George Takei, just last night (Wednesday), filmed an episode of Will & Grace, playing himself as a guest on a gay-themed talk show hosted by Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) on the fictional "Out TV" network. And an action figure of Takei's Star Trek character plays a role.

In a brief conversation with STARTREK.COM this morning, Takei clarifies, "The character is named George Takei, but he's actually a wonderfully comic creation by the wonderfully inventive writers on Will & Grace."

We had heard last week that the propmaster of W&G was making calls around town trying to find an action figure of Captain Sulu (i.e., with the movie-era uniform). They succeeded, and Takei tells us that "something interesting" will happen to that action figure. He laughs, "They don't refer to it as an 'action figure,' they refer to it as a 'doll.' But I don't want to say anything else, because I want people to see the show."

Takei's W&G segment will air on NBC Thursday, April 13, and also guest-stars Britney Spears. It is the same episode that received a bit of controversy recently when reports surfaced that Spears would play a Christian conservative sidekick to Jack, one who starts a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's." After an uproar from religious groups, NBC made assurances that the offending jokes would not be in the show.

In the meantime, be sure to catch Takei in a cameo appearance during Malcolm in the Middle this coming Sunday, Feb. 19, on Fox at 7:00 ET/PT. The tagline for the episode reads, "When Hal's father dies, he overcompensates with his own kids. Will a visit from guest star George Takei cheer him up?"

Also look for Takei in an episode of ABC's Freddie on Wednesday, March 1.

Shatner Profiled in A&E's Biography

William Shatner will be the subject of a new segment of Biography airing on the A&E network this Friday, February 17. The one-hour profile will cover his childhood in Montreal and his extensive work in theater and television before and after Star Trek.

The show will include interviews with Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Shatner's Boston Legal co-stars James Spader and Candice Bergen, Shatner's wife Elizabeth, his daughters Leslie and Lisabeth, comedian Kevin Pollack and others. There will also be archival comments from the late Gene Roddenberry.

The Biography.com synopsis of the show calls Shatner "the actor who's found many ways to stay in the public eye for decades, even spoofing his overblown acting style in a way far more hip than desperate." The episode will air Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, 9:00 CT, and will repeat four hours later. Check your local listings.

Dates Set for Mulgrew's London Performance

As previously reported, Kate Mulgrew has been cast in the London production of "The Exonerated," a hit American play about life on death row. The play premieres next week with a rotating cast, and the dates of the stars' appearances are now set. Mulgrew will be performing from Tuesday, April 18 through Sunday, April 30.

For more info, visit the Riverside Studios website.

Wende Doohan Makes Statement about Launch Delays

The widow of James Doohan, Wende, has released a statement via Space Services Inc. regarding the recent setbacks in scheduling the memorial "Explorers Flight" that will carry the ashes of the deceased actor into orbit. As previously reported, that flight will take place on the newly developed Falcon 1 rocket, but before the memorial flight can occur, a successful inaugural launch of the Falcon 1 must take place first. It is that first launch which has been scrubbed three times in the last few months.

(As a point of clarification, the Memorial Spaceflight will take off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, but the maiden Falcon launch is being done from the Marshall Islands.)

Dear Friends:

I would like to thank you all so much for all the lovely tributes you have sent in for Jimmy. It's very heartwarming to read about his, or Scotty's, effect on so many people - and to know that his memory will live on forever.

I'd like to share a little bit about Jimmy with you. He was the most impatient man I have every met. He would only wait 5 minutes for anybody: for dinner, to catch the limousine to the convention site, or to give an interview. If you weren't there on time, that was it - he was gone!

It must have made him crazy on D-Day, when approaching the beach in their landing craft, his crew received the order to hold back and wait until signaled. They had to circle in a choppy ocean until the word came through.

I can't believe he stayed in acting, the primary industry for "hurry up and wait". Often he would get a call for 5am, only to arrive and have to wait until afternoon before he made it to the set - because things weren't ready.

All of this to say that even Jimmy, with all his impatience, would have understood the delays that have occurred on the Falcon I launch out of the Marshall Islands, much more than I. He would have told me that it's not as simple as pushing a button, like we did for our model rockets. There are hundreds of man hours, tons of equipment, unpredictable weather patterns, more variables than I can name and things I can't even pronounce determining a successful launch.

I'm as anxious as you are for the Explorers Flight to have a definite launch date out of Vandenberg AFB, but I understand the delays and applaud the launch team for being so conscientious. I look forward to seeing you at that time, and thank you again for your warm thoughts.

Best wishes,
Wende C. Doohan

We will continue to bring you updates on the status of the launch, and you can also check Space Services' Explorers Flight info page. Messages of tribute to Doohan are still being accepted at this page.