This Week in Trek – November 4th edition

Before I go on strike, This Week in Trek brings you news on the development of the holodeck, Trek golfing, lots of Shatner, people going under the knife for Vulcan ears, and much more.

What do you mean the strike doesn’t pertain to me…?

Star Trek (2008 film):

• The writers’ strike which takes effect tomorrow will not impact production on the new film.
• At last check, the role of Captain Pike was close to being cast, although Josh Lucas is not the leading candidate. Casting for minor roles in the film has been progressing. Also, it was revealed that Spock’s parents, Sarek and Amanda Grayson, will have roles in movie. For more, see the Trek Movie Report.
• Actress Rachel Nichols (Alias, The Amityville Horror) is rumored to have been cast in a role in the film.
• Leonard Nimoy believes Trek will “surge” again because of this movie.
• Composer Michael Giacchino has promised that the theme from the original Star Trek series will be used in the film.
• LatinoReview “broke the news” that a teaser trailer for the film is in the works. Trekmovie.com confirmed this and added that parts of the trailer have already been shot.
• According to The Hollywood Reporter, J.J. Abrams took convincing to hire Zachary Quinto to play Spock.
• Quinto was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday and, naturally, Star Trek came up. See the video and transcript here.

This Week In Shatner (so much Shat this week…he gets his own section)

• William Shatner said he would not take part in Star Trek 2008 film for a cameo appearance.
• The UK’s The Sun Tabloid took recent Shatner statements and made the bold claim that ‘Trekkies everywhere have united in support’ to demand Shatner be included in the film…ummm…clearly they have not visited TrekMovie.com.
• DVD Snapshot has posted a lengthy interview with William Shatner where he states his novels would make good films and talks extensively about ‘Stalking Santa’ the new DVD he narrated.
• A group at the Students’ Society of McGill University really likes William Shatner and has submitted four motions to their school which involve the actor. Read this to see what they are.
• In a ShatnerVision video and in a separate interview Shatner discusses the connections to real world events in his latest novel
• In another ShatnerVision video (below) The Shat talks about his new book and respect for past Trek writers

Trek Stuff:

• Peter David’s Star Trek: The Next Generation novel Before Dishonor was released this week. See the book’s listing at Pocket Books for more information.
• Where no man has gone be-FORE! A putter shaped like the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 is now available for pre-order at the Star Trek Store.

Independent/Fan Productions:

• The first part of the three-part independent film Star Trek: Of Gods and Men finally has a new release date — December 22nd at 5:01pm. Now watch it get pushed back again…

Trek in the World:

• Music lovers are undergoing plastic surgery to give themselves pointed Vulcan ears, which “apparently enhances music listening experience.” Plus, they just look so damn cool.
• A free public lecture on the physics of Star Trek will be held at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Arizona on November 8th. DS9’s Armin Shimerman (Quark) will be making an appearance at the event, entitled “Beyond the Star Trek Universe.”
• Old news, but The Vegetarian Journal printed an article discussing Spock‘s influence on vegetarianism, entitled Vegging out with Kung Fu and Star Trek.

Trek Science:

• Star Trek‘s holodeck serves as the inspiration for University of Southern California researchers’ attempts to create realistic “immersive experiences.” In other words — they’re building the holodeck. Well, they’re going to try, anyway.
• People at MIT have developed a new type of “optical tweezer,” which act like tractor beams according to Wired Science.
• The communicator, the cloaking device, and Eternal Image’s Star Trek line of funeral products are among NetworkWorld’s Top 10 real life Star Trek inventions.

Trek on the Web:

• Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry (Gene’s son) discusses the new movie, the most recent series, his Trek Nation documentary, and much more in at interview at UFPCroatia.
• Digital Spy has named Montgomery Scott a Cult Spy Icon.
• The women of Star Trek: Voyager ranked third in AfterEllen’s Women in Space list.
• The BBC has a piece on TOS producer Herbert F. Solow. You can read it here.
• AICN revealed details on the abandoned movie that was tentatively titled Star Trek: The Beginning. You can read it here.

Trek Celebrity News:

• A number of TV shows with Star Trek connections — including Heroes (featuring Zachary Quinto, Nichelle Nichols and George Takei), Battlestar Galactica (created by Ronald D. Moore), 24 (with John Billingsley), and Lost (co-created by Star Trek producers J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof) — will be impacted by the writers strike which takes effect tomorrow.
• Gwynyth Walsh and Barbara Walsh — who played the Duras sisters on Trek — were among the special guests at this year’s Manitoba Comic con and Sci-Fi Expo, held October 27th and 28th in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
• J.G. Hertzler (Martok), who is currently teaching acting at Cornell University, is the subject of a story at The Ithaca Journal. Enjoy.
• The Shakespeare Company’s production of Tamburlaine, which stars Avery Brooks (Benjamin Sisko) in the title role, began its run in Washington, DC, on October 30th. See the Shakespeare Company site for more information.
• Martian Child opened in theaters nationwide on November 2nd. Starring John Cusack, the film is based on a novel by TOS writer David Gerrold, who is also credited executive producer. See the official site for more information.
• Zachary Quinto (Spock in the new film) has chosen the United Talent Agency (UTA) to represent him, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Star Trek (2008) production members Maryann Brandon (editor) and Michael Kaplan (costume designer) are also represented by UTA.
• Simon Pegg‘s (the new Scotty) old series Spaced is being retooled for American audiences for the Fox network, according to Variety.
• Robert Picardo was seen on two different TV shows this week. He first appeared in the Joe Dante-directed, Halloween-themed episode of CSI: NY, which aired October 31st. He then played a bad guy on the November 2nd episode of the ABC series Women’s Murder Club. The latter features Linda Park (Hoshi Sato) as a regular, but she did not appear in Picardo’s episode.
• ABC has ordered a full season of Tim Russ‘ (Tuvok) comedy series Samantha Who?, according to Variety. There is no word yet on how or if the writers strike will impact this series.
• Grace Lee Whitney (Janice Rand) was among the guests and the 17th annual United Fan Con held this weekend.
• Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) is among those featured in a series of British ads for the Nintendo DS.
• George Takei‘s (Sulu) name came up in Digital Spy’s list of actors who have been on more than one “high profile cult show.”
• The first images of Jolene Blalock (T’Pol) on the set of Starship Troopers: Marauder are available at StarshipTroopers3.net.
• Heart of the Beholder, an independent film starring TNG and DS9 actor Michael Dorn (Worf), is having a wee bit of trouble finding a distributor.
• Dominic Keating (Malcolm Reed) will be seen in tomorrow night’s two-hour special episode of Prison Break. It will be his second appearance after the October 22nd episode, “Interference.”
• Russell Watson, the singer who performed “Where My Heart Will Take Me” for Star Trek: Enterprise, is in stable condition and is said to be “recovering well” following emergency surgery to once again remove a brain tumor. He had suffered a regrowth of the tumor that was first removed in September of last year.

YouTube Video of the Week
Not a new video, but newly on YouTube. A feature from Hard Copy in 1991 on the ‘Women of Trek’