Patrick Stewart took up the baton and stood high atop a ladder before a stadium of 109,000 people in Ann Arbor last Saturday, November 4, as he conducted the University of Michigan Marching Band in a rendition of the Star Trek: The Next Generation theme song. It was the climax of a halftime show — during Michigan's football game with Ball State — in which the 400-member band performed a collection of '70s and '80s TV themes.

After the TNG number, the stadium announcer bellowed, "You may have heard of our trek to Columbus in two weeks," referring to the highly anticipated showdown between no. 2 Michigan and no. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 18. "Captain, what are your orders?" Stewart took the mike and roared, "Boldly go and beat the Buckeyes! Make it so, Number One!" He then conducted the band in the school's fight song, "The Victors," as they marched off the field and the crowd went wild.

"Mr. Stewart seemed to have a terrific time," said Steve Sutherland of Canton, Mich., a parent of one of the band members. "He was very well received by the crowd and he did a great job."

Stewart was in Ann Arbor for an exclusive three-week U.S. tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), starring in "The Tempest" and "Antony and Cleopatra," and was invited to participate in the halftime show by the director of the U-M Marching Band, Jamie Nix, who is a big Star Trek fan. Reportedly Stewart took several weeks of conducting classes to prepare, and he rehearsed with the band the previous Thursday on a very snowy afternoon (see photo gallery at left). Amateur videos of the halftime show are posted at YouTube.

Stewart wraps up his RSC tour in Michigan this weekend, and heads to Los Angeles for another musical activity: He will appear at the Walt Disney Concert Hall this Tuesday, November 14, at 7 p.m. to narrate a program of chamber music by Strauss and Mozart, performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and pianist Emanuel Ax.

Then, apparently, he's headed back to the U.K. by Thursday, Nov. 16, where he will put on his hat as Chancellor of Huddersfield University, a title he's held since 2003 (related story). A "spectacular festival of lights" will launch an effort to promote the town of Huddersfield (east of Liverpool), and Stewart will head a team of 25 ambassadors drawn from business, sports, academia and the arts to tell the world "what a great place this is."

Stewart may be back in Los Angeles by December 8 to attend the 4th annual Spike TV 2006 Video Game Awards (VGAs), because he has been nominated for his role as the "Emperor of Tamriel" in "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" role-playing game by Bethesda Softworks. You can participate in the voting yourself through Dec. 7 by visiting www.vga2006.spiketv.com. Stewart is nominated in the category "Best Performance by a Human - Male." (Warning: If you want to see one of the trailer videos in the nomination list, be careful not to click on a name, because that'll register as a vote and you'll be locked out of the category!) His competition includes Seth MacFarlane ("Ensign Rivers" in "Affliction"), Johnny Depp and Kiefer Sutherland. "Oblivion" tops the nominations overall with a total of 10 including "Game of the Year" and "Most Addictive." The VGA ceremony will be broadcast Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Spike.

By the way, "Oblivion" — which is already available for PC and Xbox 360 — will be released on PlayStation 3 in North America on Nov. 17, the same day the console itself reaches retail shelves. And Nov. 21 has been announced as the release date for Bethesda's "Star Trek: Legacy" on PC and Xbox, the game featuring the voices of Stewart and the other four Star Trek captains (related story).

Last January the Brits got to see Stewart star in a sci-fi mystery miniseries called Eleventh Hour (related story), and now it's coming to North America. The Canucks get it first, on Dec. 2, on CBC Country Canada, and then us Yanks get to enjoy it on BBC America starting Dec. 4. Stewart plays "Prof. Ian Hood," a government scientist chasing down threats to society, in four 90-minute segments.

For more information about all these activities, with further links, please visit The Patrick Stewart Network (thepsn.org).

And we thought William Shatner was a busy guy...

Nichols' "Lady Magdalene's" Trailer Online

An independent movie starring Nichelle Nichols is nearing completion, and a trailer for it has been posted online. Nichols plays the title role in "Lady Magdalene's," an action-comedy about an IRS agent who stumbles upon an Al-Qaeda plot at a Nevada brothel (related story). Writer/director J. Neil Schulman says the film is finished except for a final sound build and other details, and plans to submit it to film festivals beginning in 2007 in hopes of gaining theatrical distribution before it goes to DVD and cable. The trailer can be seen at LadyMagdalenes.com along with the poster and full credits. Sky Douglas Conway, producer of the independent production "Star Trek: Of Gods and Men," is listed as consulting producer.

Doohan Memorial Launch Still Unscheduled

There have been reports that the memorial spaceflight out of New Mexico to carry the ashes of James Doohan into space will take place on December 6. We have been in touch with Space Services, Inc. (SSI), and they have informed us that this information is erroneous. So don't start making any plans!

A launch from Spaceport America near Las Cruces, N.M., was scheduled for October 21, but a test flight of the rocket on Sept. 25 ended in failure (related story). The vehicle manufacturer, UP Aerospace, is still investigating the anomaly, and will reschedule the flight once the problem is addressed. It will likely be in early 2007. Once a definite date is set for both the launch and a public memorial for Doohan, we will announce it on our home page. Check the Legacy Flight page for the latest updates.

In the meantime, SSI is promoting a new service for those who want to give their loved ones an out-of-this-world gift, literally. There are several star-naming services out there already, but SSI has expanded on the idea to turn the symbolic gesture into a "real astronomical and space exploration experience." Their "Name A Star Live" program not only registers a name to a star and provides a printed certificate, but also arranges a real-time viewing of the star via the Internet. This is done through SLOOH.com, which operates robotically-controlled telescopes at the Canary Islands. The company also provides the customer with the Virtual Planetarium 2007 Astronomy Software, which it developed in collaboration with Rice University and the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

In addition, SSI will record the star names on a CD and include it in a future space launch, to create an "orbital archive" of the registry. "So 'Name A Star Live' customers become part of a real space mission," said Susan Schonfeld of SSI. The gift packages range from $24.95 to $69.95. Visit the SSI home page and click on "Name A Star Space Launch" to learn more. (The site points out that no star-naming service changes any official scientific designation of a star.)

Page 2:
Reminder: Trek on TV Land
TiVo Alert: Shatner's Money Previews Tuesday
TiVo Alert: "Comic Relief" with Goldberg, Schirripa, Silverman
Showbiz Briefs: Silverman, Itzin, Lowry-Johnson, Ryan