419 - All Hail Kael | Priority One: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

This week, we’re Trekking Out a BIG lead on SHORT Treks. Then Michelle Paradise discusses showrunning and writers rooms, and Marina Sirtis talks Deanna Troi - then and now.

In Star Trek Online and gaming news, the 2019 Risian Lohlunat Festival is around the corner, “Rise of Discovery” hits consoles, and Star Trek Fleet Command nabs a Star Trek alumni. And in our monthly Astrometrics Report, Dr. Robert Hurt explores the rocky road traveled by the OSIRIS-REx mission to hopefully return a sample of an asteroid to Earth.

Of course, as always, before we wrap up the show, we’ll open hailing frequencies for your incoming messages!

 

This Weeks COMMUNITY QUESTIONS are:

If you could Reboot Star Trek: TNG, who would you cast?

AND

What are you most looking forward to getting during the 2019 Risian Lohlunat Festival?

Let us know on social media like Facebook, Twitter, or by visiting our website!

TREK IT OUT

by Jake Morgan

Rebecca Romijin and Ethan Peck Back. Short-ly

If you thought Rebecca Romijin’s time as Number One wasn’t LONG enough, or that Ethan Peck met the TALL order of playing Spock, and you wanted more - then you may be happy to hear that they’re likely getting their own SHORT Trek!

On May 30th, Writer/Director/Producer Mark Pellington posted an Instagram photo of a Star Trek Discovery Director’s Clapboard with the title “Chaos Theory”, along with the message//QUOTE//Goodbye Toronto. Thanks for an amazing crew and adventure//END QUOTE//. Pellington followed up with a second Instagram photo of himself, on June 30th, flanked by Rebecca Romijin and Ethan Peck, posting //QUOTE//Romijn, Pellington, Peck. Trek Shorts. #chabon #trek #rebeccaromijin #ethan//END QUOTE//

While the story, brought to light by Trekmovie.com on June 23rd, may not definitively verify a Spock/Number One Short Trek, the evidence certainly points to “MORE-THAN-LIKELY”

Variety’s Showrunner Panel - Michelle Paradise

On June 15th, Variety posted a drama panel discussion - A Night in the Writer’s Room - which featured show runners from some of entertainments biggest programs; including “Good Girls”, “The Walking Dead”,”Ozark”,and “Star Trek: Discovery”

Michelle Paradise represented the CBS All Access Science Fiction Franchise, and had some interesting insight into Star Trek’s writers room. On the topic of how disagreements are handled, Paradise said //QUOTE//Sometimes, on our show, we find that if someone has a reason for bumping so strongly on something, that there is something we really do need to look at. In Sci-Fi, you can have space and aliens and all sorts of things like that, but it always represents what’s actually happening HERE, and what’s happening in society, and what’s happening culturally. And so if someone is really bumping on something, it may be that there is an angle that the rest of us in the room aren’t quite seeing yet//END QUOTE//

On the difference between having a show written before filming and writing a show in the process of filming, Paradise reflected on her time on Ex’s and Oh’s - a show written before filming - and Star Trek: Discovery which writes during production, saying //QUOTE//It’s just tricky. It just makes for a lot of balancing. We try to write as many episodes as we can [...] but inevitably you have to start shooting. And then inevitably, as your doing that, time in the room slows down and then you’re trying to catch up and trying to keep ahead of the train that is coming - right for your face.//END QUOTE//

Marina Sirtis Talks Deanna

On the day of this recording, June 25th 2019, Marina Sirtis will make her West End debut in the comedy “Dark Sublime”. She spoke with Digital Spy about the production - and of course - Star Trek.

Sirtis was asked about “Star Trek: Picard”, and her involvement with the production, to which she reiterated previous statements //QUOTE//If they ask me, I would love to be in it. But I have to be honest, the phone hasn't rung yet, so I'm not holding my breath. But I'd love to do it – as long as I don't have to wear that spacesuit again, because I've put on a bit of weight since then, and I don't fancy going to the fat farm to lose it all again!//END QUOTE//

On the possibility of her own TROI Spin-off, Sirtis replied //QUOTE//To be honest, I don't think there's ever going to be a Troi spinoff. I don't think that's going to happen.[...] The reason I'd love to do it is not just because I'd like to resuscitate Troi, because actually I've played her. As far as an acting challenge goes, it's not one, really. I've played her for so long. But I'd just love to work with my mates again, because that was the best time of my life.//END QUOTE//

When asked who she would cast as Troi, Sirtis told Digital Spy //QUOTE//I think Mila Kunis would make a good Deanna Troi. I think she's a lovely actress. She's got the right kind of look, and that wouldn't be too much of a stretch for her to play that part.//END QUOTE//

THIS WEEK IN STAR TREK HISTORY

This week in Star Trek history, we travel to the year 1991 to watch Mr Robot Gleam the Cube in a Will Scarlet-Red uniform.

On June 21, 1991, Christian Michael Leonard Hawkins got his Star Trek break, filming as an unnamed Excelsior Communications Officer in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. The then-21 year old actor, a life-long trekkie, got the part thanks to his mother - casting director Mary-Jo Slater - and was better known by his stage name...Christian Slater.

Despite this being his first on-screen role with the franchise, Slater had connections to Star Trek prior to the cameo. Slater’s godfather, Michael Zaslow, played science officer Darnell, the first dead crewman in Star Trek history. Zaslow later had a role in TOS’s second season episode, “Mudd’s Women”.

Early in his career, Slater teased an interviewer that his signature eyebrows were due to the fact that he had shaved them to look like Mr. Spock, and they hadn’t been right since. The actor admitted later,though, that he regretted the joke, saying people still ask him about the "Halloween costume gone bad".

In regards to “The Undiscovered Country”, Slater’s credit, “unnamed Excelsior Communications Officer”, was the same credit given to former-Star Trek Yeoman Grace Lee Whitney and, in the novelization of the film, Slater’s would-be scene was given to Whitney’s character.

In a 2017 Interview with Graham Norton, Slater talked about his time on set, and admitted to stealing the uniform he wore in his scene //QUOTE//I stole the costume, by the way. I have it in a box somewhere. It was William Shatner's costume from Star Trek II, actually//END QUOTE//.

STAR TREK ONLINE AND GAMING NEWS

by Jake Morgan

The 2019 Risian Lohlunat Festival!

It’s been a long, winter. The cold, the snow, the blood-thirsty enemies trying to mercilessly tear you limb from limb. But fret not, intrepid Starship Captains. It’s time to relax! It’s time for Risa’s annual Lohlunat Festival! That’s right. Starting July 2nd and running through August 15th, you’ll be able to hit the soft sand beaches of Risa to collect Lohlunat favors and Prize Vouchers (2019) - and you’ll be able to play whether you’re on the PC, Playstation 4, or XBox One!

This years Festival is jam-packed with new items, including new baseball uniforms, floaters, and powerboards featuring the “Bozeman Titans” and “Deneb V Slime Devils” team designs, Discovery inspired food consumables - like Jippers for sipping on the beach, Sport-inspired Audio Space Emotes, A Baseball ground device, and the ALL-NEW Team-Themed Vanity Shields which feature the colors of your favorite Star Trek baseball teams. You’re also warned to keep your food stores safe, lest you breed a new species of baseball...er tribble. To purchase these new items, you’ll need Lohlunat favors - and to obtain said Lohlunat favors, you’ll need to Powerboard race, compete in the Biathlon, Horga’hn hunt, scavenge with Sovak, and “do the snake” at the dance party.

The real prize, though, is the Upgraded TIER 6 Risian Corvette. As of this recording, no stats have been released, but the Risian Lohlunat Festival blog teases that the upgraded ship will be “speedy” and //QUOTE//include a brand new ship-related feature that we’re excited to reveal//END QUOTE//

“Rise of Discovery” Is Now LIVE On Console!

Console Captains, your wait for Star Trek Online’s latest expansion - Rise of Discovery - is finally over! Launching June 25th on Xbox One and Playstation 4, console Captains can play 2 new featured episodes starring Star Trek: Discovery’s Jason Isaacs as Captain Gabriel Lorca and Rehka Sharma as Commander Ellen Landry. In “The Plausibility of the Possible” and “Impossibility of Reason”, you’ll aid the Buran and her crew in a fight against J’Ula of House Mo’Kai’s forces - both in space and on the frozen Priors World.
Captains will also have access to the “Discovery Legends” Reputation. Unlock new traits and equipment, including Burnham's Armor and the Disruptor Wide Angle Dual Heavy Beam Bank, using Discovery legend marks and P.stellaviatori Spore Canister - earned by playing Discovery Task Force Operations.

In a blog post on Star Trek Online’s news page, Executive Producer Andre Emerson said //QUOTE//We’ve been running parallel to a Star Trek TV show for the first time in our history, and Rise of Discovery tells the story of a pivotal moment in the lives of both Gabriel Lorca and Ellen Landry. You’ll get to experience the events that brought them both to the first episode of Star Trek: Discovery, and you’ll get to be a part of the story alongside them.//END QUOTE//

Top Tip

Bailing, Brah

You’re on Risa, you’ve got a quiver of the best boards, and you’ve been hitting the waves. It’s glassy and you are ready to drop in and go off, brah. Well young grommet, the Powerboard Race can get choppy.

A common trap some of us fall into is overshooting the finish flag, fin chopping our first place finish into a runner up defeat. If you find it near impossible NOT to overshoot the flag, or lag has made it difficult to time the activation properly, the simplest solution is to bail off the board. Here’s how - First, drop the board in your hot bar. To make it easy, assign the board to the position in the tray that activates when the number “1” is depressed. Next, race your way to the finish line! Prior to crossing, aim your board directly at your flag. If you are neck and neck with another racer - and are not confident that you can pull off the maneuver YET - aim for the next highest flag. As you approach the flag and cross the finish line, hit the “1” key. This will remove your board, slowing you down but giving you more control of your character! Continue to move towards the flag if you are too far away. Step 4, hit f until the flag is yours! Finally, celebrate with an emote! This may take a while to perfect, but it will help if you have consistent trouble overshooting the flag!

Surfs up, Dudes!

Other Gaming News

Star Trek Fleet Command Adds Alice Eve as Carol Marcus

Star Trek Fleet Command - Scopely’s open world, free-to-play 4X Strategy mobile game - has scored its first Star Trek alumni - Alice EVE.

Eve, who portrayed Dr. Carol Marcus in 2013’s “Star Trek: Into Darkness”, is reprising her role as the brilliant scientist in Star Trek Fleet Command, with stories written by prolific Star Trek comic book writer Mike Johnson. Eve shared the news via an Instagram video on June 18th.

Star Trek Fleet Command is described as //QUOTE//the first free-roaming multiplayer Star Trek experience to combine role-playing game style progression and real-time battles with enemy ships—all on mobile devices. A fast-paced strategy experience, the game brings players unparalleled access to the Star Trek universe along with an epic narrative that unfolds as they travel to the furthest corners of the galaxy.//END QUOTE//