STV: Mimi Craven tells tales of the Voyager Vaadwaur

After 18 years, you bet that a lot of faces have appeared across the "modern" Star Trek TV incarnation, not to mention the whole 50+ year saga. By now, even those with a one-off guest role, especially with a long credit list elsewhere behind it, get sought out by fans. It's all part of the sparkling Trek tapestry. 

One of those gems is Mimi Craven—she of many fan-favorite roles over the years even outside of Trek. At a recent signing show in Burbank, I chatted with her about her unusual turn on Voyager as the ill-fated female Vaadwaur, Jisa, in "Dragon's Teeth."

The Vaadwaur were designed to be a new culture with much backstory, intended to be a leading face in the last year of the show and launched with a two-parter—but those plans went for naught. 

Mimi wore it proudly, though, and has some great moments to share as she was the test case for the makeup, even before shooting her scenes. Find her at a con and she can add insider stories from the original Nightmare on Elm Street, and many more. Good stuff! 

Admiral on the bridge!: TNG's Clyde 'Nakamura' Kusatsu

It's amazing the number of creative folks—chiefly actors, but also writers, producers, designers, and crew—who can call themselves part of the Trek family...or Treklanders, as we call them around these parts.

As every year passes, I try to make it a point to meet and hopefully interview many of them, especially the recurring guest stars whose faces are a tad more familiar. That said, I am still struck by how many of even they we have yet to see at some of the larger conventions—I'm lookin' at you, Creation Vegas!

...Such as Clyde Kusatsu, whose long career has included several stints as the first real "recurring admiral" on TNG, a spot in its finale, and a bit of distinction vis a vis none other than Jean-Luc Picard—as we discuss, amid tales from his other work of note, in this vidchat from a recent Courts Signing Show in Burbank.

I mean, he was a finalist for WHAT on Deep Space Nine? And in a sitcom pilot with Brent and WHO?

Happy birthday, Marina—what a great (NCIS) present!

Yes, it's been a great week for Marina Sirtis—and not just for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout-out today:

Congrats to her on the news this week that she's signed on to play the new fictional head of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, on CBS's venerable top-draw show NCIS.

Her first episodes are set to air in April, so she should be safely full of tales too tell by the time we next cross paths with fans at Sun City Sci-Fi in El Paso April 26-28.

Marina answered my brief congrats this week with a quick email: "I'm stoked!" And for her it's not about just any new role:  Playing the head of the infamous spy agency is a far cry from Deanna Troi—and that's exactly the campaign that the beautiful Marina has been on with casting dfirectors lately: excising the memory of the iconic but soft, sensitive Starfleet counselor we all love, which can be maddening to expand an acting resume.

In fact, the news brought to mind a discussion she and I had on TREKLAND video back in 2009—ironically also filmed around her birthday, in Italy—where she recalls how thrilled she was to pay a bitchy prison matron, a role won only after her campaign to let the director know she was way more than Troi. Here's the fun little pre-HD clip (especially at 3:30), for all you newbies since then:

BLTN: So THAT'S what Isis has been up to all these years

Just making sure you did NOT miss this, amid a crazy-busy last couple weeks:

Angela Dorian, 1968 Playboy Playmate of the Year, charged in attempted murder: report

A one-time Playboy Playmate may be forced to cover up -- with a prison uniform.

Angela Dorian, who in 1968 graced the pages of the men's magazine as Playmate of the Year, has been charged with attempted murder, according to TMZ. ...

And why is this tucked away here on TREKLAND? Check out Angela Dorian in one of her uncredited roles:

Yep!
Time was, we didn't even have good records on a lot of TOS non-speaking extras—a gap now slowly being filled in by many of us. That to-do list includes the name of just who it was that appeared as the very human form of "Isis" the cat, in the very last scenes of the would-be spinoff pilot "Assignment: Earth." So a h/t to Scott Dutton and his singular focus on that episode as a magnet—thanks to his little seed of online info, this startling news story about Angela Dorian ... or Victoria (Vetri) Rathgeb ... got way more play than it would have just a few years ago:

And what's the point really lost in all this?
Attempted murder or not—whoever knew a Playmate of the Year was EVER involved with Trek?