Newsletter of the U.S.S. Chesapeake Club February, 2004

Voyager goes from the Delta Quadrant to DVDs Star Trek: Voyager arrives Trek territory. on DVD starting this month, • “Voyager Time Capsule—Kathryn Jane- courtesy of Paramount Home way:” A new, exclusive interview with Kate Entertainment, as reported by Mulgrew talking about how she landed the startrek.com. role of Janeway, the challenges of playing a Star Trek: Voyager breaks into the DVD Tuesday, February 24, will see the release female captain and her Broadway play on universe this month. of season one in its entirety in a five-disc Katharine Hepburn, Tea at Five. Also includes collector’s box set. The set includes all 15 archival interviews with the actress and rare episodes from the first season, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. featurettes and bonus material. According to • “The First Captain—Genevieve Bujold:” Paramount, a new season of Voyager will be Reveals rare footage and outtakes of Bujold as available every other month. Captain Janeway, with commentary by Exec- The contents of the set are as follows: utive Producer . Disc 1: “Caretaker,” “Parallax,” “Time and The season one DVDs are presented in Again” full screen with newly remixed Dolby Digital Disc 2: “Phage,” “The Cloud,” “Eye of the English 5.1 tracks and English Dolby Sur- Needle,” “Ex Post Facto” round. The set is expected to be priced at Disc 3: “Emanations,” “Prime Factors,” under $100. Total running time for all five “,” “” discs is over 728 minutes. The discs are Disc 4: “Cathexis,” “Faces,” “,” closed-captioned for the hearing impaired. “Learning Curve”  (Captain Janeway), who Disc 5: Special Features, including: has spent many months portraying Katharine • “Braving the Unknown—Season One:” Hepburn onstage in Tea at Five in New York, Presenting new interviews with Executive Connecticut and Florida, will return to Los Producers Rick Berman, and Angeles to star in a production of The Royal Jeri Taylor discussing how they created the Family. She will appear in the George S. series. The trio reveals the challenges of cre- Kaufman and Edna Ferber 1927 comedy at the ating fresh, new characters, a new premise and Ahmanson Theatre from March 23rd through IN THIS ISSUE: the risks of sending the crew into unfamiliar May 16th. Art Credits 3 Captain’s Log 2 Club Members Happy 13th birthday, U.S.S. Chesapeake! Insert front Coming Events 6 The next meeting of the U.S.S. Chesapeake fellow club members are up to and get the Directions to Meeting will be held on Saturday, February 21, at the latest on Star Trek news, as well as an update Insert front Holodictation 6 Potomac, Maryland, home of Chief Opera- on other areas of science fiction. We’ll also Meeting Minutes tions Officer Ann Harding. celebrate our 13th year as an active Star Trek/ Insert back We’ll gather around 6 p.m., then head to a sci-fi club in the metropolitan D.C. area. Rantings 5 Reflections 4 local restaurant for dinner. We will return to Do you need directions to this month’s Science Trek 3 the Harding home by 8 p.m. meeting? Then please be sure to check out the During the club meeting, we’ll discuss the insert that is included with this month’s recent Farpoint convention, find out what newsletter. Volume 13, Issue 2 CAPTAIN’S LOG: By any other name It’s February, time once again to celebrate tude,” which thoughtfully addressed the issues the anniversary of the launching of the U.S.S. related to cloning after Trip gets duplicated by Chesapeake. Here’s to another 13 years of fun, one of Phlox’s little critters; “Proving Ground,” frivolity and, most of all, Star Trek! which brought back the Andorians and showed This month, I want to turn my attention to there’s still a long, long way to go before the the current season of Enterprise, and as I do, I United Federation of Planets is formed; “Strat- can’t help remembering my reaction when I egem,” which featured not one, but two Mis- first heard the show wouldn’t have those two sion: Impossible-style scams by the starship magic words in the title: “I’ll know when this crew; and “Twilight,” which showed the depth series is in trouble because they’ll put Star of the relationship between Archer and T’Pol, Trek in its name.” It’s nice even though it got soiled by a Brannon Braga- to be right every now and trademarked ending where “time gets rewound.” then. But Enterprise has still had its share of But that’s not the only clunkers. Those include: “Extinction,” which change made in Enterprise uses a virus to turn crew members into aliens this year. In fact, many of that seriously need a class in improvisational what Rick Berman calls acting; “Exile,” which puts Yoshi in a boring “course corrections” have “Beauty and the Beast” relationship; “Chosen sounded very oddly famil- Realm,” when religious zealots (the most iar to me. overused cliche in TV) take over the ship only First, there’s a new to find that the war they wanted to win at group of varied villains: home has destroyed the planet in their absence T’Pol (left) confers , with its mammalian, amphibian with Shran in the (Where’s Frank Gorshin when you need Enterprise episode, and other races. They remind me of DS9’s big him?); and “Rajiin,” in which a beautiful slave “Proving Ground.” baddies: the Dominion, with the Founders, girl (Is there any other kind?) uses her hands the Vorta and the Jem’Hadar. Hmm. to “scan” the crew—even T’Pol—and learns Then, there’s a new part of the galaxy just what swell folks humans and Vulcans are. specifically to explore: the Delphic Expanse. Enterprise has also faced a series of off- Of course, DS9 took us inside the Gamma screen setbacks. Paramount cut back the Quadrant for the first time. Hmmm. number of episodes for this season so that, by Copyright 2004 Also, there’s a season-long story arc as the the end of its fifth year, the show would hit the U.S.S. Chesapeake Enterprise tries to prevent the Xindi from magic total of 100 programs necessary for NCC-9102, a destroying Earth. Still, DS9 had even longer successful syndication—and no more. not-for-profit organization. story arcs, like the Dominion War. Hmmmm. Also, the series is getting pushed back an All rights reserved, And there’s a group of soldiers who aren’t hour, a sign that the teen angst of is including members of joining the crew in its reproducing parts of winning the time slot for the WB and putting this document. new mission. Of course, no one could say that UPN firmly in last place on Wednesday nights. Odo, Kira and Quark were exactly Starfleet But perhaps the most interesting tidbit “Star Trek,” “Star issue, either. Hmmmmm. Trek: The Next floating around the online Trek boards is the Generation,” “Star Could it be that the “new” Enterprise has a rumor that the folks at the Big P are carefully Trek: Deep LOT in common with the “old” Deep Space watching how the show fares during this Space Nine” and “Star Trek: Voyager,” Nine? We report, you decide! sweeps month, with the possibility actually as well as the terms However, I’ve said from the start that being discussed that Rick Berman might be “starship” and Enterprise has several things going for it: good given his walking papers if there’s no improve- “starship Enterprise,” are registered characters, capable actors, state-of-the-art ment in its performance. After Nemesis made trademarks of special effects and cool sets. My biggest The Final Frontier look like a smash at the box Paramount Pictures problem with the show has been the writers, office and Trek on TV has been losing even Corporation. All rights reserved. who haven’t exactly been producing stellar long-time fans for years, what a great birthday Absolutely no scripts. Has that improved this season? present for the club that would be! infringement on In a word, yes. However, while there are Next month: If Berman still has his job, these rights is intended. more good episodes, there are still some that we’ll check out the newest Kirk novel in the make me cringe. “Shatnerverse” series. COMSTAR, page 2 Among the good ones have been: “Simili- Captain Randy Hall SCIENCE TREK: Science by season V— the animated series If you want an interesting opening to a which Original Series novel also used a bal- column, go read Lorenzo’s … after you read loon Enterprise? mine, that is! “Albatross:” Here’s one of my personal The fifth edition of “Science by Season” favorite themes from Trek: the consequences brings us to the shortened second season of of personal actions (see “Space Seed” and Star the animated Star Trek series, whose six Trek II). In this case, though, the culprit is episodes originally aired from September 7, radiation that likely mutated an existing 1974, to October 12, 1974. (Do you remem- pathogen (recall from some science class you ber where you were?) took that an aurora is simply the result of solar “Pirates of Orion:” A good example of radiation impinging on a planet’s magnetic what can happen in a closed environment field). The timing of McCoy’s inoculation such as a starship as an illness sweeps through program and the plague was coincidental. the crew. Fortunately, it’s like a mild cold, “How Sharper Than a Serpent’s Tooth:” annoying but typically not fatal—except if Didn’t I just cover this theme a few months you’re a . Another tip to reality is the ago, in a column about Apollo? Enough said. relay (Potemkin to Huron to Enterprise) to get OK, not really. Let me just add the following: the cure to . I just don’t know why This episode was writ- would beam a bomb on board to ten as a homage to the dispose of it. Good thing he didn’t multiply Classic one, the writer the detonation time by a factor of 4! was an American “Bem:” Perhaps for the better that the Indian (as of course commander was not a stereotypical “bug-eyed was one of the charac- monster.” The silliness of some story ele- ters), and it was se- ments aside (exchanging phasers for fakes, lected for the Interna- disembodied body parts floating around—not tional TV Film Festival. that a colony creature is a bad idea on its “The Counter- own), this episode does have an interesting Clock Incident:” The premise in a sociological observer from a science includes retire- potential Federation member. Trek bonus: Above: An Orion ment ages, novas and warp 36 (about 9.99545 confronts the crew of We finally learn what the “T” stands for in on the TNG scale). The fiction includes the Enterprise in “James T. Kirk.” matter entering an antimatter universe and “Pirates of Orion.” “:” Let’s see—the ship not exploding, time flowing backwards—sure Below, left: The Enter- prise confronts three passes through a nebula, causing the computer they’re getting younger, but shouldn’t all enemy ships in “The to act sentient. Did I see this Next Generation actions happen in reverse? Once more, we Practical Joker.” episode? Wait, the animated series aired have crew members change age and a non- almost 20 years prior to TNG’s seventh-season crew member take command. Thank good- episode “Emergence.” Want another similar- ness it’s Robert April, the ship’s first captain. ity? This episode introduces us to the holo- Coming in some future month: Science deck, though not by name. The ship’s com- by Season VI—OK, it’s not a season; it’s The puter traps Sulu, McCoy and Uhura in a “Rec Motion Picture, but I like the rhyme. Room” that can be used to generate an arti- Web Notes: ART CREDITS: ficial • http://www.danhausertrek.com/Animated- startrek.com 1, 2, 4 environ- Series/Main.html (looks comprehensive to startrekanimated.com 3 amazon.com 5 ment. me); NVTech 6 If you • http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/episodes/ ctv.ca Insert back want to tas2.htm (animated series episodes with dig comments); and through • http://www.starfleetarchive.com/ (and you your didn’t have to go all the way to Memory Trek Alpha). lore, Second Officer Phil Margolies COMSTAR, page 3 REFLECTIONS: The final countdown “For every action, there is an equal and season run. Not every storyline was brought opposite reaction.” to a conclusion, but that, in my opinion, was a May 29, 1999; a day that will live in in- good thing. Deep Space Nine went to great famy. Well, at least for me anyway. It’s a day lengths to avoid cliches, and doing an entire I’ll always remember, for that was the day we wrap-up, even within two hours, is just too watched the advance feed of the DS9 finale, cliched for words. Some folks cry foul because “.” I got up early that their personal agendas were not addressed, Saturday morning, and keep in mind that early such as Bajor not being brought into the for me is around 5 a.m. I couldn’t sleep. I was Federation. According to Marco Palmieri, restless with anticipation. Pocket Books’ editor of the DS9 line, “Sisko’s Even though these Saturday viewings of mission was to make sure Bajor was ready to the feed were a regular thing for us, we had join the Federation, and he was successful.” only been getting together to watch them for Aside from being incredibly corny, I just don’t the last five years. Of course, this viewing was see that as being important. The show was special. It would be the last. And even though called Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, not I was happy I’d be watching the series finale, Star Trek: Bajor. I was also sad that it was all going to be over. The show was about a journey, “For every action, there is an equal and one that started out as corporeal and opposite reaction.” This quote not only literal but ended up as spiritual and describes my emotional state, but it also could metaphysical. Even though the have been the credo for the show itself. Every journey was shared by all, the charac- action, every decision made by the characters ter making the ultimate odyssey was on the show always had repercussions. And Sisko. The show started and ended not just repercussions the characters talked with the actions of Benjamin Sisko Odo and Captain about, but repercussions we, the audience, and, to a lesser extent, Gul Dukat. We Sisko prepare to actually got to see. This is an incredibly watched this man go from an angst-ridden finish their fight with unique thing for television, a medium where Starfleet captain, contemplating leaving the the Dominion in DS9’s “What You most shows are an insult to your intelligence service to raise his son, to half-man, half-alien Leave Behind.” and are designed to be. or God, depending on which side of the theo- This is the third best series finale I’ve seen. logical fence you swing. He went from not Now please, pick your jaws up off the floor. I believing in the Prophets to embracing the know this may come as a shock to those of you notion of the Emissary to becoming one of them. who think I eat, drink and defecate DS9, but I The biggest shock for me was the fact that DO watch other television shows. I know his life, his very existence was manipulated. what you’re asking: Why third best? Well, I These “Prophets” made sure he was conceived think the finales of Newhart and St. Elsewhere just to be their savior. He was to be their were better because of the shock value of their personal warrior against the Pah-Wraiths, a final episodes. I love being surprised, and more benevolent version of themselves. Was both of their finales had incredibly shocking this destiny or was it control? Was it fate or endings. I love that kind of stuff. was it contrived? Was it karma or configura- Now, I liked “All Good Things....”, the tion? These are questions I’m STILL asking TNG series finale, but closer inspection reveals myself. By defining the main character in this it to be high on emotional content and low on manner, the writers not only created a three- actual plot. By the time you get to the end, dimensional, fleshed-out human being, but you may be emotionally satisfied, but if you maybe the ultimate science-fiction concept, really look at the episode, you discover that one that will have thinking individuals cogi- there was no resolution at all. It ends with tating for years. business as usual, and the Enterprise rides into The goodbyes themselves were bitter- the sunset. Nothing changed, nothing accom- sweet, heart-wrenching and beautifully pre- plished. Nothing ventured. arranged. Odo has to choose between his one Whereas as a series, DS9 was full of sur- true love and his dying lineage, and his deci- prises, its finale was about wrapping up some sion brings to mind the oft-quoted Spock of the many storylines that fueled its seven- continued on page 6 COMSTAR, page 4 RANTINGS: One last extra large pizza Repent, sinner, repent! The beginning of include a booklet with it. They should get the end is at hand!!!!!! Star Trek: Enterprise is voted off the island for that decision. moving—not to Fridays at 10, but to Wednes- According to the rumor du jour, the big days at 9. The suits are saying they are taking schmucks at UPN, Paramount and CBS may it out of competition with American Idol and be making big changes on the Trek production Smallville. Well, that’s true, but they’re put- staff. A story is going around that after the ting it in direct competition with The West February sweeps, Rick Berman may be told: Wing, an absolutely huge show. Do those “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the numbnuts numbskulls at UPN actually think way out AND never darken my door again.” that’s better? In the words of Scotty: “Better Oh, be still, my heart. That’s too much to to kill it now and get it over with.” hope for. Of course, the scumwads could And now to the business at hand. Star bring in someone else who has absolutely no Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Special idea about Star Trek, or worse, JMS. Wait. Collector’s Edition DVD starts out with the They did that already, and the result was usual new print of the film, as well as the usual Nemesis. director’s commentary from Nicholas Meyer Of course, after the Super Bowl with Janet and screenwriter Denny Martin Flynn, plus Jackson, the CBS and Viacom executroids may the usual text commentary from have other things to cover first: her breast and Michael and Denise Okuda. No their butts. So dealing with Star Trek might different from the other special have to wait a bit. Everyone sure is squealing edition DVDs. like Ned Beatty in Deliverance about this boob The movie holds up well. As job. One consequence is that the FCC is Sulu says: “It’s nice to see Captain cracking down on nudity and profanity. An Kirk in action one more time.” episode of ER has already been re-edited to The geekcrap disc is actually worth- remove a scene with a breast. The Oscar while. Everything from “The Perils ceremony and the Grammy Awards will be on of Peacemaking” documentary to a five-minute delay to make sure nothing the storyboarded sequences are untoward gets out. I realize that bare breasts chock full of interesting and and cursing are threats to national security, thought-provoking stuff. There’s a and our nation’s very survival hangs in the very nice tribute to DeForest Kelley. balance, but I think the FCC and the others It’s a couple of years too late, but are really overreacting to Janet’s and Justin’s that’s quibbling. The fact that they stupidity. did it at all is enough. DANGER, Will Robinson! With the There are cast and crew inter- impending death of Star Trek, maybe it’s time views all asking the same questions: to look for another 1960s TV show to be “How do you feel now that it’s over?” “What resurrected. The WB seems intent on bringing are your favorite memories?” etc. There are back Lost in Space. Why? They bought it back “Six Stories from Star Trek VI,” which are as a movie in 1998 with William Hurt and anywhere from five- to 10-minute mini- Joey Tribbiani, and that sucked. And as for documentaries on the production and other the original series? It blew dead rats. See? It things. The Star Trek Universe section is is possible for something to suck and blow at comprised of some interesting conversations the same time. But the WB seems intent on with Nicholas Meyer, Klingons: Conjuring the trying it. Oh, well. But the Hollyweird Legend, Federation Operatives, Penny’s Toy machine is not done with us yet. Nicole Kid- Box (about props) and Together Again. It was man and Will Farrell are poised to star in a all interesting. The promotional material is big-screen version of Bewitched. Maybe they’ll mercifully brief, limited to trailers and a 1991 do what Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson did convention presentation by Nicholas Meyer. in I Spy and reverse the roles. Couldn’t you The entire geekcrap disc can be summed see Will Farrell as a bitch—er, witch? up this way: It’s ALL good. The only sour A document in madness, thoughts and note in the entire thing is that Paramount remembrance fitted. COMSTAR, page 5 decided to do this one “on the cheap” and not Officer Peter Chewning COMING EVENTS CLUB BIRTHDAYS: Birthday wishes to FEBRUARY Chief of Computer Operations John February 21 ...... Our February club meeting/anniversary celebration! We’ll discuss White on Wednes- the recent Farpoint convention and catch up on the latest Trek, day, March 3. sci-fi and club news. Look for directions in the insert. MARCH March 20 ...... Time to “spring” into our March meeting! More next month! APRIL April 17 ...... Spring is about to be sprung! Don’t miss this month’s meeting! MAY May 22 ...... The May sweeps are here! So is the May meeting! REFLECTIONS: The final countdown, continued continued from page 4 again, to what in my opinion was not only the epigraph, “The needs of the many.... .” Worf best Star Trek show, but one of the best- goes back to Kronos, but in a capacity that written programs ever to grace the televised does not make him happy; he does so for the airwaves. I say until we meet again because good of the Empire. Still, it’s not all doom there is more DS9 in the relaunch novels and gloom. Julian finds love at last with Ezri, (which I will be reviewing), and there will be which, if you think about his feelings for more reflections regarding other science- Jadzia, is kind of perverse. The biggest fiction shows (I told you I watch other shows!). separation was not Kasidy and Benjamin or I also refuse to say goodbye because I refuse to Kira and Odo, but Julian and Miles. Their let go. “De Nile is not a river in Egypt.” wordless goodbye almost brought a tear to my Rating: . eye. True acting need no dialogue. Until next month. So we say not goodbye, but until we meet Conn Officer Lorenzo Heard HOLODICTATION: Keeping abreast of the news Over the past couple of weeks, the media latest project. has been obsessive with the events of the We are all made the same. Some of our Super Bowl half-time show. Let’s just review parts are just bigger, longer or smaller than what has been going on over the past couple other people’s. If we would just ignore such of weeks in the news. 1. An 11-year-old girl is incidents, they would not happen. Some kidnapped and killed in Florida. 2. A people will be in shock and horror if they see a 17-year-old boy is shot and killed in a woman walking down the street with her Washington, D.C., high school. 3. A 1- boobs and butt hanging out for everyone to year-old child is found dead while in see. They do this to get a response. If there is the care of a baby-sitter. 4. A letter is no response, then such behavior will stop. found in a U.S. Senate mailroom As a nation and society, we have to get our containing Ricin. Now, which of these minds out of the gutter. As great as we aspire stories are more important? to be, we fall victim to our own weaknesses. There has been more interest in Let us put our shock and rage to more impor- Janet Jackson’s breast than the fact that tant things, like the welfare of our future our children are being murdered in generation and not to the lowest common our own back yard. “Janet Jackson denominator. exposed her breast at the Super Bowl.” What is more shocking, the boob we see The response should have been: “And?” As a on the television or the boob who makes a big country and society, we are so hung up on the deal of it? human body that some people will use it to “Not a sermon, just a thought!” COMSTAR, page 6 garnish a response or to boost their career or Weapons Officer Patrick McBee