Daily Star Trek News

Late last year, Celestis Memorial Spaceflights announced their next flight. Dubbed the Enterprise mission, it will see the remains of several Star Trek luminaries journeying into the final frontier on the Vulcan Centaur rocket. Since the announcement, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing friends and family members of the late, great cast and crew who will be blasting off next month. Throughout the month of April, I’ll be releasing those interviews. First up: Colby Youngblood, CEO of Celestis. The mission is scheduled to blast off on May 4, 2023, and you’ll be able to stream it live. Launch dates and times can change up to the last minute based on several variables, including weather conditions, so for the latest launch status, head over to https://www.celestis.com/launch-schedule/enterprise-flight/.

February was Black History Month and March is Women’s History Month, so there’s no better time to celebrate the legacy of Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols. A new book for children was released in late January. Entitled To Boldly Go: How Nichelle Nichols and Star Trek Helped Advance Civil Rights, the book makes good on its title’s promise, taking a look at how Nichols and Trek fought againt racism in the 1960s. I had a chance to catch up with the writer, Angela Dalton, and illustrator, Lauren Semmer, to talk about the book and the late, great Nichelle Nichols.

If you’re not listening to the podcast SciFi Talk you should be. Host Tony Tellado brings you original interviews and news from throughout not just science fiction, but horror and fantasy, as well, in all their forms: television, films, video games, and comic books. Tony’s a big Star Trek fan and he and I sat down to discuss host-to-host the franchise, plus an array of other topics ranging. from podcasting to Sherlock Holmes to PanCan. You can subscribe to Sci-Fi Talk anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Julie Nimoy followed in her father Leonard’s footsteps in that she became a filmmaker, producing a number of films with her husband, David Knight. I had the opportunity to talk with Julie about growing up in the Nimoy household and her career, which included working with her dad on projects like Star Trek II. David joined us to talk about their films, including Remembering Leonard Nimoy: His Life, Legacy and Battle with COPD.

If you have a favorite astromycologist, I’ll bet a week’s worth of replicator rations that it’s Commander Paul Stamets of the USS Discovery. Anthony Rapp, who breathes life into the character, got his big break playing Mark Cohen in the groundbreaking musical Rent. Rapp wrote a memoir about the experience, which he then adapted as a stage musical, telling the story of his journey in Rent through the lens of two tragic deaths that occurred at the time. Now his one-man musical, Without You, is opening off-Broadway, and he joined me to talk about it. Visit withoutyoumusical.com for tickets.

Back in November we brought you an interview with Star Trek: Enterprise’s John Billingsley and Bonita Friedericy about The Hollywood Food Coalition. David Livingston, the most prolific director in Star Trek history, is on HoFoCo’s board. He joined me recently to talk about beginning his career with Star Trek, transitioning from directing to photography, and TrekTalks2, HoFoCo’s Zoom-a-thon, where you’ll see lots of Trek luminaries. To see Livingston’s full “Still Lives” photography exhibit, you can email him directly at livingdc@mac.com. Join TrekTalks2 on January 14 at 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET at https://trekgeeks.com/trektalks.

You know Armin Shimerman as the scheming Ferengi Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and possibly also as the principal of Sunnydale High on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But if you asked him what he considers to be his primary profession, you might be surprised by his answer. “I am primarily a teacher,” he tells me in the interview below. Shimerman is also a writer, and the third book in his Illyria trilogy is set to be released early next year. He and I sat down to discuss the books, Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the late, great Rene Auberjonois. If you’re considering buying the Illyria trilogy, I highly recommend starting with the first one, Betrayal of Angels. You can order the first two books and preorder the third at the Jumpmaster Press website. Patreon supporters gain access to a special deleted scene, wherein Shimerman discusses the problem with a recent filmed version of Macbeth and gives a short master class on Shakespearean text. Jumpmaster Press: https://www.jumpmaster

Mat Kaplan has been hosting the Planetary Society’s podcast, Planetary Radio, since its inception 20 years ago. He recently announced that he was retiring from the program, with Sarah Al-Ahmed taking his place. Managing Editor T. Rick Jones wanted to talk to him before he left the show and also wanted to meet his successor. This video is the result. It turns out they’re both huge Star Trek fans as well as space nerds, so there was lots to geek out about! Plus, it’s the return of T’s Trek Trivia (sort of.)

Rod Roddenberry inherited the responsibility for Star Trek from his parents and he takes it seriously. He also takes making the world a better place seriously, and DSTN's Managing Editor, T. Rick Jones, had a chance to sit down with him to talk about his "sibling rivalry" with Trek, the Roddenberry Foundation's current projects, and just what all those Executive Producers do on Star Trek.

It's Thanksgiving week in the United States, and STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE's John Billingsley (Doctor Phlox) and Bonita Friedericy (Rooney in the episode "Regeneration") joined DSTN's Managing Editor, T. Rick Jones, to talk about the Hollywood Food Coalition and their upcoming Star Trek-themed fundraiser. Along the way, they discussed first dates, Star Trek auditions, and doing good in the community.

You know Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation and its sequel films, Captain William T. Riker on Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Captain William T. Riker (Retired) on Star Trek: Picard. As you also know, he’s directed a number of Star Trek episodes and films, 38 in all, and counting. He’s also a supporter of Pancreatic Cancer research and since November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, he joined me to talk about Star Trek and about his very personal experience with Pancreatic Cancer. You can learn more about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) by clicking here and you can warp over to the Daily Star Trek News homepage here.

Chelsea Monroe-Cassel knows how to take fictional recipes and turn them into real masterpieces. She joined me to talk about designing Ktarian Pudding, mixing Romulan Ale, and making gagh If you're out of blood worms. The Star Trek Cookbook is available for preorder right now. And stay tuned to DSTN’s newsletter and Twitter and Facebook pages to find out how you can win a copy of the book.

Carlos Albornoz played Buckley, a strange alien creature in "All Those Who Wander," an episode of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. I had the opportunity to talk with him about his relationship with the character, how he and the puppeteers who made the unique costume move worked together, and what he wants the writers of SNW to know.

I sat down with Andreea Kindryd to chat with her about her ancestors, her involvement in the Watts riots, her work with Gene Coon, her special relationship with Nichelle Nichols, and even her TED Talk about hair.

This past April, it was announced that science fiction had become science fact, in that real-life doctors had been holoported to the International Space Station. One of those holographic doctors is Josef Schmid, a NASA flight surgeon. I sat down with him recently to discuss the breakthrough and learn what the future may hold, a future that includes being able to interact with astro-patients, just as Star Trek: Voyager’s holographic doctor does.

It’s almost time for The Orville season 3; Bernadette Croft discusses designing the costumes for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds; there’s a new comic series coming bridging Star Trek: Picard seasons 2 and 3; Karl Urban keeps the rumor mill going on Star Trek 4; and Denise Crosby reminisces over her documentary Trekkies for its 25th anniversary.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the most in-demand streaming series; Bruce Horak talks about playing Hemmer in SNW; we’ve got new gameplay footage of Star Trek: Prodigy: Supernova; Paramount stock jumps with a big endorsement from a big investment firm; and a school in New York is teaching kids to communicate - using Klingon.

Wilson Cruz wins the prestigious Vito Russo award; Star Trek Online Stormfall lands on PC; Marina Sirtis’s new film is available to stream; and The Orville has released a new trailer for season 3. Plus we’ve sadly lost more members of our extended Star Trek family, who I will tell you about. More stories: Michael G. Hagerty obituary Jack Kehler obituary Kenneth Welsh obituary George Perez obituary Star Trek show and tell: Star Trek: Picard Countdown comics

The Star Trek Book of Friendship is a new book about friendships throughout the franchise, lovingly told in conversation form by co-authors and friends Robb Pearlman and Jordan Hoffman. We're talking about the book and why it was important to make, and I force them to prove that their friendship is genuine (for science!). Get your copy (out May 10, 2022)

Please note: there are some minor audio issues in the middle of this week's episode, due to streaming difficulties during recording. Two members of our extended Star Trek family have passed away recently; Paramount has finally announced a launch date for Paramount+ in the UK and Ireland; and the reviews are in for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - and they’re pretty good! Additional stories: Neal Adams obituary David Birney obituary Paramount+ launch dates in the UK and Ireland Roddenberry, Goldsman and Robinson on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Rotten Tomatoes on Strange New Worlds Strange New Worlds phone wallpapers Jesse Heinig interview about Star Trek Online Star Trek dress socks review