Inspired by the heartfelt and powerful messages from Star Trek actors during the recent James Doohan Farewell Convention (related story), a group of fans has teamed up with the Alzheimer's Association of Southern California to participate in Memory Walk 2004 next Saturday, October 2, to raise money to fight this debilitating disease which has begun to afflict the 84-year-old Doohan.

Wil Wheaton — one of the speakers at the Doohan banquet benefiting Alzheimer's research — has been recruited as Honorary Captain of the team calling itself "Stars Trekking For Jimmy Doohan," and George Takei — who also encouraged participation in the fight against the disease during the convention — has been named Honorary Co-Captain. The Memory Walk begins at the Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, adjacent to Los Angeles. Please visit this page to join the team or to contribute. According to the page, Star Trek costumes are welcome, and a photo op for the media is being planned. "Let's walk together in honor of our brave and beloved Jimmy 'Scotty' Doohan!" the page states. You can also visit WilWheaton.net for more information.

Shatner Gets "Ketchuppy" with Heinz

Heinz Ketchup is teaming with celebrities, including William Shatner ("James T. Kirk") by creating limited-edition, collector's item ketchup bottles with celebrity quotes printed on them. Shatner's edition reflects his enduring Star Trek fame by announcing that Heinz Ketchup "Fixes Burgers at Warp Speed!"

In addition to the promotion featuring bottles in stores, on October 24, Heinz will be auctioning off a Shatner-autographed, jeweled ketchup bottle in New York, with the proceeds of the sale to benefit the Nerine Shatner Foundation. More details on how fans can bid on this one-of-a-kind Shatner collectable will follow in a future News Roundup.

The 24 and 36 ounce Heinz Ketchup bottles are in stores now, for a limited time only.

Shatner Shoots Film in Kirk's Hometown

In other Shatner news, it was never firmly established which small town in Iowa was the birthplace of James T. Kirk, but the city of Riverside took it upon itself in 1985 to claim the honor, and now the actor behind the character has arrived to validate that claim and to invade the town with a film crew.

In an apparent break from shooting Boston Legal, Shatner arrived in Riverside Tuesday to begin production on a low-budget film which he co-wrote with Leonard Nimoy. The sci-fi action-adventure movie is called "Invasion Iowa," and the rural town with a population of 930 was chosen for two reasons, according to this Iowa City Press-Citizen article. The first was "to get a flavor of small town life" for the movie, Shatner said when he spoke to a local gathering. Second was because it is home of Trek Fest, an annual fair celebrating science fiction, and Shatner added that he was pleased to finally come to his character's birthplace. Shatner had his brand new Emmy, his first (related story), along with him for good luck.

Shatner said the $4 million movie deals with the theme of regret and being able to go back in time to fix things. Filming at various locations in Riverside will last through September 30, after which interior scenes will be shot on soundstages in Los Angeles.

Fleck to Perform at ART TO GO

Star Trek: Enterprise actor John Fleck ("Silik") will be performing in Los Angeles on this Monday, September 27 at an event called ART TO GO, a benefit to get the vote out in swing states for the upcoming election. The event, which also features a "firesale" of artwork from dozens of artists, will also feature performances by Fleck and others. Although Star Trek fans know Fleck as Captain Archer's enigmatic Suliban adversary/ally, he has a long and noted career as a performance artist.

Fleck has garnered numerous awards and grants for his work, and is currently preparing a piece entitled "YANKaDoodleDANDY," which was recently workshopped at Dixon Place in New York and will premiere at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica for two weeks beginning October 15. For more information about ART TO GO, visit their official site.

Herd Paintings at Lankershim Gallery

Speaking of art, Star Trek: Voyager's Richard Herd ("Admiral Owen Paris") does more than just act, he paints as well, and has a show of his work opening in Los Angeles. Herd's paintings will be shown at the Lankershim Art Gallery on October 7, with a reception beginning at 6:00 p.m. The veteran actor, who just wrapped a guest-starring stint on NYPD Blue and the film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," also displays some of his paintings on RichardHerd.com.

Star Trek: Enterprise in HD

UPN will be broadcasting its largest slate of HDTV programming thus far for the 2004-2005 season, with six shows to be shown in HD in addition to Star Trek: Enterprise. Last season, Enterprise was the only regular series the network showed in HD.

"HDTV is going to further enhance what are already high-quality, visually stunning dramas and comedies," said Dawn Ostroff, President, Entertainment, UPN. "We are very pleased to introduce the growing HDTV audience to UPN's programming."

Lloyd, Carradine Take on New Shows

The fall TV season brings a spate of new shows, and with Star Trek's ever-growing list of actors to its credit, it stands to reason that new shows mean seeing more actors who have appeared on Star Trek. The new CBS series Clubhouse stars Christopher Lloyd, who played the villainous Klingon Commander Kruge in "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Over on ABC, the new series Complete Savages stars Keith Carradine, who played A.G. Robinson in the Second Season Enterprise episode "First Flight." Complete Savages premieres Friday night, Sept. 24, and Clubhouse debuts Sunday, the 26th.

Sunday night after Clubhouse, stayed tuned to CBS for the TV movie "Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman." Watch for the character named "Mindy," who is played by Abby Brammell. Brammell will soon appear in Star Trek: Enterprise as "Persis," one of the Augments involved in the three-episode arc featuring Brent Spiner as Dr. Arik Soong, beginning with "Borderland" on Oct. 29.

Opening in theaters this weekend is "The Forgotten," featuring Alfre Woodard ("Lily Sloane" in "Star Trek: First Contact") as "Anne Pope," and music by composer James Horner ("Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek III").