BMUG PD-ROM B4/PD-ROM B4.iso/Entertainment/Space/Star Trek/Datelines/Dateline 9

Text File | 1993-04-07 | 21KB | 399 lines

9103.14                 DATELINE:  STARFLEET                       #9


                         Reporting for Duty!
                         -------------------
     A busy busy month this month!  Look below for a hoard of TNG and
Star Trek VI news (especially the latest TNG schedule and the Tasha
Yar update).  And be sure to look further below in "Club News" for an
important message about the Club schedule.
     And welcome to anyone reading this on the MOTIF BBS, the latest
BBS to see a copy of Dateline placed in its files!


             News from Over the Hailing Frequencies....
             ------------------------------------------
     A happy bit of news from the TNG set: Gates McFadden is
pregnant!  (Congrats to Ms. McFadden.)  The baby is due in July.

     The Star Trek VI saga continues: after a brief panic last month,
we are back on track.  On February 13th, Nicholas Meyer (the writer
and director of ST VI) had this to say about the movie's prospects:
"My impression is that--with great fear and trepidation--we are going
forward."  He went on to note that Paramount was still considering
the matter, and could (of course) kill the movie if they wanted to.
(Quote is from the "San Francisco Examiner.")
     That same weekend, William Shatner stated at a Connecticut
convention that Star Trek VI was going to start filming on April
15th.  The intention is still a Christmas release, but he wouldn't
guarantee that the movie would in fact be finished in time for that.
     Finally, gossip columnist Marilyn Beck reported on February 22nd
that Paramount had definitely committed itself to making Star Trek
VI, and that all cast members were returning once again.
     The budget has been finally set, at $27 million.  Reportedly
Nimoy and Shatner took pay cuts to help with the budget, although
Nimoy is doing double-duty on the film (he is co-executive producer).
     Michael Dorn will reportedly play Worf's father in Star Trek VI.
It is also been rumored that Mr. Sulu finally gets his own starship
in ST VI.  No other plot details were mentioned, although it was
noted that the plot will not have any direct tie-in to Star Trek V's.
     The special effects studio hasn't been chosen yet; ILM is (of
course) in the running to get the work.
     Despite what some of the Star Trek cast say about liking to go
on making ST films, this will most likely be the last Classic Trek
movie.  Basically this is because the cast isn't getting any younger.
When discussing this, Richard Arnold (from the Paramount offices, who
was at a Creation con in Philadelphia) pointed out, to get some
perspective on the age question, that the youngest Classic cast
member (Walter Koenig/Chekov) is older that Patrick Stewart.  (No, I
don't know how old they are.)

     About the Spock TNG appearance: when the question "what rank
does Spock have in the 24th century?" was asked by a reader in the DC
Star Trek comic letters column, the reply was "wait and see this
summer...."  The idea still remains in the category of rumor; Richard
Arnold commented on it while at the Philly convention.  He noted that
while the reports are floating around (notably in "Starlog") about
Jerome Bixby writing a sequel episode to "Mirror, Mirror" for TNG
that would guest-star Spock, the script had not been accepted yet.
And he stressed that acceptance was not guaranteed; several TOS
scriptwriters have submitted scripts for TNG (no names were
mentioned) but had their scripts rejected in the course of the
series.

     Richard had much more to say about upcoming TNG events while in
Philly.  To note a few:
     Worf's son Alexander may turn up occasionally as a recurring
character on the show.
     This week's episode "Galaxy's Child" will have as a subplot a
visit by the real Dr. Leila Brahms, the Enterprise engines designer
that Geordi conjured up in the holodeck in "Booby Trap."
     One very tense psychological thriller episode coming up (no
title mentioned, but I think he was referring to "Night Terrors") is
supposedly an awesome reach out and grab you thriller that Richard
recommends you do not see alone.  He says it's truly tension-filled
and unlike anything done on Trek before.  We'll see....  :)
     The rumored episode "To the Nth Degree," guest-starring Lt.
"Broccoli" Barclay, does in fact exist and has been filmed.
     The title of the annual Q episode has changed from "Q Love" to
"Q-pid."  The plot features the entire cast being whisked to 12th
century England, where they are now Robin Hood and his band.  (Picard
is Robin Hood; Riker is Little John; Data is Friar Tuck; Worf
protests--"I am NOT a merry man!")  Q, as the sheriff of Nottingham,
also brings along Vash (from "Captain's Holiday") as Maid Marion.  Q
the sheriff, then has the fun of trying to have Picard/Robin and
Vash/Marion executed.
     The last episode of the season, episode 100 for the series, will
not be a cliffhanger.  It will, however, be another episode in the
running subplot about Worf's problems with the Klingon Empire.  The
episode will be directed by Patrick Stewart.
     It is also being reported that Tasha Yar will somehow be in the
finale as well!  If everything goes according to the current plan,
the Tasha Yar from "Yesterday's Enterprise" will turn up alive at the
end of the finale (a cliffhanger of sorts, I suppose), with the plan
of bringing the character back as a regular cast member next season.
Denise Crosby apparently came up with the basic plot outline for
Tasha's return herself.
     Despite the ever-popular rumor (helped along by Marilyn Beck),
Paramount has not locked themselves into making TNG movies when the
series run is over.  The prevailing attitude seems to be "let's
finish the series first" (and of course, the performance of Star Trek
VI will be a factor).
     TNG will in all likelihood end after the sixth season (at most).
All the cast's contracts (as well as the contracts between Paramount
and the stations carrying TNG) run out after the sixth season, and by
then the cost of making the show will probably be too much to bear
(current budget is $1.6 million per show).
     In the meantime, TNG's ratings continue to be good.  The latest
syndication ratings that Richard Arnold had seen put TNG second, only
a tenth of a point behind "Wheel of Fortune."  TNG's syndication
ratings are even more impressive when you get an explanation of how
syndication ratings are worked out.  The ratings for "Wheel of
Fortune" (on five times a week) are derived by adding together the
audience for each of those five days, and getting one weekly total.
Thus in one episode, TNG is about equal in audience size to five
shows of "Wheel of Fortune!"
     One last cute note from Richard: when discussing the VIPs who
have been down to visit the TNG sets, he mentioned that the
Vice-President and his family had been there.  It seems the youngest
son, Ben Quayle, is a major TNG fan.  :)

     The guest of honor in Philly was Marina Sirtis, and she was
marvelously charming and entertaining and gorgeous and wonderful
and....
     The convention was probably, I would guess, a record setter for
a Creation convention in Philadelphia; 700 people were turned away
the first day, and several hundred more were turned away the second.
Creation was taking suggestions on where to find a bigger place in
the Philadelphia area to hold their cons at.

     The upcoming TNG schedule goes like this (adjust the dates cited
here to whatever schedule your station is working by):
     week of 3/3--repeat of "Final Mission" (the last Wesley episode)
     week of 3/10--"Galaxy's Child"
     week of 3/17--"Night Terrors"
     week of 3/24--"Identity Crisis"
     week of 3/31--"To the Nth Degree"
     week of 4/7--repeat of "The Loss" (Troi loses her powers)
     week of 4/14--repeat of "Data's Day" (O'Brien's wedding)
     week of 4/21--"Q-pid"
     week of 4/28--"Drumhead"
     week of 5/5--"Civil War"

     Those famous episodes I keep mentioning, then hearing that they
don't exist, are back in the rumor mill.  Maybe, maybe not coming up
are the episodes "Paradise" (a colony doesn't want to be cured of the
disease infecting it) and "Past Perfect" (a story about Beverly and
Jack Crusher).

     Actress Jean Simmons, currently part of the cast of the new
"Dark Shadows," will be guest-starring on TNG later this year.  She
plays an admiral who is determined to root out a traitor aboard the
Enterprise.  Jonathan Frakes is directing this episode.
     Also among upcoming guest stars is David Ogden Stiers (Major
Winchester from "M*A*S*H"), who is slated to appear in the annual
Lwaxana Troi episode.

     Ex-Trekker Kirstie Alley won Favorite Female Performer on
Television honors at the People's Choice Awards on March 11th, for
her work on "Cheers."

     Whoopi Goldberg, who is up for an Oscar for her role in "Ghost,"
will also be a presenter at the Oscar awards ceremony.  Goldberg will
be one guest on Barbara Walter's Oscar night show, on March 25th at 8
p.m.


                       Editorial: Ending a War
                            by Data1701D
                       -----------------------
     [the Romulan t'Cael]: "You are two steps away from our governing
planet.  With the massive technology contained in this ship, you
could change this death march my people have been walking!"
     [Cmdr. George Kirk]:"...WE can't!  We can't attack just because
we have the power!"
     [from the Classic Trek novel "Final Frontier" by Diane Carey]

     "There's a lot of people who are still saying the the object of
the United States of America was to capture Iraq and cause a downfall
of the entire country of Iraq.  Ladies and gentlemen, when we were
here [in southern Iraq], we were 150 miles away from Baghdad and
there was nobody between us and Baghdad.  If it had been our
intention to take Iraq, if it had been our intention to destroy the
country, if it had been our intention to overrun the country, we
could have done it unopposed, for all intents and purposes, from this
position at that time...."
     [General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, in a briefing to reporters on 27
February 1991]

     "The lowest [form of attack] is to attack a city.  Siege of a
city is only done as a last resort."
     "Those who know when to fight and when not to fight are
victorious."
     [Sun Tzu, from "The Art of War"]


            Star Trek Computer Games: The Final Frontier
                             By Chris513
            --------------------------------------------
     Through the years, Star Trek has not been too successful in the
area of computer games.  First there were the original Star Trek
games where text characters were used as graphics and game play was
virtually nonexistent.  Then came the Simon & Schuster games.  Though
they were only text programs, they provided the player with a great
adventure with the crew of the Enterprise.  However, there were no
arcade sequences and your eyes tired easily staring at the plain
text.
     A few games later, Simon & Schuster revealed "The Rebel
Universe" which was a graphic adventure game.  Although a little
disappointing, it was a change of pace.  In order to receive the
color graphics, you had to have a computer such as an Atari ST, while
the poor IBM and compatible computers got the measly 4-color version.
The game was also very limited in play (with very annoying sound).
     But this is all behind us now. As soon as my eyes caught hold of
the "Star Trek V" computer game I knew it was a hit.  With the
beautiful graphics (on almost any system) the game skyrockets into
the air with a beginning screen as wonderful as the start of the
movie.
     The game begins with a synopsis of the Star Trek movie that has
the most awesome graphics I have ever seen in a computer game so far.
I'm not kidding, these are wonderful!  After this, a mission briefing
appears which sets your game up.  This screen is immediately followed
by a view of the bridge, where you can access any member of the crew
with a touch of a button.  Their faces are again very wonderful, each
of them digitized from the original actors.  Soon after ordering Sulu
to activate engines, you come upon a wormhole in the fabric of space.
Getting through this is quite an adventure and it will take you a
long time. After completing this endeavor, a Klingon bird of prey
attacks, encircling your ship in mines. If you get past this, you
finally make it to your destination: Sha Ka Ree.  If you saw the
movie you know where we are.  On the planet the evil Klingon, Klaa
engages Kirk in hand to hand combat, which you control.  After
beating him, he challenges you to a simulated battle with his ship.
I can not begin to tell you how exciting this battle becomes.
     The game requires a minimum of 640K memory, so you will have to
have a pretty fast machine.  It supports EGA, MCGA/VGA, and Tandy
16-color graphics, no CGA (thank God).  If you have a computer with
these capabilities and you love Star Trek, go out and buy this game
as fast as you can.  It is truly a beautiful game.


                       Guest Stars who Aren't
                            by Data1701D
                       ----------------------
     Over the course of history of Trek, there have come some
characters who, although they did not necessary appear in many
episodes, made such an impression on the fans that they ceased to be
thought of as guest stars.  Here are a few that I would include in
that select category.
     Lieutenant Kyle, TOS--Kyle just kept turning up and managed to
become a fan favorite.  One of the nicest touches in Star Trek II was
briefly seeing Kyle serving aboard the Reliant.
     Miles O'Brien, TNG--The fans must just have a thing for
transporter chiefs!  Anytime you get a first name for your character,
you're not doing half bad....
     Sarek, TOS/TNG--If I hadn't stopped thinking of him as a guest
after seeing him in Star Trek III and IV, I certainly did after his
TNG appearance.  Some people hated what was done to him in "Sarek,"
the TNG episode; I thought it was an excellent story with two
marvelous performances by Mark Lenard and Patrick Stewart.  Now these
two should be on the stage together.
     Oddly enough (or maybe it isn't), Amanda doesn't carry the same
distinction in my mind.  Her appearance in Star Trek IV was almost a
throwaway.
     Guinan, TNG--They can keep billing her as a "special guest
star," but she's right up there with the rest of them in my book.
     But on the other hand, Diana Muldaur's Dr. Pulaski will forever
remain a "special guest appearance" in my mind, or whatever she was
billed as each week.  In my humble opinion, TNG made its one really
bad regular character foul-up when they created this Mccoy clone.
(Long live Beverly.)
     So, who are your favorites?


                           Happy Birthday!
                           ---------------
     ...John de Lancie, March 20th
     ...William Shatner, March 22nd
     ...Leonard Nimoy, March 26th
     ...Marina Sirtis, March 29th
     ...Grace Lee Whitney, April 1st


                   Club Happenings Around the Link
                   -------------------------------
     The ranks of the Club staff are in a state of transition.  Thus,
we have missed a few events lately, but I'm working to correct the
problems, honest.  If the event you're looking for isn't held, you
are hereby encouraged to speak out!  Leave a notice on the Ask the
Commander Board with your complaint.
     RobB4 has temporarily left the ranks of PC-Link.  Thus, his
Friday shifts in Ten-Forward are postponed for the time being.  (With
luck, for only a week or so.)
     Stay tuned while I get the situation clarified.  And thank you
for your patience.

     Meanwhile, the Star Fleet Battles group is looking forward to
starting play shortly, Play-By-Mail style.  Any interested SFB
players can contact Ksc1.


          Books and Stuff from your Friendly Online Android
                            by Data1701D
          -------------------------------------------------
     I can report two brief book news notes while we await Rob's
return to these pages.  First, the rumored TNG Technical Manual that
Rob mentioned last month does indeed exist.  Written by Mike Okuda
and Rick Sternbach, it comes out in July from Pocket Books.
     Second, as of this writing, Classic Trek novel #54 is scheduled
to be "Recovery," by J.M. Dillard ("Demons," "Bloodthirst," "The Lost
Years").


               Other Trek-related Products/Happenings
               --------------------------------------
     Paramount does plan to release TNG on video, the way they did
for Classic Trek, but this will not happen until late 1991 or early
1992 at the earliest.

     The Next Generation has just recently begun airing in England,
from the first season.  TNG has also being carried by the armed
forces network in the Persian Gulf.

     Conventions:
     March 16th-17th: George Takei is to be at a Creation con in
Pittsburgh, and Marina Sirtis has one in San Francisco.
     March 22nd-24th: Wil Wheaton is scheduled for Vulkon Orlando and
Susan Sackett is the guest at S.T. Con '91 in Calgary.
     March 23rd-24th: Michael Dorn is scheduled for a Creation con in
Providence, Rhode Island, while Patrick Stewart is doing one in
Edmonton, Alberta.
     March 30th: Majel Barrett does a Creation show in Green Bay.
     April 6th-7th: Nichelle Nichols is the guest at the con in
Evansville, Indiana.  Majel Barrett appears at yet another Creation
con, this one in Reno.
     April 12th-14th:  ST novelist Diane Carey is the guest at
Technicon8 at the Virginia Polytechnical Institute.

     DC Comics: This summer's Star Trek Annual #2 will be a story
about Kirk's first year at Starfleet Academy, and his first meetings
with Matt Decker ("The Doomsday Machine"), Ben Finney ("Court
Martial"), Carol Marcus (Star Trek II), and Finnegan ("Shore Leave").
     Also coming this summer is a Star Trek mini-series, "The Modula
Imperative."  DC's contribution to the 25th anniversary celebration,
the four-part series (written by Trek novelist Michael Jan Friedman)
will tie in, plot-wise, to a Next Generation mini-series that makes
its debut later on in the summer.  This tie-in may be what DC Comics
was referring to when they said "wait and see this summer" about
Spock in the 24th century.
     And current issues for March are:
     Star Trek #19--Kirk is to speak at the funeral of a security
guard who died protecting the captain; the problem is, Jim doesn't
know one thing about the man.
     Next Generation #19--Down time on the Enterprise!  See what
Beverly, Deanna, Wesley, and Riker do to keep amused.

     "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is listed in the 2nd edition
of the Blockbuster Video chain's book, "The Greatest Movies of All
Time."

     Over on Prodigy, Columbia House was advertising its Classic Trek
video collection.  In the text of the ad, they managed to misidentify
"Space Seed" as "The Seed".  They also had this graphic drawing of
Spock, and the poor guy's so green, he looks like an unripe piece of
fruit!  (He's kind of a Kermit The Frog shade of green, if you can
imagine that.)  Kirk looked better; he just looks like he's been
sunburned from a week of shore leave in Miami, or something.

     The hit movie "Ghost," which co-starred Whoopi Goldberg, will be
released to video on March 25th.  Also due out in March on video is
the Leonard Nimoy-directed "Funny About Love," which starred Gene
Wilder.

     Back to Leonard Nimoy: scheduled in April on the TNT Network is
the TV movie "Never Forget."  The film stars Leonard as Mel
Mermelstein, a real-life Holocaust survivor who sued a historical
society that was claiming that the Holocaust never really happened.
Nimoy also produced the film.


                    Personal Logs, Stardate Today
                    -----------------------------
     The crew prepares Uhura's Valentine gift:
     Kirk: "Well, Bones, what do you say?  The spring bouquet or the
roses and baby's breath?"
     McCoy: "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor, not a florist!"
     [a Hallmark Valentine's Day card that I got; I never saw these
before?!]


                        And in Conclusion....
                        ---------------------
     Thanks to Captn Joe for a file of episode information!


                     Credit where Credit is Due
                     --------------------------
     "Dateline: Starfleet"--edited by Data1701D
     The Away Team of Contributors--Chris513, Captn Joe