Life is all about babies, school, marriages, elections, illnesses and birthdays ... and it's just another day for Star Trek, both as a franchise and for its various alumni.
Jennifer Lien Delivers
In the category of "Who's Had a Baby," the answer is Jennifer Lien ("Kes" in Star Trek: Voyager). On September 5, 2002, barely a month after attending the Las Vegas "Real Deal" Creation Convention, Lien gave birth to her first child. Congratulations go out to Jennifer, Phil and their new son Jonah.
Star Trek Wins "Icon" Award
Saturday night the entire phenomenon that is known as Star Trek is getting an award. ShowEast 2002, the show business trade show taking place this week in Orlando, Florida, will present Paramount Pictures with its first annual "Icon Award" in recognition of the Gene Roddenberry-created franchise, during its Final Night Banquet and Awards Ceremony.
"It might seem strange that ShowEast is honoring Star Trek with its inaugural Icon Award, as 'icon' is a term generally reserved for people, not global multimedia phenomenons," began an article in The Hollywood Reporter.
"I think it's being given to 'Star Trek' for being one the most successful — if not the most successful — franchises in the history of the movies," says Rob Friedman, chief operating officer at Paramount Pictures and vice chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group, in the trade paper. "I don't know whether they've declared it for that purpose, but we believe that's why we're getting it."
Click here for the full Hollywood Reporter article.
Good Evening, Professor Shatner
William Shatner ("James T. Kirk") is stepping before the classroom — well, sort of. The actor/director/author/singer/pitchman/beauty pageant host will be the featured speaker for a one-night-only course at The Learning Annex in Los Angeles. Instead of teaching the fine art of starship command, though, Shatner will "reminisce about his career highlights, share some of his favorite showbiz anecdotes and share his wry perspectives on life before, during after Star Trek," the Learning Annex catalog states.
The two-hour session will take place Nov. 12, and the course fee is $24. For more information visit LearningAnnex.com (then click on "Featured Speakers" on the left).
No Static Here
The October 14 issue of People magazine has a picture from the recent wedding of Terry Farrell ("Jadzia Dax" in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) to actor Brian Baker. Baker is probably best known from his TV commercials as the trench-coated spokesman for Sprint PCS. According to People, Farrell and Baker tied the knot on September 1 atop the Eiffel Tower — that is, the replica in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel. The couple, who met at a gym last February, also spent their honeymoon in Vegas. This marks Terry's first walk down the aisle.
McNeill Elected
Robert Duncan McNeill ("Tom Paris" in Star Trek: Voyager) recently ran for and won a seat on the national governing board for the Screen Actors Guild, according to his Web site robertduncanmcneill.net. He will be serving a one-year term. Even though this is for the actors' union, McNeill has been spending most of his time lately as a director. He is currently on location in Utah directing an episode of the new WB series Everwood titled "Is There A Doctor In the House?" which will be shown later this fall. Next Wednesday, October 16, the second of two Dawson's Creek episodes McNeill directed earlier this year, called "Instant Karma," will air on the WB. (Check your local listings for time and channel.)
Burton Inspired by Uhura
In an Associated Press article released yesterday, LeVar Burton ("Geordi La Forge" in Star Trek: The Next Generation) declared that while books were an important part of his upbringing, it was television that showed him that he could find his place in the world.
Burton, who is the award-winning host of public television's Reading Rainbow, said it was hard for him to identify with characters in books he read as a young boy because they weren't black. But then he began watching the original Star Trek series and saw the character of "Lt. Uhura" played by Nichelle Nichols. "What it said to me was when the future comes, there'll be a place for you," Burton said. "Dreams really do come true."
The actor/director was the keynote speaker at last Saturday's 50th annual William Allen White Children's Book Awards ceremony at Emporia State University. The full AP article can be found here at Yahoo! News.
Teri Garr Reveals Struggle with MS
Teri Garr, who played "Roberta Lincoln" in the Original Series episode "Assignment: Earth," revealed revealed that she's been struggling with Multiple Sclerosis for the past 19 years. In a statement released Tuesday, the Oscar-nominated actress said, "I didn't tell people because I didn't want pity and I was afraid I wouldn't get work. But others with MS need to know they are not alone. We don't have to be victims." The original story can be found at Entertainment Tonight Online.
And finally ...
Today, October 9, is Scott Bakula's birthday and the Enterprise production crew decided to give him the red carpet treatment — literally! From his trailer, which was draped with streamers and birthday banners, to Stage 18 (Bridge/Engineering/Shuttlebay) a resplendent red carpet was laid. As an added touch, production personnel wore black baseball caps with the word CAPTAIN printed on the front.
Well, he is the captain after all.
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