The Secret Life Of Trek Pets

Like your pets?  Of course you do - don't we all?  Will we still love our pets in the far flung future?  Data loved his pet cat.  Captain Picard had Livingston - his lion fish, floating around in his aquarium in his Ready Room on Enterprise.  Pets are such a big part of most everyone's lives, and they're going to be found in the future.  Check out my new TrekNews article on The Secret Life of Trek Pets.

http://www.treknews.net/2017/04/27/secret-life-trek-pets/

Artificial Intelligence - The Sci-Fi Version

Scientists tell us - A.I. is coming to our world.  We keep talking about A.I. - artificial intelligence.  We're not there yet. Despite major advances in 'machine learning' or expert systems, computers are still pretty dumb.  What will happen when A.I. becomes a reality, and the machines start talking back to us and make sense?  

Read about science fiction's depiction of A.I. in my new OMNI article.

Are You Alone As A Trekker or Trekkie In Your Family?

Do you feel alone loving Captain Kirk?  Is it lonely when you watch Lt. Commander Data babble on about the most inane tech statistics? Does your family groan when you tell them about Capt. Janeway's love of strong coffee?

Take my Twitter Poll and perhaps you won't be so lonely!

Sci-Fi Stage: Trek's Broadway Theater Connection

Trek Article Flashback - this was first published online in 2009

Star Trek stars don't only act on TV or in movies. Big actors like William Shatner, Patrick Stewart & Kate Mulgrew not only command Starships in the deepest regions of space, but also act on the stages on Broadway's great white way.

The iconic sci-fi TV show and feature film series is light years away from New York City's Broadway theater in time and space, but there's a creative connection between the two entertainment worlds. Many of its biggest actors have graced Broadway's stage on the great white way. With J.J. Abram's new Star Trek movie starring Chris Pine as a youthful Captain Kirk coming out in May 2009, moviegoers will see a new cast of actors playing familiar roles. Much as Broadway's stage actors have assumed great roles of Shakespeare to Sondheim to Andrew Lloyd Webber over the years, we'll soon see new faces play classic characters.

From Captain James T. Kirk William Shatner to Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) to Voyager's own Captain Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), these daring and adventurous starship commanders dazzle us by piloting spaceships amongst the stars, and also wow earthbound Broadway theater audiences for many years.

William Shatner

Before William Shatner became the most famous TV spaceman of all, he commanded audience attention on stage, instead of on television.

The Canadian born actor was classically trained as an actor and performed in the Statford Festival of Canada. He made his Broadway debut in Tamburlaine The Great (1956). In 1958, he appeared in The World of Suzie Wong, opposite France Nuyen, who would later guest star on original Star Trek opposite Shatner in the episode Elaan of Troyius. Finally in 1961, Shatner appeared on Broadway in A Shot In The Dark, a comedy along with Walter Matthau (The Odd Couple) who won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor.

Patrick Stewart

This classy and classically trained British actor performed in theater before he was chosen to play Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain Jean-Luc Picard and later as Professor Xavier in the X-Men feature films.

Stewart's first Broadway role was in 1971 as Tom Snout in A Midsummer's Night Dream.  In 1991, four years after his Star Trek series premiered in television syndication, Stewart began the first of four revivals of Dicken's A Christmas Carol, as a one man play and snagged a 1992 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance/One Person Show for his acting efforts. Most recently, Stewart earned a 2008 Tony Award nomination for his electric performance in the acclaimed rival of Macbeth.

Avery Brooks

Captain Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space Nine has worked extensively in live theater.

In 1979, Brooks appeared on Broadway in Are You Now or Have You Ever Been? Brooks played actor and social activist Paul Robeson in Paul Robeson in 1988, and it was a role which he'd reprise often. Brooks played Robeson at the Westwood Playhouse in Los Angeles, and also at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Brooks played Othello in various Shakespeare productions, including the Folger Shakespeare Festival (1985) and at the Washington Shakespeare Theater in 1990.

Kate Mulgrew

Star Trek: Voyager's Kate Mulgrew is best known to daytime TV watchers as Mary Ryan in Ryan's Hope, this actress made history by being the first woman to head a Star Trek show as commanding officer.

In 1993, before leading her lost starship safely through the Delta Quadrant, Mulgrew appeared in the Broadway comedy White Liars & Black Comedians as Clea. Mulgrew then played Hesther Saloman on Broadway in Equus - with boy wizard Harry Potter (actor Daniel Radcliffe) playing the fragile Alan Strang.

Scott Bakula

Bakula stars in Star Trek: Enterprise as Captain Jonathan Archer in this prequel series - chronicling a time before Kirk, Spock, the birth of the Federation of Planets and the early days of the space faring Starfleet itself.

Scott Bakula first came to Broadway theater when he understudied in Is There Life After High School? in 1982. In 1983, he played joltin Joe DiMaggio in the musical Marilyn, then finally in 1988 he played two roles in the musical Romance/Romance.

Nana Visitor

In Deep Space Nine, Nana Visitor played Kira Nerys, the tough, but emotionally sensitive Bajoran officer.

Visitor comes from a prominent stage and dancing family - her aunt was the legendary Cyd Charisse. In 1983, she appeared in the smash hit show My One And Only, starring Tommy Tune and Twiggy. Visitor then starred in the revival of the musical Chicago, as Roxie Hart.

Leonard Nimoy

Logical Mr. Spock of Vulcan is also an accomplished Broadway actor and director.

Nimoy's first appearance on the Broadway stage was in Full Circle (1973) - four years after Star Trek finished its original NBC network television run. In 1974 Nimoy appeared in Equus. Finally in 1996, Nimoy worked behind the scenes as director of the play The Apple Doesn't Fall.

Brent Spiner

Android Data is a marvel of technology mixed with the human equation. Actor Brent Spiner brought the mechanical man to life, though before he wore thick pancake make-up and sported blinking circuits, he acted on Broadway.

Spiner first appeared on Broadway in A History Of The American Film as Hank in 1978. He then played Franz in Sunday In The Park With George, starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. In 1997, Spiner earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for his role as John Adams in the musical 1776.

Android Cosplay

TNG fans remember that Data created an android daughter for himself. In the Next Generation episode, The Offspring, we're introduced to the artificial life form Lal - albeit all too briefly. After the sentient android can't deal with the stress of coping with the emotional complexities of the real world, she goes offline or dies.

Here, we see a cosplay character interact with actor Brent Spiner.  She undoubtedly would have made Data's creator - Dr. Noonian Soong - proud as the feminine template for Data and brother Lore's sister.

Fun & Fully Functional

Data is a marvel of technology.  He admirably serves the Starship Enterprise under Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), and his fellow officers and crewmates admire the ever resourceful and sentient artificial lifeform.

Oh, and perhaps most importantly of all - Data (Brent Spiner) is killer in the bedroom. Just ask Tasha Yar. 

Android Phone Data Plan

A Data Plan was never so easy....

Andrea The Android

There are Androids.....

And then there's Andrea The Android from classic Trek, What Are Little Girls Made Of?

 Any questions?

Android Logic

The problem with Android programming is - the programming...

Heads Up

Being an android, Data has one helluva head on his shoulders.

Sometimes it's not even on his shoulders.

The Beard Is Power

Data knows just how much power The Beard gives to him.

Go on, Data.  Don't shave.

Riker Is A Man Who Uses Enterprise Tech In Surprising Ways

Leave it to William T. Riker.  He's a man with a sneaky plan.  Captain Picard's Number One uses the fantastic technology of the Enterprise's Trek universe in so many wonderful ways.  This meme proves Riker is a man who truly loves using the transporter, but not in any normal Starfleet way. Regulations? They aren't in the poker playing cards for good, ole rebel WTR!

What's next, Will?  More silly practical jokes?  Worf loses his uniform pants during the teaching of his Klingon martial arts class? Are you going to use that nifty matter replication device to put hair back on Jean-Luc's bald dome?  Is Mr. LaForge helping you out? Data? Captain Picard will now shout, 'Engage - my new hair!'

It Is Green

In the Next Generation episode, Relics, Scotty, played by James Doohan, asks Data (Brent Spiner) what he's drinking, while they hang out together in the Ten Forward lounge.  Barkeep Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg) isn't around, and Data doesn't know the answer, so he simply answers, "It is green."

For Netflix users, all of TNG is now available on the streaming service in glorious HD!  The color of Scotty's green booze has never looked more vibrant and inviting - no matter what it is he's actually drinking.  Check it out!

The Lure Of The Borg

We are The Borg.  Resistance is futile.  Indeed.  This cybernetic race won't stop until the galaxy - and beyond - is a loyal part of their ever expanding collective.

Aside from dealing in and committing the standard acts of violence or intimidation, the Borg are unique in their method of the conquer of other races.  They don't just invade and destroy the enemy (indeed, an enemy is a tech source to be acquired), but tempt and seduce others to join their cyborg existence. While it's true the assimilation process into making an individual into an obedient drone isn't clearly understood, there is more than a sense that seduction is somehow involved.  

In Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg Queen tells Captain Picard, "You can't begin to imagine the life you denied yourself."  This is no violent threat, nor promise of a holocaust kind of retribution.  It's clearly an admission from the Borg leader herself that Jean-Luc Picard would have experienced an existence far removed from his known human perceptions.  Would that referenced experience have included an elevated kind of sexuality as is promised and then even shown to Data during the Queen's interrogation of him?  Only Locutus knows...

Star Trek Essays Volume Two - Now Available on Kindle

Star Trek Essays - Volume Two - now available in Kindle format on Amazon

Delving into Trek Tech, sexuality, actor background and much more, my second volume of collected trek goodness is now available on Amazon

Star Trek Sexy Spotlight: Andrea The Android - Sherry Jackson

Androids are sexy.  Well, OK, they certainly can be.  Take Andrea from Star Trek - The Original Series.  Played by actress Sherry Jackson, Andrea is one android who helps to define the sexual allure of an artificially constructed human being.  Captain Picard's science officer, Data (Brent Spiner) may have been known for his burning intellectual thirst and hunger for human experiences and emotions, but before him, we met the erotically charged Andrea.

Created by the cybernetic scientst Roger Korby, Andrea could entice starship Captains like James T. Kirk as easily as flipping on a switch. However, the sexual energy - Lothario Kirk's legendary erotic mojo - could work both ways.  When Captain Kirk kissed Andrea, it enlisted stimulating 'emotions' within her.  When Andrea passed on her new sexual education to her startled creator, it did them both in.  Ah, the burning power of love!

Star Trek Sexy Episode - The Next Generation - Justice

The Edo love to love.  It's really so simple.  They live on a planet paradise - well, mostly.  There's a catch.  They have a great and powerful, mysterious protector who loves them so much it would destroy anything which threatens them.  Poor Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) gets into the mix and things turn ugly.

For the Edo, life is almost perfect.  Yet a fatherly protector always watches over them and strictly enforces the inflexible social rules.  Such is the powerful price of Edo love.

Star Trek Sexy Spotlight - K'Ehleyr - Suzie Plakson

Let's face it, Klingons can be just plain weird.  What of a half Human and half Klingon?  That was K'Ehleyr, and all who knew her could attest to the fact that she could be very weird indeed.  K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) also had a fiery personality coupled with a dancer's grace and a lithe warrior's body.  She was the hybrid Human Klingon who displayed no affection nor real allegiance to either race, therefore, she operated in a kind of social limbo - effectively lost between two worlds.

Plakson made a real impression on fans as Worf's doomed love, but things may have turned out quite differently if the original choice to play the role had accepted  Actress Robin Curtis - Lt. Saavik - was offered the role first, but was busy with prior filming commitments.

Star Trek Sexy Spotlight - Dr. Beverly Crusher - Gates McFadden

Captain Jean-Luc Picard's Enterprise 1701-D was the flagship Starfleet starship of his time.  During his tenure as Enterprise Captain, Picard utilized the most advanced technology and had the most competent officers at his disposal.  Picard's decision was final - as Dr. Beverly Crusher emphatically reminded guest Lily Sloan (Alfre Woodard) as they battled the dread Borg in the feature film, Star Trek: First Contact.  But above all the others under his command, only the ginger haired Chief Medical Officer could actually question Picard's competence.

Beverly Crusher's intense sexual attraction to Jean-Luc Picard was explored throughout the show, and the Starship commander was just one of the attractive physician's many romantic suitors.  Being a mother to Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) was a herculean task in and of itself, yet the 'dancing doctor' - Gates is a real life accomplished dancer - never faltered in both her professional or personal duties.

Star Trek Sexy Quotes

There are so many Star Trek sexy quotes.  From the original series or TOS to TNG, or The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine (DS9) and Voyager (VOY), the dialogue is laden with great sexually charged moments.  Starfleet starship captains like Kirk, Picard, Sisko and Janeway certainly have their moments when sexuality factored into their search for new lifeforms and the exploration of the galaxy.

More often than not, the sexy quotes came from aliens - of all kinds and descriptions.  One thing is for sure - sexy Star Trek quotes are some of the more memorable parts of Gene Roddenberry's universe.

Star Trek - VINA

I can become anything, any woman you've ever imagined. You can have anything you want in the whole universe. Let me please you.

Star Trek: First Contact - Borg Queen

Are you familiar with physical forms of pleasure?

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Riker

What's a knockout like you doing in a computer generated gin joint like this?