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Hello World!

I'm now in the proud possession of a Minidisc recorder that says 'Hello' when you turn it on, and is supposed to say 'Goodbye' when you turn it off, only it doesn't actually seem to want to respond to the 'Off' button and so I've had to resort to just pulling the power plug out.

The reason I got the thing is that I'll soon probably be interviewing a relatively major Trek actress, which to be honest is a bit of a daunting prospect for someone who has managed to avoid placing even one single phone call during two years of running a Trek news site and instead handling everything via email. I've already pretty much given up hope I'll be able to grasp everything the actress will be saying during the actual interview, so instead I'll just focus on not making myself sound like a bumbling fanboy and try to find out when listening to the tape (minidisc) what we actually talked about :). It's at times like this that I wish my spoken English wasn't purely based on watching countless of Star Trek episodes, though I suppose when interviewing a Trek actress that might actually be an advantage.

Anyway, if this works it should be a great experience to have had, and of course having a few more interviews appear here on the site won't be a bad thing either. Hopefully I'll be able to do more interviews in the future, if this one works out okay - certainly that would help in justifying the cost of this Minidisc recorder for me.

Of course, the Minidisc recorder may prove to be just a worthless gadget anyway... if the 'Off' button already isn't functioning, how do I know 'Record' *will* work? I guess if by the time I get around to transcribing the interview the only thing left for the interview is 'Click' I'll know it didn't work.

Trek BBS Today

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

-Does the traditional one-hour format still work for Star Trek, or should it start using story arcs more?

-Did you see Avery Brooks in the new movie '15 Minutes'?

-What will happen with the Defiant-class warships now that the Dominion War is over?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Trek Two Years Ago

Below are some of the most important that appeared on TrekToday on Saturday the 13th of March, 1999:

• 12" Figures To Arrive Soon - The Raving Toy Maniac reported that new 12" Star Trek action figures would be arriving soon at retailers, beginning with an Andorian Ambassador, Captain Kathryn Janeway, Commander Geordi LaForge and Mister Spock. This turned out to be one of the last sets to be announced, as a year later Playmates lost its license to produce Trek action figures.

• Insurrection Video Release Date - The video release date for 'Star Trek: Insurrection' was set at the 18th of May - a day before the release of the blockbuster movie of the year, 'Star Wars: The Phantom Menace'.

• Final DS9 Episode Novelization Not Certain - Pocket Books editor John Ordover said at this bulletin board that it wasn't certain there would be a novelisation of the DS9 finale. "It's not a matter of what we owe, it's a matter of what can be produced in the limited time we have," he said. "At the moment, it's nit-and-tuck whether we'll be able to novelize even the final episode." Of course, in the end Diane Carey was able to novelise the episode, and it's still available in paperback and eBook.

For more news from that day, please visit the March 1999 archives.

Happy Birthday!

Today is the birthday of Jacqui Kim, who appeared as Demora Sulu in 'Star Trek: Generations'.

Today's Television Listings

• The Sci-Fi Channel will be showing the original series episode, 'Spectre of the Gun' at 5pm.

• In Canada, Space! will be showing Voyager's 'Caretaker Pt. 2' at 4am, DS9's 'Tears of the Prophets' at 5am, the original series episode 'A Piece of the Action' at 10am (repeat at 4pm), TNG's 'Parallels' at 12pm, DS9's 'Image in the Sand' at 5pm and Voyager's 'Parallax' at 10pm.

• In the Netherlands, VOO will be showing DS9's 'Things Past' at 17:15 while NET5 will screen Voyager's 'Emanations' at 18:35. Thanks go out to StarTrek.nl for this!

• In Australia, Channel Nine will be showing DS9's 'Statistical Probabilities' at 11pm. Thanks go out to the Australian Babylon 5 & Star Trek air schedule

Tomorrow's Television Listings

• At 9:00pm (8:00pm Central), UPN will be showing a special two-hour presentation of last November's telemovie, 'Flesh and Blood'. Here's how the official Star Trek site describes the episode:

  The U.S.S. Voyager answers a distress call from a Hirogen training facility, only to find a holographic environment littered with Hirogen corpses. The holographic technology given to the Hirogen by Captain Janeway for hunting training has been modified to the point where the prey have become the hunters. The holograms have not only become self-aware, but are essentially a new race, seeking refuge from "organic" slavery and brutality. Seeking to liberate one of "their own," the holograms kidnap the Doctor, who soon finds himself torn between his loyalties to Voyager and his holographic brethren.

  Please note that the above image is copyrighted by Paramount Pictures.

• The Sci-Fi Channel will be showing another Original Series mini-marathon, beginning at 11:00am Eastern Time with 'Spock's Brain' and ending at 3:00pm with 'Spectre of the Gun', while at 5:00pm they will also be showing their regular daily TOS episode, 'Day of the Dove'. A complete listing of all the episodes that will be airing as part of the marathon can be found here on the official site.

• In Canada, Space! will be showing Voyager's 'Parallax' at 4:00am Eastern Time, DS9's 'Image in the Sand' at 5:00am, the Original Series' 'The Immunity Syndrome' at 10:00am, TNG's 'The Pegasus' at 12:00pm, 'The Immunity Syndrome' again at 4:00pm, DS9's 'Shadows and Symbols' at 5:00pm and Voyager's 'Time and Again' at 10:00pm.

• In the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing DS9's 'Accession' at 17:00 and at 00:30 GMT. Thanks go out to the Great Link for this!

• In the Netherlands, Veronica will be showing DS9's 'The Ascent' at 17:15 CET, while Net5 will be showing Voyager's 'Prime Factors' at 18:40. At 21:30, SBS 6 will be showing the movie 'Star Trek: First Contact'. Thanks go out to StarTrek.nl for this!

• In Australia, the 9 Network will be showing Voyager's 'In The Flesh' at 11:00pm. Thanks go out to the Australian Babylon 5 & Star Trek air schedule

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