As much as we would've loved to see our captain take home his third Emmy, at least the trophy stayed in the Star Trek family, sort of. At the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards last night, Terry O'Quinn, who played "Admiral Pressman" in TNG's "The Pegasus," won the category "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" for his role as "John Locke" in Lost, a show produced by "Star Trek XI" producers J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Bryan Burke. O'Quinn defeated William Shatner (Boston Legal), Masi Oka (Heroes), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), T.R. Knight (Grey's Anatomy) and Michael Emerson (also of Lost) for that award.

"The Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner" was a nominee in "Variety, Music or Comedy Special," but that award went to a Tony Bennett musical special. The Shatman did have a substantial presence at the awards show, however, being called out by host Ryan Seacrest for his fashion sense, and joining Debra Messing to present the award for Lead Actress-Comedy.

LeVar Burton also made a surprise appearance, along with his TNG father Ben Vereen ("Dr. Edward La Forge"), when the principal cast of "Roots" took the stage to celebrate the 30th anniversary of that seminal miniseries. "'Roots' changed all of our lives. I know it changed mine. And I know that it means the world to us to know that 'Roots' also touched so many of your lives as well," Burton said. The group of seven then collectively presented the award for Outstanding Miniseries.

Steven Schirripa, "Carmine" in "Storm Front," was among the cast of The Sopranos who took the stage when that show was honored for its television legacy, as well as when it won the climactic award of the night, Best Drama.

The annual "In Memoriam" video montage included remembrances of Jane Wyatt ("Amanda Grayson"), Tige Andrews ("Kras") and Edward Albert Jr. ("Zayra"), though no Star Trek clips were used.

Ugly Betty's Vanessa Williams ("Arandis") lost to Jaime Pressly of My Name Is Earl in the Supporting Actress-Comedy category, and reality competition show Top Chef, hosted by Padma Lakshmi ("Kaitaama"), lost its category to The Amazing Race. Lindelof and Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) both lost the Dramatic Writing trophy to David Chase of The Sopranos.

Casting Notices: Vereen, Keating

Speaking of Ben Vereen, Daily Variety reported this morning that he will guest star on ABC's Grey's Anatomy in an episode slated to air Thursday, October 4. Vereen also recently completed a feature film called "Mama, I Want to Sing!" about a preacher's daughter who rises to fame as a pop singer. Expect to see that out next March.

In the same column, Variety also reported that Dominic Keating has booked a recurring role on Fox's Prison Break this season, in addition to his previously reported gig on Heroes.

Nichols' "Torturer" Establishes Website

And regarding another new Heroes guest star... On the heels of the world premiere of "Lady Magdelene's" in Atlanta earlier this month, another independent film starring Nichelle Nichols is starting up its publicity machine. "The Torturer a.k.a. Force Drift" was shot in Denver earlier this summer, and the producers plan to submit the film to festivals beginning early next year. It explores the issues of detention, torture, habeas corpus and human rights in a post-9/11 environment, through the story of a military contractor returning from Iraq carrying a "terrifying secret." A press release describes "Torturer" as "a bleeding-edge psycho-thriller from writer/director Graham H. Green that dives headfirst into an adrenaline-fueled world of psycho-killers, secret prisons, terrorists, and political intrigue."

A preliminary website to promote the film has been established at TheTorturer.com.

Nichols has also recently filmed a romantic comedy called "Tru Loved," and soon will co-star with Billy Dee Williams in a musical drama called "This Bitter Earth."

Neuwirth Launches Dancer Support Group

Bebe Neuwirth, who guest-starred in The Next Generation as "Lanel," is an accomplished actor and singer, but she's primarily a stage dancer, and decades of that activity has left her body ravaged and severely in pain. Last year she underwent hip replacement surgery which allowed her to return to the Broadway company of "Chicago" temporarily, and since then she has devoted herself to helping other dancers cope with the unique problems they face. She has established a program called "The Dancers' Resource," designed to be ongoing source of counseling and education, and help with such things as insurance, nutrition and workers' comp.

"We train differently" than other performers, Neuwirth said. "We're in our bodies differently. We empathize in a physical way, a muscular, visual way. Plus, our career is so much more likely to end 20 to 25 years before anyone else's." Often when dancers get hurt, they keep it a secret, because stage productions have limited medical resources. "You don't want to get known as someone who's easily injured. We are so replaceable."

Right now The Dancers' Resource operates in New York, but may extend to the West Coast. See the full article at this Variety.com link.