BMUG PD-ROM B4/PD-ROM B4.iso/Entertainment/Space/Star Trek/Datelines/Dateline 21

Text File | 1992-03-14 | 20KB | 386 lines

9203.15                 DATELINE:  STARFLEET                      #21


                         Reporting for Duty!
                         -------------------
     Once again, we're back!  Kind of a slow month this month, but
I've tried to include a few things for all to enjoy.  So I hope you
do.
--Data1701D


             News from Over the Hailing Frequencies....
             ------------------------------------------
     Star Trek VI has picked up Oscar nominations in the Makeup and
Sound Effects Editing categories.  The Oscars are March 30th.

     There are unconfirmed reports that Richard Dean Anderson (the
star of "MacGyver") has been cast as the lead in "Deep Space Nine" --
the station commander, a widower (his wife was killed during the Borg
Incident) with a 12 year old son.  Media reports after the rumor
first surfaced, however, refute this; no one has apparently been cast
in any role on DS9 yet.
     The two hour premiere episode of "Deep Space Nine" will be
guest-starring the cast of Next Generation.
     "Deep Space Nine" will be reportedly starting out with a
commitment for 2 seasons.

     Random notes and comments from Patrick Stewart at a recent con
(Vulkon, I think it was):
     The Picard/Guinan relationship will be explained eventually,
probably next season.
     An upcoming episode will touch on the Picard/Beverly
relationship.
     His one-man show "A Christmas Carol" may eventually reach
television (possibly in 1994) after runs on Broadway and in London.

     Keeping your TNG schedules close at hand, the latest
word-of-mouth is like this (schedule after "Cause and Effect"
tentative):
     week of 03/09/92 -- "A Matter of Time" rerun (time traveler
visits the Enterprise
             03/16/92 -- "The Outcast" (TNG takes a look at sexual
orientations)
             03/23/92 -- "Cause and Effect" (the Enterprise, caught
in a time loop, encounters a decades-old starship also caught in the
loop; directed by Jonathan Frakes; guest-stars Kelsey Grammer --
Fraser of "Cheers"; the rumor mill is hyping this as the do-not-miss
episode of the season -- we'll see)
             03/30/92 -- "First Duty" (Jean-Luc and Beverly run into
who-know-who while visiting Starfleet Academy)
             04/06/92 -- "The Cost of Living" (Lwaxana Troi story;
also to include Worf's son Alexander)
             04/13/92 -- "New Ground" rerun (return of Alexander)
             04/20/92 -- "Hero Worship" rerun (boy idolizes and
imitates Data)
             04/27/92 -- new episode; title unknown
             05/04/92 -- new episode; title unknown
             05/11/92 -- new episode; title unknown
             05/18/92 -- new episode; title unknown


                      Editorial: When in Doubt
                      by Bill Mason (Data1701D)
                      -------------------------
     I almost, almost, didn't have a darn thing to say here this
month.  Thisclose to a blank column.  Very dreadful.
     But then last weekend, I was taken to task by someone on here
for failing to have long ago killed the "Roddenberry is alive" folder
that resides on the boards.  (Felt like deja vu to when the folder
first started.)  I have been led to understand that Customer Service
is involved.  So it is possible that by the time you read this, the
folder will have suddenly vanished.  (Or not, of course.  Guess it
depends on how Customer Service takes "Elvis-is-alive" type humor.)
At the time I ruled that the folder, while of questionable taste in
the minds of many, was within the Terms of Service and could remain.
And if Customer Service reverses that ruling, I of course will abide
by that.
     I merely wish here to reiterate my feelings on this sort of
folder.  When things like this happen, I have to look at the message
in question critically, with the Terms of Service foremost in mind.
That will remain my criterion on whether messages such as the
Roddenberry one will remain.  Some would try to change the criterion
into a measure of the "good taste" (or lack thereof) in a message.
So, knowing that this kind of thing will probably happen again (I
suspect the upcoming episode "The Outcast" may create some lively
conversation) I'll make it clear: I will not be taking messages down
because I personally object to them.  My own directives on
functioning as a host include the specific warning: "Disagreeing with
a user's opinion does not give a host the right to remove a message
or folder."  I wholeheartedly agree with that statement; you might
call it my Prime Directive.
     Nor will folders disappear because this person or that person or
those people object.  Or because other services are looking upon my
action with a degree of scorn -- which I have been told has happened.
     So for now, the folder lives.  With that, I now get off the
soapbox for another month.  As always, any comment is invited.


                   Signing On For the New Voyages
                     By Jim Rubino (CPT Antare)
                   ------------------------------
     For the better part of the last year I've been "simming".
What's that?  Many may ask.  Well, simming is the closest thing one
can get to exploring Star Trek's "strange new worlds" short of
signing up as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle.
     The SIM experience takes the player on-board a starship, onto
the surface of a hostile planet, into mortal combat with hostile
aliens, or at the point of discovery of new life forms.
     SIMming allows anyone who embraces the precept of Star Trek and
its premises of a bright future to be a part of that future.  While
every devoted follow of the genre (myself since day one in 1966)
can't step on the bridge of the USS Enterprise and gallop the cosmos
with Kirk, Spock, McCoy et al, they can step into SIMs and create an
adventure where one steadfast rule exists; that being that "anything"
can happen and often does.
     A "cool dude" whose screen name won't be revealed here once
beamed aboard the Starfleet Academy SIM and, after a few minutes,
decided that we were all "nerds".  Perhaps we are.  Perhaps the true
definition of a nerd is someone who enjoys the new and unusual and
isn't afraid to let his or her hair down, take on the personality of
an alien race and theorize about the future and what's really out in
the great beyond.
     SIM's give players a chance to theorize on and then articulate
their own, unique interpretations of how the future might look, what
new races might feel when first contacted or, how far "we" might
evolve in our quest for knowledge and our thirst for exploration.
     In real time I am a newspaper editor. In SIM time, a
half-Romulan Starfleet officer (among others).  There are doctors,
pilots, engineers, nurses, computer gurus, and others in an endless
parade of professions who bring their professional expertise into the
SIMs and some who cast off reality for a few hours just to have fun.
     SIMming is also a great way to meet people with similar
interests.  Not just "Trekkers" or "Trekkies" but those who hunger to
learn what it is about the "Final Frontier" that interests the rest
of us.
     SIMming is NOT just about role playing in the Star Trek
universe.  It's about people and, as captioned by director Robert
Wise at the end of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"..."The Human
Adventure is Just Beginning".
     You can learn more about simulations by accessing "Starfleet
Headquarters" from the "Star Trek: The Club" forum or the "Game
Resort" section of PEOPLE CONNECTION.  "Starfleet Academy" for
beginners is held nightly (except Saturday) at 11pm (Eastern Time) in
the PEOPLE CONNECTION Public room "Starfleet Academy".  Join us for
an adventure in the Final Frontier.


                             Non-Voyages
                      by Bill Mason (Data1701D)
                      -------------------------
     We continue to wait for things to start happening where the new
Trek series, "Deep Space Nine", is concerned.  While we do, fandom
continues to mull over a critical question: can Star Trek be done
without a starship Enterprise?
     In the spirit of the phrase, "there are always possibilities", I
suggest looking over some good examples of how it can be done: some
of the more unusual Star Trek novels, the ones that are tales that
don't heavily revolve around a voyage of the Enterprise.  As it turns
out, all these novels are Pocket Books Classic Trek stories.
     "The Final Reflection", by John M. Ford, is only briefly framed
by some short passages with Captain Kirk.  The novel then takes off
and carries us into the heart of the Klingon Empire, leaving the
Enterprise (and Starfleet, for that matter) behind.  Possibly the
best look at the Klingons ever put into print, "Reflection" is proof
that the Trek universe is capable of being a genre unto itself.  Star
Trek offers many settings for stories.
     "The Lost Years", by J.M. Dillard, only barely touches on the
Enterprise.  The story starts as the ship returns to Earth after
completing its five-year mission.  Kirk, Spock, and McCoy each go
their own way.  But naturally, our heroic trio are reunited in the
midst of another adventure.  While the "Lost Years" trilogy was never
finished, the book stands as a lively look at what was going on
between TOS and Star Trek I.
     "The Romulan Way", by Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, is the
Romulan version of "The Final Reflection".  And it works just as
well.  An espionage plot involving McCoy runs parallel with a running
narrative history of the Romulan people.  Great for fans of the
Romulans...er, Rihannsu.
     "Strangers From the Sky", by Margaret Wander Bonnano,
half-qualifies as half the story is not about the Enterprise.  When
not focusing on Captain Kirk and his crew (including a pre-"Where No
Man Has Gone Before" crew), "Strangers" is a narrative about the
first contact between Earth and Vulcan.  Both plots run side by side
(like "The Romulan Way"), yet seamlessly interact into a gripping
story.  Well worth the read.
     "The Vulcan Academy Murders", by Jean Lorrah, starts briefly on
the Enterprise, but then all the action takes place on Vulcan
(surprise).  The story doesn't suffer from being away from the
Enterprise's corridors. It does suffer because the plot is a murder
mystery that is all too easily solvable by the reader.
     Of course, there are other novels that don't over-emphasize the
Enterprise, especially some time-travel novels -- naturally, since
they leave the 23rd century altogether.  ("Ishmael" by Barbara Hambly
has always been my closet favorite in this regard.  It is an
Enterprise tale, but Spock's journey to 19th century Seattle is
memorable.  I highly recommend it.)  But these novels can serve as a
sampling, and as food for thought as we continue to await "Deep Space
Nine".


                  The Semi-Ultimate Reference Guide
                 (Or, Answers to Favorite Questions)
                      by Bill Mason (Data1701D)
                 -----------------------------------
     In the continuing interest of continually being informative,
"Dateline" proudly answers, in brief, some of the favorite questions
posed to me or on the Club bulletin boards:
     "HOW DO YOU TRANSLATE A STARDATE INTO AN EARTH CALENDAR DATE?"
Answer: you don't.  Stardates are a made-up thing created by Gene
Roddenberry for Classic Trek so that he didn't have to have his
characters specify what calendar year it was.  In TOS, Animated, and
Movies, the numbers in a stardate mean absolutely nothing.  In TNG,
the first two digits have a meaning.  The first digit is always a "4"
(for 2"4"th century).  The second digit is the season that the
episode was aired in.  (Conventional wisdom has it that the digit
after the decimal represents a fraction of a day, but there are
episodes where this is not true.)
     "WHY IS PICARD BALD?"
     Because he has no hair.
     "CLOAKING DEVICES AND FEDERATION STARSHIPS.  WHY DON'T THEY GET
TOGETHER?"
     In real life Trek script-writing, because it's too easy for the
good guys if we have cloaking devices.  In the Trek universe there
are two basic excuses, according to TNG technical whiz Rick
Sternbach.  First, that Federation starships are not designed to use
cloaks on a permanent basis, that the power cost is too much, etc.
Second, that the high-and-mighty Federation would not stoop to using
such a sneaky underhanded device.
     "WHY DOESN'T THE ENTERPRISE GET INVOLVED IN MORE SPACE BATTLES?"
     Because it has no hair.
     "WHY DOES SPACE ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE A COMMON UP WHEN STARSHIPS
MEET?"
     According to TNG visual effects coordinator Ron Moore, the
producers want it that way so that the audience isn't confused by
ships turned every which way.  Another theory advanced by Rick
Sternbach is that using the same old "up" footage allows the show to
keep using stock footage rather than shooting new, expensive shots of
the Enterprise flying upside-down.
     "I KNOW IN TOS, THE WARP FACTOR CUBED TELLS YOU HOW MUCH FASTER
THAN LIGHT YOU'RE GOING.  WHAT ABOUT TNG?"
     Up to warp 9, the formula is now: warp factor raised to the
3.333333 (etc) power.  Other popular warp factors: warp 9.6 (max
rated speed of Enterprise) is about warp factor raised to the 3.4
power.  Warp 9.9 (absolute max speed for Enterprise) is about warp
factor raised to the 3.5 power.  Warp 9.99 is about warp factor
raised to the 3.9 power.  Warp 9.9999 (subspace radio speed) is
roughly warp factor raised to the 5.28 power.
     "WILL THERE BE A STAR TREK VII?"
     Are you kidding?  Hollywood <--> dollar signs <--> waiting
audience of Trekkers.
     "BUT WITH WHICH CAST?"
     You know, that's a really good question.
     "WHAT THE HECK IS THE STORY WITH GUINAN, ANYWAY?"
     "As Picard discovered long ago, Guinan is a member of a Listener
life-form.  Something about her life-form encourages others to be
honest when they speak -- and perhaps old-style bartenders had
something of the same ability."  (From the TNG Writers' Guide.)
     "YEAH BUT, WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS IT ABOUT HER AND PICARD?"
     "I can't tell you!  I wish I could."  (Whoopi Goldberg, 1991.)
     "TNG UNIFORM COLORS MEAN...WHAT, EXACTLY?"
     Red is for the Command division.  Blue is the Sciences
(including Medical).  And yellow is for Support Services (everyone
else).
     "THANK YOU."
     You're welcome.


                           Happy Birthday!
                           ---------------
     March 20: John de Lancie
     March 22: William Shatner
     March 26: Leonard Nimoy
     March 29: Marina Sirtis
     April 1: Grace Lee Whitney


                           Club Happenings
                           ---------------
     Gotta tell you a couple of things, so pay attention now!  |)
     First off is the rearranging of the bulletin boards here in the
Club.  The "Club News/Information" board is no more; all the
information on that board has been moved over to the "Ask the
Commander" board.  The "Ask" board will being doing double duty from
now on, acting as a spot to ask questions and to post Club news (like
Trivia scores!)  (A subtle plug for Saturday Trek Trivia.)
     The reason for all the hullabaloo is that the old "News" board
will now be acting as a "Deep Space Nine" board, to give us all lots
of room for folders discussing the new ST series!  So I hope you make
good use of the board, and enjoy.

     Another little note, this one about "Star Trek Record Banks"
files.  Lately people have been bumping into files that don't work,
or have Descriptions that don't match the contents, or whatnot.
First, my apologies for all that.  I will be checking files with more
care in the future.  And second, a plea for mercy!  |)  There are
more than a few files that I simply can't check out ahead of time,
simply because I don't have the hardware (or occasionally, the
software) to do it.  So these files have to be released on a wing and
a prayer, mostly.  So please think kindly of me if you find a problem
file.  And please let me know, so I can take action to keep that file
from being a problem!
     And as always, "we thank you for your support".  (I really miss
those ads.)


                  Trek-related Products/Happenings
                  --------------------------------
     Due in April from Cinemaker Press is the softcover book
"Charting the Undiscovered Country: The Making of Star Trek VI", by
Mark A. Altman and Ron Magid.

     The upcoming Classic Trek novel "The Disinherited" was
reportedly written by a trio of authors: Robert Greenberger, Michael
Jan Friedman, and Peter David.

     Scheduled for an April release is "Star Trek: The Next
Generation" magazine #19, focusing on TNG directors.  It includes
Patrick Stewart's comments on TNG's various directors.

     The Danbury Mint will be releasing a series of a dozen Classic
Trek porcelain figurines, each 5 1/4" tall.  Figures will include:
Kirk, McCoy, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, Chekov, Sulu, a Romulan, a
Klingon, Khan Noonian Singh, a Talosian, and an Andorian.  Contact:
The Danbury Mint, 47 Richards Ave, Norwalk CT 06857.

     April comic book releases: DC's "Star Trek" #31 is "Veritas"
part 2 -- Sulu and Uhura's lives are at stake in a battle of
interplanetary politics.  In DC's "Next Generation" #31, Riker may be
trapped forever on the wrong side of the intergalactic rift, in "The
Rift" part 2.  Revolutionary Comics offers "Contemporary
Bio-Graphics" #3, which is a black and white biography of Gene
Roddenberry.  And Personality Comics continues its b/w biographies
with "New Crew" #6 (Michael Dorn) and "Original Crew" #7 (Nichelle
Nichols).
     I should note that the Personality biographies have been running
a month or two behind schedule of late, if you're looking for them.
I'll keep listing them as they are scheduled to appear.

     Included among the nominees for the 6th Annual American Comedy
Awards are Kirstie Alley (for Funniest Female Performer in a TV
Series -- "Cheers") and Whoopi Goldberg (for Funniest Actress in a
Motion Picture -- "Soapdish").

     Whoopi Goldberg has finished her work on the movie "Sarafina"
that was being shot in South Africa.


                    Personal Logs, Stardate Today
                    -----------------------------
     "The evolution of human development depends on our ability to
dream."
     [Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, quoting her late husband, during the
opening of the Smithsonian Star Trek exhibit.]

     "This is one of our most important missions ever!  We have to
make the Kingkongs forget that we were once enemies, and the American
public forget that we once made Star Bleech V!  That was the most
illogical movie I ever made!"
     [Mr. "Schlock", introducing "Star Bleech VI: The Uninspired
Continuation".  From the ever-dangerous pages of "Mad" magazine.]


                        And In Conclusion...
                        --------------------
     Dateline #22 will be around on April 15, to give you something
to read after getting your taxes done.  |)


                    Credits where Credits are Due
                    -----------------------------
     "Dateline: Starfleet" -- edited by Bill Mason (Data1701D), ID#
WPHM91A on Prodigy.
     The Away Team of Contributors -- CPT Antare
     Copyright and Trademark Notice: In no case is use of any
copyrighted material and/or trademarks without identifying symbols
intended as a claim of ownership to those copyrights and/or
trademarks.  "Dateline: Starfleet" is a non-profit production
reporting and commenting on the universe of Star Trek.
     STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures.  All
other copyrighted material, trademarks, and/or service marks cited
herein are registered to their respective owners.
     Readers are granted permission to reproduce this file wherever
they think there's an interest.  Just tell 'em where you got it from!
     If you read all this, tell me: am I the only one who missed the
mistake on the March page of the 1992 Next Generation calendar?  It
took me two weeks to notice it....