In 1966, a little known tv show named Star Trek quietly went on the air on the NBC television network. It got bounced around the network schedule until it eventually settled in on Friday nights. On Friday nights, we were treated to the adventures of a starship named "Enterprise", commanded by a dashing, heroic man by the name of Captain James T. Kirk. His second in command was a half-human, half-Vulcan by the name of Spock, who always looked at things logically. Dr. Leonard H. "Bones" McCoy was the ship's doctor. Who always insisted that he was "just a country doctor", but yet he always had a not-so-gentle bedside manner. The ship's chief engineer was a Scotsman by the name of Montgomery Scott, who always managed to get the ship and its crew out of the tightest of situations. Add to the crew an African woman by the name of LT Uhura, an Asian man by the name of Hikaru Sulu and a young Russian ensign by the name of Pavel Chekov. A truly multi-racial cast. Something that was unheard of in the 60's.
Every week, we were taken to places "where no man has gone before". Along the way we met Romulans, Klingons, Tholians, Tribbles, and other alien races that seemed to mirror us. The show only lasted 3 seasons when it was cancelled with little fanfare.
But then, something happened to the show that has never happened before. The show became a hit when it aired in syndication. This tv show that the network and the critics said that it will never become a hit instead became a world-wide phenomenon. Since then it had spawned 10 hit movies, whose box office receipts has grossed well over a billion dollars world-wide. It also spun off 4 very highly successful tv shows.
Since then we were treated to a Frenchman by the name of Picard, an android by the name of Data who always wanted to know what it was like to be human, a very capable first officer by the name of William T. Riker, a blind engineer who is able to "see" with the aid of special visors, a Klingon security chief who was adopted and raised by humans by the name of Worf, a lovely half-human, half-Betazoid empath by the name of Deanna Troi who was the ship's counselor, and a very beautiful doctor with the gentle bedside manner by the name of Beverly Crusher.
We were then entertained each week by people who are as diverse in race and personality. On the edge of "the final frontier", we had a space station commanded by a very firm black man by the name of Benjamin Sisko. A former Bajorian freedom fighter by the name of Kira Nerys is the station's first officer. A shape-shifter by the name of Odo is the station's security officer who is also the bane of a Ferengi bar and casino owner by the name of Quark. A young idealistic doctor by name of Julian Bashir, and a Irish engineer who brought along his Japanese wife and family.
Then we were entertained each week by a starship stranded in the farthest reaches of deep space, trying to find its way back home to Earth. Their captain is a woman by the name of Kathryn Janeway, whose gentle demenor can be very deceiving. Her first officer is a Native American Indian freedom fighter by the name of Chakotay. A half-human, half-Klingon woman by the name of B'Elanna Torres is the ship's chief engineer. And a anal retentive holographic doctor is the ship's caregiver.
We are now at the very beginning of man's venture into deep space. It's April in the year 2151. The fastest a starship can travel is at warp 5. The ship is small compared to later starships. There are no high energy shielding. The ship's only protection is it's steel armor plating. There is no Prime Directive, no holodeck and no advance flight controls. The ship is steered using joysticks. And there are only two settings on the phaser pistol; stun and kill. The starship is the Enterprise NX-01. It's captain is Jonathan Archer. A man of strong character and sense of duty with also a strong sense of adventure. Second in command and science officer is a female Vulcan named T'Pol, who at first was distrustful of Captain Archer, but has grown to respect him even though at times she sometimes questions his judgement and rationale. Chief engineer is a Southerner, Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III. Tactical and weapons officer is a Briton, Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. Helmsman is a young man who spent his whole life in space, Ensign Travis Mayweather. Communications officer is a beautiful Japanese girl, Ensign Hoshi Sato, who at first did not want to part of the crew and to be stuck on a starship. And rounding out the crew, the ship's chief medical officer is Dr. Phlox, a Denobulan whose approach to medicine is at times, unconventional at best.
These 5 shows has become huge hits world-wide and has been translated into numerous languages that includes; French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, the Slavic, Scandinavian and Arab languages and dialects. In the process, it has made fans of every day people to well known people and Hollywood celebrities. For instance, it is a well known fact that Saturday Night Live alums Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon and Eddie Murphy, California's governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, actors Christian Slater, Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), French Stewart (3rd Rock From the Sun), musician John Tesh, ex MTV VJ Kennedy, Britian's Prince Charles and Jordan's King Abdullah II are big Star Trek fans. Not bad for a failed tv show that only lasted 3 seasons.

1. NEW! Tim Russ will be starring in a comedy series that will be airing on ABC this fall. The series is entited "Sam I am". Not to be confused with the movie of the same name that starred Sean Penn, the premise of the series as reported by zap2it.com; "A woman awakens from an 8-day coma with complete amnesia about who she was before an accident. Starting over, she learns that she while she's much nicer now, she may have enjoyed herself more then." Along with Tim, the series stars Christina Applegate, Jennifer Esposito, Kevin Dunn, Melissa McCarthy and Jean Smart. The series will air on Monday nights at 9:30 PM. No word on when the series will premier.

2. NEW! Staying on the television front, ABC has renewed the William Shatner legal drama series Boston Legal for another season. As reported by zap2it.com, the series will stay in it's 10 PM timeslot. There is no word on if George Takei will continue with his recurring role on the hit NBC series Heroes.

3. On to the movie front, Star Trek.com has reported that the Hollywood Reporter on it's website reported that J.J Abrams will indeed direct the next Star Trek movie. No offical word has comed from Paramount Studios though. If true, Abrams will not only direct the movie, he will produce it as well. According the Hollywood Reporter, the plot of "Star Trek XI" will revolve around a young James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock, chronicling their first meeting at Starfleet Academy and their first space mission. Something that Abrams has denied in the past. To read the original article from the Hollywood Reporter's website, click on this link.

While the news about another Star Trek movie is good, there is still no word on whether or not there will be another tv series if ever. Now that there is another movie in the works, we can only hope that the possibility of another tv series is on the horizon. As they say in the tv biz, "Stay tuned."

Dominic Keating
Vaughn Armstrong
Linda Park
Patrick Stewart
Iman
Nana Visitor
Wil Wheaton
David Warner

Birthday greetings to all and may you continue to have many more. May you all live long and prosper.

One of my all time favorite actors and one that I idolized, admired and looked up to ever since I was a child, recently came out of the closet and announced that he is a homosexual and has been in a gay relationship for 18 years. George Takei in a recent interview with a L.A. magazine that is geared toward the gay and lesbian community told the interviewer that he came out because of the current political and social climate. He also said that the play he is currently involved with helped him decide that is was time to tell the world of his sexual orientation.
As a Korean-American and as a racial minority myself, I understand where Mr. Takei is coming from. While I've never been the victim of discrimation myself, nor have I ever been placed in an internment camp, I've been the victim of prejudice and racism myself. Because of that, I believe there is no room for prejudice and racism here in this country. It does not matter who is the victim or what race the racist is.
The same goes for people who are gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgendered. Gay people has contributed much to our nation, our society and to the history of the world. Mr. Takei has been a community leader and civil activist in his native Los Angeles for his entire adult life is a good example. Many well known people are homosexual. Actors D.B Wong and Ian McKellan, author and columnist Truman Copote, actress and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell, musician Melissa Ethridge and Sheryl Swoopes, a WNBA basketball player for the Houston Comets, who recently announced that she is a lesbian and is in a lesbian relationship are good examples. Gays and lesbians are just as much of a fabric of our society and community as anyone else. Being a homosexual does not mean you're less of a human being and it should not exclude you from having basic human rights. The right to earn a living, the privledge to vote, adopt children, the right to live free without fear and the right to be a human being. Prejudice and violence against gay men and lesbians is just as worse as prejudice and violence against someone's race or ethnicity and it should not be tolerated.
I've met Mr. Takei several times at conventions here in the Mid-Atlantic region. I've found him to be nothing but a geniune, warm, caring, kind, gracious and funny person. He is that kind of person. He is not like William Shatner. While I disagree with his lifestyle, his views on gay marriage and his liberal views, that does not means that I will stop attending conventions where Mr. Takei is a guest nor will it ever stop me from admiring Mr. Takei. I wish Mr. Takei nothing but the best for his future, no matter what will that be. I always will consider him a hero for all Asian Americans and a role model for all Asian Americans to emulate no matter what sexual orientation they are.

If you have an opinion yourself about what I said in my personal opinion section, good or bad, or would like to participate in an unscientific e-mail poll, please feel free to e-mail me and tell me your opinions. If I think your comments are good enough, I will post your comments. Be forewarned though, that if you do e-mail me, you are giving me your consent to post your comments, name and e-mail address on my website and that it will be condensed or altered due to space, language, and or content. Also, that I might add my opinions about what you said in your e-mail message. If you do not want me to post your comments or have me post your e-mail address and or name, please indiciate so in your e-mail message. But remember to be courteous and clean when you do e-mail, or your comments will not be posted or it will be ignored all together. If you send threatening e-mails based on racial, ethnical, sexual or sexual orientation, you will be reported to the proper authorities. Intolerance will not be tolerated.

What are your opinion on Mr. Takei's recent announcement that he is gay? Will you stop attending conventions where Mr. Takei is a guest and or stop watching Star Trek all together? What are your opinions on gay marriage and gay people in general?

I am a very proud member of Celebsites. Are you looking for that very special web site dedicated to your favorite Star Trek show, actor or actress? If so, just click on the above banner, and it will take you there.

Walter Koenig is the only remaining member of the original Star Trek cast who does not have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This is wrong. It takes a $15,000 fee for a celebrity to get their star. However like his friend Jimmy Doohan, Walter never believed that you should pay for a pat on the back, so it's up to us to help correct this wrong. Click on the above banner to find out how you can help get Walter this long deserved honor.

Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise and its associated characters are registered copyrighted trademarks and are the exclusive property of CBS/Paramount Television, CBS Studios, Paramount Studios and the VIACOM Company. Copyright infringement is not intended. All pictures and information are taken from sources off of Internet web sites. This web site is for entertainment purposes only. The owner of this web site and Geocities are not making any monetary gain off of this web site.
Please do not ask me for any of the star's personal e-mail addresses. I do not know nor do I have any e-mail addresses. Even if I do have their e-mail addresses, because of privacy laws and out of common courtsey, I will not give out any of the star's e-mail addresses.

Please help me and other Star Trek fans who have web sites from being shut down by VIACOM. By clicking on the above banner, you can learn how you can stop VIACOM from harassing people who have fan-runned Star Trek web sites by e-mailing or writing a letter to Paramount and VIACOM. It's not too late if you act NOW!

© 2007 George Tunstill

The Layout and Some Graphics of this webpage are © 1997 by Mark Safransky.

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