Preview
Christian (4:02 pm CST)
John Bergerud at GA-Source has put up a first look of 'Insurrection,' the new adventure game currently in development by Activision and Presto Studios. Take a look at how he starts his preview:

With the recent postponement of Activision's third-person action/adventure, Beneath, Presto Studios have shifted their focus to another title, Star Trek: Insurrection, which is also being published by Activision.

Presto Studios, a team that has also earned recognition from its Journeyman Project series is now going to apply what it has learned from those titles to create an Insurrection graphic adventure. Yes, Insurrection is an adventure game at heart, with the prerequisite of solving puzzles, but players will also need skills with a phaser for combat action against hostile enemies.

Today On TV
Christian (4:02 pm CST)
-The Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective is reporting that British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Way Of The Warrior, Part Two' tomorrow at 16:00 BST. At 17:00 BST, they will be showing 'Resolutions.'

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be showing DS9's 'Der Fall Dax' (Dax) tomorrow at 15:00 CET.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (4:02 pm CST)
Even with the bugs that have been, erm, bugging the Trek BBS today, things are still going strong. Take a look at some of the discussions taking place:

-Why are people still interested in the Original Series, 30 years after it was cancelled?

-If some of DS9's characters live on, which characters should be chosen for this?

-The chair fight is still going on at the Trek BBS, despite all our efforts to stop it ;-).

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS, and please feel free to join in with the other 340 members in the discussions!

Hello World!
Christian (4:02 pm CST)
Status report:

• Added Devin Bryant's fantastic Trek Nation button to the top of TrekToday - feel free to use this to link to http://www.treknation.com/.
  
• Opened the Trek Nation main page. Several people are reporting that simply typing in treknation.com still brings them to a blank page - if this is also the case for you, please go to http://www.treknation.com/index.shtml.
  
• Uploaded Devin Bryant's even greater Trek BBS buttons.
  
• Fixed several of the bugs at the Trek BBS.
  
• Transferred all the featured articles from TrekToday to Trek Nation, including the new Nielsens Ratings article.
  
• Added WebDog tracking to TrekToday - check out their site to see what it is.
  
• Looked at Devin Bryant's new TrekToday logo, which will add a bit more colour to the page.
  
• Looked at a way to make the ad banner at the top of the page appear without breaking up the tables. You may have noticed the blank space at the top - an ad banner will soon be appearing here to try to cover at least some of the server costs TrekToday's popularity causes ;-). A side benefit is that this will also make the page more colourful.
  
• Still haven't answered any e-mail.
  
• Still need to put up a copyright & disclaimer page at the Trek Nation main page. Also need to fix several menu items which aren't working (Link to Us, contact info, etc.)
  

Jeri Ryan Interviewed In Playboy
Christian (3:44 pm CST)
The Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage is reporting that the September 1999 issue of Playboy Magazine will feature a "Twenty Questions" interview with Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine).

New Avery Brooks Movie
Christian (3:44 pm CST)
I just received a report about a new movie Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko) is working on:

Avery Brooks is back on the Paramount lot, just down from Stage 4 (location for DS9) shooting a film with Robert DeNiro called "Fifteen Minutes". He was wearing a suit with a badge - inspector, police maybe???

Free Enterprise Star News
Christian (3:43 pm CST)
The new edition of Eon Magazine is reporting that 'Free Enterprise' star Erik McCormack will soon be going where no man has yet gone before on tv:

A few reviews of FREE ENTERPRISE have mentioned the homoerotic subtext in the film, the way the two male leads seem more interested in each other and Bill Shatner than any of the women in their lives, and that WEIRD scene with both guys in bed together...

Now Eric McCormack has told TV GUIDE he hopes to kiss another man on the lips in an upcoming episode of his TV series WILL & GRACE. "If this attractive gay lawyer in Manhattan can't get a date, someone's going to say 'Wait a minute, whose life is this? Nobody we know'," McCormack said. He hopes to lure a major star along the lines of Brad Pitt to play the object of his affections. Maybe they could get Shatner?

Starfleet Command Demo Released
Christian (3:43 pm CST)
The demo of Interplay's 'Starfleet Command' has been released. There are two demos available - one large demo weighing in at 49MB and the other about 21MB. The smaller demo doesn't have sound. You can find the demo here.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:43 pm CST)
A few of the threads at the Trek BBS:

-Does anyone actually want Voyager to get home?

-We've got a new moderator at the Voyager forum - Dr. Jekyl! Unfortunately Leonard Schuurmans, the previous moderator, did not have enough time anymore to keep up with the forum, but I'd certainly like to thank him a lot for his activities as moderator! Find the introduction thread from Dr. Jekyl here!

Find more at the Trek BBS!

Hello World!
Christian (3:42 pm CST)
Modifying an entire set of sites is not fun. A status update for all of you:

• The main TrekToday pages which already existed have been updated.
  
• Some of the pages (most notably those in the E3 direcory) look horrible, due to the fact that they are simply the new design put in the old structure. This should be fixed 'soon.'
  
• All the graphics have been replaced at the Trek BBS, and the BBS is running on new forum software. This still needs some major cosmetic enhancements, though, mostly in the form of the fantastic new buttons Devin Bryant created and which I still need to upload. The colour scheme might change as well.
  
• At the Trek Nation site, all the articles have been transferred, and the main page is nearing completion.
  
• Some of the pages at TrekToday still need to actually be put up - most notably the 'link to us' page.
  
• I need to answer several days of e-mail. Sorry :-(
  
• Time constraints unfortunately force me to do yet another mini-update at TrekToday. My apologies for the not inconsiderable letdown...

Hopefully that answers all the questions I've been getting. Again, my apologies for the fact this is taking so long - unfortunately everything took up quite a bit more time than I thought, and then there were a few extra complications attached to the separation from Trekzone. More should be coming tomorrow :-)

Blaze of Glory CCG Contest
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
Decipher, the company behind the Star Trek Customizable Card Game, is organising a 'Top Ten Cards You'll Never See In Star Trek CCG Blaze Of Glory' contest:

Capturing, new personnel, and battling - it's fun to think of the cards that will come in Blaze of Glory, estimated to release sometime in late July. Your challenge, since there has to be a challenge if we're going to give cards away to ten contest entrants, is to think up the cards you'll never see in Blaze of Glory. We'll choose the top ten.

Think of a card, one card, that could never, ever be part of Blaze of Glory, and submit it to our "Card You'll Never See" and include it in a mail message, along with your name and your prize delivery information (address, city, state or province country and postal or zip code. We'll take the top ten.

Starfleet Command Interview
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
Fionn Kelley at GA-Source has put up an interview with Starfleet Command's Erik Bethke, who certainly seems to be interviewed a lot these days. Fortunately, now we finally get to hear who he actually is:

Erik, could you tell me a little bit about yourself and how you came to be involved with Starfleet Command?

I am an aerospace engineer by training but after only a couple of years at JPL, I found a way into game development. A few years and companies go by and I am working at Interplay. I was asked to take the lead on SFC last May and now here we are.

Spock Weds Saavik
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
Pocket Books editor John Ordover just sent in the following rather amusing press release:

Commander Saavik;
Spock, Son of Sarek

Commander Saavik and Ambassador Spock, Son of Sarek, were married on the second day of the month of Sharveen at sacred wedding grounds belonging to the family of the groom. T'Pau of Vulcan, former leader of the planet, presided over the ceremony.
The bride, Commander Saavik, is a starfleet officer in good standing, late of the original Starship Enterprise but most recently assigned as first officer aboard the U.S.S. Armstrong.
The groom, Ambassador Spock, is also formerly of the first Starship Enterprise but is currently an Amabassador-at-Large, representing Federation interests throughout the galaxy.
The couple met while the bride was a student at Starfleet Academy and the groom was assigned there as an instructor.
Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan, father of the groom, was in attendance. Amanda, the mother of the groom, is deceased, as are the parents of the bride. The bride wore embroidered silver robes that have been in the groom's family for over a thousand years.
Among the guests were Dr. Leonard McCoy, an admiral in Starfleet, Lieutenant Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Stargazer, Captain Truman Howes of the U.S.S. Armstrong, and many members of the Armstrong crew.

More Foreign 'Insurrection'
Christian (3:29 pm CST)
Gustavo Leao just mailed me about two official 'Insurrection' sites which have been opened abroad - an Italian site by distributor UIP, and a Swedish site, also by UIP. Futhermore, the Swiss Daily Trekkies is reporting that the movie will be released on video in Switzerland in 'early July.'

DS9 Finale Soundtrack Confirmed?
Christian (3:28 pm CST)
It looks like the recent mini-campaign to convince GNP Crescendo to release the 'What You Leave Behind' soundtrack has been successful!Patrick D. Clarke and John Watker just let me know that Crescendo is now saying "We are currently working on a release hopefully in a few months" in response to mails about the soundtrack.

Meet Robert O'Reilly
Christian (3:28 pm CST)
The Continuum is reporting about a charity event which Robert O'Reilly (Gowron) will soon be attending:

Robert O'Reilly, who has portrayed the recently assassinated Klingon chancellor Gowron for over seven years on ST:TNG and ST:DS9, is the guest of honor for Empire Union charity event in the Detroit metro area June 25-27.

Robert asked us to let you know that the event, at the Clarion Hotel near the Detroit airport in Troy, Mich., is a benefit for the Motion Picture and Television Fund. As an extra guest, William Campbell ("Koloth," ST:DS9) will also be on hand.

Voyager Overnight Ratings Further Down
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
If this continues, by the end of the summer Voyager won't have any viewers left! The Universe just posted the following Overnight Ratings for Wednesday's rerun of 'Bride of Chaotica:'

The overnight rating for Voyager is in, and the ratings just keep going down. Voyager only got a 2.7/4. that's down 0.5 from last week's episode.

Seven Days got a 2.6/5, that's only 0.1 from Voyagers rating. Seven Days got the same rating as WB's Dawson Creek, so a shared 5th. A final rating would problaly be around 1.3 - 1.8!

More On Starfleet Command Demo
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
At IGN PC, there's an extra report about the Starfleet Command demo, which will be made available at IGN today:

There will be two versions of the demo. There's the 49MB demo, which will have all the sound effects, including speech. Then there's the 21.4MB demo. Same stuff, no sound.

Today On TV
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
-According to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Adversary' tomorrow at 16:00 BST, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Tuvix.'

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating DS9's 'Q - Unerwünscht' (Q-Less) tomorrow morning at 03:15 CET. At 15:00 CET tomorrow, they'll be showing Voyager's 'Der Schwarm' (The Swarm).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
The Trek BBS now also has a new design, which is based on this TrekToday design. At the moment there is still a slight bug which causes the menu to fall off the screen is 640*480 screen resolutions, but that should be resolved soon. Take a look at some of the current active discussions:

-The visitors of the Trek BBS are currently writing up their own original Voyager script - why not participate?

-Should Kirk be brought back?

-If you're still puzzled about last week's 'hidden thread,' you can now find the solution here.

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

Hello World!
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
So, what do you all think? Welcome to the new-style TrekToday! Together with the new design, there have also been several major changes - the most important of which being that I'm no longer part of the TrekZone Network. Sadly, Saleel Majeed and I had several major differences of opinion, so in the end we each went our separate ways. Unfortunately, this also means I've had to leave behind TrekSeek, the largest Star Trek search engine on the net. I'm especially sorry to have to leave TrekSeek, as that is actually what I first spent time on when I started working with Saleel. Of course, I will be forever grateful for him for welcoming me into the online Trek world, but now it is time for us to move on.

Instead of the TrekZone Network, however, TrekToday is now part of the Trek Nation, which will open in a few days. It was originally scheduled to open today, but unfortunately the move caused a few complications which I first had to deal with. Also still with us are the Trek BBS, and, at new locations, Star Trek: Hypertext and Warp Eleven.

More news about all of this should hopefully be coming over the next couple of days :-). Meanwhile, if you have any comments about the new design, do let me know.

New Sev Trek Competition
Christian (3:48 pm CST)

John Cook at Sev Trek just put up a new 'Write Your Own Sev Trek Competition:'

Bald captains.
This is a subject we've touched on in earlier strips but have never tackled head on (pardon the pun) until now. The idea was actually developed during a comic workshop I ran at the FSF Presents Nog Convention.

About.com 'Trekkies' Review
Christian (3:40 pm CST)
Julia Houston at About.com's Star Trek Fans has written a review of 'Trekkies,' Roger Nygard's documentary about Star Trek fans. Houston echoes the feelings of many other reviewers:

The independent film Trekkies finally came down here to New Orleans, and I finally saw it at Movie Pitchers, this place where you can buy beer and flop into an armchair in front of the screen. There were four other people in the theatre with me, and I assumed they were fellow Star Trek fans...that is, before I saw the film.

After the film, I knew we couldn't be Star Trek fans, because we didn't belong in a mental institution.

Okay, okay. I guess that's a little unfair. But still, as much as I did enjoy parts of the film, the message of Trekkies is really nothing more than, "Ooooh. Look at the weirdos!" There are no real insights into the fandom, no theories about the appeal of Star Trek, no sense of shared pleasure or joy. Just nerds on parade.

Alexander Siddig Sightings
Christian (3:32 pm CST)
Sid City, the official Alexander Siddig (Julian Bashir) fan site, is reporting that 'Sid' will soon be starring in a big-screen movie:

On June 30th, Sid leaves for New Zealand to begin work on a feature film called "The Vertical Limit." This film also stars Chris O'Donnell and features mountain climbing and the rescue of some climbers that get into trouble. Sid's character heads the team of rescuers. The job involves one month of intensive training in mountain climbing that precedes the actual filming.

Ron Moore To Leave Voyager?
Christian (3:29 pm CST)
TrekWeb is reporting some extremely bad Voyager news - apparently Ronald D. Moore will be leaving 'Star Trek: Voyager' again. Moore served as co-executive producer on Deep Space Nine, and would be serving the same role on Voyager. Take a look at the apparent reasons for his move:

The startling news comes as a surprise to many who were expecting Ron to lend, among other talents, his extraordinary character writing ability to Voyager. Although reasons for the move are not known, many speculate that it may have involved unreconcilable differences with the show's executive producer, Brannon Braga. The two won a Hugo Award for their collaborative work on The Next Generation's finale, "All Good Things...," and co-wrote the films Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact. It is unknown at this time what Ron's reasons for leaving are.

Also, if you have anything to say about this surprising turn of events, a special thread has been created about it at the Trek BBS. Let the world know what you think here!

Armin Shimerman Play Cancelled
Christian (3:28 pm CST)
The Continuum has a very short report up stating that "the Los Angeles production of the play "Servant of Two Masters" has been cancelled." Armin Shimerman (Quark) would have starred in the play, together with, if I recall correctly, his wife. Info about ticket refunding can be found here.

Games Weekly BotF Review
Christian (3:28 pm CST)
I just noticed on StarTrekGames.Net that Games Weekly has put up a review of 'Birth of the Federation,' Microprose's new turn-based strategy game. Reviewer Cymanice is not happy with the game:

In conclusion, Birth of the Federation doesn't come anywhere near breaking the curse over all Star Trek games to date. This game is nearly impossible to play, until they get a patch out for it. The only way I would recommend this game is if you are a die-hard Trek fan. This game has a lot of promise, and it could be a lot of fun, if only it wasn't so slow and buggy. Maybe a patch will fix it, but a company shouldn't have to patch a game simply to make it playable. I find it impossible that Microprose's QA department did not find these problems. Chalk BoF up to another game rushed out the door incomplete, with the programmers already working on a patch. Shame on you, Microprose. You could have done so much better.

'What You Leave Behind' Ratings
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
Deep Space Nine now really seems to have ended, as the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database just posted the ratings report of 'What You Leave Behind,' the DS9 finale. News is great, fortunately:

The day has finally come; DS9 has seen its end. And while things looked bleak last week, this ending is a bright one. "What You Leave Behind" capped Trek's third series with a 5.4 rating, ranking 7th. That's DS9's best rating since the first week of March last year when "Change of Heart" earned a 5.5. "What You Leave Behind" rated higher than both "Tears of the Prophets" and "Call to Arms," making itself the top season finale since 1996. The show was the highest rated episode of season seven, rising a whopping 1.7 from last week's season low, "The Dogs of War" (3.7).

Despite DS9's slip on the competitive front in these last two seasons, DS9 ended its final year right where it began -- on top. DS9 was the highest-rated first-run syndicated drama in the '98-99 television season and "What You Leave Behind" outpaced every other syndicated drama on television, including the off-network reruns of "The X-Files," which finished the week with a 4.6. "What You Leave Behind"'s 7th place overall rank among syndicated shows is DS9's highest rank since "Trials and Tribble-ations," in November of 1996.

Foreign Insurrection News
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
I just received two reports about Insurrection happenings abroad. First of all, Christopher Yow mailed me to let me know that 'Insurrection' will be released on video on the 23rd of July in Australia. Secondly, Sandro just let me know that 'Insurrection' premiered in Italian cinemas last week, and it's now the most visited movie of that week.

Paramount De Kelley Memorial
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
The Continuum has now also put up a report of the private DeForest Kelley memorial which was held at Paramount on Tuesday. The event was hosted by producer A.C. Lyles, a long-time friend of Kelley:

Lyles, a friend of Mr. Kelley since 1940, spoke of his accomplishments and early life, including his boyhood in Georgia, his move as a young man to California, his World War II military service, and his early screen tests for Paramount. A highlight of the memorial was a video tribute, edited by ST:VOY Supervising Producer Peter Lauritson, following Mr. Kelley's career through his first screen appearance in "Fear in the Night" through Westerns with the likes of Henry Fonda and Richard Widmark --- and eventually his most special moments as "Bones" McCoy in TV and film.

Many of Mr. Kelley's long time co-stars were in attendance, as well as members of the Star Trek family from other series and projects who knew him by reputation and convention appearances. The entire event was videotaped for his widow Carolyn, who is recuperating from a leg injury and was unable to attend.

Starfleet Command Interview
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
Moyzan at Games Weekly has put up an interview with Erik Bethke, developer on Interplay's 'Starfleet Command.' Take a look at the following interesting info about the Kzinti:

Moyzan: Did you have any trouble with various SFB and Star trek licenses? I learned that the Kzintis are not in the game, is that due to technical difficulties or license problems?

Erik Bethke: The Kzinti were never planned for in the initial release. We may look into the Kzinit(sic) in the future.

Ira Steven Behr Chat
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
Today at 06:30pm Pacific Time, DS9's Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr will be attending a live chat at the Continuum:

Ira Steven Behr (Executive Producer on ST:DS9) will be joining us to talk about all 7 seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine! Here's your chance to ask a question of one of the "movers and shakers" in the Star Trek universe. Ira Steven Behr was involved with ST:DS9 for its entire seven-year run. He helped define many of your favorite characters, species, relationships and storylines. Now you can ask him where the idea for "Vic Fontaine" came from, why he chose to cast rock star Iggy Pop as a Vorta, how he came to write the book The Rules of Acquisition, or why three different actresses played "Ziyal."

Mr. Behr wrote three episodes of ST:TNG including fan-favorite "Yesterday's Enterprise" along with an amazing 54 episodes of ST:DS9. Look them up with your PADD, and ask him about your favorites!

New Trek RPG Products
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
In his new Out of the Box column at Mania, Star Trek RPG creator Kenneth Hite mentions two new Star Trek role-playing game books which just came out. The first is a book called 'Planetary Adventures Volume 1: Federation Space,' which contains five TNG RPG adventures, while the other is a book called 'Planets of the UFP:'

Continuing the planetary theme, Planets of the UFP (128 pages, $20) is a big old gazetteer of 23 planets in Federation space, from feuding Acamar to pacific Vulcan. There's maps of the key Federation members -- Alpha Centauri IV, Andoria, Betazed, Bolarus IX, Earth, Tellar, and Vulcan, and system maps of most of the other worlds in the list. Each planet gets the full treatment: planetary (and sometimes system) templates, ecology (including several creature writeups), story hooks, geography, strategic value, and so forth. There's even a writeup on the Ba'ku planet from Star Trek: Insurrection, should you want such a thing for some reason.

'DS9: The Fallen' Preview
Christian (3:25 pm CST)
Gamecenter has put up a couple of screenshots from the upcoming Simon & Schuster game 'Deep Space Nine: The Fallen:'

The TV series may be over, but the story continues with Simon and Schuster's action-adventure game Star Trek Deep Space Nine: The Fallen. Players take on the roles of Sisko, Worf, or Kira in a race to find the three orbs of power needed to stop the return of the Pah Wraiths. Of course, there are other forces in the Alpha Quadrant who seek the same thing and will try to stop you. Each character has his or her own story line and objectives, and players can expect to run into such familiar races as the Cardassians, Klingons, and Jem'Hadar--plus a new race unique to this game, the Grigari. The game will take place in over 30 environments, including the DS9 station itself and the USS Defiant. Multiplay options are also available.

800-Trekker Acquires Max Bandwidth
Christian (3:25 pm CST)
Brainstorms Direct Marketing, the company behind the 800-Trekker catalog of science fiction merchandise, just announced it will be taking over Maximum Bandwidth, the online Star Trek games store:

Customers will be able to move seamlessly between the 800-trekker.com website and the maximumbandwidth.com website, checking out product demonstrations, buying online, and tracking orders through the company's proprietary, fully integrated e-commerce software.

The acquisition of Maximum Bandwidth is part of Brainstorms' strategic plan to strengthen its position as a leading edge e-commerce company. In 1999, the company increased online purchases of 800-Trekker products from just 4.9% of its business in January to 18.8% in May.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:25 pm CST)
A few active discussions at the Trek BBS:

-What do you think about Ron Moore leaving Voyager?

-If you played 'Birth of the Federation,' how did you like it?

-What's with the shirt tugging on TNG?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS!

Hello World!
Christian (3:24 pm CST)
Ugh. I just spent over two hours at the City Hall here in Leiden getting a new passport. Fortunately, I can now confidently report that:
a) The ceiling of our passport office consists of 158 separate panels.
b) That's about half of the amount of people waiting in line with me.
c) The coffee is undrinkable.

Out of necessity, today's update will be somewhat smaller than usual - fortunately tomorrow's update will more than make up for that, as you'll be able to see the new design for the first time! Yeehaa!

Also, if you have anything to say about this surprising turn of events, a special thread has been created about it at the Trek BBS. Let the world know what you think here!

The EMH's Dark Side
Christian (3:43 pm CST)
At the TV Guide site, there's a short interview with Andy Dick, who guest-starred on Voyager's 'Message in a Bottle' as the EMH Mark Two. In the interview, he talks about his guest appearance on David Letterman's show, and his recent drug-induced car crash. Find it all here.

Patrick Stewart In 'Animal Farm'
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
The Patrick Stewart Page is reporting that the TNT two-hour film 'Animal Farm,' under the direction of John Stephenson, has now gone in production. In the movie, Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) will speak the part of Napoleon, the chief pig. More on the movie can be found here.

DS9 Finale Soundtrack Release?
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
Michael McLeod just mailed me, telling me that he had recently mailed the people at GNP Crescendo, asking them asking about the possibility of releasing the score for the DS9 finale on CD. He received the following reply from GNP's Mark Banning:

We have received several letters and e-mails concerning the final episode score. It is under strong consideration for a fall release. If you know anyone else who want to see this album come out, please encourage them to write us.

DeForest Kelley Memorial Service
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
A person who attended Paramount's memorial service for DeForest Kelley just sent me the following:

I attended the memorial service for DeForrest Kelly at the Paramount lot. It was a wonderful retrospective of his works and stories about his life. A.C. Lyles put it together. Attending the service were: Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Robert Picardo, Armin Shimmerman, Grace Lee Whitney, Rick Berman, and countless writers, producers and fans (mainly who work on the lot)

New Sev Trek Cartoon Online
Christian (3:22 pm CST)

Voyager Cuts Definite
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
WebTrek is reporting that starting with season six, all Voyager episodes will automatically be two minutes shorter. Since about February, UPN has been cutting two minutes from each Voyager episode in order to show extra commercials, which resulted in two versions of each episode existing. Now each episode produced at Paramount will just last 42 minutes.

Margaret Clark's Back!
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
It's almost a miracle! After more than half of a year of being down, Margaret Clark's Q&A Board at Pocket Books has finally gone online, so you can now again ask her all sorts of book-related questions. Take a look at some of the questions she already answered:

Query from: Jim McCain
Is your Q and A back on line yet?

Response from: Margaret Clark
Weeeeeeellllllll......... they tell me it is. However, last night I spend an hour answering all these questions and the gods of the sever deemed them unworth and ate them.

Query from: Andrew
Margaret:What is the DS9 millium trilogy about.And do you know what the covers of the DS9 millium trilogy are going to look lick right now?

Response from: Margaret Clark
OooooOOOOOO.. It is a three book series by Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Too cool! Stand by for more information

Query from: Elizabeth Rathbun
I am just curious about a book of Garak's memoirs that I read that Andrew Robinson is doing with you. Do you know when it might be published, or even if it is going to be?

Response from: Margaret Clark
Actually, I am excepting part of the manuscript any day now. So it is happening. When… I want to make sure that Andrew is comfortable with the book, But it is pencilled in.

'Latent Image' Ratings Are Bad
Christian (3:20 pm CST)
What a surprise. Michael Iversen at the Universe put up the following ratings report for last week's rerun of 'Latent Image:'

The final rating for "Latent Image" is in, and it was pretty low. Voyager got a 1.8 and was nr. 107. Voyager was 6th for the hour behind "Charmed" that got 2.7. It was Voyager lowest rerun ever, falling behind last years 1.9. But it wasn't the lowest episode ever, because this years first run episode "Juggernaut" got a 1.7.

[...]

UPn's highest rated show wasent Voyager, but "Moesha" with a 2.1!

'Birth of the Federation' Drops
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
After a very promising first week, when Microprose's 'Star Trek: Birth of the Federation' entered the sales charts on the third place, the new strategy game has now dropped to a tenth place. Above it are titles such as the two new Star Wars games, Simcity 3000 and Monopoly. You can find the full charts here.

Today On TV
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
-At 9:00pm, UPN will be showing Voyager's 'Bride of Chaotica.' Take a look at the official Paramount description:

Armed conflict erupts when aliens from the Fifth Dimension mistake Lieutenant Paris' "Captain Proton" holographic novel for reality. The aliens consider the novel's main character, the evil Dr. Chaotica, to be a threat so they knock the U.S.S. Voyager's controls off-line. Janeway is forced to assume the role of the story's powerful Arachnia, Queen of the Spider People, and infiltrate Chaotica's Fortress of Doom. Meanwhile, The Doctor takes on the role of the novel's President of Earth to help the aliens defeat Chaotica.

-At 01:35 CET tomorrow morning, German Sat.1 will be repeating DS9's 'Babel.' At 15:00 CET, they'll be showing 'Tosk, der Gejagte' (Captive Pursuit).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
At the Trek BBS, we've welcomed our 300th member, clearly making us one of the most popular Trek forums around. This is also clearly noticable when looking at the amount of discussions - we had no less than 43 active discussions in the past twelve hours! Take a look at a few highlights:

-What are your favourite time travel episodes?

-After the 'best-looking men' thread a few weeks ago, what are the best-looking women on Star Trek?

-What's the difference between a Trekkie and a Trekker?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
Take a look at two of yesterday's five new sites at TrekSeek:

-Klin Zha Kinta is an expansion to the Klingon chess game Klin Zha.
-Starship Scandals has all the dish you won't get at "Breakfast with Neelix".

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
Sorry for the late start today - unfortunately my ISP seems on the verge of breaking down, and I had no web access at all for about two hears earlier this evening. Unfortunately both incoming and outgoing mail is a victim of this, as Saleel Majeed seems to have noticed, judging from his mails :-). Saleel, a message from me can be found at the URL where we left messages before (sorry for the cryptical way of saying this, but I don't really know of any other way to reach you at the moment ;-)

Rick Berman On Trek Future
Christian (1:59 pm CST)
Steve Krutzler at TrekWeb just posted the following excerpt from issue 123 of the Star Trek Communicator:

Where are you in the process of making another Next Generation feature film?
All I can say is that we do not have a film planned for the fall of 2000, which would be a two-year hiatus like the last two were. As to whether there will be a film the year after that and what it will be about and who it will feature is all in discussion right now. The next film has not been planned significantly enough to say that it will definately not be a Next Generation movie. I can't imagine that it will take more than a couple of years to get another film in production. I don't think the fans have to worry about not getting another Star Trek movie and I think they're going to get another Star Trek series in the couple of years. We are in development on it now. The new series is going to be substantially different from what we've seen. My instincts tell me that the new series will come before the next film.

[Excerpt from response to, "How is this time a turning point for Star Trek?"]
I think that the next steps we take, which are steps that I am involved with now, are very important. We have to give our audience something new and fresh but, at the same time, give them something that is Star Trek.

Patrick Stewart Premiere Appearances
Christian (1:57 pm CST)
Patrick Stewart - The Actors' Actor is reporting that Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) recently attended the premieres of ''Austin Powers - The spy who shagged me' and 'Tarzan.' At the Tarzan premiere, he apparently met up with Brian Blessed, who appeared together in "I, Claudius." More on this, plus an extra photo, can be found here.

Holodeck One Step Closer
Christian (1:57 pm CST)
Michael Iversen at the Star Trek Universe is reporting that, thanks to a group of Danish researchers, the Holodeck is now a step closer:

A research team at Ris National Laboratory in Roskilde, Denmark, has invented a new instant system for taking holographic snapshots that could result in the first 3-D movies not requiring special glasses, Business Week reports in its current issue. The current system, which can create 20 holograms per second, is being used to produce a 3-D cartoon using puppets, according to the magazine.

National Enquirer Kelley Article
Christian (1:56 pm CST)
I'm not sure how reliable this is (probably not at all), but the National Enquirer web site has an interview with A.C. Lyles, good friend of DeForest Kelley (Leonard 'Bones' McCoy). According to the article, during Kelley's last days Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner were with him to comfort him. Again, I have no idea how reliable this is (and it certainly is the first time I've heard about this), but you can judge for yourself here.

New Raven Software Site
Christian (1:56 pm CST)
Raven Software, the company currently working on 'Voyager: Elite Force,' just re-launched its web site. Take a look at what Robert Love, one of Raven's programmers, had to say about this in his .plan:

Hey, all you cats and kittens, get a load of Raven's new web site at http://www.ravensoft.com/. Now you can see all the people I work with. Ain't we a fun bunch? I realize my picture looks like I'm dressed as Spock in the Star Trek episode "Spock's Brain" but those are in fact headphones I'm wearing.

Ordover Answers
Christian (1:56 pm CST)
It's a new week, and, as usual, a new batch of answers from Pocket Books editor John Ordover is available at his Q&A board. Take a look at the most interesting question asked:

Query from: Christian
John - I just noticed that peanutpress.com has started selling online versions of Star Trek books. On their site, they show the cover of 'Q- Space,' which is a relatively recent novel. Would you also have plans to start publishing even more recent books through peanutpress.com? (Perhaps even at the same time they're released in print?)

Response from: John Ordover
This is an experiment. The results will determine what we do in the future. If we start seeing the text of the novels released to the web/net for free, the experiment will end quickly.:)

Ira Steven Behr Chat
Christian (1:55 pm CST)
This Thursday, the Continuum will be hosting a live chat with Ira Steven Behr, DS9's Executive Producer:

Ira Steven Behr (Executive Producer on ST:DS9) will be joining us to talk about all 7 seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine! Here's your chance to ask a question of one of the "movers and shakers" in the Star Trek universe. Ira Steven Behr was involved with ST:DS9 for its entire seven-year run. He helped define many of your favorite characters, species, relationships and storylines. Now you can ask him where the idea for "Vic Fontaine" came from, why he chose to cast rock star Iggy Pop as a Vorta, how he came to write the book The Rules of Acquisition, or why three different actresses played "Ziyal."

Mr. Behr wrote three episodes of ST:TNG including fan-favorite "Yesterday's Enterprise" along with an amazing 54 episodes of ST:DS9. Look them up with your PADD, and ask him about your favorites!

'Free Enterprise' Nationwide In July
Christian (1:55 pm CST)
According to the official Free Enterprise site, the independent movie starring William Shatner will open throughout the USA next month. Currently the film is already playing in Los Angeles, where it is getting great reviews, such as in this LA Times article.

Happy Birthday Tim Russ!
Christian (1:55 pm CST)
Today is the 43rd birthday of Tim Russ, who is of course best known for his role of Tuvok on Voyager. Before that, Russ also appeared on 'The Next Generation,' 'Deep Space Nine' and the 'Generations' movie, so he certainly is no stranger to Trek. Find his full biography here!

Today on TV
Christian (1:54 pm CST)
-In the US, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the first-season TOS finale 'Operation Annihilation!' at 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time.

-According to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Explorers' tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST.

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating DS9's 'Unter Verdacht' (A Man Alone) tomorrow morning at 01:35 CET. At 15:00, they'll be showing 'Babel.'

Trek BBS Today
Christian (1:54 pm CST)
Miraculously, the Trek BBS even survived all the hacks I implemented yesterday - I just can't stop being amazed :-). Take a look at some of the current discussions:

-What are your thoughts on the Akira-class starship, as featured in First Contact?

-Interesting thought - are Voyager's shuttle craft like the Original Series' red shirts?

-Everyone has always said that Voyager won't run beyond seven seasons - but why can't there be an 8th season?

Find lots more discussions at the Trek BBS, and feel free to participate!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (1:54 pm CST)
Just three new sites yesterday, including this one:

-Science Fiction Treff Darmstadt is the rather nice homepage of the most popular meeting-point for SF and Trek-fans in the Rhine-Main-Region around Frankfurt. Newsletter, exclusive starpics, and much more... (In German).

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (1:53 pm CST)
Thanks to all the people who mailed me with offers to test out the new design, I'm rather confident the new design is actually good enough to be used on TrekToday. Hopefully it should be going up in a few days, once I find the time to show it to everyone who still needs to see it, and once I'm able to convert the entire site. Watch this space!

(BTW, don't forget to vote for DS9 at the Sci-Fi Wire poll. I noticed several other sites (including the Universe and the German Active Trekkies) linking to it, but of course we still need a few more votes :-). After 1,333 votes, DS9 is now at 50%, and Babylon 5 at 49%.)

Deep Space Nine Needs You!
Christian (2:29 pm CST)
At the Sci-Fi Channel's Sci Fi Wire, they've launched an online poll which asks "Which was the better space station SF show - DS9 or Babylon 5?" Unfortunately, after 338 votes have been cast, only 37% of all people voted for DS9 - please head over to the Sci-Fi Wire and give our favourite series some extra votes!

Worst-Ever BotF Review
Christian (2:29 pm CST)
Ugh. Kevin Jenkins at MPOG.COM has written a review of 'Birth of the Federation,' the game which, according to Jenkins, 'boldly sucks like no game has sucked before.' The review is filled with criticisms of the game, and ends with the below paragraph:

Birth of the Federation is even worse than M.A.X. 2 and that's saying something. Even hours later, I still feel a vague sense of irritation and a slight urge to vomit resulting from torturing myself long enough to give a fair review. Sadomasochists should go right out and buy Birth of the Federation. Everyone else should avoid computer game stores for the next week lest they gaze upon this basilisk. After that, just give the bargain bins a wide berth.

Booklist "Vulcan's Heart" Review
Christian (2:29 pm CST)
The new edition of Booklist, the official review magazine of the American Library Association, contains a review of the new "Vulcan's Heart" novel. Reviewer Roland Green is rather positive about the new Josepha Sherman / Susan Shwartz book:

Opening some years after Sherman and Shwartz's superb Vulcan's Forge (1997) concluded, this sequel is even better . Sherman and Shwartz develop familiar Star Trek characters and background in realistic detail while remaining faithful to the underlying concepts and values of the Star Trek universe. Their enthralling novel should attract non-Trekkers in appreciable numbers and, of course, Trekkers in swarms and hordes.

Decipher Happenings
Christian (2:29 pm CST)
Lots of new stuff is available at the site of Decipher, the official Star Trek Customizable Card Game publisher. First of all, 'Major Rakal' has written an extensive article on how to use the official Star Trek CCG message board, using a special board system. Besides that, Decipher has a list of the winners of the recent Return to Farpoint tournaments, an updated version of the current rulings and updated Where to Buy pages for the Trek CCG game.

GamePen BotF Review
Christian (2:28 pm CST)
At GamePen, a rather extensive new 'Birth of the Federation' review is available, looking at MicroProse's new turn-based strategy game. Reviewer Andrew S. Bub isn't that enthusiastic about the game, awarding it just 2 out of 5 stars:

Star Trek meets Civilization (Civ), or more appropriately Master of Orion (MOO), with Microprose's ambitious ST:TNG Birth of the Federation. The sad truth is that Star Trek games almost universally stink. This is hard to bear for any Trek fan like me, or the thousands of others waiting to get their paws on this game. Since Microprose knows this style of game, having had much success with its Civ series and its MOO series, the logical conclusion seemed to indicate great things for this game. However, it seems the developers were either drunk on too much Romulan ale, or out of their Vulcan minds…

Rated X Details
Christian (2:28 pm CST)
AnotherUniverse's Daily Buzz has posted some extra info on 'Rated X,' Nicole deBoer's new film project:

Ezri Dax actress Nicole DeBoer (DS9) will star with Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez in Rated X--Showtime's biopic of porno kings Artie and Jim Mitchell.

VNRW's Critic's Choice Awards
Christian (2:28 pm CST)
Simon Nicholson's Voyager News and Reviews Weekly has just launched the VNRW "Critic's Choice Awards 1999:"

Voyager News and Reviews Weekly brings together some of the 'net's best-known and most respected Trek reviewers for the 1999 VNRW Critic's Choice Awards, which celebrate the best elements of Star Trek: Voyager's fifth season. Categories include Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Episode of Season 5.

UK Trek Ratings
Christian (2:22 pm CST)
Dave Arquati at the Star Trek Collective has finally posted his UK ratings report again, this time looking at the week beginning the 30th of May:

After sorting out a little confusion over which days a weeks' figures apply to, I can bring you the 30 May - 06 June figures. On BBC2, it was a pretty good week. TNG ranked a respectable #12, with 2.68m viewers for its double bill - a substantial improvement over the previous week.

DS9 jumped back into the charts for the first time in weeks (just when the season ended, though...), with the double bill rounding up Season 1 reruns - #24, 1.8m viewers. Not brilliant but a definite improvement. Voyager's continuation of the Hirogen story arc, "Prey", dropped from last week in viewers but increased in rank - it was up from #20 to #15, but down by 0.23m viewers.

Meanwhile, on Sky, Voyager was continuing to show its popularity - it ranked #4 with the 100th episode, "Timeless". We can expect a steady increase in viewers on Sky for Voyager as more people take advantage of the current offers for (almost) free digital TV and get Sky.

New Starfleet Command Preview
Christian (2:18 pm CST)
A new preview of Interplay's Starfleet Command has just gone up at StrategyXtreme, written by Joshua "Jinxx" Morris:

So what exactly is Starfleet Command? Well it's a realtime tactical combat simulator using ships from the Star Trek Universe. This differs from realtime strategy games in that you have a set number of ships and resources in a particular mission. There is no gathering resources or building units. This is actually a strength to the game. Since you control so few ships (1-3, in multiplayer, 1-6 in single player) each ship is vital. You really feel like you are a captain of a ship. Each decision you make is important.

Star Trek Books Available Online
Christian (2:18 pm CST)
According to a press release from Peanut Press, you can now buy electronic versions of Star Trek books:

Electronic publisher peanutpress.com today announced that some of the popular Star Trek books, published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. are now available for reading on the 3Com Palm Computing platform. Through an easy-to-use, web-based storefront, the more than three million existing PalmPilot connected organizer users can purchase and download these science fiction favorites in a secure electronic format.

LeVar Burton Interview
Christian (2:17 pm CST)
Candace A. Wedlan at the LA Times has written an interview with LeVar Burton, who's described as being extremely busy with lots of projects at the same time. Take a look at a short quote from the interview:

Question: Why do you think you're so industrious?

Answer: I guess I'm one of those people who suffers from the delusion that unless I keep doing things, I'll cease to have value in the world--you know what I mean. I believe very strongly that everybody is here for a very specific purpose and that one of the keys to living here successfully, in this realm, is to discern what your purpose is, align yourself to that and pursue it with all the passion you possess.

Today on TV
Christian (2:17 pm CST)
-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the great TOS episode 'The City On The Edge Of Forever.'

-The recently updated Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective is reporting that British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Explorers' tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST.

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating DS9's 'Die Khon-Ma' (Past Prologue) tomorrow morning at 00:05 CET. At 15:00, they'll be showing 'Unter Verdacht' (A Man Alone).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (2:15 pm CST)
This morning, I spent some time implementing a few new hacks at the Trek BBS, with the help of TDawg, the great webmaster of the Trek Gaming Alliance. Thanks to these hacks, you'll now be able to see how many times each thread has been read, and the ranking system has been updated as well. Take a look at some of the threads currently taking place on the new, improved Trek BBS:

-Find all the details about the modifications here!

-Is there a difference in intelligence between fans of the different Trek series?

-Do women like Voyager more than men?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (2:14 pm CST)
TrekSeek definitely seems to be slowing down - yesterday we just added this one site:

-The Dominion is a site about the Dominion, especially Vorta, with lots of pictures and information, sounds and fan-fic in the future.

Find more new sites in the listing of last week's new sites.

Hello World!
Christian (2:14 pm CST)
Nothing to report here, all is well.

Disappointing SoVF News
Christian (1:35 pm CST)
As you may recall, a few days ago YnrohKeeg at StarTrekGames.Net re-launched his Save the Secret of Vulcan Fury campaign, as this game would probably have been the last chance for us to see DeForest Kelley in action. Unfortunately, YnrohKeeg just posted the below rather sad news:

It seems that DeForest Kelley was unable to participate in the Secret of Vulcan Fury project due to health concerns. Instead, they were using a voice actor to play the part of Bones in the game. Apparently, he did a good impression of the doctor. So, all of our propaganda about "doing it for Bones" is kind of pointless. This is not anybody's fault, so don't get pissed at Interplay for not using DeForest. Mr. Kelley was going to be used in a mind-meld sequence in the latter part of the game (as an "older" Dr. McCoy), but it just didn't happen. If the game had continued on schedule, we may have been able to see Mr. Kelley as Dr. McCoy, even if only some small way. Unfortunately, things did not progress on schedule.

More About 'John Smith'
Christian (1:34 pm CST)
The San Jose Mercury News has a small article up looking at 'John Smith,' LeVar Burton's new series:

LeVar Burton, who hopes to return to series television with the show he's developed for Paramount, says the flack the networks are getting because of their white-bread programming can only help his chances.

``As I look at the landscape of TV for the fall season, it seems absolutely and totally devoid of color,'' he says. He intends to pitch his ``John Smith'' drama to the networks as a midseason replacement that he would headline and exec-produce.

He describes ``John Smith'' as being ``about an amnesiac searching the country trying to find clues to his identity.'' He notes that he would also helm at least a segment a month.

New 'Birth of the Federation' Review
Christian (1:34 pm CST)
Mark H. Walker at GameCenter has written a review of Microprose's 'Birth of the Federation,' which he thought was only so-so:

The Good: Great racial ambience; solid economic, exploration, production, and research models. The bad: Weak interface; uninspired combat system. The bottom line: Turn-based galactic conquest in the Star Trek universe. Multiplayer: Fair Single player: Good

At Least 8 More New Frontiers
Christian (1:34 pm CST)
At his Q&A Board, Pocket Books editor John Ordover just mentioned that they've 'currently contracted with Peter [David] for 8 more NF books total that you haven't seen yet.'

Join The Starfleet Command Beta
Christian (1:34 pm CST)
The people at Interplay seem to want to make 'Starfleet Command' the game with the most widely open beta test in the history of video gaming - IGN PC has just announced a special contest in which you'll be able to win a place in the beta testing team:

Okay, we thought we'd give you a heads up for a kick-ass contest that'll be going up next week. On Monday (the 21st), we're going to start a contest for Interplay's upcoming strategy game, Starfleet Command. So what's the prize? 25 lucky winners will get to participate in the game's beta test. That's right, while everyone else is surfing around the chat sites asking their friends what they think the game will be like, you'll be playing it and helping the design team figure how to make it better. What do you have to so? Just drop back in at about 6:00pm on this coming Monday (I said about, if it's not up by 6:00 we don't want any letters) and look for the contest story. How easy is that?

New 'Trekminds' Available
Christian (1:33 pm CST)
The people at the German Radio Trek have put up a new edition of TREKMinds, their bi-weekly online radio show. This time, the show has features dealing with the passing of DeForest Kelley, the end of Deep Space Nine, Gene Roddenberry's 'Earth: Final Conflict,' and several other Trek discussion topics. You can listen to the new edition by going here, though you'll of course have to understand German.

Denver Post BOTF review
Christian (1:33 pm CST)
A short 'Birth of the Federation' review can be found here on the Denver Post web site.

Jeri Ryan On Dilbert
Christian (1:33 pm CST)
The Official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage is reporting that next season, UPN's 'Dilbert' will feature Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) as Dilbert's Seven of Nine alarm clock! The airdate of the episode is currently not yet known, though it'll of course be somewhere early in the season. Thanks go out to Gustavo Leao for this.

GA Source 'Elite Force' Interview
Christian (1:32 pm CST)
At GA Source, they've put up a short Q&A with Raven programmer Josh Weier, talking about the ICARUS scripting language which will be used in their 'Voyager: Elite Force' game:

GA-Source:Could you tell me something about your in-game scripting system ICARUS? How will the ICARUS system meet or exceed the amount of interactivity that games in the past have displayed?

Josh Weier:As we went into the project, our design goals called for a living, breathing environment. One of our main goals being to make the player feel like he or she was part of the crew of the starship Voyager. That meant interacting with the other members of the ship, as well as having those other members interacting with each other and their surroundings. They needed to walk around and go about their respective jobs just as they would on the show. Trying to achieve these sort of goals with a normal AI setup would have been next to impossible. Instead, we decided to focus our efforts on a scripting system that would not only allow control to this degree, but was also intuitive to work with. Thus, ICARUS (Interpreted Command An ReUsable Script) was born. The main focus of ICARUS was to meet these needs in a simple, but flexible manner. The system was named ICARUS as a reminder of this focus.

Future Gamer BotF Review
Christian (1:32 pm CST)
Ben Morris at the British online gaming zine Future Gamer has written a small review of 'Birth of the Federation,' Microprose's new turn-based strategy game. Morris is rather positive about BotF:

Just like the other greats of the genre, ST: BotF has great depth. The random nature of the map allows for infinitely different games, the opponents are suitably challenging and all the action is fronted by stylish presentation. ST: BotF is a welcome addition to the strategy halls of fame.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (1:31 pm CST)
Below you'll find some of the currently active discussions at the Trek BBS:

-Are Star Trek fans nerds?

-What precisely is the reason behind Trek's stardates? Couldn't they just use regular Earth dates?

-Participate in the unofficial Trek BBS Voyager season 5 awards!

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS!

Today On TV
Christian (1:31 pm CST)
-Unfortunately the UK television info will be suspended for the next few days, at least until the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective updates again.

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be showing Deep Space Nine's 'Die Khon-Ma' (Past Prologue) on Monday at 15:00 CET.

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (1:31 pm CST)
Yesterday just three sites were added to TrekSeek, including this one:

-Voyager Extreme has news, reviews, downloads, spoilers, trailers and more. Constructed to suit American and Australian viewers.

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (1:30 pm CST)
Are there any people out there using non-standard browsers, such as for instance Web-TV? If so, please send me a mail, as I'm currently testing out the new TrekToday design, and I'm really wondering how it'll look in such browsers.

TOS DVDs Soon
Christian (3:13 pm CST)
Paula Nash just informed me that, according to DVD Express, the first two TOS DVDs will ship on the 17th of August. Volume 1 and 2 of the Original Series DVDs will store 'Where No Man Has Gone Before / The Corbomite Maneuver' and 'Mudd's Women / The Enemy Within,' and come with a suggested retail price of $19.95. Thanks go out to Paula Nash for reporting this!

DeForest Kelley Clips
Christian (3:08 pm CST)
For once, the people at the Sci-Fi Channel have done something decent -in memory of DeForest Kelley, they've put up three video clips of him talking about technology, Gene Roddenberry, and Leonard McCoy. Presumably these come from the third series of Sci-Fi Channel TOS showings, which would originally have featured introductions by DeForest Kelley. You can find the three QuickTime clips by going here.

'Alice' Voyager Week
Christian (2:54 pm CST)
Michael McKay-Fleming just posted a message to alt.startrek.books about his online comic strip, 'Alice.' Take a look at what this comic deals with:

Alice is a free spirit. A Walter Mittyesque type, but unlike Walter she is as equally vibrant in real life as she is in her fantasy world. Alice could easily slip in to a world of her own making if it wasn't for her anchor to reality, her best friend, Dot.

Brent Spiner At South Park Premiere
Christian (2:54 pm CST)
According to a press release from Paramount, Brent Spiner (Data) will be attending the world premiere of 'South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,' to which he lent his voice. The premiere will take place at the Mann Chinese Theater on Wednesday the 23rd of June, and will also be attended by all the South Park cast members. You can find the full press release here. Thanks go out to Welcome, Brent Spiner Fans! for the link.

'Survival Instinct' Details
Christian (2:53 pm CST)
NOTE: Below you'll find some major spoilers for the second episode of Voyager's sixth season, currently entitled 'Survival Instinct.' To avoid reading these spoilers, click here.

Again, click here to stay away from Voyager season six spoilers.

The Vulcan Cafe has finally updated again, this time to provide us with some details on the second episode of the season, apparently written by Ron Moore:

The show begins with at a huge space station which hosts a bunch of aliens. Soon Voyager discovers three ex-Borg who are trying to separate from each other but can't, their only hope for sanity is to be re-joined to the collective. Eight years prior these three Borg and 7 of 9 were separated from the collective, and she's the one who forced them all to rejoin the Borg when they were thinking of leaving. Interesting Tidbits: Paris and Kim play a game with some aliens and misinterpret the rules and get in a bar fight... Seven and Naomi bond more... Chakotay and 7 have some good dialogue...

'Latent Image' Hack Report
Christian (2:53 pm CST)
Vidiot has finally updated his Voyager Hack Job again, this time informing us which scenes were cut from Wednesday's 'Latent Image.' According to Vidiot's report, UPN hacked away more than 2 minutes, including one very important plot scene. Info on 'Warhead' and 'Equinox' should be added to the page soon, but for now you can already read the 'Latent Image' info here.

Today On TV
Christian (2:52 pm CST)
-According to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective, which should be updated tomorrow again, British Sky One will be showing two Trek shows tomorrow. At 16:00 BST, they'll probably be showing DS9's 'Through The Looking Glass,' followed an hour later by Voyager's 'The Thaw.'

-At 03:40 CET tomorrow morning, German Sat.1 will be repeating Voyager's 'Das Hochsicherheitsgefängnis' (The Chute)

Trek BBS Today
Christian (2:52 pm CST)
The Trek BBS is more and more evolving into a real community, as you can see from the below current discussions:

-Round Robin. Participate in writing the Fan Fic Forum's cooperative Trek story!

-Now that the first two episodes have aired, what are your thoughts on Crusade?

-Should there be some recognition that the Federation can now create sentient lifeforms?

Find lots more discussions at the Trek BBS, and feel free to add new ones!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (2:52 pm CST)
Here are two of yesterday's five new sites:

-Daily Trek is a service of the TAT Network. They provide a daily newsletter about "Star Trek" and other things. (In German).
-The Romulan Empire is a fully functional Romulan database with starships, technology, information, medical, history, everything having to do with this glorious Empire! Come find out for yourself, if you dare...

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (2:52 pm CST)
You may be surprised at the extremely small amount of news headlines today, but unfortunately this is really all the news I could find. Saturday is already a quiet day usually, and I suppose a Saturday during hiatus is even worse. Let's hope there'll be a little more news over the coming months.

Naturally, if you're disappointed about the lack of new stuff to be found here, you can of course do something about it yourself. I'm always open for convention reports, book, toy, or game reviews, or articles on whatever you want that's related to Star Trek. Please feel free to contact me if you have any great article ideas :-).

Star Trek Vs. Star Wars
Christian (1:39 pm CST)
Julia Houston at About.com's Star Trek Fans has written a feature article about an incredibly original subject - 'Star Trek & Star Wars:'

Comparisons are fun, as long as everyone's polite, and so for a few months now I've been planning to do a little comparative article on the latest Trek films and The Phantom Menace.

Those plans changed somewhat, however, after I actually saw Phantom Menace. Sorry, [...] but I was severely unimpressed with the movie. I think it takes all the bad stuff from the first three films and amplifies it while abandoning the things that make Star Wars: A New Hope my favorite film of all time.

So instead of spending my time here complaining about Phantom Menace, I'm going to have some fun with a more general comparison. Does Star Trek still come out on top? You bet! But Star Wars still rocks.

TV Zone Trek Features
Christian (1:32 pm CST)
The latest issue of the British TV Zone magazine features an interview with Ethan Phillips, who stars on Voyager as Neelix:

Delta Quadrant denizen Neelix has been a guide, a cook and an ambassador for Capt. Janeway. Star Ethan Phillips talks about the one-lung wonder he loves to play: "Without a doubt Neelix has had some intense experiences"

Tim Lynch 'Jeopardy!' Appearance
Christian (1:31 pm CST)
Psi Phi has put up a review of Tim Lynch's appearance on the 'Jeopardy!' game show, last Wednesday. The review is written by Thomas Y. Galloway, and almost exactly follows the style of Tim Lynch's episode reviews:

'Jeopardy! 6/16/99' was the long awaited Tim Lynch episode. Something of a sequel to "Win Ben Stein's Money with Tim Lynch", it was a marked improvement as it showed that while Tim continues to have buzzer problems in the first act, if he can make it to the second act he'll improve significantly.

However, the first act was noted by the sort of golden moment everyone hopes would happen to them if they get on Jeopardy!. Namely, you get a Daily Double, make it a true Daily Double by risking it all... and the answer is one that is so up your alley that you'd have to have a stroke forcing you to uncontrollably remember every Ferengi focused episode of DS9 followed by Voyager's "evolution" episode before you'd miss it. Asking a former Caltech physics grad student who came up with E=MC2 is about as much as one could hope for barring getting asked who did various Star Trek reviews on Usenet from 1988-1999.

'Equinox' Novelization Announced
Christian (1:30 pm CST)
At his Q&A Board, Pocket Books editor John Ordover just announced there'll be a novelization of 'Equinox:'

Query from: Jamie
You said you are planning to publish a novelization of the Voyager finale/premiere. Are you referring to "Equinox"?

Response from: John Ordover
Yes

James Cromwell Chat Transcript
Christian (1:30 pm CST)
On Wednesday, Entertainment Tonight Online hosted a live chat with James Cromwell (Zefram Cochrane). In their incredibly wisdom, the ET people decided to split up the transcript over a dozen separate pages, and of course the only Star Trek question from the chat can be found on the last page of the transcript:

JimmyD says: How did you like becoming a part of the Star Trek universe?

James: It was interesting. I had worked on the television show a couple times, so I knew everybody. So actually making the film was effortless and a lot of fun. I thought it was a good script and I enjoyed my character immensely. What was interesting was I had just begun to become interested in extra-terrestrials as a real possibility. I was associated with an organization called CSETI [Center for the Study of Extraterrestrial Intelligence], and I was beginning to develop a story idea for a novel that I'm writing, which is about contact. I believe personally that contact has occurred. I believe that the federal government has not told us what the truth is.

New LeVar Burton Series
Christian (1:30 pm CST)
TV Guide is reporting that LeVar Burton (Geordi LaForge) is currently developing a new television series for Paramount, enitled 'John Smith.' Burton will produce and star in the series, presumably as the main character with the incredibly original name. According to TV Guide, the series is "about an amnesiac searching the country to find clues to his identity,' and Burton is hoping to launch it as a midseason replacement.

Ron Moore Executive Producer
Christian (1:29 pm CST)
The latest issue of Eon Magazine contains an interesting news bit, entitled 'Voyager Gets New Captain:'

STAR TREK MAGAZINE reports that Ronald Moore, famous for writing some of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION's best episodes, will take over as executive producer on STAR TREK:VOYAGER. Moore co-wrote the first two TNG films with current VOYAGER producer Brannon Braga, and was co-executive producer on STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE (which ended last week). His first work on the show will be seen this fall when VOYAGER returns for its sixth season.

McIntyre Goes To Hollywood
Christian (1:29 pm CST)
Eon Magazine is reporting that Jim Henson Pictures has bought the rights to 'The Moon and the Sun,' Vonda N. McIntyre's Nebula Award-winning fantasy novel. For Trek fans, she is probably most famous for being the writer of many of the early TOS movies, and for writing the first-ever TOS hardcover, 'Enterprise.'

AVault 'Birth of the Federation' Review
Christian (1:29 pm CST)
Adam Swiderski at the Adrenaline Vault has written a review of 'Birth of the Federation,' Microprose's new turn-based strategy game. Swiderski signals some serious problems with the game:

Sadly, things begin to go downhill the further one progresses into the game. While BotF makes several overtures at greatness, it contains a number of thematic and technical flaws that damage its appeal. The most immediately noticeable is that, after an auspiciously pleasing opening, the gameplay begins to narrow itself until combat becomes the central factor. This would not be such a big deal in and of itself if it weren't for the fact that players to whom this development is not immediately apparent could be spending a large portion of their time focusing on other aspects, all the while falling irrecoverably behind the curve. Not to mention the fact that Star Trek fans have always prided themselves on the notion that their sci-fi universe of choice is not devoted to warfare, but rather exploration and discovery.

These issues, however, pale in comparison to the technical bugs that, when they do appear, have the potential to totally ruin any enjoyment there is to be had. Both of these problems are the worst variety of bugaboo, because they only reveal themselves after extended play and add a large degree of frustration to what would otherwise be a stand-up product.

Insurrection Drops To No.9
Christian (1:28 pm CST)
On the Billboard video rental top 10, 'Star Trek: Insurrection' has dropped to the ninth place, which presumably means this will be its last week on the Billboard charts. The video has already dropped out of the top 10 from the Video Software Dealers Association, which is the one I've mostly been reporting about over the past few weeks.

Happy Birthday Mr. President
Christian (1:28 pm CST)
Today is the 76th birthday of Robert Ellenstein, who starred in 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home' as the Federation president. Besides that, he's also appeared on The Next Generation as Steven Miller in the episode 'Haven.'

Today On TV
Christian (1:28 pm CST)
-I'm not really sure about Sky One's Star Trek schedule anymore, unfortunately. The official Sky web site hasn't been updated in weeks, and neither has the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective. Still, according to the Collective's unconfirmed list, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Improbable Cause' tomorrow at 16:00 BST, and Voyager's 'Innocence' at 17:00 BST.

-German Sat.1 is also causing me trouble, as their site currently appears to be down.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (1:27 pm CST)
Below you'll find some of the current most active discussions at the Trek BBS, the fastest-growing online Trek community:

-In 'The Phantom Menace,' Yodo says that Anakin is too old to be trained as a Jedi. Why is this?

-Yesterday it was reported that UPN has lost even more affiliates last year. What do you think about this situation?

-What is the influence of the Original Series on all the current Trek fans?

More discussions can be found at the Trek BBS, while you're of course also free to add new topics to the forums! Unfortunately, after severe abuse of the forums by a few people, we've had to make registering compulsory, but please don't let that stop you from taking part in the forums!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (1:27 pm CST)
Yesterday we added no less than 6 new sites to TrekSeek, including the following two:

-Pentium Pauls Season 5 Review has reviews of all the Voyager season five shows with pictures and various other things like Ferengi rules of Aquisition.
-Ric Noell's Galaxy - Broad-spectrum on various aspects of the Trek phenomenon.

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (1:27 pm CST)
Fortunately today I'm able to update somewhat earlier than yesterday ;-).

New Sev Trek Competition
Christian (5:29 pm CST)

In remembrance of Deforest Kelley.
This week's comic strip is a tribute to the late Dr McCoy. It requires two punchlines - Quirk's speech bubble, and the last word of McCorduroy's famous "I'm a doctor" line.

'Voyager: Elite Force' Preview
Christian (5:23 pm CST)
GA-Source's John Bergerud has written a preview of Raven's upcoming 'Voyager: Elite Force:'

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force is the first Star Trek game to be based on the television series, Star Trek: Voyager. The title, being developed by Raven Software, will also be the first game to be released after Quake III: Arena itself that will make use of id Software's latest 3D Quake engine.

'Latent Image' Overnight Ratings
Christian (5:18 pm CST)
The Star Trek Universe has put up the overnight ratings of yesterday's rerun of 'Latent Image.' Voyager was down 0.6 from last week, receiving a 3.2/5, which of course didn't give it more than a 6th position. Besides that, the Universe has some alarming news on UPN's current reach:

UPN has lost more affiliates last season (even though it got some new ones) and it can't be seen in 73% of the US anymore! The percentage is weigh below that, I would estimate about 65 %. UPN still covers most of the overnight metered markets, so Voyager does ok, but it lost many affiliates and that hurts the national ratings a lot!

Also, UPN stations pre-emted their line-up for some baseball (yeah, it's baseball season) so Voyager didn't run in it's usual timeslot or didn't air at all! You can blame UPN for all that. It's not like Voyager loses more and more viewers because they don't like the show! They just aren't able to see it anymore! Expect future ratings to be lower than last season (business as usual).

Updated Voyager Repeat Schedule
Christian (5:13 pm CST)
David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the updated Voyager repeat schedule, with info through mid-July. Find it here.

Disastrous DS9 Ratings News
Christian (5:09 pm CST)
Over the past few weeks, DS9's Final Chapter has been doing extremely well, ratings-wise. Unfortunately, the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database is reporting that this is no longer the case:

I'm not sure what to say in this report -- when I found the ratings for "The Dogs of War," I thought there might have been a misprint, but alas, these seem to be correct. Unbelievably, "Dogs" fell to a series-low 3.7 rating, ranking 14th. That's a huge crash from the great ratings of the last two months, falling 16% from last week's "Extreme Measures" and 10% from last week's most comparable show, "The Sound of Her Voice," which was tied for DS9's former all-time low mark of a 4.1.

[...]

With this truly abysmal, saddening showing, the outlook for DS9's finale has gone from wonderful to pretty bad. Even if the show spikes a full point from this awful episode, it would still fall below even this season's highest mark. I hope I'm wrong and "What You Leave Behind" performs wonderfully, but I guess we'll find out next week. As for why this show performed so badly, I can only assume it had to do with the smaller summer TV viewership and a few untimely preemptions (the episode seemed to get preempted in more areas than average). Only one more week of DS9 ratings, hopefully it'll be a good one.

Nicole deBoer Future Projects
Christian (5:04 pm CST)
Cinescape has a report up on Nicole deBoer's future projects:

Nicole DeBoer, who played Dax for the final season of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, has signed on to two film projects. According to Variety columnist Michael Fleming, the first film on her plate will be the Showtime film Rated X, starring Charles Sheen and Emilio Estevez. After production finishes up there, DeBoer will move on to Stalk, a film that is written and will be directed by Russell Dugrazier.

Scarlett Pomers Work Log
Christian (4:58 pm CST)
The Official Scarlett Pomers Page has posted an update on what Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman) is currently doing:

Gepetto
Earlier this month, Scarlett spent two weeks working on the Disney musical Geppetto. She lent her singing and dancing talents to one of the movies musical numbers. In the scene, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine star Rene Auberjonis stars as the creator of a group of perfect children. Scarlett is one of the children. Scarlett says that her experience working on this film was "a lot of work, but a lot of fun!" Geppetto also stars Drew Carey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Brent Spiner and will be shown on ABC's Wonderful World of Disney in Spring, 2000.

Erin Brockovich
During these last few weeks, Scarlett was in Barstow, Ca filming the drama Erin Brockovich. The film stars Julia Roberts in the title role. So did Scarlett have a chance to meet Julia? "Yes, I did," says Scarlett, "She was very nice and so pretty. She has a great smile." Scarlett's mother in the film is played by former China Beach star Marg Helgenberger. It seems all of Scarlett's summer projects come full circle back to Trek: Robert Picardo (VOY's Doctor) starred on China Beach as well!

ABC News Now Videos
Christian (4:54 pm CST)
SCIFI Headquarters has put up two videos of ABC News Now's Star Trek Week:

SCIFI Headquarters has the two videos from "ABC News NOW" from there Star Trek Week special. I will post the other segemnts that will air later this week too. Currently I have up, the Trek Merchandise video and Garret Wang video. Each are Real Video G2 and a little over 6 Mb at 112KB per sec in encoding rate.

Hello World!
Christian (4:50 pm CST)
Unfortunately today's update will be extremely short - mostly due to the fact that 'today' ends in ten minutes, here in Europe. You'll have to miss 'New at TrekSeek.com,' 'Trek BBS Today' and 'Today on TV' today, while my usual witty and insightful comments to all the news articles will also be almost non-existent ;-). Expect more tomorrow, when I probably won't be in constant danger of falling asleep over my keyboard :-).

Major Season Six Spoilers
Christian (3:37 pm CST)
Incredibly, the people at TrekWeb have put up spoiler info dealing with the first *13* episodes of Voyager's sixth season:

Our new anonymous source, calling himself 'Admiral Leighton,' has chimed in with what he claims to be a report on some of the stories for the new season currently being developed.

Sev Trek Convention Report
Christian (3:34 pm CST)
This weekend, Sev Trek's John Cook attended the Australian Friends of Science Fiction convention, which was also attended by Aron Eisenberg (Nog). A report of this convention can be found here.

James Cromwell Live Chat
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
At 5:00pm Pacific Time, Entertainment Tonight Online will be hosting a live chat with James Cromwell, who starred as Zefram Cochrane in 'Star Trek: First Contact.' Info on the chat can be found here, while you can submit questions here.

More 'Voyager: Elite Force' Info
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
Raven's Chris Foster and Mike Gummelt just updated their .plans again with a lot of new information of 'Voyager: Elite Force,' their upcoming first-person shooter. Lead designer Chris Foster provides us with some new information on the character you'll be playing as:

First off...you play the Game as Alexander Munro, a security specialist aboard the Voyager. A member of an elite force of away team operatives, Munro will be called upon to defend the ship and its crew from the dangers in a hostile environment. Trapped in an artificial pocket of space by alien beings, Voyaer is disabled and beset on all sides by ruthless scavengers as well as the race which has them trapped.

He will explore many areas on Voyager, (yes even the mess hall...), as well as numerous alien craft also trapped within the pocket. The game will be a single-player affair, with Holomatch options; including Deathmatch, other team games and possibly Multiplayer Co-operative missions outside of the regular single-player game. Munro will have a number of weapons at his disposal throughout the game, some Federation tech... some not.

Paramount Says Farewell To Kelley
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga just mailed me this scan of an ad which first appeared in the Tuesday, June 15th issue of the Hollywood Reporter. The ad shows a mountain background, with in the foreground a white band and a picture of DeForest Kelley. Below the picture, it says 'We Mourn The Loss Of One Of Our Brightest Stars. We Will Miss You.' You can see a full-sized version of the ad by clicking here

'Wars' Despots Vs. 'Trek' Populists
Christian (3:32 pm CST)
Laura Hague just mailed me about a new article at Salon, in which the two philosophies of Star Wars and Star Trek are compared to each other. Writer David Brin is rather positive about Star Trek:

Yes, "Trek" can at times seem preachy, or turgidly politically correct. For example, every species has to mate with every other one, interbreeding with almost compulsive abandon. The only male heroes who are allowed any testosterone are Klingons, because cultural diversity outweighs sexual correctness. (In other words, it's OK for them to be macho 'cause it is "their way.") "Star Trek" television episodes often devolved into soap operas. Many of the movies were very badly written.

Nevertheless, "Trek" tries to grapple with genuine issues, giving complex voices even to its villains and asking hard questions about pitfalls we may face while groping for tomorrow. Anyway, when it comes to portraying human destiny, where would you rather live, assuming you'll be a normal citizen and no demigod? In Roddenberry's Federation? Or Lucas' Empire?

ODN Issue 87 Appears
Christian (3:32 pm CST)
Adam Bailey just sent out issue 87 of the Optical Data Network, the bi-weekly Trek newsletter. Take a look at what this issue contains:

This issue comes to you a week late once again, in honor of some stations' decisions to delay the second half of the Deep Space Nine series finale a week -- including my beloved WGN Channel 9, home of every sports team whose broadcasts have taken priority over first-run programming for the past seven years. Okay, that's not why it's late, but it sounds a lot better than something about me enjoying my vacation a little too much. But we're back now, with a complete issue of Optical Data Network.

I don't know how it happened, but with only 50% extra time, I've managed to double the number of NewsBits in this issue. The average issue has about 50, this one has over 100 (and it seems like half of them are about software, and half of those about Birth of the Federation). Plus the best article about Kelley I could find, links to the rest for those who are interested, along with links to various Kelley tribute sites out there. Rounding out this issue is the UK Airdates article; the US article now being finished for the summer. I had other things to throw in, but I just surpassed 54,000 characters writing this paragraph, so now would be a good time to wrap it up before I get yelled at again.

'Voyager: Elite Force' Preview
Christian (3:32 pm CST)
Mugwum at 3D Action Planet has written a preview of 'Voyager: Elite Force,' Raven's upcoming first-person shooter. Mugwum thinks the chances of the game are rather good:

While Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force is still a long way off (current estimates put it at February 2000), the game will no doubt cause a stir among Trekkies and action gaming fans a-like. Raven Software have a reputation of doing great things with other people's engines, and with the exception of Take No Prisoners and Mage Slayer, they have always provided clever and interesting games for the public to digest. Lets just hope that those two blemishes on a perfect record were just part of a negative phase, and that Raven can Kling-on (outrageous - give this man an award) to their wonderful reputation.

'Thirty Days' Rerun Ratings
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
The Universe has put up the final ratings for 'Thirty Days,' which was shown last week:

The final rating for "Thirty Days" is in, and it doesn't look good. The rating was down 0.1 from last weeks episode, so Voyager got a 2.2 at nr. 98. What is strange is that Voyagers overnight rating was up 0.3 from last week.

Voyager was of course 6th for the hour behind Wbs Charmed that got a 3.1. But what is really strange is that Voyager wasn't the top rated UPN show, the sitcom "Between Brothers" was the top show with a 2.3.

Save Vulcan Fury... Again!
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
YnrohKeeg's StarTrekGames.Net (previously Star Trek Gaming Central) and the Trek Gaming Alliance have relaunched their campaign to save 'Secret Of Vulcan Fury,' Interplay's great adventure game. The game was placed on an 'infinite development cycle' a few months ago, after Interplay ran into financial difficulties, and unfortunately an earlier campaign to save the game was unsuccesfull. However, since DeForest Kelley recently died, and the game might be our chance to see Bones in action one more time, the campaign has now been started again. Please click here to add your name to the list!

Ron B. Moore Chat Transcript
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
The people at the Continuum have put up the transcript of last Thursday's chat with Ronald B. Moore, Visual Effects Producer for all modern Trek series. Take a look at three quotes from the chat:

AL asks:
Could you describe what you do as visual effects supervisor?

Ron B. Moore:
From the preproduction meeting, the visuals are described in the script, and discussed, so that we can understand what it is exactly that the producers want. My first job is to get as much money as I possibly can from Paramount to create the visuals. What usually happens is they won't give me all I ask for. So I want to give as much as I can of the money allotted to create the best visuals I can. Star Trek is really good in that they give me a lot of freedom to design the shots and have them created. There's a lot of people involved in any given episode. And I try to coordinate all their work to the final end product. My boss is Peter Lauritson and below him, Dan Curry, and we're in constant communication. When I complete the work I send a tape to Peter and he cuts the effects into the show. At that point, I find out how much they like them or don't like them and make corrections. At any given time, I may be working on as many as five episodes. It can get confusing.

LostWookie asks:
Star Wars - DId Jar Jar ruin it for you too?

Ron B. Moore:
I thought the character Jar Jar was an incredible feat. The computer generated shots were terrific. I may be alone, but I like Jar Jar.

Kevin Watts asks:
How many frames per second are there in Voyager?

Ron B. Moore:
It depends. Video is 30 frames a second, but we shoot the show at 24 frames per second. This means we have to convert one to the other. So we add what they call "3/2" to the 24 frames a second images to make them 30. I would rather do the show at 30 but it's not up to me. To me, 24 frame a second 3/2 images have a stuttering quality I don't like. In TNG, I did all my shots at 30 and left them at 30. So I think the space shots were smoother. One of the problems that we have is that we always see the images on a very expensive, high quality monitor and we're hard judges. Most likely, most people couldn't tell the difference.

Today On TV
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
-Today at 9:00pm, UPN will be showing Voyager's 'Latent Image,' which first aired on the 20th of January. Take a look at the official description from the Continuum:

While employing his holo-imaging device, The Doctor discovers that his short term memory buffer has been tampered with and fervently initiates an investigation to find the person or thing responsible for the corruption.

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Gestern, heute, morgen, Teil 2' (All Good Things, Part Two). At 15:00, they'll be starting another run of Deep Space Nine, starting with 'Der Abgesandte, Teil 1' (Emissary, Part One).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
Lots of discussions going on at the Trek BBS, including these two:

-Why was the TOS Warp Curve chart restructured in The Next Generation?

-What do you think about sci-fi classic Battlestar Galactica?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:29 pm CST)
Yesterday 7 sites were added to TrekSeek, including the following two:

-Visual Records has, erm, visual records of Star Trek: The Tour, Star Trek: The Experience and conventions.
-Maddy's Treasure Chest sells unique Star Trek coin sets.

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:29 pm CST)
It appears my ISP is on the verge of breaking down - over the past hour or so my connection has been more down than up, and I really hope it'll now function for as long as this update takes.

Tomorrow I'll be incredibly late again, as I have an appointment which will take up most of the evening. There *will* be an update tomorrow, it'll just be extremely late.

'Soap Opera Weekly' Trek Interview
Christian (1:39 pm CST)
Sara Wilcox just sent in the following news item:

The latest issue of (of all things) Soap Opera Weekly has, as one of their articles, a piece about actors who've appeared on various SF shows, including ST, DS9, and Next Generation. Each actor gives a little blurb about the part they played and what they felt about it. Interviewees include Mary Kay Adams, who played Grilka on DS9.

Save The German / English Videos
Christian (1:29 pm CST)
CIC, the European publisher of the Star Trek videos, is currently holding a survey in Germany to see if there are still enough buyers for the double-language German / English videos. CIC will apparently only publish more tapes if there are actually enough people interested in buying these bilingual versions, and they need at least 2000 people to say that they will buy the tapes before deciding to actually publish them. If you live in Germany and you want to make sure the TOS & TNG videos continue to be published, click here to take part in the survey. Thanks go out to the German Star Trek Index for the link, and please excuse any confusion my poor mastery of the German language may have caused :-).

New Sev Trek Comic
Christian (1:29 pm CST)

Lucas Assimilates Starfleet HQ
Christian (1:28 pm CST)
As if 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace' beating 'Trekkies' at the box office wasn't enough to humiliate Star Trek fans, yesterday George Lucas announced he'll be building a $250 million 'digital arts center' of San Francisco's Presidio. Take a look at what the center will contain:

The Presidio Trust, set up by Congress to plot the future of the 1,500-acre former Army base on prime real estate at the northern end of the city, approved Lucasfilm Ltd.'s plan to create a campus-like setting that will house Industrial Light & Magic, Lucas Arts, Lucas Learning, THX, the George Lucas Educational Foundation and Lucas Online.

The separate companies are now scattered around the San Francisco Bay area and will let their current leases expire when their combined 1,600 employees begin moving into the new facility in 2002. The facility will be able to accommodate up to 2,500 employees, ''allowing us the chance to grow,'' said Lucasfilm president Gordon Radley. The first resident is expected to be special effects powerhouse ILM, which has been based in San Rafael for 20 years. ILM operated in Los Angeles from 1975 to '77 before heading north after completing Lucas' ``Star Wars.''

Transwarp Issue 63
Christian (1:28 pm CST)
Issue 63 of Transwarp, the weekly newsletter which seems to have turned monthly, just arrived in my mailbox. The newsletter contains info on DeForest Kelley's death, upcoming episode schedules, re-prints of Trek articles, and the usual Trek Fun section. Of course, the Trek fun section also includes the question of the week (month):

This week's poll question:
Were you satisfied with the series finale of Star Trek Deep Space Nine?

Send your responses to polls@transwarp.stwww.com with "Yes" or "No", as well as the poll topic, in the subject line. The number of responses either way will be posted in the next issue.

Last question & answers:
So far, have the Deep Space Nine final six episodes lived up to what was expected of them?

YES: 17
NO: 8

'Extreme Measures' Ratings
Christian (1:28 pm CST)
The Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database has put up the ratings report for 'Extreme Measures,' DS9's third-to-last episode. There's no really shocking news in the report:

Despite some early-week critics that spread some bad word-of-mouth about "Extreme Measures," the episode still managed to keep the Final Chapter winning streak up, earning a 4.4 and ranking 12th. That's flat from last week's "Tacking Into the Wind" and the episode that aired this week last year was a rerun (though this episode did perform slightly below the nearest comparable show -- "Time's Orphan" of last May)

John Ordover Speaks Out
Christian (1:26 pm CST)
It's a new week, and a new set of answers from John Ordover is available at the Pocket Books web site. Take a look at three of the most interesting questions and answers:

Query from: Brad
What percentage of the Star Trek writers have E-mail access in one form or another? I know Greg Cox, Steven Barnes, John Vornholt, Peter David, Diane Duane, A.C. Crispin, Josepha Sherman, Susan Shwartz, Mike Okuda, and Rick Sternbach have E-mail (they either post on newsgroups or list their address in the back of their books), but how many others use E-mail to communicate with you? Are there any that don't have E-mail at all?

Response from: John Ordover
Almost all the Trek authors have email - in fact pretty much all of them do by now.

Query from: The real Daniel
Have you ever entertained the idea of a mega writer writing a star trek novel? Stephen King, Koonts, Daniel Steel? Clancy?

Response from: John Ordover
Mega-writers aren't interested in writing anything but their own stuff.

Query from: Kristina
If you write a TOS novel you hope to get published, can you use a specie invented by an other author or do you need their permission? (I'm not talking about a specific charachter.)

Response from: John Ordover
Nope. Everything all the authors do is owned by Paramount. However, we don't normally like to return to aliens created for earlier books.

Trek Bad Boys
Christian (1:26 pm CST)
The high-profile US magazine National Enquirer has put up yet another piece of quality writing - a look at Hollywood's 'bad boys.' In it, they talk about 'extramarital affairs to spouse abuse and barroom brawls, cross-dressing and sizzling home porn tapes.' Included in the article is a short mention of William Shatner, who both had some problems with their marriages years ago.

Another DeForest Kelley Fund
Christian (1:25 pm CST)
Today is the last day I'll be listing links related to DeForest Kelley's tragic death, the reasoning being that today is also the day Jim Griffith's Internet Letter of Condolence campaign ends. If you haven't yet participated in that, please do so now.

• SyFy World and the Leonard Nimoy fan club are reporting that a second DeForest Kelley memorial fund has been set up:

  According to DesLily on the America OnLine Message Boards, Kelley was in the process of setting up a fellowship at Harvard University when he died. This fellowship would help provide training and research for physicians and physician-scientists specializing in the type of tumor that cost him his life. To contribute to this fund, please send donations to the following address:

  DeForest Kelley Fellowship Fund
  c/o Timothy Welch
  Harvard Medical School
  25 Shattuck Street, Room 306A
  Boston, MA 02115

• Info about the DeForest Kelley Memorial Fund can be found here.

• Yahoo has links to the most important media articles.

• Here's a note from Atavachron about Kelley's death.

• DeForest Kelley's full filmography can be found here.

• TrekToday's DeForest Kelley memorial page can still be found here.

• According to the obituary at Variety, a memorial service for Kelley will be held at Paramount Studios later this month. Thanks go out to Holly Kim Wilson for pointing me to this.

Today on TV
Christian (1:24 pm CST)
-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing TOS' 'Devil in the Dark,' starring the Horta.

-According to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Prophet Motive' tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST. At 18:00 tomorrow , the BBC will apparently be showing TNG's 'The Quality Of Life.'

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Gestern, heute, morgen, Teil 1' (All Good Things, Part One) tomorrow morning at 02:00 CET. At 15:00 CET, they'll be showing 'Gestern, heute, morgen, Teil 2' (All Good Things, Part Two.).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (1:24 pm CST)
The Trek BBS now has more than 250 members, which means that we're growing at the astounding rate of five new members per day! Take a look at some of the discussions our registered members (and unregistered guests) have been having:

-In our new Original Series forum, we talk about the greatest TOS episodes ever.

-Read Neverdie's thoughts on how Star Trek X should begin.

-Do you think that Voyager's ratings will go up now that DS9 is gone?

Find lots more discussion topics at the Trek BBS, and feel free to add new ones!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (1:23 pm CST)
Yesterday we added four new sites to TrekSeek, including this one:

-The Original Star Trek Episode List contains a list of all episodes, including episode number, air date, description, personal rating, selected content, and scan of the video tape box.

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (1:23 pm CST)
For the first time in the past couple of centuries, I'm actually on time again! Admittedly, this may have something to do with the shocking lack of Trek news, but still. If you missed yesterday's update due to today's earlyness, I suggest you check out yesterday's news here.

WEIRD LINK OF THE DAY: Raunchy Karaoke Song Provokes Fatal Brawl - the suspect: Rene Echevarria. Of course it's not the DS9 writer, but it certainly had me going 'wow!' when I first read it.

(Special note: I will personally make life miserable for anyone who re-posts this link stating that 'TrekToday has said DS9 writer Rene Echevarria is charged for murder' - you're warned ;-)

Starfleet Command Demo Soon
Christian (2:34 pm CST)
YnrohKeeg at Star Trek Gaming Central just posted some exciting news about a possible Starfleet Command demo:

I've just received the "beta copy" of the Starfleet Command demo. There are a couple of improvements, and one of them is an EXTREMELY COOL improvement. [...] Currently, the demo only has two Federation training missions, the Kobayashi Maru scenario, and limited multiplayer capability for the Federation and Klingons. I don't know when (or if) this demo will become available to the public, but I will let you know if I find out about that.

ABC 'World News Now' Trek Week
Christian (2:33 pm CST)
Apparently ABC's World News Now is currently doing a Star Trek Week. Devin Clancy just posted the following about this to Psi Phi's DS9 forum:

If you're like me and you work nights or can't sleep, check out ABC's World news Now. This is Star Trek week on the overnight broadcast. Tonight they talked about the movies and they did a lousy job. They barely mentioned DeForrest's death, but maybe the coverage will improve later in the week.

(humorously though, they showed the cooking scene in Generations and the commentator says, "oh, this is the one where Kirk and picard play the gay retired couple.") Also, oddly, they used the Caretaker's banjo music to go with the weather report.

Robert Beltran Yearbook Pictures
Christian (2:32 pm CST)
The Official Robert Beltran Fan Club has put up four pages of yearbook pictures, showing Robert Beltran (Chakotay) as a freshman, a sophomore, a junior and a senior. You can find the four pages of pictures by following this link. They're not of an extremely high quality, but certainly it is interesting to see what Beltran looked like when he was still a lot younger!

James Cromwell Chat On Wednesday
Christian (2:32 pm CST)
This Wednesday, Entertainment Tonight Online will be hosting a live chat with James Cromwell, who starred as Dr. Zefram Cochrane in 'Star Trek: First Contact.' The chat begins at 5:00pm Pacific Time, but you can already submit questions here, while more info on the chat itself is also available. Thanks go out to the Continuum for pointing me to this.

Jeri Ryan An X-Woman?
Christian (2:32 pm CST)
According to AnotherUniverse's Daily Buzz (which heard it from ZENtertainment, which found it at Corona Coming Attractions), Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine) is being considered for the role of Mystique. Ally McBeal's Lucy Liu is apparently also being considered for this role. If Ryan is selected for the role, she'll be joining Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), who has already been cast as Prof. X.

BotF 8th On Software Charts
Christian (2:32 pm CST)
Last week we already learned that 'Star Trek: Birth of the Federation' occupied the third place on the American computer games sales charts. According to a new bestseller chart published by the Washington Post, the game also occupies the 8th spot on the general software chart, below titles such as 'Star Wars,' 'Encarta' and 'Norton Antivirus.' The full chart, as compiled by PC Data, can be found here.

Goldberg & Meany As Leprechauns
Christian (2:31 pm CST)
Variety's Cynthia Littleton is reporting that Whoopi Goldberg (TNG, Guinan) and Colm Meany (Miles O'Brien) have signed on for 'Leprechauns,' a four-hour miniseries NBC will be airing in November. The miniseries deals with an expatriate American in Ireland (played by Randy Quaid), who discovers that his country cottage is inhabited by a family of leprechauns. He soon becomes involved in a conflict that breaks out when a young leprechaun runs off with a princess from the wrong side of the fairy kingdom.

Whoopi Goldberg will star as Grand Banshee, a bigwig in the fairy kingdom, while Colm Meany will play the head leprechaun - a role which I'd say fits him perfectly. The full article can be found here - thanks go out to Holly Kim Wilson for pointing me to this.

DeForest Kelley Memorial Fund
Christian (2:31 pm CST)
The Official William Shatner Connection is reporting that a DeForest Kelley Memorial Fund has been established:

Carolyn Kelley has expressed her gratitude to the fans for their heartfelt wishes at this very difficult time. She has also requested that no flowers be sent (there is simply no more room due to the quantity being sent). Instead, should they so desire, a contribution to the newly established DeForest Kelley Memorial Fund at the North Shore Animal League, would be most welcome.

The North Shore Animal League is an organization that has been very close to De's heart for many years. As soon as the arrangements have been completed we will post exactly where contributions may be sent. The total sum of the contributions, together with the names of the fans involved will be sent to Carolyn on a revolving basis.

It is our sincere hope that with the establishment of this Memorial Fund, De's name will forever be honored in a manner befitting the warm, loving human being that was DeForest Kelley.

Today on TV
Christian (2:30 pm CST)
-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the first-season TOS episode 'This Side of Paradise.'

-Tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Destiny,' according to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective.

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Die Rückkehr von Ro Laren' (Preemptive Strike) tomorrow morning at 00:05 CET. At 15:00 they'll be showing 'Gestern, heute, morgen, Teil 1' (All Good Things, Part One).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (2:29 pm CST)
Take a look at three discussions currently going on at the Trek BBS:

-With the passing of DeForest Kelley, should Interplay perhaps consider finishing the Secret of Vulcan Fury game again?

-What are your strategies for the Birth of the Federation game.

-Do you also agree that now is the time to give the HoloDoc a name, in honour of DeForest Kelley?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS, and feel free to add new topics for discussion - no registration is required!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (2:29 pm CST)
Five new sites were added to TrekSeek yesterday, including the below two:

-Truth in Feedback has Voyager fan fiction reviews and author resources.
-The Bajoran Embassy is dedicated to the Show DS9 and to the scientific aspect of Star Trek in general. There is a texts archive with over a hundred essays on ST and there are quite a few files to download as well.

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (2:29 pm CST)
Ever so slowly, TrekToday is creeping back to the old early update times. I'm still hoping in a few days I'll be able to put up updates at 20:00 CET again, which is actually my target time for TrekToday.

Rick Berman On Trek's Future
Christian (3:24 pm CST)
The Star Trek Universe has just put up a transcript of an interview with Rick Berman, which first appeared in Friday's Chicago Tribune. In the article, Berman spoke about Trek Series V:

Berman suggests, "there's a very good chance", that there will be another 'Trek' program, "before another year or two goes by". He refused to go into details, but hinted the show is "going to be more dranatically different, I believe, from what we have done before... dramatic meaning it's going to be unique.... it won't be as close to the three exisiting shows." He adds that the lull between a new 'Trek' show and 'Voyager', which in recent years has grown into a credible action series, will allow the franchise to "breathe a little bit," as opposed to exploiting the series"

Nana Visitor Chat Transcript
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
The people at TV Guide have finally put up the transcript of the chat with Nana Visitor, which took place about two weeks ago. Take a look at three of the most interesting questions and answers:

suzygirl1969: Do the wrinkles on your nose bother you?

Visitor: They did at first because I could see them out of the corners of my eyes and I used to get itchy. But after 2 years of it, I felt funny when I didn't have it on. I got used to it.

Dash_The_Lost_WebSurfer: How did you and Alexander Siddig first start to date? I know you two are married.

Visitor: We had been friends since the pilot and I was married at the time and he was friendly with my husband as well. And when we split he moved in with Siddig, we remained friends, and Sid and I did too. And Sid used to bring all his girlfriends over to dinner and I would tell him what I thought of them all. We were really friends, and then suddenly it changed and it moved very quickly after that. We suddenly had a house, and family and a child.

cheile: I loved the Odo/Kira romance — it was so well done. What was your favorite of the Odo/Kira episodes?

Visitor: My favorite aspect of the romance is that we started as friends and it was a mature relationship with understanding and lots of space for each person to be their own person. I didn't want it to turn into a romance — I wanted it to be just a friendship between a man and a woman but I think it turned out very nicely.

Stewart At 'Austin Powers 2' Premiere
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
SCIFI Headquarters has put up a short video clip which originally came from Entertainment Tonight. In the video clip, which is available as a 600kb Real Video file, you'll be able to see Patrick Stewart and someone else (Wendy Neuss? Does anyone know what she looks like?) as they attended the 'Austin Powers 2' premiere. Find the video here.

Cynical Voyager Season 5 Review
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
David E. Sluss at the Cynics Corner Interactive has written his Voyager season 5 review, offering a a round-up of the entire season:

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Consistently mediocre bordering on bad. This is contrasted with the fourth season, which also averaged as mediocre, but had wild swings in quality, with several very good episodes, and a lot of total dogs. This season featured fewer outstanding episodes and fewer mutts, but a lot in the category.

Trek Toy News
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
At the Raving Toy Maniac, a new batch of Trek action figure info has been made available. First up is the news that the Official Star Trek fan club is planning to offer their next exclusive this September, namely a 12" Captain Kirk as a Romulan. Their previous figure, Captain MacKenzie Calhoun, apparently sold over 15,000 units. In other news, three Target Exclusive Starfleet Command products have started shipping this week:

"The Best of Both Worlds" Twin Pack, which features repaints of the original 5" Locutus and Borg figures, is available for $19.99. 9" Nurse Christine Chapel and Captain Jean-Luc Picard in jacket are available for $27.99 each.

Armin Shimerman Chat Transcript
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
A transcript of the recent TV Guide chat with Armin Shimerman (Quark) has just been put up. Take a look at two quotes from the transcript:

fyre9: What was your first impression of yourself, once you saw the makeup on your face?

Shimerman: I didn't really have a first impression. I do remember being at work for several weeks, and being at the urinal one day and looking up and seeing myself in the mirror and having an epiphany about what the rest of the world saw. It was rather a shock.

yfox9969: What are your plans after DS9, any more TV?

Shimerman: I am developing a pilot show called Real Story — sort of based on a Truman Capote character, produced by Tom Fontana. And of course I am doing a play.

New Jeri Ryan Images
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
The official Jeri Lynn Ryan Homepage just put up a gallery of nine images from the August 1999 issue of Sci-Fi TV, which features an interview with Jeri Ryan (Seven of Nine). You can find the photos here.

'Insurrection' Game Preview
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
Jason Samuel at Games.net has put up a first look at 'Star Trek: Insurrection,' Activision's upcoming adventure game based on the movie of the same name. The preview contains info on the game's plot and graphics, and even has the exciting news that there might soon be coming a demo:

This title looks like it could be a nice development in the dying adventure market. It's not strictly an adventure game because you will shoot things, jump around, and generally interact with your environment a lot more than in, say, Grim Fandango. On the other hand, it's not an action game like Tomb Raider: you will be able to take things slower, explore around, be given lots of direction, and usually not need to jump around like a wild woman. Presto Studios, the game's developer, is planning to issue a demo in the coming months, and is shooting to release the game this fall.

Happy Birthdays
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
Today is the 56th birthday of Malcolm McDowell, who starred as Dr. Tolian Soran in 'Generations.' Yesterday was the birthday of Felecia M. Bell, best known for her role as Jennifer Sisko on Deep Space Nine.

Today on TV
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
-In the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Heart of Stone' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST. At 20:00, they'll be showing the new Voyager episode 'Nothing Human.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for this.

-At 15:00 CET tomorrow, German Sat.1 will be showing TNG's 'Die Rückkehr von Ro Laren' (Preemptive Strike.)

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
Over the past two days, most of the discussions at the Trek BBS of course dealt with DeForest Kelley's passing away. Most of these discussions took place in the new Original Series forum, in which almost all of the threads currently deal with De. Still, life goes on, and a few other discussions are currently going on as well:

-What are your thoughts on the 'Equinox, Part Two' synopsis TrekWeb recently put up?

-Did you also think the relationship between Jadzia Dax and Worf was rather disturbing, due to its violent nature? Let the world know what you think about this here!

-Do you still remember Mercy Point, the failed 'ER in space?'

Find more topics at the Trek BBS, and feel free to add new topics to the BBS - registration still is not required!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
Over the past two days, nine sites were added to TrekSeek, bringing us to a total of 1217 Star Trek links. Take a look at three of those new sites:

-The The Hitchhikers Guide To Star Trek is a basic information site, on the cast and crew of the shows, movie information, and much much more. Ever wanted to know how a holodeck works, or what the name of Kirk's son was? You'll find it here.
-At Janeway vs. Kirk you'll be able o decide which of the two captains is the best.
-USS Inquisitor tells the story of a small crew of five Starfleet volunteers who must traverse time and space in an untested experimental ship to prevent the destruction of their Federation by a seemingly unstoppable enemy.

Find more new sites in the full listing for Friday and Saturday.

Hello World!
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
It feels really strange to get back to a regular TrekToday again, after yesterday's sad news. It also still feels inappropriate to write glowing updates about new exciting computer games or action figures, but of course life does go on, so I decided to simply produce a regular TrekToday update today again.

Hello World!
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
My obsession with Star Trek began with the 'Star Trek 25th Anniversary' game. I'd already watched several TNG episodes, but I wasn't really a fan yet. Then, right after I'd bought my first CD-Rom drive, I found the magazine 'CD-Rom Now' in my local bookstore. The cover featured a lovely photo of the Enterprise-D, and I immediately bought it. On the cover disc, I found the first episode of the '25th Anniversary,' called 'Demon's World.' I played the first episode, loved it, and later bought the full game.

A few months later, I discovered a huge Star Trek section in that same bookstore. I browsed through a few of the books, and finally decided on Alan Dean Foster's 'Star Trek Logs 1-3,' featuring no less than nine Animated Series stories (though I didn't yet know they came from the animated series). That was my first introduction to Classic Star Trek. Later on I bought the rest of Alan Dean Foster's books, and when I'd finished those, I started reading James Blish's adaptations of the Original Series.

A while later, Star Trek suddenly became a lot more popular here in the Netherlands. The new station SBS 6 started showing 'Deep Space Nine,' and the new golden oldies station 'TV 10 Gold' would start showing the Original Series. I was perhaps even more excited about the Original Series being shown for the first time than I was about Deep Space Nine starting. The first episode I saw was 'The Corbomite Maneuver' (I unfortunately missed 'Where No Man Has Gone Before,' which I still have not seen), and I loved it. Of course, the special effects didn't look as great, but, for the first time, I was finally able to see my heroes as they were meant to be seen. The stories I'd lived through in my imagination suddenly became real, and they were great.

Over time my love for Star Trek developed, and I started buying more books and computer games. On a local BBS, I even found a full archive of episode reviews and old editions of the 'Dateline: Starfleet' newsletter, and I spent weeks reading through those. Around December 1997, the local BBS shut down, and I decided to get online. In this way, I would be able to continue reading all those episode reviews, and I even got a (badly-written) book review published in the 'Dateline: Starfleet' newsletter. I gradually became more and more involved with online fandom, until I reached the stage where I'm now, following all the latest Deep Space Nine and Voyager developments. The Original Series was (is) still very important to me, and, though I think DS9 is the best Trek series ever produced, TOS is the one I'm the most fond of.

This morning, my mailbox was flooded with news announcements of DeForest Kelley's death, and it was one of the saddest days in a long time. I wasn't there when Gene Roddenberry or Mark Lenard died, and this was the first death of a major Trek figure I experienced. Then I cried. Not only because one of the kindest actors Trek has ever known died, but also because this meant yet another major step towards the Original Series' final end.

De, I'll miss you, and I'll treasure the memory of the unforgettable Bones McCoy in the greatest television series the world has ever known.

Chasing Masterson
Christian (3:16 pm CST)
The people at Eon have put up another edition of 'Chasing Masterson,' Chase Masterson's monthly column. This month, Chase's column is, er, written by Albert L. Ortega:

Hi everyone its your ever lovin' photo editor pinch hitting for our lovely columnist Chase Masterson who is abroad and going cross country meeting and greeting her fans and the supportive public. I hope I can do her column justice... Just as DEEP SPACE NINE was about to achieve closure, Weekend on the Promenade held what may be its final gathering. Established by Alexander Siddig in May 1994 in an effort to truly meet his fans as opposed to the larger more impersonal conventions most fans have to flock to, it has become a tradition. Always rooted in charity the first "Lunch with the Doctor" raised $2500 for Amnesty International. Other DS9 fan clubs soon followed suit.

Trek Ratings Reports
Christian (3:16 pm CST)
An incredible lot of work has been done at the Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database, as the site now has no less than three lengthy new reports up - the DS9 May Sweeps Report, the DS9 March-April report and the Voyager May Sweeps Report. March and April weren't that important for DS9, and nothing much really happened in those months, as you can read in the full report. The May Sweeps were a lot more important, though, and fortunately the series did rather well then:

This was DS9's strongest sweeps in a while and in respect to the current season, one of DS9's best May Sweeps showing of the series' run. Meanwhile, DS9's former tough competition, Xena and Hercules, have disappeared from the charts.

For what is one of the first times in DS9's entire run, an episode during this period actually beat the comparable episode from the season before. "When It Rains..." barely defeated the episode from a year ago, "Profit and Lace," and "Strange Bedfellows" tied DS9's year ago mark from "The Reckoning." Altogether, this adds up to a very good month. In fact, had "Tacking Into the Wind" been able to best "Time's Orphan"'s 4.6, this May would have outperformed last season's May Sweeps.

[...]

On an even better note, for the first time in DS9's run, May's average was higher than February's. This is no doubt due to the finale arc, and shows that DS9 had quite a bit of strength to pull viewers back in towards the end.

Psi Phi DS9 Retrospectives
Christian (3:15 pm CST)
Over at Psi Phi's DS9 Forum, a daily series of DS9 retrospectives has started, in which the members of the forum will be looking back at every Deep Space Nine episode from the past seven seasons. Currently retrospective threads for 'Emissary' and 'Past Prologue' are already available, and more will follow over the next six months.

Full 'Equinox II' Synopsis Online
Christian (3:15 pm CST)
After being the first site to post a 'What You Leave Behind' script synopsis, the folks at TrekWeb have once again managed to get an exclusive scoop - a synopsis of the first Voyager episode next season. This is of course 'Equinox, Part Two,' following up on Voyager's encounter with Captain Ransom and the U.S.S. Equinox a few weeks ago. You can find the full synopsis here.

'Free Enterprise' Premiere Report
Christian (3:15 pm CST)
The new edition of Eon Magazine contains a report of the 'World Premiere' of 'Free Enterprise,' the independent film starring William Shatner. The article is written from a rather unique perspective:

I have a long history with these guys -- as a matter of fact I was the unit photographer on this film. It seemed like only yesterday that Mark A. Altman had asked me to serve as staff photographer on his Sci-Fi Universe magazine and then brought me aboard Eon, but it was in the rainiest part of February of 1998 that I found myself allied again with Mr. Altman and the ever present Trek encyclopedia Robert Meyer Burnett. I love these guys; their enthusiasm and passion was what got the film from start to finish so it gives me great pleasure to finally see the culmination of this wonderful pair's dreams come true with the grand premiere of FREE ENTERPRISE.

Being the official photographer that night allowed me the vantage point of capturing all the arrivals via the red carpet as well as the lesser known names that were the filmmakers friends and family

Tim Lynch Leaves Us Behind
Christian (3:14 pm CST)
Sort of, at least, as he's written his last-ever regular DS9 episode review. In his review, he mentions that he thought 'What You Leave Behind' was somewhat disappointing, and he awards the episode a 7. Lynch ends his review with the following farewell to fans of his reviews:

And with DS9's goodbye comes one of my own. I bade farewell to TNG reviews five years ago, but knew I wasn't going away for good--after all, there was DS9 as an ongoing series. This time, after eleven years, it's likely really it. (Before you ask... yes, I'll do a season-7 wrap-up later this summer. A full DS9 retrospective is possible, but if I do it I'm hoping to do it for real publication rather than virtual.)

I started reviewing TNG in my late teens. I was in college, single, enjoying this new-to-me concept called e-mail and Usenet, televised science fiction was rare, and I decided that if my roommate could do reviews, I could damn well manage it on my own. :-) Now I'm less than a year away from my thirties, I'm out of school (well, out of student-hood, anyway), I'm happily married (coming up on eight years), reviewers are atop every rock (and in a few cases under them :-) ), everyone not currently orbiting the planet is online, SFTV is too plentiful for anyone with an actual life to keep up with completely, and it's time to go.

[...]

And as before, I'd like to thank anyone who's taken enough of an interest in these reviews to keep me writing them. I said some of this in 1993, but it's still true. Your comments and feedback have helped me realize where my own flaws as a reviewer and as a writer lie--they have given me ideas to chew upon, praise when I most needed it, bubble-bursting reality when I most (and sometimes least) needed it, job offers once or twice, mountains of e-mail I have yet to answer some of :-), and in some cases have been more of an influence in this most recent one-third of my life than you may realize. I thank you for your interest, your tolerance, and your enthusiasm.

As Kai Opaka said long ago, "Your pagh and mine... will cross again." For now, though... s'long, folks.

Louise Fletcher Interview
Christian (3:14 pm CST)
Michelle Erica Green at AnotherUniverse's Mania Magazine has put up an interview with Louise Fletcher (Kai Winn). In the rather long article, Fletcher talks about the character of Winn, her own acting career, and her meetings with Trek fans:

"I haven't done many conventions, I've only done two or three, it's just been amazing," Fletcher says. "One of my sons drove me once to the one in Pasadena. He and I were both astonished at the length of time people would stand in line to get a picture. I was sort of amazed! I haven't done many conventions so I'm not used to it; I was sort of blown away by it."

In contrast to series actors who are intimidated by the intensity of Trekkies, Fletcher finds Kai Winn's followers quite grounded in comparison to the some of the fans of Nurse Ratched [her Oscar-winning role in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' - TT] who write to her.

"Star Trek fans are so nice. I think they're a special breed of people," she notes. "They like the bad guy and the good guy, they know what's what, and they have a penchant for fantasy. I don't get any fan letters from people in jail from Star Trek. But fans of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest are writing from all kinds of institutions." The actress laughs. "I got the most incredible fan letter yesterday from some guy in prison who claims to be a fall guy for the Bush-Reagan years, you know?"

'Blaze of Glory' Interview Transcript
Christian (3:14 pm CST)
The people at Decipher have put up a transcript of the recent 'Radio Free Decipher' broadcast dealing with the new Star Trek Customizable Card Game expansion pack 'Blaze of Glory.' During the show, host Carol Wisely talked to game designer Tim Ellington and 'Star Trek CCG Emissary' Marcus Certa. In the transcript, they talk about when we can expect the expansion pack:

Carol: Can you tell us how close we are to seeing Blaze of Glory?

Tim:We've finished most of the development and we're at the approval stages. Mostly production issues remain - printing, packaging, sorting and shipping and that sort of thing. We're hoping that will go fairly quickly, and then we've got mostly production issues - printing, packaging and so forth - before it's on the shelves. We hope it's four to six weeks.

Image selection is complete. Design work is complete, escept for some feedback we might get from Paramount. [...] We expect one or two tweaks that may come from Paramount. We're looking at it to be ready in mid-July, though a lot of things now depend on the production issues, the nuts and bolts of producing a product, things that we schedule - printing, packaging, sorting and shipping - but don't have much control over.

'Voyager: Elite Force' Nominated
Christian (3:13 pm CST)
The Continuum is reporting that Raven's 'Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force' interview was recently mentioned on the "Twelve Surprise Games of E3" list compiled by critics from GameSlice magazine. Find the full article here.

Nana Visitor In Entertainment Weekly
Christian (3:13 pm CST)
Sandra P. Angulo at Entertainment Weekly has put up an interview with Nana Visitor, who used to star on Deep Space Nine as Colonel Kira Nerys. In the article, she says that she doesn't believe there'll be a Deep Space Nine movie:

''I really doubt there'll be a movie. They'll go from the 'Next Generation' cast to the 'Voyager' cast. Once again we'll be the passed-over middle child,'' Visitor says, referring to the cast's complaints that the Star Trek empire's youngest show, Voyager, received more publicity and studio support than DS9. ''They could pick us all up from our different worlds, but I don't think it's going to happen.''

"Jackie's Back" Trek References
Christian (3:13 pm CST)
Next Monday, the US Lifetime cable network will be showing the TV movie 'Jackie's Back.' The movie deals with with a comeback concert of an 'extravagantly spoiled and self-aggrandizing diva,' who returns to her hometown precisely for this concert. Unfortunately, initially it doesn't seem to be very succesful, as all the locals mistake her for Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols. The main role in the movie is played by Jenifer Lewis, though Whoopi Goldberg (TNG, Guinan) also has a role in it.

Today on TV
Christian (3:13 pm CST)
-Tomorrow in the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Past Tense, Part Two' at 16:00 BST, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Investigations.' Thanks go out to the Television Observation Unit of the Star Trek Collective for this.

-Tomorrow morning at 02:45 CET, German Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Neue Intelligenz' (Emergence). At 16:05 CET, they'll be showing Voyager's 'Tuvoks Flashback' (Flashback).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:12 pm CST)
Televised Star Trek may have gone on hiatus in the U.S., but the Trek BBS is still going strong. Check out some of the current active discussions:

-Should we disable the censored words option again at the Trek BBS?

-With its high quality, has Deep Space Nine ruined us to Voyager?

-If you were able to pick characters from all the series, what would be your ultimate starship crew?

Find more at the Trek BBS, and feel free to add new discussions!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:12 pm CST)
An incredible 9 new sites were submitted to TrekSeek yesterday, including the following three:

-Star Trek Lt. Galloway is a site which I already thought was hilarious back when I first found it. It's the official site of David L. Ross, the actor who played the part of Lt. Galloway in the Original Series. The actor is now apparently trying to squeeze some money from his role, as his web site will soon feature a fan club (membership $9.95 a month), an online shop, chats and more. Of course, this was already promised four months ago back when I first found the site, but it's still an interesting one to visit.
-New Borg City is the home of the Star Trek Customizable Card Game Newbie Reviews. The site also includes other information for new CCG players.
-Draconian's Star Trek Lair currently has pages for Voyager, the new series, STX, actor/actress information, and upcoming episode information.

Find lots more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:12 pm CST)
Does anyone know where I can find a troubleshooting guide for running local area networks? I've got a small network here (consisting of just two computers and a hub, though I'll probably be adding another one), but for some reason the network connection seems to crash after running for about ten minutes or so. Are there any web sites that contain guides to installing networks?

Farewell To DS9
Christian (2:59 pm CST)
Julia Houston, About.com's guide to Star Trek Fans, has written a 'Farewell, DS9' article, looking at the past seven years of the best Trek series ever:

Some of the very best of Star Trek happened on DS9, and though the show was dark and pessimistic at times, though it relied more on war than on exploration, though people complained about Worf's transfer from TNG, and though the final episode has broken up the party and sent just about everyone home, the show's complexity, character-based drama, mysticism and sheer guts changed the definition of the entire Star Trek franchise.

New Sev Trek Competition
Christian (2:58 pm CST)

John Cook at Sev Trek has just uploaded a new edition of the 'Write Your Own Sev Trek Competition:'

Beta and Gaudy!
Here's an idea I chose to draw during the State of Origin rugby league game (the Australian version of the superbowl) because I thought it would be easy, not realising I would end up having to draw the whole Engineering Room in the background. Still, I was quite happy with how it turned out - it's interesting to see how my cartoons have developed since I drew Beta and Gaudy in Sev Trek comic strip #2.

Tricorder A Reality?
Christian (2:58 pm CST)
A press release from Eaton Hall Expositions just made its way to the internet via Business Wire. The press release deals with the 'Hand Washing Olympics' and a conference on hygiene which will take place in the exhibit hall of the Washington, DC Hilton and Towers Hotel starting the 14th of June. The conference, called the 'Food Safety Summit,' will also include demonstrations of many new technologies, including a product reminiscent of a Star Trek tricorder, an electronic device which detects bacteria when placed into a sample solution. Find the full press release here.

BotF Hits Bestseller Charts
Christian (2:57 pm CST)
Great news for TNG computer fans! The new 'Star Trek TNG: Birth of the Federation' game has 'shot up the best-seller list like a starship at warp nine,' according to the official top 10 published at GameCenter. In the week beginning the 23rd of May, the game occupied the third spot, just below the two new Star Wars games, and right above SimCity 3000. Find the full top 10 here.

Massive John Ordover Update
Christian (2:57 pm CST)
After his Q&A board was down last week, Pocket Books editor John Ordover apparently seems intent on making up for that now, as he's again posted a massive batch of responsed to visitors' questions. Take a look at three of the most interesting questions and their responses:

Query from: Brent
Are there any plans for anymore INVASION! books? Of all of the miniseries (that plus Day of Honor and The Captain's Table) I thought those were the best.

Response from: John Ordover
Glad you liked INVASION! so much! Try out Double Helix, on sale now - it has the same kind of tightly linked storytelling. There are no new Invasion books planned in the near future, but who knows? In the future we might even do a series of books that add one more book to our other series...:)

Query from: Eric
John- What's this Badlands trilogy by Susan Wright? Why haven't you mentioned it before? Eric

Response from: John Ordover
It's not a trilogy, only two books, and tells the history, from the TOS timeframe to the current day, of the Badlands from DS9.

Query from: rick
According to amazon.co.uk (the U.K. branch of amazon.com) the international edition of STAR TREK INSURRECTION has not yet been released. Has a release date been set?

Response from: John Ordover
I'm not sure. Haven't seen paperwork on it yet.

Ron B. Moore Chat
Christian (2:56 pm CST)
Today, the Continuum will be hosting a live chat with Ron B. Moore, Visual Effects Supervisor for both 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and 'Star Trek: Voyager.' The chat starts at 06:30pm Pacific Time, but advance questions can already be submitted here. If you want to know how you can participate, info about that is also available.

TNG Writer & Stern Create Series
Christian (2:56 pm CST)
According to a press release from Film Roman, Tracy Tormé has created a new animated sci-fi/comedy series, called 'Doomsday.' Tormé worked on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' in its first three seasons, during which he co-wrote episodes such as 'Haven' and 'The Big Goodbye.' After that she went on to write and produce for series such as 'Sliders,' and now he's apparently involved in creating the 'Doomsday' series together with Film Roman and Howard Stern Productions:

The concept was created by Torme. Howard Stern will also play an integral role in the development of the script and in the production of the series. The announcement was made Wednesday by Film Roman President of Television Programming Mark Lieber, who described the sci-fi/comedy series as an original and innovative television concept that will redefine prime-time animated television.

A well-known cast of celebrities will be invited to voice the characters of ``Doomsday,'' joining Howard Stern, who has agreed to voice a special character for the series. Stern will also be inviting a number of his celebrity friends to appear as special guest voices on the show.

``Doomsday'' tells the story of the Bradley family, who travel in a motor-home across a post-apocalyptic United States in search of a new home and traditional family values. The Bradleys face a world turned upside down, where danger and stupidity lurk behind the remains of a civilization destroyed by a cataclysmic burst of radiation.

'Thirty Days' Overnight Ratings
Christian (2:55 pm CST)
Michael Iversen at the Universe has put up the Overnight Ratings for yesterday's rerun of 'Latent Image.' Rather amazingly for Voyager, the news is actually good:

The overnight rating for Latent Image is in, and it looks better than last week. Voyager got a 3.8/6, that's up 0.3 from last weeks episode. Voyager was 5th for the hour ahead of the WB's Charmed that got a 3.6/5. Voyager was only 0.3 short for being equal with FOX's movie "8 Seconds". 7 days was also ahead of WB, it got a 2.8/5, that was 0.1 ahead of Dawson's Creek.

So UPN beat the WB for the night, they also did that yesterday. It seems that when both UPN and the WB is airing reruns, UPN is doing much better!

MGO 'Birth of the Federation' Review
Christian (2:55 pm CST)
Stephen Lumley at MGO has written a review of 'Star Trek TNG: Birth of the Federation,' Microprose's new turn-based strategy game. Lumley is somewhat positive about the game:

Overall, for the first time since MOO2 was released, I no longer feel the need to keep it installed. BOTF has definitely taken its place for me, this is the greatest compliment I could give a turn based strategy game. I would like to give this game at least a 9, but, unfortunately, the galaxy zoom problem and the lack of customizable vessels has kept this game from becoming a classic for me. Perhaps a patch can rectify these minor problems and alleviate this game to a greater status.

If you are a turn based strategy fan, then chances are you have probably already gone out and purchased this game by now. For those that haven't, I can only say that it doesn't get much better than this. I recommend BOTF to all strategy lovers, but beware if you have never played a turn based strategy game before. You would be wise to try out the demo once it becomes available.

'Free Enterprise' Soundtrack
Christian (2:55 pm CST)
Unforscene Music has announced that the 'Free Enterprise' soundtrack will be available in shops on the 15th of June. The soundtrack features 13 tracks by artists such as Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Duran Duran and The Cult, plus an all-new rendition of 'No Tears for Caesar' by The Artist Formerly Known as Shatner and The Rated R. The soundtrack features special liner notes written by William Shatner, writer/producer Mark A. Altman and writer/director Robert Meyer Burnett, while the first 10,000 cds sold will contain a special collectors trading card not available anywhere else. More info on the soundtrack (including an audio clip from Shatner's song!) can be found here.

Production On 'Gepetto' Begins
Christian (2:55 pm CST)
A press release from Disney talks about the 'Gepetto' musical, which has just started production. 'Gepetto' is the first original musical being produced specifically for 'The Wonderful World of Disney,' and is scheduled to air during the 1999-2000 television season on ABC. Interesting for Star Trek fans is that the musical will feature Brent Spiner (Data) as the puppeteer Stromboli, René Auberjonois (Odo) as Professor Buonragazzo who makes nothing but perfect children in Idyllia, and Scarlett Pomers (Naomi Wildman), presumably as one of the children. You can find the full press release here - thanks go out to Richard Rafter for pointing me to this.

Today On TV
Christian (2:54 pm CST)
-In the US, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the TOS first-season episode 'A Taste Of Armageddon' at 7:00pm and at 11:00pm. It appears that over the past week I was listing the wrong episodes for the Sci-Fi Channel - my apologies.

-Tomorrow in the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Equilibrium' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST.

-Tomorrow morning at 01:40 CET, German Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Boks Vergeltung' (Bloodlines). At 15:00 tomorrow, they'll be showing 'Neue Intelligenz' (Emergence).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (2:54 pm CST)
The Trek BBS is still going strong at its own domain, as you can see in the following extremely interesting discussions:

-Should Ensign Kim be promoted?

-What were the best episodes in DS9's final year?

-In our Trek Tech forum, we wonder about what exactly a field generator is.

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS, and feel free to add new ones!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (2:53 pm CST)
And TrekSeek has breached the 1200-sites barrier! Woohoo! Check out two of yesterday's five new sites:

-The Incredible Guide for Internet Trekkers is a new book which will be available on the 1st of July, offering you a guide to 1000 of the best Trek-related sites. A sort of TrekSeek but then as a book, basically. It's a pity the book probably hit its deadline before TrekToday began, though - I wouldn't have minded a small mention of TrekToday ;-).
-BBC Online Star Trek is the official BBC (UK) Online Website to accompany the BBC broadcast of Star Trek Original, Voyager, TNG and DS9.

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (2:53 pm CST)
Well, I'm still late, but I'm not as incredibly late as I was over the past few days. Hopefully I'll finally be able to get back to regular updating times again tomorrow.

Chase Masterson DS9 Retrospective?
Christian (3:24 pm CST)
Gustavo Leao just sent in the following news item:

According to a interview in the May 99 issue of Dreamwatch magazine, Chase Masterson, Leeta from Deep Space Nine and host for the Sci-fI Channel's canceled Sci-Fi Entertainment show, is planning on using her connections with the Sci-Fi Channel to bring to fruition a project very close to her heart.

"I've made a proposal to them to do a one-hour Deep Space Nine retrospective." Masterson told Dreamwatch reporter Paul Simpson "Isnt this great ? I hope it happens. It would be a look on seven years of wonderful television. It would air on the Sci-Fi Channel and probabily be released on video. I would produce and host it, but that's not the reason i want to do it. I want to do it because it should be done. I think, to be honest, I'm just the person to put it together having been on the inside and having the relationship with the Sci-Fi Channel and the fact I'm beginning to produce. What I'd like is to bring a bit of what this series has meant home in a cohesive show. I we do it right, there will be a lot of tears".

'Nothing Human' Final Ratings
Christian (3:24 pm CST)
Michael Iversen at the Universe has put up the final ratings for last week's rerun of 'Nothing Human:'

The final rating for the rerun of Nothing Human is in, and it doesn't look good. Voyager only got a 2.3 and was nr. 99.

Voyager was 6th for the night behind WBs Charmed that got a 3.0. Also 7 Days was 6th with a 1.9. (Behind Dawsons Creek that got a 2.5) This doesn't look good for this summer's reruns. Voyager lowest rerun rating is 1.9, [some of this summer's ratings] will problaly be lower than that. (I know that a first run episode got a 1.7)

Warp Eleven Final Chapter Reviews
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
After a not unconsiderable leave of absence, Warp Eleven webmaster Leonard Schuurmans has updated his site again, this time including reviews of DS9's 'The Dogs Of War' and 'What You Leave Behind.' Both reviews were written by Curth Holman, Warp Eleven's exclusive Final Chapter reviewer. Holman rather liked 'The Dogs Of War:'

The Dogs of War had a few moments of labored comedy, as when the Nagus sent his staticky message, but most of the humor sprung naturally from the premise of Quark's expecting to be named Nagus himself, and his indignation at the kinder, gentler Feringinar than Zek and Moogie had instituted. Quark, like Worf and Spock, seems perpetually put in situations where he's in tensions with the principles of his home world, although he wants nothing more than to be a "good Ferengi." I wonder if his This far, no farther! line offered a conscious echo of Picard's similar speech in Star Trek First Contact? Certainly Quark's referring to economic reforms as a disease echoes the Founders illness (an infection caused for political reasons). I certainly didn't expect to see a parallel between Quark and Damar, but both are true believers, in revolt against a new regime on their planet. But where Quark demands free markets, unconstrained by concern for worker's rights or the environment, Damar seeks freedom for his own people.

Highly Illegal Happenings
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
Without any doubt Paramount won't like this, but the LCARS Communications Network has put up the ENTIRE Deep Spadce Nine finale for online viewing. The episode is broken into three parts, each 30 minutes long, for which the Real Audio plug-in is required. The video runs in a really small resolution, though, so if you haven't yet seen it I'd strongly advise you to wait for the full-screen version to air wherever you live. Having said all this, if you aren't troubled by the illegality or the low quality, you can find the episode here. You probably shouldn't click this link if you're a Paramount lawyer, though :-). Thanks go out to Star Trek Fans for the link.

2000 Star Trek Book Schedule
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
David Henderson sends word that he's put up the tentative (i.e. not final) Star Trek book schedule for the year 2000, courtesy of Pocket Books editor John Ordover, which is still subject to change. January looks to be an especially interesting month, as that is when Pocket Books will be publishing 'Hamlet' in the Klingon Language. John Ordover later explained why that book suddenly popped up:

Alert viewers will realize that the Milennium books got pushed back creating a hole in the schedule that had to be filled quickly.:)

Ron Moore Answers
Christian (3:20 pm CST)
Yesterday, Voyager writer Ronald D. Moore finally answered some questions at his AOL folder again, giving us some unique insight into the inner workings of the Trek universe. Take a look at three of his most interesting responses:

[Actually, do you think it will be difficult to write on a "Every Week Is a New Adventure" Show again??]

Not at all. Doing episodic adventures is actually much easier than trying to maintain continuity across the season. Writing the final arc of DS9 was a very difficult and taxing experience and while I'd love to try it again (on an even larger level, say, a true sci-fi serial) it's a nice change of pace to get away from it for a while.

[Since you hadn't been in the Voyager loop, officially, how did you prepare for writing your first Voyager story? In both TNG and DS9 you came in, as a staff writer, in the 3rd season, I believe. But since Voyager is finishing up its 5th season with over 100 eps in the can, did you watch past episodes (any or all ), or did TPTB give you a synopsis of each character's development and the ship's past encounters of interest? Did your preparation for writing this series differ from preparing to write for either TNG or DS9, and if so, how?]

I've been watching the tapes, but mostly I've been talking to the VOY writers for a couple of months now about the show and the direction they want to take the characters. On all three series, I've pretty much just jumped into the process and learned the show as I worked on it. On DS9, my first script was the season three opener and now my first show will be the second episode of the year. I've found that sitting down and actually writing the character voices and learning what they're all about is the quickest and most rewarding way of discovering the show.

[Why was Jadzia excluded from Worf's Memories of DS9? Is there some animosity between Terry Farrel and the ST Execs?]

In order to use a clip of someone from a previous episode, you first have to obtain permission from the actor in question. Usually permission is routinely granted and a nominal fee is paid (unlike writers and directors, who receive a flat fee and don't get the option of saying yes or no). In this case, we were unable to obtain permission. And no, we weren't real happy about it.

'What You Leave Behind' Images
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
The Continuum has put up six screenshots from the Deep Space Nine finale, 'What You Leave Behind,' together with a synopsis of the episode. Find it here.

First WildStorm TNG Writers
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
Rob Allstetter at AnotherUniverse's Comic News Bytes just put up a news item dealing with the upcoming WildStorm Star Trek comics line:

Tom Sniegoski and Christopher Golden, whose recent collaborations include Marvel Knights' Punisher/Wolverine mini-series, WildStorm Productions' Night Tribes and Dark Horse's Buffy the Vampire Slayer Annual, are writing a Star Trek project for WildStorm and DC Comics. The project is a Star Trek: The Next Generation Prestige Format one-shot.

"The story is a Next Generation sequel to the classic Trek episode 'Wolf in the Fold,'" Sniegoski said. "That was the one written by horror writer Robert Bloch and it was about an energy creature that turns out to be Jack The Ripper.

Correction
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
Yesterday in 'Happy Birthdays' I said that James Goldstone was the director of 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture.' This is of course not true - Robert Wise directed 'ST: TMP.' Instead, Goldstone directed 'Where No Man Has Gone Before,' the second Star Trek pilot. Thanks go out to James P. Kennedy for pointing this out to me.

Today on TV
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
-At 9:00pm, UPN will be repeating Voyager's 'Thirty Days.' Take a look at how the official Continuum describes the episode:

The U.S.S. Voyager makes a fascinating discovery, a massive ocean floating in space and populated by the Moneans, a maritime alien species. When Janeway learns that the Monean's deep sea home is losing containment, she offers Starfleet technological assistance, a modified, now seaworthy Delta Flyer piloted by an eager Lieutentant Tom Paris. But soon after Paris and Riga, one of the young Monean scientists, return from their deep sea exploration, Paris is accused of a stunning breach of protocol - with dire consequences.

-Tomorrow morning at 02:00 CET, German Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Ritus des Aufsteigens' (Firstborn). At 15:00 tomorrow, they'll be showing 'Boks Vergeltung' (Bloodlines).

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
The Trek BBS has easily survived its first day on its own domain, and is getting more and more active each day. Take a look at three of the discussions currently going on:

-Why is Voyager failing? And is it actually?

-What do you think about the new Trek BBS logo, so expertly designed by Devin Bryant?

-Is the world-renowned Cynic perhaps a little biased in favour of Babylon 5, instead of Deep Space Nine?

Find more discussions at TrekBBS.com, and feel free to add new topics to the BBS - even at the new domain, you still don't need to register to be able to post!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
Yesterday we had five new site submissions at TrekSeek, bringing us to a total of 1198 Star Trek links - I can't wait to reach the 1200! Meanwhile, check out two of the new sites:

-Klingon Academy News has all the news that's fit to print on Interplay's Klingon Academy. Currently the site has more news on the Starfleet Command beta test, which the webmaster is participating in, but that of course makes the site even more interesting!
-Voyager Shockwave Flashed Site. Flashed Voyager, meet the crew, hear them talk to you. See all the rooms of the ship. picture database, info, sound, episodes etc,etc..

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
My apologies for the site being down a few hours ago - it appears our web host was running some test with the servers, which caused the site to go down. All the problems should be solved now, fortunately.

New York TNG Marathon
Christian (3:35 pm CST)
A few days ago, Roy Gales sent me a mail about a TNG Marathon which Channel 11 in New York will soon be running:

Channel 11 in N.Y. will be running a Star Trek TNG marathon on or around July 4th. You can vote for your favorite episode at their website to determine which episodes they will show. There website address is: www.wb11.com . They plan on running over 20 episodes with probably only breaks for the news.

SubSpaceMail Opens
Christian (3:35 pm CST)
Jason Ellis at the TrekNews Network just let me know they've opened a new service for online Trek fans - SubSpaceMail.com:

The TREKNEWSnetwork would like to announce the opening of SubSpaceMail.com, a new free e-mail service for Star Trek fans.

SubSpaceMail.com provides users with an immediately-recognizable e-mail address that is accessible via the world wide web from any web-enabled computer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Users can configure their SubSpaceMailboxes to recieve mail via the web, or to forward their SubSpaceMail to their regular ISP's e-mail account.

Imax Film Officially Dead?
Christian (3:34 pm CST)
Some very interesting news just appeared on Studio Briefing, a daily Hollywood trade newsletter. The newsletter contains the following quote about the Imax company:

In the aftermath of Disney's decision to produce Fantasia 2000 in the Imax format, most of the other Hollywood studios are now considering making deals with the giant screen company, the Wall Street Journal and the Toronto Globe & Mail reported today (Tuesday). "Now that it's clear that Imax movies can perform financially and that the Disney organization is embracing an Imax-exclusive run, you're definitely seeing heightened interest from the other studios," Imax co-CEO Richard Gelfond told company shareholders in Toronto Monday. However, the WSJ observed that plans to produce a new Star Trek movie with Paramount have stalled. Imax co-CEO Brad Wechsler told the newspaper, "We have a great script, but we were not able to come to a business deal with Paramount."

'Flashback' Janeway Packaging Design
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
The Raving Toy Maniac has put up pictures of the packaging design for New Force Comics' upcoming 12" Playmate exclusive:

The New Force Comics & Collectibles Exclusive progresses with the packaging design almost complete. New Force's Janeway from "Flashback" will be packaged similar to the ToyFare Exclusives, but with the added features of an opening fifth-panel and window, similar to the packaging found with Toy Biz's Famous Covers and Playmates' 12" Star Trek lines.

DS9 Final Chapter Credits
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
David Henderson at Psi Phi has put up the credits for the final two DS9 episodes ever - 'The Dogs of War' and 'What You Leave Behind.' As usual, the listings contain a detailed cast & crew list, which you might especially be interested in for the finale. Find the data for the penultimate DS9 episode here, and the finale data here.

New Sev Trek Cartoon
Christian (3:32 pm CST)

Actually this one is a few weeks old already, but apparently John Cook didn't get around to uploading it earlier.

Star Trek Interactive! Shuts Down
Christian (3:32 pm CST)
Very sad news today - it appears Star Trek Interactive! will soon be closing its doors. Take a look at the message which was posted to the site by David, STI's webmaster:

Hi everyone! I was waiting for the right time and I guess this is the time. I have decided to take a break from Star Trek! I just don't have the time and resources to keep going. I again am having problems with Simplenet in regards to storage and I guess the end of DS9 has sealed Star Trek Interactive's fate. I have applied to Simplenet to have STI shut down June 30 1999. I truly regret doing this as I have had loads of fun. I would like to thank everyone for the time we had, it was great. All my best to everyone!

Ron B Moore Chat On Thursday
Christian (3:32 pm CST)
On Thursday, the Continuum will be hosting a live chat with Ronald B. Moore, Visual Effects Supervisor on Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Voyager. The chat begins at 06:30pm Pacific Time, but you can already submit advance questions.

Happy Birthdays!
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
Today is the birthday of James Darren, best known for his role as Vic Fontaine on Deep Space Nine, it's the birthday of James Goldstone, who directed 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture.'

Today on TV
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the first-season TOS episode 'The Squire of Gothos.'

-Tomorrow at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Meridian.'

-I seem to be unable to reach the Sat.1 website at the moment, so no German listings today, unfortunately.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
We moved! You can now find the Trek BBS at its own domain name of trekbbs.com! I'm amazed I actually managed to move it, but, fortunately, everything went all right. Major thanks should also go out to the incredibly talented Devin Bryant, who designed the fantastic new Trek BBS logo! Why not visit the Trek BBS now and start posting? You won't regret it!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
Take a look at two of the six sites that were submitted to TrekSeek yesterday:

-Inside Voyager is your on-line guide to Star Trek: Voyager. This site includes news, episode guides and reviews, pictures, pen-pals, and so much more. Come by today where their motto is, "Simply Voyager. Simply."
-The USS Leonardo NCC 99010 is a Defiant class ship, official site for the Leonardo Star Trek Club in Milan, Italy. News, fun, articles, life...

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
I'm afraid I'm beginning to notice the effects of hiatus - news is getting harder and harder to find. I'm really worried about how hard it will get a month from now, when there *really* won't be happening anything at all.

'Insurrection' Game Interview
Christian (3:35 pm CST)
At our special E3 Section, we've just put an interview with the designers of the upcoming 'Insurrection' adventure game! In the interview, Activision's Aaron Gray and Jonathan Knight and Presto Studios' Eric Dellaire talk about everything from the game's storyline to the gameplay to the participation of the tNG cast!

You can find the full interview, which was written by Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga by going here!

What They Left Behind
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
The Great Link has put up a special 'What They Left Behind' article, containing quotes from several cast and crew members about the end of the series. One of the quotes has Alexander Siddig (Dr. Julian Bashir) talking about the (im)possibility of DS9 movies:

"I can't imagine that doing Deep Space Nine movies wouid make any sense at the moment, After all, The Next Generation is still flavour of the month, and we're so unlike TNG. I think maybe Paramount will wheel us out 20 years down the road for a revisit. If they get really ambitious, they'll only wait 10 years - perhaps after people discover us in repeats and appreciate the show more than they do now. That worked very well for the original Star Trek."

UK Ratings Report
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
Dave Arquati at the Star Trek Collective has put up the United Kingdom Trek ratings for the week starting the 23th of May:

This week was a bit of an anticlimax after last week's impressive BBC2 TNG and Sky VOY ratings. TNG dropped from #9 to #22, losing a fair amount of viewers (on the list, the episode names appear to have been tangled up somewhere though!). DS9's double bill failed to be ranked (as usual), and Voyager returned but without the bang we'd hoped for - it got a mediocre #20 ranking, 2.51m viewers.

Over on Sky, Voyager dropped to an average #7 ranking, and a slightly low 0.66m audience figure. However it cheerfully stuck in the top ten with the (other!) popular series like The Simpsons and ER.

Delta Blues 'Equinox' Review
Christian (3:30 pm CST)
Jim Wright at Delta Blues has put up his review of 'Equinox,' the last Voyager episode as the season. Wright at least found the episode enjoyable:

On a 4 star scale, I'll call this one (* * *). I did enjoy it, but as cliffhangers go I would have preferred more uncertainty, more variables--and more on the line.

Since this is the season finale, let me say that on the whole, I give this season above-average marks. Season 3 was my sentimental favorite, but I think this season may have been one of its creative best. They took more chances, some pretty controversial, and though not every one paid off I appreciated the effort, and when it paid off it paid off big.

I also enjoyed the greater focus on the ensemble this year, and the attention paid to minor characters like Naomi Wildman. I give a lot of credit to Brannon Braga, who--and I say this with all the intensity of a fan who damn near left Voyager completely in season 4--made me a fan again. Thank you. I wish the ship and crew and actors and staff all success in season six. The addition of Ron Moore is very welcome, and I hope he can bring to Voyager the same enthusiasm and passion and genius he lavished on DS9.

See you in the fall, folks.

New Sev Trek Cartoon
Christian (3:30 pm CST)

Naomi Wildman Back Next Season
Christian (3:29 pm CST)
Of course it was to be expected, but the Official Scarlett Pomers Homepage is reporting that Scarlett Pomers has been asked to return to Voyager next season as young Naomi Wildman. She is currently busy with her summer projects, which means she probably won't be appearing in 'Equinox, Part Two,' but more news about her season six episodes should be appearing soon.

TrekWeb DS9 Finale Review
Christian (3:28 pm CST)
Steve Perry at TrekWeb has put up what is probably the most negative review of 'What You Leave Behind' yet, in which the episode is awarded no more than a C. Take a look at how Perry begins with his review:

Many of you are going to hate me for this review. I can only say one thing: I love DS9. This and Homicide were the only two shows I CARED about. So when I get mad at the show, I get mad because I realize what it could have been. What it could have been is the greatest TV show in American history. This finale is a good example of why it isn't.

[...]

This episode is an idiotic mess. I can drag up quibbles with almost every point in this episode, but it's the large, painfully obvious flaws that bother me. These are professional writers who make quite a good bit of money writing it. So pardon me if I seem offended by how bad What You Leave Behind was. I just can't comprehend how, with so much potential, they just threw it all a way in an episode that can even get the basic tenets of storytelling right.

Salt Lake City Convention Report
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
Last weekend, a Star Trek convention apparently took place in Salt Lake City, and Salt Lake City Tribune writer Connie Coyne has written a report of the meeting. As is almost usual, the writer doesn't seem to think Trekkers are on the same level as normal humans:

They are not exactly Lost In Space.
But most of them are way beyond the point of Contact that Carl Sagan had in mind.

Think of them as having boldly gone where few men and women have gone before -- as inhabiting a sort of alternate universe born of too many hours in front of TV's "Star Trek" series or too many days sitting outside in bad weather waiting for "Star Wars Episode I" tickets.

Shatner On 'Politically Incorrect'
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
Tomorrow morning, William Shatner (James T. Kirk) will be interviewed on the 'Politically Incorrect' show about his latest books. Other guests for tomorrow include Loveline host Dr. Drew Pinsky; Concerned Women for America's Penny Nance and author Jim Carroll, according to the show's official site. Thanks go out to the official William Shatner Connection for this info.

Today on TV
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
-At 7:00pm and at 11:00pm Eastern Time, the Sci-Fi Channel will be showing TOS' 'Court Martial.'

-Tomorrow in the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Meridian' at 17:00 and at 23:30 BST.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
The Trek BBS will now definitely be moving to its own domain name tomorrow - I've now figured out all the technical stuff, so I should be able to complete the move tomorrow. For now, check out some of the interesting discussions still going on:

-DS9 will never die! Or will it?

-With Voyager left as the only series on the air, are you also scared for its future?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS.

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
Yesterday we added 3 new sites to TrekSeek, including this one:

-Star Trek: Campaign is an online gaming club for the PC games, Starfleet Command, Klingon Academy and New Worlds. Choose a race between Humans and Klingons and fight!

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:25 pm CST)
Sigh. I'm really not a technical person, I'm afraid. I spent several hours today trying to figure out the inner workings of the bulletin board system we use at the Trek BBS, but I'm still not 100% sure if I got it all right. Try visiting TrekBBS.com regularly tomorrow - if you see no change on the page, it means I *really* failed.

Starfleet Command Designer Interview
Christian (3:24 pm CST)
Beth Wasden at A Talent For War just let me know they've put up an extensive interview with Erik Bethke, lead designer of Interplay's upcoming Starfleet Command game. In the interview, Bethke talks about their involvement with the fans on the internet:

Some companies seem to stay well away from the Internet, others get very involved. Do you think it is useful to be so accessible to gamers?
Absolutely. Being involved with the fan base is a central part of my day & development philosophy. We are making a consumer product that people do not have to buy. It has got to be something they want and is fun. I do not know of a better way than asking them and listening to them. Of course, I would like to say that between Chris Taylor and myself we have some skill in listening and being pure in vision.

Ted Witt DS9 Finale Review
Christian (3:24 pm CST)
I shortly mentioned Ted Witt's 'What You Leave Behind' review yesterday already, but now I'm finally able to reach Psi Phi's DS9 Forum again, so now I can also tell you something about it. Ted Witt starts out rather positively with his review:

I find myself in a very sad and sentimental spirit at the end of DS9. I, for one, am actually sad to see the series end--it is, without a doubt, the best extended Trek ever done. I know that the debates, the arguments, and the opinions, concerning that statement will probably not be conclusive, and will probably rage for years...Deep Space Nine was a series that redefined sci-fi in general, and Star Trek in particular. It was often darker, moodier, grittier, and seemingly less in tune with the sacred vision of the great bird of the galaxy. But I'll leave those debates, arguments, and opinions for others to continue!

"What You Leave Behind" was an excellent finale for the series. I am left wanting more. From a standpoint of wanting the viewer and the fan (and even the occasional reviewer) to have more adventures, I have to say that "What You Leave Behind" succeeds on many levels. The episode was a definate end, but leaving open the possiblility for more--a movie, a Babylon 5 like two hour TV movie, a miniseries, whatever--the options are still open. And from that point of view, the finale was clearly a winner.

Starfleet Command Toy News
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
According to the Raving Toy Maniac, Target recently started advertising its Starfleet Command series of exclusive action figures from Playmates. The following information is supplied in the advertisement:

9" Nurse Chapel and Picard in jacket and the Borg Twin Pack are listed for May. Needless to say, they were not released in May, but should be out in the next few weeks.

Previously scheduled for June, 9" Data as Sherlock Holmes & Geordi as Watson, and 5" Riker & Troi in Movie Uniforms should now be available in July. "The Tholian Web" Twin Pack and 5" Transporter Series Rand & Chapel should also be available in July.

5" Crusher in Movie Uniform and Seven of Nine in cobalt uniform are now scheduled for September instead of August. The Barclay & Troi Transporter Series figures should be released the same month.

IGN PC Reviews BotF
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
IGN PC has put up a review of 'Birth of the Federation,' Microprose's new turn-based strategy game. Unfortunately, reviewer Trent C. Ward isn't all that positive about the game:

I guess what bothers most about Birth of the Federation is that it could have been a really great game. If the designers had made sure that the gameplay worked well throughout, if they had tried to actually design a new game system instead of copying what had been done before, and if they had tried to make sure that the AI handled situations in a realistic fashion, this would be a must-own title. As it is, Birth of the Federation is nothing more than a frustrating copy of earlier turn based strategy games that doesn't work like it's supposed to. My recommendation is to leave this one on the shelf.

E! Online DS9 Finale Article
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
Michael Szymanski at E! Online has written an article about the Deep Space Nine finale, 'What You Leave Behind.' The article doesn't include the usual quotes from the producers, writers, and actors, but instead 'Trekkies' director Roger Nygard and fan Gabriel Koerner talk about the show:

"This is the first time in Star Trek history that the story is really over," says 16-year-old Gabriel Koerner, of Bakersfield, California, who was featured in Trekkies--and who already saw the final episode. (According to docu-director Nygard, Koerner was recently on a radio show with William Shatner and got more calls than Captain Kirk himself.)

"I'd say when we're looking back 10 or 20 year from now," Koerner adds, DS9 will be viewed as the Star Trek that dared to be different, that it took chances, that it was good and got lost in the shuffle."

Today on TV
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
-At 17:00 and at 23:30 BST, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Civil Defencse.' At 20:00 BST, they'll be showing the new Voyager episode 'Infinite Regress.'

-At 15:00 CET tomorrow, German Sat.1 will be showing TNG's 'Genesis.'

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
As usual, lots of interesting discussions are going on at the Trek BBS, including the following three:

-Pop Quiz - What was wrong with Worf's flashback in What You Leave Behind?

-What are the best looking men on Voyager?

-A tribute to Deep Space Nine.

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS.

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
We had six new sites submitted to our search engine TrekSeek yesterday, including the following two:

-Russian Star Trek is probably the first Russian Trek site, with news, a database, links, a forum and more.

-Starfleet Tactical Operations Command is designed to bring together players of the game Star Trek: Starfleet Command, by Interplay Inc. You can play as Federation, or any of the other races represented in the game.

Find more new sites here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
Perhaps I should think about getting a Mac. I hear those are slightly more reliable than those idiot computers running Windows. I've now finally got all my computer problems fixed (I hope!), but unfortunately I did loose a lot of my incoming mail in the process. If I didn't yet send you a response to your mail (or if I didn't post a news item about it), I probably never saw it.

Takei Hosts 'Forbidden Planet' Reunion
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
According to the Continuum, George Takei will soon be hosting the cast cast reunion of the groundbreaking sci-fi film Forbidden Planet:

[The event will take place at] the Los Angeles Theater, 615 S. Broadway in Los Angeles, on June 16. Invited guests include Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Richard Anderson, James Drury, Earl Holliman, Bebe Baron, and -- of course -- Robby the Robot.

Shimerman On DS9 Ending
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
A new interview with Armin Shimerman (Quark) has just gone up at the Deseret News, written by Scott D. Pierce. In the interview, Shimerman talks about how he always was a great Star Trek fan, and that he will miss the show now that it's over:

"It was very sad. Those were very teary-eyed days — which was especially hard for people in rubber," Shimmerman said. "As the time came to an end, it was very sad to see our friends making plans to go other places — to continue on with their lives and we wouldn't be part of them. It was very sad to think that our characters were going to be put on the shelves and sort of put in mothballs — who knows? — maybe forever.

"I know that when I took the makeup off for the very last time and the head was removed and I was alone for a moment, a little tiny voice in the back of my head — a little Quark voice — said, 'Don't kill me!' And I felt for the little voice. He had existed for seven years and had a wonderful life, and it was sort of a shame to see him be put in mothballs. But at the same time, people have to move on."

New Radio Trek Broadcast
Christian (3:33 pm CST)
I just noticed at the German Star Trek Index that a new edition of the online 'Radio Trek' show is now available. This week, the show contains a report from a meeting between German Star Trek & Star Wars fans, an interview with the editor of a science-fiction magazine, and a weekly column. You can listen to the new show by going here, though you'll have to be able to understand German toa ctually enjoy the show.

Shatner Chat Transcript
Christian (3:32 pm CST)
Over at the Continuum, they've just put up the transcript of last Thursday's live chat with William Shatner, who attended the chat to promote his 'Get A Life!' book. Check out three of the most interesting quotes from the chat:

Teilani asks:
I just finished "Get A Life," as well. It was so good - and quite hilarious at times! Now that your research is done, are you still sporting disguises for convention attendance purposes?

William Shatner:
I sport disguises all the time. I have fooled my children. My wife. and even my dog. But of course, you know, I'm kidding. And I'm through with disguises from now on in. The real me from now on. People should watch for me to come in from the sky, from underground or materialize out of a wall.

Mike Murphy asks:
If somehow they could bring Kirk back into the current Star Trek movie storyline (hey , Spock did it !) , would you accept the role ?

William Shatner:
If it was a well written return.... in fact, they can call it "The Return." I know where they can get a good story.

leprocks asks:
I heard that you don't sign autographs, is this true?

William Shatner:
No it's not true. I do sign autographs, but frequently the people who come up to me have professional pictures that I am almost sure they're going to sell. That strikes a false note in me so I'm always adjudicating to sign for a genuine fan -- which I would like to do -- or not sign for someone who's there for commercial reasons.

Sacbeat DS9 Review
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
Rick Kushman at the Sacbeat has written an article looking at the end of Deep Space Nine. The review of course contains the obligatory look at the finale, but where it gets really interesting is where Kushman starts talking about the future of Trek:

[Viewers being less than thrilled] seems to be the case lately with many "Trek" adventures. Maybe because there have been so many of them that satisfying, creative endings are hard to find. Maybe we've just been spoiled by so many truly thoughtful episodes.

And that's why the pitch here is to play out the next season or two of "Voyager," a series with a sometimes too-bland crew that can still have stellar episodes, and then put the TV series in space dock for awhile.

When it comes back -- and we're just trying out a thought here -- let it come back with a new Enterprise in an even more distant future. The galaxy could be changed again. There could be techno-gizmos, time travel perhaps. There could be a new -- possibly nonhuman -- captain. There would be new life, new civilizations, and new, never split-before infinitives to be explored.

DS9 Ending Videos
Christian (3:31 pm CST)
SCIFI Headquarters has put up two video fragments dealing with the ending of Deep Space Nine, one from E! News, and the other from Entertainment Tonight. Both clips are in Real G2 format, so they shouldn't take too long to download.

The Daily Sci-Fi DS9 Awards
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
The people at the Daily Sci-Fi have put up a rather original look at the end of Deep Space Nine - the Daily Sci-Fi DS9 Awards:

It's been fun, hasn't it? For seven years, we've hung out next to this stable wormhole thing, watching our friends grow and change. It's been a lovely, grandiose ride, albeit one that wasn't for everyone. Indeed, one of the key appeals of "Deep Space Nine" is that it always tried to be different, edgy and character-driven, to give shadings to a universe that was still often rendered in black and white. This may have caused some to assign it the dubious label of the "middle child" of "Trek"-dom, but this "Trek" was one that truly had a grander, larger vision in mind, a bigger story to tell and a vast canvas to tell it on. For my money, it's the best of them all. Below, we look back on some of the people and moments that made it so.

[...]

Best recurring character: It's a testament to "DS9's" depth that there are so many good candidates for this one. So, we'll just opt to go with that goofy cult favorite who's never said a word - Morn. He's been around since the beginning, he has his own fan club, and he's had his name in an episode title. Pretty good for a guy in a big foam head with no lines.

Jammer's 'Warhead' Review
Christian (3:27 pm CST)
Jamahl Epsicokhan has put up his review of Voyager's 'Warhead,' which he didn't deem worthy of receiving more than 2 out of 4 stars:

It's moments like "Warhead" that make me wonder how much life the Star Trek franchise has left in it. With the end of DS9--the most challenging incarnation of the franchise--now upon us, I'm realizing that Voyager will be all that's left to speak for Trek--for a while, anyway. An episode like this makes me wonder how much is left to be said, because what's said here has been said many times before--and "Warhead" doesn't find a particularly riveting new spin on the material.

"Warhead" plays like an "all-new" remake of some lost TOS episode. True, it's updated with the Voyager quota of technical jargon and current production values. But it seems like we're covering ground that was covered back in 1967. There's a scene here where the Voyager away team beams down to a planet surface for investigation. This planet is obviously a set, much the way the TOS planets were obviously sets. It's like meeting an old friend--the fake-looking planet. And, theme-wise, it's almost as if a Trek script were put into a time capsule long ago and recently rediscovered and run through production. Are the themes "universal"? Maybe. Are they challenging? Not particularly. Are they familiar? You'd better believe it.

Playstation Trek Games?
Christian (3:26 pm CST)
Planet Riker has a very short report up at its new Star Trek games section, in which Activision brand manager Laird Malamed is quoted as saying the following:

We are currently working on our PlayStation plans. Some our games really are inappropriate for the console either because of controller issues or code complexity. However, we will be making PlayStation games in the future, including ones that the PC people won't be able to play.

'Free Enterprise' Premiere Report
Christian (3:25 pm CST)
UltimateTV's Colin Campbell has written a report of the 'Free Enterprise' premiere, which took place in Los Angeles yesterday. The premiere was of course attended by writer Mark A. Altman and director Robert Meyer Burnett, but also by co-star William Shatner. The report describes how writer Altman is somewhat overwhelmed by the big media attention the premiere was getting:

For writer and producer Altman, working with childhood icon Shatner was a dream come true. "Bill came through with a comic tour de force," Altman said, with a somewhat awestruck look on his face as he worked the red carpet media line on premiere night. So what about this "art imitating life" circle between "Free Enterprise" and the real story of Altman and Burnett? "To be here fulfilling a dream is just great," Altman said, unable to stop smiling even as nervous P.R. people pulled him inside the theater for the start of the premiere.

'Insurrection' Canada Performance
Christian (3:24 pm CST)
The Canadian site Jam! Showbiz has put up the Canadian Rental & Sales charts for both DVD and VHS. The film is doing quite well on DVD - it occupies the top spot on the rental charts and is no.2 in sales. The VHS has unfortunately already dropped to the 7th place on the rental charts.

New York Daily News DS9 Review
Christian (3:23 pm CST)
David Bianculli at the New York Daily News has written a short review of the Deep Space Nine finale, 'What You Leave Behind.' Bianculli starts by saying that this is the first Trek series to really end (as both TOS and TNG still lived on after the series), and then talks about about the finale itself:

The episode gives some of the best scenes to Nana Visitor as Kira Nerys and Rene Auberjonois as Odo, with Avery Brooks as Sisko finally fulfilling his long-prophesized destiny. Special effects during the extensive battle sequences, with fleets of starships attacking each other in outer space, are unprecedentedly complex for "Star Trek."

Before it's over, each main character is given some sense of closure (some more final than others). Fans of the show should enjoy a similar sense of closure, and say goodbye to a series whose demise was understandable and unavoidable.

For though "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" lived long, it never really prospered.

Happy Birthdays!
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
Today is the birthday of David Marc Worden, who was one of the actors who portrayed Alexander Rozhenko, and today's the birthday of Robert Lansing, who guest-starred on the TOS 'Assignment: Earth' episode as Gary Seven.

Today On TV
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
-Tomorrow in the UK, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'The Abandoned' at 16:00 BST, followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Lifesigns.' At 18:45 BST, BBC Two will be showing Voyager's 'Prey.'

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:22 pm CST)
If all goes well, the Trek BBS will be moving to its own domain on Monday, so if you still want to be able to say that you, too, visited the site at the old location perhaps you should pay the site a visit today. You wouldn't be doing it for nothing either - lots of interesting discussions are going on at the BBS, including the following three:

-What are your suggestions for a patch for the new Birth of the Federation game?

-Precisely how do warp drives work?

-Does Rick Berman have to leave? I'd say he shouldn't, but what do you all think?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS!

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
Yesterday we had just two site submissions at TrekSeek, including this one:

-Captain on the Bridge is dedicated to Captain Kathryn Janeway of the federation starship Voyager. In the database you'll find pictures, interviews, waves, postcards, news on Kate Mulgrew and Voyager among other things.

Find the other new site here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:21 pm CST)
This morning, Windows '95 died completely, so I decided to finally take the big step and install my copy of Windows '98. At the same time, I put in my ISDN card for about the fifth attempt at making it work, and, miraculously, both Win'98 and the ISDN card installed perfectly! I'm now happily surfing the web at 10 KB/sec, and my net experience has never been better! Now if only I'd be able to get rid of those pay-per-minute phone charges we still have here in the Netherlands I'd be *really* happy....

Post-Gazette DS9 Finale Review
Christian (3:20 pm CST)
Rob Owen at the (Pittsburgh-based?) Post-Gazette has written a review of the Deep Space Nine finale, which will apparently air tonight in Owen's hometown. Owen was disappointed by the finale:

Much as I enjoyed the complex storytelling of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," and greatly as it pains me to write this, tonight's two-hour series finale disappoints.

In "What You Leave Behind," airing at 11 p.m. on WCWB (Channel 22), the writers juggle multiple storylines, bring closure to several relationships -- and then there's the little matter of wrapping up the war between the Federation and the Dominion alliance. Even over the course of two hours, that's a lot to do.

The last "DS9" is similar to the final episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in that both give their respective series a sense of closure while allowing for the continuation of future adventures. However, given the unlikelihood of a "DS9" movie, a more concrete ending would have made sense.

Philadelphia DS9 Finale Follow-Up
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
A few days ago, I reported here that viewers in Philadelphia would not be able to see the Deep Space Nine finale in one piece. Jesse Koehler just sent in a clarification of the matter:

UPN 57 incorrectly listed on their website that the DS9 finale would air at 10:00 PM on Wednesday, June 2 for one hour. This information was also incorrectly listed at the tv listing site www.gist.com. However, in the TV guide for this week, and in the newspaper a syndicated repeat of TNG was listed for the 2nd of June 10 to 11 PM slot (UPN 57 typically airs repeats TNG at 1:00 AM, but I guess since they couldn't air the DS9 finale in a one-hour slot they threw a TNG rerun in there).

I left the TV on last night at ten after watching the Voyager repeat and there it was, a TNG repeat from TNG's third season. The actual time for the DS9 finale (as it has been correctly advertised as a two hour finale on UPN 57) here in Philadelphia is Sunday, June 6 from 8 to 10 PM. I checked UPN 57's website today and this information is reflected there, as it is at gist's site.

Star Trek Continuum Sweepstakes
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
The official Continuum has kicked off its special summer sweepstakes, which offer you the chance to win a flight to the 'Star Trek Experience' in Las Vegas:

You could win the June Grand Prize - A trip for two to Las Vegas! You and a guest will fly to Las Vegas and receive accommodations for two nights at the Las Vegas Hilton, a $75 gift certificate for dinner, and VIP passes to Star Trek: The Experience, where you will be transported to the 24th century for a futuristic adventure through space. Enter once per day through the month of June to increase your chances! Other exciting prize packages are coming throughout the summer!

'Insurrection' Rental Drops Further
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
The Video Software Dealers Association just announced the top 10 U.S. rental videos for the week which ended May 30. Unfortunately, 'Star Trek: Insurrection' dropped three places to no. 6, taking in $2.19 million in its third week. The total rental takings for the movie now amount to $8.03 million, which, incidentally, isn't even as much as 'Saving Private Ryan' took in its first week at the top spot. The full top 10 can be found here.

Running A CCG Tournament
Christian (3:19 pm CST)
The folks at Decipher have put up their final article in a series of guides for Star Trek Customizable Card Game tournament directors, written by veteran director Neil Kirby:

To finish off my intro to running tournaments, we'll touch quickly on what to do after the event (and after your burrito), and some of those awkward situations that can crop up in tournaments. In fact we'll do that first....

When things run smoothly, it's easy (if tiring) to run a tournament. It's when things go awry that it gets stickier. Here are some "what-ifs" and suggestions (only suggestions) on what you might do.

Eon Reviews DS9 Finale
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
Someone at Eon Magazine (they didn't put up the reviewer's name, though it's probably staff reviewer Jeff Bond), has written a review of the Deep Space Nine finale, 'What You Leave Behind.' The review is actually more of a review of the entire series, which the reviewer isn't as fond of as some of the other fans:

What does [the show ending] mean?

It means for the first time people might take a clear-eyed look at DS9. It was unfairly sandwiched in between THE NEXT GENERATION and VOYAGER and never got the chance it deserved. What that reassessment will eventually come to is anyone's guess, though I suspect it will be ranked nearly as high as THE NEXT GENERATION, and light years ahead of VOYAGER -- but is it as great as the classic series, as many fans are now starting to claim?

In my estimation, no. It was too slow out of the gate, and despite this graceful sign-off, too uneven in its execution. But as for what it left behind, there were more than a few of the finest hours of TREK made.

Trek Ratings Reports
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
Deep Space Nine as a series may be nearly over, but the ratings for almost half of the Final Chapter episodes still need to come in. The Star Trek Nielsen Ratings Information Database just put up the ratings report for 'Tacking Into The Wind,' the fifth Final Chapter episode, which did rather well:

"Tacking Into the Wind" continued the Final Chapter's strong trend, staying above the season average at a 4.4, again ranking 12th. That rating puts it just above last week's 4.3 showing from "When It Rains..." and slightly down from last year's "Time's Orphan" which nabbed a 4.6. With that number, DS9 finished May Sweeps just barely off last year's mark, down just over 1%. [...] With this May's average of roughly a 4.4, DS9 actually gained viewers since February -- something DS9 has never done before over the February-May period.

Shimerman Goes Against Racism
Christian (3:18 pm CST)
Kevin Dilmore at the Star Trek Continuum has written a feature article dealing with Armin Shimerman, the actor best known for his role as Quark on Deep Space Nine. In the article, Shimerman points out an unfortunately very true thing about the Star Trek series:

"Humans of the Federation are the master race and everyone else is relegated to living with certain characteristics," he explains. "Romulans are backstabbers; Klingons are violent; Cardassians are conspiratorial and traitorous. In the hierarchy of respect in the Star Trek universe, who gets the most? Vulcans are greatly respected for their nobility, and their only makeup is pointed ears. The more makeup you wear, the less respect you get. Ferengi are at about the bottom of them all."

Beltran Crosses Over
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
Yesterday, ABD broadcasted the annual Alma Awards ceremony, which deal with Latin-American people in the entertainment business. Manesh Pillai just informed me about this, and reported that Robert Beltran (Chakotay) had actually been nominated for an Outstanding Individual Performance in a Television Series in a Crossover Role award. Unfortunately for Beltran, the award went to Jimmy Smits (from "NYPD Blue"), but at least Beltran was nominated. Thanks go out to Manesh Pillai for reporting this!

Related to this, a press release from the San Antonio CineFestival reports that the theme for this year's festival will be 'Latinas in Film.' The main attraction for this film is the premiere of the feature film 'Luminarias,' which portrays the joys and tribulations of five Latinas living in Los Angeles whose strong friendship unites them through both good times and bad. One of those five Latinas is apparently Robert Beltran.

Eon Reviews Mirror Toys
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
Issue 17.0 of Eon Magazine contains a review of two new 9" Action Figures from Playmates - namely Sulu and Marlena from the Original Series' 'Mirror, Mirror' episode. The 'Mirror, Mirror' figures are almost the last 9" figures Playmates will ever be releasing, but, according to reviewer Jeff Bond, these two have been done pretty well:

Of all the bizarre worlds the old STAR TREK series showed us, few were as entertaining as the sleazy, piratical alternate reality of Jerome Bixby's episode "Mirror, Mirror." Playmates Toys has been issuing an exclusive line of 9" action figures based on the episode since last fall, which has so far included Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and Lt. Uhura in mirror universe garb. Now the line concludes with two of the coolest figures yet, Security Chief Sulu and Lt. Marlena Moreau, the episode's "Captain's woman." What's great about the latter release is that it actually involves a brand new sculpt, something the Kay Bee exclusives have largely been lacking.

Free Enterprise Premiere Today!
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
Today is the premiere of what I personally think will be one of the most fun movies of the year - Mindfire Entertainment's 'Free Enterprise.' In this romantic comedy, 'two Star Trek fans have their illusions shattered when they meet their idol William Shatner and learn he's hawking a musical version of "Julius Caesar" in which he will play all the parts,' according to the official web site. Today the movie premieres in 8 theatres in Los Angeles, while more should undoubtedly follow later on. You can find the full listing of theatres here. If anyone's going to see or has already seen the film, by the way, I'd absolutely love to receive a review of the film (hint, hint :-).

Trek-themed Radio Free Decipher
Christian (3:17 pm CST)
Broadcast 19 of Radio Free Decipher, the online radio show from the Star Trek Customizable Card Game publisher, has just gone up at the Decipher site. This week, host Carol Wisely speaks with Tim Ellington, Marcus Certa and Juz Pakes, designers of the upcoming 'Blaze of Glory' expansion set. You can listen to the new show by going here.

Shatner Chats Again
Christian (3:16 pm CST)
Someone should tell William Shatner to Get A Life! - today's the third day in a row he'll be attending a live chat. Today the chat will be organised by online book store BarnesandNoble.com, in a special chat which ties in with his new non-fiction book:

William Shatner delves into the fascinating and imaginative world of "Star Trek" conventions in his latest work, GET A LIFE! Including interviews with fans, cast members, and convention organizers -- along with some truly hilarious photographs -- Shatner's book is a lighthearted and affectionate history of Trekkie conventions. Join us on Friday, June 4th at 5pm ET to chat with the former Captain Kirk about fans, action figures, and more!

Detroit Free Press Likes DS9
Christian (3:16 pm CST)
I'm not sure precisely how news-worthy this is, but I thought it was rather funny, at least. In the TV Highlights section of the Detroit Free Press, the DS9 finale is described as follows:

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" (8 p.m., WKBD-TV, Channel 50). Series finale. After seven years and 170 episodes, Capt. Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his "DS9" space station crew say adios with "What You Leave Behind," a two-hour final episode that is bound to be more entertaining and emotionally involving than "Star Bores: Pablum Menace."

Eon's Long Goodbye Continues
Christian (3:16 pm CST)
The new edition of Eon Magazine continues Part Two of Edward Gross' excellent 'Deep Space Nine - The Long Goodbye' article. Part Two mostly deals with the problems Paramount had with the serialized format of DS9's later seasons:

"The studio was freaking out," says Moore. "They absolutely hate serialization. Fortunately, we just kind of jumped in anyway. We had talked to them about this way back when and they had said, 'Sure, you can do the last six episodes, ten episodes as one big story.' Somewhere around episode two or three they were like, 'Wait a minute, this is serialized.' We said, 'Oh well,' and kept going."

Today on TV
Christian (3:15 pm CST)
-Tomorrow at 16:00 BST, British Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Second Skin,' followed an hour later by Voyager's 'Death Wish.'

-In Germany, Sat.1 will be repeating TNG's 'Der Fall "Utopia Planitia"' tomorrow morning at 02:45 CET.

Trek BBS Today
Christian (3:15 pm CST)
It's one of the last days before the Trek BBS moves to its own domain, but, even at the old location, many interesting discussions are still going on. Take a look at a small sample:

-How low would the Voyager ratings be able to sink before the series is cancelled?

-Do Tribbles make good gifts?

Find more discussions at the Trek BBS.

New at TrekSeek.com
Christian (3:15 pm CST)
Another five sites were added to TrekSeek yesterday, including this one:

-Star Trek: Voyager is a large, well-designed Star Trek Voyager site with everything Voyager-related imaginable.

Find more here.

Hello World!
Christian (3:14 pm CST)
Tomorrow morning (European Time), I'll put up Jeff 'Koganuts' Koga's exclusive interview with the designers of the upcoming 'Star Trek: Insurrection' adventure game. I'll of course also announce the interview at the TrekToday main page in tomorrow's update, but, if you're really anxious to read this excellent review, check back tomorrow morning at our special E3 site!

TrekToday isn't the only site to have a season six report up, as TrekWeb also just posted a report from insider Dangermouse. In the report, he also provides info on Voyager's sixth season and on the new Trek series - be warned, though, that some of Dangermouse's report conflicts with Lord Spock's report, which just goes to show again that you should never fully believe any of these rumours until fully confirmed. You can read the full TrekWeb report here, and the full TrekToday report here.

'Nothing Human' Overnight Ratings
Christian (3:20 pm CST)
The Universe has posted the Overnight Ratings for 'Overnight Human,' the first in a long series of repeats. Unfortunately, it also looks set to be a long series of bad ratings: