Video: After "Trek Nation," catch The Shat on USA's "Psych"

Well, with all the well-deserved hoopla for Rod's Trek Nation special tomorrow on SCIENCE Channel, here's one way to keep your very own "Star Trek night" going, in a way...

None other that James T. (et al) himself, William Shatner, becomes the latest celebrity guest on Season 6 of USA's delightful Psych. For "In for a Penny" at 10 PM ET/PT, later that same Wednesday night, he plays the estranged father of Juliet, the show's younger detective and sexual-tension target of faux-psychic Shawn (the television son of Corbin "Q2" Bernsen) ... with emphasis on "estranged." 

Hmmmm. The Shat playing a charming con man, disowned by his cop daughter? Gee whiz, never saw THAT coming... !

Here's a sneak peek at some uniquely Bill Billness:


And a full scene:


Check out more at Psych at the show's official site.

STV: Rod previews Nov. 30's 'Trek Nation' on SCIENCE—and chats about even more

I'm so glad that, after a decade in development, Rod Roddenberry's Trek Nation has finally found its final voice and a home—broadcast to a huge audience via the SCIENCE Channel on cable. As you surely know by now with all the great buzz and promotion, it debuts THIS Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 8 & 11 ET/5 & 8 PT.

I'm also glad I had the chance this summer to sit down with Rod for a chat at the Vegas Khhaaann... where we talked about this, and even more changes at Roddenberry Inc, including the new namesake foundation that has already made its first potentially life-changing award. Oh, and the fun and exploratory stuff is all still there, too.

I remember going in with Dan Madsen at the first Creation Vegas mega-convention in 2002 and meeting Rod, director Scott Colthorp and their crew when they first began, becoming one of the first of what became hundreds of hours of interviewees ... part of the mass of footage behind Rod's apologies to fans for the delay in getting to a final product the past few years.  But it is, premiering at last and well worth the wait.

Take a listen to his story of the process... and then tell him "hi" at the next big convention where he and partner Trevor Roth are on hand. Meanwhile, the good reviews are already pouring in for Trek Nation, but we'll wait til after Wednesday to weigh in. For now, take a listen to our chat ...and Rod's thoughts on his other projects:



The official Trek Nation promo is up everywhere now, too...

But don't miss this, either: a lot more Trek Nation from Scott Colthorp's short-form "Director's Log" series of unused footage and personal thoughts on Trek and the whole project, on YouTube and via the Facebook page... plus Twitter, too!

STV: 45 years ago today, Bobby Clark gave us the Gorn!

Here's the danger of only linking your Star Trek anniversary parties to the debuts of series... you miss moments like this:

45 years ago today, the living breathing icon we call the Gorn was born. No, not the aired date of "Arena"—that would be Jan. 19, 1967—and no, not the Oct. 10, 1966 first draft date of the story—with all due respect to Fredric Brown's story, included in Gene Coon's first Star Trek script.

No, I'm pinning this to the date when that script and Wah Chang's budget-classic costume came together at the equally iconic Vasquez Rocks County Park under the direction of Joe Pevney, in his first assignment for Star Trek—on a Wednesday, the second of six long days for the shoot.

And lucky we have Bobby Clark, the stuntman/actor who donned the suit for two days that would forever endear him to pop culture (much more than the other three episodes he appeared in, out of his long, long TV and movie career). I talked to him last year at Vegas, finally, and saved our chat for this day—look him up when you can at the larger cons and shows such as Creation and the 2012 WonderCon, for starters: