9409.15 DATELINE: STARFLEET #51 From the Big Chair ------------------ Star Trek is occasionally accused of being a soap opera, but it was certainly true this month as the high and lows of "Voyager" conspired to drive us crazy. ;) So sit back, deep breath (you in the back, don't hyperventilate!), and relax with the first issue of Dateline's second half-century. |) --Bill News from Over the Hailing Frequencies.... ------------------------------------------ THE VOYAGER MANIA! The cast of "Star Trek: Voyager" was announced, and at the top of the list was Genevieve Bujold as Captain Janeway. Bujold quit the role after one week of filming, and whoever her replacement is to be remains unannounced at this writing. The remainder of the cast and characters announced were: Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris, a young Starfleet Lieutenant out to redeem himself after a tragedy. (McNeill previously played Cadet Nick Locarno in TNG's "The First Duty".) Robert Beltran as Chakotay, leader of the Maquis contingent and first officer of the Voyager. Tim Russ as Tuvok, Voyager's Vulcan security chief. (Russ previously played the Klingon T'Kar in DS9's "Invasive Procedures" and the terrorist Devor in TNG's "Starship Mine".) Garrett Wang as Harry Kim, Voyager's Ops officer and recent Academy grad. Roxann Biggs-Dawson as B'Elanna Torres, a half-Klingon female and member of the Maquis. Ethan Phillips as Neelix, an alien: Voyager's cook and handyman. (Phillips previously played in TNG's "Menage a Troi" as the Ferengi Dr. Farek.) Jennifer Lien as Kes, an alien female of a species called the Ocampa. Appearing twenty-something, Kes is actually only one year into the typical Ocampa nine year life span. Robert Picardo as Doc Zimmerman, Voyager's holographic doctor (an emergency medical program of Starfleet design). PROUD PARENTS Jonathan Frakes and Genie Francis became the proud parents of Benjamin Ivor Frakes on August 20th. |) ALSO ON THE FAMILY FRONT... Whoopi Goldberg kept busy. After recently putting off her marriage to Lyle Trachtenberg, Whoopi has adopted a 4-month-old girl, Dianne. (Philadelphia Inquirer) TNG NOMINATED AGAIN Fresh off its Best Drama Series Emmy nomination, TNG has a Best Drama Series nomination from the Environmental Media Association's annual awards. The Association recognizes TV productions (as well as film and music) that responsibly deals with environmental issues. Winners are to be announced October 17, and the awards show is scheduled to air on TBS later in October. (Reuters/Variety) SPEAKING OF EMMY... TNG did lose to "Picket Fences" for the Best Drama Series Emmy. But it won awards for Sound Mixing, Drama Series ("Genesis") and Visual Effects ("All Good Things..."). Also notable among this year's winners were Kirstie Alley (Best Actress, Mini-Series or Special, "David's Mother") and former DS9 guest-star Richard Kiley (Best Guest Actor, Drama Series, "Picket Fences"). "GENERATIONS" DOCUMENTARY Ford Motor Co. of Canada is sponsoring a one hour documentary on the making of the "Generations" feature film, scheduled to air on Canadian television September 25th. It is not clear if this documentary will be shown in the USA. (Calgary Herald, September 10th) TNG AND DS9 SCHEDULES From the rec.arts.startrek newsgroups. An R after the production number indicates a rerun episode. TNG of course, is down to "All Good Things, Part II" the week of 9/11. For DS9: 09/11: Tribunal (445R) 09/18: The Jem'Hadar (446R) 09/25: The Search, Part I (447; written by Ron Moore, directed by Kim Friedman; the crew searches for the Founders of the Dominion, but run into the Jem'Hadar again instead; also introducing the starship Defiant -- originally built for the Borg but now assigned to DS9 for use against the Dominion/Jem'Hadar) 10/02: The Search, Part II (448; written by Ron Moore, directed by Jonathan Frakes) 10/09: The House of Quark (449; Quark marries a Klingon....) 10/16: Equilibrium (450; a Dax episode) 10/23: Second Skin (451; a Kira episode) 10/30: The Abandoned (452; a Jake story that the Jem'Hadar also figure into) In the 9th episode this season, Jonathan Frakes will reprise his role of Lieutenant Thomas Riker. Jonathan is also slated to direct the 10th episode. PARAMOUNT NETWORK LIST Anchorage = KYES; Baltimore = WNUV, Charlotte = WJZY; Chicago = WPWR; Cincinnati = WSTR, Cleveland = WUAB; Dallas/Fort Worth = KTXA; Denver = KTVD; Detroit = WKBD; El Paso/Las Cruces = KZIA; Evansville = WAZ; Fort Meyers = WNPL; Fresno = KAIL; Honolulu = KFVE; Houston = KTXH; Indianapolis = WTTV; Kansas City = KSMO, Little Rock = KASN; Los Angeles = KCOP; Louisville = WFTE; Miami = WDZL; Memphis = WLMT; Milwaukee = WVTV, Minneapolis/St. Paul = KMSP; Mobile = WJTC; Naples FL = WNPL; Nashville = WXMT; New York = WWOR; Norfolk = WGNT; Oklahoma City = KOCB; Philadelphia = WTXF; Phoenix = KUTP; Pittsburgh = WPTT, Portland (OR) = KPTV; Raleigh/Durham = WLFL; Salt Lake City = KJZZ; San Antonio = KRRT; San Diego = KUSI; San Francisco = KBHK; Santa Barbara/Oxnard = KADY; St. Louis = KDNL; Tampa = WTOG; Tulsa = KTFO; Tucson = KTTU; Washington DC = WDCA In Richmond, WRLH is carrying Voyager through syndication, not as a Paramount affiliate. RATINGS REVIEW For the week ending July 31: TNG was 3rd with a 9.0 ("Journey's End" rerun) and DS9 was 13th with a 5.9 ("Blood Oath"). The week ending August 7: TNG was 4th with a 7.9 ("Firstborn" rerun) while DS9 was 14th at 6.0 ("The Maquis, Part I" rerun) Week ending August 14: TNG at number 5 with a 7.4 ("Bloodlines" rerun") and DS9 at number 8 with a 6.3 ("The Maquis, Part II" rerun) For the week ending August 21, TNG was tied for 3rd with an 8.0 ("Emergence" rerun); DS9 tied for 11th with a 6.0 ("Second Sight" rerun). (Reuters/Variety) BEHIND THE STAGELIGHTS Patrick Stewart will be playing Richard Burton this fall on stage in performances of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" From the fall run (in London), Stewart expects it to move to Broadway. (rec.arts.startrek.info) AND BEHIND THE MIKE Patrick is also lending his voice to an episode of "The Simpsons" this season. BOOK TOURING George Takei will be at the Kinokuniya Bookstore in San Francisco on September 25, autographing copies of his just-released autobiography, "To the Stars." (As posted on AOL by AnnaBNana) Look for him to do the same in The Stars Our Destination Bookstore, Chicago, on October 7th. (rec.arts.sf.announce) MORE SUCCESS IN PRINT Stephen Collins, late of ST:TMP, has found the knack for novel-writing. His first novel, "Eye Contact," is in its seventh printing, and he has a six-digit deal for his second novel, "After Midnight." (Entertainment Weekly, September 16th) SHE ISN'T LOIS LANE, FOLKS Denise Crosby will be a guest-star in the season premiere of "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman", September 18. (To watch this or "The Simpsons"?? Aaaaaaa.......) SHIVER HIS TIMBERS DS9 veteran Frank Langella was reported to be close to signing onto the movie "Cutthroat Island" as the "colorful, evil pirate Dawg Brown". (Hey, the name's definitely colorful.) The movie will also star Geena Davis and Matthew Modine. (Reuters/Variety) ABOARD TV'S OTHER SPACE STATION Walter Koenig will be back aboard "Babylon 5" this season to reprise his guest-starring role. Also expected to appear in episodes are Trek veterans Michael Ansara and Dwight Schultz. (rec.arts.startrek.misc) FINALE? Hallmark has reportedly said that this year's "Bird of Prey" ornament will be the last in the Star Trek ornament line. (What, no DS9?) (As posted on AOL by Cmdr DTroi) HOW DO THE FERENGI FIT INTO THIS ONE? The European Union placed sanctions on China to limit, among other things, import of China-made Mr. Spock dolls. The Vulcan Embassy had no comment. (Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News) JURISPRUDENCE In a unique(?) story, a murder suspect named James Oswald proved to be fluent in Klingonese. Legal complications set in when the authorities seized papers Oswald wrote in his cell in Klingonese (and Jovian, a language Oswald reportedly invented for himself). Oswald claims the papers are confidential client-attorney correspondence. Oswald's lawyer noted that getting client corrspondence in Klingon was a first in his experience. ;) NEXT AT-BAT Fresh from executive producing "Star Trek: Generations," Bernie Williams will serve as exec producer on "The Indian in the Cupboard," a film to be directed by Frank Oz. (PR Newswire) Editorial: It's Just Our Imagination... by Bill Mason --------------------------------------- OK, so we didn't cop the Best Drama Emmy. Sigh. ;) That's OK, though. We know the quality that TNG represents, no slight to TOS and DS9 intended of course. |) In fact, let's just put all three series together and commend them for... ...imagination. Imagination because Trek has it, in spades. And because of its knack for firing our own imaginations. You have to wonder sometimes, after turning on the TV and finding the latest in the umpteen rush of new talk shows, or the new situation comedy that is in the unfortunate situation of not being comedic, just how scarce is imagination, anyway? Not to say that there is no imagination in TV beyond Star Trek. But it's hard to forgive the industry for deciding we needed three Amy Fisher movies (and now two Roseanne movies). It's worth it, in cynical moments of thought like that, to remember and enjoy ST's vivid creativity as it runs the gamut of the people, places, and things on the final frontier for twenty-eight years now and still going. A guided tour through a vast fictional universe. Strange planets, sometimes stranger aliens, starships of all sort, stories to challenge the mind or just make you sit up and murmur "say what??" Stories that would dare to make us think a teeny bit. (And c'mon, who was thinking about Worf and Troi as a couple back in the first season?) It's like a symbiosis of a sort: the show makes us think, imagine, contemplate. We feed off that and give it back to the show in turn, making it the phenomenon it is. And the show returns with something new -- "well, what about *this* idea?" -- and around we go again. With the new TV season upon us, the time has come to again sort out the flotsam and jetsam and hope to find a few things worthy of watching. I find it gratifying to know there's always one show (hopefully two come January) that I can always flip to without fear, knowing that's there always something of value waiting to pique my imagination or challenge my thought processes. Ya gotta like knowing that. A TNG Poll by PaulL54 ---------- Wow...the things you learn! A poll was conducted to determine the most popular Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes amongst the Trek AOL club members. This one worked a little differently than similar polls in that two parters were considered as a whole. The reasoning behind that was that while it may consist of two parts, it really is only one story; the resolution should live up to its set-up. This should be an important factor in how you place it in your top 10 list. (As an example, my favorite hour of TNG is most assuredly the first part of "The Best of Both Worlds" but the resolution of the incredible set-up felt lacking to me. This dropped BOBW halfway down my Top 10 list behind even "Redemption" which to me was the best written of the two parters...but then I'm a Data fan.) For this reason, though there were 178 TNG "production numbers" counting the first and last episodes as one title, the four cliffhangers, and the other four mid-season two parters, there were only 168 eligible titles from which to choose. The shows were graded on a modified Fibonacci series, with the number one episode getting 50 points, then on down the list like so: 36, 24, 16, 10, 5, 4, 2, 2, 1. Additionally, a frequency bonus was figured in, where a show got a point for the first list it made, then two points for the next list it made, and so on. Our winner actually had a lower raw score than several other titles, but the fact it made so *many* lists...there were indeed few from which it was excluded...made it a landslide champion. The reasoning behind this was that a show which made 8 lists, even if only 10th place on each, had a more general appeal than a show which made only one list, even if in first place. Counted among those voting were: Data1701D, the Trek forum manager; and Debbie Mirek, co-author of the Star Trek Encyclopedia. Okay... here we go, one at a time... your reward for reading this far! 10**---Tapestry---**10 (2 first place votes) Eleven voters selected this TNG take on "It's a Wonderful Life," and rightfully so. A marvelous episode, and Q's highest mention in the poll. 9 9 9 9**---Lessons---**9 9 9 9 (2) Nine fans saw fit to name this, and I must admit it has grown on me. Were it not for the blatant sexism of the resolution, this might've made my top 2 or 3. But the first 50 minutes are terrific. Season 6's best effort according to the voters. 8 8 8 8**---Parallels---**8 8 8 8 (1) Another wonderful "what if" episode appreciated by 10 voters that gave us several different perspectives of Worf, and a fine vehicle for Deanna also. My two regrets: I wish one of the universe's Picard had ordered, "Tea, earl grey, iced" just as a hoot, and why did they not bother trying to seal the rift *and* keep all those Enterprises in their own dimension? A couple hundred thousand galaxy class starships in your fleet and why would anyone need to worry about the Borg? 7 7 7 7** ---The Offspring---**7 7 7 7 The only choice in the top 10 not number one on anyone's list, nonetheless the strong support of seven voters gave it this high position: anyone who voted for it placed it no lower than third. This is Brent Spiner's favorite episode, and for obvious reasons. He really shines here, as does Hallie Todd as Lal, his daughter. Frakes' direction is excellent (watch for his work in part 2 of DS9's season opening story.) 6 6 6 6**---Cause and Effect---**6 6 6 6 (1) Another show that sort of grew on me, and it seemed to please 13 AOLers. Brannon Braga's time loop story makes nice use of the poker game as a plot device. Overall a well done episode, with only a few nits...but that is to be expected in any time-travel type story. 5 5 5 5**---The Measure of a Man---**5 5 5 5 (1) In my mind, TNG's finest one hour story, and number 2 on my list. Eighteen other people also selected it. Melinda Snodgrass sold this script on spec, and it is a fine piece of writing. Picard's summation and cross examination of Cdr. Maddox still gives me chills every time I see it. "You wanted a chance to make law. Well here it is. Make it a good one." A great one, in any season, but also season 2's high water mark. 4 4 4 4**---All Good Things...---**4 4 4 4 (4) Number one on my list, and three others agreed with me. I watched it twice more back to back to be sure. In two hours, I had only one quibble, but the rest of the plot more than made up for it. The scenes with Picard taking command of the Enterprise for the first time made for a nice nostalgic touch, and overall this was an incredible send off. Twenty-two others also had it on their lists somewhere in spots 2-10. Season 7's top scorer. 3 3 3 3**---The Inner Light---**3 3 3 3 (8) I don't think there is anything I can say about this to give it any more stature than it already has. Many people feel TNG peaked with this story of Picard living an entire lifetime in 25 minutes. I'd be hard pressed to argue with them. Fifth place on my list, and represented on 24 others. The best of Season 5, and in very close competition for runner up status with... 2 2 2 2**---Yesterday's Enterprise---**2 2 2 2 (5) Not on my list, but you'll also get no argument from me. A great, great episode. Twenty-six people also thought so. And no surprise here...the favorite TNG episode of the AOL Trek fans... *1*1*1*---The Best of Both Worlds---*1*1*1*1* (8) Very few people left this off their top 10, and it's easy to see why. Part one is almost inarguably TNG's finest hour, and most of part two lives up to it (I was only a little let down by the last 5 minutes). Only 6th place on my list, but most scored it higher -- and there were 36 others scoring it. That kind of frequency bonus was just impossible to overtake. Here's a quick rundown of each season's high water mark: Season 1: 11001001 (#27) Season 2: The Measure of a Man (#5) Season 3 and 4: The Best of Both Worlds (#1) Season 5: The Inner Light (#3) Season 6: Lessons (#9) Season 7: All Good Things... (#4) And, for the curious, my own top 10, in reverse order: The First Duty, Lower Decks, Preemptive Strike, Ensign Ro (I like Bajorans, what can I say?), The Best of Both Worlds, Redemption, The Inner Light, The Wounded, The Measure of a Man, and my favorite, All Good Things.... Tallying these lists was actually a lot of fun, watching the results slowly roll in, rooting for some titles to make a comeback, and the little thrill I'd get seeing one of my favorites show up on someone else's list. The last thing I am going to do is something I'd not planned on originally, but I can use these results to grade each season on a point system and see where each falls as far as overall quality goes. Believe it or not, the seasons seemed to get progressively better until the last, at least as far as this poll is concerned. By giving each show a point value based on how well it ranked (top 10 worth a point, down through not mentioned at all worth six points) we can judge the overall quality of each season. With that in mind, here is how the AOL Trek Club ranked each season (the lower the rating, the better): Season 1- 5.32 Season 2- 4.73 Season 3- 4.31 Season 4- 4.19 Season 5- 3.84 Season 6- 3.63 Season 7- 4.56 This means that overall the people polled felt that TNG had generally gotten better year by year until season 7, which retrograded back to somewhere between seasons 2 and 3 in quality. It's interesting to note that despite season 4 being the consensus "best" season, this poll only placed it in the middle of the pack. Live long and prosper and don't forget...while we're waiting for Captain Janeway and Lt. Tom Paris, we have the crew of Deep Space Nine to keep us company! Happy Birthday! --------------- September 23: Rosalind Chao (didn't mean to list this last month, beats me why I did!) October 15: Mark Lenard Trek-related Products/Happenings -------------------------------- Out in theaters is Whoopi Goldberg in "Corina, Corina". In the August issue of "Current Biography" (now on sale), look for the cover story on Patrick Stewart. (Thanks to Leela2 for the info on that one!) On the packaging for Playmate's new Engineering playset are pictures of upcoming new "Generations" action figures: Lursa, B'Etor, Beverly, Troi, Worf, Riker, Data, Guinan, Picard, LaForge, Scotty, Chekov, Kirk, and a Worf in 19th Century costume. (As posted on AOL by CmdrJames) Checking the comic book circle, we find: "Star Trek" #65 (DC): Enterprise heads out on another top-secret mission. (Somehow I don't think it'll be very routine, you know?) Story by Howard Weinstein. "Next Generation" #65 (DC): Picard tries to deal with the Enterprise's Romulan guest while Geordi can't decide whether he or his parallel universe counterpart belongs in this universe. (And you thought deciding what to have for breakfast was hard.) Story by Michael Jan Friedman. "Next Generation Annual" #5 (DC): Data has been crippled, his personality lost, and it's up to Geordi to save him. Story by Howard Weinstein. "Deep Space Nine" #14 (Malibu): The mythic Battle of the Gods is coming. Bajor and DS9 are definitely *not* ready for it. "DS9: Hearts and Minds" #4 (Malibu): Last issue of this limited series, as the galaxy is on the brink of Klingon-Cardassian war, and only the heroes of DS9 can prevent it. (You expected Superman, maybe? Oops, wrong comic company....) ("Worlds of Westfield") "Millennium" magazine (mentioned here last month) has already changed its name to "Cinescape." Its second issue is scheduled to include articles on "Generations" and "Voyager." Also in magazines is the "Comics Interview Star Trek Super Special" -- a collection reprinting just about every ST interview conducted in the pages of "Comics Interview." Wrapping up the magazine scene is Starlog, with both "Starlog" #208 (scheduled for DS9 and "Generations" stories) and "TNG Official Poster Magazine" #78. ("Worlds of Westfield") Personal Logs, Stardate Today ----------------------------- Q. What TV show do you never miss? A. You're gonna laugh. One of my favorite shows is "Star Trek: The Next Generation." I don't usually like science fiction. But I particularly like Capt. Jean-Luc Picard. When everything's closing in on me, I can go to my living room at home, put on surround sound, and the whole room sounds like we're flying. I have the Enterprise at my fingertips." (Stevie Nicks, as interviewed in "Rolling Stone" magazine. I knew there was another reason I love her music.) Credits where Credits are Due ----------------------------- "Dateline: Starfleet" -- edited by Bill Mason. Comments and submissions are invited via any of these avenues: America Online (E-Mail to Data1701D), Internet (send to 'data1701d@aol.com'), or the US Postal Service (753 Rively Ave, Glenolden PA, 19036-1118). "Dateline: Starfleet" originates from the America Online "Star Trek: The Club" forum. The Away Team of Contributors: PaulL54 and his army of poll takers ;) ****PLEASE NOTE**** If you would like your name removed from the "Dateline: Starfleet" Mailing List, please REPLY to this E-Mail, type "STOP!" and SEND it to this E-Mail address: "datelined@aol.com". Please note that the mailing list distributes EXCLUSIVELY via E-mail. There is NO mailing to US Mail addresses. If you know of people who are interested in being added to the "Dateline: Starfleet" Mailing List, please have them E-mail "datelined@aol.com" requesting they receive it. 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If you read all this, remember Flight 427. Dateline #52 will be out October 15th.