As anticipated, the Will & Grace featuring George Takei as himself aired last night on NBC. George was only in one scene and only had a handful of lines (mostly, his role was to grimace in dismay at the other characters), but a fair amount of dialog throughout the episode was devoted to George's recent renown and to the Star Trek legacy, spiced up with the show's trademark over-the-top gay-themed humor.

When Will (Eric McCormack) learns from Jack (Sean Hayes) that "George Hosato Takei, TV's Hikaru Sulu" will be a guest on his talk show, Will responds with awe, "Sulu?? Lt. Sulu is gonna be on 'Jack Talk'? He is such an inspiration! Coming out the way he did! And I was always a fan. I mean, I wasn't a Trekkie, that's geeky." (All the more amusing if you've seen McCormack in "Free Enterprise.") "No, I was a Sulu-head — an elite subset of soon-to-be gay men who sensed at an early age a kinship with the character Sulu, based on his sensitivity and lingering looks at Captain Kirk."

We reported last month that the show's propmaster had been calling around town for a Sulu action figure. What they did with it was dress it in a silvery outfit and put it in a colorful box, with Will claiming, "They started making these after he came out of the closet. Listen to this..." When Will pulls the string, we hear George's voice saying, "Beam me down, Scotty — I'm going shopping!"

When George is on the set of "Jack Talk," he learns that the network, "Out TV," was bought by right-wing business interests. Thus, Jack has to tell him that he can't mention he's gay. Will intercedes, "He will do nothing of the sort! And do you know why? Because this is Sulu. An original crew member from a show called Star Trek. Do you know what that show was about?" Jack looks at him dumbly: "Papier-mache rocks and Christmas lights poking through cardboard?" Will continues, "It was about tolerance and acceptance. No matter what your color, species, or hairstyle. Did Spock hide his ears? Did Uhura hide her femininity? Did Sulu hide his? Yes he did, but it was a different time, we forgive you. The point is, no one on that bridge compromised [goes into Shatner impression] who...or...what...they were!"

Then George responds, "That's what the show was about? Well, now I'm glad I did it!"

Jimmy Kimmel Convention Video Posted

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! website on ABC.com has posted an abridged version of the segment on Kimmel's visit to the Grand Slam convention, which aired on March 22 (related story). It can be found at this link, and is currently listed as clip #3, labeled "JKL: Star Trek Convention."

It seems the first minute of the segment was cut out for the online version. Deleted was the opening montage featuring Grace Lee Whitney, Kimmel's interview with fan Lisa Catelani, and the joke involving a Sulu action figure (maybe the gay thing was getting a little old already). The segment begins with Kimmel's conversation with Celeste Yarnall, and everything after that seems to be intact.

Takei in Los Alamos on April 15

In other Takei news, George is tackling a schedule next month that rivals William Shatner's. In the midst of a six-city speaking tour for the Human Rights Campaign (related story), he will kick off a weeklong celebration of Star Trek in Los Alamos, New Mexico, on Saturday, April 15.

The Los Alamos Community Winds (LACW) ensemble holds biennial performances of music from motion pictures and television, and this year, to commemorate its 40th anniversary, the group decided to highlight the music of Star Trek. That concert idea "triggered a landslide of planned events and guest appearances," said Ted Vives, musical director of the LACW.

Takei will appear on the 15th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fuller Lodge for autograph signings and Q&A's with fans. Other special guests during the subsequent week will include Gerald Fried, composer on nine episodes of the Original Series (Monday); David Gerrold, writer of "The Trouble with Tribbles" and the animated "More Tribbles, More Troubles" (Wednesday); and Layla Sarakalo, the "accidental actress" in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home."

In addition, Star Trek episodes and movies will be shown at the Mesa Public Library throughout the week, and the program culminates on Saturday the 22nd with the LACW concert of Star Trek music at the Duane Smith Auditorium.

Takei's appearance costs $15 in advance or $20 at the door, but all other events are free. For complete information, visit www.lacw.org/georget.html.

Meyer TV Pilot Enters Scientology Controversy

The Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times printed an article this week conjecturing that a new TV show by Nicholas Meyer (writer and/or director of three Star Trek movies) may be "the next flashpoint in Hollywood's growing conflict with Scientology," in the wake of the recent controversy involving Comedy Central's South Park.

Orpheus, written and produced by Meyer as a fall pilot for CBS, was scheduled to wrap shooting this week. According to the article by Times staff writer Scott Collins:

"Orpheus concerns Guy (Nicholas D'Agosto), a young would-be lawyer whose whirlwind romance with small-town siren Sue Ellen (Mena Suvari) sidetracks him into a shadowy, menacing group called 'Grand Design,' or GD. GD attracts new believers with a bestselling quasi-philosophical book akin to [Scientology founder L. Ron] Hubbard's 'Dianetics' and, like Scientology, uses a complicated ranking system for followers. GD-ers even boast of their exploits on behalf of victims of Hurricane Katrina, recalling similar missions publicized by Scientologists."

A spokeswoman for CBS Paramount Television commented that this description is based on an early draft of the script, but also that the cult depicted in the story "is an amalgamation of all cults throughout history." See the whole story at this calendarlive.com link.

Roddenberry.com Announces Chats with Russ, Billingsley

After a three-year hiatus, Roddenberry.com has announced that it will re-launch a series of live online chats. The first scheduled chat will be with Tim Russ ("Tuvok") on Friday, April 14, at 2 p.m. Pacific time (5:00 Eastern).

On Saturday, May 24, also at 2:00 PT, the site — run by Eugene W. Roddenberry Jr. — will host a chat with John Billingsley ("Dr. Phlox").

Visit www.Roddenberry.com for more information and updates.

Richard Arnold Tahoe Lecture Open to Public

As previously reported, a new college course called "The Anthropology of Star Trek" will be taught beginning next Thursday evening, April 6, at Lake Tahoe Community College. For the second session on April 13, teacher Daryl Frazetti has recruited Richard Arnold, former assistant to Gene Roddenberry, to speak to the class. And that session will be open to the public.

For more information about the class, including location, visit www.ltcc.edu. Click on "Class Schedules & Catalog," then on "Spring Quarter." In the list of classes, look for Course ID# ANT131S 1 in the second group of five. The class starts at 6:10 p.m.

Voice Actress Remembered

Actress Rhoda Williams — who, according to an obituary in Daily Variety, provided alien voices for "Star Trek IV" and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" — died on March 8 in Eugene, Oregon, at age 75. Williams started her career in radio, with such shows as Father Knows Best, and later was the voice of the nasty stepsister Drizella in Walt Disney's "Cinderella." On television she appeared in such classics as The Big Valley, Dragnet and Ironside. She was also a teacher of dialects and speech.