Newsweek cover goes Trek—again, after 23 years

What is it about Newsweek that it gets to play proclaimer of Trek's mainstreaminess? Back in 1986, with a hit Star Trek movie and an all-new generation TV show in the works from Paramount, Newsweek gave over a whole cover to sum up why Gene's baby was suddenly mainstream on its 20th birthday.




And now, after ANOTHER 20+3 years, have things come full circle? Newsweek does it again, feeling the need to announce how things have come home—afte the boom-and-bust since then, and back to the future in mainstream:









We’re All Trekkies Now
'Star Trek' is way cool. How'd that happen? Because the geeks have inherited the earth, and the White House. ...

In LA 4/29? Bingo Wed. with Juan, Ellen Greene & AIDS Lifecycle

For years since I knew him from the Enterprise script office, I've wanted to help my buddy Juan Fernandez and his now-annual ride in the grueling SanFran-to-LA AIDS/LifeCycle event (7 days, 545 miles) ... and so we shall, finally. And this year he's doing the LA Marathon April 25 as well?

Such insanity needs our support—BINGO. If you're in L.A. this Wednesday, April 29, he's amid the regular crazies for Hamburger Mary's weekly "Legendary Bingo" charity night in the 9-11 pm slot in West Hollywood 90046, 8288 Santa Monica Blvd— AND Pushing Daisies' Ellen Greene is special guest caller. Prizes galore—boxed set DVDs and movies, gift baskets, restaurant gift certificates, tickets to Chelsea Lately, signed memorabilia—and if you've never played and won at the WestHo Mary's, you just ain't scored. Note per Juan: It gets packed; get there a half-hour early and get on the wait list, or call to reserve a table for after the 7 p.m. bingo session gets out. It's a suggested $20 donation for 10 bingo cards and 2 grand prize cards.

Check out Juan's Facebook page on all this re: the bingo, and his motivation for five years in the LifeCycle, May 31-June 6 ... and his webpage for his team and donations too: "My main focus is AIDS/Lifecycle, because the services the AIDS Lifecycle Center provides is geared more towards treatment, prevention and outreach."

And just to show his Trekland cred ... see, Day 5 of the Lifecycle ride is "Dress Red" day so as to look like a giant AIDS ribbon when seen from the air along the highway. Of course, after it got turned around to "Red Dress Day," Juan (second from left) had to call his group Team Uhura...!

Where No Blob Has Gone Before

Fascinating, to coin a phrase:

Giant mystery blob found near dawn of time.

... Ouchi and Ellis said one possibility is that by chance, astronomers captured the moment a galaxy was forming in the early universe — something that never has been seen before. ... What Ouchi found was from 12.9 billion years ago. Only three other objects have been seen that are from deeper in time and space. ...

The lowest-rez space anomaly ever? Or just some ancient subspace seaweed "snagged" by our cameras?

Fifty-five thousand lightyears across is no foam-core model...

STV: Spirit of Trek III: Robert O'Reilly & Gowron's Clerics Crisis

Church-state relations among Klingons?

Yep, TNG's "Rightful Heir" and Robert "Gowron" O'Reilly can only mean one thing: It's already time for a another monthly chapter of "Spirit of Star Trek," the free live screen-n-talk series for those in or near the Los Angeles area.

Next up it's Sunday, April 26 from 7-9 p.m., co-hosted by makeup guru Michael Westmore and Curtis Webster, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Encino. But the evening is anything but "churchy," as you might guess—from the big-screen viewing of a relevant episode to the funny, probing or even personal dialogue among hosts. guests and audience on the spirituality, morals and yes great backstage stories of the various Star Treks, viewed through the alien lens. Here's Bob's take on it in a nice chat...


Before "Rightful Heir" aired late in TNG in 1993, we'd only seen Klingon warriors and the occasional spy or envoy—but clerics? And revered empire founder Kahless as a messianic figure vowing to "return"? And secular Gowron's deal to allow that cloned yet incredible "return" while holding on to the seat of power after all—any lessons for us as we grapple with the "separation of church and state" today? Those and more are sure to be topics for the night—a chat like no other you've seen at a convention, or Congress or church for that matter. A brief reception follows.

The event is free, but donations are welcome; the church is at 4963 Balboa, just south of the 101. Always best to RSVP: Call Amber at 818-788-1147.

Trek's future: The big question

We touched on this before, but it's what on my mind now as we count down to JJ Trek.

There's less than a month to go and everyone around the world is excited, thanks to the global PR caravan ... and it looks more and more that this film and its *alleged* alternate timeline will blow people away.

But a lot of us are wondering what it will mean for Star Trek and our beloved franchise in the long term... what any single movie can do.

A boffo box office will sure give a shot in the arm to the franchise "vibe" in a general way, and shoot down the Trek naysayers who believed all those "dead franchise" headlines in 2005. That's truly important after all the "franchise fatigue" nonsense put out there when Enterprise was cancelled. But can it alone truly restore the froth, the numbers? Or will it take Star Trek's return to weekly television?

It's all about gaining newbies, a new generation of teens or at least the Millenials/Gen Y & Z bunch/ This movie, well-made, is in essence one big chance to throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. That's what so many of us are waiting to see: will ticket buyers remain just happy summer-action-flick-goers, or will they actually translate into new long-term fans in some way?

Let's check back after summer conventions, DVD release time and holiday shopping season and find out.

Drip by drip—NOT

You'd think the single biggest clambake in recent Trekland history would be all over my blog—every single day. Don't worry--it will be here, but ...

As I said when we launched this enterprise, I was not into the "drip-drip-drip" of daily news pings. That's not what TREKLAND and the site are about. For one thing, this is a movie that's been in the works for three years, actually, and the daily (and overlapping) newsblast is all about just the same two hours of film. That worldwide press caravan—designed for each country's consumption and attention—is a damn smart project, stirring up Trek in the public eye nation by nation, especially in low-Trek markets where it's hardly taken for granted.

But there's a zillion sites where you can get all that. Here, it's all in the family—and hopefully either my POV or that of the people who stop by isn't so common, but no less interesting or insightful.

But we're hardly ingoring JJTrek. Nosiree. Stay tuned.

STV/Trek2Chuck III: Touring BuyMore with David Trotti

The Chuck season is winding down, but our Trek2Chuck link is still very much alive. And with the Scott Bakula (and Chevy Chase) trilogy closing out the season with a bang the next two Mondays, March 20 and 27 (8 p.m./NBC!) I'm posting this tour of the BuyMore set with David Trotti, a colleague and longtime assistant director (from trainee to 2nd to 1st) through the Trek series from later TNG to ST VI to Voyager and then Enterprise...and true to form, he drops some Trek behind-the-scenes info even here.

Once again, David's just one of many Treklanders working on this fun dramedy: a nerdy but promising hero biding time in low-level retail until his brain is accidentally jammed with the nation's classified secrets. If you missed our prior vlogs, check out Robbie McNeill as producer/director, and Bob Picardo as guest star; fan fave Adam Baldwin of Firefly fame is here too, as is Bonnie Friedericy, John Billingsley's wife.

Hopefully, if you give it a try and sound off by petition or Facebook, and the numbers stay good, Chuck will be back for Season 3 next fall—along with our Trek2Chuck visits...

Equal time for 'ST: Enterprise'

Yeah, only because the series in general, and Season 2 "Precious Cargo" guest star (and model-turned-Salmon-Rushdie-wife/now divorcing) Padma Lakshmi, never got any respect ... relatively speaking ... that I am trying to make up for it now.

So, with Lakshmi a Top Chef host on Food Network now, it's only fair to give her her Trekland due, and point out this new magazine spread in April's Allure magazine. And oh yes, it's the so-called "nude" issue:


"Precious Cargo" was hardly the winner of that season, but I don't recall anything like this on that indoor swamp set ....

Michael's Tar Heels

I am hardly the biggest basketball fan around ... and if anything I too was pullin' for the underdog Spartans in the NCAA championship ...



But when North Carolina State came up the big winner Monday night, I know somewhere out there the late, great Michael Piller was a happy Tar Heel once again.