ZOOMING WITH SID | PICARD | KILLING HARRY | TROI & WORF | MEETING NIMOY OUR 45TH YEAR | ISSUE 5 | YMA / JUNE 2020 CAPTAIN Kim Smith EDITOR/DESIGNER David Matteson We aim to highlight the interests FIRST OFFICER Annette Sexton-Ruiz UFP CONTACT Dave Williams of our diverse membership. REC OFFICER Walt Bartlow EMAIL [email protected] Make suggestions or contribute to COMM OFFICER Kevin McAlonan WEBSITE www.u-f-p.org Subspace Chatter. Email us today! THE UNITED FEDERATION OF PHOENIX inH T IS ISSUE The United Federation of Phoenix (UFP) is the Southwest’s oldest Star 03 Captain’s Log by Dr. Kimberly Smith Trek and science fiction fan organization, continuously operating since 04 Picard Season One by David Williams 1975. The club meets bi-weekly at various locations around the Phoenix 05 Zooming with Sid by Teresa Spencer metropolitan area. As a group we have picnics, go hiking, watch movies, 06 Killing Harry by David Stipes play games, take trips, and are active in the volunteer community. 08 Meeting Leonard Nimoy by Michael Gibbs You are about to read “Subspace Chatter,” our official publication, which highlights science fiction and fandom events, spotlights our members, 09 My Favorite Characters by Lisa Fischer and provides a resource for all things UFP. If you are in the area and 10 Incoming Transmissions would like to attend one of our meetings, email us at [email protected] 11 Official UFP Briefing 2 | SubSpace chatter captain'S log together while apart BY KIM SMITH, UFP CLUB CAPTAIN The past 3 meetings of the UFP At the second Zoom meeting working from home now while have been online Zoom meetings, people were better with their audio others do not have that option. with an average of 12 people controls, and some Trek books Many have taken up home projects attending. It is nice to see people, were mentioned like the Picard such as house painting, vegetable even if on-screen, during this prequel book. We also brought up gardening, dog walking, and more. Covid-19 quarantine. We have been the topic of ordering some UFP Comic-Con has officially been meeting from 4:00-5:30 on our canceled and many wonder if Star regular Saturdays. Trek Las Vegas will be soon to follow. We looked at example pint The first UFP Zoom meeting glasses with various UFP logos people were getting used to the on them. It was discussed that we settings, audio controls, and such. need a 45th Anniversary logo and Then a discussion ensued about perhaps for some new t shirts. Star Trek: Picard which had just finished airing the week before. In We hope you come Zoom with us general, the reviews on Picard were wine glasses, shot glasses, and/or soon. Stay safe, stay healthy and favorable. Other shows people pint glasses. If you are interesting live long and prosper! discussed included The Expanse, in ordering some glassware, please Red Dwarf, Dr. Who and The Orville. let me know ASAP. Examples of Everyone agreed the Zooming wine glasses were shown. worked just fine and we would do this again until it becomes safe to At the third Zoom meeting we meet in person. learned that some members are Dr. Kimberly Smith - UFP Captain. SubSpace chatter | 3 PICARD COMPLETES SEASON ONE By UFP Member David Williams drew more support from past Picard and his crew in Season 1 fans in a way that DSC could was clearly and disconcertingly Star Trek: Picard (PIC) wrapped its not. The stories in PIC were also presented. This future, while 10-episode Season 1 on Thursday, presented differently, in a more fodder for great drama and March 26, with “Et in Arcadia, Ego, psychological, introspective show character growth for Picard and Part 2”, bringing to a conclusion than the more action-focused DSC. Star Trek: Voyager’s Seven of Nine a galaxy-spanning story arc for (Jeri Ryan) during Season 1, did a 93-year-old Jean-Luc Picard Perhaps the biggest complaint not sit well with many TNG and (Patrick Stewart). The UFP planned about PIC was the presentation VOY fans, particularly those who to screen the two-part finale of a darker future in the Galaxy watch Star Trek TV shows for its on March 26th in the Marston post Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), utopian vision of the future and Exploration Theater on Arizona which was the last time we saw escapism for the troubles of our State University’s Tempe campus, these characters. While the contemporary 2020 world. but the event was canceled Federation worlds still appear to when the COVID-19 Coronavirus be utopias build around post- Finally (SPOILER HERE), the National Emergency required ASU scarcity economics, there are still conclusion of Season 1 with Picard to shutdown its campus. Still, individuals who fall through cracks sacrificing his life to save Data’s many UFP members watched the in the expansive social safety (Brent Spiner) “daughter” Soji (Isa finale using their CBS All-Access net, to become victims of their Briones) and the community of subscriptions in their homes. own inner demons, whether that Data’s synthetic descendants from is drug- and alcohol abuse (Raffi Romulan Tal Shiar (or Zhat Vash)- Season 1 of PIC was generally Musiker (Michelle Hurd)) or un- inspired genocide, and thereafter well-received by long-term Star counseled psychological trauma resurrected as a synthetic life form Trek fans, certainly far better (Chris Rios (Santiago Cabrera) himself , sets up a fascinating than Star Trek: Discovery’s and Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill)), the world for ongoing storytelling for (DSC) first season was received. humans who make up Picard’s Season 2. Terry Matalas is taking Although both shows used crew. Also, with the various races over for Pulitzer Prize winner serialized storytelling rather than of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants Michael Chabon as showrunner episodic stories common in the still recovering from the Dominion for Season 2, for which writing is Roddenberry-era ( TOS, TAS) and War (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, underway. Once the COVID-19 Berman-era (TNG, DS9, VOY, Seasons 6-7), the effects of the National Emergency is resolved so ENT) shows, and both shows Romulan Supernova (movie Star that groups of people can begin used theatrical-quality production Trek (2009)), including collapse of working together in close proximity, values and special effects, the Romulan Neutral Zone, and then production of Season 2 the focus around established the forced relocation of Romulan will begin in southern California. characters from past shows refugees to nearby Federation and Until then, we can look forward (mostly Capt./Adm. Picard, but other worlds, and the collapse to the new animated show Star also Seven of Nine, Will Riker, of law and order in those border Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Deanna Troi, and Data) regions, a darker future for the Discovery Season 3 later in 2020. worlds visited by retired Admiral 4 | SubSpace chatter zoomingwith along alexander Siddig By UFP Member Teresa Spencer he had been offered a part on Dr. Who a few years ago, but was unable to accept because For the second week in a row, Star Trek: Deep of the timing. Space Nine actor Alexander Siddig (“Sid”) had an online chat via Zoom with fans all around the world. We each waited patiently to speak with him. There was even one woman in Japan who got up hours before she was supposed to go to work. When it was my turn, I asked him if he would ever appear on Picard if offered. He said he would if the writers found a good way to bring his character of He also said Doctor Bashir that he didn’t know what the role back, not just was because of some confidential a walk on. I story information. He did say that pointed out he was open to appearing on Dr. that maybe Who if the details could be worked Starfleet had out beforehand. lifted the ban on the genetically- During the Covid-19 virus he does enhanced (a the shopping for himself and his wife Shanna, stigma his character endured on Deep Space a script consultant whom he met while doing Nine). That of course started a discussion about Cairo Time. Sid and Shanna live somewhere Discovery having a lot of plot points revolving in Massachusetts. He said that she likes doing around Section 31. karaoke, so once the crisis is over he’s going to take her out for karaoke night. Sid also said that Another fan asked about him being on Dr. Who, he wished there was some way to do a singalong pointing out that the Master looked a lot like Sid while talking via Zoom. and how it would have been a good role for him. I’ve been able to see him play the bad guy on The Watch a video recap of this chat, which starts off Spy on Netflix and other antagonistic characters with my questions, here: youtu.be/9I8wurWzBZ8 and he’s downright menacing! Sid answered that and check out sidcity.net for the next Zoom chat! SubSpace chatter | 5 actor Garrett Wang would have to be filmed over blue screen. This would allow his image to be extracted without costly rotoscoping which are hand-drawn, frame-by-frame, silhouette mattes KILLING corresponding to his body shape. We had to keep the actor over the blue screen as he fell away from the damaged hatch. HARRY Sometimes the obvious solution is not the best. BY VISUAL FX ARTIST AND UFP MEMBER DAVID STIPES The tendency would be to set up the shot like it was happening with the actor moving away from In episode 137 “Deadlock” the starship Voyager the set.