New Background Articles

Over at About.com's Star Trek Fans, Julia Houston has put up this week's new feature article, containing her memories of season six, which ended last week with the showing of 'Unimatrix Zero'. In the article, Julia talks about the season's aliens, battles, relationships, guest characters, humour, and regular character moments. Here's part of her introduction to the article:

While thinking about Star Trek's historical and social and personal relevance is all wonderful, it can make some fans forget to think about the show itself. In the years I've been on the 'net, I've been seeing less and less discussion of what actually happened in the episodes and more and more general talk about how "it all sucks" and "doesn't mean anything anymore."

I have to admit, I just don't see it. Yes, Star Trek has changed. It's almost half-way through its fourth decade of production. Don't we want it to have changed? So, speaking as a fan, what can fans like myself hold up in defense of Star Trek's continuing quality other than recent episodes they personally liked a great deal?

Fortunately for my argument, Voyager has just finished up a killer season. So here are some of my favorite memories from this past season, chosen this time around not for their meaning to history or to the world, but because they were exciting, fun, touching, and all-around good. These moments and scenes are why I watch the show in the first place, and I suspect I'm not alone.

Meanwhile, Debora Fischer at the official Star Trek site has written an article on the many actors with Shakespearian training who have gone on to work in Trek. The article was inspired by the fact that 'The Ride Down Mt Morgan', the new play starring Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), has been nominated for a Tony:

Stage work is an essential part of any actor's training and many return to it regularly to recharge the batteries. Besides Stewart's turn on Broadway, Tony Todd (Kurn) recently finished a successful run in August Wilson's "King Hedley II" in Seattle and earlier this spring, Andrew J. Robinson (Garak) directed Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" in Los Angeles.

But it's hard to make a living exclusively treading the boards which is why so many actors gravitate toward the promise of steady -- and more lucrative -- work in television and film. Ironically, TV and film do not always make good use of an actor's theatrical training -- except in Star Trek. As a former Executive Producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, Jeri Taylor describes that certain theatrical "something" that producers always search for when casting Star Trek.

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