Star Trek Beyond's machine finally peeps—for charity!

I was just saying on Facebook & the Twits how this has been the quietest Star Trek
movie
launch ever, especially of the Social Media age.

Perhaps it was just to get beyond a no-show amid the noise of San Diego Comic-Con (for STB, anyway)... because this popped up today.

Good on you, Paramount/Bad Robot, and entire cast. (Looks like the bridge made it to Vancouver, anyway. Maybe with a little less plexi, hmmm?)

And Make a Wish, always one of Gene's and Majel's fave causes, is in the mix, too:

 

And yes... stay tuned: with a few weeks to breathe, here, I WILL attack my own backlog of recent and new vids to post before Vegas Khaaann. Really.

LA ALERT: Fan-to-fan, join "Trek to the Troops" Saturday and help make up military care packages

 
A quick shout-out to all SoCal area Treklanders, or anyone who wants to help out our service men and women with a little real-life Starfleet flavor:

Christopher Mulrooney, whose "Trek to the Troops" organization makes sure that Trek and its fans and celebs have a way to help those in the uniform of this century, has a "Sci-Fi Fan Volunteer Day" packaging event and fun stuff  planned for all day tomorrow, Saturday, April 20, anytime from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with noon hour off for lunch) at the Army National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, 17330 Victory Boulevard. Care packages assembled will be forwarded via the overall Operation Gratitude volunteer program, which sends over 100,000 packages a year to active duty personnel, woun ded warriors, veterans and their children alike.

You can help on site with all kinds of packaging; the link above has an NBC-4 local report on the work of volunteers. For his event, Chris says there will be photo ops, so come in costume if you have one. Check the link above for what to do, bring and expect. I'll be there as well for the Beta shift, as it were.


It's not even Trek-specific: Chris tells me there's elements of the local 501st Stormtroopers due to help out too—that is, if we can keep the whiteheads and the redshirts at peace.

If you can't make it, a suggested donation of $15 for one care package, or more, can be made at the TTTT website (left column).

Chris has been leading this L.A.-area show of Trek support for those in uniform since his own return from Iraq in 2005, and gotten a lot of high-ranking help to do so. As it turns out—surprise, surprise—a lot of today's troops are big Trek and sci-fi fans, and enjoy the support and even the surprises that the civvies group is able to beam into their lives.

Check out Trek to the Troops' Facebook page for the group to see how a lot of the past events have unfolded.

BREAKING: Roddenberry Foundation gives $5M to stem cell research

This is amazing news—just being released today: $5 million for stem cell research from, basically, Star Trek and its fans via the Roddenberry family. We can go to the cliche that "the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree," except that Roddenberry Sr. didn't have the cash for most of his life to take this kind of direct, positive-future-now kind of action.

But he was able to hand a lot of it off to Junior (at right)—who is finding his own frontiers to explore that are true to the spirit behind Star Trek, that core value beyond mere entertainment that has influenced and inspired millions of fans with what we all know and call the "Roddenberry Vision."
 
Way to go, Rod—as he says, here's one way to bring Gene's distant Star Trek future one step closer to NOW.

And to get this out now, here's the press release in toto (boldfacing mine): a story in today's SF Chronicle cites studies and new researchers already in motion thanks to this gift.

Roddenberry Foundation Gives $5M to Gladstone for Stem Cell Research

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—October 19, 2011—The Gladstone Institutes and the Roddenberry Foundation today inaugurated the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine at Gladstone, a new unit founded on an unprecedented $5 million gift from the foundation that was established to honor the legacy of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. 

“This gift is our largest to date, and with it, we hope to help accelerate advances in biomedical research,” said Gene Roddenberry's son Rod Roddenberry, who is co-founder and chair of the board of directors of the Roddenberry Foundation. “In addition, if our support can inspire one child to become a scientist, one organization to become more charitable, one person to simply invest himself or herself in improving the future of our world, then our foundation can be a catalyst in making the future envisioned through Star Trek a reality.”

The center will build on Gladstone's existing expertise in stem cell science, helping to speed the process by which discoveries are turned into therapies for a host of devastating illnesses.

“Today's biggest challenge for solving disease is getting the investments required to transform our basic-science discoveries into health solutions that can alleviate human suffering,” said Deepak Srivastava, MD, (left) who directs both stem cell and cardiovascular research at Gladstone. “We are a basic science institute—but with the purpose of solving three major disease groups.”

Indeed, Gladstone focuses on disease areas that afflict millions of people and their families: cardiovascular disease, viruses such as HIV/AIDS and neurological conditions such Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's alone afflicts 5.4 million people in the United States at an annual cost $183 billion, estimated the Alzheimer's Association. Without a therapeutic breakthrough, the number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease is expected to double by 2050.

On top of this, no single disease-modifying therapy exists for Alzheimer's or other devastating neurodegenerative diseases, said Steven Finkbeiner, MD, PhD, a senior investigator at Gladstone, adding that it takes an average of 12 years and as much as $1 billion to develop a drug for a neurodegenerative disease. “The tsunami is coming and we have nothing in the drug pipeline to treat Alzheimer's,” he added.

Research at the new center can help to change that, in part by building on pioneering work done by Gladstone senior investigator Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD. In 2006, Dr. Yamanaka and his Kyoto University team discovered how to reprogram skin cells into cells that, like embryonic stem cells, can develop into other cells in the body. This discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, has since altered the fields of cell biology and stem cell research, opening promising new prospects for both personalized and regenerative medicine. Dr. Yamanaka currently divides his time between Kyoto and San Francisco, as the director of Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA)—which focuses on drug discovery and regenerative medicine—and as a senior investigator at Gladstone.

To further develop Dr. Yamanaka's iPS technology in order to create patient solutions, the Roddenberry Center for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine at Gladstone today is also announcing a collaboration agreement with CiRA. This accord will clear a path for these two leading stem cell centers to freely exchange materials and knowledge—all in order to accelerate the advancement of their stem cell research results into therapeutics to improve human health.

Ideally suited to do that, iPS cell technology and subsequent cell-reprogramming discoveries opened the door for scientists to create human stem cells from the skin cells of patients with a specific disease for research and drug discovery, rather than using conventional models made in yeast, flies or mice. As a result, the cells contain a complete set of the genes that resulted in that disease—representing the potential of a far-superior human model for studying disease development, new drugs and treatments—while also avoiding the controversial use of embryonic stem cells.

“The Roddenberry gift will help us create the human, iPS-based disease models that we need to accelerate the development of drug therapies for a host of devastating diseases, honoring Gene Roddenberry's call to ‘live long and prosper,’” said Dr. Srivastava.

About the Gladstone Institutes
Gladstone is an independent and nonprofit biomedical-research organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific discovery and innovation to prevent illness and cure patients suffering from cardiovascular disease, neurological disease or viral infections. Gladstone is affiliated with the University of California, San Francisco.

About the Roddenberry Foundation
The Roddenberry Foundation supports and inspires efforts that create and expand new frontiers for the benefit of humanity. It funds innovative solutions to critical global issues in the areas of science and technology, the environment, education and humanitarian advances.

About CiRA
Following the generation of human iPS cells by Dr. Shinya Yamanaka and his team in November 2007, Kyoto University established the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application within the Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (ICeMS) in January 2008 to further promote scientific advances in the fields of induced pluripotency and reprogramming. CiRA is the world's first institute to focus specifically on these areas, and its researchers strive to realize the potential medical benefits of these cells as rapidly as can safely and responsibly be done. CiRA became an independent institute in April 2010, under the leadership of Dr. Yamanaka.

Photos: Roddenberry Dive Team (top); SFGate.com (bottom)

A Quark/Worf dinner? Castle, Buffy? Big Bang visit? Bid NOW in Antaeus Theatre auction through Oct. 7

UPDATE 10/7/11: Prizes changed, date corrected: BIDDING ENDS TODAY!

Okay, kids, you have ONE WEEK left for some truly unique goodies:

Whether you live in SoCal or not, there's 86 items large and small now up for bid for an online fund-raiser auction through Oct. 7 for the Antaeus Company, L.A.'s classical theatre troupe that includes the likes of oh, say, Armin Shimerman and Kitty Swink, and a host of others you'll know.


You can bid on a dinner with DS9'ers Armin, Kitty, and Michael Dorn ... or similar dinners those from Buffy or 24 (below) ... a lunch with Castle's Seamus Deaver and show goodies ... original art from Rene "Odo" Auberjonois  ... much less a cast-hosted set visit to The Big Bang Theory (left) or Body of Proof (Jeffrey "Tahnna Los" Nordling). Or further afield: a cooking lesson with Top Chef fan-fave Fabio Viviani or an in-home fondue party with Emily Bergl of Desperate Housewives ... And many more: There's cool photos, scripts and signed items, rare cast gifts (like a DS9 Season 6 jacket), and even more live services, in-home dinners and gift certificates.

Kitty points out The Antaeus includes a slew of other actors with Trek and sci-fi connections, with but a few being Joe "Galt" Ruskin, Kurtwood "Annorax/President" Smith, Chelsea Field (Scott Bakula's partner), Richard "Admiral Paris" Herd, Gregory Itzin, JD "Toral" Cullum, Adrian LaTourelle (Rene's son-in-law), Bob Pine (Chris "Kirk '09" Pine's dad), Lawrence "Tekeny Ghemor" Pressman, Rhonda "Dixon Hill's Madeline" Aldrich, and Josh "Lt. Carey" Clark. Not to mention Tony Amendola (Stargate), Harry Groener (Buffy—and Tam Elbrun/ Nathan Samuels), Paul Eiding (voices for dozens of sci-fi games), Arye Gross (Minority Report), and Joel Swetow (Charmed).

The trustable website biddingforgood.com is handling the online auction, so you know it's in reliable hands. Check it all out today and find all kinds of genre and actor goodies up for bids to help The Antaeus—some of them on the real "up close and personal" side.

Set to open at The Antaeus Oct. 20 is the rare 1947 Noel Coward xomedy-drama "Peace in Our Time," the American debut of Coward's what-if look at his beloved England under Nazis occupation —with 22 roles, all double-cast. It is slated to run through Dec. 11.

LA ALERT: John & Bonnie—back to bingo for AIDS Service Center

UPDATE: 9/6/11: As usual, it's a success! From John: "Obliged!  We had a nice, full house and made over 3K for the ASC - thanks for the help!"

---------------------------------------------------

John "Phlox" Billingsley and Bonita "Gen. Beckman" Friederichy once again are promoting their longtime annual bingo bash for L.A.'s AIDS Service Center THIS Sunday, and I'm glad to help again (the pic at right is from 2005):

So, from the General (and the Doctor) themselves—with Sarah Connor/Catherine/Chuck's mom along, too:

This is to let you all know that John and I are hosting a charity fundraising event to raise money for the AIDS Service Center on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. at Hamburger Mary's in West Hollywood. We are long-time supporters of the ASC, which offers HIV testing and many, many crucial services to low-income individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS throughout Los Angeles.

The event is "Drag Queen Bingo" and our celebrity hostess is Linda Hamilton, aka, Sarah Connor. John and I will be there to help out and give away fabulous gift bags to the bingo winners!


LEGENDARY BINGO: SUNDAY EDITION!
Starring Bingo-boy and his Drag Queen Bingo Hostess
10 Games of Legendary Bingo!
HAMBURGER MARY'S
8288 Santa Monica Blvd, at Sweetzer in West Hollywood
323-654-8275 for reservations and info
Valet parking in restaurant lot
Full menu and bar
7:00 p.m.,Followed by the outrageous drag/burlesque show "Follies Burgere"!


$20.00 SUGGESTED DONATION AT THE DOOR
INCLUDES 10 REGULAR BINGO GAME CARDS


Thanks! If you can't come but would like to make a donation to the AIDS Service Center, their website is www.AIDSServiceCenter.org...but we would love to see you at Bingo!!!

Photo evidence: Bird-watching the Balding Eagles of Star Trek!

Yes, I'm slow—but I promised to share:

Thanks to all the fans who jumped in earlier in May to join or pledge to the "Balding Eagles of Star Trek" team—Bob Picardo, John Billingsley, Ethan Phillips (Armin Shimerman had a last-minute conflict)—and support the LA Audubon Society's "Centennial Bird-a-thon" and supported projects. (At right: Bob and John, background; Ethan in foreground)

A certain former Denobulan doctor tells me:

We saw one bird, and I inadvertently stepped on it. Very sad, really.

Nah, only kidding. I believe we saw (other people saw: I was always going "Where? Where?") 39 species. The winning team saw over 100, but they went out at an ungodly hour, crack of dawn-ish. Apparently birds, unlike Mad Dogs and Englishmen, don't like to go out in the noon-day sun.

Armin couldn't make it, so don't look for him in the photos, it's not a Where's Waldo? thing.

Pics above/below thanks to Lisa F., via John:

STV: Support Trek's "Bald(ing) Eagles" May 9 for charity

In the annals of Star Trek charity endeavors, here's a real wing-ding. John "Dr. Phlox" Billingsley asked me to spread the word for his BEST team—video below!—so I hope everyone flocks in who can do so:

The L.A. Audubon Society marks its 100th anniversary with a "Bird-a-thon" May 1-9, and to help out, a quartet of Treklanders—the "Bald(ing) Eagles of Start Trek"—have put together a celeb team you can join live on the final day for four hours May 9, or pledge to from afar. In this STV video below, John B. talks of how he, Armin Shimerman, Bob Picardo and Ethan Phillips hatched the idea of the BEST team to help out the L.A. Audubon with its direct and educational environmental efforts to help birds—and by extension all habitat and species.

In town or out, just call Martha at 888-522-7428 or email: books@laaudubon.org.

Press release that John mentions is below the screen:



And, direct from the BEST guys (and Bonnie "General Beckman" Friederichy):

Join STAR TREK alumni ARMIN SHIMERMAN (DS9), ROBERT PICARDO and ETHAN “JOHNNIE" PHILLIPS (ST: VOYAGER) and JOHN BILLINGSLEY (ST: ENTERPRISE) for a fun-filled afternoon of bird-watching and picnicking, ON MAY 9, to celebrate LOS ANGELES AUDUBON'S 100TH BIRTHDAY!


Los Angeles Audubon promotes the protection of birds and other wildlife through recreation, education, conservation and restoration. They are celebrating their Centennial with a "Bird-a-thon," a week-long 'species trek' across L.A. County.


Between May 1-9, teams—accompanied by experienced birders—will select a Los Angeles County hot birding spot and venture forth, in a competition to see which team can spot the most species!




JOIN OUR TEAM! HELP US WIN!


Armin, Bob, Ethan “Johnnie” Phillips, and John are forming the “BALD(ING) EAGLES OF STAR TREK TEAM” to help support the conservation efforts of Los Angeles Audubon! The first 30 people to sign up get to join us for an afternoon of adventure! We'll meet at a beautiful location, picnic on a delicious catered lunch, and then set forth to 'bird". Your contribution will also entitle you to attend LA Audubon's CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, held (conveniently for us!), immediately after the conclusion of our afternoon peregrinations. You'll receive complete details re: venue(s), time, directions, etc., upon receipt of your check!


Here’s how to reserve your spot today! Call or email today- space is limited!


Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will assist you.
Email: books@laaudubon.org


Cost: $150/person




CAN’T JOIN THE BALD(ING) EAGLES STAR TREK TEAM?


You can still attend the Centennial Celebration! For $50, we can accommodate 20 guests at the Celebration on May 9th (to be held at dusk, in a beautiful outdoor location). The winning team (remember, there will have been a week of birdie rubbernecking) will be lauded, drinks and grub will be consumed, and LA Audubon's remarkable contribution to the health and vitality of our community will be hallelujahed.


Contact LA Audubon to reserve your spot at the Centennial Celebration!


Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will assist you.
Email: books@laaudubon.org


Cost: $50/person




OUT OF TOWN? OUT OF STATE? OUT OF NATION? OUT OF GALAXY?


Support the Bald(ing) Eagles Star Trek Team anyway by pledging a $ amount per species spotted: $1 a bird, for instance. (And if you're fearful of the Bald(ing) Eagles’ bird-watching prowess - Jeez, I didn't know there were that many birds! - set a maximum contribution level for yourself! Your $10, $20, $25 pledge goes a long way to help our feathered friends!)


Call: 1.888.522.7428 Martha will take your pledge. Once the Bald(ing) Eagles are back from the field, Martha will let you know how many species they encountered and what your
donation will be.
Email: books@laaudubon.org


Your participation will help support LA Audubon's conservation efforts: programs you will be helping to fund help rescue and preserve habitats for such beautiful birds as the endangered California Least Tern and the threatened Western Snowy Plover! Join the fun for a great cause!

How Rodddenberry-esque of his children: go protect the planet!

STV: Jonathan Frakes—one busy guy

I just found a batch of recent video I thought had been lost...!

So yay--here's an always-welcome vid-chat with Number One himself, shot near the end of the 10th annual Lightspeed Fine Art Charity Event in December in the OC. It was the first time to appear there for both of us, as we realized, and a good time to catch up. He's up to his eyeballs with directing jobs, and on some of the top one-hours on the networks... a busy life since he moved back to L.A. from his teaching turn. This chat will get you ready for his airings and reruns ... plus, Jonathan's first acting gig since Nemesis.

His adorable wife Genie Francis, a celeb in her own right of course, came along and had copies of her Christmas carol CD benefiting The Children's Mission in Cuernavaca, Mexico, getting 100% of her profit share—and still available on Amazon and iTunes.

If you're a Castle fan—and you should be!—I got a very catty anecdote out of him from his episode. Now we just need to get him on Chuck next season... Campaign, anyone?



And if you're not a Lightspeed customer, doing so makes you eligible to attend these annual, cozy little clambakes with guests, parties, and direct-bid auctions for their charities. I'd meant to go for years, so thanks to Gary Hasson and his staff who finally got me down.

Oh, and that Frakes, guy, too. Better catch when while you can--he's one bolt of lightning.

We tell Seattle Geekly podcast: The 47s are here!

My friends Shannon and Matt have their latest Seattle Geekly podcast up, and guess what my topic was for their Episode 47?

Here's a hint: Did you catch the U.S. State Department's toll-free number for Haiti information?















Speaking of Haiti, Rod Roddenberry's Facebook auction of cool Gene and Majel stuff that benefits 100% plus his matching amount all ends TONIGHT at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

Oh, and I just realized the other day, re-watching The Day The Earth Stood Still (the REAL one):

RADIO ANNOUNCER: "The strange spaceraft landed on the Mall at 3:47 p.m. ..."

There you are! No matter where you go.

Throw in your own 47s below...

History for Haiti: Rod Roddenberry's online "garage sale," through Friday 1/29

Here's another example of how the apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. Even if it's a Kaferian apple.

Rod Roddenberry is having a virtual "garage sale" online at his Facebook page to clean out Gene and Majel's longtime Bel-Aire house ...

And everything goes to Haitian relief, via HaitianHero.com.

Knowing so many might like a memento from their favorite Star Trek creator, he's got a photo gallery of items and a simple online auction going.

But hurry, the auction ends this Friday, Jan. 29, at 11:59 PM. Rod has a long background of the project on that Facebook page, and roddenberry.com has it up as well.

But on the side, Rod told me a little more about it: a great win-win-win that started when he sold the house—the end of an era in itself—and had to have it totally emptied of "stuff" by the end of this month. And thee was a lot:

Rod says: "How else to get rid of things that I felt were of some value, but not something I wanted to keep? Give it away! And to who else but ... the fans." He started on Twitter last weekend, but the 140-character limit was too much—and then came the Facebook idea, a perfect auction forum.

"I had been wanting to so something for Haiti and figured I'd just donate personally (which I'm still doing)," Rod says. "But then with the help of a friend, it dawned on me that I could 'auction' the family items and send all proceeds to the Haiti relief. This way everyone would win: I'd see that these items got a good home and were not trashed; fans would get some cool Roddenberry family stuff; and most importantly, the people of Haiti would get at some help. Everyone should feel good about what they've done in the end."

The first 24 hours raised $3,000, and he's hoping to hit $20,000 by Saturday.

Now, Rod does promise a big estate sale of major items (like Gene's desk) in July in Las Vegas. But for everything made from the Facebook auction, Rod has pledged to match 1:1 for HaitianHero.com.

Rod calls this part of his legacy "The Roddenberry Effect." He already has the Roddenberry Dive Team so fan divers can explore that final frontier, and protect it.
to work
So, like I said: like father, like son. Rod's putting another great aspect of his family's "effect" on millions of people, and giving them a chance in turn to spread the caring.

Boldy bid!

Paws a moment, celeb auction fans, for Majel's favorite cause

If you're looking for a memorabilia or even celeb lunch-date auction to jump on for a good cause, hit up this event online, opening today and running through 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15.

My good friend Georgyne and her longtime non-profit charity, the Precious Paws rescue in L.A., were one of two charities Majel Roddenberry requested for memorial contributions in her name after her death, so you know they are on the up and up. The lots include dozens of donated collectibles and 13 "celebrity experiences" or set visits up for bid—everybody from Mark Hamill, Bobby Sherman and Stephen Collins to Nicole de Boer, Anthony Michael Hall, and Mackenzie Westmore...and many more.

The site above includes their online catalog. Precious Paws is partnered with Auction Cause, a veteran charity auction handler who work with Ebay for their events.

Look! Up in the sky--it's Juan!

Had to forward this from his own Facebook page:

My buddy Juan Fernandez, the last script coordinator on Enterprise (currently on Cold Case) and a fixture now in the AIDS Lifecycle coastal bike jaunt, added the L.A. AIDS Marathon to his repertoire last year—and now look who's on the billboard! Well, he's in the back, there, but still--he's big!



Juan snapped this on Melrose and Spaulding in Hollywood and added the snark: "The other side is advertising "2012". Make of that what you will..."

Of course he is still fund-raising for the marathon next spring—check his page out here.

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...!

Cops, charity, goofiness: This is why Star Trek will never die

So the Eagan, Minn., police department took a dip off frigid Crystal Lake Beach for the annual Polar Plunge fundraiser help out the Minnesota Special Olympics—and wore TOS uniforms to do it.

Let's get this straight: Cops wore '60s Star Trek uniforms (and not bad looks, from the photo). They did it for charity. They did it in freezing water. And their news photos got plastered all over the country, much less the region, for wearing Star Trek uniforms. In a freezing lake. For charity.

Don't tell me this franchise is dying. Or depending on one single movie to "keep it alive."

Looks like it can still make a big splash in a small town.

STV: John and Bonnie, Part 2

Finally, here's the rest of our chat from Dallas last summer with John Billingsley and wife Bonita Friedericy—you can also still catch the goofy Part I chat as well as their shout-out for donors to their AIDS Service Center charity events.



Bonnie talks much about her work on Chuck, which premiered its new NBC Mondays season this month and of course co-stars Tony "Kurn" Todd in a recurring role as well, as she mentions. There's also some frank talk and affection for how they view Star Trek and fandom ... good folks, there.