Star Trek News

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This weekend Atlanta, GA is host to the the annual Dragon*Con, a huge fan friendly pop-culture convention. As usual there will be an extensive "Trek Trak" with a nubmer of events and celebrity appearances, including Jonathan Frakes, Scott Bakula, Avery Brooks, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirits and more. The Trek Trak is hosted by [...] 12

Star Trek’s new Captain Kirk may be adding another high-profile project to his growing Resume. According to a new report, George Clooney wants to direct Chris Pine, reprising his stage role in the film adaptation of the play Farragut North.   Pine may reprise Farragut North role for Clooney Last summer Chris Pine received high marks for [...] 56

Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted with Encounter at Farpoint, where Bandi Groppler Zorn, supervisor of Farpoint Station, was found to be forcing a shape-shifting being to do his bidding.

Bell, who played Groppler Zorn, shared his memories of working on that episode, from landing the role, to his thoughts on the character and on The Next Generation Actors. Bell originally came in to read for the part of Q.

Landing the role of Groppler Zorn meant first responding to a phone call from director Corey Allen. “Actually, I met Corey Allen, the director, early in my career,” Bell explained. “He was teaching drama and I became a pupil. I’d just come to Hollywood and was star struck, of course, and studying with him was a no brainer. We struck up a firm friendship. He was one of the few people in Hollywood who was truly loyal to the talent he worked with, and always remembered to call them in for projects if the role was right. He called me in to read for Star Trek, for Q. I read for him and Gene Roddenberry, who reminded me I worked for him before in the Then Came Bronson pilot. After I finished reading, they both asked me to read for Groppler. The rest is Trek history… at least for me.”

The character of Groppler Zorn was similar to that of politicians, according to Bell. “The role of Groppler was carefully etched, not patently evil, but certainly unprincipled where his general comfort was concerned, and not unlike many past and present politicians. I loved playing against that and Corey allowed the room to discover. However, even if the character was one-dimensional, I’d never have passed. Supporting actors, unlike major stars, do not have the luxury of picking and choosing.”

One thing that stands out years later for Bell was the kindness of Patrick Stewart. “I (was excited) when I was introduced to Patrick Stewart. Did you see him in Ricky Gervais’s Extras? Brilliantly sick. What an actor. As I think back, we met several years later at a sound studio where we were both working. He said he requested the character of Groppler be reintroduced in the final show, but alas it was not to be. What a gentleman. Imagine him even thinking of me? These were all professionals, and although their characters would gel and firm even better after several months on the series, they were well on their way in the pilot.”

Action figure collectors who are fans of the original series will enjoy the “Dilithium Collection” released by Diamond Select Toys.

Three new sets, from three original series episodes, can be pre-ordered, with delivery expected in late October. The sets will sell for $31.98 each.

The sets, which include two figures each, are from the following episodes of the original series:

• Where No Man Has Gone Before. Kirk and Spock.
• Arena. Kirk and the Gorn.
• The Enterprise Incident. Spock and Romulan Kirk.

To pre-order any of these sets, head to the link located here, click on Products, then Star Trek, then Action Figures.

Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager) will be producing a new magic drama for NBC.

The project comes from Sony TV, with whom Moore signed a two-year deal back in May.

The drama is described as an adult Harry Potter-type show, set in a world that is ruled not by science, but by magic. According to Entertainment Weekly, it is a “police procedural set in a world of magic.”

In Sci-Fi TV this week we have news on a number of new genre TV projects, including a new shows from Ron Moore and Neil Gaiman. Plus there is big casting news with James Marsters joining a new Syfy show and another big Chuck guest star. We also have a big Doctor Who update, and [...] 72

The popular DVD rental and online service Netflix has extended their offering of streaming Star Trek features to include the 2009 Star Trek movie, along with a selection of most of the other films. Details below.   Streaming Star Trek Movies at Netflix Netflix has every single Star Trek movie or TV series DVD or Blu-ray that [...] 19

In the last season of The Big Bang Theory, Wil Wheaton was introduced (playing an evil version of himself) as a nemesis of the show’s breakout character Sheldon Cooper. The Star Trek: The Next Generation star appeared twice in the last season, and now it looks like he could be coming back.   It’s Still On [...] 25

Issue six of the Star Trek Movie Adaptation comic from IDW Publishing arrives in stores today and fans can have a preview before heading out to purchase it.

Star Trek Movie Adaptation #6 was written by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Mike Johnson and Tim Jones, with art and cover by David Messina.

In Star Trek Movie Adaptation #6, “The official comics adaptation of the blockbuster film Star Trek comes to an epic conclusion in this mini-series presented by J.J. Abrams, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman! Kirk, Spock and the crew of the Enterprise fight to save Earth from Vulcan’s fate! Brought to you by the creative team behind the best-selling Star Trek: Countdown, this series includes scenes not included in the original film!”

Thirty-two pages long, the issue will sell for $3.99.

Click on the thumbnails for full-sized images. More images can be found here, about two-thirds of the way down the page.

A new Mondo poster, featuring artwork by Ken Taylor, will go on sale tomorrow and this poster features the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) from Star Trek: First Contact.

This Trek poster is the first Mondo poster to be taken from a Star Trek movie and not an original series episode.

Mondo creative director Justin Ishmael explained why they chose a movie this time. “The first two releases in our Star Trek series focused on episodes from the original series,” he said. “Space Seed and The Trouble With Tribbles both featured iconic characters and creatures, so we decided to focus on one of the most recognized and loved of all Star Trek characters…the Borg. Not only are the Borg incredibly interesting and visually stunning, but they function as a cohesive unit with the queen as their leader.”

The Trouble With Tribbles poster sold out in only ten minutes, so fans wanting to get their hands on the First Contact Borg Queen poster need to move fast. The poster will be sold at MondoTees.com and news on when the sale will begin will be tweeted by Mondo’s Twitter feed @MondoNews.

Click on the thumbnail of the image to see a larger photo of the poster.

Fans of The Big Bang Theory who also like Star Trek will have a double dose of enjoyment as George Takei is scheduled to appear on the show, and if all goes well, Wil Wheaton may return.

Takei will appear in an episode, in a cameo, playing himself, opposite guest star Katee Sackhoff.

According to executive producer Bill Prady, Takei and Sackhoff will play different sides of Wolowitz’s conscience. “George Takei plays himself,” said Prady, “and he’s the other person guiding Wolowitz [Simon Helberg] in his thoughts as he tries to figure out what to do about Bernadette.” Bernadette (Melissa Rauchberg) is Wolowitz’s ex-girlfriend and he is thinking about getting back together with her.

Prady spoke about his hopes for getting another Star Trek actor, The Next Generation’s Wil Wheaton, back on the show. Wheaton appeared on the show twice in the third season, playing Sheldon’s (Jim Parsons) enemy. “We started talking about the idea of minor celebrities cutting in line,” said Prady. “And we thought it might be funny to have our guys waiting in line for a one-time-only midnight screening of something like Raiders Of The Lost Ark with restored footage, and Wil Wheaton and three of his friends cut the line.

“When it comes time for our guys to get in, the line stops – Wil took the last four seats and Sheldon is just furious. Because it doesn’t make sense to him. Wil’s celebrity is not applicable here. This is not Star Trek. It’s just wrong.”

This story would be based on a real life incident in Las Vegas. “We were mostly talking about our good friend Adam Savage from Mythbusters,” explained Prady. “He was apparently in Las Vegas, there was a Star Trek auction, and there was a preview and he got to cut the line.”

The fourth season of The Big Bang Theory begins on September 23.

From now until September 7 at 10 a.m. PDT, everything in the C-Store (except the new Excelsior ship) is 20% off! Visit the C-Store to see what's available.

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Red Letter Media has become an Internet sensation with their lengthy detailed (and scathing) “Harry Plinkett” video reviews of the Star Wars prequels and the TNG era movies. Today they released their review of the 2009 Star Trek movie and so you would expect it got ripped to shreds right? Wrong. Watch how it works [...] 137

Kisses, bugs in the ears, giant drills, fights in the snow, Scotty, and Captain Data. Wait…Captain Data? It must be the reviews of the fifth and sixth issues of IDW’s adaptation of Star Trek. IDW wraps up their version of the 2009 Star Trek movie today, find out how it all works out, plus [...] 14