Nimoy Says "Yes" to Fresno

Star Trek superstar and Renaissance man Leonard Nimoy recently decided to spend time in a California town that is frequently misrepresented: Fresno.

Located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, Fresno is famous, and infamous, for many things, including: grapes, incessant heat and pollution, a spoof TV mini-series, the Rogue Festival, the Forestiere Underground Gardens, Kevin Federline, Alan Autry and the Fresno Grizzlies, the San Francisco Giants' Triple-A farm team. Often the butt of jokes, one thing Fresno has never been accused of is having an abundance of artistic culture. Enter, Mr. Nimoy.

"Fresno has vibrant and interesting cultural activities," said Nimoy in The Fresno Bee newspaper.

What many don't realize is that Fresno has a long-standing Philharmonic orchestra, with which Nimoy recently narrated Beethoven's "Egmont" overture and incidental music, and Stravinsky's "L'Histoire du Soldat" in an event titled "Leonard Nimoy Narrates." Also that same weekend (March 5 & 6), Nimoy's highly acclaimed photographs were on display at a newly opened art gallery.

Shedding an image is never easy, no matter how unfair that image may be. Perhaps few understand this as much as Nimoy, whose embracing of the Fresno culture is sure to turn a few heads.

Braga Reaches "Threshold"

Star Trek: Enterprise executive producer and long time Star Trek veteran Brannon Braga is moving over into the world of "Threshold," a new TV pilot that deals with the "international impact of possible alien invasion," according to a recent Daily Variety.

Braga, still under contract with Paramount Network Television until 2006, could extend his deal with the studio to '07 should "Threshold" get picked up by CBS. His move over to the show was made possible with the final episode of Enterprise — "These Are the Voyages..." — having recently wrapped.