News on StarTrek from Julia Houston

From Julia's Collumn
STAR TREK

We got a lot of news this week about a possible hand-off of ENT from UPN to Spike TV, but now executives of both networks are claiming such a thing has never been considered.

SyFyPortal says Erik Jendresen says Paramount said he should take a stab at Star Trek XI: The Movie to Be Named Later, which, again, is going for the prequel idea and is set "160-odd years before Kirk is born." As I mentioned before, it's supposed to feature an all-new crew. The script will be "grittier" than traditional Trek, but will still boldly go where no one has gone before.

For a while now, there's been a sort-of resurrection of Star Trek in Star Trek: New Voyages, which appeared on the Internet in January 17th 2004 with a new cast playing the TOS Trek roles. It was created and is produced by James Cawley and Jack Marshall with Producer Max Rem, Visual Effects creator, and Consulting Producer, Eugene Roddenberry, Jr. A second episode came online October 8th 2004, and the site has clocked now over 16 million downloads. This odd cousin of the franchise snagged a major coup with the announcement that the real Walter Koenig will play Chekov in the production “New Voyages Episode 404."

In the press release, Koenig says, “I had pretty well determined that Star Trek and Chekov were part of my past. I mean, who wouldn’t, it’s been nearly forty years since my first “Warp factor four, Keptin”. But then the folks from New Voyages approached and we started kicking around ideas for a Chekov story. It occurred to me that what we were coming up with was what every actor dreams of: a second chance to get it right. An opportunity not only to resurrect a role, but to make of that character a living breathing profoundly human - being. It is almost beyond comprehension that this is happening so late in my life! Talk about belated reward, talk about closure, talk about science fiction! I didn’t believe I could ever again be this excited about performing a part. I guess it isn’t so trite after all: perhaps, all good things do come to those who wait.”

Wild.

There's a small hope for people in denial about the ENT cancellation. Plans are in place not to scrap the sets after the last day of filming, but to store them, at least for a while, while the network just might reconsider their decision. Or maybe they're just going to auction the sets off on eBay.

Star Trek: Insurrection Special Collector's Ed. DVD will be available June 7, 2005 and presented in widescreen and enhanced for 16:9 TVs. Audio options include: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, and French Dolby Surround. Text Commentary by Michael Okuda and Denise Okuda will accompany the action. The following extras include seven restored scenes:Ru'afo's Facelift, Working Lunch, Flirting, The Kiss, Status: Precarious, Disabling the Injector, and Alternate Ending.

It Takes a Village
Location, Location, Location
The Art of "Insurrection"
Anatomy of a Stunt
The Story of "Insurrection"
Making "Insurrection"
Director's Notebook
The Star Trek Universe
Westmore's Aliens
Star Trek's Beautiful Alien Women
Creating the Illusion
Behind-the-scenes footage of sequences filled with action and visual effects
Shuttle Chase
The Drones
The Duck Blind
Archives: Storyboards, Photo Gallery
Advertising: Teaser Trailer, Theatrical Trailer, Original Promotional Featurette, Borg Invasion 4-D Trailer

If you're interested in protesting the cancellation of ENT, try SaveEnterprise.com and/or The Enterprise Project. TrekUnited.com is trying to get fans themselves to pay for a fifth season. You can also write your own plea to Bonnie Hammer, Sci Fi Channel, and David Stapf, Paramount.

Ms. Bonnie Hammer
President and General Manager
Sci Fi Channel
1230 Avenue Of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Mr. David Stapf
President
Paramount Television
5555 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038-3112
 
Back
Top